Electrical

As busy as the workers have been with concrete and door frames, electricians have been busy working on the new electrical box that will be in the boiler room.  ( I guess we need a new name for that room after the renovation.)




This is only the beginning of electrical boxes that will be required to run our newly updated school. 



So Much Can Happen in a Short Amount of Time

Thursday afternoon the workers completed the flooring for the new classrooms.  On Friday they began installing door frames and brick walls.  It has created a look that shows the big changes to come. 

As you could see from a previous post, when the concrete was poured it was rough and bumpy looking.  Now it is smooth and I would almost say shiny if it weren't for all the dust.  In order to make the surface smooth, they run a machine over it that has rotating blades.  It is now smooth so that it can be ready for the next step in the flooring process. 

Door frames and the first layers of the interior concrete block walls are now in place. 

Scaffolding is lined up down the hallway in preparation for completing the interior walls on Tuesday and Wednesday.

New Flooring Continues

The portion of the new hallway that will house the restrooms and mechanical room have had the flooring completed.  The finished picture will be posted in a day or so but here are the steps up to this point. 

Plumbing was added and inspected. 

Gravel was placed in the trenches.

They began to fill the entire area with gravel.

A water proof barrier was put down, the area was sprayed for termites, and rebar was put down.  (Okay I know you want to know why termite spraying since there is no wood in our building??  It is to prevent them from nesting under the concrete.  It could potentially cause a void if they left the nest.)

It takes two workers to carry sheets of rebar.  The rebar is placed on the barrier and then trimmed to fit around the pipes. 

Strong hands hold the mesh rebar and tie it to the long rebar. 

Early Wednesday morning (6:30am) they began the process of pouring the concrete.  In this photo, the concrete looks rough and bumpy but when they are finished it will be very smooth.  FYI When the cement is mixed, they can alter the mixture to compensate for the weather.  If it is a hot day, there is more retarder (hope that's the correct word) added to the mixture to prevent it from drying too quickly. 

Miscelleaneous Photos

Here are some miscelleaneous photos from around the building. 

This hole is located in the front hallway close to the parking lot.  As I was photographing one day, I noticed that there were workers coming in and out of this opening.  It was much like the way busy bees would go in and out of a hive.  So I went over to take a picture of the work they were doing and this is what I saw...............

......hmmmmm, where did they go?

Not here either.  Actually, they were working in an area that I couldn't see from the opening.  There is much work to be done even if you can't see it. 

I realized that I never posted a picture of the new hallway that leads to the cafeteria.  For the village teachers this was one of the most exciting things that was finished.  It cuts down on our travel time into the building. 

I just thought this was a neat picture.  The electricians were stacking outlet inserts to prep for the building of the concrete block walls in the new classrooms. 

But Why Didn't They Pour All of New Hallway?

I'll be glad to answer that question.  In the new plans, there are some changes to that portion of the hallway.  It previously was home to six classrooms.  With the renovation, it will be home to eight classrooms, bathrooms, and a mechanical room.  The addition of a mechanical room and bathrooms requires plumbing.  The hallway has plumbing that leads to the sinks located in the classrooms.  The plumbers have finished the kitchen and can now work on the same process in the new hallway. 

This is the area closest to the end of the old hallway.  Trenches have been dug to lay PVC plumbing. 

The plumbing is awaiting inspection. 

The view is from the end of the old hallway.  The bathrooms and mechanical room will be to the right. 

New Classrooms

The workers have been making visible progress on the new classrooms.  The new part of the hallway extends out to where the old blacktop play area was located.  The concrete floor was poured for the six classrooms that will be on the farthest end.  

Everywhere you go there are plans for the renovation. 

Insulation was installed before the flooring was poured. 

At this point, the footers were in place, dirt has been leveled, and gravel was being spread. 

It takes a lot of gravel for this process. 

Gravel was leveled out.  The black material is a drainage pipe.  

A water barrier has been laid and then rebar placed on top of it. 

Finally, the concrete was poured and smoothed.  It hardens very quickly. 

The hallway was not poured due to plumbing being added.

Take a Look at the Front Hallway Progress

The work inside the front hallway has been much quieter over the last week or so.  The interior walls and doorways have been installed.  New load-bearing walls have been added to each classroom.  Electricians have been making sure we have plenty of outlets and data ports for computers.  Some lucky workers have also been busy scraping up all of the old floor tiles. 

One of the classrooms is being used to store electrical components. 

In a previous post I showed the masons building the load-bearing walls.  This is the finished product. 

The new inset doorways with a portion of the old wall. 

Standing at the back door allows a view of the hallway with new walls and inset doorways. 

Our old floor tiles. 

After much scraping, there are pieces of tile left to be swept up. 

Getting up all of the final small pieces of tile.  Notice how the doorways will look from inside the classroom.