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Post by Kimby on Jun 11, 2015 13:38:16 GMT
One would hope the "working man" would be at least as good at his job as the person who hires him, though!
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 11, 2015 13:55:38 GMT
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 11, 2015 17:47:03 GMT
The plumbers cracked on this afternoon and finished the piping up. It's quite complicated and I need to make a drawing for myself anyway. there are pipes to the pump, to the water deposit, to the filter, to the outside, pipes from all that and return pipes probably disappearing up somebody's arse. One problem we constantly had in Egypt and Jordan was noisy pumps for the water. So much so that in one apartment, if the neighbour cracked open a tap in the night, the pump would wake us up. This one it seems is directly placed on the concrete floor. This is what caused all the previous problems. Plus they were connected to steel pipes which transmitted the noise. At least the pipes are plastic and none run into the house. The pump does have a soft sound absorbing base but the plumbers thought I was crazy when I appeared with a rubber car mat and slipped that underneath as well - The electrician never came back but left his mate as usual. I think if I asked this mate to build a wall he'd be ok with it. But anything else and he's struggling. I think I make him nervous as well. I surreptitiously watched him trying to line up two parallel pieces of the frame. They had to be bolted down and at at distance of one metre. He decided to bolt them down first without measuring. So they weren't one metre apart. So he unbolted it, measured one metre and then bolted one end down. Then he bolted the rest of it but didn't realise he'd done it at and angle as he didn't measure again. So when he got to the end it was one metre twenty apart. So he unbolted it again and decided to measure it as he went along. Eventually he got it right but them later I saw him unbolting it again. I've no idea why. And this is when I'm not with him. When I am he's even worse if I don't jump in and say anything. Just a thought, but I wonder if he fancies me?
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 11, 2015 17:49:38 GMT
mick, that's a bit of a "There's a hole in my bucket" type of thing. No?
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 11, 2015 17:57:16 GMT
Oh, and to top it off, the mate asked me if I had any stuff to repair the hole in the wall. I told him no, he needs to get some. Then I found out the plumbers had disappeared with two of my tools I'd lent to the mate.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 12, 2015 12:25:58 GMT
mick, that's a bit of a "There's a hole in my bucket" type of thing. No? Yes.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 12, 2015 12:32:17 GMT
Mark your labour troubles sound just like Africa. Luckily for us we have found a half decent builder but still need to do the checks...it's surprising how things look so different to one person but not the other. The joys of building I guess.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 12, 2015 12:38:24 GMT
My electrician son-in-law purloined most of my tools over the years.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 12, 2015 19:32:09 GMT
It was the other way round with me mick. I had a nice load of tools when I was a mechanic - but every time I looked in my dad's car, there were the ones that were missing.
Nearly the end of the saga - they turned up this morning, eventually after I rang the boss to see where they were, and they began to tackle the frame for the solar panels. They still couldn't make it line up. No, tell a lie, they could make it line up, just not with the wall it was mounted on. I left them to it for an hour or so then had a look and it still was crap. So I jumped in again to 'help'. After half an hour they decided it was lunch time and disappeared. Lunch for them starts at 2pm and lasts until 4pm. Though they don't knock off until 8pm or later.
So - I cracked on by myself. I did think for a minute they were using me to do their job for them but I doubt they have the capability to think like that. When they came back it was done. It just needed the bolts tightening. They were happy and I was happy. They carried on then doing all the electrics and mounting of batteries, control boxes etc. They just left at 8.35pm with it all wired up. I need them back again for the lights in the sheds and a general tidy up of wiring, but I also need the plumbers back to check it all over and make sure it is all working as it should. Maybe tomorrow, they say. We'll see. I'm also filling the pool right to the top so we can have the first switching on and seeing where the leaks are.
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Post by bjd on Jun 12, 2015 19:42:34 GMT
The more I read, the more I think you are lucky to know how to do so much of this yourself. I can imagine someone who hasn't a clue asking for something to be done and finding himself with a total mess but not knowing why.
Maybe the plumbers will return your tools when they come back?
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 12, 2015 20:58:05 GMT
I'll bloody well make sure I ask them anyway.
I'm the sort that gets frustrated if I don't know why and I do think I'm quite lucky. I enjoy finding out how and why things work. I enjoy watching a skilled craftsman. My knowledge of a lot of things (like politics) is minimal but it all depends on what you are interested in anyway, doesn't it? It's a normal trait for it to be a lot easier to gather knowledge in something of interest than something that can pass you by without raising a thought, like Film Noir or video games or artistic painting, or cricket.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 13, 2015 6:09:16 GMT
It's wonderful to have a husband who can fix things and even if he has never done something before, works it out and tackles the job. I'm lucky to have someone like that and no matter what breaks - it will be fixed properly. I wonder if this capability stems from having to fix his bike and an interest in all things mechanical. In today's high tech world of computers , iPads and phones, many youth of today (like my son) have absolutely no interest in fixing anything. If it breaks it stays that way or very quickly gets replaced. You 'fixer-upperers' need a good pat on the back.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 13, 2015 7:40:58 GMT
Pat taken. I blame the Chinese and affluence for how few try and fix things any more. If you are poor and something breaks you try and fix it, e.g. in India they are masters of repairs and making it work. If you have money, and it doesn't take much money, and you can buy a cheap replacement of something made when the Chinese flooded the markets with goods, then you'll just buy a new one, e.g. as in the USA/Europe. Besides the fact that 'the youth of today' want instant gratification, they don't have the patience to go through a repair process. The parents are too easy on them and give in and buy a new one. My kids have little patience for anything, be it waiting two minutes for a microwave or travelling a couple of hours to see a relative. If the computer doesn't switch on an operate in nanoseconds then they tell me there is something wrong with it. I blame Dr Spock, the pill, rock and roll, too much money, too little work, too many social security benefits, instant food, fast cars and loose women.
(No, hang on a minute. Scrub the last two. They're fine.)
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 13, 2015 11:45:21 GMT
These are the panels that were causing so much stress. You can see now that they line up with the wall. Thanks to me. Before, the right hand side was down by about 35cm or so and the frame was forming a curve down to the right. Now it is fine enough but still needs the plaster filled holes in the walls sorted out, plus a few other cosmetic things. The plumbers and electricians may come back today, not tomorrow, but sometime next week (they say) to test it all and switch on properly – Inside the corridor shed is now the electrics for all the pool stuff. The electricity from the solar panels go through a breaker box (white, to the right), through the charger (blue, middle), and to the batteries (white....... do I really need to point them out? No, didn’t think so). The grey magic control box sorts it all out when the pump is used – The breaker box also feeds the lights in the corridor and pump sheds and a power point. This means that area is completely separate from the house system – which is just what I wanted.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 13, 2015 11:47:25 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Jun 13, 2015 12:14:42 GMT
That green water is so appealing. Good color choice.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 13, 2015 13:54:50 GMT
Tod said: "You 'fixer-upperers' need a good pat on the back" Kimby says: "And their reluctant assistants need to be taken out to dinner now and then." Many of these projects are NOT one-person jobs.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 13, 2015 14:03:12 GMT
So us men just get a pat on the back whilst the ladies get taken out to a posh dinner? Life is unfair. Next time I'm coming back as a woman. And I'm not going to shave my legs.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 15:35:27 GMT
It looks like some sort of vagabond was using the pool. Did you contact the police?
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 13, 2015 18:22:37 GMT
I'll let you know I actually washed my feet before taking the photos.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 13, 2015 19:09:12 GMT
So us men just get a pat on the back whilst the ladies get taken out to a posh dinner? Life is unfair. Next time I'm coming back as a woman. And I'm not going to shave my legs. A. After a day of assisting on a project the woman still gets to make dinner. B. Who said anything about "posh"? I just want someone else to cook and clean up afterwards once in a while. Even carry-out or delivery works for me C. It's HIS hobby, doing these projects, not mine. I'd rather hire someone for many of theses jobs. (Doing my part to support the economy!) D. I haven't shaved my legs since I was 20. No stubble, no cuts, and after a while almost no hair. (Mom was right to try to stop me from shaving my legs. "It'll grow back in thicker" may not be literally true, but unshaved hairs wear off against your clothing, appearing finer in texture.) E. End of off-topic rant.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 13, 2015 20:50:18 GMT
Should I put a smiley in?
A. After a day working on a project I still end up making dinner, more often than not. B. Who said anything about "posh"? I just want someone else to cook once in a while (they tend to do the clean up). Even carry-out or delivery works for me if there were such a thing out where I live. C. It's not my hobby doing ALL these projects, I'm asked to do many things I'd rather hire someone for. D. (No change in this sentence at all!) I haven't shaved my legs since I was 20. No stubble, no cuts, and after a while almost no hair. (Mom was right to try to stop me from shaving my legs. "It'll grow back in thicker" may not be literally true, but unshaved hairs wear off against your clothing, appearing finer in texture.) E. End of off-topic rant?
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 13, 2015 20:51:45 GMT
I'll put one in anyway. Just a small one.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 13, 2015 23:12:21 GMT
Did my too-literal self fall prey to sarcasm, again? :-)
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Post by tod2 on Jun 15, 2015 8:00:23 GMT
While you two argue the toss, I would like to give some Ooo's and Aaaah's about the pool. Magnificent - truly magnificent! Makes me want to fill mine in and reshape the whole thing... It has got to be the 'clincher' in any future house sale. Just takes my breath away Mark. Well done.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 15, 2015 12:24:56 GMT
"Argue the toss"? Translation, please.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 15, 2015 16:47:14 GMT
To argue in a good natured way about something of little consequence in the whole scheme of things. Something like that.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 15, 2015 16:58:08 GMT
Well, the plumber and the electrician came today. The electrician to finish off his jobs, like putting up two lights and channeling the cabling properly. The Plumber to test it all out and explain to me about the pipework. We then switched the pump on, ran up a flight of steps to the pool, to be greeted by clouds of dust now swirling about. So, I've been out to buy a container of flocculation chemical. Yep, I didn't know what it was either. Maybe you did. "Flocculants, or flocculating agents (also known as flocking agents), are chemicals that promote flocculation by causing colloids and other suspended particles in liquids to aggregate, forming a floc. Flocculants are used in water treatment processes to improve the sedimentation or filterability of small particles." So there you are.
Whilst I was out I bought some pipe and a vacuum cleaner type thing for the pool as well. That's another job I have to do. I'm certainly not running out of jobs. It seems I have more than ever to do again. One of the workers turned up this afternoon to repair the wall as well, so that's now done.
Thanks Tod, we are sure that it will be the high point of the house. It took some time and effort but I am glad it is appreciated. We wanted though more than a 'one trick pony' and I feel there are other parts to the house that promote a smile as well.
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Post by htmb on Jun 15, 2015 17:06:00 GMT
From what you've shown us, it all looks quite wonderful!
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Post by Kimby on Jun 15, 2015 21:50:26 GMT
Watching the mailbox for my invite to the house-warming party. ;-)
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