Custom Copper / Tin or Lead roof (Bird Table)

[flanajb]

I have made a concrete and oak bird table with a hip style roof out of 12mm birch ply. Obviously, the birch ply is not weather proof and I really want to try and find somebody that can either create a copper / tin or lead pyramid that will sit on top of the birch and make the whole thing water tight.

I think the cost might be the limiting factor here as I don't want to spend £100s on the roof, but does anybody know anyone that might be able to do what I am looking for. The base of the table is 300 * 300mm and the hip roof is roughly 350mm * 350mm with a 45 degree pitch.

Thanks

 

[profchris]

Lead flashing? I found 364mm widths online, around £45 for 3m. You only want a metre though.

Lay across the roof, tap it down along the edges and galvanised nails through to hold it, would be my best guess. But this is just a guess ...

 

[Doug B]

If you can find someone local who does lead burning then producing a lead pyramid is quite easy, I do these for fence posts

 

[julianf]

Copper, lead - brass sheet can be mail ordered too.

You could soft solder copper (or brass) sheet easily enough.

 

[Cabinetman]

Similar job with a noticeboard outside a church, I used slates glued on with black CT1 five? Years ago no problem.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I did my posts a bit like the one above, except I just overlapped the edges of the sheet and used copper nails down the seam and around the sides. They looked quite neat.

 

[flanajb]

If you can find someone local who does lead burning then producing a lead pyramid is quite easy, I do these for fence posts

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That would be perfect!

 

[paulrbarnard]

I did this bee hotel with slate and a brass ridge strip.

 

[flanajb]

That's a very nice bug hotel. I trust you don't have any riff raff staying there.

 

[paulrbarnard]

That's a very nice bug hotel. I trust you don't have any riff raff staying there.

Checking every day for tenants but none yet. It’s the first year it has been up. We are seeing some bee activity in the garden now though. We are hopeful.

 

[flanajb]

Mason bees will be there before you know it.

 

[TheTiddles]

Birch ply does not do well outside, make sure you paint it well
Aidan

 

[johnnyb]

is lead burning fairly straightforward? what torch do you require?

 

[mikej460]

Similar job with a noticeboard outside a church, I used slates glued on with black CT1 five? Years ago no problem.

I did the same on a bee hotel but used Screwfix No Nonsense Roof Sealer Adhesive and also used a strip of lead over the ridge which I scalloped. Still going strong after 5 years and we have guests every year as long as I clean it out once a year.

 

[Jake]

If you can find someone local who does lead burning then producing a lead pyramid is quite easy, I do these for fence posts

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Always with the quality, Doug.

 

[kinverkid]

I've made a few birdhouses with various materials for the roofs. Butyl, aluminium (sheeting from an old caravan), copper and brass sheet and split copper pipe for ridges. Unfortunately, besides the yellow one which is still in my garden six years later, I can't say how the other two would fair in our climate because they are kept indoors on shelves by the people I made them for??