In these days when everybody with a few hundred dollars in pocket is very
sensibly using it to buy a farm and farmhouse so as to be able for a part
of the year to return to the simple life of our ancestors it is very
necessary that we should also know something of the simple economies of
those days, for when one finds oneself out on a farm there is no plumber
around the corner and no tinsmith on the next block whom one may call upon
to repair breaks and the damage done by time and weather on an old
farmhouse. The ordinary man under these conditions is helpless, but some
are inspired by novel ideas, as, for instance, the man who mended the
leaking roof with porous plasters.
Fig. 295. Fig. 295½. Fig. 300. Fig. 301. Fig. 302. Fig. 303. Fig.
304.
Fig. 305. Fig. 306.
[Illustration: How to mend a shingle or tin roof.]
But for the benefit of those who are not supplied with a stock of porous
plasters I will tell how to do the plumbing and how to mend the tin roof
with old bits of tin, rags, and white lead; and to begin with I want to
impress upon the reader's mind that this will be no bungling, unsightly
piece of work, but much more durable and just as neat as any piece of work
which the professionals would do for him. In the first place, if you have
an old tin roof on one of the extensions of your house or on your house
itself, do not be in haste to replace it with a new one. Remember that
most of the modern sheet tin is made by modern methods and its life is not
an extended one. The sheet _steel_ they often use in place of sheet _iron_
rapidly disintegrates and such a roof will not last you half the time that
a properly patched old one will.
The roof of the house in which I am writing this article is made of tin
and was made about sixty years ago; it has been patched and mended but to
no great extent, and it bids fair to outlive me. Had it been made of sheet
steel it would have been necessary to renew it many times since that
period. So, if you find that the tin roof to your farmhouse, bungalow, or
camp leaks in consequence of some splits at the seams and a few rust holes
patch them yourself. Fig. 301 shows the only material necessary for that
purpose. You do not even need a pair of shears to cut your tin, for it is
much better folded over and hammered into shape, as shown by Fig. 301.
Fig. 302 shows a crack and some rust holes in the tin roof. Take your
carpet-tacks and hammer and neatly tack down the edges of the opening, as
shown by Fig. 303. If there is any difficulty in driving tacks through the
tin roof, use a small wire nail and hammer to first punch the holes. Put
the tacks close together. With your paint-brush thickly coat the mended
parts with white lead, as shown by Fig. 304. Cut a strip of a rag to fit
over the holes and tack it at its four corners, as shown by Fig. 305. Now,
then, cover the rag with a thick coat (Fig. 306) of the white lead. Next
tack the tin over the wounded spots, putting the tacks close together, as
shown by Fig. 306. Afterward coat the tin with a covering of white lead
and the patchwork is done. The roof will not leak again at those spots in
the next twenty years. This will leave white, unsightly blotches on the
roof, but after the white lead is dry a few dabs with the red roof paint
will make the white patches the same color as the surrounding tin and
effectually conceal them.
Do not forget the importance of carefully going over your roof after it is
mended and make sure that every joint is properly covered, tacked, and
thoroughly coated with white lead. Cover all joints, nails, and caps with
a coat of white lead. Water will not run through the tin roofing, but it
will find its way through nail holes, rust holes, and open seams if they
are not made absolutely tight.