Remember when the container arrived in April with tons of steel beams for the gym construction?
Putting them in place in the gym has been an incredible feat, similar to construction of Stonehenge… at least the end result is a masterpiece of metal monoliths reminiscent of the English monument.
Ron discovered that the spacing of the holes at the bases of each beam differed slightly one from another. So plywood templates were made for each one, that served as a guide in creating the foundational pegs into which each beam would fit.
In August the foundations for the 2 beams nearest the building structure were ready. Ron decided to put the huge beams in place using equipment we have at school. They positioned one beam at the base of the foundation lining up the pegs with the holes in the base of the beam.
And with the aid of the Kubota’s bucket, wooden poles, and some cable, they lifted the beam and dropped it into the pegs.
It only took 3 hours to get each of 2 poles nearest the building in that way. Clearly it was not a good option for the remaining 12 support beams. So, they contacted a local company from whom they could rent a crane. Meanwhile, they kept working at creating the 12 foundations for those beams.
October 17 the crane arrived and in one day all 12 remaining beams were installed!
I must admit, watching the first one made me nervous, so much opportunity for injuries — but the chains, cables, straps all remained intact and machinery functioned properly.
Did I mention October is still rainy season? The construction site has been a giant mud puddle for much of this year! And it had rained all night the night before this historic day. Rain seems to plague all that happens with these beams: the container bringing them got stuck in mud, and the crane putting them up also got stuck! The crane had difficulty getting near the farthest foundation on the 2nd side because of all the mud!
They had to pull the crane out of the mud so it could get in position for the next beam.
At the end of the day, all 14 support beams were in place. Nobody got hurt. Praising God for a great success!
The next big challeng will be welding the 3 parts of each of the 14 trusses together and hoisting them on top of these support beams! Prayers for wisdom and continued safety appreciated.
