September 28, 2022
September 28th
DIY mode
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For the past month or so, I've been pondering replacing the lighting system in the living room. What we have is a pair of parallel cables strung from the two end walls of the room, with about a dozen small spot lights clamped to the cables. We bought the system from IKEA about 20 years ago and it's become a bit iffy, with plastic components starting to fail. It just looks a bit sad and leaves dim places.
The plan is to put up some standard track lighting around the whole perimeter of the room. As the ceiling is quit ehigh, it will be suspended on metal rods fixed to the concrete ceiling. We've now bought everything apart from the anchors for fixing it to the ceiling. Well, I did buy some only to realise they're unsuitable - they're made for drywall or ceiling tiles, not concrete.
So, today I'm going back to the hardware shop to swap them for screws, and while I'm out the plan is to have 20 small brackets made, with holes drilled in them so that they can not only be fixed to the concrete, but also accept the 4mm threaded s/s rod I bought. To help explain what I need, I've made one out of card to show to the boss at the metal fab workshop that's not too far from home.
My shopping expedition will involve cycling around urban streets and roads in today's 33°C heat. I guess I'll just have to call in somewhere for a decent coffee and chill for a bit.
Around 10:30 I go down in the elevator, but realise I've not got my helmet, so return to the 6th floor and pick it up. Once down at ground level again I realise I don't have my camera. I'm like a yo-yo.
I do remember to bring a token for a free coffee at a nearby place and that's my first stop. There's only one other customer sat at a table. The waitress in Traveler Cafe knows me and after I've finished my drink, brings me a wedge of tiramisu on the house. Nice surprise. After 20 minutes or more reading a novel, I reckon it's time to go and get something done.
Rather than ride straight to the metal workshop along a wide road, I pop down a few side streets on the lookout for nice window grills. When I mentioned this to Ralph on Monday night, he said he'd call such a thing a trellis, but to me that's something plants grow on. Anyway, the majority are now boring stainless steel or alloy ones, but a few houses still have the original steel ones that are probably 50 years old. Hopefully I can buy one soon to hang from my living room ceiling. I'm having some extra brackets made for this eventuality.
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2 years ago
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2 years ago
2 years ago
The roller doors on the metal workshop are down and there's a new sign with a map on it. It seems the busness has relocated somewhere near the 113 and Route 66, which is likely 20-odd minutes away in the other direction. Not good news. I'll go there tomorrow and decide to just swap the anchors for screws today.
I ride across town, trying to avoid the busiest roads and eventually follow a street that traces a shallow river. The buildings along it are mainly light industrial ones and from the corner of my eye I notice one has a few bits of machinery that could have something to do with metalwork. It's worth a try and I venture inside.
A woman looks at my card template and we're soon joined by her husband (?) and his nephew. The younger family member can speak some English and helps translate my needs - we confrm the dimensions, the drilled hole diameter and agree on 1.5mm thick stainless steel. They can't give me a price straight away for making 20 of them, but I leave my name card and the women says she'll phone me later. It looks like my problem is solved and I'm expecting the lot to cost about US$30 = NT$1,000.
The nut, bolt and screw place is only another 5 minutes or so away, across a busy road that goes north-south, and once over I see the mother who sold me the anchors last week sat eating a bowl of noodles. It's lunch time.
Her thirty-ish son is helpful and gives me prices for both stainless and regular steel screws and I opt for 50 of the former and it works out the price is very similar to that of the 30 anchors I'm returning. I just have to hand over NT$10 - that's about 30 US cents.
I cycle back through hot town and veer off toward the university area and decide to have a pizza at a restuarant run by a German guy. The sign above the entrance says Donna Pizza, but the donna part is no longer an option and hasn't been since the Turkish partner quit when Covisd hit.
Usually I enjoy dining al fesco at a wooden table on the small balcony, but today's temperature forces me inside, where AC is keeping things very pleasant. It's totaally empty and it occurs to me to ask Toby how business is doing now that the adjacent uni is back in full swing, but decide to keep moot.
It's just 10 minutes to ride home and on my way I spot a rusting window grill on a house that turns out to be empty. It's on a back window which looks out onto a passage that's only about a metre wide.
It might seem odd having job interviews when you're 67, but I've a couple lined up, with one happening online later this afternoon. With that in mind, I reckon it's time for a harcut and call in at the place around the corner from home. I'm a bit sweaty and my helmet hair is damp, but reason that this is easier to cut.
When I peer inside the salon, it seems like there are no customers, but once inside the owner is towards the back, washing a woman's hair. I sit down in a chair and dig out the novel and wait.
My friend g emails to say he's popping to visit at about 3:30. He likely wants to see the window grill that I got last week, and also catch up. It's been a while since we met for a chat.
Once here we discuss going for a ride during the holiday weekend in early October. It should be cooler then.
It was g who recommended me for one of the teaching jobs and while he's here, the woman boss Skypes and interviews me and I start work on Friday.
After having a bite to eat in a nearby cafe, we come back and enjoy a couple of cold beers from my fridge - lagers and IPAs. Ten the women fromthe metal worshop calls and says the 20 stainless brackets will cost NT$1,200, which I accept, and she says they'll be ready tomorrow.
Today's ride: 10 km (6 miles)
Total: 1,756 km (1,090 miles)
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67 , eh? I’m 71 and can testify to the yo-yo effect. It’s a matter of maturity, or age depending on one’s point of view.
I wish we had hardware stores like you nuts and bolts place here in France. The big box stores have driven the small quincailleries out of business. Sometimes it’s hard to find replacement parts to fix old things when they break. The local stores always seemed to have just what one needed.
Nice work on the grills. I agree about the use of the word trellis.
Cheers,
Keith
2 years ago
Yes, it's good to have traditional shops like the place that sells all kinds of screws etc.
Do you mean you call them grills, or trellis?
2 years ago