July 12, 2008

Bare bones

The reason why I went MIA for almost a week: the renovation of the building our office will be moving into. This is the biggest of the three rooms and the one that needs most work—so much that I think it's more correct to call it 'construction' rather than 'renovation.' All the interior walls had to be knocked down to be reconfigured into the spaces that we need. I took this shot on the last day of June when the carpenters were beginning the new rooms. The most awful thing about the project was the electrical cables. When they opened the ceiling to re-wire the rooms, the electrician was met with a mess: wires spliced and joined haphazardly with no PVC tubing or connector boxes—the result of various renovations made over three decades. I do not want any accident in our office during my watch, so I had them trace all the cables and get them connected properly. A sad fact of life here in the Philippines: carpenters and other construction workers are not well-protected from the hazards of their job. They come in T-shirts, shorts or jeans, and rubber slippers. No work clothes, gloves, masks or goggles to protect them—not in small projects like this.

Alingal Hall construction, part 1

5 comments:

Layrayski said...

It must've been a surprise to see the mad mess, huh? hehe I can almost imagine the face of the electricians who have to make sense of the wires. Heh

Louis la Vache said...

This looks similar to the 'work project' "Louis" has mentioned that he is buried in deeper than his cowbell for the next few weeks. "Louis" is too busy to stop and comment at most of the blogs he visits....

"Louis thanks you for YOUR visits and your always cheerful comments! Yes, Mme. la Vache would blend right in in metro Manila. The only place "Louis" blends in is a pasture.... ;-)

Louis la Vache said...

Re the taiko drummers - the group we saw, like the one you describe in your comment, weren't just drummers, but also performers! It was an amazing show!

Debbie Courson Smith said...

Wow, that's a totaly gut job. Is it done now? And is that fiberglass insulation just laying around?

marley said...

All change! Nothing like a renovation to cause a few problems :)