February 23 Upstairs Walls Going Up

Just last week the floor was being poured on the upstairs (of the lower level) and there are already walls up on it!  Here's how it looks today...

It doesn't look a whole lot different from that angle, so let's walk forward, and turn the corner to the back side where we see the future apartment of Jeff & Carolyn Stoker.  The floor above the apartment was poured last week, now the walls are up on the floor above.

Main entrance for lower apartment (Stoker's future home)

The bucket of the front end loader is useful in getting cement blocks up to the upstairs.

Future screen porch of Stoker's apartment; walls upstairs going up!

Stoker's porch (left); downstairs of upper level hostel (right)

In the above picture, our back is to the wall separating the hostel from RFIS.  Now, we climb up that little dirt hill and turn to get a view from up there...

Oh look!  It's Ron... "supervising" the construction.

Ron took the lawn chair to verify how many blocks high to make the partial wall on the porch upstairs.  It's going to be nice!  The above picture also gives a good view of the forest of support -- these sticks support the whole upstairs.  It was quite amusing to see Carolyn and I gingerly stepping between them as she gave me a tour of the inside of their apartment.

Another view of the upstairs of the lower level being built up.

The Cameroonian crew is doing an excellent job.  We are so thankful for hard working men experienced in construction.  Meanwhile, today a couple of our missionary colleagues involved in the construction left for Mt. Cameroon.  Phil Falconer and Scott Pyles are climbing the mountain this weekend with several RFIS students who have been training all year for this!   I'm sure they'll be pleased at the progress that happens in their absence.

Phil and Scott helping pack up the bus for the Mt. Cameroon climbing expedition

February 17 Upstairs Floor Poured

Well, repairing a local bridge occupied Ron and Phil's time for the past couple of weeks.  Now that that's done (see complete story here), we can see the progress at the Hostel over the past month!

Today the floor on the upstairs of the lower level was poured.  We got to experience another first for us in Africa - pouring cement on upper level using a pump!  The pump truck arrived first, the cement truck was to come in the morning.  But TIA (This Is Africa) and the first load of cement didn't arrive until nearly 1pm.  Once it arrived, everyone was ready.

Cement truck backed up to the pump truck

Cement is pumped up through the arm and shoots out where directed

 To get a good view I climbed up to the floor of the upstairs on the upper level and looked down at the work on the upstairs of the lower level.  Just appreciate the risk I took for this blog - climbing a ladder in a long dress! 

Huge sections of the floor were poured in just a few short minutes.

Now step back a bit for a bigger picture view.

View of lower level upstairs from the upper level upstairs

Pivot to the right to look over the upper level upstairs where the floor is being readied for its own cement pouring one day soon.  This whole floor will all be covered in wood, then have a rebar mesh on top, and finally a layer of cement. 

Ron's standing on the balcony outside an upstairs bedroom

The sky was getting dark and threatened to storm.  Thankfully the rain didn't fall till the middle of the night and did very little damage... at least nothing that can't be covered over with tile.

See where part of the floor is not covered in wood?  In those sections you can see down to the ground level where it looks like a small forest is holding up the ceiling (or floor of the upstairs).  These sticks are standard construction supplies here.

Large sticks holding up the upstairs level like a small forest

Now meet the missionaries behind the project.  Phil works closely with construction foreman (Johanas) and orders supplies, Ron oversees the whole project, Scott is doing the administration details handing out money for supplies and paying salaries, and Jeff, our accountant, keeps track of how much money is being spent.  They all have had a lot to do with the UBAC Hostel construction and were all there to watch the cement get pumped.

Phil Falconer, Ron Z., Scott Pyles, Jeff Stoker

And Now For Something Completely Different...

We interrupt this blog to bring you a story of a job that has taken Ron's attention from building a hostel to building a bridge.

Construction continues on the hostel.  Phil Falconer, forman Johanas and the guys keep plugging away.  Ron says that once the walls are going up, it doesn't look real different from day to day.  And meanwhile our day guard, who has construction experience, is starting to work on the staff duplex.

The bridge on the way to RFIS - falling apart!

But Ron's attention has been pulled to a pressing need.  This bridge is on the road that most students and staff travel going to and from Rain Forest International School (RFIS).  The area around RFIS is seeing more construction, and that calls for more trucks loaded with sand, gravel, and bricks.  Such heavy loads and increased traffic is taking a toll on this bridge.  (Pun intended)

It’s gotten so that nearly every day a car or truck has difficulty crossing – boards break, the support boards underneath bunch up, and it has become quite dangerous to cross. Parents and staff have been advised to take a different, less convenient route to school.

You can see the lengthwise boards on the bridge break and scatter after every vehicle passes.

So RFIS Administrative Assistant, Mr. Norbert, contacted the Chef de Quartier to discuss a solution.  Someone in the area donated a tree which was cut by chainsaw into lumber, as all lumber here is cut.  So sorry we don’t have a picture of that process.  The RFIS and missionary community "donated" labor, and engineering.  He has done a lot of research to design the bridge and will supervise workers from RFIS and each of the hostels.

Charles, Aoudou and Engelbert helped get the lumber ready

Ron and a few of the guys went out to the forest with a truck to bring the cut lumber to RFIS for planing.  At about 200 pounds a piece, the boards are tough to move around.

Boards laid out like they will be on the bridge

Then they laid the boards out at school the way they will be on the bridge which will serve heavy trucks, cars and motorcycles.  These boards are 3 times as wide as the boards of the original bridge, so they should do well.
Hopefully the bridge repair / reconstruction will be complete by the end of next week.  Then we'll get back to our regularly scheduled stories of hostel construction!

January 18 Upper Level Begins

Wow, it's been a long time since the last post.  A thousand apologies!  Internet has not cooperated well until now.  I promised that "coming soon" would be pouring the floor on the upper level.  Well, the cement truck never came.  It had to be done the old fashioned way - by wheelbarrels.  But it all got done on 18 January.  Here's the pics...

Floor of the upper level in foreground, walls of lower level in teh background