Posts Tagged ‘Construction and Maintenance’
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 8, 2012
Electrician (Photo credit: fingle)
I don’t know where the expression ‘cowboys’ came from when describing unqualified people engaged in the building trade and that includes anyone carrying out works outside of the building industry too. I have watch programs on television showing the shoddy workmanship and dangerous practices carried out by unscrupulous people who are only interested in making money. The programs on television may be a little dramatic in their presentation but there is no denying the truth in what they show. In my own capacity as an electrician I have come across some really appalling and often dangerous examples of workmanship, both electrical and otherwise in the places I have been working. It doesn’t happen on building sites where controlling authorities are involved. It is easy to understand why it is necessary for quality control and ensuring that only qualified personnel are engaged in the construction and maintenance industry but sometimes this is difficult to police. I have learnt much during my time spent as an electrician, which will be 50 years as of July this year. I learn by observation as much as anything else and I have a good knowledge of what is and what is not acceptable in the building industry. This has enabled me to carry out work for myself in the knowledge that what I do is perfectly safe and of the proper standard. I have learned to turn my hand to almost anything as a result but I don’t use all of my abilities to offer my services to others. If I did I wouldn’t do it unless I was being monitored by the relevant authority. Many years ago we lived in what is called a ‘dormer house’ which is a house having upstairs rooms protruding from the roof. Our house only had two rooms upstairs but there was plenty of space to extend that to four rooms. I had enough knowledge to be able to do most of the work myself but I engaged a builder to do the work of opening up the roof and finishing that. I fitted the new joists and flooring together with all the new interior walls, plumbing, electrical and other works. I was being monitored by the local building inspector whilst I was doing the major construction work but it was just a formality as I didn’t put a foot wrong. I wouldn’t have it any other way. If I am doing something that could be potentially dangerous if not done correctly I want to know about it and indeed it is a requirement in law to ensure that it is but some people think they can get away with it. My argument is why not do it right in the first place? Why not get the qualifications and throw away the chaps and saddle?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Construction, Maintenance, Work | Tagged: Construction, Construction and Maintenance, Electrician, General contractor | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 21, 2012
Less work, more work sounds a bit daft but in my corner of the world it makes great sense! The less occupational work the more time I have to do the other tasks I have to do at home. This seems to be the case for yet another week lately but at the moment I don’t mind. The thing I like about any work that I do is the challenges that are presented before me and as in every task I undertake I am constantly assessing the situation and making adjustments as necessary until it all comes together as a completed job. There are very few things I cannot turn my hand to around the house and it all comes from a lifetime of experiences both in my occupational work and work done privately at home. This makes any project easier to do as I have most of it already done in my head before I actually do anything with my hands. I see the finished job long before it is started and really only have to make minor adjustments along the way. It is very satisfying to see the fruits of my labour and to be able to enjoy the finished job. Whenever I have completed a project I find myself beginning to think about the next one. Between jobs and indeed during them I like to take time out for myself for a day which gives me time to recharge my batteries and sometimes reflect on my game plan. There’s a lot to be said for having a busy work schedule whether that is for yourself or working for someone else, it gives purpose for life. Living it up for a season might be fine and for some people that’s all they want to do but for me, I need variety and something to keep my mind active and my body exercised. Work does both for me.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, Work | Tagged: Activity, Construction and Maintenance, Philosophy, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 18, 2012
On Monday we have someone arriving to install the roller-shutter door on the garage. It has been quite some time since we purchased the door so we hope it works! I shall be fitting the control panel this weekend ready for the door wiring to be connected via its plug. Earlier in the week I purchased an extract fan and transformer for the new wet room and I plan to begin work in that room this coming week. There is plenty of work to do but at least we have the room stripped and ready. I cannot make any more excuses for delaying this project. I didn’t want to work on it over the last couple of months for several reasons but now I am eager to start. On Wednesday I finished clearing away all the tree branches and shrubs we had cut down a few weeks ago. The weather, coupled with other things I had to do prevented me from finishing the task beforehand. We still need to dig out all the roots and remove the many large stones that had been laid there years ago. The whole area needs sculpturing and that will take quite some time to do but I am afraid it will have to wait a while yet. I might be able to do something with it in the meantime but that will depend on my other commitments. It is time to start the ball rolling. On Thursday when E went out to do the weekly shop I set about knocking the hole through the wall for fitting the extract fan. I set up the ladder to get on the new garage roof and I drilled two pilot holes where the hole would be on the outside but I didn’t remove the brick as I didn’t have the grill to fit over the hole. Apart from that it began to rain a little so I abandoned the idea. Instead, I went indoors and dug out the brick on the inside together with some plaster that had become loose over the years and which needs replacing. I had to stop work after this because I had other things to do but it has put me in the mood to continue as soon as I am able. Yesterday, Friday, E and I went out to lunch so nothing much got done in the morning. Maybe I’ll do something tomorrow instead. Watch this space.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, Garden, House and Home, Time, Work | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Garage door, Home and Garden, Home Improvement, Roller shutter, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 17, 2012
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Many years ago when I was much younger and in my teens I often thought about what would happen if my then world was to crumble around me. I have only ever been employed in the electrical installation/maintenance business with minor diversions into other fields such as air conditioning, heating and ventilation and refrigeration amongst a few others. I have never been unemployed and although I have had dry periods of unemployment since becoming self-employed fifteen years ago they were no more than the seasonal trend that is sometimes a part of the building trade. In my youth the thought that I might sometime become unemployed was a little scary and I hoped it would never happen. I wondered how my family and I might cope in not having an income but the reality was unlikely as there always seemed to be plenty of work available in all areas. There was no reason to doubt that things would never change. It was an era of prosperity and all was well. How things have changed since those days! With the fall in worldwide prosperity and a financial recession becoming worse on a daily basis many have found themselves bankrupt and out on the street. I was watching a program about the American unemployment problem now put at over 50 million out of work with millions living rough. Many people over there are now living in tents because they have no homes to live in and some are even living in the storm drains beneath the city of Las Vegas where a few feet above them are people squandering vast amounts of cash in the gambling houses and institutions! The gap between the rich and poor is ever-widening. No-one seems to care. No-one seems to know what to do. There are those who care of course but with little or no resources and little or no help from those who have plenty to spare, nothing gets done. When it comes down to the hard facts very few people care. In a news item a few days ago it was reported that a young boy had felt faint and collapsed in full view of hundreds of commuters in a railway station. Only one person came to his aid after many had just walked on by. People are either frightened to get involved or they are simply too self-centred and uncaring. Obviously not Samaritans. What is happening to our world? Why is it that poor people exist in our societies? While we are affluent and comfortable we forget those who are less so or even not so. The time to help is when we have, it is too late when we have not but who really cares?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Community, Society, Sociology | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Employment, Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning, Mechanical, Society, Sociology, Unemployment, Unemployment benefits, United States | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 15, 2012
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On Friday morning I had to go out in my little van to do an electrical job. On my return I wanted to put the van in the garage as I always do when my working day has finished and on Friday that time was noon because I was going to be dining out with E. I opened the garage door which is done manually but assisted by two large springs one on each side of the door. These springs are attached to the bottom of the door sides by steel wires via pulleys. It all sounds complicated but in fact is a very simple mechanism. However I had been experiencing difficulty with the door lifting mechanism and was having to constantly replace the steel wire on to its pulley on one side of the door. I wrote about this a few days ago. I had cured the problem by fitting a spacer which allowed the pulley to align more easily with the door. This solved the problem with the steel wire jumping out of the pulley wheel. I hadn’t noticed any wear on the wire but when I closed the door after putting the van in the garage on Friday I heard an enormous clanging sound and I knew that something had gone wrong. I wasn’t able to open the door from the outside so I went into the house and entered the garage through the cellar door. I discovered that the steel wire had snapped part of the way along its length and could not be repaired. In the past I have purchased the steel wire and fitted it myself but later I used a local guy who specialises in fitting and repairing garage doors. As his work was good and his prices very reasonable I employed him to repair the door the last time the wire broke. I have asked him back to repair the door this time too and he is coming at noon today to do so. Whilst he was on the telephone I asked him if he would be prepared to fit the roller-shutter door in the other garage for me. He said he would give me an estimate for that work when the other job is done. To be honest all I really want is to have the roller door lifting onto the brackets I have already fitted but to be truthful I would rather give him the job if he is prepared to do it as I am tired of not being in a position to do it myself. There is very little work involved, most of the electrical work is done really and what is left is mostly confined to the fitting of the door on its brackets and fitting the channels in which it rides up and down on the wall. Finally after years of waiting, the ‘new’ garage will be useable! Much work has been done on this garage when last summer we fitted windows, doors and a partition internal wall and there is still some outstanding work left which will get done when the weather is warmer.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in House and Home, Uncategorized | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Doors and Windows, Garage door, Garage door opener, Overhead Doors, Pulley | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 9, 2012
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I am in my second week at court today but I don’t need to be there too early the first day as they will be bringing in new would-be jurors and will be processing them. I was told that there will only be a few new recruits this time, far fewer than those of us who started off the new year. Last week there must have been more than two hundred of us assembling in the main hall. Many will already be engaged on a case, I think there were five or six new cases at the end of last week, which means there will be 60-72 acting as jurors. The case I was involved with was thrown out of court after two days so I start afresh this week and may get a case or not. I am hoping I shall. During last week I was getting calls for electrical work even though I am not advertising just at the moment. Word gets around, recommendations and such playing a big part. It was Christmas Eve when I last did some work but Saturday saw me breaking the ice and doing a small job for someone local. I visited another client to assess another job but wasn’t able to do it over the weekend. That job will have to wait until at least the end of this week. When I went out in the morning I discovered a problem with the garage door. This door was fitted many years ago and is manually operated. However one of the draw cables has been jumping off the pulley when the door is fully opened, something I have to do in order to get the van in and out when there is a ladder on top. As I lifted the door off came the cable with a twang. The other end of this cable is connected to a very large spring which draws the door upwards making it easier to open. The door is quite heavy so it needs the springs to aid the lifting process. I reached up and put the cable back on the pulley knowing full well that on my return to open the door it would come off again. That is what happened. This time I was determined to fix the problem and I checked out what was needed. In essence, the pulley was too far off-set for the cable when the door was raised and what was needed was to reposition the pulley. This meant a longer bolt and spacer. To my amazement the pulley was very easy to remove and I took the bolt into my storeroom in the cellar to change it for a longer one. The first bolt I put my hand upon was exactly the same thread but a couple of centimetres longer in length. I selected a suitable spacer (I have various bits and pieces to choose from) and went back to fit everything back in place. Some grease on the pulley wheel to lubricate the cable and then a test run. Done! That was my first job at home this year but I know it won’t be the last! The ice has been broken, now I wait for the deluge.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Work | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Garage door, Jury, Materials and Supplies, New Year | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 20, 2011
Image by Salim Virji via Flickr
I didn’t want to get out of bed yesterday but obviously I did. It was around ten though before I came downstairs. After a quick breakfast I had it in mind to continue with building the partition wall inside the garage and started taking tools and materials there. I noticed that part of the floor was wet and looked up to the roof to see if it was also wet. Sure enough I could see that it was. The garage roof is sealed to the gable end of the house with bitumen and felt but it appeared to be a weak seal in a corner where the chimney breast is. Fortunately I have ‘flash-band’ at home to repair such leaks and a special paste which is applied first to enable a better contact. So out came the ladder and up I went onto the roof armed with the necessary materials to effect a repair. Within a half-hour of my completing that job it began to rain! Timing is everything! It seems to have done the job but time will tell when we get more persistent rain showers. Now I could get on with building that wall! E joined me and between us we finished the wall, hung the door and fitted the handles, latch and a lock. It was six-thirty in the evening before we finished for the day. All that remains to be done now is fitting the architraves and skirting boards and perhaps some wood trims. I will also fit the power outlets and lighting switches to the boxes and wiring we have installed in the wall. The next major task for this garage is the installation of the roller-shutter door but I will need much assistance to do that and preferably some scaffolding/staging, something I will organise in the weeks ahead. In the meantime there is the job of applying the wood preserver to the roofing timbers and clearing out the garage of debris and all the other things stored in there. The floor needs sealing and then painting before it can be used to garage a car though. Later I plan to build an inner brick wall and do other various work on the internal brick walls. There’s plenty to do yet before we can say that it is truly completed but progress has certainly been made now that all other major outside jobs have been finished. Work has yet to begin on our proposed wet room too!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, House and Home, Occupation, Work | Tagged: Brick, Construction and Maintenance, Gable, Garage, Materials and Supplies, Roller shutter, Roof, Wall | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 15, 2011
Finally I have been able to return to the garage to begin work there. Illness and occupational work has kept me away leaving me too exhausted to even think about the garage. So on Wednesday I thought I would make a start but wouldn’t you know it, I slept in until 10.30! I had a job on Tuesday which must have drained me more than I thought it had consequently I needed the extra rest. By the time I had gotten downstairs it was almost 11.30 (lots for a woman to do getting ready for the day!) and after a very small bowl of bran I checked my emails and my blog. I decided I would have to leave working in the garage until the afternoon. Around 12.30 I had a wrap filled with salad which served as my lunch so it was about 1.00 before I went outside. However, the lawn needed mowing and E is in no fit state to do that so I got stuck in and did it myself. It was well after 2.00 before I had organised myself to work in the garage. My main task was to prepare a new door and fit it in the frame that we had erected a few days ago. the door was too long! I cut off the excess then retrieved the wood that formed part of the frame within the door and refitted it inside the door panels. Then I fitted the furniture, hinges, handles, latch and escutcheon plate etc. although I still need to fit a mortice lock but just didn’t have one. Amazingly it was 6.00 before I had it finished! E returned from her afternoon’s drive to our son and daughter-in-laws house to check for mail and that all was well there (they are on holiday). It was about the same time that I’d finished and the two of us set about cleaning the garage from all the accumulated rubbish that was on the floor. I took all the tools to storage whilst E brought in the washing she had placed on the line earlier. All mundane stuff but all a part of everyday life isn’t it? It was well after 7.00 before either of us ate anything and we both simply had a snack as we felt too tired to prepare a cooked meal. Working with wood has always been a favourite with me and now I am keen to start erecting the internal studded wall to form the office section of the garage interior. That also means fitting another door too!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, House and Home, Work | Tagged: Activity, Construction and Maintenance, Door, Doors and Windows, Garage, Home, Work | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 12, 2011
Yesterday I tentatively returned to work after my recent illness. The job was very small, took me ten minutes to earn £40, so worth doing. On the way back home I dropped into the electrical suppliers to buy some items for my stock. The place was empty except for one other customer and I was served within five minutes. When I turned to exit to my van one of the guys was there holding the door open for me. He didn’t need to as the door can swing both inward and outward but I think he just wanted to. He didn’t follow me outside so he must have come to my side of the counter for the sole purpose of opening the door. How lovely of him I thought. I got home before 10.30 having left just before 9.00.
When I got out of bed I opened the second window in my room, one I normally keep closed. When I was about to leave the room I found this window wouldn’t close! I had a quick look but couldn’t find the problem with such limited time on my hands before my job so I had to lean something against the window to keep it shut. As the window is not readily accessible being high up the wall and in a part of the wall which is recessed, leaving it unlocked wasn’t a problem. So when I finally returned home I spent some time finding out how the window mechanism is supposed to work by comparing it with the other window’s operation. I discovered what the main problem was but I had difficulty in effecting a repair. However I managed to slide the otherwise stuck mechanism which allowed the window to close. I locked it shut and will have to return to it some other time, else get someone to repair it. Somehow I fancy the second option, I wonder why? The windows are tilt and turn which means they can be opened in two positions, the first allows just ventilation and the window ‘hinges’ along its lower edge whilst the top falls back a few centimetres into the room. The second option allows the window to fully open by ‘hinging’ on the side edge as a normal window does except that the window swings into the room rather than out of the building. This makes cleaning them very easy, especially those higher up the building walls! They were installed a little over twelve months ago but there is no way the installers would come and repair them now, even if we allowed them to. The story, for those who don’t remember or don’t know, is that the installers tried to get more cash out of us long after the job had been completed, to the tune of £800! Needless to say, they didn’t get the money. Anyway that is all in the past suffice to say that if we did get someone to repair any of our windows we would be going somewhere else.
It was lunchtime and I was fixing myself a quick snack when E returned home after taking our eldest son and his wife to Manchester airport for their short trip to the south of France for a week. They had to be at the airport at 04.00 so E had travelled there early on Sunday evening and stayed overnight. She stayed at home until the evening when she had to go to a meeting with her fellow ‘comping’ friends for an hour or two. After lunch we decided to make a start on installing a door frame in the garage. It all sounded easy and usually it is a straight-forward task but for some reason or another this frame fought with us all the way! We had difficulty in getting it ‘plumb’ but eventually managed to do it. We had pre-treated the woodwork and the door using the materials we had bought last week. By now it was time to pack things away and start our evening meals, I say meals because E had to get on with hers so she could get to her meeting, I had mine a few minutes later.
It seems I did more than I had expected to do on my first day back to work. Today my electrical work will probably take me most of the morning and if I have no further jobs I may continue in the garage.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, House and Home, Occupation, Work | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Door, Doors and Windows, France, Home, Manchester, Materials and Supplies, Window | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 8, 2011
On Wednesday I simply couldn’t get out of bed early. I had been working the day before and quite frankly I was pooped! There is no rush to do anything these days, my occupational work is almost at a standstill, I haven’t had much to do in that respect and the work I am doing at home isn’t urgent. This means I can pretty much please myself as to what I do or want to do. So on Wednesday I got up late and did nothing in the morning. After lunch E and I went to a timber supply depot and bought some structural timber, two door frames, one door (we already have one), door furniture and other sundry items. Whilst there we also purchased ten litres of wood preserving liquid to treat the garage roof timbers which may be enough for us to treat the roof in the other garage too. We have decided to partition off part of the new garage interior to form an office and this is what the timber and doors are for. It looks like I will have plenty to do over the next few weeks.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in House and Home | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Doors and Windows, Lumber, Materials and Supplies | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 7, 2011
The last couple of days have been a lot cooler than of late and it has been most welcome. I am not a hot weather person and prefer the temperature to hover around 18 to 20 degrees with an average humidity of around 50%. To me that is heaven on earth, besides which I can perform much better when working in these conditions. So over the last couple of days I have been able to complete many jobs in and around the new garage, one of which was the installation and plumbing of the water-butt, another was the ceiling above the passageway and the storage area above that which is inside the garage. We are making headway into completing the preparations for fitting the roller-shutter door (not before time – we have had it for well over ten years! Just hope it works!). I have plans to build a small office area inside the garage and to build some internal walls. Of course there is the electrical installation to do in there too but at least I have the power board installed ready. It was put there when I did the electrical supply to the patio. This part of the house and garden has been sadly neglected over the years but after much work it has at last begun to take shape. Still a lot to do but it is now all indoors. We still have to make a start on the wet-room but there is no immediate hurry for that to be done. You can see why I like the weather to be cooler, it keeps me occupied! Hot weather is for lazing about in, nice if you are having a barbecue but useless for working in. Give me cooler any day.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Weather, Work | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Garage, Home and Garden, Rainwater tank, Roller shutter, Weather | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 29, 2011
Image by jemasmith via Flickr
We are experiencing some really fine weather lately and it looks good for a few more days yet. We expect good weather at this time of year but we don’t always get it that’s for sure. However, with the warm weather and sometimes with raised humidity levels it becomes very tiring and exhausting getting through the day. With no work yesterday I was in no hurry to get out of bed again but did so reasonably early. That did not mean getting downstairs early though as I took my time getting dressed, made-up and doing other sundry things that one finds to do in the bedroom but often put off for another time. So I arrived downstairs around ten o’clock and was keen to do something around the house or garden. As the weather was gloriously sunny the garden option won the day but what was I going to do? We had prepared a corner of the vegetable plot next to the rear wall of the garage some weeks ago for the building of a small platform on which we were going to sit a water-butt or rainwater container. We had laid a small concrete foundation on which we could build a brick platform covered by a concrete paving slab in order to raise the container above ground level. So with the weather being good it was a golden opportunity to build that brick platform knowing that we would not be affected by rain showers. I prepared and collected all that I would need and made ready to start after lunch. I had it built in a very short time and cleared up the area. The preparation and clearing up took far longer than the job itself! I didn’t do any more work and spent the rest of the afternoon playing guitar then sitting out on the patio reading and relaxing in the sun. After my evening meal I was feeling rather drained but it wasn’t due to work. It is simply the weather, we are not used to the weather being so warm. I have always found that I work best when it is cooler and can last the course but if it gets too warm I suffer. There is no rush to do things these days which I find is a blessing. My whole life has become a slower affair, not that I am slowing down when I work but I am not doing as much work as I used to do. It is nice to be able to choose whether I will do something or not. I do have goals of course and will make every effort to reach them but one step at a time.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, Weather | Tagged: Concrete, Construction and Maintenance, Materials and Supplies, Patio, Weather | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 23, 2011
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No, I hadn’t got nits! The guys have finished all the work I’d asked of them but not before time! To be fair, E’s nephew, who is the main guy as it were, takes on more work than he can cope with and because we are family he probably thinks he can come and go as he pleases and take as much time as he wants at our expense. I realise he has regular customers for his gardening work but knowing that he shouldn’t make promises he cannot keep. In our case we have had to wait weeks, even up to two months trying to get our gardens into shape. We could have employed someone else and had the jobs done ages ago. Although the work is of a good standard I doubt I will be using their services again. There are more walls to build, inside the garage but his bother is a qualified bricklayer and good at his job but I may build what is necessary myself as it only involves using building blocks which are far easier to construct with. Having said that, it was me who rebuilt the rear of the garage in brick as you can see in the picture I posted yesterday but that was some years ago and before I transitioned! There are also more jobs involving mixing and laying of concrete, that is ‘grano mix’ but I am able to do these jobs myself. I always was a bit of a tomboy…LOL! Much of the work ahead will be centred on the garage, internal walls, doors, main roller-shutter door, alterations to the concrete steps in the rear, some cement rendering, treatment of ceiling/roof timbers, finishing woodwork, wiring for lighting and power including the electric door and painting the floor! Not a lot really if you say it quickly! I have plenty of time but the priority is to fit the roller-shutter door and get it wired! This I propose to start next month. In the meantime there are the smaller jobs to do. Yesterday was a bit of a rest day for me. I was still getting over my recent feelings of being unwell I suppose so the break was welcome. As is usual for me on days like this I am ‘biting at the bit’ so to speak by the end of the day and yesterday was no exception. I spent some time late in the evening looking over things and planning what I will be doing today. Well, it keeps me off the streets!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in House and Home | Tagged: Concrete, Construction and Maintenance, Doors and Windows, Garage door, Home, Materials and Supplies, Roller shutter | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 20, 2011
Image by Elsie esq. via Flickr
Yeah sure! It’s mostly the same old things just now, work, work and yes, you guessed it, more work! All around the house though. Sunday morning saw me rise fairly early and set about working on the new (?) garage roofline. A little history here. It was around 1998-9 that I began work on building this garage. Formerly it was a horses stable, not used as such for many years and very much neglected by the previous owner of the house and subsequently by ourselves. We didn’t intend on neglecting it but we had many other things to do at the time. One day whilst clearing it out I found that the rear wall was in such a bad state it was in danger of collapsing. The inside of the wall had been lined with heavy-duty plywood and it seems this was the only thing keeping it standing! The wall needed rebuilding but we decided at the time to take the opportunity to extend the stable back into the garden and convert it into a garage instead. This meant digging out a lot of ground and laying foundations to support new concrete to extend the existing good concrete floor. I actually did all this work myself but of course employed someone else to lay the concrete which was supplied ready-mixed. I had built foundations for the rear wall and filled in the area with hardcore, sand and a heavy-duty pvc liner to prevent moisture rising through the floor. After I had done this I set about building the rear and side walls and then erect joists and a roof. I had completely stripped the old roof away as it was leaking and needed replacing anyway. I employed someone to lay a covering over the plywood I had used to construct the new roof. By this time it was 2000-2001 and I was going through a bad patch at home. Actually I had been having matrimonial problems for some years prior and things were getting me down. I was beginning to lay the foundations for my transition and work on the garage stopped because I was under pressure with nobody to assist me in finishing the project. You can read more about this time of my life in the pages above. Needless to say after my transition I took no interest in much that was going on at home because nobody was taking any interest in me. I refused to be used any longer so I left things alone. It was a couple of years after my divorce when at last I made the move and tried to get my ex. to accompany me for lunch. We had been trying to sell the house for some years without success but things began to improve between us and we decided to stay together, that is live together but not in a close relationship, well not as it was before. Since that ‘first’ lunch our relationship has improved enormously and now couldn’t be better. I had no intentions of spending much on the house because it would have only been myself funding any works. E had no funds to speak of and could not afford to pay for renovations. I had a change of heart (something to do with love and my faith in God) and decided to splash out to the tune of (thus far) about £35.000 and get things done, doing what work I was physically able to do if I could. Prioritising meant that the poor old garage took another back seat in the renovation stakes! Over the last few weeks much has been done to the garage and yesterday I managed to do quite a lot especially on the fascia boards, fitting them where they hadn’t been fitted and painting them with a priming coat ready for the top coat perhaps this week. Windows have been fitted (just a little work on trims to do) and the next major job is to install the roller-shutter door once I can prepare the way and clean up the fittings that have become corroded waiting for them to be installed! The roller-shutter door has been stored in the garage for over ten years! It is well protected though and should be no problem once installed. There is no guarantee of course, that expired years ago! LOL.
Today, hopefully, the paving in the rear garden will be completed, that is if E’s nephew turns up. He has let us down before but I’ll have to wait and see if this time he will fulfill his promise.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in House and Home, Relationships, Transsexual | Tagged: Concrete, Construction and Maintenance, Garage, Home, Materials and Supplies, Plywood, Relationship, Wall | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 22, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
I was sitting quietly at home yesterday afternoon with nothing much to do except watch some television. I do watch television most days but not all of the time I hasten to add. I’d had a good night’s sleep the previous night and enjoyed an extra lie in bed as I hadn’t planned on doing anything at all. It was whilst I was thinking of what I might be doing tomorrow, that is today now, that I began to think of all the things I have been involved with over the years. I think the thoughts came about after a conversation I’d had with one of my sons. We had chatted about work both at home and elsewhere. I began to make a list in my mind of all the things I have learned about and done, some quite often, which went along these lines:-
Cooking
Housework
Gardening/tree felling
Decorating
Carpentry/Joinery
Metalworking
Plastering
Bricklaying
Concrete laying
Plumbing
Tiling floors and walls
Carpet laying
Glazing
General maintenance
Domestic Electrical Installation
Commercial and Industrial Electrical Installation
Electronics and Controls
Metering and monitoring
Smoke/Fire Alarms
Burglar Alarms
Underground mains supply
Overhead mains supply
Substations to 11Kv
Domestic Appliance Repairs
Portable Appliance Testing
Intercom and cctv
Uninterrupted Power Supplies
Machinery and Motors
Vending machine repairs
Elevator Maintenance
Heating and Ventilation
Air Conditioning
Refrigeration
Interests Past and present:
Write Poetry and songs
Playing guitar
Teaching Children
Leading worship at Church
Astronomy
Mathematics
Reading
Music
The list goes on and on. I have always been an inquisitive and observant person. I’ve always had an interest in how things work or how they are done and over the years I have mastered quite a few of them. Some people I speak with openly admit to being ignorant when it comes to practicalities. They admit they are incapable of doing many basic things. Having an aptitude for most things we might encounter in life can save us financially. Being able to do it one’s self has got to be an advantage. However, being interested and being willing doesn’t necessarily mean one is capable! Some people are fanatical ‘DIY‘ers and presumably are quite good at it but others are simply, well, incapable. I have spent fifty years in a practical occupation which has given me an edge when it comes down to knowing how to do things and the capability after many years of practice. No wonder I need to rest now and then!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat | Tagged: Air conditioning, Construction and Maintenance, Do it yourself, Mains electricity, Mechanical, Metalworking | Leave a Comment »
