Yesterday morning, the door bell rang. I was still in my pink flannelette pyjamas at 8.30am, folding a pile of washing.
It was Mr Rooney, our revered builder, brandishing his tool box, answering my blog plea for assistance to repair the wood rot on our deck railings.
There was no time for acute embarrassment for my slovenly state, because out came his cordless nail gun. He was a man on a mission.
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| This may or may not be Mr Rooney's nail gun of choice. He was too quick for me to jot down the exact brand. |
Bang. Bang. Bang.
He secured all the loose boards on the worst section of the deck rails - a quick fix until he returns to replace it.
With his steel-capped boots, he gave each section of rails the "I'm going to kick your head in" test. If they withstand an almighty stomp, they pass.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Yep. They're good."
"It's just this section," Mr Rooney said pointing to the rotted boards. "That's completely rooted! (for my overseas readers, that's Australian building industry terminology for f*cked)
"Wood rot's like cancer. You can't really do anything to stop it. But I can replace this section easily when I come back to do the rest of the work."
And that was that.
In and out, like the breath of a nail gun gas cartridge. To return another day.
How funny, I love THAT word so much...you don't hear it as much now...I think I will be adding it to my repertoire...or should I say re adding it. Ha. Mr Rooney you are a legend! Hope you had a lovely weekend, cheers Katherine
ReplyDeleteWow - he's a bit of a super hero! My builder reads my blog (the brother in law) so maybe I will have to start talking a little more about my building dilemmas! Michelle
ReplyDeleteSo James Bond!! In every way!
ReplyDeleteflippingfunny, but glad he's on the job. sounds like he'll have it sorted!
ReplyDeleteGo Mr Rooney! Love a man of action!!!!! Anita, love your funny whit, you crack me up. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLucky you. Much better than having your mother or your boss read your blog.
ReplyDeleteLove that word 'rooted'. Its fantastic and so satisfying. xoxo
Great word. I'll be adding it to my arsenal. Here, no one will be the wiser. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the way you write!! You paint a picture with your words....
ReplyDeleteWould you mind terribly getting him to read my blog too? I have trouble with dampness in the front porch and a leaky bay window. There's more but I don't want to frighten him off. And may we have a fabric swatch of your pink flannelette pyjamas?
ReplyDeleteOh that's BRILLIANT!! Gosh, sounds just like me last week with my cornice dude and my pj's!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE a nail gun - must add to the list and I just love how he thought they were rooted. Bloody fantastic!!
Great post Brimod!!
Sounds like both our weekends involved rotten wood. My builder is my hubby, but he doesn't read my blog unfortunately. Maybe I'll print out a few choice posts and email them to him...
ReplyDeleteAfter misidentifying Bob Katter's Martini Henry's you've redeemed yourself by correctly guessing a 'Paslode finishing gun'
ReplyDeleteFor your next research project Google cognitive dissonance, because I said ROTTED!
In other news, I spoke to Dumbledore today and I've got dibs on the shade sail poles in the amphitheatre. I'm going to use them to build your new back stairs. Now that's recycling!
I couldn't be more environmentally sound if I drove a prius and knitted my own yoghurt.
(I'll need Jas to give me a hand to get the the SS poles back to yours.)
Rooney
Oh did we laugh at this comment! Jason is at your disposal, Mr Rooney. Just say the word. We love that our stairs will be eco. You must give us your yoghurt pattern.x
ReplyDeleteThe power of the blog! No need for pesky conversation :)
ReplyDeleteYou're very lucky having a tradesman on call - it's nearly impossible to get them to return a phone call these days.
ReplyDeleteThis cracked me up! He READS YOUR BLOG and appears as if by magic. We should all be so lucky!
ReplyDelete