If you are holding your breath waiting for the post about our trip to La Promenade, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer.
Tim rubbing down!
Today we started to prepare and paint the Forth Bridge aka our 10 sets of French windows and shutters – that’s 20 windows (‘cos we’re only painting the outside) and 40 shutters! That’s not to mention the barge boards, downpipes, garage doors, other windows and walls!!
With any luck we’ll run out of paint …
*For those of you who might be wondering about the reference to the Forth Bridge, legend has it that the painters never finish painting it. When they get to the end they go back to the beginning and start all over again! If you want to know more you can read all about it here - it makes fascinating reading...
**Susan pointed out that I should have linked to the FORTH RAIL BRIDGE and methinks she could be right!
**Susan pointed out that I should have linked to the FORTH RAIL BRIDGE and methinks she could be right!
Good luck with that! I find painting a bore, but shutters must be so tedious to do.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think we'll need the luck.
DeleteIsn't your link to the wrong bridge?
ReplyDeleteThere's a BBC news story about painting the bridge at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-16110496
DeleteApparently they used a new glass based epoxy paint and it won't need doing for another 25 years!
Possibly, Susan.
DeleteI think there must be a road bridge and a rail bridge. Tim says my legend is a fallacy anyway!
I have to say this was one of my great fears about buying a French home. Would we spend all our time maintaining it so we hardly had time to enjoy it ? So far so good, we've had some building work done ( big decking area round the pool, and some bathroom improvements) but we haven't done any of it ! I have great plans for our shutters. They will have to wait for next year I think, and I suspect.....someone else will be doing them. Dont work too hard, make sure you enjoy your stay and relax after another hard year at school. J.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was one of our fears too which was why we started out with an apartment in the Haute Savoie where we paid monthly for everything, and extra when it was decided by our syndicat that our almost new building needed painting and that our share was to be thousands of euros!
DeleteWe will see how far we get with the painting because there is a much bigger job to waterproof the terrace that we will need someone to do for us!
Quite a job ahead of you, I don't doubt. Food, wine, and decent weather should help though! What colour have you chosen?
ReplyDeleteOur house is all white and off white but we are thinking about changing the shutter colour. Trouble is we started out with a Farrow and Ball paint for the shutters which if we use it everywhere will be ridiculously expensive, so we'll need to think again!
DeleteI don't mind painting, it's the rubbing down that gets my goat! Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteI feel exactly the same, Pauline.
DeleteTim boringly bangs on about preparation being nine tenths of the job etc, etc, etc!!
Those louvred shutters are an absolute nightmare to prep for painting. If the paint is in poor condition a good trick is to use the pressure washer on them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, Susan. The condition of the paint isn't too bad on most of them, but a couple at least might need the water treatment.
DeleteGood luck with all the painting don't envy Tim his rubbing down! Actually the bridge that carries trains is 'The Forth Bridge' while the one that carries cars is 'The Forth Road Bridge' and new one to open by 2020 will be 'The Forth Road Bridge Two'.
ReplyDeleteIn the days of steam they were actually painting it end to end and then repeating the whole process all over again! Niall
Thanks,Niall. With three bridges there will be no end to the painting. It should keep an army in a job. I just hope they don't conscript me!!
DeleteI knew there was a link and everyone uses that analogy but got the wrong bridge.
It sounds like a bus man's holiday with better weather. Enjoy the painting. Here you would be painting in the rain.
ReplyDeleteNeed a big push.
ReplyDeleteCv Template
Just been catching up with reading your recent posts and enjoying my virtual meal at La Promenade! I can sympathise with you on shutter painting, your numbers are definitely going to make this task one of The Forth Bridge variety. Happy Painting.
ReplyDeleteThanks. The meal certainly helps and when/if we ever finish we will treat ourselves to another!
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