Time to recycle the rubbish

A building tools graveyard is what you could call my grandpa's garage. I have never ever before seen anyone with as much stuff as there is in my grandpa’s garage. He is one of those people who never ever throws anything away, ever. You will see him at Christmas or on his birthday carefully peeling off sellotape from cheap wrapping paper before carefully folding it into a neat square and popping it into a paper bag to store ‘in case we ever need it.’ 

I don’t think he has an obsessive hoarding disorder or anything; it just may seem like that to me because we live in a generation of ‘throwaway’ culture. My grandpa came from an era of rations and war, a time before mass plastic and polystyrene. The days when milk came in glass bottles that were collected and disposed to be cleaned and used again has almost become extinct. 

My grandparents have just put their house in Yorkshire on the market so that they can come down to Cornwall and be closer to us in case they get to old or to ill to look after themselves. At the moment they are still reasonably fit and healthy for their age but after we finish packing the contents of their grandpa stocked house, I am not so sure that they will be quite as bouncy.

I went for a quick tour round the well stocked car shed to asses the time it was going to take and I am not joking, he has everything in that place. I even found some useful power tools and garden tools amongst the well organised debris. I deduced that it was going to take a while…

For years to come- my forage into professional D.I.Y

I have decided to set up my own small business doing professional D.I.Y (if there is such a thing) for friends and family. I am so sick of paying the prices that so many builders are charging at the moment, even in this market. I am not going to use the dreaded two words but you know what I am talking about don’t you. I am so incredibly sick of reading the words ‘credit’ and ‘crunch’ in the same sentence and the thought that I am going to have to endure this bite size word combination for possibly years to come makes me feel a little queasy. I already avoid ‘cc’ articles and have started to sweep my eyes over the morning newspaper in order to pin point and swat the blighters from a distance before I have the displeasure of reading them. I doubt I am missing much because you know as soon as you spot those gems that the article is going to be predictably uncreative and unimaginative and most likely mixed with technical gobbledy gook that you won’t understand.

Several of my friends and family need a few minor home improvements done and I am willing to help them out with anything from building garden benches and tables to laying foundations for extensions. Of course I am not a complete novice. I used to work on a construction site a few years ago and earned quite a lot of money doing it but I gave it up to design and sell Amdega conservatories. That was something that fulfilled my artistic side and gave me the opportunity to move back into the sector where I really felt like I had talent; sales.

Since then, although I thoroughly enjoy my current job, I have missed working out in the open air and felt as though I should make use of the skills that I have gained through my life. If I could use those skills to save family and friends money and improve their quality of life then why not offer my help?

I would buy the tools I needed according to the jobs I was given so that I could charge them to whomever I will be working for at the time. I can then offer cost prices on the materials and I am well informed to source the cheapest and best quality stone and timber. I would arm myself with a few basic power tools but there will be no need to purchase heavy duty power tools until I actually –if ever – need to use them.

While I was working in construction we used the well known DeWalt brand. I knew I could get a quality second hand cordless drill from the site where I used to work. Those tools work great for years so I know I won’t be getting anything unsafe. My son has volunteered to help out for a bit of extra cash and of course I want to make sure he isn’t going to hurt himself using any dodgy equipment.

I have so far thought of everything but a name for the business. When I do I am going to title this blog with it.

Building Tools

Resources for Building Tools around the web, since when I was looking I couldn't find anything that was actually very useful.