Putting on the roof

Rain is no longer an issue! Last week our herrero (metalworker) finished assembling the metal rafters, which he then installed on the school. Next came the tin roofing (lamina), which is standard for building construction in Guatemala. Here’s the school from the back (note the kids chasing each other; a few hang around the jobsite constantly, either curious or playing nearby)


And here’s a completed picture from the front:


Here’s an idea of what the construction looks like from the inside – the bright light you see on the ceiling is where daylight enters the classroom through an installed sheet of translucent lamina. Pretty smaaart ☺


Yep, it’s really starting to look good.


Then I came back a few days later, and whoop – they’d already started painting! (see what I said about kids being everywhere?)



Another picture from the back


and here’s what the inside will look like


A few days afterwards, it was time to pour the floor!


First, you’ve got to mix a bunch of concrete on the ground – for this particular pile I believe the proportion was roughly 5 bags of cement to 20 buckets of gravel to 30 buckets of sand. Then the albañiles (masons) start spreading it out on the classroom floor:


It’s tough work shoveling concrete but we all helped out ☺




The process goes pretty fast though; a couple of hours and we were done!



We’re about 90% done with the school now – next week the herrero will install the windows and doors while the electrician mounts the light mixtures. Just a little more than two weeks until the inauguration!