We Visit the Lumberyard

One of our projects during our stay in Cairo this winter involved assisting in a bit of remodeling for a family that we regularly visit.  Unfortunate circumstances have left a widow and four children in need of much.

One of our neighbors had donated a much needed bed frame and mattress to the family but the frame was in need of slats to support the mattress.  The box-springs that most American mattresses lie upon are a luxury item here.  Most Egyptians sleep upon a cotton mattress about 4 inches thick that rests upon a hard surface, or perhaps, as in this case, a series of wooden slats across a frame.

While a painter was at work on the bedroom one evening, we tacked the bed frame together outside and measured for the required slats. 

 

I measured it to be 162.5 mm on the metric side of my tape.  This level of precision seemed unusual to nearby observers.   But 162.5 to 163 seemed to cover the range on the frame.  Now we needed to go to the local "Home Depot."

Fortunately, there are several furniture stores/factories in the neighborhood.  We stopped at one with a nice selection of doors and three-ply for sale where we were directed to just go ahead down the street and turn right twice.  This brought us to a large two-bay shop behind the store that was well-stocked with rough-cut dimension lumber.  We browsed the boards.

(Approximate) 1x4s were available in about 15mm thickness or 20mm.  For our application, the sales consultant suggested the 20mm - about 3/4 inches in thickness.  The boards need to have some give, since they act as our springs.  After some discussion, I settled on ten as the quantity.

Another bay in the building held a workshop with at least a half dozen workers. 

I heard the boards being cut but then I heard the distinct whine of a planer.  Walking over to observe, I was invited in to watch.  Two of the workers had been assigned to turn the rough-cut boards into S4S lumber - a nice touch that should help preserve the life of the mattress.

I was given a brief tour of the shop where another couple of the workers were busy cutting mortise and tenon joints on the band saw.

At the project site the next day, we began putting the frame together only to discover that just two of the eight bolts required were included in the bed donation.  And, one of those was distinctly undersized.  I thought we would be touring a hardware store but fortunately, an uncle of the family has a nice bucket of hardware and between long bolts and some extra nuts we were able to piece together the frame.

The boards fit perfectly.

The finished product.

 

We didn't stay the night.