7th September 2019
I made a start on the privacy screen between me, and my neighbour. An early trip to Wickes ensured that I had all the materials I needed to do the job. The positions of the posts were already determined by existing holes, so it was just a matter of making them fit properly.
I wanted the fence to have the same appearance each side, so I went with offset vertical strips, allowing a view through at certain angles.
I set out the position of the main horizontal beam and marked everything out for the through mortises on the posts.
This was when I realised the pieces of timber I had were too short. Now most skilled people would have established that from the start, but not me. For some obscure reason I measured between the posts and not from the outside to outside, Dickhead!
Another trip to Wickes ensued.
I cut the tenons and assembled them with a sledge hammer(it was all I had).
I built the rest of the frame and carried it to the place on the low wall.
With a bit of effort and the sledge I got it into position.
Luckily the neighbours were away, so I was able to clamber into their garden to begin fixing the vertical slats.
I kept working until it got dark, but once I stopped, I stiffened up, like one of those festering old gits I used to make fun of.
With where the workmate was, and the number of trips up and down the garden path to cut wood, I guess I must have walked a few miles.
But it was starting to look good.
By the time I had finished I was looking forward to having some food, that was the time Kelli rang for a chat. My tummy was rumbling, and she was munching, which made me hungrier. Eventually I had to tell her that I needed sustenance, and threw something in the oven quickly.
I fell asleep watching a bit of television, and woke up just in time to go to bed, sad.
Another Lifetime to go 