It Just Ain't the Same Old Tex-ack-co No More

Well, change comes to Corozal now and then. Last year, I remember reading about some company buying all the Texaco (pronounced Tex-ack-co down here by the cognoscenti) locations in the Caribbean. It's taken till now to get the new livery onto the old station. And it's a beaut too.

Corozal's New Uno Station

A fresh coat of paint, new signs, new fences going up around the perimeter of the place. Our new Uno station looks positively uptown.

Texaco Just Ain't the Same

The local Texaco (pronounced hereabouts with the 'a' as you do with the first 'a' in 'Animal and with the emphasis on the 'a') has gone through some changes. It's back to just being a gas station. You can't get your welding or burglar bars made, nor can you get your glass and screen needs taken care of there.

I'm not sure where the welding shop moved to, but I did find the glass shop. They're now located directly across from Northern Tire Co. on 7th Avenue here in Corozal.

It's known as the Corozal Glass Shop, and do they ever have a full-service shop. I had gone there to see about getting a couple panes of Plexiglass (Perspex to the Brits) to replace our doggie doors that were beginning to fail. In fact, one of them had failed entirely, the other not far behind.

Cutting My Plexiglass

This is a large shop and when the owner found out that I knew a bit about stained and leaded glass, well, that was that. He had to show me the whole shop.

While my Plexiglass was being cut, I got the grand tour. This place has just about everything you could want in a glass shop.

Beveling and Cutting

The machine above is a high-end water-cooled beveling and cutting machine with magnetically attached grit grinders for beveling and diamond blades to cut smaller pieces of glass. It also can do polishing and a few other things as well.

Floor Mounted Grinding/Polishing Machine

The large machine above is a floor mounted grinder that can handle up to 1/2" thick glass. This is something none of the glass shops in Belize City (and maybe anywhere else in Belize) have. It takes two people to operate it.

Half-Inch Thick Round of Glass Partially Smoothed

What started the whole conversation, was when I went in, my eye was immediately attracted to the large racks of multi-colored glass. I asked if he carried lead 'came' or copper foil for leaded glass work. That excited the owner.

Some of the Racks of Glass

The Corozal Glass Shop has virtually everything you need for sliding glass doors, and, in short just about everything you need for any glass project (except the lead came - but that might be coming if there's enough interest).

Lots of Glass, Fittings and Glass Tools

 Large Sheets of Glass

One interesting thing that he's working on is acquiring a glass tempering furnace. The first one he found, they wanted about $500,000 BZD for it, but he said it required at least 30 feet of space and he only had 20 feet available. He is pursuing some other furnaces. Then, this truly will be a 'full-service' glass shop.

Stop by and see what the Corozal Glass Shop has to offer. You'll be surprised.

More and More Progress

The guesthouse is moving along, so is the grading of the canal banks. So, I'll cover both as they occur.

As you can see below, the canal bank between our house and Doug and Twyla's has been pretty well smoothed out. In fact, you can see Doug and Twyla coming our way with a cooler full of refreshments and snacks.

Nothing like a 94° (f) pool to cool you down on a hot day. And it really does. Our air temp has been upwards of 96° (f) or so the past couple of days, so 94° really does feel cool. Besides, it's almost like being in a spa or hot tub. We aren't worried about the pool getting too warm to get into. Just the fact that we can get in it and even if you get out for a bit, with evaporative effects on your skin, it makes you feel a little cooler, which is good enough for us.

Doug and Twyla Coming For Pooltime

In the background, you can see Pastor Doug. He's helping Robert by supervising the grader which was still smoothing the banks of the canal out.

The grader has even moved over to the other side of our and Elsie's property. Here's a shot of the grader smoothing all that spoils area as well as a bit more work out toward the canal entrance to the left in the picture.

Work on the Far Side

It still is taking a bit to get used to all the changes in the neighborhood. Add to it the changes, suddenly with the guesthouse and it seems like everything is going topsy-turvy.

Plastering the ceilings and walls inside of the guesthouse is pretty much done. There's a couple hose bibs and stuff like that that have to be added so plastering can get done, but otherwise, it's pretty much done inside.

Gaposis in the Utility Room

I'll be making a sheet metal plate to cover the gap above the breaker box panel door. It'll hide the other wires till I'm ready to use them.

Below are some shots of the plastering outside. The first coat is almost completed, as you'll see.

Finishing First Coat

Raw Backside

Magically, It's Done

A couple of days ago, I had to order 40 4-inch concrete blocks. I tried a new block factory, quite a bit closer than Belmont or the others. This one is owned by Israel Gomez on San Andres Road. Reasonably priced and they delivered when they said they would. that works for me.

Delivering the 40 - 4" Blocks

The blocks are needed for the shower walls in the guesthouse.

We're going to have custom-made glass door for it as well. Something else we found that Texaco (pronounced Tex-aco - the 'a' sounds like the first 'a' in actual)  in Corozal can make. Two or three weeks ago, I went in to ask about some screens I was having made. While waiting, I noticed the young assistant working on a pickup truck outside rear view mirror - the old kind. I thought, "hmm", and asked him if he could repair a broken inside rear view mirror. Not a problem. And they did. Apparently, the mirrors take a tapered mirror so the 'day/night' lever feature works. It was fixed as good as new for $5.00 BZD. And I had driven around with it broken into about 8 or 9 pieces for about 2 years.

So, based on that, I was wondering how we were going to get a shower door the right size. One of our workers said "Go see Texaco. They can do it." Well, of course. Why didn't I think of that first?

Yesterday, Dianna and I went out to see if we could find tile for the guesthouse floor and shower. We stopped first at Texaco to see if they really could make a shower door for us. Of course they can. Tempered glass, polished edges, and the fancy gripping hinges and cool looking handles for the door too. Whatever size we want. It takes about two weeks to get the glass tempered and it comes either in 1/4" or 1/2" thicknesses (I think it even comes thicker, but I don't remember for sure). The hinges cost around $80 BZD each and the door (roughly 2'x5') will cost about $300 BZD for the 1/2" version. Is this good or what?

So, on we went to find tile. We stopped first at National Hardware and spent 20 minutes going through most of the tile they have on display... Their display consists of a couple hundred tiles piled on the counter and floor. you have to move each and every one to see what they have. We found one that we really thought would work for the floor (with non-skid grit built-in). We could get it but it would take at least 3 weeks to get here as it comes from Brazil, and as Andy, National's owner said, if they don't have a full container, shipment would be delayed. That wasn't going to work for us.

We tried the next place we'd heard of across the street (in front of, as they say here) the new Cinty's.  He wasn't open. We asked at the auto parts place next door who told us that the guy kept really strange hours. For Corozal, that's really saying something. We decided to go on to Creative Tile and see what they had.

We've had hot and cold experiences in dealing with Creative. If they have what you're looking for, you can usually get it right then. If they don't, the lady seems almost reluctant to order it - and absolutely hates to check other  Creative stores throughout Belize to see if they have something in stock.

Also, I swear their inside displays that they've been working on for two years, haven't changed at all in that time - still half-finished.

Well, this time, we lucked out. We found a salt and pepper looking tile with a nice grit to it for the floors. We also found a rectangular white tile for the shower. We also found an alternating light and dark blue 1" glass tile to use as a decrative band in the shower. Everything was in stock. We paid for it and thought, "Now how do we get 35 boxes of 12" square tile home, plus 4 boxes of the rectangular tile"? Inspiration struck. I called Isidoro, Our Contractor. He was about ready to go out to Consejo for another job he has, but could take the time to pick up and deliver the boxes for us.

39 Boxes of Tile Ready To Use

And, there they are. After helping unload the boxes, I thought for sure that I would be hunting up the Diclofenaco back-pain pills we get here, but I again lucked out. My back stayed quiet - probably because of spending a good part of the afternoon in the pool.

We're making progress on the canal and on the guesthouse. Things are in stock. Apparently, we can get anything made at Texaco that we want. Life is good.

A Day's Work Completed In Two Hours

Man, you just can't beat that, eh? Well, you probably could, but since we're heading into summer, April and May tend to be our really dry months. They're also some of our hottest - or at least muggiest.

Doug, who lives down the street from us, said that the temp today was supposed to be in the upper 80's, but factoring in humidity, the heat index, and some other mumbo-jumbo of meteorology, it will feel like 110. It does.

Consequently, two hours work is about all I'm good for. Then it's a nice long, cool shower, and... TA-DA - Pool Time! That should be in effect for the rest of the afternoon. Some days, you just have to throw in a nap for good measure too.

Here's what I'm working on now. I'm using an expanded-metal screen material for the bottom screens on the back (street-side) porch. The upper part will be traditional nylon screen in bronzed aluminum frames that I have done at Texaco. Our Texaco doubles-up as a filling station, and a glass and screen shop. Such a deal (BTW, Texaco is pronounced down here as Tex-a-co, with the "a" sounding like the "a" in at).

The Work Space - Saw in Place

What I'm doing for this project is, using a fancy quarter-round mahogany moulding that I got from Shipyard, I miter-cut with my trusty Craftsman Compound Miter Saw (what a cool tool. It even has a laser guide), then screw the outer four sides in place. Then I position the screen material in place, and do the same cuts and screw in the inner four sides. Ends up looking pretty good, even if I do say so myself.

The shot below shows the space in the porch railing where the today's first screen will go.

Screen Location

I thought it would be good to show me actually at work. Notice - no beer around. I am somewhat safety conscious.

The Artist At Work

And, here we are with the left shot showing the day's first screen in place. The second shot shows both the first and the second in place. All that's left is clean up, and put the tools away. And I'm done for the day.

My tee-shirt is as wet as if I'd jumped into the pool already. Plus, I'm covered with sawdust. Man, is that shower going to feel good.

The Completed Day's Project

Two Screens, In Place and Mounted

Right now, I'm cooling down as I write this, then it's to the showers, a nice bologna sandwich, and then... Pool time!