Craig Mac
BoM 4/10 7/11 12/14
After dealing with a light fixture with a mind of its own the last few days I decided it was time to change the bulbs. It is a 2 bulb 4 foot fluorescent fixture with a wooden case around it. I hopped up on a chair and tried to figure out how the cover comes off. I am a fairly mechanically inclined person and usually can figure this type of stuff out, but it seemed I was going to break this light before I figured it out so I made a quick call to the landlord to see if he could offer some advice.
A little back story on the landlord... He lives 3 houses down from me and I have rented 2 different places from him over the last 4 years and I would consider us to be on the border of being "friends" outside of the business aspect. He has called me more times for help with his computer than I have called him for problems with his properties. Several of my friends have rented places from him and for the most part he is a pretty good landlord, always does what is needed when asked but it is always done as cheap as possible....
At first he told me he would come by this weekend and take a look at it leaving me with no light in my kitchen for a few days... WTF?? So finally he says he'll come down and it quickly becomes obvious that he doesn't know how it comes apart either. After a few minutes of calmly trying to get the cover off he resorts to yanking and pulling to the point where he is starting to pull the anchors that hold it in the wall out. I could tell he had no idea what he was doing at this point. He started grabbing for my knives to assist him. This is a bad move.... I cooked at restaurants for about 5 years, my knives are not for use in projects like this. I hand him my tool box and at this time I get a phone call and step outside.
When I come back in he has the cover off and is changing the bulbs out, so I figure all is well. He finishes up and leaves. I then notice that the fixture is barely hanging on to the ceiling, so I jump up on the chair to inspect. I get the cover off and discover how easy it is to take it off. I tighten up the bolts that hold it in place and put the cover back on correctly and couldn't help but laugh. I could have easily done a better job and not damaged the ceiling as much as he did.
Maybe I should take $50 out of my next months rent payment and give him a lesson on the "proper" way to change light bulbs, hahaha.
A little back story on the landlord... He lives 3 houses down from me and I have rented 2 different places from him over the last 4 years and I would consider us to be on the border of being "friends" outside of the business aspect. He has called me more times for help with his computer than I have called him for problems with his properties. Several of my friends have rented places from him and for the most part he is a pretty good landlord, always does what is needed when asked but it is always done as cheap as possible....
At first he told me he would come by this weekend and take a look at it leaving me with no light in my kitchen for a few days... WTF?? So finally he says he'll come down and it quickly becomes obvious that he doesn't know how it comes apart either. After a few minutes of calmly trying to get the cover off he resorts to yanking and pulling to the point where he is starting to pull the anchors that hold it in the wall out. I could tell he had no idea what he was doing at this point. He started grabbing for my knives to assist him. This is a bad move.... I cooked at restaurants for about 5 years, my knives are not for use in projects like this. I hand him my tool box and at this time I get a phone call and step outside.
When I come back in he has the cover off and is changing the bulbs out, so I figure all is well. He finishes up and leaves. I then notice that the fixture is barely hanging on to the ceiling, so I jump up on the chair to inspect. I get the cover off and discover how easy it is to take it off. I tighten up the bolts that hold it in place and put the cover back on correctly and couldn't help but laugh. I could have easily done a better job and not damaged the ceiling as much as he did.
Maybe I should take $50 out of my next months rent payment and give him a lesson on the "proper" way to change light bulbs, hahaha.
