Ignoring Nanny
I’m getting some work done on the house at the moment.
It’s a tricky little number and while I could possibly tackle it myself I decided to play safe and call in the local handyman. And calling him a handyman doesn’t really do him justice. He’s a fucking genius when it comes to anything building related.
Our water tank sits on a flat roof. To prevent birds shitting in it and to prevent it freezing in winter it’s encased in a large waterproof box with a lit for access.
The problem started a couple of years ago when the box began to perish. Actually it was more a case of collapsing entirely as the whole structure was rotting away. It was fifty or so years old after all. Anyhows water stared cascading down into the bathroom during heavy rain. I patched it up and it lasted for another year or two but I was getting worried. The box was now in tatters and the old tank itself was within a micrometer or developing a whole series of leaks. Any leak would be catastrophic to put it mildly, and there was always the worry of the beams that supported the tank rotting away in which case a whole section of roof would collapse. That, to put it mildly, would be a bit of an inconvenience?
Anyhows he started yesterday. He spent about five hours on the flat roof, stripped to the waist with his back to the sun. He stripped away the remains of the old box, removed the tank and replaced it with the new one I had bought. He did a brilliant job. However he didn’t have the materials to build the box so the whole lot was exposed to the elements. There was little threat of rain anyway. Hah!
We shared a few cans when he had had enough and by that stage he could have been mistaken for a lobster.
He’s up there now, stripped to the waist and hammering away. He’s building the box out of bamboo sheeting apparently.as he says that anything else won’t last longer than fifty years. He’s going to cover the lot in a waterproof membrane which is a pity – I could be the envy of the neighbours with that fancy wood exposed.
He has two principles apparently.
If he does a job, he does it to last and to the very best of his abilities.
He charges a fortune for his work, but only if you can afford it. It seems we don’t fall into that category so he charges little more than a song.
His main expertise, I am told lies in building, plumbing, electrical work, painting, tiling, carpentry and just about any fucking thing you can think of.
Why the hell didn’t I find him years ago?
Building a box that no one will see
Incidentally Nanny is nagging again –
The HSE’s advice is for people to stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm and to apply sunscreen if you have to go out in the sun, and avoid extreme physical exertion like sport, DIY or gardening when the sun is at its hottest.
My friend doesn’t believe in Nanny.
I knew a bloke in Northern Ireland who used to charge like that – a big fee for those who could pay and very little for those who couldn’t afford very much. It seemed a good deal for a job that was going to last forever – he was an undertaker!
A lot of [decent] people work in that fashion.
Incidentally, I once needed a pit dug in the garden. Had a brainwave and hired the local gravedigger. He did a grand job.
What does this water tank on your roof do exactly GD? Is it your hot water tank, or has it something to do with drinking water? The only time I’ve seen something similar was on a solar hot water system but there doesn’t seem to be any solar panels on your roof.
It’s a cold water tank. Water from the mains feeds up to it [and also to the cold tap in the kitchen for drinking water]. The whole house – hot and cold – is then fed from the tank. The idea is that if there is an interruption to supply then everything will work normally except the kitchen tap, at least until the roof tank is empty..
I know a bloke like that. He is known as Scally. He isn’t one and is a bloody amazing builder and handy man. Ex jail bird (in France!) but as honest as the day is long. Salt of the Earth and I’m not joking.