A Fence Is A Fence, But A House Is A...

A House? A HOUSE?!?!

Yesterday was a RED LETTER DAY! Our house arrived!

First things first though. The fence work has been continuing for a few days and continued yesterday with an early start. A lot of progress was made throughout the day. In fact, construction of the original project will probably be completed today. Then they will begin parging or plastering or stuccoing the blocks for a uniform finish.

So, the house arrived. It's here! Yeaaaa!!!

Two days ago, we were working on getting our fence completed, and the guys, as evidenced by the photos below, had made some extraordinary progress on doing that.

At about 10:00AM, Franz (our builder) called to let me know they were leaving Shipyard with our house. Totally unexpected. I assumed the road from Shipyard to Guinea Grass was still in terrible condition. It may have been, but Franz managed to push things through and get the house on its way here.

Here's shots of the fence construction activity.

Our Fence Nearing Completion

Stitching Fabric Together

Stretching the fabric is done virtually the same no matter where you are. Thanks in no small part to having a "come-along". It's a tool that lends itself to pulling/raising/etc., just about anything that can be hooked or attached to it.

The Fabric Goes Up

Esidoro Attaching Fabric

It's not easy adding a roll of fabric to another that is already mounted on the railings. A 60-foot roll weighs the better part of 75-80 pounds, so it takes some effort.

No Easy Task

It's a group effort every time you tighten up the come-along. Each man has to hoist the fabric so it doesn't snag on the ground, etc.

At each end of the run is a concrete column where the chain link fabric is actually anchored into it.

Jockeying the Fabric

An End Column

Here's the crew adjusting the forms for the end columns.

Just a Little Bit More...

As I mentioned the end set-up with the come-along... and adjusting the fabric to remove kinks from being rolled up. We almost had to set the post that the come-along is anchored to out in the street so it could stretch the fabric.

The End Post

Adjusting Fabric

Believe it or not, I just washed the Isuzu three days before. It's gotten to the point, I wash it about every four or five days - when the windscreen has gotten so bad that the wipers can't keep it clean anymore, seems to be the gauge I use.

This Was A Clean Car

We first saw the house rolling down the road and coming to a stop. I had to run up there with my new machete so Franz could whack a branch off a tree to allow the house to get by.

Our First Sighting

Taking Up the Road

Here it is finally on our property. It looked so small on the road, and magically became larger once it got on the lot.

Jockeying It Into Position

Beginning to Jack It Up

Jacking it up is a very complex and dangerous process.

Initial Placement of One of the Jackstands

Still On the Trailer

Once they get it high enough, it's time to pull the trailer out from under the house. They hooked a strap up to it and hauled it out backwards, had to jockey it around to re-connect the hitch.

Removing the Trailer

Manhandling the Trailer Into Position

Here's where the jacking up begins in earnest. They put an awful lot of trust in their equipment. This is an extremely dangerous process. Wood can break, chains can snap, jacks can fail, it goes on...

Up and Up to 9-Feet We Go

Adding Bars As It Goes Up

On the Jackstands Alone

Moving Timbers Into Position

Trying to Keep It Level

While the house was being positioned, the fence work still was going on. Below, the hat he's wearing on the right is traditional for this work. It's made from a half cement bag and is used as padding as they carry the five-gallon bucket on their head - full of concrete!

Mixing the Mortar In the Road

Funny Hat For Pouring

Darkness is No Excuse

Attaching Fabric to the Rebar Post

Now for a bit of an interlude...

We have vultures down here, just like we had when we visited Florida. Here's a shot of one of the huge birds circling overhead. They glide along on the thermals all day long.

This next one, I missed the shot 'cause I couldn't get the camera ready to shoot in time. I looked up to see three guys, evenly spaced, coming toward us, carrying this really long pole. They were matched in cadence and it just really looked comical. So, here's what I did shoot.

Looking for a Meal

Hauling a Lo-o-o-ng Pole

A bit out of sequence, here's Franz whacking the branch with my machete. The photo to the right is Franz's brother, John. Franz is in charge of building, John is in charge of moving.

Franz At Work

John At Work

This shot is a two-fer... It shows the post almost in the road to anchor the come-along, and it also shows a ready-made profit center in the waiting. This cistern being hauled to the New River is corn squeezings from the tortilla factory. They haul this twice a day and dump it in the river. An enterprising entrepreneur could take that and create some fine Belizean whiskey. A bone-fide business opportunity!

Caustic Byproduct - Squeezings to the River

Difference

All By Itself

Going Up Slowly

Still Wrestling With the Fabric

Final Tensioning

Buckets of Concrete

Elsie's Side of the Fence

Our Side of the Fence

Our First Cave-in

How Deep Is It?

Rocks - The Only Solution

Just About Done

All Finished

Lot's of Poles

Our Side of the Fence

Stretching At The End

End Post Forms Ready To Use

What's That In the Background?

Carrying A Bucket of Concrete

Dianna and Esidoro Coming To The Site

Traffic Stopped While House Is Moved

Setting Cribbing

Disconnecting the Trailer

Back of the House

Discussing the Plan

Setting Cribbing