Wednesday, May 6, 2009

If the big one comes, I better not be in trouble...


So with all this down time I have from not being on tour, I went out and got a real job. I am now the "Safety Coordinator (slash) First Aid Attendant" on a construction site. By no means does that make me a carpenter. Sure I've hammered my fair share of nails and I've overseen a lot of carpenters work, but once again, I am no where close to being a carpenter. All that aside, it doesn't take a carpenter to put up a painting, right?

Well yesterday I was sent over to the owner of the company's beautiful home overlooking the ocean. I was instructed to "go and put up a picture in one of the rooms... oh and it's a large picture so make sure you find a stud!" I get there, he lets me in, and as I'm taking off my shoes, my measuring tape falls and makes a loud banging noise as it collides with the marble floor. Now I'm kinda nervous as he informs me to be careful because it's a "soft marble" flooring.

Why did they send the only non-carpenter in the company to go to the owner of a construction company's house? He'll obviously know I'm not a carpenter?!

I get to the room, see the large painting, measure a few things, find the studs and make a few more markings. Not too bad yet right? I pull out the 3" screws and the larger heavy duty bolts I was given to do the job. "You don't need those, they are WAY too big" I am told. So off I went to look for something smaller in the truck. I find some 2" screws while the owner shows me a 1" screw and says, "Maybe just a little bigger than this...?"

I don't want this painting to fall, and I need to go through more than just the drywall, that much I do know.

After putting the screws into the walls and having to redo one of them (due to picture sloping and something honestly not my fault but I won't bother explaining), it's finally up and the owner is happy. Then I find out a little more about the painting;

It can't be in direct sunlight because it is a pastel, OH and it's an original from the 18th century that his son bought for him at the Sotheby Auction in London.

I now wish I had used the heavy duty wall bolts. And I pray that no earthquake hits us anytime soon.

3 comments:

  1. Do you guys get big earthquakes in Canada? Or is this somewhere in California where you are putting up this painting ha ha. I'm from California and we've been getting some noticeable earth movement here in the SF, Bay Area lately.

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  2. That would suck, but a big one won't hit for a while... Hopefully when it does I'll be away from Surrey then...

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  3. I was waiting for you to say that the painting dropped on your foot or something--I felt the sympathy pain in my foot!

    aren't you recording with the girls?

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