Hey do it yourselfers,
have you done anything interesting in the field of remodeling here in kunming? where did you get materials? good sources of lumber for finish carpentry? need help figuring out problems at your residence? want to do small project remodeling but cant get started?

ive been doing projects for friends here for some time and have lots of good suggestions, i know they city well, and i know the different markets, but theres always more to know, i love construction, and id love to answer any questions about remodeling projects that you guys might have.

i think the thread will remain popular. lets see what happens.

Alan B

Do you happen to know what happened to all the small traders from DaShangHui, now that the cheap end of the market is under reconstruction?

Great question I've had limited success answering this myself. you know i had a really good supplier in there and i failed to get his number before the market was torn out.

but since then i have rediscovered my electrical supply place not far away from where they were torn out. i asked him where all the shops went and he said they've mostly relocated not too far away you'll just have to ride around a bit to find them all.

what are you looking to purchase? perhaps i know a place.

Al

i can ask around a bit this week. ill repost when i find some info.

Da Shang Hui.
There was this exelent shop at the South/East corner (Everything from nails to screws, paint to brushes, electric and water stuff, basic tools etc). Where has it gone? I looked everywhere for it!

Like Liuer, I am looking for the hardware guys.
There were also:
- suppliers with good range of wood finishes, and dyes.
- several big suppliers of boards
- a good supplier of plastic pipes, that had all the branches and more importantly the ends for pipes and gutters.
- glass and mirror cutters, who also did bevelling.
- traditional wooden wall panel makers.

I had projects in mind for all of these materials.

well there was the market that got torn out across the farthest intersection behind da shang hui market and also one directly across from it but quite a bit smaller directly behind the massive stores of da shang hui. there are still a few stores right there with good prices and they have a lot of stuff, to find it head to the original small market and instead of going through the intersection where the market used to be head to the right toward guangfulu 广福路,on the right you'll see some paintstores and just before you arrive at guangfulu 广福路 theres a large empty parking area that used to be part of the market in question on the inside edge of the big parking area you can find a lot of what you need in just three or four surviving stores. however, for most of my stuff these days ive been heading to the market at

云纺商务楼‎ yunfangshangwulou
云南省昆明市西山区
环城南路668号
very close to the city center just outside south first ring road they have absolutely everything.

also 大商汇dashanghui main entrance is on 前兴路 qianxinglu and directly across from that entrance is another small market with flooring and various other items.

Any cheap and easy sound proofing measures?

Sound Proofing,

good question i do it a lot. are you looking to soundproof a small recording studio (inside noise) or trying to reduce outside noise?

either way the answer is...use at least some cushion foam. Of course, studio foam is different from foam you might use to block noise from a hallway. here's the bad news, most foam is an oil based product, so its not exactly cheap. and the price isnt headed down.

however, the market i mentioned above 云纺has some places for foam rubber and for soundproofing. their prices are about the lowest ive seen lately. The studio foam is dark in color and has baffles cut into it. for the other kind, soundproofing doors and windows, ask them for the cheaper stuff and tell them its not for sleeping on its for soundproofing, they'll likely sell you a kind of foam that is fairly rigid.

one doorway i soundproofed was for a friend who lived right next to the first floor entryway and elevator. this was a while back and prices have since doubled but i remember he got about 20 cm of foam for a large door covered in fabric for 200 or so. prices have gone way up. you might expect to pay more like 400 for it now.

However if I were to do that one again I have had more recent and better success installing a second door just inside the apartment if the layout allows for it. 375 installed and it is equally effective to the foam.

studio sound proofing is sold by the meter and for my money is fairly inexpensive. also available at 云纺

floor soundproofing—you can hardly do better than those foam tiles everyone gets at wal-mart. not terribly expensive and they do kill floor noise and feel better on your feet than ice cold tiles.

if you are building a recording studio however, constructing some walls employing sound-proofing techniques in the design will save a bit on all that expensive foam. contact me if you need help I'm in classifieds under jobs>services offered.

Okay I've got a line on the old stores from the torn out dashanghui market and I'll have a little time this afternoon to hunt it down. I've heard they they moved south of the old market but not very far. I'll keep you all posted