Wednesday 9th April a lovely September morning and a dry day so shed time again.

                                            

As a reminder it is Autumn mother nature has been depositing dead leaves in the buildings so some sweeping up is required.

                                                     

The Trusts shop is doing a steady trade and the stock is slowly turning over but it all add to the trusts coffers.

Mike has been busy paneling the inside after the electrician installed the wiring light  and sockets.

Shed wise first job is to reposition the lower windows flush with the front and then router time on the top window to sink the hinges in, our main object today is to get the shed water tight before the weather changes.

Window 2 completed but yet again one needed thinning down a couple of mm as it was too wide for the frame the lower one fitted in.

Onto window number 3 both are fixed solid so an easy job but no as one again is wider than the other and the top is not level yet all windows are the same part number.

with the windows in the outer joint covers were fitted this is when you find one piece of tongue and groove is not in the slot so the wood sits proud still it is covered and another day will see it taken off and fitted correctly.

It is looking better from the outside and is weather proof apart from the doors.

Right hang doors and easy job but not really as the 4" x 4" post have moved and are not vertical and pushing the top of the shed to the right 1" is impossible now most of the boards inner and outer are in the boards are in, thinking caps on and lets cut the post vertical and make a rebate for the rear of the doors.

Running up a 40mm cut with the circular saw and some chisel work meant one door was in. The cut line for vertical is visible in the left photo.

onto door two this was clear at the top but the bottom would not go in so more thinking and this time not rebate cut we need to add some material at the top and a light cut at the bottom.

The next problem arose when thinking a quick fit of the door lock could be done however the morticed hole is not wide enough and there is no wood left to screw the lock into position so that is a look at next week but the interior is now protected from the rain.

 Thursday3rd a dry day so time to get the rubber roof on the new shed.

4 rolls of very thin easily torn felt removed and rolled up 3 will be in the skip the 4th will be saved as we have felt on other buildings.

                                          

                                      Spreading the glue on the first half ready to unfold the sheet onto.

                                                            

                                                             One half done so final glue going on.

                                                           

                           The roof is now on and water proof just needs the edges doing next Wednesday.

                                                     

Then six heavy cast iron windows had to be moved around the corner to allow the electrician to get power out of the main office.

A couple of hours but it will keep the insulation drier and the plan is windows and doors next Wednesday so it is fully dry inside.

 Wednesday 2nd August summer is officially finished so today is overcast with drizzle and rain showers.

                                          

                      A sign autumn is here but the leaves are falling early after the long hot summer.

                                                 

                      The paint is going on the mail coach so the museum look a bit more inviting.

                                                               

An old crate dated 1946 was purchased from the Malvern Flea Market as the name was just about visible but after a clean with oxalic acid it is easily readable, F K Sharp were a growers produce haulage firm based in nearby Evesham so it is highly likely they also used the railway.

Work on the new shed for storage of books and railway photos continues.

Part 2 of the top roof and insulation has been completed.

We were 10 boards short in the kit so a trip to Nicks timber got some cut to size these were the easiest fit off all, the machined finish was far better instead of 5 minutes a board all 10 went down and secured in less time  than that,

The end board was again a gravel board but it works well.

The thin felt was then lightly secured and weighted down to keep the rain out as the rubber sheeting is being acquired on Thursday.

Now is time to look at the windows the bottom went in but the top needed the application of a plane on one side so it was loose enough open and close, the top mounted hinges in the plan screw on the frame but leave a gap so a router made them sit flush.

A light spraying of linseed oil over the outside timbers has changed the colour but will add protection.

The rubber roof needs a dry day to apply the adhesive but next week we should get the other two windows and doors hung along with fitting the weather strip to the joints. The electrician arrived to discuss the installation required so things are moving along nicely.

 This wonderful Enamel sign

I picked this gem up at a car boot sale in Bude in 2025

It tells of the time in the early 20th century, of the massive migration of families from the UK to seek new and better lives in the New World.

The sign, badly marred by chips and rust, deserved the best of efforts to restore it.

The rust was totally ground out with a small round ended carbide burr, and then the scars were filled with car body filler, sanded flat and then , using an airbrush and Cobalt blue glass paint the background was filled in and the lettering restored.

In the first photo the name of the agent is unreadable, and searching the internet got me nowhere.

I discovered a museum in Callington, and sent off an email, they identified the Agent from the 1912 census, as William Edward Folley an insurance agent who resided in Laburnum row. note no phone number just his address, thank you so much to Callington Museum for their help, in filling the historic missing piece to the puzzle.  

 Wednesday 26th August the warm weather continues with thunderstorms forecast for this morning so start with a view on platform 2 Toddington. 

The museum coach is now ready for a coat of light stone after a lot of preperation.

The Canada emigration sign now has a frame and is looking good a full write up will follow.

But today’s job is try and get the roof on the new shed so it is more water resistant.

First job is 7 bearers on top of last week’s roof.

Then put the insulation in before putting the top boards on.

The thicker of the two stacks of  boards left is laid down, the large sash clamp was needed due to the banana shape of some boards.

Once again the plans do not go as thought so we have used gravel boards on the ends as they fit better.

Now with the threat of rain over the next few days we decided to put the felt on the completed half and put weights on to keep it down so when we do the second half of the boarding we can just roll the loose felt back for access then secure it once boarding is completed.

The felt must be the thinnest lightest grade possible so the south end is tacked on under the facia board but a decision to get a rubber sheeting roof covering has been made as that will last for years, the felt may last until a good wind. 

 Wednesday 19th August after a night of steady rain a nice start to the day.

The cooler temperatures are making the assembly of the new shed easier  although the timber and plans are now wet. So carefully separating the wet pages and look up roof construction all it says is is fit purling dependent on shed size but none are listed  in the parts list.

So sort out 38 x38 timbers into lengths and check lengths against positions on the shed. First idea was wrong long ones with roof on top.

This looked possible but not to plan so off with the beams.

Purling now sorted so ends fitted back and front screwed down then add 5 beams front to rear.

Mike is now busy cutting and installing the insulation r  for boarding the interior.

Now sort out the tongue and groove for the roof and fix down using screws not nails as supplied.

One half completed 

The second half well under way, the insulation will go on top of this as the long beams now sit on this structure which we then board and felt. 

Mike is doing well with the insulation but the booklet states two people should take around ten hours to complete this shed build so we are well slow.

Warped timbers and some flimsy design have meant a redesign to our standards.