Rig for paint

I had a 19 rung ladder to try to paint the top right corner of the wall of my extension. And it wasn't quite enough! Ideally, you don't stand on the top few rungs. If you do, then not only are you at risk of falling off, but also you have your face right at the wall. That's not ideal! So I was thinking about what to do about that. And I had a brilliant idea.

I made most of the painting work safe using my mine exploration rope as a handline. And that worked. But it is a 50 m rope, so there is a lot more to it. And then I figured I could use the entire extension as an anchor. What if I would lead the one end of the rope that was not in use out the front door, and then over the flat roof of the extension, and down on the other side? Then I had a rope I could attach myself to. And that would not solve the having-your-nose-against-the-wall issue, but it would solve the problem of potentially falling off. And that was the most important issue.

One evening I tried to harness my inner cowboy, and try to throw the end of the rope over the roof. That didn't work! I didn't manage to throw it far enough. I couldn't swing out much, as Neuadd Ogwen was in the way. So I postponed the whole thing a bit.

After work on Friday I had another go. I just put a ladder against the extension (at the front) and that way I did manage to get the rope over the roof. I could start scraping the top right planks! And so I did. It wasn't a big area I now had to cover, so it didn't take an awful lot of time. Even though it was a little bit awkward, standing so close to the wall. And the highest bits were still a bit difficult to get to. But I did it! And then I sanded it, and wiped it clean. And applied a layer of primer. Even though for the rest of the wall, that was the easy bit, here it wasn't the case. I have to hold the can of paint with one hand and the paint brush with the other. When I am scraping or sanding I only need one hand, and that makes it easier. But I did do it in the end. Success!

Adding the two coats of actual paint will also be awkward, but should be doable. Then I am not quite done; I still have to do the slat above the window. Some of that I want to do from inside the window. Why not! And then I have to caulk the whole thing. So this won't yet be the last blog post about this. But I think I will have a good sense of accomplishment when it is all finished!

the rig inside the bedroom

   not much to see at the front!

and what it was all about: safety on top of the ladder