Prison bars but i still have a view.

Portugal is a country that has many laws that may seem strange to outsiders like myself.  If you don't own the land at the side of your house and you want a window and the window faces onto someone else's land then you have to have bars on the window.

My kitchen borders someone eles's land and after asking him if i could have a window that doesn't open onto his land he refused. He said that should he sell the ruin next door then the window would stop someone else rebuilding the ruin. As they are in the area i live many ruins in a better condition and a better place his chance of selling is nil unless he sells to me but that's another story.

In a previous life i had a job that at times required me to be able to weld. I was not the best welder but i was OK. I decided to make a frame with two bars to go in the gap i had for the window. I had enough flat bar steel and proceeded to cut the steel to size and weld it to make a grill for the window. Maybe as the steel was a bit thicker than i would have liked or the welding rods being 3/4 years old now as i had not needed to use any for a long time i don't know.

My attempt at welding was to say the least poor but in the end only i know that and when hidden behind my new window it won't be seen. A friend who was a window fitter for over 12 years has offered to come around and fit my window for me it was an offer that i couldn't refuse. It would probably take me all day but it may take him only an hour or so but when you have done it as a job it's so easy.

The gap above the window is because the builder who cut the hole made it 2cm to big so as to make it easy to fit the frame. The window frame is just sitting there for now but tomorrow it should be all done.

This is a window in one of my bedrooms and this is not how i would like  my kitchen window to look. As the kitchen window doesn't open i have taken a chance with the bars i have made. Will i get away with it only time will tell.





This afternoon as i painted the bars i didn't expect what i found later. At just 7pm i had just seen an advert on TV for window blinds. I have just had my dinner and i went to put one more coat of paint on the bars. The sun goes down behind the hills opposite the new window, i have my base unit that takes my oven and hob ready and they will be right in front of the window. That was OK till tonight when the sun was so bright i couldn't look out of the window. I had wanted to have my hob in front of the window but now i may have to have the hob to the right or the left of the window and i am not now sure just how to move the hob for the best.