Last two days on the build, Tadim, Braga, Portugal, February 24 and 25, 2023

 On Friday we enjoyed another sunny day, including taking breaks outside.  Here are some of the local volunteers.

Birgit and I spent most of Friday working on a wall.

Here is the floor we poured Thursday.

 More progress on the wall before we ended the day.

Saturday, we continued on the wall and it was finished by the end of the day.

This is what it looked like from the street as it was being finished.

Other tasks included unloading and bringing in three pallets of ceramic blocks, taking down bracing and forms for concrete that had cured for four weeks, bringing 18 concrete beams inside and installing them in an upstairs room (each beam was about six meters/24 feet long and required at least four people to carry), and removing the nails from the framing so it could be reused on future portions of the project.

Friday afternoon we said our goodbyes to Filipa.  Friday night we had dinner at the Domus.  Sophia put together an amazing banquet for us. Before work Saturday morning, Elena, the board chair, stopped by to chat with us.  Saturday afternoon we said our goodbyes to Joao, the construction manager.  Saturday evening, dinner was a combination of the leftovers from Friday and a few items delivered from the restaurant where we ate Thursday.  And Sunday morning, it was an early taxi ride to Porto with a stop on the way at the airport for one team member to catch a flight.

And so ends another adventure with Fuller Center for Housing - I hope more people will get involved with the good work of non-profits like Fuller Center.

Day 3 of the build in Braga, Thursday, February 23, 2023

The big project we worked on was mixing sand, gravel, water and cement for the concrete floor in one of the ground floor rooms.  Here in reverse order are photos showing our progress.

 
Other work included removing framing from concrete that had cured, removing nails from the framing so the boards could be reused, putting finishing touches on the surface of concrete, repairing scaffolding and wheelbarrows, and more.

Thursday evening we walked a bit more than a mile to Docuras Restaurant for a nice dinner, and then took a taxi back Domus after another busy day.

First two days on the job, Tadim, Braga, Portugal, February 20 and 22, 2023

Work continues apace at converting the 100 year old factory into six apartments.  The first photo shows the construction plans with an artist's rendering of what the building will look like when finished.  The rest of the photos show us mixing sand, rocks, water and cement to make concrete, and then using a bucket brigade to deliver buckets of the concrete - up by rope through a hole in the ceiling to the second floor, then by hand across the second floor to someone who passes it to the people pouring the concrete into supports for the third floor.

We did not work Tuesday as Portugal celebrates Carnival (the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Christian period of Lent).  Here are some photos I took of other work that was being done on Wednesday.

 

Wednesday evening, we took a taxi into Braga, had an hour to wander around and then has a superb meal at P Place Restaurant - we shared sangria, appetizers of spring rolls, chicken wings and cheese balls.  The lasagna servings were large enough to two people.  I had an amazing chicken taco salad.  And we all had fine desserts before taking a taxi back to the Domus.