We didn’t think we would get much done today because of power being off but we went ahead anyways and did a lot of things without the power tools that we find so convenient.

We were able to get a generator for the welder but that was about it. I started to get a bit panicky as I watched my camera batteries slowly die. I decided to take the chance of ruining one battery (of two) and plug into an unused outlet on the generator to charge it. It worked - and I was back in business!

Despite this setback we managed to get the roof on the house and it was quite something to see as the pictures will show. It is made up of a giant grid of iron welded together. It is put into place on top of the walls and welded into place. Next, a layer of the reinforced Styrofoam goes overtop of the grid and then re-bar is tied on top of that. Lastly it is covered with two or three coats of concrete and it will be strong enough to support a truck!

When you see how everything is welded together you can begin to understand why this type of building is hurricane & earth-quake proof. It’s basically a concrete cube that’s going nowhere!

There are stairs on the side going up to the roof which is used as a patio to sit out on. Quite the view from up there!

Unfortunately the house isn’t as complete as the last two we built. This is because of the construction technique and it just takes a longer period of time to do. We did get the interior walls up and dry-walled and the wiring has been roughed in. The kitchen counter and some cupboards have been made and are ready to be installed when the floor is finished.

However, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we did make a big contribution to the project. Larry said it might have taken him over two months to get as far as we did in a week. He was very appreciative of Paul Jolin’s knowledge and his expertise in planning the project despite the fact that Paul had never worked with this material before.

The ladies have finished the uniforms even though they didn’t have the use of their machines. It’s amazing what you can do when the going gets tough!

The computer lab is finished and it turned out quite well. Now that the power is back on we can test everything.

We took a walk out to the back 40 (actually 75 acres) to see where Larry plans to build an Orphanage. here is a picture of a scene that I found interesting. To the right is a picture of Dave & Gail at our Candle-Light dinner! The power was finally restored around 10:00 Friday night.