Wow... we're getting closer and closer to the fun part of building...the design part. Up until now it's been really hard for me to gauge the progress as it was really hard to tell. That is...for me at least. :-) Our friend Brandt, who is in charge of it all sees the progress. I'm amazed at builders. They have incredible patience. Brandt has been coming in every day for months doing all the behind the scenes, unappreciated things that most people don't even notice..that is until something's not functioning right. For example, he helped put in all the plumbing in the walls. Things are done so differently here as I'm sure you can imagine. Because the threat of termites...and I mean by the billions, houses are made of concrete block. The house structure is built and then channels are chiseled out of the concrete block to put in the plumbing pipes. After that, they are tested and if all goes well then they are plastered over. We've had to chisel pipes out a couple times now and replaster for one reason or another. The same process is done for putting in wiring for electricity. It's quite a painstaking process; one that has deepened my appreciation for builders and their patience level. :-)
All the prep work is finally done. We are now to the painting stage. We still haven't figured out a solution to our floor crisis. Not one that we can afford anyway. Tile is so expensive. It would be the easiest option but would cost us a few thousand dollars that we don't have. We'll keep thinking and praying about it while we do the painting.
I'm having doors made this week. Again...things are done differently here and there is no such thing as "quality assurance." As a result, I can't just order 9 standard doors. There is no such thing as "standard." I have to order 9 doors of various sizes depending on which carpenter made my door frame and what kind of mood he was in that day. All 9 doors are different sizes..off by a centimeter or two. Go figure! My wrought iron railing is being made as well as screen doors and the security grill for the top of our stairs. Because theft and crime are real fears here, we have to have burglar bars on all our windows as well as a security gate at the top of our stairs protecting us while we sleep. A local welder is making all that from some pictures and dimensions I gave him. He has made my light fixtures this way. He has done a great job. There is one store here in town that offers you already made...fantastic looking wrought iron fixtures. However, they also cost 4x what I'm paying. It takes twice as long to do what I'm doing but I'd rather bless these local tradesmen plus empower them with new ideas. That's what we're here to do...to bless the local people. Sometimes I get frustrated with all the discussions and corrections regarding the things I want made but in the end I know it's worth it. Tanzanians are amazingly resourceful and talented people. Having said that...what I wouldn't do for a Lowe's store tho! :-)
So far we've designed and ordered a railing for our porch, stairwell, burglar bars and security doors, door latches and handles, etc. I have carpenters making bathroom cabinets, kitchen cupboards and a bar stools. One simple bathroom sink cupboard at that fancy store..already made... would cost me over $1000. However, by going thru a local tradesman I'm getting the same thing for 1/3 that cost plus I'm blessing his business with money and new ideas. Again...it takes 2-3x as long but well worth it in the end.
One really exciting thing is our "rock wall" is up. I purchased some flat rock from down the road, hired a local mason and had rock put up on the wall to my kitchen to add some design and texture to the wall. That really excited me as that's design and I could see instant progress. Yeah...not to mention that it looks fantastic. I took pics and will put them on when Todd shows me how to do that! :-) I'm not savy that way...not yet!
That same mason helped me put brick on my bedroom wall. We had some brick just laying around here with no purpose. So, we cut them in 1/2 lengthwise to thin them out and have put them on the wall..again for decor and texture. It turned out fabulous. Got pictures of that too...
The main challenge this week was not so much local tradesmen issues or finances, or even the lack of quality control. No.....the main challenge this week was bees. Not just any bees either....real Killer Bees! These bees have been known to kill a dog and almost take out one of our cows. I had at one point thot about keeping the bees to harvest their honey but they were just getting out of control. We had 3 hives in the house we're in right now as well as 4 more in our house we're building. The only way to get them out was to kill them. Sorry to any bee defenders that might be reading this but we had no choice. Not here anyway. Poor Brandt couldn't even put in my upstairs tub without being bothered by them. I'm glad to say that they are mostly gone and all is well.I say mostly b/c the very next day I found some of them back. don't know why..will talk to the specialist tomorrow.
One more exciting progress at the house is grass! Right now is dry season and the dirt/dust is well...out of control. I mean it is bad! Everywhere you go you see what we call, "dust devils." Those are like tornados of dust. It's amazing... and dirty! There is no such thing as "rolling out" grass like carpets.No, two guys have literally worked their tails off for two weeks now digging up the old weeds, leveling off the ground and transplanting little spurts of grass. It looks like hair transplants. It's painstaking, I"m telling you! These guys have been so joyful and patient..working so hard. We are blessed to have them. They are just two local guys from the surrounding villages who are simply thankful to have work. We're truly thankful and blessed for their hard work.
Well.. that should do it for now. Brandt is still saying our date for moving in is November...even with the floor mess up. He's a little concerned as he has to make a missions trip to the Congo for 2 weeks in Oct. That will cut it close. We need to be making some decisions on what to do with the floor. We cherish any prayers and wisdom and ideas with that.
I'll leave this for now and wish everyone a blessed Lord's Day. May we, along with the Psalmist of old declare from our hearts," Better is one day in the courts of our Lord than 1000 anywhere else!" Amen.
Be blessed!
All the prep work is finally done. We are now to the painting stage. We still haven't figured out a solution to our floor crisis. Not one that we can afford anyway. Tile is so expensive. It would be the easiest option but would cost us a few thousand dollars that we don't have. We'll keep thinking and praying about it while we do the painting.
I'm having doors made this week. Again...things are done differently here and there is no such thing as "quality assurance." As a result, I can't just order 9 standard doors. There is no such thing as "standard." I have to order 9 doors of various sizes depending on which carpenter made my door frame and what kind of mood he was in that day. All 9 doors are different sizes..off by a centimeter or two. Go figure! My wrought iron railing is being made as well as screen doors and the security grill for the top of our stairs. Because theft and crime are real fears here, we have to have burglar bars on all our windows as well as a security gate at the top of our stairs protecting us while we sleep. A local welder is making all that from some pictures and dimensions I gave him. He has made my light fixtures this way. He has done a great job. There is one store here in town that offers you already made...fantastic looking wrought iron fixtures. However, they also cost 4x what I'm paying. It takes twice as long to do what I'm doing but I'd rather bless these local tradesmen plus empower them with new ideas. That's what we're here to do...to bless the local people. Sometimes I get frustrated with all the discussions and corrections regarding the things I want made but in the end I know it's worth it. Tanzanians are amazingly resourceful and talented people. Having said that...what I wouldn't do for a Lowe's store tho! :-)
So far we've designed and ordered a railing for our porch, stairwell, burglar bars and security doors, door latches and handles, etc. I have carpenters making bathroom cabinets, kitchen cupboards and a bar stools. One simple bathroom sink cupboard at that fancy store..already made... would cost me over $1000. However, by going thru a local tradesman I'm getting the same thing for 1/3 that cost plus I'm blessing his business with money and new ideas. Again...it takes 2-3x as long but well worth it in the end.
One really exciting thing is our "rock wall" is up. I purchased some flat rock from down the road, hired a local mason and had rock put up on the wall to my kitchen to add some design and texture to the wall. That really excited me as that's design and I could see instant progress. Yeah...not to mention that it looks fantastic. I took pics and will put them on when Todd shows me how to do that! :-) I'm not savy that way...not yet!
That same mason helped me put brick on my bedroom wall. We had some brick just laying around here with no purpose. So, we cut them in 1/2 lengthwise to thin them out and have put them on the wall..again for decor and texture. It turned out fabulous. Got pictures of that too...
The main challenge this week was not so much local tradesmen issues or finances, or even the lack of quality control. No.....the main challenge this week was bees. Not just any bees either....real Killer Bees! These bees have been known to kill a dog and almost take out one of our cows. I had at one point thot about keeping the bees to harvest their honey but they were just getting out of control. We had 3 hives in the house we're in right now as well as 4 more in our house we're building. The only way to get them out was to kill them. Sorry to any bee defenders that might be reading this but we had no choice. Not here anyway. Poor Brandt couldn't even put in my upstairs tub without being bothered by them. I'm glad to say that they are mostly gone and all is well.I say mostly b/c the very next day I found some of them back. don't know why..will talk to the specialist tomorrow.
One more exciting progress at the house is grass! Right now is dry season and the dirt/dust is well...out of control. I mean it is bad! Everywhere you go you see what we call, "dust devils." Those are like tornados of dust. It's amazing... and dirty! There is no such thing as "rolling out" grass like carpets.No, two guys have literally worked their tails off for two weeks now digging up the old weeds, leveling off the ground and transplanting little spurts of grass. It looks like hair transplants. It's painstaking, I"m telling you! These guys have been so joyful and patient..working so hard. We are blessed to have them. They are just two local guys from the surrounding villages who are simply thankful to have work. We're truly thankful and blessed for their hard work.
Well.. that should do it for now. Brandt is still saying our date for moving in is November...even with the floor mess up. He's a little concerned as he has to make a missions trip to the Congo for 2 weeks in Oct. That will cut it close. We need to be making some decisions on what to do with the floor. We cherish any prayers and wisdom and ideas with that.
I'll leave this for now and wish everyone a blessed Lord's Day. May we, along with the Psalmist of old declare from our hearts," Better is one day in the courts of our Lord than 1000 anywhere else!" Amen.
Be blessed!
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