Monday, October 1, 2012

The Dilemma

I'm taking a break from painting the house and eating an entire jar of bleu cheese stuffed olives. The paint can says not to paint in temps above 90 degrees and it's already 87. That along with the dilemma I've got has caused me to take an extended lunch.



So I've got this 16ft extension ladder that, throughout the day, I've gotten a little more comfortable with. I had to have it at it's max extension in order to paint the apex of this wall here. Now I have an issue. So I'm eating olives and ice cream and drinking wine.

If you look at the two pictures above, you will see that my first coat of primer has stopped directly above the kerosene tank. That's because it's almost right up against the house. So my ladder will just barely reach the top there, but near the top I will be leaning off the ladder several feet to get to where I need to reach.

I had a couple of ideas, none that I really felt like attempting. Maybe after another glass of wine....

Number one, I thought I could wedge the ladder between the tank and the house. Obviously the base wouldn't budge if it was held in place by a tank with a couple hundred gallons of kerosene in it. But the problem is how high I need the ladder to reach, which will create an awfully steep angle to the ground, making me likely to topple over. Not a good place to bite the dust.

My only other plan is to wait for the roof to cool off, climb up there and then hang over the edge on my belly to paint the top section. That may be my best plan. Thankfully I'm off the hook for a couple hours while it cools down.

I also have a couple walls on the south side of the house that I've primed. One needs a second coat of primer and then a few more walls can start getting the yellow paint. Here's what I've got painted so far, not counting the primer which would not be interesting to look at.
 
That small piece along the top of the wall is waiting for the roof to cool down as well so I can climb up there and paint it. Hmmm.... except that I just got my extension ladder out and might be able to use that instead. The wall on the right still needs one more coat of yellow, then it's done. I'm not even starting the trim and shutters yet. This is a really big job.

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