This week’s goal is to complete the first layer of concrete for the floor of our 5-unit row house project. Wooden forms were squared, leveled and mounted to the foundation and sand tamped level with each unit’s foundation walls to start the process.
We are pouring, or rather, laying in the concrete wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. I'm not sure how many square meters of floor there are, but can tell you it is a lengthy, hot, and intense project, requiring still more care and concentration than the initial foundation walls, as we are now really pushing to make certain everything is level and square. Levi is fairly intense in this stage, as it determines the ease with which the remainder of the house will go up. He prefers to do the more exacting work himself, though I asked him to teach me yesterday, and will see if we can get more of the team involved tomorrow.
Wire “net” is laid on the sand, concrete is dumped on top and the net pulled up into it for stronger support of the concrete as it dries. Lines of level concrete are laid along the center and on each side of a given unit using 2-meter long levels and trowels, creating points from which to screed the remainder. All is smoothed with 24” long floats as we go, shooting for a semi-seamless finished look from one section of concrete to the next.
All in all a high energy “aggressive” process, especially on this the hottest day we’ve yet had since I arrived, and concrete setting in 5-10 minutes instead of 20-30.
I appreciate both the need for it to be exact, and the benefits of expanding the field of folks able to do this work whether here or in a future setting. It is one of the things I love about Habitat “community building”.
8jul07
The Szarvas arboretum/river boat trip/dinner at the Corner Pub, ice cream at a little pub on the waterfront to end a perfect summer day…
More details to come, in the interim, pix on the phanfare site : )
7jul
Sightseeing in Gyula, a city of 38,000 a mere 4 km from Romania, the Carpathian Mountains just visible in the distance across the border.
Castle, spa, town center fountains installed just this year, modern, lovely, and surrounded by building both modern and historical in turn.
20meter high tower, the highest in the country? They used to travel by water in Gyula…
More details to come, in the interim, pix on the phanfare site : )
6jul07
Back on site with a particularly windy day today, creating a “sandpaper” effect as we move and tamp sand. Andras and I attempted to set forms for pouring the floor and ultimately gave up midway through the day, the wind so forceful that our set lines strung for squaring blew as much as an inch off center no matter how tightly they were strung. Got to love the process!
A history lesson from Levi at the morning break, emphasizing the endurance of the Hungarian people in light of the many invasions in the country over time, and exemplifying one man’s passion for his country and his vision of peace. Very cool.
So much of what happens at this stage of building is seemingly boring and repetitive, yet this “back-breaking” work is vital to the future stability of the house; if the foundation is built solidly and square, the rest of the process flows far more easily. The work of many hands lightens the load, and in truth, this is the most important step. So often what we see in HFH pictures and film is the initial framing. It is fun, fast, and gives the most succinct sense of accomplishment day to day, but comprises so small a part of the whole of the house that I suspect we sometimes lose sight of the other 90% of the process!
And a another “gift” this afternoon; Levi mounted a bike basket on my wheeled transportation, which will make grocery shopping much easier (and test my inherent sense of balance as I ride with a “front load”
5jul07
“Game called on account of rain”, creating an unanticipated free day mid week for the team, exploring and enjoying a welcome time out from shoveling and digging through hardpan at the site. My time was spent in the office working with Gabi, a nice change of pace and opportunity to see a bit more of the admin side of things here.
4jul07
An extension of yesterday, with a primer on the Hungarian alphabet and how to pronounce things at break time.
3jul07
On site this morning with the Ireland GV team; their two week stay will provide ample opportunities to become one with shovels as we prep the foundation with a hard-pack sand base within each unit before pouring the floor, mount electric poles to provide light and power, dig trenches and holes for water and sewer access, move the water source to the current project, and more.
They approached their “assignments” with gusto, supplemented with ample sunscreen, water breaks, and the camaraderie that is part and parcel of Habitat regardless of the tasks at hand.
For me, progress at home as well; Bondi, one of the family members is a plumber who came home with me this afternoon to connect the washer after an adventure in hardware shopping Szarvas-style to procure the necessary parts. He speaks French, Hungarian, and a sprinkling of English, and yet again, we could understand enough to communicate most things. And viola! At day’s end I have an old but serviceable and operational washer…it wiggles, walks, shakes, silts rust, and WORKS!!! It is, indeed, the little things…
2jul07
Worked the morning in the office today preparing for the Ireland GV team that arrived mind afternoon. Another tour of the town revealed still more information about this quiet and lovely berg that is Szarvas. A WWI memorial commemorates the 1000 villagers who died in that war, an immense sacrifice for a town its size now or then.
Coming soon…a walking tour of Szarvas especially for you
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