Not saying you need the watertable to save the foundation …you need it because you need it …just a defined line that will look good.
Soda/beer can flashing I know you CAN (no pun intended) make it …(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
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Rooster, I have already caulked the seam where the wood meets meets the stone, in the areas where I do not have to fix the wood. So I will sleep on your suggestion.
And yes, I have been saving up my favorite roofing material.
I must admit I love your ‘old mill’. I’m wondering if you did a build log for the original mill. I’m particularly interested in the dimensions of the mill and its various features. I’m also interested in how you fabricated the roof and wood sides. If these are discusses elsewhere please forward a link.
The windows are a creative application of egg crate florescent light diffuser. I see the 2’x4’ egg crate diffuser sheets available for $15. They come in .375" and .500". Your windows look so cool that I believe this is the most cost effective method for producing detailed windows. I’m thinking of larger factory windows. On the mill it looks like the original windows had some clear panel fixed on the inside. The new windows look like you’ve added epoxy inside the squares instead of the backing. If only there was a Large Scale wikipedia page on making windows…
I think it’s useful seeing something after spending five years out in the elements. The metal roof obviously faired the best. The wood siding suffered at the ground and at the seams. I’m wondering about the original wood and how it was treated. It sounds like it was not maintained after 2010. I’m wondering if you’d suggest yearly quick-treatments of the wood with something like T water seal.
Your old mill definitely provides insight on the effects of mother nature over time and may provide some guidance for limiting the damaging effects of the weather. The plastic inner lining and the stone foundation seem to be excellent modifications based on experience. In my area I need to think about the weight of four or five feet of snow.
I keep visiting this thread. There is something about the mill that is so ‘authentic’ that I keep coming back to check on your progress. Definitely an inspiration to many of us.
Thanks
David, thanks. This week I have been under the weather. My mom brought a cold home from her work. So I haven’t been working on the mill these past few days.
I used plywood for the sides, I do not remember if it was exterior grade or not, but I suspect that is what I used, since it was going to be outside. I should have treated it more often with Thompson’s, but I didn’t.
Unfortunately the build article died with LSOL, that’s where I had the build article on the thing. And since my XP computer recently decided that I doesn’t want to boot up anymore, my copy of the article is currently out of reach. Its large, but I forget how large it is at the moment.
As for the windows, I did cut out the openings for them on Sunday, before I became ill. They will also be backed with Plexiglas like the other windows are. I cannot take credit for the idea of using the light diffuser for windows, I “borrowed” that idea from Yogi Wallace’s website.
For other (wood) windows, I make my own.
http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/20900/quick-and-dirty-window-jig
The roof was made from aluminum roof flashing. I bent up my own panels to make the roof. I did a similar method on my build challenge gas station, and then did a separate write on on how I did the roof.
http://largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/20961/drink-can-standing-seam-metal-roof
Thanks again for you comments and questions.
Stay tuned for the next installment of This Old Mill, coming soon.
Neat you could save it, will look better, I think. I used some of that backer board 10-15 years ago for building bases and it has held up fine, not sure what kind I got, but glad it held up.
In the missing episode of This Old Mill, Doctor Mallard, no not that one, our Dr Mallard is a real quack. Dr. Mallard comes to the Little Saw Mill Run Valley, to treat a sudden illness that has affected most of the valley’s population. The office of the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad suffers a major computer crash. And Old lady Strawbridge…
In this episode of This Old Mill, repairs resume on the mill. The local computer/electronics/magic guru is restoring at least some of the P&CS’s files. And Old Lady Strawbridge…
Yes, last Sunday was rather eventful. I came down ill with a “new bug” that had my mom sick for part of the previous week. The doctor told her it was a “new bug”, when she went to see him, thinking that she had pneumonia. Then the power went out. It came back on, and went out and come back on and went out and came back on, but my computer would not boot up after that abuse.
Last weekend, before I became ill, I spread the almond coloured caulking over the stone and rubbed it into the seams. Then I wiped off the excess. This filled in the gaps, to make the walls more water tight, and also makes them look finished. I had also started repairing the damaged wood that I still had on the mill. Some was rot, but most was termite damage.
Instead of repairing the wood with new wood, I opted to use what was usable from the first floor that I had cut off.
After cutting out the bad section
I spliced in a replacement section cut from the old first floor. And replaced the batten.
I also added boards over the tops of the windows. Today I finally resumed working on the mill, albeit at a slower pace. This is where I am tonight when I quit for the night.
No the repairs aren’t seamless, but I didn’t want them to stand out as repairs neither. This way, they look like old repairs. Some places the old wood chipped as I was fitting in the repair, so I put a wood patch over the hole, like the old lumberjacks might have done. The large patch to the left, in the picture, does really stand out. But maybe the viewer will just think that there was a doorway, or window there, that had been closed off.
When it comes time to build the doors for the front of the mill, I will be using new wood. I figure that the doors may be replaced a bit more often, then parts of the board and batten siding, especially with rough lumberjacks using, and abusing the doors.
Edit for my bad grammar.
looking good, nice work… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Nice work. Thanks for sharing>
David,
You made excellent repairs. It looks VERY realistic. Good job! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
great patching David. That should hold up well. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Thanks guys.
(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Looks great!
David it will look nice after completion. That is one of the reasons I do not leave my scratch built building outside. I do not want to have to build it twice.
This is turning out really well. It might even look better when you’re done, than when it was new.
That almond color caulk sure looks great with those stones.
Sorry for the long delay in the season finally of the series, but you know how execs can be. Actually, I became sidetracked in getting my files onto my new to my computer after the major crash of my XP machine. I also became distracted one weekend setting up and running the HO layout with our club, and helping Randy with his new garden layout the weekend after that. That and other life distractions had me moving at a very slow pace and not posting what I was doing. But in this, the final episode, I will show where I ended up with the mill.
Old lady Strawbridge is happy that the town landmark has been restored to its proper location. I also have a correction, the Mill wasn’t originally built in 2010, it was built in 2004. So after 11 years outside, and a termite infestation, it did need this rehab.
When I left off last time, the repairs on the east wall had been completed. Once that side was done, I moved back to the north wall. I left a opening for the man door and truck door, so it was time to start building those.
I started with the door frame for the man door.
Then I glued in the door panels.
And then I started building up the door.
Then I stacked more stone next to the man door frame. sorry, no picture.
For the truck door, I cut a piece of coroplast for a base for the door, and trimmed one side off the edges, so that it would fit flush with the stones.
Then I started planking the truck door.
I also added a door knob, straight pin, to the man door, and added a small awning over the man door.
Then I built the awning for over the truck door, and spray painted it brown. I was going to leave it unpainted aluminum, but I thought better of that.
I trimmed the awning to the proper width.
And mounted it to the sawmill. I put a strip of 1/4 inch square wood under the awning to help support it. It wont bee seen, so its not detailed like proper supports would be.
Then the man door got a proper step, made out of coroplast, and the man door and truck door got a coat of paint.
Then the truck door got a handle, so it can be opened. Well, so it looks like it can be opened. Its a construction staple.
Then the plot was raked, its is fall, and leaves had collected there. And then I put down a layer of crushed limestone, and planted the mill, back its rightful location.
Parked in front of the mill, are the volunteers’ cars.
Well, I guess the party is over, and Sam was the first to leave. As usual. I guess that’s what it is when you get to be his age.
David, Nice rebuild… Building looks fantastic…
Thanks Andy. I hope it lasts another 11 years.
It looks great, David. The stonework looks very realistic for a building of that era. Nice work on the doors and awnings too. Thanks for sharing.
Real nice Maynard!
