The next big outdoor job is the repair and painting around the five big windows in the dining room. They are on a cantilevered wall that extends out over a rough hill. The overhang also needs painting.
A year or so after we bought the house we painted most of it ourselves, as we have over the last two years, but we hired someone to do that section. We found a crazy old painter that did it by nailing a ladder to the narrow ledge below the windows. There are no crazy old painters like that anymore, and even if there were I'm not sure we would want the risk of being sued if they fell.
In the picture to the right, Craig is on a 20' extension ladder repairing and painting the very bottom edge.
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| picture taken from the safety of the deck |
Yesterday he managed to gouge his leg with his sander, resulting in his getting five stitches.
We have been arguing about this job for weeks. I have begged him, scolded him, and threatened him, all to no avail.
I want him to put up scaffolding, but he refuses.
The man is accident prone. I could tell a couple of gory stories involving a chainsaw and a table saws, but I will leave them for another time!
I would rather not be a widow.
My stand is this:
If he falls and gets hurt, I will not take care of him.
If he had a heart attack, I would take care of him.
If he had a stroke, I would take care of him.
If he got cancer or any other illness I would take care of him.
But if he gets hurt because he is being stupid and stubborn. He's on his own.
What do you do when someone you love won't listen to reason?
Nuthin'. Just save up the "I told you so". My DH refuses to wear a bike helmet even after I repeatedly begged him to (and bought one for him).
ReplyDelete"Not cool", says he. He means it both ways.
So I decided to shut-up after I told him that if he dies of a bike-related head injury, I'm going to have an open-casket funeral. And he's going to be wearing a bike helmet.
Stay as cool as possible.
ReplyDeleteYou have a very complex house. No wonder the maintenance goes on forever.
Craig looks very happy up there but rather him than me.
Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Blessings
I hear you. My dad was extremely stubborn, and sometimes drove my mom crazy. There were several trips to the ER with pieces of fingers cut off, etc. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteBuy lots of life insurance??
ReplyDeleteOh yeah...George is very stubborn, but we love them anyway.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I think I'll skip commenting on that. :)
ReplyDeleteNope, wouldn't catch me doing that. Had to get a guy with a front end loader to get me off our carport roof last summer & that was embarrassing enough. But, better that than taking a chance of falling. A fall at this age does not have positive results. We older folks just don't bounce as well as we once did.......Death is acceptable, being paralyzed for the rest of one's life hanging out of a wheelchair in a nursing home is not!!
ReplyDeleteWell, let's see. John smoked, I begged him to quit. John got COPD....I begged him to use his inhailers as prescribed...He ended up with respiratory failure....
ReplyDeleteI ended being at his side during 5 weeks of ICU and 3 more of the Acute Critical Care....
I am doing all the work around here. Yep, Merikay, there is something wrong with our pictures. But we do what we need to at the time.
Here's hoping Craig doesn't get hurt.
Looks like a scary job. I've found that hounding my stubborn ones never works so just let him do what he needs but if it were me I'd be somewhere else why he was doing it.
ReplyDeleteHe should at least be wearing a safety harness! Is there anyway you could rent some kind of a lift that would get him up there?
ReplyDeleteOh Merikay, my friend, I feel for you! But I have no actual words to offer except that you really would care for him if it came right down to it... I'm just hoping for common sense and safety to prevail!
ReplyDeleteAnd for your friend Kimbopolo ~ I hope somehow she will read this ~ Hubster didn't used to wear a helmet when he rode his handcycle. He rolled his cyle in 2006 and his injuries included:
1.blood clot on his brain
2.broken left hand
3.permantly damaged right shoulder
4.road rash that has left marks
He was in the hospital for over 2 weeks and then a long term care facility for 6 weeks because he couldn't (and I couldn't) care for himself because of his leg amputations from Vietnam and the inability to use his arms after the cycle accident.
PLEASE WEAR A BIKE HELMET! HE DOES NOW!
Sorry for hijacking your comments Merikay!
When I worked for a heating/air conditioning company, the employees were required to wear harnesses any time they worked on the outside of the house.
ReplyDeleteIf he falls and dies, well...I hope he has life insurance. But if he falls and becomes handicapped or disabled or in a coma for life, YOU will take the brunt of it. And financially it will be a killer.
I'd insist on hiring this part out. Because you love him and the reasons above. His life and health affect yours, and he's not being smart about this.
the good old 'I told you so' works here too!..stay safe Craig....wouldn't catch me up there!
ReplyDeleteI can barely even look at that first picture.
ReplyDeleteGood for you Merikay for setting a boundary.
ReplyDeleteJust increase his life insurance? ;c)
ReplyDeleteWhat Me and My Dog said... He should at least use safety equipment - it doesn't look safe! Could you lock up his ladder somehow? While noble to want to do it, it is just plain foolhardy!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed with all the work that has been done so far!
I would put the house up for sale today..as is...take what you can get. Not worth all the aggrevation...life is too short.
ReplyDeleteMerikay,
ReplyDeleteWe get it in our heads the way to solve a problem and we can be stubborn about it. I wish I knew what to say to make it easier but it does look like he's doing a good job, maybe you can talk him into wearing a saftey harness at least?
Happy Memorial Day!
Erik
I would just hire a painter and be done with it. Let him have his fit and to bad. MEN!
ReplyDelete