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Hi folks,
Last spring I posted some pictures of the striped bass I did in shingles on my addition. I was moving on to shingle the “lighthouse” and the “wahle tail portico” and promised I’d provide an update. Well, it’s been a while but here goes. The outside is done except for the final coat of paint on the trim and hanging the light fixtures. I’m getting prices on the drywall and will be ready to move inside to start the interior finish pretty soon.
First, here’s a picture of the fish when it was still new.
Enjoy!
Roger
Replies
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Here's a picture of the whale tail portico. It was a damp day so there are a few drips...
*Here's a picture of the lighthouse...
*And here's one from our neighbor's yard.
*roger, that's great !.. i hadn't caught the whale tail portico...and the two gable windows on the side of the lighthouse are neat too..
*Thanks, Mike! We're going to do something "cute" with trim around the lighthouse windows but we haven't decided yet. So they look kinda plain right now.
*Great place! I love that whale tail!Rich Beckman
*RogerVery nice. Hope your close enough to the ocean to see it from your boat. The whale tail is way cool. Is it an original idea?Tight linesTerry
*Thanks, guys! Yes, the whale tail was an original idea. The wife and I were trying to figure out something "different" that we could do for the portico. We drove past a house in Chatham that had a whale tail sculpture in the yard and it dawned on me that the sides of the tail formed a right angle where the come into the body. It was a little tricky figuring out how to do the rafters to get the curvature. We wanted to try to channel the water away from the center of the tail so that it won't drip onto the (eventual) steps.Roger
*steps ? ... steps ?who needs steps when you're creating art ?a minor detail...
*LOL! Mike, I'm into "functional art"! Actually, my calls it "construction art".Terry, sounds like you're a fisherman. Here's a picture of my friend Bob's biggest striper. You can tell he's rightfully proud. I haven't caught one that big yet!
*Roger, it all looks great. You have done a wonderful job with the shingles and the whale tail is awsome.
*Nice fishy pics roger...Keep on coming back with fresh catch...near the stream,aj
*Thanks, Tim and Jack. I'll post more pictures as I move inside. I'm having a heck of a time getting any drywallers to give me the time of day though. I just might have to tackle that myself!In the meantime, here's Daisy the Wonder Dog wishing everyone "Seasons Greetings!" I hope everyone has a truly wonderful holiday!Take care,Roger
*Roger Dumas - Having just viewed the pictures of your home,and must say "how delightful".I am a residential designer of custom homes and do a bit artwork also. I have some questions that cover both subjects.The first is - How did you create the fish mingled with the cedar shingles? Second - The eave over the garage doors, a - how did you frame the bell curved (Canadian terminology) overhang? b - Is the soffit open or closed? Looks great. Ron Andrews, [email protected]
*Thanks a lot, Ron. I appreciate the kind words! I’ve done a little wood sculpture myself and the fish was kinda like a 2D sculpture. To do the fish I scanned a picture of a striped bass from an ad in a fishing magazine. Then I made a grid over the picture where the width and height of the cells were in proportion to the exposure of the shingles (5”). The fish on the wall is about 10’ x 4’. Then I highlighted on the picture the curves that I wanted to have on the shingle fish. When I started the shingles, I made a grid on the wall and as I moved up the fish I would transfer points where the curves on the picture intersected the cells of the grid. Then I connected the dots on the wall by drawing in the same curves as on the picture. As I’d move up the fish I had to redraw the grid a few times because the tops of the lower shingles would cover the marks for the upper shingles.The other tricky part was figuring out a pattern for the scales. Here’s a progress picture that shows the scales. You can’t see the grid because the pencil marks were too light. It actually wasn’t all that difficult to do once I got started.
*To do the curved overhang I first drew the arc on the ground in front of the garage. I did that by finding the center of the back wall of the garage and used a string to give me the radius of the circle. Then I made a right triangle with 45 degree angles out of 2x4's for each stud position on the wall. The run and rise of each triangle matched the distance of the arc from the front wall of the garage. I nailed the triangles to the garage but then I needed a way to gradually have the triangles blend the tops of the triangles into the wall. So I cut some curved blocks to make the transition. I just eyeballed the curves. Here’s a progress picture on the overhang. The soffit is closed and will have four spot lights washing the doors. I'll take a current picture of the underside of the overhang and post it later.
*Forgot to mention that I ran strapping horizontally across the triangles at the height of the nails for each row of shingles. I did have to scale the exposure of the shingles so that the rows were straight by the time I reached the bottom of the fish.
*Excellent, Roger.I particularly like the progress pictures. Keep 'em coming!Merry Christmas,MD
*Roger, Just came across the thread.Wonderful!Mongo
*Roger, Superlative work, keep the photos coming, a request please, could you post a photo of your wooden ladder stands, I made my own ladders but have never seen stands like yours.Peace, Health, and Prosperity, gtw
*We made an overhang like yours a couple of years ago but made it covex like half of an upside down peapod (double ender rowing boat). Very difficult to shingle. We were using Alaskan cedar shingles. Had to soak with boiling water to get the tops to pull in. Your approach was a much better solution and not noticeable different for the average non builder. Love your postings. The latest detail of the fish was great and a great help to develop my own design.Thanks. Phil D
*gt, it's funny you should mention the ladders. I learned carpentry from my father and he had those for as long as I can remember, back into the '60s. He rebuilt them three times. They're great! I can extend the middle ladders pretty high and as long as the stands are level I can set up the stagings pretty high. At this point, the only thing that's original is the hardware! I use them inside as well as outside. I'll take better pictures and post them. Thanks for all of the support. Isn't woodworking great? I can't think of anything better than to create something out of such a wonderful medium!
*Almost forgot. Here's a picture of the uderside of the overhang. It's still just primer and cans for the spots, but we're getting closer to the finish! Terry, here's a better picture of the boat. It's old but it's sound. Tight lines and sharp hooks!Roger
*Phil, the thing that inspired me to try a shingle picture was the same old FHB article that Mike Guertin mentioned in his recent FHB article, where he describes how to make a duck. The original came out about 12 years ago or so. Mike's duck in the recent issue was a silhouette and the original was similar but a bit more 3-D. Anyway, that caused me to think about how to create a shingle picture and I thought about it for about a decade! I came across the grid approach which has been used for centuries to create murals and other large picture projections. It works pretty well so go for it!
*:-)brian
*Brian,You posted a smilie face and saved this thread from oblivion...
*Hi folks,Thought I'd post a few more pics. Here's one of the house from the East. I posted this a while back before this thread started so I just I'd add it to the set. The original house (about 11 years old) is on the left half, the addition is on the right half.
*While waiting to get our poermit for the addition my wife said, "Gee, honey, wouldn't a bay window look better in teh dining room than the triple double-hung?" She thinks that moving windows is like moving furniture...
*Here's a picture of our patio. It's about 10 years old now and in its winter starkness. We call our projects "construction art".
*Moving to the west side of the house, here's a picture of family room part of the aaddtition between the original house and the lighthouse.
*That structure with the Afro looking growth on it is our outdoor shower. Here's a picture of it from last spring before the growth. It's about 7 years old.
*Moving inside, here is a picture from the family room looking up toward the balcony and into the new master bedroom where my brother in law is screwing up a piece of rock, so to speak...
*Here's another inside shot looking east in the fam room. The fam room has a vaulted ceiling covering about half of it. The eastern half has the new bath and closet for the MB above it on the second floor. That end of the fam room will have the pool table (which has been in pieces in the basement for almost three years).
*Here's a picture of the lighthouse stairs looking up from the first floor...
*...and here's a picture of the stairs looking down from the second floor.
*And, finally, here's a picture of the lighthouse ceiling looking up from the second floor, through the hole that will eventually have a spiral stair.I know that pictures of insulation aren't the most exciting things but what the heck... Take care,Roger
*Rodger, I just opened your site today, really cool, nice work, really creative.
*Thanks, Armin. That reall means a lot coming from you. I've admired your work ever since I started coming to Breaktime. I have a circular stair going from the first to second floor of the lighthouse so I'll be coming around looking for advice in a couple of months!
*My wife read an article in FHB #144 about designer drywall and we decided to use it in the part of the family room. Here's a picture of the installation process.
*It's a very nice product and we're looking forward to seeing it after the taping. Here's a picture of the installed ceiling.
*The pieces of the designer drywall are 48" x 48" but the pattern isn't uniformly aligned on each sheet. The pattern also isn't perfectly square on each sheet. So even though the sheets are exactly 48" x 48" you have to add a little to adjust for the differences. I ended up finding the squarest piece I could (in terms of uniform distance from the pattern to the edge of the sheet all around) and using that as my starter. I figured the spacing of the sheets to end up with a uniform border around the ceiling and then snapped perpendicular lines so that I could start from the center of the ceiling and work out toward the edges, like you do when laying floor tiles. Because of the variations in each sheet you can't butt the pieces against each other. After a few sheets I settled into a pattern where I'd hold a sheet up against the ceiling with my head and then visually line up the pattern with an adjacent sheet. I'd put in a couple of screws to hold it and then would check how it lined up with adjacent sheets in the other direction and then move the sheet slightly if necessary.So you end up with some funny joints. And you really have to use 1 x 3 strapping across the joists because after three sheets you could be 3/4" off of 16" o.c. because of the adjustments. Here's a picture of one of the more extreme corners. Even though the intersection looks way off, the patterns line up.
*That looks like it will hard to mud and tape. If you get that done, it should be quite pretty when all done.Mary
*Thanks, Mary. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to fill in the larger gaps with joint compound before the tapers come so they don't have to squeeze in as much mud. I wonder if that much mud would droop if they try to fill it in when they tape? There aren't that many gaps that are that extreme. Any thoughts?
*I'm no pro, so I wouldn't take my word for anything, but maybe fiberglass tape on the larger gaps? I've used it to patch some missed drill holes that were an inch wide and it worked nicely. I was thinking of all that up and down relief and swiping the mud knife. Seems like it would be hard not to get mud on the edges of the panel protions where you don't want it. Be interesting to see how the tapers do with it.Mary
*Roger, my guess would be to fill the large voids with Dura bond, just make sure you strike if flush with the surface because it's a major job to sand. If I recall there are two kinds, one sets in 5 minutes and another sets in 15 minutes. This stuff really holds, as a last note, check with the finishers they may have a better idea.
*I would think that either use a couple layers of a quick drying compound such as Armin suggested or at least begin the mud process. If you have gaps that wide and try to fill them with mud as you tape I would think there is a good chance of them drooping. It might be wise to take the precaution because fixing the droopage would be a pain after the fact.Armin - that Dura Bond stuff you mentioned, what is it and how does it work? What have you used it for? If you don't mind me asking. By the way Roger the house looks great. You mentioned you're on the Cape, Attleboro here.SJ
*Thanks, Mary, Armin, Steve...The edges of the designer drywall are beveled so I can get a 2” putty knife in there to fill the larger gaps and still leave the bevels for the tapers. I’ll go ahead and do that so I can stop worrying about it. I’d ask the taper for his opinion but I swear I can’t understand a word he says. I think he’s from Brazil. Very nice guy and comes highly recommended but we definitely have a communications challenge…Hey Steve, I’m originally from New Bedford so I grew up in the same neighborhood (give or take 30 miles). How about them Patriots? Have you been to Foxboro to check out the new stadium or the demolition on the old one? I’m looking forward to driving by there sometime.
*Roger - Drove by there the other day, the new stadium is beautiful, they demolished the perss box finally yesterday. Lots of road work on Rt 1 along that area, it is going to be very nice. Good luck with the tape job, with a little work I think the final product will look great. I just can't let my fiance see the pictures otherwise it will be added to my list!SJ
*Steve,i - that Dura Bond stuff you mentioned, what is it and how does it work? What have you used it for? Steve, My drywall subcontractor uses it to fill around miss cut outlet boxes and large voids. He uses the 15 minute stuff, it has a dark gray look to it, powder form and mixes with water. Dries super hard, he trowels it off slightly below the surface so he doesn't have to sand it. Within a few minutes he can tape over the seam with regular mud, this avoids the common shrinkage problem associated with using drywall mud.
*Thanks Armin. I might grab some while I'm finishing my bathroom. I have some holes in the drywall that need to be filled and if the durabond stuff saves me from having to do deal with multiple coats of joint compund then all the better.SJ