Statue of Liberty's Tinsmith To Visit Howard Hall Farm

Lady Liberty's Tin Man 'Ternes' toward Howard Hall Farm

Our House at Howard Hall Farm has a Terne Tin roof, so over the years, Reggie has done a lot of research on it. He's been looking for an expert for quite some time now, so when he read an article in the New York Post about THE TIN MAN who is the fourth generation of a line of tinsmiths (dating back to 1892), and Lady Liberty's personal assistant, he couldn't resist getting in touch with him.

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Incredible as it seems, Dennis Heaphy has agreed to come work on Howard Hall Farm's tin roof! He'll be working here for a week in mid-October. During his stay, Dennis will be conducting a presentation for children about the making of the statue of Liberty.

In an interview for "The Tin Man:Metalsmith puts best face on Lady Liberty", by C.J. Sullivan(New York Post), Mr. Heaphy said, "This truly is my dream job. It’s an evolution of everything I’ve ever done. It’s an opportunity to use an esoteric knowledge, combined with an opportunity to display it. And there’s nothing like seeing a child fascinated with something they didn’t know they’d be fascinated with. They love to hear me tell how hard it was for me, at 11, to hold the tools. They grab them and try and keep them steady.

When I leave for the day, it’s a real gift to go home by boat. I always look back at the Statue of Liberty and feel good that I enriched some people’s day there. It makes me giggle when I look back. I feel that good."

We are open to the idea of offering a workshop for anyone interested in learning at the hands of a true artisan, but we will only do this if enough people are interested. If you would like to take a workshop to learn to work with Terne Tin, contact us at howardhall.farm@gmail.com

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For those of you who aren't familiar with Terne Tin, Reggie found a posting about it on the Slate Roof Central Message Board:

"Terne is an alloy coating of lead and tin used to cover steel - the terne coated steel is also known as terne metal and often referred to as "tin" (get the Slate Roof Bible). You can still buy terne-coated steel at any roofing supply place. We do not use it because it's better to use terne coated STAINLESS steel (TCS), or copper, when replacing terne metal roofs. Both TCS and copper will outlast terne metal and don't need painted until they reach about 50 years (if ever).

Terne metal needs painted immediately or it will rust and it has to be painted regularly. If it is kept painted, it will last a long time (90 years).

The latest version of terne is called terne II. It is an alloy of zinc and tin (the lead has been removed for environmental reasons). The terne coated stainless is now called TCSII. It's available from Follansbee in Follansbee, WV.

I should add that when ordering terne coated stainless from a roofing supply company make sure you make it very clear that it's STAINLESS steel you're ordering. Numerous times we have been shipped terne coated steel instead of the terne coated stainless steel that we ordered due to salesmen who weren't too bright and didn't know the difference."

Winter Welcome

Well its finally here... WINTER! We have been feverishly working to prepare for it and I am happy to announce that the progress has been good!

We have several projects in the works here this week, along with a bit of very exciting news! Please join us in welcoming a new addition to the Howard Hall Farm family; Blossom, the Jack Russel Terrier pup extraordinaire! (who calmly slumbers at my feet amidst all the clanging of work crews.)

In other animal news, Lambchop and Cookie have moved into their cold weather sleeping digs, which is outside the pasture, situated partly under the east-facing porch. By this time next winter the Pyrenees, along with the sheep and chickens will all have a barn to call their very own.












The late autumn weather has been unusually mild here in the Hudson Valley, so in this respect we have been very lucky in terms of our various winterizing projects. We have a new roof going on the vestibule this week which will undoubtedly add to the ever-increasing heat retention in the building.














We are buying up a ton (literally) of lovely old radiators in the coming weeks, so we'll be getting those up and running early in the new year. Other than that we are fairly weather-proofed and ready for Jack Frost.









In other projects, Reggie and crew are building a Gothic Studio in Kinderhook, which has been a treasure hunter's dream in the salvage department. Reggie found a slew of these beautiful gothic windows which are nearly restored, just putting on the final coat of paint!

We've had a fully-functioning kitchen pop up in the ground floor, seemingly overnight! This is especially great news for those of us who rely on a steady stream of coffee throughout the day. Already deemed the official gathering place of the mansion, as evidenced last week when we hosted a holiday gathering here at the farm consisting of crew, clients, friends, and neighbors. Good tidings indeed.

Stay tuned because as Reggie affectionately says "It never ends!". In the meantime, we'd like to wish you the very Happiest of Holidays and Best Wishes for 2007 from everyone here at Howard Hall Farm.