Then, since this is Sunday with many stores closed all day, there are a few however, that stay open till 10:00 AM or maybe even noon. Villa's supply being one that closes at 10, we jumped into his pickup and headed into town.
Of course, it's never easy. The People's United Party (PUP), the in-power political party here in Belize, was having a nationwide rally at the sports complex in Corozal, with Prime Minister Said Musa attending. People were being bused in from all over the country. Guess who got stuck in the ensuing traffic jam?
Realizing we'd never make it to Villa's by 10, Anthony took a shortcut to another hardware store nearby, Landy's Hardware. Thankfully, they had all the parts we needed to ensure a proper and complete job.
Taking another shortcut, we stopped at his house to pick up his hack saw. His cute teen-aged daughter, who was hoovering the house, waved out to us. We got back to the house and proceeded to fix up the repairs better than before the fire.
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| Shipshape and Bristol Fashion |
Anthony kept the two 40 amp breakers Paul and I had installed - one for the house/wash house, and one for the meat house and added the 60 amp over all. He cleaned up the exposed wiring, adding several bits to the PVC conduit they use for everything here. I siliconed the top and sides to help lessen water penetration.
During the work, Anthony and I talked. he said he also had a teen-aged son who was an electrician and worked for him along with four other men. In fact, he often leaves his son to supervise the other workers while Anthony heads off to take care of other jobs.
I asked if he had ever done any solar work. He said yes, that he had done the electrical for Bill and Jenni's resort, and about 4 other places out on Cerros. In fact, he was working on a new solar setup out there this coming week.
What a find. I had been impressed with the work done out at Bills, so this was great. I asked if he'd be interested in doing the electrics for our house. He said he would, and, if we needed a good plumber who does excellent work, he could recommend one to us. Perfect.
The end result - $63.80BZ for parts and supplies and $70BZ for an hour and a half of Anthony's labor. Talk about costs in Belize. Sunday morning, calling an electrician - let's see, that'd be triple time and two hours flat rate. You're probably talking the better part of $5-600US, right?
Plus, plus... I almost forgot. We got the certificate, signed by a licensed electrician! It's not a "fusee" certificate, but a PUC certificate - a Public Utilities Commission certificate.
The electrics for this place are now in better shape than when it was new, and we got strong leads on an electrician and plumber for our new house.
It just don't git no better!
During the work, Anthony and I talked. he said he also had a teen-aged son who was an electrician and worked for him along with four other men. In fact, he often leaves his son to supervise the other workers while Anthony heads off to take care of other jobs.
I asked if he had ever done any solar work. He said yes, that he had done the electrical for Bill and Jenni's resort, and about 4 other places out on Cerros. In fact, he was working on a new solar setup out there this coming week.
What a find. I had been impressed with the work done out at Bills, so this was great. I asked if he'd be interested in doing the electrics for our house. He said he would, and, if we needed a good plumber who does excellent work, he could recommend one to us. Perfect.
The end result - $63.80BZ for parts and supplies and $70BZ for an hour and a half of Anthony's labor. Talk about costs in Belize. Sunday morning, calling an electrician - let's see, that'd be triple time and two hours flat rate. You're probably talking the better part of $5-600US, right?
Plus, plus... I almost forgot. We got the certificate, signed by a licensed electrician! It's not a "fusee" certificate, but a PUC certificate - a Public Utilities Commission certificate.
The electrics for this place are now in better shape than when it was new, and we got strong leads on an electrician and plumber for our new house.
It just don't git no better!
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