Ignore no longer

"Readiness is an oft-mentioned - but frequently ignored - necessity."

- Erik Prince -

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I'm not the sort of man who ignores that need addressing, within myself or externally. I'm great at drawing a line through something negative, unimportant or unproductive and moving on, but ignoring a task I know I'll have to do or thoughts and feelings I know I'll have to address...Nope, that's not my way. But sometimes...

I've been ignoring my side gate for far too long.

This gate was hung incorrectly in respect of the fence post it latches and is difficult to open and close because of it. The gate is hinged off the brick wall and closes against the fence post which is the problem as the post is not perpendicular to the ground; it angles inwards to the brick wall at the top causing the gate frame to touch against it on closing. I have had to force it open and closed for far too long, and can't count how many times I've said, "I'm going to fix that gate this weekend."

Well, "I'm going to fix that gate this weekend." Seriously.

I can actually confirm, "I fixed that gate this weekend." At last.

I was out last night for dinner, I went here and had a reasonably late night so I slept in (to 07:00h) and while eating breakfast thought about the day and considered ignoring the gate again or cowboying-the-fuck-up and getting it done. The cowboy in me won out.

I'd like to say the job required manly manliness but it wasn't all that difficult. I used a couple of power tools which is always fun, an angle grinder and impact driver, and a ratchet tie-down strap.

I decided that rather than removing and resetting the fence post (it's concreted into the ground with pavers around it) I'd simply detach the fencing panel, undo the two horizontal fencing rails attached to the post and use the ratchet strap (2.5 tonne capacity) to lever ("bend") the fencepost over a little more perpendicular to the ground (and more parallel to the wall) which would give the gate additional clearance. I also used the grinder on a part of the latch which was fouling on the gate frame and cut back a little of the gate sheeting panel at the top also. It was all pretty simple, I had to cut back the fence rails a little to account for the angle change and I put it all back together. I had thought I may have to heat the 50x50mm fence post to get the bend into it but it came back enough (and stayed there) without heating the steel.

The fix isn't ideal; totally ideal would be to remove the fence post completely and reset it perpendicular however the second best thing is what I have done and it worked out well. The gate now opens and closes perfectly and without effort, and I've maintained the look of the gate meaning I didn't butcher it, and that's the main thing.

While I was on that side of the house I took some time to talk to my vegetables and grabbed a couple of shots as well. Below are oranges, snow peas, one of my legit cauliflowers and one of my tomatoes just starting to get going for the spring. Everything is looking really great though, and I'm happy with the progress. There's always more to do, but I can't complain considering how well my effort repays me.

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Have you ever neglected a task?

I guess there's always something better to do and sometimes things get forgotten; I don't think there's any shame in it, depending on what it is, and as long as nothing truly important is neglected then maybe it's ok. It's annoyed me that I avoided rectifying that gate, I've been angry at myself for avoiding it but just always had so much else to do.

Is there DIY stuff at your house you've not done but should, or have you done any recently? Feel free to talk about it in the comments, show an image or not, or just talk about something you have ignored lately that you shouldn't have...or just say hello or whatever feels right for you.