# A new building - a warehouse or transfer building



## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi,

Whilst waiting for my 2 8 6 chassis to be fitted with a motor & gearbox, I have been making a large industrial building for the ‘soon to be laid’ industrial and commercial siding. 



I found on the web a quite interesting building made by an Australian firm ‘Outback Models’ of such a building in ON3 scale. They made a laser cut kit of it and there are several versions on their website. I asked and was granted permission to use the design, (Thank you to Outback Models), for my FN3 scale model, which I am sure is really too small but I do not have any more space! 

This building is to be sited right at the back of the tracks agaist the boundary fence so the rear is quite plain and will not be finished in full, just painted. 





My version is not a copy, as I have reversed some of it and enlarged it in part as well. It is made from PVC solid foam sheet and also the plastic corrugated material, as used for signs mine is called ‘Korroflute’. 





The building is 27” long at the moment and 20” deep, there will be an increase in length, comprising a loading platform extension and a pillar crane I think. 





I started with the windows, and then cut the holes for them in the sheet material for the respective parts; these will be eventually fixed together: There is a staircase to the upper door, and on the twin slope roof when it is added I have a water tank to add; this is made from an old pill container – cut off the upper section, reverse it and glue back in position to stiffen it, add the vertical planks, and a top to suit and make a base for it. That will be the top of the covered (and tapered) base that will be fixed to the roof. It is 2.5 inches diameter, and 3.5 inches high.











Here are some photos of the work completed so far – there is a lot of work still to do!

First a pair of general views of the three parts just placed together - they are not fixed yet.










The upper doorway will have a staircase for access, and I see that the intended window has not been cut out yet - Ooops! The staicase is made but it needs the long supports for it.











The center portion is PVC solid foam sheet (Sintra Board), and the end buildings are corrugated plastic board (as election posters, though I have used new sheet).




















These will be glued and bolted to the center unit in due course, the cross pieces are to keep the roof straight, and also give stiffness there, and give a greater area for gluing down the under roof of 1.5mm styrene card. Then either shingles or corrugated iron (or both) will be added on top. All corners are yet to be covered in plastic angle section to add another layer for protection, also the whole thing will sit on a loading bay height platform.

Finally here is the small water tank built round the old pill bottle. Ignoorer the bottom item that was just ti lift it up off the table.











More to follow, in due course --


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Peter,

You are amazing. You continue to crank out first class projects. I wish I could move as fast as you do. I like the structure very much. Keep the pictures coming. I'm looking forward to the finished product.

Doc


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Doc,

Thanks for the kind comments, much appreciated.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Very interesting looking building already. 

I must try that plastic stuff myself once (I have found some boxes from kitchen wall tiles that looks like the stuff you use on the endbuildings, some sort of plastic cardboard). 
What glue can be used best for it? 

Great roof details on the watertower!!


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Paulus, 


I use Evo-stik - which is a latex based contact cement - it retains some flexiblity; don't forget to add the bracing, and at the corners, rebate the sides into the ends to make a larger area for glue. 

I buy the tubes they are for me, better to use than the tins. 

In the USA I don't think its available, but Walthers Goo seems from the description of it to be similar, and possibly there are others with the same characteristics. Walthers Goo seesm to be very expensive compared to Evo-stik!


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Thanks Peter! 
I'm from the east side of The Channel and I think I've seen that stuff over here in the Dutch DIY stores also. 
Now I'll certainly give it a try!! 

Paul


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice work, looking forward to seeing it when finished.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Peter,

Your building is really looking good. 

It is unfortunate that there are not many industrial buildings available in large scale as so many trains hauled goods to industrial customers.

Jerry


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi, 
Thank you for the kind comments, they are most appreciated. I have added some extra pices to the building and the thrree sections are now fixed together.

I have added a set of roof panels on top of the office, so I could work out a base for the water tank to sit on, That has been done and the tank itself has a thin metal base added to stop insects (etc) making a home there. The tank will rest on 3 bearers 5mm square underneath it. 


I was not satisfied that the ends were going to bit blank as they could be seen fairly easily: so some windows were added to them, so first they had to be made! Some of them are quite small, especially those on the upper floor of the (supposed) original building. The others were medium size 8 pane windows. Now there are 11 windows in all, and three small doors also. 


I have also made and fitted the long staircase to the upper floor of the main portion. The distance for the steps was copied frpm my book ‘Structures of the Early West’ – a goldmine! – yes there is one of those in it as well. 


Finally I have included a view of the inside bracing – all photos have been deliberately darkened to show some detail with the materials being white.



Here are the new photos










A photo of the office end, with a window inserted in the Korroflute that this part is made from. The water tank is in its location. I have sealed the join between sections with 4 thou aluminium strip (from lager cans) to keep water out of it - the shingle roof will be added and then another piece glued on to replicate the flashing.













A top view of the office roof, there will be a stovepipe added in due course to it. Those holes in the central part are for the smallest size windows I have made for this building.












The steps - to hold the lower end still I have fitted a small piece of 1mm diameter brass wire that can just be seen between the inner piece and the wall. Most of the steps are 5mm thick Sintra board with 3mm thick for the steps themselves.










A final photo of the interior bracing, note the extra bits, from scrap, on the inside of the corners. 


In addition there is on the outside PVC right angle strip corner pieces and strips along the base of all the building; all are 1mm thick, the same will be added under the roof edges when they have been fixed, and then to stiffen that area further there will be the rafter ends made from scrap Sintra board. The office roof is .060; the warehouse extension will be the same, but the main roof will need .080 styrene card for strength.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Looks great, Peter. I like the multiplicity of roof angles, shapes, etc. And the stairs are a nice touch, as is the water tank. Tell me, though, are the walls sheathed with anything? In the photos they appear to have markings suggesting board & batten and clapboard siding, but I can't tell if the lines are draw on or whether there actually are battens, etc.


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By joe rusz on 04 Apr 2011 10:20 PM 
Looks great, Peter. I like the multiplicity of roof angles, shapes, etc. And the stairs are a nice touch, as is the water tank. Tell me, though, are the walls sheathed with anything? In the photos they appear to have markings suggesting board & batten and clapboard siding, but I can't tell if the lines are draw on or whether there actually are battens, etc. Hi Joe, 

Not yet though the central part as you say will be board & batten - the outer parts are made with Korroflute and will look like they are horizontally planked. Still a 'work in progress' with the postion of the battens marked but not yet applied, as the roof panels when applied have a piece then applied close against the lower edge of the roof /wall join. 

Then I apply the battens as I then have the length, of most of them, with this building there still will be some (above the side parts) that need the roof applied as the batten lower edge is only capable of being determined then..

Thanks for the thought!


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## alecescolme (Dec 20, 2010)

Peter, A huge warehouse complex, even a water tower! 
Great work, looking foward to seing it painted and installed. 

Alec.


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Alec, 

Thanks for the commnet more photos will follow, I have just finished adding all the roof panels - there is a lot of styrene card involved needless to say! 

Next are some ventilator bonnets and chimmnies, then I will severley reduce my stock of shingle strips on the rooves. 

There is another quite large building to be done, but that is a bit smaller at 2 foot square: before that though is a little shop, that is only 7" wide!


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi, The roof has been added and it took a lot of styrene! In addition I have added to the main (meant to be the original part) or center section the battens . ll the roves have the tauikls of the roof timbers which though a bit if a fiddle to fit stiffen the edges of the roof a lot. I am building one (double chimney), which can be seen on the ridge and three roof ventilators (like some American barns). The chimney has a section of a Vitamin C tablet container, (notwithstanding these I still managed a cold – right at the end of winter, it was ‘lying in wait; and the ‘dregs’ of it are still slightly with me alas!). On top of the chimney stack the section of cut up tube is used to make a rain/snow deflector that was clothed inside and out with 1mm planks to thicken it up; the outer ones are scribed to represent the bricks it is made of.. Most of the stack has had the bricks added, the white bits at the bottom of it will be covered by ‘flashing’ in due course. ). The ventilators have only the bases made so far, now I will make 6 or 10 ventilator louvre units, and then the tops.Meanwhile saving some words, here are some more photos.








First the building in its rough location, there are some early plants sytill in locatiojn that will be moved when they have finished flowering, and the long siding will then be worked out and laid in roughly the position of the green colored PVC strip, that can be just seen past the building.A final one - 










The corners have been clothe with right algle strip: the battens added to the central unit and the 3 roof units are now fitted and the 'bits' for the top of them are started.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Peter, "Way to go," as we say in The Colonies! Your warehouse is coming along beautifully and looks great. Never having seen your little village before, I am impressed not only with your modeling, but with your conceptual skills, i.e. your ability to make a miniature town look like a real one. Plus I see other interesting structures reflecting your handiwork. Now lemme get this straight, though. You live in England (or GB) and you have a yard?! I got the impression that most Brits lived in apartments like you see in London and that unless you were to the manor born, like my good friend, the late Rob Walker, who used to say, "I have a flaht (flat) in Lon-done and a cah-stle (castle) in Nunney," you didn't have room for a garden railway or a garden. Not meaning to sound condescending. I'm just curious. And did I say I love your work?


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the reply, A bit of topic creep here, but here is an answer to your query. NO, the UK is much more a country of houses/bungalows, and NOT flats – that is the Europe, where there is a lot of flat dwellers. That is where the ‘Englishmans home is his castle’ phrase comes from. However houses are becoming through too many regulations are now very expensive, and with a new ‘carbon rating’ later will be much more expensive still. – thus the private (flat) landlords are hoping for lots of rentals! 





Though the builders (in the boom) built lots of flats, and private landlords bought them and now cannot find renters for them – thus the private (flat) landlords are hoping for lots of rentals! Don’t forget also there are service charges for them in addition to the normal outgoings, so you pay a lot of money which does not have anything at then end of it!. 





Right lesson over - Back to my garden, I lived up the road from when I was married (as the police paid for my house), and the garden was small, then after I retired we moved down to my father in laws (who had just died) to look after my mother in law, extended the house which is half a corner plot - like a right angled triangle in plan shape – so there was space for a garden rr. I did not think my other interest (Midland Railway of England would work so it was to be Colorado NG, and early period for color and small size. 





That still applies about 14 years later; the hamlet of Sycamore Cree, as in the photo: shows about 1/3rd to 1/2 of my buildings made so far, with more to come yet.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Peter, thank you for your explanation. Sorry to pry into your personal life and to get off topic. After I told DW about my post, she said, "Are you crazy? We saw plenty of houses on the bus ride from London to Southampton (to board a ship)." Selective memory, I guess.


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi,

It has been a while(other things have been getting in the way of modelling) but I have finally added a coat of paint to the building, which took rather a lot, and then even more strips of tarpaaer for the roof.

But eventually it was finished bar some small details and the construction of a deck for it to sit one; that will be quite easy, though large to make. It may also have a pillar crane on it IF I have space.

Meanwhile here are some photos of it; the rear is balnk, as it will be close aginst a fence the other three sides are shown in the photos. It is 27" long x 20" deep, and about 15" high. The deck will add about 3.5" in height whn I have built it. 










the 'staff' end there will be notices on the two dooors and some 'junk' fitted onto the landing in due course.










A couple of photos - of the office end, with a nice large porch for all that Colrado winter(s) snow! (and we had enough this year as well) 




















a slightly raised view of the front.










Sorry about the somewaht cluttered background, that is the compost heap area!


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

Peter
GREAT looking structure!!!!!!!! I love the details all the way to the rafter tails







You have created a model to be proud of. Used some real creativity.
You don't need to apoligize for the back ground, never saw it until you mentioned it, then I had to go back and see what you were talking about.
Kinda like the very pretty girls dressed in very skimpy bathing suits, had 5or 6 shots of them and at the end said you can buy these models of sunglasses at WalMart.
Had to go back and see if they had sunglasses. 
That is the way your structure is, it keeps 100% of your attention on the details, great modeling and please post pictures of it set with the added details such as
people and maybe junk or whatever else you add. That is what brings it to life.
Thanks for sharing
Dennis


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Peter,

I agree with Dennis. That is one great building. I especially like the shingle work and color you chose.

Doc


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## Xavier A. (Feb 25, 2011)

A great work. 
Very nice look, with a sharp colours combination. 

Regards, 

Xavier


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Peter, great looking structure, as I expected from you. Love the siding, the shingled roof, the chimneys (complete with flashing) and roof venitaltors. Very, very nice nice.


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

Peter, that turned out to be a nice looking structure. Never thought coroplast would look that good after painting. May have to think again about using it for large buildings. Yogy does clinics at train shows on using coroplast but have never really tried using it. 
Ron


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

hi Ron, 

Thanks for the compliment - the bond between masonry paint and corroplast can be a bit weak: so I very gently sand the surface with fine abrasive paper to give a key for the paint, and when painted add a coat of good UV protective varnish as well to keep the finish.


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## southernsandy (Feb 2, 2011)

Peter, 
I really like your buildings, and this latest one is excellent. I must try the Korroflute and Evo-stik method. Do you think it would withstand a lot of rain, as my garden railway is near Oban in the West Highlands of Scotland? 
Sandy


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## general1861 (Jan 22, 2010)

Peter, Really nice looking building!!!


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi,

Thank you for the commnets and a reply for Sandy in Oban - 



Hi Sandy, 





Welcome to MLS and I hop you find us interesting and worthwhile. 





Short answer is Yes! Korroflute is rotproof and has holes between the corrugations, so will need sealing to stop water ingress. That requires the right angled trim strips (I get mine from B&Q bit other such shops should have it: it is made from PVC and is about12 mm each side; with a sanding drum, whisk it down the inside to make a true right angle, no need to be totally exact what you are doing is getting rid of the moulding draft, it does not need much off. A illustration of its use in the UK is political signs, and also (but check the thickness, and thus depth of corrugations as they will be the same for estate agents signs (some are only 3mm thick). 





I would also rebate the sides into the ends and put scrap strips inside as well. The rebate is to close off the face that has the holes; they end up tucked inside, and covered on both sides, use plenty of glue. The joint between the roof slope and the top of the sides can be filled with window frame sealant, the colour will not matter as it won’t be seen, but will make a good seal – use you ringer to wipe it in well, - its messy but comes off easily with water (as its not set). ‘Pound shops ‘ are a good source for the cartridges at about a pound or so. 





American style windows have an external frame (like a flat picture frame) those are very good as they give you a good glue area to fix them. I make my own, so there can be any size I want. I use plasticard for my window frames, and clear packing sheet fixed with Evo-stik, for windows these are painted & varnished on the inside. Johnson’s Klear is good there – from some supermarkets , and meant for kitchen floors! 





When painted (very slightly roughen the surface to give the paint a good grip) then varnish it using a UV protection varnish, - yet another layer to add protection both from the sun & the rain. 





The other material I use is solid foam PVC sheet – no connection with them and the name is just for an illustration of it - here is their website for ideas etc. 





http://www.vekaplan.de/vekaplan/...sf.htm 





It is not cheap, and is in BIG sheets of 8ft x 4ft and the 5mm I find to be the best for my purpose; try plastic suppliers,who will also cut in into a couple of pieces for you, its principal use is for signs or exhibition signs, and as its solid it is much stronger, and you can still use Evo-stik. 





It can be cut with a Stanley knife or a fine blade jigsaw should work,against a straight edge I use a small circular saw which is very good with the standard 58mm diameter blade.For slops it can be filed very easily. Use an Olfa cutter (pushed NOT drawn) to make the plank lines.


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

What a great building. Has a very charming feel to it. What did you use for shingles? They look very Real and fit right in with the structure. I can't wait for a picture of it in it's final place on the lay out. I'm sure being in place will only multiply the great results that all the hard work you put into this have yielded.


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Nutz-n-Bolts on 08 Jul 2011 08:08 AM 
What a great building. Has a very charming feel to it. What did you use for shingles? They look very Real and fit right in with the structure. I can't wait for a picture of it in it's final place on the lay out. I'm sure being in place will only multiply the great results that all the hard work you put into this have yielded. 

Hi Randy,

The shingles are strips of what you call 'tarpaper'- we call it roofing felt: its the cheapest version of the stuff, cut into 20mm strips, half cut vertically to give the joins between shingles, and fixed onto a sub roof with brown window frame sealant for glue with the stips having a 10mm overlap. When all has been done (a long time with this building!) they are then given a coat of Thompson's Water Seal. 

It is roughly in the right position, but the siding in front of it, and the deck that it sits on need to be done befor a final location is done; not rthe weather over here ib thwe UK for that at the moment - too much rain!

But I will take some photos when I can.

Thanks for the enquiry.


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

Wow! What a great simple and inexpensive method! Not to mention the stunning results. I'll definitely be trying my hand at that. Thanks so much for sharing it!


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Randy

You might find the following of interest, it's a compilation of Peter's topics covering both the topics in the current forum software (well most anyway, I have started a part-2 document) and ones posted to the old forum software.

Peter Bunce's Buildings PDF 11MB[/b]


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## Nutz-n-Bolts (Aug 12, 2010)

What a gold mine of information Steve! Talk about asking for an inch and getting a mile. Thanks so much You guys are the best!


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## mgilger (Feb 22, 2008)

Thanks for the link.
Mark
*http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com*


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