Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Alan Terrill's corrugated iron shed

Alan Terrill is the webmaster at the marvellous Folly Fellowship and naturally has his own marvellous shedlike structure, pictured above and in a slideshow at the end of this post. Here's what he says about it:
"A couple of years ago I went to visit the Pump Rooms at Tenbury Wells, a beautiful and unique building in the Chinese Gothic style, made of a timber frame covered with galvanized iron sheeting. I thought one end of this would make a great shed for my garden and I filed the idea away for the future

"I had also become fond of the Victorian chapels made of corrugated iron, one of which I pass frequently just down the road. When I decided to build a shed earlier this year, both of these examples sprung to mind - but where would I get corrugated iron from? A quick search revealed a specialist builder's merchant not that far away in Newtown, who could provide it cut to size and pre painted in a suitable shade of green. I sketched out a picture of the front and went off to order the timber.

"All of my garden is on a slope, and the spot I chose, within sight of the kitchen window, was one of the flatter parts, but still necessitated nearly two feet of foundations at the back to bring it level. I nailed the four frame pieces together flat on the patio, and then carried them down to the base. I made the roof timbers to fit and then started nailing match boarding over the inside while waiting for the iron to arrive. The corrugated iron was then pre-drilled and screwed to the frame, all screw cups being filled with clear mastic to prevent water ingress.

"The bell tower was made separately and then fixed to the roof and a cord attached down the side, so the bell can be rung from the ground. Cutting the windows at an angle left rather unsightly cut edges, so these were lined with galvanized metal flashing. The final timbered detail on the front was added with thin strips of softwood. Thus the finished shed resembles a part of the Pump Rooms at the front, but the bell tower and rear resemble parts of a typical tin tabernacle. Although it might seem to be a garden folly, it does have practical purpose -it's soon to be filled with garden tools and machinery, so it's just a shed really!"

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