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Daily Report
Monday
The community build began on Monday, upon arrival to the site we were introduced to the site and why it was a special project to many. These houses were constructed as part of a government programme as a way to uplift and readdress the inequalities of the past, that made it much more meaningful to be part of a project like this.
After the introduction we were given an induction standard to any construction project and then given tasks as per groups. Our group today, alternated between housekeeping and setting out. We did it inside the yard because the actual site for the house had not been cleared out yet. It was great to finally get to use the 3,4,5 method that we had learnt about in person. For this house one of its walls was going to be on the boundary wall; this is usually not allowed but the council approved of it. This meant that no part of that wall - including the strip footing - could extend past the boundary line into the next yard. Therefore, in order to cater for this the strip footing was 1000mm and the wall would sit at the edge of the strip footing instead of the centre; in addition, that side of the roof had no verge overhang.Taught invaluable lessons by a Site Manager who has been in the industry for 40 years. He taught us some tricks of the trade for when it came to setting out and the do’s and don’ts.
After completing setting out the house, we were tasked with general housekeeping around the site, this seemingly insignificant task is however very important as poor housekeeping can lead to poor movement on site and injuries which will result in a loss of productivity.
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Tuesday
We were allocated to work with the plumbers unfortunately we did not do much and this I understand, the space in which the plumbers work can accommodate a max of 3 people at a time, so most took turns helping and observing the plumber. The work of the plumbers also required skills that we were not equipped with and therefore by us completing the work we might have caused an inconvenience for them. The rest of the group did not stand idle but instead took the opportunity to mix concrete and assist with the casting of aprons. This consisted of us mixing the concrete with a concrete mixer, we used 20 spades of sand and 20 spades of stone along with bags of cement to create the mix that was required for the aprons. Once we had this mix we wheeled them away in wheelbarrows to the various place where it would be casted and then floated it once we made sure the levels was correct. This was very insightful for most as they got to see how concrete is cast and how labour intensive the task is. This will particularly be helpful as it helps with developing a realist construction programme and a buildup of rates.
Wednesday
Today we were tasked with the casting of aprons again. Very labour instensive as expected. The way we casted was explained in our Tuesday dairy but this time we also assisted with the setting up of shutters. We measured the required distance away from the wall and put steel pegs in to stablize the shutters and make sure it does not budge and cause the concrete to spill. Many students stood around idle while the same student mix, pushed wheelbarrows and casted. This was very disheartening as while others engaged in games on site,10 people amongst four teams allocated to the task, worked constantly. However our team made the most of the opportunity and was constantly woring whether it was mixing the concrete, pushing wheelbarrows or floating.
Thursday
Throughout the course of Thursday we worked on painting the houses. This entailed applying a undercoat of paint, letting it dry and then applying a coat of paint. The painting of these houses went quite quick due to all the hands on board. This was also a problem as there was only enough paint for two houses and this meant that we had to work at a slow pace to make sure we had work through out the day. Once the house was painted we sanded down the doors to get rid of any paint that on the door after which we applied varnish.
Friday
Friday was a relatively short day due to the nature of the area we worked in. We were told that we would only be working till 12 and with this in mind we made sure we ended the week strong. We were assigned to help the bricklayer today. This was a breathe of fresh air as we were taught a new skill. We started off going to collect cement fromt he store room and then making a mortar mix that we would use. This proved to be very tiring but luckily the weather was on our side and it was cool. Once the mortar was mixed we were shown how to set up the fishing line to ensure our brickwork of laid correctly. The brick layer then demonstrated how to lay a course of bricks followed by each one of us taking a turn to do the same. We had to apply 20mm mortar and then lay the brick on top od it pushing it down to be inline with the fishing line. Also making sure it was level using a level.
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Once done we headed to the site camp where we took group photos and filled in a survey. Overall this was a pleasant experience with us learning some new skills.
