A New Shed; Page Two

This is a continuation of the post about the new Utility and Storage shed that our contractor, Mario Zetina, is building for us. You can read the original post here: http://www.winjama.net/2017/06/a-new-shed.html.

And here we are now. It's Saturday. Work was delayed Monday through Wednesday because of fairly heavy rain during the night, each evening. That, as Mario explained to me, affects the materials - sand becomes too wet; concrete blocks have absorbed too much water and affect the mortar holding them together. The water in the blocks wicks into the mortar, making it too squishy and less able to hold the blocks steady till the mortar sets.

So, as I said, work began anew on Thursday.

Trench For Water and Current

The workers spent part of the day digging a trench to run a water line and electrical service from the parking palapa, where they spliced into the existing services there. The trench runs in a straight line over to the shed.

Walls Going Up Fast

The walls for the shed are going up quite fast. In no time, those will be done and finishing plastering will have begun.

Water and Current Trench

Here you can see the trench going way over to the shed. They first had to peel back the Chippings on the driveway enough for the trench itself, but also so that the trench spoils could be placed until it was time to return them to the trench.

Here's Where It Begins

The water and current for the shed will just be tapped into the water and current that exists already for the parking palapa. No need for a new circuit or anything like that. There's just going to be a few light bulbs - interior lights, a porch light, and two motion detectors. They'll all be using LED bulbs so the load will be very low.

Window Space Going In

The opening for the window, which will be about 2'x4' will be on the east side of the shed.

Door Lintel Being Readied

Here you can see the lintel being formed for the door.

Going Up Fast

The end bits of the shed wall are going up. Each end has vent blocks in it to facilitate air flow and to keep the shed from getting hotter than it needs to.

Good View of One End

This view gives a good idea of how the vents will look in each end. The vent openings will be covered by screens to help keep bugs and other critters out of the shed.

Last of Elsie's Palapa

 This poor truck gets overloaded so often. Like here, it's tasked with hauling off the posts and other wood that made up the bones of Elsie's palapa. This stuff, like all wood here in Belize, weighs a ton. It's so heavy in fact, they were worried the rack on the back, which is carrying the largest pieces of wood, would collapse before they could get it off-loaded. It made the journey safely.

Ridge Beam In Place

 A sure sign of much progress is the installation of the ridge beam. This will support the rest of the roof

Ramp and Landing Getting Formed

 Here, the ramp and entry landing are being formed up. We're not having fancy railings on this structure, just a small affair that will keep a wheelbarrow or mower from running off the ramp.

Digging the Soak-Away

 I didn't like the idea of having a sink, even something small like a 'hand-wash basin' as they call them here, just drain out onto the surface. So, they're digging a nice-sized hole that will be filled with gravel and will be the sink soak-away.

Interior Walls Being Finished

Rene is busy finishing off the first of the interior walls. This is the wall that will have the standard and bracket shelving on it to hold all the paint, chemicals and associated tools.

Skylarking Above Deck

It's nearing the end of the workday on Saturday, so time for a bit of relaxation and clowning for the camera.

Electrical and Plumbing

 Some of the interior fittings going in, an electrical outlet (right above where the sink will be... That's code somewhere, I'm sure), and the drain and supply for the water.

More Electrical

On the opposite wall, the switch for the overhead lights and another electrical outlet.

Nice View From Inside

 An interior shot of the ridge beam and showing the vents - simply blocks laid on their sides.

Cleaning the Wheelbarrow

At the end of the day, when there's a little concrete left over, what do you do with it? Well, if you have a form set up for a casting, just dump it in there. It keeps the work area nice and tidy.

The Business End of the Trench

Here's the start end of the trench. Almost completed, just waiting for the plumber/electrician to come and connect everything.

View of the Full Trench length

And, here's where the trench was the day before. Looks as good as new.

There'll be some more photos and such on Monday (weather permitting). Enjoy your weekend.