On my back

No posts during the last week and that was because I spent most of in in bed.  Not the winter flu…… I did my back [AGAIN] moving the waterbed.  Jan said we should have split the heavy work over two day but I was {of course} impatient and lower back pain was the result.  I’ve also discovered that as you get older you don’t have a left and right knee.   You have a good and bad knee!

Yesterday the back was down to a dull ache and today I started yet another project.  The evaporative air conditioning vents in the ceiling need to be removed and the holes filled in.  These are old vents and a right mongrel to remove.  They were installed from inside the roof cavity.  Obviously be a flexible young apprentice!  I’m simply no longer sufficiently flexible to get into the confined roof cavity which means they have to be cut out from below.  I’m getting better at this and will be an expert by the time the last vent is removed.  A skill I’ll hopefully never have to use again.

The first step is to cut some of the vent blades with tinsnips to expose the ends of the retain screws.

I’ve worked out I only need to remove the blades at the ends

Then I use the angle grinder to remove the ends of the screws.  This separates the room half of the vent from the housing in the roof cavity leaving me with a 410x410mm hole to fill.

 

Next a trip to the local hardware to purchase a half sheet of plasterboard.  A full sized sheet won’t fit into the vehicle!  Four holes have to be filled and I cut the plasterboard in the afternoon before ripping down some waste pine on the bench saw.  These were cut 460mm long and glued to the back of the plasterboard patches; two to each patch.  They have been left overnight for the glue to dry.  Tomorrow I’ll do a ‘test fit’ of each patch before gluing it in place using the attached rails.  Give the glue another day to set and I’ll be able to start plastering the edges of the patches.

I was asked why we didn’t hire a narrowboat during our UK holiday.  We had the time but for a very good reason we decided to avoid canals as much as possible.  If you don’t it’s possible to get addicted.  You may recall Joe and Lesley of NB Caxton and then NB Yarwood.  After 8 years living on the Cut in 2016 they gave up the canals for a motorhome.  Then in mid 2018 they were asked to move a boat.  Hooked……  They are back boating and blogging <here>.   The canals are addictive…. stay away if you don’t want to be caught!