# Casting the first stone (building)



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Actually, it's just a photo of another cool building that called to me while we were visting friends on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Located in Winslow, which is "town" in this very rural part of the world, this building dates to 18-something and was once a root cellar. But it could be anything you want and the textures of the stone and aged clapboard are great. The structure measures 12 feet across the front, is about 16 feet deep (I didn't measure that side)and stands about 14 feet high at the peak. The front door is 30 x 76 inches, measured inside the frame, which is made of 2 x 8s. The top door is 53 x 32-inches. Looks like a fun build.


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## Richard Weatherby (Jan 3, 2008)

Joe; That building seems to call to me also. I have been collecting stone from around the country. One of these days I am going to glue then on a piece of Hardie board and make something. This looks like a manageable size. It wouldn't take much to expand the size into a mill. Thanks for sharing the photo and dimensions.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

BTW--and I shoulda read the sign in another photo--the building is called "The Grow House," circa 1880.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

"Let him who is without..." 

Love that building. What character! 

( You could make the photos a little bigger without offending anybody )


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

That stonework looks very similar to what I did on the boiler room annex on my wheel shop..... 










I have a fish cannery planned for future expansion at Bandon (latest:  http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=9581 )on the POC that will use the same technique for its main random rock walls hopefully this year yet. 

The rock came from a bag of roundish rocks I got at Walmart to fill a depression in the driveway. The rocks were glued individually onto a solid cedar board wall and when sprinkled with dry mortar mix one side at a time. A spray bottle was used to gently wet down the mortar mix and it was allowed to dry before proceeding to the next side. It has held up very well thus far.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Wow, Richard! That is really fantastic. And your buildings are simply outstanding. Please show us more.

Meanwhile, tell me more about those rocks you used. Do they have a product name? What department of Walmart did you buy them in? They look exactly like what I'd use if I built the root cellar.

Rather than work on Riders Crossing, I went off on a tangent and started working on a gas station, because we are headed for Maui and I wanted a project to work on over there. I cut out the walls, glued on some Precision Plastic clapboard sheets, which I will use as the base for individual styrene planks--distressed and painted as per the article in the latest Gazette. This is way more detail than anybody needs, but what the heck.


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Joe, 

Best wishes on your gas station. I need one of those myself. I assume you'll post pics? 

The Coos Bay Walmart puts quantities of bagged rock, sand, compost, cement piers & slabs, etc., in an area of the parking lot each Spring. That's where I found these. They don't have to be uniform as the mortar mix fills in the uneveness but the sizes selected shouldn't be too disparate except for some smaller ones to fill in gaps where needed. 

The stones probably had a brand on the bag but likely it'd be different next time anyway. Walmart, among others get in various bags of rock every Spring for landscaping work. These were mostly 1/4"- 3/8" or so but the bag was probably 1/2" minus. I dumped a bunch out and selected some appropriate sizes & went to work. They're not round like pea gravel but aren't excessively sharp either.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Well they look great! I'll have to sniff around.

I will post a gas station shot later. Right now I am gathering up all the junk I need to box up to send to Maui--various Zona saws to distress the styrene, some bottled paints to color the "wood," and the walls, which I prepped last night. I figure I'll sit on my lanai and glue on the planks, while watching the gardeners weed whack our shrubs (each tuesday, like clockwork). BTW, the front of the station will take some work, as it has a little port couchere (overhang), which I am futzing with. Don't want it to be too high or too low. Also, the calendar painting I am working from shows the station raised above the dirt, with steps leading up to the store part. But I haven't decided if I want to put the building on posts, maybe on a slight incline, or just lay it on the ground. I guess it depends on how ambitious I feel (honestly, sometimes I exhibit all the qualities of a manic/depressive







).


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Richard, one more question: how do you post your photos? They blow up real nice and I printed out the most recent one and got an excellent, near-half-page image. You may have read my commnet to one of the moderators, bitching about the 640 pixel thing. I told him the 640 doesn't matter, its the 50k thing that does. To which Dwight replied, "Oh, that's for when you attach photos." As if there's some other way? I am cornfused.


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By joe rusz on 09/25/2008 2:08 PM
Richard, one more question: how do you post your photos? They blow up real nice and I printed out the most recent one and got an excellent, near-half-page image. You may have read my comment to one of the moderators, bitching about the 640 pixel thing. I told him the 640 doesn't matter, its the 50k thing that does. To which Dwight replied, "Oh, that's for when you attach photos." As if there's some other way? I am confused.









Hehe! I'm probably the last one to ask but.....

I prefer the "old fashioned" way. I put new photo's url's in my "Favorites" list. Then I make the first bracket as below...except without the * asterisk.

[img*] then add the url from my favorites list...

[img*]http://lscdata.com/users/richard_smith/Bandon2008/BandonOverview-Sep21-Web.JPG

then add a [/img*] on the end.

[img*]http://lscdata.com/users/richard_smith/Bandon2008/BandonOverview-Sep21-Web.JPG[/img*]

When done without the * asterisks....voilà!! There's an icon in the bar above next to the smiley face that'll put a set of brackets on the page for you. Simply insert the url between them.


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Now I don't know why the text all came up boxed for gift giving!!  " src="http://www.mylargescale.com/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/smile.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /> 
Hehe! You notice I used the word _asterick_ twice and spelled it different both times....wrong!??


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Joe, 

After seeing the blessed mess I made there I'll bet you don't ask me how to post anything again. hehehe!


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## Richard Weatherby (Jan 3, 2008)

Now that we have high jacked this thead, I want to mention how I like the foot rail along your layout, Richard. and of course the upper rail to lean on and hold your glass. I am dying to try that stone technique. I was think of laying the sone in sand and pour cement from the back.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

The REAL test is to go an operate on his layout. What a blast!


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

I am n-v-us.


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Richard Weatherby on 09/25/2008 7:34 PM
Now that we have high jacked this thead, I want to mention how I like the foot rail along your layout, Richard. and of course the upper rail to lean on and hold your glass. I am dying to try that stone technique. I was think of laying the sone in sand and pour cement from the back. 

Richard,

The foot rail is a neccessitiy to keep drunken ol' fools like me from falling over. The upper rail catches your chin when you fall.   Can't be too careful you know. hehe!

If you try gluing the rocks onto a cedar wall I suggest priming it first. I used Bondo grey primer on the wheel shop. With the Welder glue and the primer it's held up great without a single rock coming loose. I also sprayed over everything with clear Behlen Dead Flat spray. I will have to use acrylic on the fish cannery to provide clear windows but the same primer should do just fine. It does provide a good bond for wood and/or PVC boards and trim.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Hey guys, since we have hijacked the thread, I have a question about my new gas station (ready for painting, prior to applying the siding (board by board). What kinda roof should it have? The rendering from which I am working shows no roof, as it is a low angle. But since this is in the south, I'm thinkin' either standing seam (very common down thar) or corrugated sheeting (all rusty and such). What cha think? 

Also, if I do put the building on posts, should there be some visible cross beams to which the posts attach, or can I just stick them into the flloor and go for the 10-foot rule (i.e. if it looks good from 10 feet...)?


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Joe, 

I think most every kind of roof was used on gas stations. Most modern stations seem to use metal for everything but older ones were built in great variety. I've seen shingles, tar & gravel, metal, even tile. A Google image search will bring up lots of gas station photos from many eras. There seems to be quite a following of old gas station afficionados. 

For the posts a single timber skirt around the bottom of the floor's periphery should obstruct any view beneath where the posts attach unless it's on very high stilits. That would promote the building to a smashing "5 foot rule".


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