I thought that a stone pump house would make a nice contrast with the timber water tank. I started with a sheet of decorative stone wall tiles from Lowe’s and removed some of the individual stones from the backing. Each stone is approximately 3/8” x 3/8” x ¾” I figured I would need about 150 stones, so I peeled off 200 just to be sure. I tinted about 1/3 of the stones with yellow ochre ink; another 1/3 with brown ink; and the remaining 1/3 with black ink. After they dried I went back and coated all of the stones with black ink. Here is what they look like when dry.

I made a shell from thin plywood and coated it inside and out with a sealer. I made the length and width multiples of the stone length to minimize the number I would need to cut.

I applied the individual stones with construction adhesive.

I left an opening in the front for a doorway.

I sanded the top of the walls to get a smooth angle for the roof.

I framed the doorway with heavy timbers.

I made a pair of doors by gluing pieces of scale 1” x 6” boards to pieces of thin plywood. I applied the boards at a 45 degree angle.

I installed the doors into the opening and framed the door panels with scale 2” x 4” boards.

Tomorrow I’ll add the door handles, hinges and latch, and start on the rafters and roof sheathing. I’m thinking I’ll probably go with a corrugated metal roof but I’m not sure yet.

More to follow,

Bob

Nice building Bob. That will look good with the water tank which BTW turned out very well.

Fabulous, Bob!! Great idea wonderfully executed.

Looks great Bob. Nice idea on the tiles too.

Chris

Nice model! I have been thinking of a similar structure to act as a crane base, you have inspired me to get started. I plan to use those natural stones that used to be available from Lowes…

Jerry

Nice solid building, it shouldn’t blow away…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Very nice Bob.

Cool to use real stone…what could be better? It fits well with the challange projects too.

That looks great. I want to do a spring house with stone, something like you did.

That is one stout looking building and the doors are so good. I might have to borrow your build technique in the future.

Very cool!

Bob, How did you cut the angles on the stone at the top? What did ya use… I have been kicking this around also using stone tile stuff. Very Nice job!

Travis Dague said:

Bob, How did you cut the angles on the stone at the top? What did ya use… I have been kicking this around also using stone tile stuff. Very Nice job!

A Dremel with a carbide cutting disk works great for cutting them.

Travis,

You can definitely use a Dremel tool with a carbide disk and grind each stone individually, but I am lazier than Ken. I simply inverted the structure and placed it on my bench sander. It only took about a minute to grind the entire thing down.

If I do need to cut a single stone, I sometimes use a tile nipper to break it into smaller pieces, such as when making half stones. You can see that the nipper does not leave a smooth break surface and the stone still needs to be sanded smooth.

I grasp a stone with a pair of self-closing forceps and hold it against the 6” disk sander. It takes only a couple of seconds to grind a stone.

I keep the sander connected to a shop vacuum when sanding to minimize stone dust.

Hope this helps,

Bob

Wear a Respirator! Silicosis is no fun.

The pump house is now positioned on the same ceramic tile base as the water tank.

I placed 2” x 8” rafters at 16” on centers and sheathed the roof with 1” x 10” planks. I covered the sheathing with four pieces of corrugated metal. I added the hinges, door handles, and hasp with a padlock. Rather than running the pump engine exhaust stack up through the roof, I went with a side stack through the stone wall. I placed a few detail parts from my junk box around the building and littered the area with miscellaneous clutter and weeds.

I added a kybo out back. This way, while the engine is getting filled the crew can get emptied. No expense spared for the CC&R crew! By the way, if you stop by the pump house for a look around, don’t pet the pretty black kitty with the white stripe. He’s the crew mascot. They call him “Stinky.”

This one is ready to go out to the layout.

P.S. For you guys shoveling snow, just wanted to let you know it’s 87 degrees and sunny here.(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Until the next project strikes,

Bob

I used to like you Bob… Nice little build. I like how each you did a whole scene on the one tile.

The pump house turned out great. It, the tank and all the details really make a nice diorama.

Bob

Another great structure, thank you for sharing us with your awesome talent and building a wonderful little structure

Thanks

Dennis

these two builds make a very nice and believable scene!