Thanks again dad!

[mmb617]

We all know that getting a job done with the least amount of aggravation is largely dependent on having the right tools. I'm in the middle of a job now and am very glad to have the ladders, planks, and other equipment needed.








Every time I use this stuff I think about how I got it.

Back in 1998 my dad was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He had been a painter his whole life and wanted me to have all his equipment. Besides what's shown in the picture there are also four more extension ladders from 24 to 36 ft. This didn't set well with my siblings as they were looking at the stuff as having monetary value, but dad said that I was the only one who would actually use it instead of selling it.

Dad and I worked together on jobs sometimes as he pretty much stuck to painting and got me to help when there was carpentry or electrical involved as I've always been a DIYer. All my siblings were of the hire it out rather than attempt it themselves types.

I like to think he'd be pleased to see that I'm still using it these 18 years later, and that includes the '91 F150 which he also left to me.

Every time I use his ladders I think back to some of the good times we had. I still miss him.

[xctasy]

There's some real Jim Ignatuski irony there. If I took all those ladders, planks and equiment your dad gave and laid them end to end....you'd get no painting done!

[BMW Rider]

My father also passed away from brain cancer in 99. He was an auto mechanic most of his life, I have a few of his old tools but most went to my younger brother. Dad worked for the local Ford dealer for many years before opening his own shop. The thing that I am most grateful for that I got from him was knowledge. I started my apprenticeship under him when I finished school. I had my license by the time I was in my early twenties, much sooner than most who had to put in time sweeping floors and doing the dirty menial jobs before they were allowed to become an apprentice. He was an old school mechanic who learned to actually repair things, not just replace parts. I gained that perspective from him and still prefer to fix anything I can. I went on to work in a machine shop doing engine work when Dad decided to shut down his shop ( a victim of the Eighties economy). He retired from pulling wrenches after that, but we still worked together on many other jobs and projects of all sorts not just mechanics.

I still have a picture of him in my garage and a sign from his shop hangs on the wall. I think of him sometimes when I work on things and think about how happy he would be to be there with me tinkering and building or just seeing me doing the work I do.

[Walking-Tall]

...

[grabbergreen84]

Brain cancer took my Dad too, in Jan of 2000. He wasn't a big DIY'er even when he was young, but he had a decent assortment of small hand tools for small jobs in the house and garage. My mom still has all of that stuff.

[fascat]

I am sure your Dad is smiling down on you as you put all his equipment to use. Just as he intended. Great memories you have of him.

[homer302]

Same here. although I lost mine to a brain injury, rather than brain cancer. I got all his tools as well and think of him often when using them. Good memories even though it's a little sad too.
Is that a pool house you are building there or just a storage shed?

[mmb617]

Is that a pool house you are building there or just a storage shed?

Keep quiet about the pool house idea and I'll tell you the story behind that building.

Way back about 30 years ago we had an above ground pool, and while our son was growing up it got a lot of use. Once he got to high school he lost interest in the pool and it seemed like nobody ever used it. Plus it was getting old enough to need some major repairs, so after discussing it with the wife I convinced her to let me take it out.

The old pool had a 14x18 treated wood deck along the one side. This deck was built on a very solid foundation as I had built it and my friends say I overbuild everything. So I took the railings off and used the old deck as the floor and built that shed. It was pretty nice as it has 8 ft ceiling heights and is wired up. I moved all my wood working tools in there and used it for my job. At the time I worked for a lumber distributor building displays for our customers and often built the displays in that shop then loaded them into my company van for delivery. I even have a regular garage door on the far end, and as the building is elevated I could back right in like at a loading dock making for easy load up.

The old pool and deck.






Converted to workshop.













The building served me well but now I'm retired and don't need it for that purpose anymore. It had just been painted OSB for years and was ready for another coat of paint, so I decided to just put vinyl siding on it. I still have all my woodworking tools in there and also use if for general storage, or whatever seems appropriate at the time. For instance our son and I stored our motorcycles in it last winter to free up some room in the garage.

After I had converted the old pool deck to a workshop, the wife decided that she missed having a pool and wanted another one. I wanted to have a deck the whole way around the pool this time so I moved the pool down the yard 5 ft from where the old one was allowing room for a deck along that side.







The reason I said to be quiet about the pool house is that I've recently noticed how it would serve that purpose well. See how the deck is butted against the shed on that side? All I'd have to do is install a patio door and you could walk right out onto the pool deck. I'm hoping she doesn't ever think of that as I don't want to lose the use of the building, and I really think pools are nothing but a PIA in our neck of the woods. You only get from Memorial Day till Labor Day out of them and it seems a waste of time and money for something you only use 3 months out of the year.

Of course with all the time and money I have in this new pool and composite deck it's here to stay. At my age it should outlast me.