Changing light bulbs at your house shouldn't be a major operation, right? Well, it is at my house. The distance from floor to ceiling inside the house is about 260 centimeters or about eight and a half feet. The distance from the eaves of the house (all four sides) to the ground is about 540 centimeter or nearly 18 feet. It's obvious I need two different ladders (one step ladder and one extension ladder) or a combination ladder of some kind.

Repainting the house, inside or outside, will be a challenge for anyone trying to do it the way it was done when my house was built. The construction crew used makeshift ladders and scaffolds made of cheap lumber. Every time I watched them working, I winced and expected a major accident. I didn't see any safety precautions being followed. I wonder if a Philippines version of OSHA exists. I guess it doesn't matter now. The house is quickly approaching three years of age.

Ladders

I'm not going to stand back and watch anyone stand on makeshift ladders or scaffolds ever again. It's too dangerous and I'm not hiring a contractor to take care of my home maintenance. That's what my relatives are for (two are experienced painters).

A year before I sold my house in the US, I bought a ladder like this:

It was a Gorilla Ladder I bought at Home Depot for more than USD $200 while it was on sale. I think it was the longest ladder available. I used it as an extension ladder outside while repairing roof tiles and cleaning bird refuse from the roof. I used it as a step ladder in the house to repaint the vaulted ceilings. I couldn't bring it with me when I moved to the Philippines, so it ended up being a gift to my best friend.

I've searched high and low for a ladder like that here and I can't find one. The best I can do is get separate ladders, so I guess that's what I'll have to do.

Light Bulbs

All of the light bulbs inside the house are low energy light bulbs. There's all classified as CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) despite all the odd shapes. Only two have burned out since the house was built and I haven't replaced them yet — they're both in places where other nearby lights will suffice until I do. I could probably stand on a chair and stretch (I'm only 5 feet 10 inches tall) to replace them, but I don't feel like breaking my neck in the process. Both floors are ceramic tile covering concrete flooring. I don't know anyone taller than me and I won't let anyone stand on something unstable, so the process has to wait.

The outside lights bulbs, on the other hand, are all incandescent light bulbs that burned out long ago. I haven't replaced them either because you just can't do it without a tall ladder. They will all be replaced with CFLs when I finally get to them.

Repainting the House

The paint on the house hasn't lasted as long as I hoped. The contractor used cheap waterproof paint on the exterior and it looked good for about a year and a half. The rainy seasons, along with the typhoons, have helped to remove some of that cheap paint. The interior paint is bubbling off due to the humidity and heat during the hot seasons. I'll need paint scrapers, some form of putty (for the settlement cracks), and sanding supplies before any of the walls can be repainted.

I can't even think of working on the painting part of all of this until the Philippine rainy season is over. The paint wouldn't even get a chance to dry.

My Home, My Work

Since I work at home and my master bedroom doubles as my office, I have to deal with burnt out bulbs and ugly looking walls every single day. Oh well…

At least I own my home — no mortgage or rental payments. If all I ever have to worry about is home maintenance, I really don't have much to worry about at all.

• Interior or Exterior, How Often Should You Paint Your House?
• Street Lights of Olongapo
• The Three Seasons of Weather in the Philippines
• I Foiled A Burglar This Morning
• My Custom Kitchen — Cabinets, Cupboards, Counters and Electricity