Saturday 16 May 2020

Eight Bags

The rhyme  “Baa Baa Black Sheep” came to mind as I mixed and poured the concrete in the bathroom this morning.  I’d been putting off the job knowing everything had to be mixed and laid by hand.

My usual habit is to under estimate the required materials as I don’t like a surplus.  In this case I thought surplus concrete would be useful for the next major task and therefore purchased eight bags knowing I’d only require four or five.

Jan wouldn’t let me use her pink concrete mixed bought for her birthday.  I wasn’t going to hire a mixer for 4 bags of cement and decided to mix it by hand in the wheelbarrow.  By the time I reached the third bag I was reconsidering my decision.  By the fifth bag I realised I’d made a mistake erred in my judgement regarding my physical prowess.  By the eighth bag I was stuffed and just hoping this bag would the job.

P1000019 

This has been a wake-up call.  My physical condition is nowhere what I had assumed it was and I need to do something about getting back into shape!

At least my physical part of this project is now complete.  The plumber has to return and modify the pipework before the tiler finishs the walls and floor.  Then the plumber can return and install the toilet.  Meanwhile I’ve returned to the timber cabinet project biscuit joining the planks to make the partitions and ends.

4 comments :

Geoff and Mags said...

Tough on the shoulders and back, mixing by hand! You gentlemen of a certain age have to take it easy...

Dave said...

Even in my 30's after mixing 4 or so bags for a shed base i decided to buy my own mixer ans long term if you use it once a year it easily works out cheaper than hiring.

I got lucky and picked up a 2nd hand petrol mixer for £50, its older than me but still going strong and several friends have since borrowed it.

Jenny said...

Non of us are as young and fit as we would like to be. I think you need a cup of tea and a lie down to recover!

Tom and Jan said...

Geoff,

you are supposed to tell me that before I do the mixing :-)