Rope Boarding Mat

My mom just bought another house.  She keeps doing this.  Nurse by day, real-estate mogul by night/weekend.  I hope it works out for her.

My brother & I were at the hardware store getting stuff to help her fix the place up, and found that they had spools of manila rope for sale.  Olde-tyme sailors (like myself) used only natural fibers to make rope.  We're talking pre-OPEC here.  Natural ropes can rot, while petrochemical ropes decay quickly in ultraviolet.  I like the look of manila and hemp; they look like authentic old stuff.

So I bought 30' of the 1/2" stuff and 30' more of the 3/4" stuff, and made a basic rope mat.  It now sits in front of her door.  It's the first rope mat I've completed, so I'm pretty happy about it.

To help the rope settle into shape, I used the age-old technique of driving a rental car over it.  To test it, I put it on the ground & stood on it.