David Gillon

The fenceposts for the gate into my back garden finally rotted through last winter (they'd been in since the house was new, so lasted almost 30 years), and for the last year the gate has basically been hanging off the fence panels. I've been meaning to get something done all year, but getting someone in was the issue (especially considering Covid for the first half of the year). Then my next door neighbours had some work done, and I was impressed by the rate the guy worked. So I got him to estimate replacing the gateposts, and we agreed he would do it on one of the days when he couldn't work on any larger jobs - this was back in September and he warned me he was fully booked until through into November.

9PM last night he rang, said he couldn't get onto the job he had scheduled for today, so would I mind if he came and did the gate?  Hell no!

So he arrived at 9:20 this morning, dismantled the gate and posts within half an hour, and then he had to drill out the concrete the old posts had been set in using a hammer drill and masonry bit. So it was a teensy bit noisy. I was surprised I largely managed to filter it out even with the windows open. I went out into the garden about 11:30 and he was just about down to where he could prize the old post out - I reckon he'd had to drill out about an 18"/'50cm cube of concrete, and still had the other post to do. My next door neighbours tell me they heard at least one "F*ck!" as he tried to get the rotted stump of the old post out.  But he was all done by 1:30 (pretty much exactly on his estimate of half a day) and if anything the gate is now working better than it did when new.

Definitely got my money's worth on that :)