Last month in the initial part of my explanation of how a non-builder can create a nice warm and dry place to fettle classic motorcycles, I got down and dirty, literally, with a self-hire mini-excavator, a wheeled barrow and various basic building tools; and a Terry for the back-breaking stuff!
In my youth I would happily have mixed and laid a few tons of concrete, but since developing osteoporosis and having multiple spinal fractures, I shy away from such work. Whilst my friend Terry Davey (builder) is still extraordinarily fit for a man of my generation, many of us aren’t, and choose machines of mass work output.
There are a few devices that will make life a great deal easier with a build like this, and when thinking about the cost of tools, it’s worth factoring in the day rate of builders, carpenters or the profit margins of shed building companies; and if you have less of a tool collecting addiction than I do, then you can always flog these toys off when you’re finished with them. I was aware that I would be putting in a billion nails during this project and bought a cheap secondhand Paslode 1st Fix nail gun, but it didn’t quite last the first frame before turning up its toes. I spent lots of time and money on parts trying to fix it, but ended up buying a new one thanks to time constraints. With used gear, particularly professional tools, one needs to ask
