20210825 Bungalow construction (workshop concrete pour) - day 50

Today is Wednesday, August 25th, 2021.

It is a big day for our project.

The concrete for the floors and walls of the workshop is getting poured. This needs to happen in one go.

The site is very animated. I count 22 workers when I arrive.

The specialized crew on site for the concrete pour today comes from the village of Baha in Bali. The entire village is specialized in pouring concrete. Crews are hired all around Bali and Java specifically to accomplish this task. I Made is in charge of today's crew.

What could look like a cacophonous display to the unexperienced eye is actually a series of precisely defined tasks assembled into a well orchestrated performance. Each crew member has a specific set of tasks that s/he masters and contributes to the success of the project.

Don't be fooled by the apparent derelict installation. These are masters at work. Andi tells me that it would take days for an unexperienced crew to achieve what this crew will get done in (hopefully) under 9 hours.

It starts with ladies bringing sand and rocks and dropping them into the mixer.

The person who mans the mixer is also in charge of adding the cement.

The role of this worker is to pour a very specific amount of a Sika admixture in the concrete mix. It's an important task as this product will make the concrete waterproof once it cures.

The concrete is transferred from the mixer onto an elevator that will bring it up to the top of the distribution ramp.

A crew member receives the concrete delivery from the elevator, opens the door of the bucket and helps the concrete pour out onto the ramp, then closes the door shut. Gravity helps the concrete slide down the ramp.

At the other end of the ramp a worker receives the mix and distributes it following a tight program.

As the concrete is being poured in other areas workers finish-up the formwork for the floor of the workshop corridor.

The floor is poured first. It needs to dry slightly to ensure that the cement poured in the walls doesn't empty out from the bottom opening in the formwork. The goal is to connect walls and floor seamlessly to ensure the resulting "basin" is waterproof.

As the concrete of the floor starts to dry this worker uses a large trowel to make it smooth and even. The Bungalows are designed to have concrete floors so the work being done here is almost the final step. The final step involves acid. More on this later.

The ramp is swiftly being reconfigured to another destination point for the next batch of concrete mix. That ramp is made of wood sticks nailed together just enough to hold under the weight of the concrete. The level of economy and efficiency and the human know-how is remarkable. So many things could go wrong with this kind of setup. Those guys really know what they're doing.

Concrete mix is being moved to fill the Eastern wall.

As soon as it leaves the mixer the concrete starts drying and solidifying so keeping it in motion to get it in place ASAP is critical.

Adi and I draw the detail of the location of the formwork for the 3cm step to enter the bedroom. The pentagonal aluminum form needs to be enlarged by 6cm on all sides to allow enough room for the rainwater lines coming down from the roof.

Madhu, foreman.