New Years Express

It was as if the cavalry had arrived to save the day! Jose, Marcel and several others of David’s main crew were sent over from another site to get our palapa moving.
The rest of the walls were quickly finished, and forms had to be built for the concrete that will go around the corners and for the headers above the wall and the doors.
The next day reinforced concrete beams were placed over the bodega and bano, and special ‘hanging’ roof blocks were placed between the beams. A new set of forms were then added around the rooms and another mix of concrete was prepared.
As always, the concrete is a blend of gravel, sand, cement and water mixed up with shovels on the ground in front of the site.
At this point I need to check that all my water, electric and gas lines are in place and will extend through the roof, including several outlets for lights in the middle of the ceiling. Most of the other service lines are set to run down the perimeter blocks which make up the walls.
Steel mesh is added and then 3 inches of concrete is brought up pail by pail for the finished roof.
This all started Sunday after lunch and today, New Years Eve, the stucco coats were already going up.
Susan is wondering if these concrete block rooms will be strong enough for hurricane bunkers. Not sure how they all connect. If they ever started to crack and come down, I wouldn’t want to be under the rubble. At that point there would be nowhere else to go.
Yahoo!
Feliz Año Nuevo.