[Speed Gibson,
Sunday April 22, 2007 at 1:08pm]
Life Isn't Fair
I am very frustrated at the moment, enough to indulge in a seemingly unfeeling remark. For while dozens of innocents were murdered this past week, the current crop of alleged designers / engineers responsible for ceiling fans and light fixtures go on living.
Yes, I'm installing some new ceiling lights. With proper design and parts, a 15 minute job once the old fixture is down. Oh, but that's only true if your ceiling box is the newer 4 inch square model, not the older 3 inch round. And only if you have the correct size wire nuts to replace the undersized ones supplied. And only if you have X-ray vision to guide screws that are at least 1/4 inch too short to begin with through a mat of fiberglass insulation.
I had enough spare parts for the first, though the short screws added 10 minutes and much frustration to the first. For the second, off to the hardware store to get the proper screws. And of course, I have to mount them off center because their mounting bar isn't one of the dual mount designs you used to see until about 10 years ago.
Maybe I should insist that Menards or whoever open the box first, and further insist they supply the proper size wire nuts and proper length screws gratis.
This isn't among life's biggest troubles, but it is 100% avoidable with a little forethought by the designers. Maybe they should be forced to install one themselves. If you can't do it in 15 minutes (30 for a fan), with just the parts supplied, the product goes back for redesign, and you go out for reemployment elsewhere.
Yes, I'm installing some new ceiling lights. With proper design and parts, a 15 minute job once the old fixture is down. Oh, but that's only true if your ceiling box is the newer 4 inch square model, not the older 3 inch round. And only if you have the correct size wire nuts to replace the undersized ones supplied. And only if you have X-ray vision to guide screws that are at least 1/4 inch too short to begin with through a mat of fiberglass insulation.
I had enough spare parts for the first, though the short screws added 10 minutes and much frustration to the first. For the second, off to the hardware store to get the proper screws. And of course, I have to mount them off center because their mounting bar isn't one of the dual mount designs you used to see until about 10 years ago.
Maybe I should insist that Menards or whoever open the box first, and further insist they supply the proper size wire nuts and proper length screws gratis.
This isn't among life's biggest troubles, but it is 100% avoidable with a little forethought by the designers. Maybe they should be forced to install one themselves. If you can't do it in 15 minutes (30 for a fan), with just the parts supplied, the product goes back for redesign, and you go out for reemployment elsewhere.