A Plumber’s Tale – copper roofing

 

A Plumber’s Tale – copper roofing

Paul is a plumber by trade, but he is an industrious and efficient workman and can turn his hand to most things. One day, he was fitting a copper roof on a public building in Lulworth Cove, Dorset. He soon became aware of an elderly chap on the ground, who seemed to be shouting something.

Paul smiled and waved and continued working but the old gentlemn persisted in hollering at him. He stopped to listen more carefully and was most surprised to hear that the old fellow was yelling, ‘Horse piss, horse piss.’

It was not clear to Paul whether or not this was a comment on his workmanship, so he decided to ignore it and continue his work. The bloke on the ground also carried on bellowing, ‘Horse piss, horse piss.’

Eventually, Paul decided to find out what the old chap meant by his comment, so he clambered down the ladder and spoke to him. He didn’t know what to expect but it transpired that the old fellow was an experienced workman, accustomed to working with copper.

 He told Paul, ‘Use horse piss to cure the copper. It turns it green.’ In this way, apparently, a new copper roof can be ‘aged’ quickly to fit in with its surroundings.

 I don’t know whether Paul took the advice – he’s only usually on nodding terms with horses, so I doubt it. In any case, how would he go about collecting it, and how many gallons would he need? How should it be applied? Would a paint brush do or would a bucketful at a time be sloshed over the roof? It would certainly be a messy and rather smelly business.

I imagine that, by now, many years later, the roof will have weathered naturally in the salt-laden air of Lulworth Cove.