03 September 2022

Ivy removed from front of house

The previous time I had been tackling my ivy, I have used my own ladder. I had managed to remove quite a lot of ivy, but I hadn't been able to reach the top of the wall. But if I can't reach things with my own ladder, then there is always the neighbour! I asked him if I could use his, and I could. And he has compound ladders.

After the reverse fly-tipping, I retrieved a set of ladders from his wall that looks like they would do the job. And I got active! My initial stint was a bit scary; I suppose I should have placed the ladder at a less acute angle. That feels safer when you are standing at the top. If you want to reach something at the edge of the roof of what is to these intents and purposes a two story building, then you are not very high above the ground in the greater scheme of things, but still; if something goes wrong, you have a big problem.

I decided to move the ladder a bit and then continue. That felt a lot safer! But I must admit that every time I heard a breeze approach, I was a little bit jittery. It was not the kind of day on which you get blown off a ladder, but these fears are not always rational.

Bad picture of the ivy invading the roof

Done! With help of the neighbour's ladders.

I was really glad, though, that the neighbour had drawn  my attention to the ivy problem. Strands of the stuff were already going into the roof! And if left to their own devices, these would undoubtedly grow, and then start pushing my roofing slates out of place. I can really do without that.

With the roof now saved, I am left with a barefaced front of the house. And I suppose the honourable thing to do now is to paint it. I still have paint left over from the west façade! And the front would probably only need one coat. This does mean I need to remove the other trellis as well, and detach the drainpipe, and repair the clump of render that has come off at the front. That was probably also ivy related! I should defend my house well against this creeping enemy. But maybe once I've done this all this, the house will look better than it has in years!

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