Modern Mysteries

This thread is to do with things you may not understand the whys or wherefores of certain "things"; but were afraid to ask in case the reason was bleedin' obvious and you didn't want to look a right plonker.

This is probably a hangover from when we were all in primary/junior/high school but were afraid to put our hand up lest the whole class laughs at us, even though the majority didn't know the answer either.

So don't be embarrassed - remember there is no such thing as a stupid question.

As Voltaire once said (he was a mate of mine ) "Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.", and the one I always like to quote is a Chinese proverb, which may have been Confucius, but he was a bit before my time.
"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."

Doesn't matter how mundane it is, ask away.

So, here is my starter:-

Why is it that we/they continue to use lead on church roofs, which then gets stolen on a regular basis when modern materials that have been developed from say space exploration etc. must be a better/cheaper source than this ancient and now valuable metal?

It must be a UK thing, because I don't recall seeing any lead roofs or hearing about any thefts here in the U.S.

Our metal thefts usually involve the copper innards of air conditioning compressors. I accompanied an ex-girlfriend on a house-hunting expedition in Oklahoma City a few years ago and three of the 9 vacant properties we visited were missing their compressors.

Quote: DaButt @ 31st May 2015, 11:06 AM BST

It must be a UK thing

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It appears so, there is an entire Only Fools And Horses episode built around this premise.

Quote: DaButt @ 31st May 2015, 11:06 AM BST

It must be a UK thing, because I don't recall seeing any lead roofs or hearing about any thefts here in the U.S.

Our metal thefts usually involve the copper innards of air conditioning compressors. I accompanied an ex-girlfriend on a house-hunting expedition in Oklahoma City a few years ago and three of the 9 vacant properties we visited were missing their compressors.

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Probably is, we have a lot of churches here in East Anglia that have lead roofs that are stripped on a fairly regular basis. The other thing is catalytic converters on vehicles for the precious metals such as platinum they contain. Vans are most at risk as they have large units and are easy to crawl under, so not necessitating any jacking device.

Isn't it that most churches ar4e listed buildings and you can't make major changes to the structure?

That or it's a way of donating money to poor scrotes who steal the lead

Quote: sootyj @ 31st May 2015, 11:53 AM BST

Isn't it that most churches ar4e listed buildings and you can't make major changes to the structure?

That or it's a way of donating money to poor scrotes who steal the lead

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There maybe some truth in that, but surely what a roof is covered in is a minor point as far as listing goes - it wouldn't take much to make it look like a lead roof, and everyone is happy.

And I don't think they are poor these people, just greedy criminals.

The thing is, who buys stolen lead these days?!

Quote: Lee @ 31st May 2015, 12:26 PM BST

The thing is, who buys stolen lead these days?!

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Shipped to the Far East in containers out of Felixstowe dock in this area - despite the police clamping down on scrap metal merchants, it is still big business in my neck of the woods.

There are cheaper alternatives, Rhepanol for one, but churches are big on 'tradition', hence the continued use of lead.

Next question please.

A few days ago my neighbor drove his luxury car over a railroad crossing at slow speed and managed to remove his entire exhaust system. He left his passenger behind to watch over the mufflers as he drove to a muffler store a block away (coincidence?) and in the 10 minutes that he was gone three people stopped and tried to take the catalytic converter.

I've never heard of people stealing catalytic converters, but this incident happened a mile or two away from the Mexican border and it's like a different world down there.

Quote: don rushmore @ 31st May 2015, 1:55 PM BST

There are cheaper alternatives, Rhepanol for one, but churches are big on 'tradition', hence the continued use of lead.

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Well there you go, that's an answer, and if that is the case then I don't want of see them on the local news whingeing about not being able to raise the tens of thousands of £s it is going to cost to replace the stolen lead roof when they have such a small congregation and lack of resources.

A roof of a different material made to look like lead sheeting would be the long term answer - who the hell is going to notice that from the ground.

Of course if it looks too realistic it'll carry on getting stolen!

Why isn't there a Fatwa out on Richard Dawkins who clearly believes God doesn't exist so by extension obviously thinks that Islam is based on a lie.

Quote: zooo @ 31st May 2015, 5:45 PM BST

Of course if it looks too realistic it'll carry on getting stolen!

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Be a laugh though at the thought of them climbing all the way up onto a church roof to find it wasn't what they thought it was.

The OP reminds me of Sid.
"Tell me vicar, as a man interested in church architecture.How much lead do you think is on the big Gothic one on the corner?"