Getting up early

[shermarama]

What is it about diving that involves getting up early, even when it's an evening dive? Tonight is the first evening dive of the summer season, but because sunset's still a bit early, we're meeting at the boats at 5.30 pm, which means Chris needs to leave work at 4, so he's gone to work early so he can leave early, and I suppose I wouldn't have had to get up as well but the gas man was due at 8.30 but actually he arrived at 8.10 so it's a good job I did. 

The gas man is here to reroute the gas pipe to the hob that he put in the other day; predictably, it's stopping the oven going all the way into its cabinet. But once that's done I should be able to go on to dealing with more kitchen. And I'm kind of hoping that I'll get a reply soon from the managing agents about what's happening with decorating the outside, which they told me had to be arranged by April in order for the tenders not to run out of date, and which I asked them to keep me informed about because before the outside gets done I need to do serious things to all the windows at the back. 

I like sash windows. They have some downsides, particularly in the single-glazed and draughty department (I doubt I'd ever be able to afford the double-glazed type), but they're satisfyingly mechanical. Counterbalancing lead weights on strings, and then if they need taking apart, you pry off the beading at the front and it all unslots and unties (I know the bedroom window cords have got bowlines because Tom tied them) and comes to bits. Every single window at the back is down to about half of its complement of putty, and the bottom sash in the kitchen has gone rotten enough to need replacing, but there are a lot of companies that make replacement sashes in Brighton and a new one is only going to cost £99 if I fit it myself. The bathroom bottom sash needs some new glass as well as new putty so I need to see if the glazing company across the road can match the pattern.

Crikey, gas man's done already. And the oven now fits in its hole. 

Comments

[ironlord.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, I have an intense dislike of sash windows that was set in stone during the half an academic year I had to deal with them when I was a first year undergrad. They were single glazed and the wooden frames were rotting, and would always, always jam if I tried to lift them more than a few inches. Since then it's been double glazed uPVC all the way and I couldn't be happier - especially as all the other houses in my block have brown, wooden windows with strips of lead all over them.