pumpkinstrokemarrow

Window project (14/6/2009) now drawing to a close. Two panes of glass from Leatherhead fitted OK. Frame fixed into hole using 4 long thin coach bolts, the only snag being that coach bolts leave the head proud and one has to cut the glazing battens around them. But long thin coach bolts seemed the most suitable fixing available from Travis Perkins. Drill through the frame into the masonry. Make soft wood plugs and hammer them in. (I dare say if one used hardwood plugs one could burst the breeze blocks out of which the wall is largely constructed. Plus a lot more bother to make hardwood plugs). Drill a hole in the centre of the plugs, replace frame in hole and drive down the coach bolts. In only one out of the four holes did the bolt not hit the hole first time. Had to fiddle with the hole in the frame a bit. Fit the glass; not too neatly not ever having had much practise with putty. But OK. Pack the space between the frame and the hole with mortar. Try and keep the mortar damp over the following few days to aid a good strong set. Have now painted the mortar. Will move onto glossing the frame once the putty has dried a bit more. Overall, not too bad, considering it is the first time I have made a window for many years. And the first time I have fitted one. Maybe if I am feeling very bored one day, I will take the glass out and have another go with the putty.

Prompted by the hot weather, the new garage window has now been complemented with a new green awning, sourced from Epsom Downs the day after the Derby, to hang between the garage and the extension, permitting al-fresco luncheons in the shade. Much pondering about how to hang the thing up. Decided on eye bolts, so off to ScrewFix to see what they could do. Which turned out to be nothing in the way of modestly sized eye bolts, but they could do rather heavy duty ones, designed to tie scaffolding to walls. Sufficiently hard core that they had bothered to weld the base of the eye so that it would not pull apart under strain. Must have had a big strain in mind, given that the bolts had been made out of steel rod a centimetre in diameter. What was bad about them was the price and the fact that they came in fives (I wanted four or six but didn't feel rash enough to run to two packets); what was good was that they had a chrome finish which should weather OK and that they had a screw thread. So rather than having to mess about with putting them in the masonry of the walls, I could just screw them into the ends of the 6 by 2 rafters which hold the two flat roofs up. The things had big enough and long enough threads to give a good fix going with the grain, although perhaps I should have smeared them with some wood glue just to be absolutely sure. Test erection of the awning entirely satisfactory, but we will look out for something slightly bigger. Maybe we will be lucky after next year's Derby.

I close with what looks like a rather impressive looking facility, chanced across in the surf: http://www.alzheimurcentre.blogspot.com/. Don't think we have anything quite like it in this country. Maybe we will get there as the number of us catching this unpleasant disease grows. Or the number of us who know what looking after someone with it is like.