Another mile stone

The month of April 2008 will be remembered for the long conversations (in English) as Penny was with me for over three weeks. A few further areas of the design of the building were discussed and decisions made. We also took a trip to Madurai, in Tamil Nadu best known for the vast Sri Meenakshi Temple. Several visits are required to this great work in stone to understand the various elements and to appreciate the sheer beauty of the stone carvings. The drive to Madurai is some eleven hours. The three day trip also provided other opportunities enroute: we visited several stone works. It was facinating watching the masons carve the many subjects of the Hindu mythology. At one such works we were shown column heads being carved for a new hotel in a distant city. We also visited a plant/tree nursery; must be some 4 acres in area. A return visit was made a couple of weeks later and a good selection of trees and shrubs have been purchased and are now repotted and housed on the plot for landscaping, which is Penny's pleasure.
Back to the project: 7th May 2008, a large part of the first floor concrete slab has been poured. The job was well programmed. Ready mix started arriving at mid day and the work was completed by 7 pm when there was just sufficient day light left to properly tamp the last few metres. All the services conduits are now concreted in; so no more do I have to question myself whether or not the pendants, spot lights, ceiling fans etc are correctly located. The project is now some 2 weeks behind programme and we will try to get back to programme.
The day time temperature is about 33 c. Four plastic tanks, which store a total of 8,000 litres of water are being continuously topped from the bore well and the concrete slab, covered in hesian is kept wet for proper curing.
Monsoon starts early june- generally in the first week. It is hoped that the whole of the first floor slab will be complete to facilitate masonry work at ground floor. The project is a couple of weeks behind programme and ai am in discussions with the contractor to speed up operations.