So is this the feeling of getting old? Creaking joints, tired muscles, strained ligaments and that internal voice which keeps asking "should I be doing this at my age?", not to mention a general lack of energy and motivation. I've always known and recognised my physical limits (not to mention legal and financial!), but suddenly there are many new ones coming into play; it's as though there is a Sgt Wilson inside me saying "Sir, are you sure that's wise?". Drat, he's often correct.
I've done a fair bit on the front wall since last week despite the weather; but I've come to a stop due to simple tiredness. Those at a similar age will perhaps recognise the signs of not sleeping particularly well or, if you do sleep well, still feeling tired the next day. I tend to sleep well for a period which might be five or six hours if I'm lucky, but could be just two or three if some drunken berk wakes me up; thereafter, getting back to sleep may be difficult. [Our house seems to be on one of the few ways that connect two parts of the town, and there are some (I'm sure it's the same people) who seem to love shouting in friendly terms at each other as they wander back home at 1am, 2am or even 3.30am. Since the house is Grade II listed, I cannot fit double glazing to the bedroom windows but I do have secondary glazing on my immediate to-do list.]
Last week I enlisted the help of my son to lay a large flagstone on top of the wall, to be under the end piece of coping stone. I could just manhandle this piece of stone on the ground but he picked it up on his own (with some effort, I think) and it was a joint job to get it to the top safely. It went on surprisingly easily as for once all my measurements were correct, the cutting of the stone was spot on and also the mortar bed was perfect first time. This was needed as the 14" coping stones are all narrower than the wall at the gate end, and so the flagstone also has bevelled edges to help with rainwater flow. The 18" width of the wall at the gate end was governed by the size of the two 24" x 18" x 6" pintle stones which I purchased last year, and there was no way that I was going to cut them! I have carefully made the rest of the wall narrower so only the end two feet needed this treatment.
Yesterday I did a lot of work on the wall, including lifting the first coping stone in place six feet up onto the bevelled flagstone (photo coming [Edit: I'm not posting the photo as the wall looks quite silly with just the one piece of coping stone! It's all out of proportion]), so I'm getting there. However, the coping stone was heavier than I realised and I could have done with the assistance of my son again. The weight was bad enough - it must be about 35-40kg which itself made my knees creak - but then positioning it on the wall was quite difficult due to the shape; I could easily have damaged my back as I leant forward with it but chose instead to rest it on the mortar bed which then had to be re-spread. Hence, last night I was particularly tired and slept through over eight hours without stirring (a rare occurrence) until woken by t'other half putting the radio on. This morning I can hardly get going at all, and there is no way that I will do more than potter around doing bits of small jobs.
After laying the first coping stone on top of the wall, one old song from The Jungle Book keeps coming into my mind - Kenny Ball singing "I'm the King of the Swingers". This contains the memorable line "I've reached the top and had to stop and that's what's bothering me." Unlike him, it's not bothering me and I shall be delighted when it's all done!
[Edit: I'm advised that actually Kenny Ball's version of "I'm the King of the Swingers" was a cover, following the film.]
Friday 28 September 2012
Monday 17 September 2012
Stone Walls Do Not A Prison Make...
...but it certainly feels that I am trapped by the need to at least get the front side wall and back gate done before winter sets in. There has been progress on the walls and so an update is merited.
The front wall is almost there. I really want to get this done to full height finished with coping stone and pointing before I remove the horrible fence panels. These are what everyone sees when walking by, and I don't want to draw attention to my wall by being seen to be working on it for so long. I just want to unveil it and see how many people notice it. My hope is that relatively few will actually notice it as the plan is for it to look as though it's been there for ages.
On the left is the view from the house side (obviously I can't take a picture from the street side as the fence panels are in the way). There is only the coping stone to add at the left hand end. Try counting the number of stones in this wall, and then think about how long it has taken me, given that on a good day I might select and lay just ten stones in four hours if I'm going well. Then I'm shattered and can't do any more for a couple of days...
Also visible in the picture above are the hinges for the right hand gate, plus three bits of batten to make a frame. This was done to prove that the pintles were in line, and to allow me to position the hinges on the uninstalled gate with reference to the other gate. (NB The vertical battens are not parallel as the holes in the hinges are not identically spaced, which surprised me.) When the gate is fitted I shall only have to sort out its locking and latching and then I shall have some security for the first time. It will also keep the various neighbourhood cats out; they seem to still regard this place as their hunting ground, but we like looking at the variety of birds!
The retaining wall (of the "upper terrace"!) has been extended and so now runs from the back wall
alongside the house, past the extension and as far as the kitchen - that's about 12 yards. I've been using the damaged Imperial bricks in this - why use good ones? Here's a current photo showing the end of the wall and the steps up the earth bank (with the top step which has been added since the last post):
This photo clearly shows the difference in ground levels since I decided to make sure that rising ground would never again cause dampness here. The house is just six feet from the bottom of the steps and the original ground level at the base of the house was just above the level of the bottom concrete step. The temporary wooden board at the bottom of the steps is about 2cm below the final new ground level.
I cannot do the stone facing for this wall yet as that job will use up the remaining stone when everything else is done. When other walls are done, I will choose enough decent bits to cover the brick and facing stone along the top of this one, and only then will I be able to do the face with small bits. Obviously I don't want to break up larger stone yet as I need a good choice for the other jobs.
The front wall is almost there. I really want to get this done to full height finished with coping stone and pointing before I remove the horrible fence panels. These are what everyone sees when walking by, and I don't want to draw attention to my wall by being seen to be working on it for so long. I just want to unveil it and see how many people notice it. My hope is that relatively few will actually notice it as the plan is for it to look as though it's been there for ages.
On the left is the view from the house side (obviously I can't take a picture from the street side as the fence panels are in the way). There is only the coping stone to add at the left hand end. Try counting the number of stones in this wall, and then think about how long it has taken me, given that on a good day I might select and lay just ten stones in four hours if I'm going well. Then I'm shattered and can't do any more for a couple of days...Also visible in the picture above are the hinges for the right hand gate, plus three bits of batten to make a frame. This was done to prove that the pintles were in line, and to allow me to position the hinges on the uninstalled gate with reference to the other gate. (NB The vertical battens are not parallel as the holes in the hinges are not identically spaced, which surprised me.) When the gate is fitted I shall only have to sort out its locking and latching and then I shall have some security for the first time. It will also keep the various neighbourhood cats out; they seem to still regard this place as their hunting ground, but we like looking at the variety of birds!
This photo clearly shows the difference in ground levels since I decided to make sure that rising ground would never again cause dampness here. The house is just six feet from the bottom of the steps and the original ground level at the base of the house was just above the level of the bottom concrete step. The temporary wooden board at the bottom of the steps is about 2cm below the final new ground level.
I cannot do the stone facing for this wall yet as that job will use up the remaining stone when everything else is done. When other walls are done, I will choose enough decent bits to cover the brick and facing stone along the top of this one, and only then will I be able to do the face with small bits. Obviously I don't want to break up larger stone yet as I need a good choice for the other jobs.
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