Engineer Christian Heuchert provides an overview
Dear friends, after a few weeks of radio silence from the construction office, I have finally found some time again to let you in on the progress. At times, more than 70 people are working on the four construction sites, about 20 of our own employees and the rest from two external companies. It is nothing short of a miracle that we have been spared major accidents and storms during the extensive construction work. For this we can be grateful to our great and merciful God with all our hearts. But first things first: (Legend to the picture above: Attention – site manager at work! Let’s hope it goes well).
Colegio: Since my vacation at the turn of the year, I’ve been working more and more often on the construction site. We concreted the last floor on Building B on January 9th. Since then it has been raining every night and sometimes even during the day. It has been a real gift from our God that we have been able to complete the main part of the shell construction in reasonably dry conditions.
Now the ground is very soft, but we have been able to start making the connection between the existing and new property. This includes widening the access and laying empty conduits for water, electricity and digital cables. Empty conduits are rather unusual in Peru because water pipes and electricity cables are often simply laid in the ground – without a protective pipe. We are confident that we will be able to complete the work on the existing site by the end of the summer vacation at the beginning of March so as not to disrupt school operations.
The first two rooms in Building A are also largely plastered and work has begun on laying the screed. From mid-February, the two rooms will serve as storage for the new school furniture, which has already arrived and is temporarily stored in the kindergarten. The brick parapets have also been completed.
In the meantime, the site – the construction site – has also been fenced off and closed with gates. This makes it easier to store materials and to store materials that are no longer needed ready for removal. For trucks, driving on the construction site is increasingly becoming a mud battle. Even excavators have difficulties.
Unfortunately, we still haven’t been able to commission a company to erect the roof structures. But we are on the home straight. It would be nice if the roofs were ready by mid-March – by the end of my assignment.
Residencia II: This building site is a hive of activity. Between 25 and 30 people are working there without getting in each other’s way or getting in each other’s way. The whole thing is taking place on three levels at the same time, so I can no longer keep track of how many people are actually working there.
The roof with steel structure, roof covering and guttering is essentially complete. On the first floor, the water and waste water pipes with their connections to the sanitary porcelain have been laid and the rooms plastered. On the upper floor, the ceiling formwork has now been removed and the walls prepared for plastering. Some of the rooms and especially the dining room offer a wonderful view of the hospital and the Andes. Take a look at it “in real life”.
The tiles are also ready for installation. As soon as the screed has been laid and has reached its firmness, you can get started.
Amphitheater: The old construction has already been dismantled for a week and the first new supports have been erected. The curved profiles for the large end arch have been delivered and are now being welded on site and joined together to form a single component. Steel construction in its purest form – albeit very different from Western Europe. There are already many parallels to my work in Germany. Columns with base plates and foundations with bolts set in concrete, to which the columns are then attached. The construction workers here work from the time the sun rises until it sets.
Christian meeting place: Here, the Mantenimiento, the maintenance team, is bravely fighting its way through the amount of remaining work. Painting work is currently being carried out and the toilets are being installed. The last room doors have also been installed. The kitchen is waiting for the appliances and their installation.
Thank you for your patience in waiting for the build report and best wishes from Curahuasi.
Saludos, Christian
