Long, long ago we were given a screen house and a platform by some friends. See "Legacy Tools". We have ordered parts now and then as needed. But over time, the roof developed pinholes, roof struts had tips break, and the floor rotted. We took the floor boards off and chewed them up in the chipper. This was the year to fix the floor. Yeah! That year went by, and another, and another.
Finally, we hired a handyman to put on another floor and replace some stringers. He gave us an estimate for that. And then we talked and talked with the handyman. The end result was that he completely rebuilt the platform, much better than I would have. We were momentarily shocked when he sent an invoice for twice the original estimate. We quickly realized that we would be paying for what we asked for.
Finally I went to the distributor for the screen tent, Kay Home Products, and ordered the needed parts: a new roof and one strut. The distributors web site gave the usual estimate about shipping time: 7-14 days. Imagine our delight when the parts arrived three days later.
On Friday my wife put a second coat of water seal on the platform, and on Saturday we were ready to reassemble the screen house. That is a story in itself.
When I was ready to insert the new strut, I noticed that it had no tip to hold on to the wire running around the top of the screen house. I carefully looked in all the wrappings and other packing material. No tip!
I used my wife's cell phone to check the parts page in the distributors web site. I was able to enlarge the page to see the items and their numbers. Sure enough, 3 points to "Roof tube only" in the description and 5 points to "Tube tips".
Dear customer, if all else fails, read instructions!
Also think where you put notes: the parts diagram was on my computer in a much larger format that was far easier to read. Since I can't get internet at our cabin, I didn't even think of my computer where I had saved a PDF of the page!!!
I'll place the order for a set of tube tips and assume that they will arrive as speedily as the rest of the order did.
Meanwhile, the missing tube tip is almost a moot point. I did find a forked branch that, cut to size, will go in a roof tube and fit over the wire, at least for awhile. However, the roof still needs lots of stretching to fit over each of the tube tips. Maybe next weekend will be warmer and the roof will be softer.
Speaking of next weekend, it's time for the 31st Annual Brimson Sisu, a "4.4 mile" walk-run. Even if you don't care to run or walk it, come out for lots of good food and get some cool T-shirts and caps. I have a hunch that this is the year of the sky. You can also buy T-shirts and caps for some past years.
If for no other reason, come to buy some of my wife's killer brownies. They may be plant-based this year if she can find a good recipe or alter one in which the brownies were too gooey. If not, she may make them just as she has in the past.
