I did threaten to show you the pics from the fitting of, and hiding of, the new "Hole in the Wall" A/C unit for our bedroom, well here they are, with running commentary.
That's not quite true, actually. The trauma of watching the vandals fitting it was too much for me, and consequently, instead of clicking away with the old Brownie, I was trying to keep sane while not killing the men who were attacking my home! So, the first picture is of the machine being measured with my ever present measure: a 12inch (30 cm) shoe!
For the next one, we jump directly to the unit actually fitted in the wall.
It is rather ugly, wouldn't you agree? So, the mashrabiya it is, then. We wondered if an ordinary lattice would be less expensive than the fancy Islamic one? Yes it was, but only by 10 le per two square metre sheet. Nuff said! Here they both are on display in the little Christian shop in Cleopatra (or Kelopatra) Street.
I knew that the spare wood from the old fitted wardrobe would come in useful one day, and so it did in making a frame for the Islamic pattern lattice to mount onto. But first there had to be a way of securing it to the wall? This was overcome by using more bits of what would otherwise be waste from the wardrobe. The plywood from the shelves!
Problem No 1: It's only very thin 3 ply! Solution: Make it thicker 6 ply by glueing it together!
Problem No 2: How do I manage to keep it pressed together while the glue hardens? Solution: Take the granite top off the bathroom cabinet and use it as a uniform plate press!
It's difficult containing oneself, when you're so imaginative, you know! Freda knew that she would come across problems like this when she chose me for her life's partner. Wise woman, that one.
That task being completed, it was time to turn to the Islamic Lattice. Originally, I thought this was some kind of sheet material like MDF or something similar. But no, it is a proper lattice with half lap joints at every junction. Anyway, it lay on the roof terrace floor, waiting to have itself ravaged by an electric jig saw!
Along with the aforementioned bits of waste wood, some more glue and a few panel pins, I eventually got it to this stage:
After snapping, and making a right dog's breakfast of, the lovely (but very fragile) right-angle molding I had bought to cover the corners with, and then a great deal of trying to make decent 45 degree cuts in beading etc., I managed to cobble together something which almost met with Freda's approval.
I was toying with the idea of leaving it in its natural colours, but, having all my taste in my mouth, I was overruled for a change. It would be painted white, in order to blend in with the wall. Have you ever tried painting something that's full of holes? It's an absolute nightmare! Of course my brushes are "quality", from Poundland! Before too long, the inch brush would have been more suited to cleaning toilets, the 1 inch measurement was now about four and a half! Plus, the paint was drying as quickly it was going on. It was then that I remembered a small roller which I had hidden away somewhere. It only took me about five days to locate it, in the big dikkeh on the roof terrace. Now I would be "knocking doors out of windows"! The roller just squeezed into the star shaped holes in the lattice, and with a bit of a waggle about as it came back out; all the side surfaces were covered. I was like a bairn with a new toy!
Here's the result, all we need now is another tin of paint to go over the patched-up wall. What do you think?
