Max Stafford's Kennel

Well, aye, I did say there would be a post yesterday but as it happens I was actually pretty busy with stuff and by the time I got finished it was late I was a bit tired.

Since I finished with the buses I’ve had a bit of a sabbatical which is allowing me to catch up with lots of work, at this point in the garden and sheds area. I have some part time work lined up but I’m at the mercy of the DVLA and Grampian Health Board since I elected to renew my bus entitlement on my licence and I’ll need my licence in order to get a start at the new job since it’s a driving gig.

Anyhow, you’ll recall how I mentioned when I arrived here three years ago that I was going to set the shed up as my new “kennel” (Hercules Works). That is still an ongoing thing and only now have I had the time and resources to get moving on it as part of my wider campaign to get the garden harnessed to my needs.

This has involved making the place weatherproof, as water table issues in the area and poor water clearance led to problems with damp and rot. The worst parts were cleared two years ago and my  goal for this year has been to finally eliminate the water ingress that has caused the problem. I made a start by doing a concrete shuttering along the rear a few weeks back and have now laid a course of block along the back. I’ve never done any kind of bricklaying before and frankly it shows; this is probably one of the worst excuses for bricklaying your likely to see outside of a PFI school these days!

The course above now continues through the wall into the adjoining shed. Technically, this is the neighbour’s but as she doesn’t use it she’s given me the run of it. Since this shed is also affected by water issues, I have extended the course and today, I have done more shuttering along the side which actually takes the lower side up above ground level with a damp course also being fitted. All of this should eliminate the worst of the water related issues and essentially provide dry and clean storage. I also intend to do similar at the front and also do an internal floor pour to raise it by a couple of inches so that any standing water at the front which, due to the water table can occasionally be an issue in a wet winter are entirely eliminated.

I got this shuttering done this afternoon after having spent some time doing a couple of bodywork remedial to the car in preparation for its imminent MOT and also  carrying out the final cut of the year on the lawn!

I don’t know where the energy came from this afternoon but I managed all this inside five hours.

Having said that, I ‘m off to bed once I’m done writing this up; I’ve got the tatties to lift tomorrow!

I also have to gather up some models for display as I’ll be assisting with a demonstration at Aberdeen MRC’s exhibition at the weekend.

I’m going to display some of my weathered models and hopefully start to drum up some work too although the loft isn’t really ideal for it.

I’ll be taking this tarted up Hornby Princess though as I’m well pleased with the finish on it