Pool House Expansion Project, Day Nine - 30/09/15

 Everything up to now has been preparation for this.

Day Nine - 30 September, 2015

Sand, gravel, cement, blocks, all coming together in this next stage to actually make the foundation and the house.

Here's the first of two loads of sand, just starting to dump. It'll all be over in just seconds.

First Load of Sand Coming Down

Our hard gravel arriving. This also comes from Orange Walk. I don't think it quartz, but it's certainly harder than the local limestone gravel we usually get here in Corozal.

Hard Gravel Arriving

A load of block coming. Now, these may look like normal block, and they are. But here in Corozal, there's block, and then there's block. By that I mean, pretty much all the block available in Corozal is made with local materials, which makes for a poor quality block. I know. I've had more than enough of them fall apart on me.

Blocks Arriving

I mean, there's nothing like grabbing a block off the stack and only coming away with a small hunk of the block. It literally crumbles in your hand. Sometimes, they just crumble sitting in the stack. They're just terrible quality. and at about $1.50 BZD each, nothing like paying for nothing.

On the other hand, there's these blocks. Not only are they very well formed, they're properly cured. They've been allowed to age - not long, maybe a day or so, and the important part, the stone used in them is from Orange Walk. Granite. Makes all the difference in the world. These are some nice quality block.

Once you've been around block for a bit, you can tell at a glance, that these are not your average Corozal block. The edges are crisp and sharp, the color is slightly different, the feel of the block is different too.

I mentioned earlier about the concrete standoffs. Here's a photo demonstrating just how they're applied. Not only are they placed under the rebar, just like you'd do with any old hunk of concrete or block that you're using as a standoff, but with the built-in tie, you can anchor it to the rebar so that it stays in place, and can resist the forces applied when a wheelbarrow load of wet concrete comes crashing down on it. If the rebar shifts, the standoff is coming with it, improving the integrity of the pour and the materials used.

Demonstrating How the Standoffs Work

I've felt bad since this project started, that I've had to chain up the girls all day while construction is underway. I'm looking at how I can make some sort of pen for them while this is going on, so they don't have to remain chained.

The reason they're chained is two-fold. One, so they don't interfere with any of the construction going on, and two, so there is no familiarity developed between the girls and the workers. It's all part of the ongoing security process down here. You have to be very selective about who you let get close to your dogs and thereby develop familiarity. It's best if they know and are friends with a few people and alert with the rest.

Yes, they're pets, but the primary purpose for them is alert and warning, and a certain amount of intimidation for strangers coming around. The fewer the dogs become familiar with, the better your security picture is maintained. They are your alarm company. Security here is way, way different than security up north.

The Girls Being Patient

Well, I think that's about it for this post. This was mostly to get us current with the project. and we're almost there. The next step is actually pouring concrete and setting blocks. I think that's a good place for a new post. It'll be a couple of short steps and you'll be all caught up and current, as long as I stay caught up and current with my posting.

There's many more photos than appear in each posting. You can see all the photos of the construction project on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/gp/winjama/0wVc3s. There will be new photos added each day of the project.

Pool House Expansion Project, Day Eight - 29/09/15

This cave-in, which occurred adjacent to the 2nd gate and driveway, required some prompt action.

Day Eight - 29 September, 2015

The guys were expecting several deliveries of sand, gravel, large rocks and cement. None of it light (in weight) stuff. In the picture below, it's been cleaned and readied for a small load of rock to fill it. After it's filled, Carlos (our caretaker) will cover it with marl and after a while, you wouldn't know there was ever a cave-in there.

Cave-In Being Remedied

Before the trenches can be filled with concrete, steel rebar must be added.

Cutting Rebar to Length

Along with cutting the rebar to length, there's a need for smaller diameter rebar (like 1/4" stuff) that is bent and formed to make a sort of collar for the rebar that helps give it some 3-dimensional qualities, like in the rebar columns. Here's Omar forming up a bunch of those for just that use.

Omar Bending 1/4" Rebar As Frames For Heavier Rebar in Columns, etc.

The rebar part of the project moved right along, as you can see from the photo below. And already the vertical pieces for the columns are set, making use of Omar's frames.

Rebar is Already in the Trenches

The shot below gives you a little bigger perspective of the whole project. if you're wondering why the rebar runs up so high for the columns, keep in mind that our ceilings in the new part are going to be 9-foot 6-inches. Nice and high. They appear more so right now since the floor level hasn't been cast yet.

Big Picture of the Vertical Rebar Pieces

One thing I had never seen before is the use of concrete standoffs to raise the rebar in trenches up to the mid-point of the pour. Oh, sure, everyone uses bits of concrete block to use as standoffs, as well as whatever other material may be on hand.

This is the first time that I've seen purpose-built standoffs. These even come with a length of tie-wire molded into the standoff, in order for it to be married to the rebar, so there is little danger of the rebar becoming misplaced during the pour. Pretty cool idea.

Deeohgee Inspecting the Concrete Standoffs

One of the tasks that's very important from our perspective, is keeping a handle on the spending for a project, especially something that's fairly major - at least as far as our bank account is concerned. Dianna loves doing this, and dove right in. She set up a notebook, and has everything organized. Tracking invoices, receipts, and estimates, is right up her alley. I'm so glad she likes doing that, and she's good at it too.

Dianna, Reverting to Her Past Life, Keeping the Books

Of course, we've found another small cave-in. It's right next to the round one that we patched up already. This one's a lot smaller. As work progresses, any leftover concrete the guys have, goes into the hole. For now, that seems to be sufficient. We've had heavy trucks run over it with no problem, so it seems to be under control. We are keeping an eye on it. Just one of the hazards of living on a limestone coast. We're lucky in that none of the cave-in activity around here seems to be on a par with the really scary stuff like up in Florida.

Another Small Cave-In. This One is About One-Foot Across

One of the real treats whenever we have a construction project is that the breakfast man,  'FatBwai' (Fat Boy in standard English) shows up and sells hot dogs, tamales, hamburgers, patties, all the good breakfast stuff to the workers. He doesn't have everything every day, but the menu varies a lot. He also sells bags of juice and some bottles of juice too. The mornings he doesn't show up, the workers all complain that FatBwai is starving them.

FatBwai Bringing Sustenance to the Troops

If you'd like to see more photos of our project as it moves along, check out this link. Click on https://www.flickr.com/gp/winjama/GwZ9si to see the complete album of the Pool House Addtion Construction. It'll get added to daily.

Pool House Expansion Project, Day Two - 24/09/15

The guys show up, all riding in Carl's pickup. 

Day Two - 24 September, 2015

He has a Sport Trac too. An omen, perhaps? They get directly to work cutting poles down to size to use as stakes, which they promptly pound in various places around the yard. Much better than beer bottles.

Stakes Appearing All Over the Yard

Omar spent much of this first day, supervising placement of the stakes. Some of them are measurement stakes and some will be holding corner boards.

Measure Twice and Stake Once

All the measurements for level stem from measurements done earlier by Omar to find where the floor level was at the back of the pool house. Everything comes from that level. There's high-tech solutions, to accomplish the same thing, but the best and cheapest is still the ancient water level.

A form of the water level is credited by many to Theodorus of Samos,a 6th-century BCE, Greek sculptor and architect.  Carl Sagan, in  his series Cosmos, said that Theodorus invented the level, several other tools, and bronze casting. Good enough for me.

Ancient Water Level Technology Determined Floor Level

Now come the corner boards. They do a couple of things. The corner boards help keep the block lines running true, that is straight, and also carry on the level as determined by the water level. They also help determine square corners.

Corner Boards Come Next

Here you can see a slightly more modern level, a spirit level being used to determine the straight run from two points on the corner boards.

Floor Level DeterminesString Levels

As you can see, if you look close, corner boards become somewhat complex items in and of themselves. They'll be used clear up till about when the foundation walls are finished and the floor is ready to be cast or poured.

Surrounded With String and Corner Boards