Chile Forum

Yea, as I buy materials to build my house, I just go right past all the hardware and feed stores in Frutillar and drive the 35-40 mins to Puerto Montt or Osorno to the Sodimac. If I stop at any of them to buy something as simple as a washer or a nut, I will have to wait 30 mins X number of guys that are in front of me in line to discuss with the guy behind the counter (and whomever walks buy) how the cow got out last night ( I think there is only one cow in town that gets out every night).

After which I will have to play 20 questions to guess what they have, as they have nothing on display, no catalog, no photos, no technical information. I already know not to ask to see the part or the material. That will take 30 mins for them to find the part, or discover it is not really in stock, and it will take 3 weeks to order it. By which time, I could have gone to Sodimac, stopped for lunch, walked my dog, and been back in less time, plus picked up the other 100 plus things I forgot I needed because I seen them on the shelf right in front of me. I use to think that was a long drive, then I realized if I lived in Los Condes I would spend two hours in traffic to get to Sodimac and back. So it is really not that bad.

Perhaps this belongs in a thread titled "you know you are spending too much time at sodimac when ....", but an old guy came up to me last weekend in the patio at sodimac and just started rattling off a bunch of questions about a sale on 2x2's, machinery, and so on. That was not the strange thing. The strange thing was I knew the answers to most of his questions, and did my best. At which point my gringo accent gave him the hint I did not work there. Which gave me pause to think why he would think I worked there. I realized I was walking around with notebook and just happened to be wearing the sodimac colors in my jacket and hat that day.

Perhaps I should go spend some time over at Easy (not a big fan, but they have been getting better). Besides the sodimac guys are starting to frown when I go in to the patio (perhaps I should bug the guys in Osorno for a while). I have been dumping 75% of their 2x4's and 2x6's on the ground once or twice a week recently for a couple months looking for the premium lumber in their "premium" pallets, that are not full of knots, twists, warps. They are there, just takes a hell of long time to find them. I kind of miss the good old days of simply calling up the local yard, and poof and hour later there was everything you need to build or remodel a house dumped on the front lawn. They will dump it on your front lawn in Chile, you just don't want to try and build with what they will dump. One day after I rejected about 200 2x4s and stacked them in a pile on the floor in front of the pallets, the sodimac delivery guys pulled up and loaded about 100 of the 2x4's in to the truck for delivery. Someone is getting a really warped house.

The one that ticks me off now is that both easy and sodimac decided not to publish a new contractors catalog this year with everything they sell in it. Instead they have reverted to a modern version of the Chilean system. They now have catalogs in each department (granted with some photos), that you have to go through and find all the stuff they do not keep in stock, but you can order. Not exactly convenient shopping. If I am going to have to catalog shop, I will do it online in the states and ship it; rather than cross my fingers and hope whatever I ordered does not have a pile of scratches, really fits, or whatever.

soyena wrote:Wow, these are some really quick replies! Thanks yall for the tips. Me thinks that the wood block is too pro for me, I'll probably just tape some thick layers of tape and use that as a guide

Don't believe mine's real marble or anything real, probably just some cement and artificial coloring haha~ But still, will be careful with drilling as I've not used a handheld drill in my life! (I have a BS in mechanical engineering yet now it seems as if those workshop courses are so worthless)

Patagoniax: pm you

admin: not sure what you mean by around the counter, there is no around the counter LOL

More on the wall, than through the counter. Just a suggestion.