I had been working diligently all week towards having a mammoth floor laying session on Saturday / Sunday. I was disappointed to see that the weather forecast was for showers all weekend.

Previous experience had told me that it was not worth attempting the work with intermittent showers constantly threatening. However, I was so desperate to make some progress that I decided on an alternative approach.

We had a largish (6m x 8m) cheap blue tarpaulin at home. I knew that in any sort of a breeze the eyelets would be ripped out of the plastic. However, I thought that I would give it a go - tying it over the work area. I took some 4x2 timbers with me to act as posts, plus all the fine rope I could find.

It turned out that there was only one corner that needed a timber upright, the other corners were picked up by various trees around the house. I then used the large umbrella under the middle of the tarp to provide some head room.

I guess I would describe the outcome as "a mixed success" - every time a strong wind came up another eyelet would pop, or I would have to try some modification. Even the large umbrella was broken by one wind gust.

My most pressing problem was trying to ensure I had enough headroom. On some occasions, when a fierce gust seized the tarpaulin, and flung it up 5 metres and then down to the ground, I was almost knocked to my knees.

One unsuccessful experiment was attempting to hoist the centre of the tarp by bunching a handful of plastic at the centre, tying a rope to this and flinging the rope over an overhead branch. The fact that this branch was dead, badly in need of lopping and creaked and moved alarmingly in the breeze added a certain excitement to the proceedings undertaken beneath it. Eventually a strong wind gust undid the knot and I have to admit I was relieved to abandon this approach.

All in all, I did manage to do about two thirds of what I would achieve on a normal day. This is better than nothing. Plus by the second day - I was an old hand at hoisting and lowering the tarpaulin. I also realised that a large A frame ladder was best for a central support.

The major advantage was that even when it was raining - all the tools were safe and dry and I could continue using the drop saw to dock floorboards. Also - the majority of the installed floorboards were covered and I just needed to flick some black plastic over the very edge pieces.

By the second day the rain had ceased and I achieved a full work quota. I kept the tarpaulin in place as it provided a welcome protection from the harsh sun and created an altogether much more pleasant working environment.

The good news is that I have now reached the other wall of the garage area (ie 7.4 metres now laid)