Friday, September 28, 2012

Slate Shingles Going Up

I have finally started to get the egg carton "slate" shingles up on the roof. I still have a few more shingles to color and cut but I am off to a good start. these are not at all as tedious to cut and prepare as smaller egg carton "bricks" can be. It goes pretty quickly.


 Here I am just dry fitting them before gluing. I really want to make sure they don't match their neighbor. Seeing that round window reminds me that I need to start planning the ghost effect soon!
 A close up so you can see the detail better. I am pretty pleased with how the coloring came out.
Here you can see the front doors which are going to be painted, aged, and then put in place this weekend. The will mostly be covered up by boards since all first level entry points will be boarded up and sealed off to thwart further entry and possible theft or vandalism.
 
I feel renewed on this project after taking a couple days off to start sketching and making the pattern for my next project. Really helped clear my head.


5 comments:

  1. I'm looking forward to your progress on this. I love the look of slate for a roof finish, and I think you're off to a great start. :]

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    1. Thank you! I have never done slate shingles before and I am not quite sure these are even "correct" for this style of home but it just seemed right.

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  2. Hi michi,
    The shingles look awsome! Thanks to you I feel a bit...bit...better about the upcoming shingling of my house. The portico...Absolutely fan tastic. You did good my friend,
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  3. Off -subject question. I am going to have a future mini project that will require paperclay stonework on the exterior. All the folks I've seen work w/ paperclay (including myself) carve the stonework into the clay while its still wet. But what about carving the stonework once its dry instead? Take a pre-printed stone pattern and transfer it onto the dry paperclay with graphite paper. Then use a fine Dremel engraving bit to carve the pattern into the paperclay. Any rough edges could be smoothed with a wet finger tip or lightly sanded. I was thinking that this method would be easier since a person wouldn't have to race the drying of the clay or try to keep it damp in order to get the pattern done. What are your thoughts on this method?

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    1. I have tried that method in the past but found it very hard on the hands. While the dry carve method can be used, I like the control you get from "pressing" the design into wet clay.I was not happy with the results I achieved with dry carving with my dremel. I suggest trying out the dry carving method on a small test board before tackling your project. See if you like the results. It is easy to keep the clay moist by keeping a water spray bottle at hand. Just spritz your area as you work and it will stay moist (of course you probably already knew that). I always recommend doing the stone in wet clay. It actually ends up being a lot less work believe it or not.

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