Today, we finally got the phone service for the coin shop hooked up. More importantly, we got our safe delivered along with our display cabinets.
The site was previously one of those mailbox/copier/Fed Ex joints.
Before:
After:
I know it's not much to look at now. We have tons to still do - paint (losing that disgusting red stripe), drywall, ceiling tiles, windows and a bunch of electrical and data cabling. We are VERY fortunate to have one of our partners be an expert electrician/cabler. It's saving us tons of money.
The front area where I'm standing will be our lobby area. We got a great deal on a couple of brand new couches (I'm telling you, folks, use Craigslist - we got these couches, delivered, for 1/4 full retail), and will be adding a coffee area so customers can make their own espresso/cappuccinos or plain old coffee.
I also got a taste of the video surveillance system one of our vendors is proposing. It's ugly expensive. But, from 60 feet away, you can get a clear, close-up, don't want to see it on America's Most Wanted, image of someone's face, and if you so much as breath heavily or move an inch while it is activated, you'll be shortly greeted by nice men in blue uniforms.
I'm waiting for two more of the responses to our Request For Proposal, and I hope they're a bit more reasonably priced.
Saturday, I'm teaching a sold-out Pistol Orientation class which will burn most of the day, and Sunday, I'm helping a good friend harvest his crops of red, white and blue potatoes.
I'm whipped just thinking about it!
Back on Monday most likely.
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If you have any questions on lighting (physical items, not interior decorating things) I can probably help. I won't offer to supply - shipping these days is almost more than the fixtures - unless you get some really super ones. A customer the other day - a handyman - said his son - who apparently does the same sort of work - had had a job recently putting up some Tiffany fixtures, hand signed. Each fixture was worth about $150K. High ceiling etc - none of them wanted to even touch the darn things! and people are installing them in earthquake prone California??? Crazy!!
ReplyDeleteBut stuff like info about T12s and T8s, and the ballasts - that I can help with. And the new bulbs that California requires with the weird bases...that too. And kelvin temperatures...(the numbers after the physical designation are color rendering percentage and kelvin temperature)we deal with those every day. And really oddball bulbs you may run across...we specialize in those. If you can still get them...
Sue, thanks for the offer. A quickee question: We're going to have portable desk lamps on top of the counters to view coins and jewelry under a magnifier. The best light is regular old incandescent lighting, but that's going the way of the dinosaurs. Any suggestions for the type of lighting that gives broad spectrum(LEDs are too weak, halogen is too bright) that we might get as an alternative?
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why halogen is too bright - you can use any wattage from 5 watts up to 250 watts (or higher, but on a practical available basis. If you mean _glare_ as opposed to bright, then you need a frosted bulb, perhaps. If you want to go with fluorescent, then the bulb should be 5000Kelvin or 6500Kelvin. Either would be considered full spectrum. Anything over 13 watts is required by California to be electronically ballasted - so the designation on the bulb is normally something like '850' or '5K'. Some of them use "soft white" or "WW" (for warm white) or daylight, but normally, that alpha description is reserved for magnetically ballasted bulbs.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of lamps (fixtures)? do you have the them already? screw in bases? double ended (tubular) flourescents? If they are screw in bases, what diameter base? bases are 12mm (candlabra), 26mm (medium - the "normal" size) and intermediate (17mm) - which was used for a lot of desk lamps. If the last, then it will probably take a 40S11, which is a "hi-intensity" lamp. They come in 25 watts also, but not higher. The base would be a problem because none of the halogens or fluorescents come with the intermediate base. On the other hand, I don't think they plan on eliminating that bulb. Yet.
If you don't have the lamps yet, make sure the bulbs in the lamps you look at are GE, Sylvania or Philips. If they are, then getting a new bulb will be no problem. If they aren't, find out where to get a replacement bulb. There are some odd ones out there. Replacements strictly from China!
One of our vendors has a site with lamps that should work...I'll post a link after I find it.
Try this page. And if it doesn't appeal, prowl around the site. I think you won't have any problem finding a retailer in your area, but if you do, I can get pricing for you.
ReplyDeleteIn fact...it seems to me that even Office Depot had some of their magnifiers...but "my" store closed and I haven't explored the other available store in the area.
http://www.lite-source.com/category.aspx?Id=30005
This looks like a good deal - but buy 2-3 spare bulbs for each lamp - they're going to be very difficult to replace. You won't find a better price for a lamp and bulb, though, if they're big enough to do the job.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.officedepot.com/a/products/135512/Magnifier-Lamp-Black/
Sue, halogen casts too harsh of a light. It washes out the luster in a coin when viewing it through a loupe. We might get a couple of the circle bulb lights, but mostly for customers. We're all so used to using the loupes! Tough to teach us old dogs new tricks..
ReplyDeleteOk...so what works best now? What are you trying to replace?
ReplyDeleteThought you'd find this interesting:
ReplyDeletehttp://sweetness-light.com/archive/ge-bulb-factory-closes-jobs-go-to-china
Try this page. Notice that 1) they're halogens - they will probably stay. 2) different wattages 3) white coating will cut glare, but is not available in all wattages (? - I don't know why not, but it's true generally) 4) the BT (blown tube) size and shape is small and should work wherever you used a regular A shape bulb before. They're approximately 4 to 4.5 inches long, and 2 inches wide. 5) they have a medium (26mm) base. (called an E26 base)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.elightbulbs.com/BT15-Halogen-Light-Bulbs
I heard on the news today about the light bulb plant. Consequences of the green movement. I still don't understand why the greenies aren't more up in arms about the CFLs and their mercury. I still use incandescent whenever I can.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the other links. I'll check them out.
>>I still don't understand why the greenies aren't more up in arms about the CFLs and their mercury.>>
ReplyDeleteBecause they don't _see_ it. It's all in China - and China might as well be on a different planet. Sort of like different cities requiring junk yards to put up high fencing so the junk isn't visible. The junk doesn't go away, but as long as we don't have to look at it, it's fine.
By the way...speaking of mercury...looks like mercury thermometers are still available, but you might have to find them from animal supply sites (vet supplies). And _don't_ leave them in the glove compartment of your vehicle!! They overheat, and the mercury column breaks, leaving a gap that you cannot rejoin! (darn!)