Fuller Center Build in Cluj, Romania, Days 2 and 3, May 12 and 13, 2026

The thing we did on Monday and Tuesday, Days 1 and 2, was to install the sheet rock in the six rooms on the ground floor of the smaller townhome: living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, entrance hallway and storage room.  We had a lot of volunteers that were new to this type of work, both American volunteers (most of whom were retirees like me) and local volunteers, most of whom were young adults.  Duane and I worked to teach them how to measure, cut and screw the pieces of sheet rock to the sealing beams.  And also to work with the different sheet rock for the bathroom.

Each morning, we had our team meeting and breakfast in Sam and my two bedroom apartment.  On workdays, volunteers cooked and prepared lunch and brought it to the worksite.  Each evening we went out to a restaurant for dinner.  As with all Fuller Center builds, the food and non-alcoholic beverages were included in the fee paid to join the team - but we are all adults and could have alcoholic drinks, usually beer or wine, but that we paid for at each meal.

 

After lunch on Wednesday, we took photos of the progress made on the sheet rock work in both units.  There were only exposed beams when we arrived.

The green board was installed in the bathrooms

On Wednesday, I was shifted to a different project.  Prior teams had dug out a large and deep ditch to install some of underground water and sewer pipers.  There was a father and son from the USA, Tony and Charley.  Charley was in his 20s.  He and I spent most of the day Wednesday refilling the ditch and tamping down the dirt - it was several feet wide and about 25 to 30 feet long, and it was very wet clay soil.  But we persevered and now there is no ditch.

 

The worksite is in a rural area, there were still some horse drawn vehicles going past us.  But for the local who in this new subdivision, several factories are being built nearby, meaning they can get jobs without haeing to commute into the city.

We quit work early and visited Banffy Castle.  Prior to WWII, it was known as the Versailles of Transylvania.  During WWII, it was occupied by Nazi soldiers who destroyed much of it when they left in late 1944.  Under the Soviet Union, nothing was done.  After the Soviet Union fell, the rightful heirs pursued their ownership and helped create a non-profit to try to restore it.  Thus, we saw a mix of buildings, some still unrepaired, some partially repaired and some repaired.  From the pictures and the location, we could see that it was an amazing place - I hope they can continue to restore it.

 

 After the Banffy Castle, it was back to the hotel for showers and then out for dinner at another restaurant.