A tidy up in the Dray

Abigail has hit a bit of a wall at the moment. Everything will cost more than funds will allow and I have to square the balance sheet before I can proceed. It's really tough, but if I'm not strict with myself I'm in danger of breaking the bank.

To keep myself out of mischief, I decided to invest a little time (and money) into sprucing up the shed. I had recently had a massive tidy up and re-organise, but now it was time to get out the paint. I had some left over exterior emulsion after painting the outside of the house in August and thought £25 for a tin of floor paint wouldn't kill anyone, so the job was on!

My two sons were volunteered to help and the three of us set too with emptying the shed and sweeping it out. I went on with 'cutting in' and the boys attacked the walls with the 4" brushes. By lunch time the first coat was on and we were all very pleased with our efforts. A quick tip to any budding Dictators out there... NEVER LET THE SLAVES REST! No sooner had I fed my tiny work force than the little buggers were off! I went into the kitchen to make a brew, turned round and they were gone to the distant cry of "Off to my mates, see you later. Oh and thanks for the sandwich" Charming!

Alone, I quickly got on with coat number two. As I was going over my lads handy work for myself, I started to be rather pleased they had left me to it. Patchy wasn't the word for it! Still, I was glad for their help and coat #2 would cover all the sins. By the end of day one the walls were finished and I was knackered.

Day two was 'floor day'. Everything that had been taken out on day one (and stuffed back in anywhere that night just to get it under lock and key) was whipped out again! Some of the wall fixtures could now be put back up and the large floor unit re-fitted in its usual spot. The floor was attacked with large scrappers and swept within an inch of its life and I was ready. My would be slaves had got wise to the old mans methods and made themselves scarce with feeble excuses like playing rugby for the local team so I was going to have to do this alone.

I 'cut in' the edges and around the bench with a 4" brush then attacked the main area with a 9" roller. Too be honest it went on quicker than I thought. It looked a big area, but wasn't that bad. The only downer was the fact that one tin wasn't enough for the two coats it was going to need. Bummer! Another £25, not such a cheap job after all! Another problem was the drying time between coats. 6 hours, plus I couldn't use the floor for 24 hours after the second coat. Abigail and Lucy would have to camp out for a night.

By 7pm the job was done, and rather good it looked too.

Jobs left to do include fitting the wood burner flu pipe and running a water supply to the shed. I would like a small steel sink out there for parts cleaning and have had thoughts of heating the water via the wood burner. Always things to do.