shiny shiny roof

The roof is completely waterproof now and the battens and copper edging and guttering are on. The copper was eye-wateringly expensive but it lasts forever and reacts with rainwater to keep the slates moss and lichen-free. It also looks rather grand when it first goes on but sadly it will naturally oxodise from that lustrous finish to a deep bronze and eventually to a verdigris patina.

I found this photograph (below) of the roof of the house we're in now (which I'm going to call L'Atelier because it was originally two semi-detached workshops), taken at the same stage as the mill roof and it looks tiny in comparison: 120 square metres to 232 square metres to be exact.

We didn't have a crane first time round so BB set up a pulley and winch system to get the slates up to the roof. If you look closely (click on the photo to enlarge) you can see a 'tramway' in the centre of the roof (two vertical battens close together) below which there's a rope attached to a wooden box. When BB needed more slates, he would whistle and I would trot over, carry bundles of 20 up onto the scaffolding, place them in the box and hoist them up the tramway with the rope, puffing away like a rheumatic chicken. Boy, I was keen back then (well I was in the first flush of wedded bliss) but after seven years of building work my enthusiasm has, shall we say, dulled slightly - rather like the copper.

I've added a new feature opposite where you can view a slideshow of the progress of the building work from the beginning to the present day. I'm afraid you have to set up a snapfish account to view it (I can't find a way round this) but it takes 10 seconds and only requires you to give your name, email address and a password.

♫ View along to: The Velvet Underground Venus in Furs