About a year ago, my very talented friend Tony completed a project for me that I’d been dreaming about for years. He built a little library for my yard that was modeled after the look of my own house. I added some stones to the front of it to make it an even better match and had it installed in my front yard.
Unfortunately, Wisconsin winters can be hard on little libraries! By this spring, it was already getting quite damaged.
You can see evidence of the wood making up the roof and sides separating and splitting, below (pay no mind to that crispy brown grass!):
I knew I needed to take action before this handmade treasure was too far gone to repair, so I took it down got to work!
Here were my steps to repair it and hopefully give it years of all-weather life ahead of it:
Step one: I broke off all the exterior layers that were warping out away from the original structure and were too damaged to save.
Step two: Using an electric sander, I smoothed out all the remaining uneven surfaces the best I could. The roof looked the worst, but I didn’t worry too much about its appearance, since that portion of it was going to be covered.
Step three: I added several layers of exterior paint. Not only did it help hide the damage and further smooth things out, but it will act as a protective coating.
Step four: When I was satisfied with the paint job, I added several layers of clear, not-super-shiny polyurethane coating to every bit of it.
Step five: I touched up the stone exterior, adding a few new stones where some had fallen off and additional grout. Once the grout was dry, I sealed it all up with more polyurethane.
Step six: The most important part! Time for a new roof! Using real shingles left over from when my garage roof was done last year, I cut the shingles into small, imperfect pieces since I want my little library to have a quirky, handmade feel. Then I nailed them to the roof, just like you’d do with real shingles. Start at the bottom, going row by row, so the shingles go in layers and rainwater can run down them appropriately.
DONE! Here’s the finished product:
With these improvements, this book lending station should be able to keep readers happy for years to come!
All photos by Holly Tierney. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.
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