The projects we work on require so many skills with a wide variety of creative solutions to the designs I create. Above the old fireplace in the Fox and Hounds Pub is a raised ceiling, going up about eight feet above the rest of the ceiling. We will be creating an old London skyline with seven or eight old brick chimneys poking through the slate roof around the opening. The chimneys we will do in sculpted fiberglass reinforced concrete. Some bits like the chimney tops will be routed from 30 lb Precision Board.

After lots of head scratching I have decided to do the slate shingles using 3/8" medium density fiberboard. This means every piece will be cut at random and then painted to look like slate. We used a jigsaw rather than the router to cut the MDF as this method created more random shapes. In this shot Sarah is using the die grinder to bevel and roughen up the edges. She's got a ways to go yet...

Then it is off to the paint department. Becky got a crash course in painting from multiple buckets of colorful paint - all at the same time.

The end result is a pretty realistic slate shingle that will look fabulous on the Pub 'roof'.

This job should keep the ladies busy until I get back next week!

-grampa dan