G`day Folks, Welcome to this episode of Gormo`s Shed. This episode we are considering how well our railways are protected from the elements, especially those of us who do our model railroading in sheds or garages. Last night, at our joint here in Sydney, Oz , we had what you would have to describe as a significant weather event. We had torrential rain, which the Bureau of Meteorology tells us was 50 millimetres in ½ an hour, accompanied by intense hail and severe electrical activity. At one stage, thousands of homes in Sydney had the power knocked out, fortunately we did not. The temperature dropped 18 degrees C in half an hour due to the hail, which was a bonus I suppose.?? Our property sustained minor damage , which is nothing to worry about, however our trees and shrubs in the garden were decimated, or I suppose I should say, shredded by the hail. My railway is fairly secure in it`s shed at the moment, however with the intensity and frequency of these storms ever on the increase, I wonder whether I should be adding more guns in the defence of the railway. With this in mind, and an unsure future weather-wise, I am putting out a little wake up call to all you guys who have railways in sheds and garages. Have a think about it now before your next extreme weather event, and fill in those gaps or get that stuff off the floor or patch that little hole in the roof etc.etc.etc. ….whatever it may be on your to do list…...push it up to the top of the list and give it priority before it`s too late. Gormo
Yes, I was thinking about you last night as your suburb was highlighted as one of the hard hit areas rain wise. We copped a lot too, Berowra more so this time than Berowra Heights, with lots of trees down mostly, but, for those with tarps on their roofs from the last event in December, it was a very bad time with lots of water coming in those. For us we had our broken tiles replaced the day before, what timing! We did have a minor flooding event in the garage which is where my layouts are, where the gutter overflowed and water went through at ground height. Fortunately I have just built my new mobile work bench, which manages to keep most of stuff of the floor now. And, as my layouts are portable I have water covers built in as design, much easier to do this for small layouts than big whole of shed ones like yours or Richard's. I remember visiting Brian Rowling's O gauge layout last week and noticing the damage from a leak in the shed over a part of the layout. Some os this has been repaired to allow running, but the damage to the scenery is always disheartening. Hopefully we'll miss it tonight, they seem to be going north, but time will tell... Cheers Tony
Hi Gormo Glad to hear no major damage. I noticed the lower level of your magazines. Have you considered raising those or digitizing them. I had a guitar teacher who lived in New Jersey who got affected by super storm sandy (he calls it something else). The downside was that the flooding destroyed his collection of guitar magazines. Irreplaceable. Just a thought Cameron
Glad you're OK Gormo, we're suffering with storm 'Eric' at the moment. Frequent heavy showers but 50-60 mph winds through the weekend!! My shed is OK, I checked this morning. I had a leak in the roof last year which ruined a backscene and platform top but by doubling all the roof material I got it sorted. These weather phenomenons are getting worse that's for sure! Take care all you Aussies... Ron
G`day Tony, Well thankfully round two did not happen.........that said though we can`t lower our guard. I`m glad your preparation has kept your railway safe.....it seems we will have to keep these safeguards in place for the future. Gormo
G`day Cameron, The mags are about 70mm off the floor. The bookcase is sitting on some timbers just to raise it off floor level, but your comment makes me wonder whether that`s enough.??? I have taken water in the train room before, but it was only minor seepage at the edge of the carpet under the bookcase and that was after major rain. Days and days of it. However..?????......that said....even if I relocate the bottom shelf mags.......it would make sure I don`t lose any. Thanks for the observation Gormo
Thanks Ron, Eric ay..????......sounds like a nasty blighter !!!! One of my YouTube subscribers was saying he has done exactly what you did Ron, by doubling his roof felt. The trouble with sheds and freestanding garages, is that they are designed more as a covering for things rather than a robust all weather building. If people had to live in them the building regulations would insist on a more robust construction. I think as things change with the weather, we have to assume that these structures will need to be beefed up to cope with the changes. Actually if shed companies start to develop cyclone proof sheds, I reckon they would sell like hot cakes !!! Gormo
A timely reminder Gormo. As Ron said we had a proper blast over the weekend, no damage here but a tree was blown over by some friends houses and blocked their road. Anyway, I have been planning on re-roofing my shed with some corrugated resin fibre sheets, and have been very lucky to have been given a small grant to help pay for it. I just need to scrape the rest of the funds together and get stuck in! Cheer's, Pete.
Good one Pete............will the resin fibre sheets take some punishment..??? I have some clear panels on my pergola and one in my shed........not sure if they are resin.....I just thought they were some sort of plastic.????.......but one on the pergola was punctured by the recent hail. Do you guys get hail over in your neck of the woods..??? Gormo
The felt blew off my shed in the UK some years ago so when I replaced it using twice the amount of tacks I also screwed a tarp inside/underneath the roof to give a layer of secondary protection .. Ian vt
Glad you made it through the storms Gormo. It gets a bit windy and wet here in the Highlands too. When I did my shed roof I used the bitumen felt glue, made a hell of a mess of me but it's stayed on for 15 years now, also pinned it down with tacks and slats. Thing is it most likely needs replacing this year rather than wait for the inevitable disaster. You have hit a nerve, as it's not leaking or giving problems do I re-felt straight on top (as it will not be an easy job to take it off) or do I use a metal or corrugated resin fibre sheet material similar to Pete. Expensive but like you say we have lots of kit to protect. The clear sheet is most likely PVCU and will break, Glass Reinforced Plastic (GPR) is very tough I have this on my outside porch. As for the weather, watching the forecasts for the UK I don't think we have the monopoly on wind and storms up here anymore, the peeps in England-shire seem to get more than their fair share. Great video again and much food for thought. Col
The clear panels are usually a polycarbonate, in my experience they tend to get brittle after a while, the ones I'm getting are a more robust and longer lasting product, they also come with a 15 year guarantee which is useful. The only downside is they take a bit of a faff to fit. Still, I have a couple of handy nephews who don't mind heights . Pete.
I believe you're right Pete the clear sheets are polycarbonate. I think Wicks do PVC sheets but they're very flimsy. Col
