Here's a list of things I do

I'm always being asked can you do this or can you do that
so here is a list in alaphbetical order of some of the things I can do

Add or remove shelving
Aviaries built
Bathroom accessories hung
Bird houses built
Blinds installed
Bookcases made to measure
Cat enclosures
Carpentry & Joinery
Ceiling fans installed
Central Heating*
Wardrobe organizers installed
Clothes Dryers
Decks and Decking
Dog Kennels
Doors hung, repaired, or adjusted
Dual Flush Toilets Installed
External Painting*
Fencing & Gates
Fireplaces installed
Fixtures installed or replaced
Flat Pack Kits Assembled
Garden Maintenance
General Repairs*
Glazing*
Hanging pictures and whiteboards
Hardware replaced
Hardwood floors
Install curtain poles
Install Fly screens
Install Hand rails
Internal Painting*
Landscaping & Gardening *
Light fixtures installed or repaired
Locks fitted
Mailboxes installed
Maintenance
Mirrors hung
New appliances installed
Outdoor grill/fireplaces
Painting & Decorating*
Pergolas
Pet Doors
Pet flaps
Picture hanging
Plumbing
Pressure Cleaning*
Renovation
Repair simple leaks
Replacement of Sash Cords
Roofing Repairs*
Rot repair
Shelving
Shower doors installed
Skylights*
Small repairs
Smoke Detectors
Staircases & Handrails
Storage sheds
Swing sets
Switches replaced
Toilets installed or replaced
Trim carpentry
Vent fans installed
Waste Disposals installed or repaired
Weather stripping
Window Shutters
Windows & Locks
Windows repaired

if you need help give me a call on 07930 335 937

A tough week ends with a deserved Sunday rest

This week has been so hectic that I didn't have time to keep up with this blog.

The whole week has been one mad rush and my knees, and leg muscles are telling me I've worked hard.

Apart from putting up curtains (if there's anybody out there who thinks it's women's work should try taking down heavy drapes on your their own and replacing them with equally heavy drapes -- it ain't light work!).

I've also been hanging two front doors; replacing the roof felt on two shed roofs; dismantling 36' of larch lap fence with 3" posts, and replacing it with sturdy close board fencing with 4" posts; scarf jointing some rotten frame work; replacing a rotten porch post and sill plate (it was only ten years old!); hanging a garage side door; changing a toilet cistern; fixing two leaking washing machine connectors; and repairing a video security system. That's on top of all the other bits and pieces that came along, like building from scratch, a new door, drawer box, and draw front, in pine, on a damaged Ducal sideboard. The lady had been surprised at my estimate for custom building the two fronts, but now that it's finished, is delighted with the result, and hasn't stopped telling people. It's great when that sort of thing happens.

Add to that my time planning was a bit wonky this week - I'd underestimated how long a couple of jobs would take, and the wind and rain on Tuesday didn't help. I took a few photos this week, meaning to publish them on this site, but managed to delete them instead of transferring them to the computer. My apologies to those who expected to see their photos here! It's been a tough ol' week.

More fencing

I'd done a lot of fencing after the storms the other week. One of the fencing jobs I'd done was for a retired man in his mid eighties. He was pleased with what I'd done and so he told his neighbours. They in turn had told a friend of theirs. That friend had a sister who was married to the brother of a lady whose son was going out with a girl whose mother I worked for today who needed a new fence too.
Put another way, word gets around.
This was a slightly unusual fencing job. The larch lap fence panels were bolted to angle iron posts. Over the years the bolts had become totally corroded. I had to cut them off with an angle grinder. The angle iron posts were still good and so I got new stainless steel nuts and bolts, (dipped them in Vaseline) and bolted the new panels in place. The next person who comes along shouldn't have the same problem as I had getting the bolts out. On a nice day it would have been a good job to do. But in the wind and rain it's miserable work, and today it was windy and raining. The best part of the job was the seeming unlimited supply of homemade cakes and tea. Some people are generous. This lady was one of them.

Build me a rabbit hutch run !

The lady was not for turning! "It'll be cheaper to buy a ready made one" I said. "I can't get one the size and quality I'm looking for" she said. "OK" I said "I'll build you one that will last a very long time". What's the lifespan of a rabbit? Rabbits kept indoors with proper care can expect to live between 9-12 years. Unfortunately, rabbits kept in backyard hutches have less than half the average lifespan of a house rabbit. That's one of the reasons the House Rabbit Society strongly urges you to house your rabbit indoors. This rabbit, is house trained, and is only outside in dry warm weather. It's the size of a small horse, incredibly friendly, it's pampered and no expense is spared. This rabbit is likely to live a long time!
I've never built a rabbit run before. Because I've never done it before, sourcing the mesh seemed a bit of a problem. I did the usual rounds of the superstores but was met with shrugs and dunnos (I can't believe I expected to find what I was looking for there). Chicken wire was everywhere, but this mini horse can eat chicken wire. Garden wire fencing rolls looked dreadful and even this buck would pass straight through that mesh. Builders merchants, tongue in cheek (I think), suggested reinforcing matting. I thought of going to an agricultural supplier. I was starting to flounder. Go to my mates at Alsford Timber I thought. They'll know. Well, I needed timber anyway, so off I went. "Phil, my good man" I cried "Where can I get some heavy duty meshing that can stop a tank" I asked. Phil scratched his head, let out a big sigh, humphed a bit, sniffed, scratched the other end, and then the lights went on. "Try Cavendish Iron Workers" he mused. "If they don't do it -they'll know where to get it he beamed". "Phil, I could kiss you" I said.

"Steady" said Phil.

Cavendish Iron Workers is at Unit 12, Birch Road. (Tel: 01323 730 523). Its tucked away at the far corner of the industrial units. Dark and interesting as only an iron works can be. They could not have been more helpful (Moral: Save time. ALWAYS go to the professionals, NOT the superstores. They know what they're talking about and they're cheaper in the long run.) After a couple of minutes my prayers were answered. I now had mesh on order and wood in the van.
After a couple of hours the result was a rabbit run fit for a horse. See pictures. Let's see him gnaw his way out of that one!

For more fun rabbit facts, click here.

Growing older

I live in Pevensey Bay. I like Pevensey Bay. One of the reasons I like it is because if you're under 55 in P Bay you're considered a teenager. As you know, I have a lot of very nice customers. Many of them are elderly, and many live in P Bay. One of the many things I'm asked to do is take out baths and fit shower cubicles. Often the customer can no longer get his or her leg over the bath edge, or can't sit down, or they can get in, but can't get back up . There are so many different solutions and they can often be tailored to suit individual circumstances.

Without exception, all of my elderly customers were once young, fit, and healthy.

I can't begin to know what they feel, but I can only think it must be frustrating getting older.

I found this article in a book I read quite often - - I think it says a lot on the subject of getting older, sometimes when I read it I can see myself.

If we are getting older it will be harder to acknowledge that we have not been called to spectacular service, that we are unlikely now to make a stir in the world, that our former dreams of doing some great healing work had a great deal of personal ambition in them. A great many men and women have had to learn this unpalatable lesson - and then have discovered that magnificent opportunities lay all around them. We need not go to the ends of the earth to find them; we need not be young, clever, fit, beautiful, talented, trained, eloquent or very wise. We shall find them among our neighbours as well as among strangers, in our own families as well as in unfamiliar circles - magnificent opportunities to be kind and patient and understanding. This is a vocation just as truly as some more obviously seen as such - the vocation of ordinary men and women called to continual, unspectacular acts of loving kindness in the ordinary setting of every day. They need no special medical boards before they embark on their service, need no inoculation against anything but indifference and lethargy, and perhaps a self-indulgent shyness.

How simple it sounds; how difficult it often is.

Clifford Haigh, 1962

If you need some ideas about showers and baths, for yourself, or someone you know, pop along to the new showrooms at Plumbase Unit 12, Hawthorn Road, Eastbourne, Tel:01323 746666.

Gates and Fences

The wind has blown itself out - for the moment.
Winter has finally arrived!
I'm not used to the cold.
By the end of the day my tiny feet were frozen.

So have a guess what I've been doing today. Yes , you're right. Fencing! Lots and lots of minor repairs, plus a couple of replacement panels, and a post to replace. Not a bad days work. It's got to the point that I'm starting to enjoy repairing lap-panel fences. I know they're cheap, but they're so flimsy (even the "quality" ones). Overall, I'm sure they work out much more expensive than "proper fencing. If you need to renew some fencing, I suggest you order it from a proper timber merchant, rather than going to the superstores - there is a VERY BIG quality difference. I've been using Alsford Timber in Birch Road as my supplier. Try them, they're nice people to do business with.

It wasn't all fencing. I also had to hang a couple of Ledge and Brace gates, which doesn't take long. I suppose I should say it's all in a day's work.
I'll freely admit, by the end of today I was ready to come home and thaw out.

A fence too high!

It's been a busy week. The storms made it even busier. I now have more than enough fencing repairs to last me a lifetime. Well, at least enough for a couple of weeks.
There have been some guys out there quoting near black market prices. One customer I went to had been quoted £180.00 - wait for this - to have a single 6' X 6' fence panel slid back into its existing concrete posts !!!!!! They didn't even have to replace the panel with a new one. That type of fence panel can be put into place by two people in about 2 minutes. You go figure out the hourly rate. Now I want to make it clear, I have absolutely no problems with someone making a very healthy profit for services rendered, but, and it's a big but; please draw the line at profiteering. Leave that sort of behaviour to bankers and other such "professionals". That's my rant for the day done.

Fences Doors Tiles Plastering Lights and Smoke Alarms

Well, so far, it's certainly been an interesting week.

've been a film maker/producer, Carpenter, Fencer, Tiler, Fencer, Plasterer, Fencer, Electrician, and did I say it already - a Fencer? These high winds are bringing down fences left right and centre. With at least three calls a day to carry out quick repairs to damaged fences, I've had my hands full. Add to that the normal workload of door hanging and tap washers plus a little bit of tiling and plastering and not forgetting the replacing of light switches and this week has flashed by.

In between, I've found time to "chew the cud" about a new range of air power tools with the guys down at Archery Tools -and produce a couple of videos for the "Eastbourne for Peace and Liberty" group. If you'd like to watch the videos click here and here. Both speakers, Maya Evans and Emily Johns, are well worth listening to. If you have an open mind, they will be worth the watching , because they give a different point of view to the usual stuff that is trotted out.

What I haven't had time to do is update these pages. If only I was superhuman I could get so much more done.

Sorting tools and sharpening chisels

It's the weekend! That means tools have to be cleaned, sharpened, and sorted, ready for next week. "You should do that every day" I hear you cry. Yeah right! No matter how hard I might have tried, it wasn't going to happen. With the wind and rain, pelting down from heaven above, all week long, my main thought, when packing things away, was to stay dry and sheltered.
I have to admit I simply threw every thing into the back of the van and closed the doors. By the end of the week the inside of the van looked like it had received "friendly fire" from the US Marine Corps. It was bad.

Yesterday I re-felted a storm damaged shed roof and replaced 8' fence posts along a larchlap panel fence-line, next to a ditch. By the end of the day I was covered in mud, mud, and yet more mud, but the job was done. I tell people I don't do fencing , but still they call me and still I do it. I like to be helpful and sometimes it's fun to do something different, and with all this wind, a lot of people needed help.

Today's been wet, with less wet periods, and the wind is still blowing a gale. But I don't care. I've been out in the workshop most of the day, poodling about, cleaning, sharpening, and sorting my tools - it's a great life - it's much better than working for a living.

I wonder what next week will bring...

Are you suffering from too much wind?

What a day today's been. Did you notice the wind? I've been running around, sorting out people's fences, all day long. Well, not so much sorting them out, it was more shoring them up or ripping them down. In this weather there is not a lot to be done other than make safe. Has anyone worked out how far a fence panel can fly? I bet it don't alf urt the one who catches it!

I've now come to the conclusion that a lot of fence panels are held in by the very cheapest and flimsiest materials that can be found, and are probably not fit for purpose. I know they're not going to last a lifetime, but they should last more than a couple of seasons and they should be able to withstand some high winds before they fall apart.

So what have I done today? Loads!

What have I earned today? Next too nothing!

I suppose my reward will come in Heaven - or maybe over the weekend when I can get down to repairing the damaged fences - Weather permitting!

Fence repairs are relatively easy, post repairs can be a challenge. If you need help give me a call.

If you need fencing materials try Alsford Timber in Birch Road.

If you need some tools to do the job go to Archery Tools
they're next to the zebra crossing, just up from the Tesco Express on Seaside.

Don't forget to tell Paul and Alan I sent you!

carpentry plumbing electrics... and fencing!

I don't do fencing. But as soon as a high wind comes, and we have high winds most of the time, I can guarantee that at least one client will ring up and ask me to mend their fence. Normally, I say "no, but I know a man who can". This time, because it was for the caretaker of our local Quaker Meeting House I've said yes. "It's only one panel" Dickie said. What he didn't tell me was it was on the rooftop! Me and my big mouth. Now I'm going to have to do it.