Trouble shooting part1

It took us almost two weeks to find the right carpenter, but it only cost the carpenters one morning to build the drop ceiling. Before i even had a chance to celebrate my success in getting the carpentry step done, another task had arrived. And I was nowhere close to being prepared for this next step: painting!

The wall in the far back is the one we are dealing with right now: a tiled wall with concrete patches, and that is where the sinks will be mounted on. Its not what one would consider as a nice looking wall, but we both find it attractive. Instead of having carpenters build a false wall to cover it up, we want to keep it as the way it is and give it a new color.

What we didn't know is that painting on glazed ceramic tile isn't a easy task. Paint doesn't like to stick to the slick, shinny surface of tile, and it will peel readily from it. So here we are, facing this new problem.

After visiting several paint supplies stores, we finally found this magical thing called "intermediate coat" which has high adhesion capacity for any type of surface. It would also create a slightly rough ground that is better for regular paint to stick on.

     

bucket, masking tape, roller, bowl, and the bottle of coating

a bag of cement, worth of $1

Tried to make sure i got everything covered. This reminded me of using tape to stretch paper on the masonite board in drawing one.

Mixed the coating and cement together at a ratio of  2:1.  I had to keep stirring the mixture throughout the whole time so the cement wouldn't precipitate at the bottom.  The color is kind of blue-grayish, and it turns into dark brown once its dry.

So this is it! entirely coated with the coating mixture and now ready to be painted!  Just like a gessoed canvas, except its black.

two-in-one

In continuation of my last blog post, the electricians came in today to finish what they had left from Monday. And so did the carpenters!

these were for framing the structure. so-called studs, i suppose?

they built that sawbench all by themselves. it has an electric motor, and it can be taken apart for  portability. I was impressed!

this is where the drop ceiling is going to be

electrician guys' section

wiring

basic frame is done; he was trying to line up the bathroom fan

covered with calcium silicate which is generally used as a fireproofing material

unexpected accident: an old lady next door failed from the stair :(((
 we all came out to help the ambulance getting into the narrow alley. 

maintenance opening

This is the first day and the last day of having carpenters. (unless we come up with something new that requires woodwork.) It was a little hectic for both electricians and carpenters working at the same time because there weren't enough space, but they made it!  Wana say again "thanks for all your hardwork!" 

It's exciting to have progress, but there's still quite a lot of work to be done!

interior conflict?

Today, we finally made the first move since the concrete part completed two weeks ago. The electrician couple came in to get things settled for carpenter to work with on wednesday. They spent all morning installing the hot water heater and the duct for bathroom fan which will be put into place later. Before they went for the lunch break, we had a little final discussion about where all the light, outlet and faucets are going to be. They told me they can get rest of the work done by the end of the day, so I went ahead and called the carpenter to come tomorrow instead of wednesday.

Although there were few problems during the installation, they all got solved in the end. Overall, I thought things are going so well at this point. Unfortunately, I was wrong...

Three hours later, I got a call from the electrician to tell me that he wont be able to come in the afternoon because he got another urgent case coming in hand, and he want to come tomorrow morning instead.. 

Later in the afternoon, I called him up to confirm the time he'l be coming tomorrow.  Unexpectedly, he told me that he has to postpone it again to wednesday. I was shock but didn't know how to react except accepting this bad news as the the way it is.  

On the one hand, I felt I have the right to argue with him because he made the plan with me first and I am on the tight schedule too (I really wouldn't mind if I have a lot of time in hand), plus I already told carpenter to come tomorrow.) On the other hand, I don't know how to stand firmly with my position as a hirer in this case. It has a lot to do with not only the fact that I don't have any experience with negotiating professionally but also I felt pretty uncomfortable to argue with someone elder besides my parents.

Pin asked me to call and try to show them that it really matters a lot whether or not if they can come in tomorrow. She is afraid they might be taking advantage of me because I am not intimidating at all as a commander. In the end, we still got the same answer, "no," but I hope at least that last phone call wasn't just a waste of time.

bring it! summer 2012!

Ever since the typhoon Nanmadol left few days ago, it has been a lot cooler during the day. But that didn't make us cancel our appointment with AC installers today. In addition to the intense heat in the summer, the stuffiness of the house makes ac become a "must-have" for this place to be livable!

love his polka dot sunblock sleeve

i have never seen such a cute warning tape:black + pink!! who doesn't get warned! 

the guy on the left really doesn't know how to make good jokes.

there is a slang in chinese "一個不嫌少，兩個恰恰好"(one is enough but two is just right), describing a traditional chinese view on how many children one should have. And this is exactly how i felt when we were testing them today!