One thing stands between me and having a workshop again, the destructive power of pears. And a large amount of other things, but mostly pears.

They've punched through the roof, scattered pears inside, rolled more off the roof coating the garden. The previous occupier tells me they are delicious if you catch them but I've had to take his word for it.

The two roofing materials I'm familiar with and am so far doing after a coin flip (after attacking the tree with a polsesaw) are:

Re roof with slate. Future maintenance possibly infinite. Somewhat laborious to install

Re roof with corrugated iron. Maintenance free. Cheap and easy. Not original if not ugly. The roof continues the the neighbours outhouse and I don't know how that boundary line will work out yet.

Could anyone chip in with their experience with other roofing materials. Ballistic properties and aesthetics aren't a common combination but I'm hoping to find such a thing

Ah well at least part of the rear of the outhouse doubles as the retaining wall for the rear neighbours garden. Save the roof, blow a hole in the side of the building, what a life.

To avoid inter neighboural disputes ending in my tragic loss to a drive by shooting, pruning can only go so far as about the boundary line. Which will leave a very lopsided tree and a brief respite before the branches start encroaching again.