10 May 2013 Stoker Apartment

In July Jeff & Carolyn Stoker will plan to be back in Yaounde after their year of Home Assignment in the US.  We're pretty sure their apartment, on the lower level of the UBAC Hostel building, will be ready for them!

Kitchen cupboards being installed in Stoker's apartment

When I went over to take these pictures for Carolyn to view the progress, the carpenter was there, working on the "peninsula" unit at the bottom of the above picture.  As you see, tile has yet to be installed on top of the counters.

Seen from the other side - living / dining room is beyond the the cupboard.

Here are some unique features of the kitchen cupboards...

Corner cupboard awaits a lazy susan shelf.  

Corner drawer with a false front

And the bathroom still needs a sink and tile on the counter top.

Bathroom - needing sink and tile

And the essential fixture is functioning as is the shower :)

April 30 Ceiling Panels Upstairs

Plaster nearly complete on the outside of the house - ceiling panels up and painted under the eaves.

The walls on the veranda are getting plastered nice and smooth.

Plastering the veranda

Now that the roof is up, it's time to get the ceiling in the upstairs, bedroom level.  First the wooden slats or "lattes" go up.

Preparing the ceiling for plywood panels

When the ceiling is in it brightens up the room.

Corner bedroom with ceiling panels in place

Another corner bedroom - back to the windows, looking out to the hallway

View of the front of the building with the ceiling panels under the eaves done, upstairs windows screened, upper level plastered, lower level getting completed on the exterior.  This ramp is only in place to aid in getting supplies easily up to the upper levels.  There will be a wall along the veranda when the ramp is no longer needed.

April 26 Exterior Progressing

The exterior of the house is coming along.  Before putting the roof over the veranda, we had to be sure to complete all exterior work above that roof.  So the wall is plastered and the window frames with security bars are installed, and the screens are in on all the upper level windows in the front.

While scaffolding is up to do plastering on the top level, windows all around the house are getting done on that level.  Inside, we have purchased all that is needed for ceilings on the top level.

And more of the metal work is getting done.  Now there is a railing along the stairs at the door to RFIS.

Next we'll need to start prioritizing purchases and complete just one side - most likely putting tile only in the kitchen and bathroom.  Will have to put in plumbing, sinks, toilets, electrical plugs and switches, light fixtures and light bulbs.  To paint or not to paint?  That is the question   Funds have run out, so we're now only able to continue with advance rent payment from us.. which is not nearly enough!  Look here if you would like to contribute toward the completion of this greatly needed housing for Covenant & Free Church RFIS staff.

20 April 2013 Roof Over the Veranda

It was Carnival day at Rain Forest International School today, so I took the opportunity to go over and take some pictures now that the roof over the veranda is getting done.

See the framework of the roof over the veranda on the right?

All the upstairs window screens were installed, and the exterior walls on the upper level have been plastered while the scaffolding could be in place.  Once the upper floor work was done, the metal roofing could b nailed in place.

Front view

From here, if you turn around and walk up the roadway, you end up at the back of the UBAC Hostel, in Stoker's yard.  And this is what the duplex looks like from Stoker's apartment.

View of the duplex from UBAC Hostel

29 March 13 Roof

Metal roof blends in with the sky, but it's there on the left; the other side is done

Here's the view from the RFIS side of the wall.  Trusses are in place, and the guys are nailing in the metal roofing!

View from just inside the wall

Besides the roof being completed, the security bars and window frames are in, railing on the stairs, and outside wall getting plastered.

View of the roofing work from the upper floor

While I was looking up at the completed side of the roof, I suddenly got the feeling Doc Oc (from Spiderman 2) was lurking behind one of the walls!

They tell me it's electrical stuff... I still say it looks like Doc Oc

On the veranda level scaffolding is up where the guys are throwing concrete on the outside walls - a splatted layer of concrete that will give the outside plaster layer something to grab on to.

Veranda with stairway railing completed

Now for the challenge questions... How do we screen in this veranda AND keep the mosquitoes from coming up through the stairway?  Any ideas?  Cuz the bottom of these stairs is open to the out of doors.

March 11 Raise the Rafters at the Duplex!

The rafters for the roof went up on March 11.
From the RFIS side of the wall it looks like this...

And inside the door in the wall, turn left for this side view...

Besides the rafters, notice the metal railing on the stairs!

Foreman Johannes directs the daily work.  He is an excellent builder!  His daughter is a student at Rain Forest Int'l School (RFIS), and his wife cooks food the construction workers can buy for lunch.

Johannes makes sure the rafter is centered before it's raised in place

Up she goes!

Heard on the site that day: - "un, deux, trois, GO!"
- "No, no, no c'est trop! Go bahk"
How's that for Franglais.

pushing the rafter a tad over to center it correctly

A guy's gotta be pretty confident of a job well done to rest in that position!

Now that the rains have begun, it's important to get this roof up and keep our bedrooms from turning to pools of mud!   Thankful for an excellent safety record - still no major injuries on the construction site.

23 Feb 2nd Floor Progress

As of the 23 Feb this is what the duplex looks like.  I have barely had time to take pictures, let alone post them!  Sorry for the delay.  Not much looks different on the outside.  From now on, the major changes will be on the inside... until the roof goes on.

End view

Front view

Do you notice that there are bars in the lower front windows?  Window frames are going in -- with security bars built into them.

Looking out the window on the end wall facing the green door in the wall between the duplex and RFIS

When you enter the front door, and turn around, this is what you see -- the door you came through on the left and the stairway up to the bedrooms on upper level at the right.

Front entrance (left) and inside stairway (right)

Pivot left to enter an office.  The view out the office window is very peaceful.  The veranda is out the right (front of the house) window.

Office windows - view to the veranda (right) and the forest (left)

Then from that entrance/stairway point, turn around, as if you're continuing on from the entrance, and you come to the living room / dining room area.

Looking out the back corner of the building through living room windows

Now pivot again left and you can look into the kitchen, through a common room, shared with the other side of the duplex, through the kitchen, dining room and living room through the windows of the other side of the duplex!

Kitchen - see the drain pipe under the window?

I know, right now it looks like just grey concrete and mess -- which it is, but it is begining to take shape!