Wednesday 19 October 2016

Rooftops

Our next door neighbour is everything that I'm not - young, fit and a DIY enthusiast. He's currently halfway through insulating his own roof and very kindly offered to do ours while he's at it, all we've had to do is pay for the scaffolding. It will save us an absolute fortune. Actually, it's very unlikely that we could ever have afforded to get this particular job done and we would've simply continued to put up with the draughts and leaks in our bedroom at the top of the house.

                               
With the scaffolding in place, Mrs S & I realised that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to strip and repaint the fascia board of the gutter that runs off of the roof and along the length of the building. While our neighbour races up and down the ladder with roof tiles over his shoulder, a bag of tools in one hand and mug of coffee in the other, I ascend at a snails pace, sweating profusely, clinging on for dear life and, when I'm up there, have to fight the urge to faint. It's a three story house - the views across the marsh are spectacular, but it's a long way down. Eventually, I knuckled down to the task in hand, completing the first of three coats late on Monday afternoon (remembering not to step back and admire my work) and was rewarded with a glorious sunset for my efforts.


Holy - Rooftops

6 comments:

C said...

"...(remembering not to step back and admire my work)" - I'm so glad you said that!
Like you, I'm not a fan of heights, but I'm a fan of good views, so it takes an inner pep talking and a sturdy ladder to scale any. Looks like yours is worth it for several reasons - I applaud you!
The track makes me think of 'Gloria' but under the influence of something stronger than Golden Virginia....

Anonymous said...

It sounds as if you have lovely neighbours, Mr. S (and how brave of you to make your way up that ladder.) I'm afraid of heights too, but have had no choice but to adapt over the years.

I love the photo of your roof tiles and may use it for a watercolour exercise this afternoon. The patterns and the clouds are so interesting to me.

More photos of your beautiful surroundings, please . . .

The Swede said...

C. That's exactly what I did - gave myself a good talking to and got on with it! The original plan was for Mrs S to do the fiddly bits leaving the broad stokes to me, but following her near-meltdown when climbing Southwold lighthouse a few months ago, I figured that it would be safer for me to go it alone.

Marie. Glad you enjoyed the photos. They are only quick snaps taken on my phone. Perhaps I'll take my camera up next week for coat number 2. You need to share some of your art with us.

John Medd said...

I'm guessing that with a pair of binos you can see both the Eiffel Tower *and* the Taj Mahal.

Charity Chic said...

Hope your scaffolding survives the gales

Brian said...

I have faith in humanity again. What a neighbor! Great views, my friend. I don't like going on the roof either, and before moving to the Pacific Northwest, I never spent any time up there. Now I'm up there several times a year fighting moss and removing refuse from the enormous evergreens. Small price to pay to live in such a beautiful area, I suppose, but I hate hate hate it on the roof. Be safe.

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