Updated with pictures!
Late post as Outlaw Bob and I ran into Harlan during our outing yesterday and made plans for Amigos. I got there late, as my sometimes obsessive nature had me fitting light fixtures as soon as I got home, and then Bob left after sharing one drink. I was on my way back home to obsess some more when I got chatty with the new owners of Amigos, Marcus (I think) and his lovely wife Jennifer. Wound up closing the place talking international politics with a Dutch couple. I think the staff were frightened.
Big long day in David yesterday getting stuff as wrapped up as I can for the final push. Glasses were the big buy; martini, margarita, Collins, rocks, beer, brandy, wine, shot, yadda. A cocktail shaker, drink mat, serving tray, condiment dispenser, various jiggers. Then over to Rey and Super Baru for some cocktail onions, olives, bitters, some Coco Lopez and other stuff. And pizza makings that might be tested out today.
From the Do It Center I settled for a relatively shallow double sink, as putting together three small individual sinks (and none too deep) or having one fabricated are not options at the moment. The faucet seems relatively sturdy but I don't see it lasting more than a year. And light fixtures! And the glass bottle shelves which will be delivered on Monday, or if one has high hopes, today. High hopes are not my strong suit at the moment. And mirrors for the bathrooms.
And a day without issues is like a day without sunshine, or something like that. Too windy to do anything else with the roof for the past two days, so it's still waiting. Roberto Carlos was having problems in the morning, but I didn't know what they were or how serious until last night. He asked me for a hair dryer as the material wasn't 'stretching' the way he needed it to. I didn't have one and left him to his own devices while I went to town.
Sandi had come by to garden while Bob and I were out and when we stopped at their house for some lasagna (yum) she mentioned Don Carlos had not finished- and- was to be hunting for some wood trim. Wood trim? There is to be no wood trim on the bar bumper! Wood is hard on the elbows, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of a soft spongy thing.
When I got home, and as I stared at all the exposed staples and rough tile edges in disbelief, it looked like he had either measured very wrong or blew it on the design, thus the 'stretch' remark in the morning. As the bench seats wound up being the design he had originally showed me (kind of like an aileron) instead of what I asked for, I'm going with design problem.
Staples not pretty
Flying bench aileron
Having hired plenty of contractors in the past and having been a contractor myself the rule is that if you fuck up, you eat it. I've eaten my share of mistakes. As a matter of fact I've eaten 50% of my profits on this particular project, as my new co-owners can tell you (hey guys!).
This is not the way in Central America. It usually goes something like this: they ask for more money (because they have to work more on the project and they expect to get 'paid' for the 'extra' work), they don't show up (either for a few days or never again), they resent it when you point out that they were the ones that made the mistake (you think you're better than me? Well do it yourself!), and/or why do you need it that way anyway? My way is just as good. Just look at this nice wood trim/aileron!
Not. Going. To. Happen.
There will be more material bought and Senor Carlos will make a nice cushiony cover for the staples and tile and we will find a decorative way to attach it. It will look nice. Dammit. I doubt if I see him again before Monday or Tuesday, though I pray I'm wrong, as I still need him to weld something for me. And he has to deliver the other two bench cushions.
Window screening. Will not be black. Two places, one compromise, three misunderstandings. It will be gray. It will be more work. It will suffice.
Sconces. Not sconces. They are wall fixtures so I guess they could be technically called sconces, but not what I had envisioned. Lumicentro has seemed to collect in one large place some of the ugliest lighting fixtures on the planet. The sales girl agreed. After about fifteen minutes the brain switched into 'forget ugly, what is the cheap?' Three for nine dollars each, one for five.
Before I hit Amigos I fitted the fixtures, resorting at one point to actually read the "instructions," and wound up switching around the hardware to make it all work. I left them dangling by their ground wires, which aren't actually grounded per se, so when I eventually get downstairs today I'll just twist up the hot and neutral, flip the switch and see what happens.
Hanging lights.
After I do the lights this may turn into a day of rest, or maybe just cleaning, especially if Don Carlos doesn't show. We'll talk later.
Update: 10:20 AM. My faith in humanity is restored. Roberto Carlos has just left, and to the best of my ability feel that I've conveyed my preferred solution for the bar bumper. I He's off to make the piece. He also asked for 75% of his fee in advance. I gave him 50%. He needs to buy a sack of dog food. Seriously. I tried to get Outlaw Bob on the phone to go with me and fetch the other two bench cushions but he apparently has a life outside of doing me favors.
Update Later: Got the lights attached to the walls but otherwise we rested. Don Carlos returned while I was napping and he started hammering away. After a bit it seemed like overmuch hammering and I went downstairs to see what was up. We had discussed decorative carpet or furniture brads to attach the coverup piece.
These don't look all that decorative.
They're not even spaced evenly. He said he would come back with the good stuff, maybe Monday. I'm happy to report that I did not stab myself in the eye after viewing the above, though there was a strong urge to do so.
It will be fixed.
I finally got to try out one of the pizza machines today. The pre-made crust was a little crusty, so I'll adjust the bottom element on the next try, but overall I'm happy with the machine's result. It worked as advertised and we can always adjust the ingredients as we find better stuff.
Yum.
