International Construction Contract
Hello, Stuffie Friends!
Can you believe this is our third trip to Ireland in the past year? They were building a new backyard workshop & knew they couldn’t do it without our exceptional construction and design abilities. Relaxing at the new apartment will have to wait for another time.
After our recent experience helping as movers, we negotiated 50% payment up front. It was a bummer to do all the work of packing and cleaning and then not be rewarded with food. So we started with a trip out to eat.
After loading up on good food and delicious chips (fries to you), we were ready to work. Our first assignment was overseeing the installation of self-adhesive tiles. One of the biggest challenges was getting the paper off the back. Upon inspection, the workers did an excellent job. Only 1 of the 60+ tiles had to be replaced. Couldn’t have done it better ourselves!
Our next job was to make sure the base layer was correctly measured and cut. Boy is he good with that saw!
Then there was some kind of fancy machine that helps things happen to make lights and power work. Don’t ask us any questions- we’ve shared all we know!
We watched as they drilled a hole in the floor and “snaked” a cable through the hole. The next step is waiting for a licensed electrician to connect the wiring to the house.
The last important part of the project was assembling 5 shelving units. We volunteered for this job very quickly- there were lots of nuts involved! Now that’s what we call planning!
Oh. It was the metal kind of nuts. The kind with bolts, not the tasty snacks. Despite our disappointment, we still had to connect the shelves to the posts. This was a pretty tricky job that took 5 of us more than an hour to complete! Finally we got the shelves done and installed in the building.
Way to go, us! Now that is a nice looking shed! We look forward to seeing what it looks like with all the tools and carpentry projects set up inside. But it was now time to collect the other half of our payment.
The best news about that ice cream stop is that it’s a very short walk away from our family’s house in Ireland. If they can’t find us, they’ll know where to look…
With yet another project successfully completed, it was time for some sightseeing. Amelia Airheart found a flight museum that we had to visit- it was all about floating airplanes!
Can you believe in the 1930-50’s they actually flew from the United States to Ireland on planes that used water instead of a concrete runway! We were impressed. Of course, Amelia noted they modeled the plane after one of her relatives. The shape is suspiciously similar…
They somehow were able to preserve one of the planes. You can see how big they are! About 40 passengers and crew could be on one plane. The seats converted to beds and they had a special meal service as well. New airplanes fit a lot more people (ours had 130) and fly in much shorter time. We wish they still came with comfy beds and meal service!
Until the next time we are off to the Baltic States and Prague to enjoy some more vacation.
Scottie, Amelia, Gráinnag, Flambé and Ober