Doing Concrete the Easier Way
John here - this is my very first post on our blog. Kathy usually does this and does a wonderful job of it too.
On Tuesday we got the 2nd floor of the dorms in La Isla poured. I ordered ready mix concrete to be delivered in trucks rather than mixing by hand. This accomplished several things - less than one day as opposed to two, happier workers, consistent mix, no cold joints-it is one continous pour from start to finish. To accomplish this same task by hand mixing on the ground in almost the same amount of time, we would have had to hire 12 or more workers. The size of the property and project just did not allow for this.
The first truck arrived at 9:30 am and the third(last) truck pulled away at 2:30 pm - 19 cubic meters or almost 25 yards of concrete. The guys stayed around until after 5:30 pm finishing and wetting down the floor to allow it to cure slowly. It was a long day and the guys were very tired. Fabian told me he could lay down and sleep like a baby right there on the freshly poured concrete. They did a great job. I think it safe to say that most, if not all, have never made a pour like that and not mixed the concrete by hand.
This gets us one step closer to having the dorms liveable the first of June when the first summer team arrives. Please continue to pray for this project. We need additional funding to keep it going. Pray for continued safety for the workers. Pray for their families. They are great men. They take good care of their families. They are not all believers. Pray that God would fill these men with His grace and mercy and all of them would come to a closer personal relationship with Him.
On Tuesday we got the 2nd floor of the dorms in La Isla poured. I ordered ready mix concrete to be delivered in trucks rather than mixing by hand. This accomplished several things - less than one day as opposed to two, happier workers, consistent mix, no cold joints-it is one continous pour from start to finish. To accomplish this same task by hand mixing on the ground in almost the same amount of time, we would have had to hire 12 or more workers. The size of the property and project just did not allow for this.
The first truck arrived at 9:30 am and the third(last) truck pulled away at 2:30 pm - 19 cubic meters or almost 25 yards of concrete. The guys stayed around until after 5:30 pm finishing and wetting down the floor to allow it to cure slowly. It was a long day and the guys were very tired. Fabian told me he could lay down and sleep like a baby right there on the freshly poured concrete. They did a great job. I think it safe to say that most, if not all, have never made a pour like that and not mixed the concrete by hand.
Here is a video link to my YouTube channel with a few videos of the pour:
They'll never be satisfied with "hand-made" again! They've now experienced the wonders of modern machinery!
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