Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Putting up a Bracket... what a pain!

Today's extremely challenging task is putting up a simple hanging plant bracket. Right... simple... sure... First off, this is how we've been storing our potatoes, ginger, garlic, and onions. In a broken box sitting on the floor. Oh my... how lovely is that?! I wanted to mount a bracket to hold a wire basket set.
Maybe it would be easy if you have a normal wood beam home. However, when steel beams and steel plates are involved... an otherwise simple task becomes a painintheBEEP! Amazingly, I put up a few curtain rods, drilling through the metal several years ago. But I forgot how I did it! Drats. After struggling for an hour to make the first hole, I'm halfway through the project (one screw in and the bracket is dangling) and can't drill through to get the second one in. There must be an easier way.

So it's research time... And after asking friends, checking the internet, and seeking help from the sales person at the local hardware store, this is what I decided. I need a new and better drill bit, some oil, and to slow down a bit. I bought this one, tried it out and it still didn't go through. So I tried moving the bracket down and drilling another hole. Maybe there are just too many layers or something else where I was initially drilling. And yes! Success! I managed to get the bracket up quite easily after that. My shoulder was tired and achy, but it's perfect. Here's the miracle bit I used.


And take a look at my new bracket, with the hole I tried to drill still looking ugly up there. But hey, I realized there was a reason for this hassle. If I mounted the bracket that high, I would need a step stool to get my ginger (used very frequently here) everytime I want it. At this height, it's just right without it. And now I have another lesson to learn... how to patch holes in drywall. Hmmmm.. that should be simple.... right....