Sweetpea's pathetic excuses for not fixing the MR2

WOW at the root sausage, thats incredible bit of debris

also truly amazing that something attempts to grow in what is basically pitch black and fully submersed in water

we have old socks on the ends of the downpipe that go into the water buts, they get that same weird black mulch and actual growing root things, approximately a tennis ball in size, twice a year. and thats just from stuff off of the garage roof, and one small house flat roof. no actual underground plant intrusion

It’s one of those times… Before I manage to finish any job something more important comes up and takes precedence. So the drains were bodged and left while we went off to concentrate on the next job.
A humanitarian mission to France.

I don’t remember if I said but my ‘in laws’ moved to France about 11 or 12 years ago. Late last year Mrs Sweetpea’s dad died a little unexpectedly and suddenly the rug was pulled out from under our peaceful lives. Mrs Sweetpea’s mum didn’t want to stay in France on her own so a plan was hatched where we could start moving her back to Blighty. It involved us taking occasional trips over to help sort the house out and her taking occasional flights over for a bit of company.

Covid happened. Nobody went anywhere for months.

To cut a long story short, Mrs Sweetpea’s mum is back in the country. Whipped out from under the noses of the French and spirited across the border before anybody noticed. Although the damn big removal truck blocking the country lane where she lived was probably a give away.
The actual move was a piece of cake really. All the problems have been with the paperwork. Mostly the French inheritance laws and them deciding, more or less as we were packing the truck, that they weren’t going to pay any attention to the will and were doing it under the French rules regardless. Needless to say it’d have been better if this had been decided months ago not the day before we were to sign the house sale.
Oh well.

So we got back and I slept for a week.
Good news - we were back before the quarantine was imposed so I’m free to go out - yay!
Bad news - we were back before the quarantine was imposed so I have to go into work in London tomorrow - boo, hiss! (Getting used to this ‘working from home’ thing.)

Mrs Sweetpea In Law (we may need a snapper title if she’s to become a feature in these threads) now resides au chateau l’Sweetpea au l’ouest wing. We need to find her a house of her own though. Or even a shed would do. I’m not picky about these things.




So what was it I abandoned in favour of the repatriation attempt?
Oh yes. Drains…

When we got back I bought a few likely looking rubber couplings, including one that stepped down between sizes. When I’d looked previously I couldn’t see a suitable stepped one and then I did. Dunno how that happened.
On the web site Grumpy and I had found they were about £25 for the bits and another £25 to deliver them. If they were being sent to my other house on the Jovian moon of Ganymede £25 would have been very reasonable but as they were going to Kent I thought it a little steep. So that got sacked right off (***See Below***) and I bought them from somewhere else.





I also bought a piece of downpipe and a handful of fittings. Eventually I came up with this as a plan.





Which looked good to me. So I gummed it up.





Sorry about the terrible quality of the photo above. I’d go back and take another, better one, but I’ve buried it already.




Right, what job did I abandon when the drains got blocked?
Decking. That was it, decking…

The top bit is finished.





The eagle eyed amongst you will see some temporary bits where the step to the lower bit will be. They are temporary. That why they are called ’temporary bits’ you see.

Anyhoo, across the bottom edge is a trim board to make it look pretty. It’s a tight fit to the decking above…





…But an approximate fit to the old floor.
Those of you who have excellent memories will recall that we had a rat living under the decking a while back. To annoy him (or her) and avoid a repetition I’ve run some galvanised mesh along the gap and back filled with a pile of 20mm gravel. Hopefully it’ll keep Mr Ratty out but allow rain water to drain.





It may well be that Mr Ratty will still get under the deck but, hopefully, he’s going to have to work really hard to do it. Knowing Mr Ratty from before he’s probably got the rodent equivalent of dynamite and a JCB. Git.


James




(***Note from above***) I’ve heard this “sacked off” phrase used by my younger colleagues and I understand it means to ’abandon’ or to ‘not bother’. I have, however, been concerned that I may have misheard and the phrase should be “sucked off” but my older colleagues tell me that means something entirely different.

Who's been a busy boy then?

Rats? Here you go...



Meet Barney, ratter extraordinaire. Could have him shipped over in a trice.

I know he's not the traditional shape normally associated with breeds that specialise that this activity (but then he isn't a breed really, either) and struggles a bit getting under henhouses, etc. But he does have endless patience, and will stare for hours at wherever he thinks he saw whatever he thought he saw, go. Starves 'em out!

Let me know.

P.S. Your older colleagues were quite correct.

Who was it who was famous for saying something along the lines - 'one thing in life is as sure as it raining, is that all women one day will eventually turn into their mothers...'

Also - that bit of wood on the decking in the pictures above - is that staying like that permanently? ***very quickly ducks before a temporary piece of timber is thrown at him***

I've heard two explanations on the 'sacking off' thing - first is that the task is sacked the same as if you fired someone, or it could also mean can't be bothered and would rather stay in the sack as in bed. No idea what the other thing meant - maybe something to do with siphoning liquid?

toast00, no offence taken! No need to apologise!

Don't ask about the "goings on"! Think yourself lucky you missed it. Personally I'd rather we all moved on. That said, if you really want to know PM me and I'll explain. You'll only get my opinion though - other points of view exist.

Good to hear you are back off furlough. I trust things are ok?

Watch those lugs ! I'm constantly amazed at the risks people take with their hearing - jackhammer with ear defenders keeping your hat safe not your ears it'll be 'right. I suppose it's easier to ignore than the bit of grinding wheel stuck in your eye but damage is still done.
I know from working in a slightly noisy industry that hearing damage risk is down to both time and volume exposure (better understood as energy). I also know that (from industry testing) I'm slightly deaf in the range of childrens and womens voices.
This is the best get out of Goal ever - not only did I not here the child crying in the night I have a graph that proves it !
Anyway get better soon.
James

I'd be lost without my tinnitus, been my buddy for a good few years.

Mixed in with my hyperacusis makes for good times.

I blame a Faust concert.

I’m “lucky” in that I’ve always been pretty intolerant of loud noise. Even stuff like the hoover is unbearable. When I was an engineering apprentice, and all the other lads were gaily beating seven bells out of stuff with no ear protection, I was wearing both ear plugs and over-ear defenders just to be able to tolerate the racket. I’m not as bad with it as I used to be, which I suppose is down to the passage of time, but I do still ace the hearing test part of my works’ medical.