The Inner Sanctum

It seems like ages since we've been on the far side of the fence.

Last Friday, after our afternoon get-together, we went to a birthday party across the street at Mae and Craig's house (Craig's 58th - Happy B'Day) and finally got to meet our new neighbors, Mike and Shelly. Mike is the new chiropractor in town. During the course of the evening, they invited us to come over to their side of the fence and take a look at the construction that has been going on for months.

Since we've been sidewalk superintending the project from the comfort of our front porch since it started, we were curious and leapt at the chance to see it up close and personal. Bright and early Saturday morning, we grabbed the camera and headed off to see what things looked like over there.

It was a fairly short hike, as such things go, since Mike and Shelly just opened their new gate in the front wall facing the road.That and they're just next door.

Approaching the Newly Opened Gate

Swinging in through the nice  wide gate, you get the view in the photo below. There's three Conex boxes to the right, which are used to store construction and other materials. To the left is the pool house, or that is what it will be when it's a bit more completed. Off in the distance is the main house - actually a duplex, Mike and Shelly will be living on one side and friends of theirs will keep a place on the other.

Just Inside the Gate

Crossing the courtyard, you can see in the photo below, the original gate location which they closed off. There is going to be an 'L'-shaped swimming pool somewhere here, so the wide open space you see below will eventually give way to lush tropical landscaping. You can also see where the original gate has been blocked in ready for some finish plaster work.

Courtyard Approaching the House

Their Soakaway

When we visited, as soon as you step inside, we were engulfed by the bewildering forest of support timbers used to keep the roof in shape till the concrete has a chance to firmly set.

Dianna Negotiating the Forest

I'm not going to pretend that we understood the layout of their house. At this stage, and with the forest closely packed throughout the place, it's just too hard to make that determination. Oh sure, there's a couple rooms here and there where you can say, "This definitely will be a bathroom," or "kitchen", etc., but most of the rooms will just have to wait for a bit more definition before you can comfortably hazard a guess as to its future utility.

One of the House Rooms

The main purpose of this particular tour is to give you a glimpse of how it's put together, with the use of the Styrofoam and steel mesh panels. The company that makes it is called Covintec Systems (http://www.covintec.com/). It does make for a unique construction process.

Several of the rooms had pipes, located up near the ceilings, that at first, seemed a total mystery to us, but then we decided they must be conduit for air conditioning, for the water supply and return lines and electrical power and control lines.

We Asked Why the Pipe?

One thing that will be certain, is that the house will have a high ceiling throughout, as you can see below. Even with the new materials, some of the angles of the ceiling, I'm sure present some difficulties for the construction crew, however, it should look great when it's done.

An Expansive Ceiling Area

Right now, it's hard to tell which rooms belong to which side, just from the photos. But, since it's all just Styrofoam and raw concrete, it really doesn't matter too much.

Room on Canal Side

For my money, the canal-side has the best views and the best lighting of the house. As these photos show, they're  nice and bright. Once they get finished and furnished, it should be spectacular.

Canal-Side Looking The Other Way

More Canal-Side Rooms

From the canal-side room, there's a great view of the canal where it turns and empties into Corozal Bay. Quite a nice view.

Canal Takes A Left Turn to the Bay

Here's a view of Mike and Shelly's boat dock. Enough room to tie up the fleet. Should look really nice, all landscaped and finished.

Boat Dock on the Canal

At the other end of their dock area, I snapped this photo. I've been wanting to get a piece of iron similar to this for the end of our dock.

Nice Looking Iron Work

These next two shots aren't so much of Mike and Shelly's place but looking over the fence at our place. Can't resist sometimes seeing it from a different perspective.

Looking Toward Casa Winjama

Another View of Our place.

And back to the tour. We're now working our way out. This shot is the interior of their pool house, which I understand will have a small apartment and the pool equipment. Right now, it's got lots of piping.

Pool House Piping

Here's another view of the pool house. This gives you a good idea of how the panels go together.

Another View of the Pool House

Ok. That's it for the tour. You know, there's one thing I noticed with the new crew. There's singing, laughing and the occasional holler - something that hadn't been heard over that way for a long time. At lunch time, there's usually a spirited football (soccer to the uninitiated) game among the crew, but as soon as the clocks hits one PM, the cement mixer starts up. I think it's all an indicator of a happy construction crew. Personally, I think that's a good thing.

The Circus Came to Town

Bright and early this morning, well, around 8:00 AM, or so, just so you don't get the idea they were up with the sun, a whole bunch of heavy hitters in the world of concrete came to town. In fact, they were headed right next door.

The Circus Rolling In

Of course, they've had to park out on the road, because I don't think there's enough room for them to all be in Dr. Mike's yard all at the same time, and a pretty big 'and' at that, I don't think they all can swing wide enough to clear through the new gateway in the fence.

So, about 8:15 AM, or so, this morning, the circus came to town. All these big white rigs all lined up - two cement mixers, one hopper, a low-boy with the articulated front end loader, a flatbed semi loaded with bags of cement. On our little, narrow roadway, that's quite a crowd, especially when you consider, buses, Fruita Bomba and all their rigs, all manner of delivery trucks, cars, bicycles, pedestrians, and dogs. Wow! A full agenda for our road.

I made it downstairs in time to snap this shot. In it you can see one of the mixers and the hopper, just beyond is the low-boy with the front-end loader.

Cement Mixer and Hopper

And, turning the other way, there's the other mixer. The only other times I've seen these rigs was when we were walking the doggies and the circus was on its way to the Free Zone to do a pour up there. Wonder what it costs for all this, he said rhetorically? More than I'd care to think about, for sure.

Hopper and Another Mixer

Here's the articulated front-end loader. First thing it had to do was reposition several loads of sand and gravel so the mixers could move around after filling at the hopper then back over to the pumper rig that eventually deposited the mix to the roof.

Articulated Front-End Loader

Right around that time, the pumper boom truck (sounds like a mega-sound system, doesn't it?) came in and got itself positioned. This mean't extending jacks all around and all that stabilizing stuff. Then they had to move the boom around to make sure it could reach all the areas it was supposed to.

The Boom Swinging Free

Then, they had to bring in the hopper and conveyer. This actually loads the mixers. But, since a mixer itself was barely able to get through the gate, that meant they had to remove the bucket from the front-end loader and use the loader to haul in the hopper.

Backing the Hopper in

Once they got it positioned, then the bucket could be re-attached to the loader.

Positioning the Hopper

Then after a bit, it was time to begin pumping concrete to the roof. Quite the process to watch. It goes fast, but not incredibly so. It does look like they use quite a stiff mix on the concrete - I suppose so it doesn't slump too much on the roof pitch.

Starting the Pour

They started with the entryway awning. You can see that it moves right along.

The Pour Continues

Periodically, the two mixers alternate loading up ingredients and then heading over to the pumper to unload to the roof.

Loading From the Hopper

Somewhere around 11:00 AM, they started pouring on the backside (I'm guessing it's the backside). The canal-side is the prettier of the two.

Started On the Back Side

As you can see screeding and floating the mix comes right after the pour and before it has much of a chance to set.

Moving Right Along

I just poked my head out the door. It looks to me like they still have about a quarter of the whole thing left to do and that's on the far side of the house, so I doubt I'll get many more pictures. Well, this should give you some idea of the process. Quite entertaining to watch anyway. Definitely easier than hauling a five-gallon bucket on your head up and down a rickety, home-made ladder. Progress.

The Roof is Almost Done

I'll keep paying attention to the work that's going on, but I'll be honest, I'm sweating like a pig, and I'm thirsty. So, I vote that it's pool time and time for a cold one. Hearing no objections, at the sound of the gavel in the East, meeting is adjourned.

Late breaking... I finally got a good shot of the hopper and conveyor belt in action. Look close and you can see the sand and gravel actually dropping off the conveyor into the mixer.

Time for a Refill

And the last shot of the day. Comes a time when the circus has to up-stakes and hit the road - and there they go. A hard day's work for all concerned.

Circus Leaving Town

Cheers

The Walls Come Crumblin' Down

A new feature in the neighborhood, a hole in the wall magically appeared yesterday at Dr. Mike's place.

When the walls come tumblin' down

When the walls come crumblin' crumblin'

When the walls come tumblin' tumblin'

Tumblin' tumblin' down

- John Mellencamp, 1983, Album - Uh-Huh

I snapped this shot through my fence. Definitely an improvement.

Dr. Mike's New Gateway

Somewhat coincidentally, this was as a result of a sort of 'change of command,' you might say. The previous construction crew at Dr. Mike's has been given the old heave-ho, and a new crew brought in. To say they've made progress is an understatement. On the job for four days and it appears from this sidewalk superintendent's perspective, that there's been more forward motion in that short time than in several months under the old regime.

What drainage existed before the wall, has, since its construction, caused the road to become a virtual lake after even a modest rainfall, leading directly to increases in potholes, mud, and the fact that it takes literally days to dry out after a rain. And that, disturbs our dogs. They can't go for their accustomed walks for those same days until the road firms up enough to walk without getting covered in muck.

And not only the roadway, but the gateway to Elsie's property next to ours, which, incidentally, is used by everyone attending our Friday pool party, 'happy hour' as it's called.

Elsie's Gateway

After a rain, the driveway entrance fills with muck, making for a very slippery and uncontrolled feel as you drive in.

On the plus side Dr. Mike's new crew has brought in several truck-loads of marl and this seems to have somewhat alleviated the flooding potential - of course, it hasn't rained cats and dogs since the marl was brought in, so that may be an illusion.

So, let's see, what else? OMG! First there was current, then Belize Water Service ran a 6" water main up our road, at least as far as Mr. Quinto's place, now, Centaur Cable is stringing cable and fiber along our road! This indicates to me the possibility of fairly high-speed internet, streaming some stuff, and maybe no more HughesNet (who we're with now) Fair Access Policy which has been strictly enforced for some time.now, and that sucks big time. No idea of costs yet. I'm sure someone will come by and let us know.

On the repair front... Our rollup door for the pool house, started slipping again. I opened up the control box to see if I could adjust it. Yes and no. Yes, it was within my capabilities to adjust it, and no, because one of the little adjustment thingies that keep it all in proper adjustment was cracked. Not only cracked, but as I found out when I really opened the machinery up, was actually broken. I took the part that had broken free and went up to Capitol Metal on the Northern Highway (more properly the George Price Memorial Highway).

As soon as Roger Chang saw what I had, he successfully rummaged around in his parts bin and came up with what I needed to repair the unit. He showed me how to really open up the whole thing and installing the replacement thingie looked like a piece of cake.

It was too, until I actually tried reinstalling the thingie. I had to open up even more of the machine to be able to remove the shaft that allowed the thingie to spin on it, which gave the door it's up and down allowances.

There was a flange that covered a brass bushing on the shaft, that needed to be removed before I could remove the shaft. Of course, the two screws (tiny ones at that) that held the flange were stripped, necessitating my drilling them both out and finding some replacement screws that were close enough in size that they would work.

I got it all done and put back together. It looked good. I broke out the trusty remote and pressed the 'Close' button. Almost immediately, more like instantaneously, there was a loud 'pop', and a smallish puff of smoke from a relay. Oops. Not the reaction I was hoping for. I know when I'm beat.

I got down off the ladder and called Roger Chang (owner of Capital Metal and who had sold me the roll-up door) and asked if he could possibly come by, take a look at it and hopefully, repair the stupid thing.

The thing that made this inconvenient was that this happened on a Friday, and I was hoping that Roger could come over soon to fix it. He said he'd try and squeeze it in. It would be my luck if he came over to fix this right in the middle of the pool party. Not necessarily the best timing.

A couple hours later, the party is in full swing and here comes Roger. To their credit the party-goers didn't bat an eyelash. No one except me, hung around to watch the action as Roger and his helper dismantled the machine and took a part into the kitchen to re-solder it.

After reassembling it, Roger pressed the button and got the same result (pop and smoke). Ok. Take it further apart, find the wire that got goobered when I drilled the screws out. Fix them and reassemble the thing.

Roger pressed the button and violà! it worked. Yea! A couple minutes to adjust it and they were done. I now feel confident that I can rebuild the thing successfully - as long as I don't try drilling more wires in the process.

And then this morning, just entirely serendipitously, I found a group in New York called The Fixers (http://fixerscollective.org). The Fixers are a loose group of community-minded folks who get together periodically and fix stuff that has broken, or if it can't be repaired, maybe it can be repurposed and used for something else. That sort of attitude is needed down here. If something breaks you better fix it or find someone who can, because it'll be months till you can find a replacement.

Buddy Miles Said It Best

our neighborhood has been going through some changes.

'Well, my mind's been going through them changes'

- Them Changes, Buddy Miles, 1970

You know, beyond my mind, changes that I haven't written about lately.

Things in the neighborhood are changing, and, actually have been changing, but I haven't written about some of them.

For instance, next door to us, is a new house that is being built out of wire mesh and Styrofoam. It'll be coated with roughly two inches of concrete (probably sprayed and troweled) on both sides, including the roof.

Dr. Mike and Shelly's House

This is relatively new stuff, at least here in Corozal. It's made by a Mexican company, Qualypanel, (http://www.covintec.com/). Their website has several videos that show aspects of the construction process.

The initial bit of construction, such as the walls, went really fast. I'm not sure what has slowed things down now, but it does seem to be taking an inordinately long period of time to finish.

Dr. Mike Parrish is a Chiropractor from the US, and has set up his practice here in Corozal (http://www.doctorparrish.com/). I haven't visited his office yet, but my neck is saying that maybe I should. I run into Shelly, his wife, now and then while we're walking dogs. Seem like nice folks.

We're watching the construction of their place with interest. If it works out, we might want to put an upstairs on our pool house and that would be ideal - saving weight and, hopefully, time as well. We'll keep you tuned in on that bit.

The other new house around here is another Mennonite house. This one is going up just south of the Northern Highway (which has been renamed the Phillip P. Goldson Highway - although no one calls it that) on what we call Scruffy Road. No idea what the actual name of the road is.

Keith and Sheena's House

I stopped by the other morning while walking the doggies and checked with a couple of the workers there. The place is owned by Keith and Sheena. I haven't met them yet, but I'm sure that will happen soon.

Of course, the other new one, almost across the street from us is the house that Mae and Craig built. It's a nice concrete place  with lots of potential. It's for sale too. It also has a really cool gate. I'll see if I can remember to get a photo of the house and gate tomorrow.

Let's see, what else? Doggies are fine. We're still walking 4 miles a day, and sweating up a storm with that as well. Cats are fine. Nelson is becoming a fine young man. In fact, he delights in helping around the house.

Nelson Helping Make the Bed

We've got to install a kitty door. He's driving us nuts wanting in or out at night. He's discovered that he can get up on the back of a chair on the front porch and meow at us to be let back in. Of course, that puts him about two inches away from our ears when we're in bed. Hard to ignore him then.

And the other thing we've got happening is our compost bin, which is going great guns. As you can see below, it produces some great compost and so quick too. Inside of two weeks from first adding it to the pile on the left. Watering and turning for a couple of days or so, then toss it over the wall to the next bin. More watering and turning, then finally over the next wall, where it's turned a couple more times.

Our Compost Bin In Action

Then it's run through the sieve (the wood and wire screen thing above) into the wheelbarrow and then out to the various planter beds. The plants just love it.

Speaking of plants, I'll get a few shots of Dianna's garden and include later on. Stuff is growing very well in the planter boxes. We'll be eating good soon.

That's it for now. I've got to add some chlorine tabs to the pool and get stuff ready for happy hour this afternoon.

Cheers,