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Friday, April 15, 2011

Update on the Construction.

It is has been so long since I had a chance to write.  I have lots of new pictures of the house.  We are to the point that even though Macho Man is working every day it is hard to see his progress.  I try to only go to the site on Saturday, because then I can see how much is done during the week. 

You can see that the front is really shaping up.  It still needs the banisters upstairs and the finish coat over the blocks.  All of that open area in the ceiling area will be closed in with heavy  screening to keep out insect, bats, birds and critters. Oh, and the windows and doors have to be installed. 


The back portico.  You can look all the way through from the back to the front door. Jose has finished the plaster coat on the back portico.  It is ready for paint but that is not going to happen until the rest of the house is ready for paint.
Scaffolding and ladders, Honduran style.  I don't think OHSA would approve.  You can see that the sewer pipe is in and  the pipe to the septic tank is being buried. 
I took this so you can some idea of how tall the entrance doors and windows are.  Macho Man is about 5"9" tall.
 
This is the rosita the window and door frames are made of.  I think it would be foolish to do anything other than varnish it.


The door and window frames will be attached with 4" nails to the blocks.  Nails will also be driven through the frame into the notches and the notches filled with concrete.  Somehow I don't think they will go anywhere.
 


These doors have their frames.  The bracing comes down when the concrete is cured.  These are the doors to the laundry and the pantry.  The door to the outside enters a corridor which goes to the front balcony on the second floor.  Yes, it has a view, too.



                                                                            

I know y'all think I am obsessed with the septic tank.  I guess I am, for two reasons.  The most important is we can't move in until we have water, electricity, and sewage.  The second is, I have never seen a home-made septic tank.

In the top picture, in the lower center, you can see two large black spots.  These are rocks, big rocks.  These rocks are so big there was never a question of digging them out.  Marvelous Marvin to the rescue!  Marvin and his trusty  sledge hammer got into the pit and banged away on those rocks until they were even with the wall.

The center shows the masonry work.  Every wall is plumb and every block is in its place; and much of the time the mason was balanced on the scaffolding or on the ladder.

The bottom picture shows the framing for the top, which will be poured in place.  I don't have a clue how you would pump it out if you needed to get to the bottom of things. ;-D

We are making progress poco-a-poco, but we are making progress.  We couldn't do it without José and Marvin, and we surely could not do it without faith.

We are blessed.