Thursday.....the last full build day

The "official" team photo that will be framed and presented to Alixie along with the Canadian flag which we all autographed.
Rear L-R   Marvin, Kevin, Andre, Murray, Bob, Tony, Dan
Front L-R  Wendy, Emily, Barb, Lydia, Jen, Wendy, Anne

Looks like it's gonna be a hot one folks!!!  ...and indeed it was!  ....34c + high humidity + no breeze = sweating from pores I didn't know I had!!!

Once again we pretty much picked up where we left off.....grouting, haul brick and mortar, mixing mortar and Bob got to start a new, albeit smaller pit which was the "header tank" which is the first septic pit which then feeds the main pit.
....such a lucky guy!!!!

No surprise critters today, which was a relief after the the snakes, toads and frogs and lizards and oh!....I forgot to tell you about the tarantula which was resting amongst the blocks yesterday.

There was a slightly different, almost imperceptible difference in the atmosphere today.  ....partially exhaustion but mostly knowing that this tour of duty is coming to an end and there is still so much to do! .....but we have accomplished exactly what was expected us.

There was a question in the comments of the previous blog about what happens if the house isn't finished.

The fact of the matter is we are not there to build a complete house....if that happens it is purely a bonus.  ....especially when you start from scratch like we did.

In this particular type of build we can only contribute to a certain point and then the specialty trades take over.

.... today, after we reached another seminal moment [more about that in a minute] the tasks were less construction oriented and more landscaping oriented.

Our role, as volunteers, are to help keep the costs of construction as low as possible, which helps the family, to be sure, but also allows saves the Habitat affiliate the costs which would otherwise be accrued by the masons who are working as contractors to the affiliate. This also provides the luxury of having additional funding available for other families and other builds.

To put it another way, it helps speed up the construction and as we all know [sadly?] ....time is money!

...but back to the seminal moment.....

Dani, Alixie and Barb....and a Paraguayan tradition.

It seems that in Paraguay the raising of the ridge beam [first part of the roof] is a cause for celebration up to and including the holding of hands as the beam is positioned.
....what a nice tradition!!!!

....is Alixie happy or what??

The ridge beam is very carefully manoeuvred into position.
It might not look like much but that chunk of wood is about 12' long, 4" thick and 8" wide.
The name of the wood is unpronounceable but very dense and therefore very heavy.

We were guessing at maybe 150lbs or more.

...all this happening 10 or 12 feet above finished grade!


[...and yes, those are flip flops he's wearing and no fall arrest anywhere!!!]

....very precisely placed and levelled!

At this point the masons and in particular Alberto, who acts as the General contractor, are on their own. There isn't much more we can do to help.
They will continue the build just like any other contractor, at any other build site, anywhere else, and being paid by Habitat [and ultimately the family] to do so.

There will be plumbers, electricians and a carpenter to install the doors and trim as well as a glazer to install the windows, at which point I think the house truly becomes a home.

It would be nice to be able to see the project through to that point,   ....it would be wonderful to have some sort of ribbon cutting ceremony    .....it would be fabulous to watch Carlos carry Alixie over the threshold [if they do that sort of thing here]   ....but alas....it is what it is!!!!

....a post script to another comment/ question from my dearest little sister.....
Yup, pretty much blogshy I guess.....I asked, begged, cajoled and almost bribed others to contribute but they thought I was doing a fine job so should stick with it.   ....couldn't even get different pics from them!   ...they offered but ultimately, showers,  dinner or otherwise socializing interfered   ...so you are stuck with me and my photos!

My name is Dan  ....and this blog thing is definitely eating  into my socializing time!
....but you know what?   ....I don't care! ....I'm enjoying it!!!!