Home repairs

[Ystranc]

Funny how things go on the topic of diy, one could even think there's a plan to the universe. The other day i ran into an old friend i hadn't seen since we were made redundant in 2011. He's a mason by trsde and i'm a joiner but we've both got a gardening round and chatting away we came to the conclusion that leaving aside the old and frail there are a lot of people who could very easily mow their own lawns but are just basically too idle to do it themselves and are happy to spend their hard earned cash . Still it pays our bills i suppose...

I'm not intending to belittle what you're doing now Baytree but it seems like a helluva waste of both your skills and those of your buddy. Mowing the lawns of the idle and infirm when you could be creating something beautiful and lasting or saving an historic building from decay...If there is a universal plan it's beyond my understanding.

 

[Baytree]

Yes i understand what you mean and in many respects you're completely correct. The gardening isn't my sole means of income , i still keep my hand in with the woodwork. Ok some of it is more mundane domestic work although i recently made and installed a circular rose arbour for instance and there's the oak glastonbury chair on the go i mentioned earlier. We had no choice at the time we were made redundant when the firm became insolvent. I did start at another firm that had contracts with pub chains but the contrast between working on historic buildings and grotty pubs in the arse end of birmingham was pronounced. They laid me off after six months and wle on the dole i was offered a grant to start a business of my own.
It comes down to balance to me. I did really enjoy the restoration and the guys i worked with but it wasn't all roses. Sometimes the work was very heavy , moving oak timbers ten inches square five metres long just by muscle power , or ankle deep pigeon crap , or charred timber that made you black just by looking at it , or sitting in a van for two hours in the morning and two hours to get back home for months at an end.
Nowadays i rarely travel more than 15 miles from home , i get up later , workmates have been replaced by customers some of whom are becoming more like friends. When i started my daughter was still at primary school and i could arrange my day to walk her to school or go and watch a play or award ceremony .
One other thing , when you mention creating something beautiful and long lasting that was always in the back of my mind with the restoration. We did at times work on banks and that feeling was absent there. Largely because the long lasting element was missing. We'd go in to a bank that had been fitted out ten or fifteen years before and rip it out ( and i mean rip it out , bars and sledges , speed was everything) and then replace everything . But it was always in the back of my mind that the same thing would happen again in the near future.

 

[saxonaxe]

" Nowadays i rarely travel more than 15 miles from home , i get up later , workmates have been replaced by customers some of whom are becoming more like friends. When i started my daughter was still at primary school and i could arrange my day to walk her to school or go and watch a play or award ceremony . "

When I read that I thought of my son. He was a self employed Painter and Decorator, and a good one, much in demand by well off people. He has a flair for design and colour, so sometimes they would give him a rough idea of what they wanted and just leave him to get on with it.

All over the country living in B&B or hotels, miles on the Motorways and home briefly before away again. We had a long talk as I could see what was turning into a Treadmill existence. As result of my warning he jacked it in. He's a Care Taker / Maintenance man now at a big school 20 minutes from home. Weekends off, flexible hours, less money but much much happier with no regrets.

 

[Ystranc]

I completely understand both of you, it isn't like I haven't also jumped off the treadmill although my hours are longer and now the work is dirtier and heavier than it ever was for less return....maybe I did things the wrong way around.

 

[Baytree]

Being good at one's job can sometimes be a two edged sword. I once arrived on a job to be greeted by the site agent who said "we've got a really difficult job , it'll take a lot of thinking about and is awkward . That's why i asked for you , it'll be right up your street" .
On another job , Woolerton hall in Nottingham , we had to reinforce the chinese floor there which involved fitting angle plates on all the timber intersections. The site agent explained how we would carry all the plates up the scaffold , mark them , carry them down , drill holes in them , carry them back up and bolt them in place. These plates were 15mm stainless steel around ten inches high with each side being around eight inches wide and there were something like 35 of them each with four 16mm holes .I listened to his idea and then said " you can f*** that idea off , we're not doing that. We'll make plywood templates that will actually fit and they can punch the holes out in the fabrication " . The site agent wasn't too pleased but the contracts manager definately liked the idea and we went for it. Quicker , cheaper , less mauling and there was only one hole that needed fettling.

 

[Ark79]

Am also understanding of this, my work consists of paint a wall here and there, filling holes and papering the odd sheet of wallpaper, I also paint the 4 bedroom lodges, they do take a lot of work, however it’s quantity and quality they desire so it takes all the fun and ingenuity out of it, same colours day in and day out . don’t get me wrong, it’s honest work. But after 12 years it drones on ! Typing this I can’t help think it’s time for a change