HIP HIP, HOORAYYY!!! As mentioned in the previous post, ground was broken on November 18. But now what? It’s been almost a month since then. Has anything been happening? Well, OF COURSE!
PVC tubes to be used for the French Drain System
While the first step of the construction of the new clinic may not be as glamorous and photogenic as the steps to come, it is an essential part of site preparation and long-term maintenance. See those GIANT white tubes piled next to the container in the photo above? Those are over one foot wide and nineteen feet long PVC tubes that were installed for the French Drain. For those of you who don’t know what that is, let me explain (with the help of Wikipedia). A French Drain is “a trench filled with gravel or rock containing a perforated pipe that redirects surface water and groundwater away from an area.” In other words, the tubes will take water away from where the clinic is going to be built so the land can dry out to be ready for construction. It will continue to re-route the water during and after construction. Dominican workers spent over a week drilling thousands of holes into the PVC pipes while the trench was being dug around the perimeter of the property. How was the trench dug? By hand? Shovels? Nope, for this work we called in reinforcements….
Backhoe loader digging the trench for the French Drain
And by reinforcements I mean a Caterpillar backhoe loader! The operator worked around the clock to complete the trench so the tubes could be installed. Below is a look at the drain “in progress.” You can see the trench, the perforated tubes, and the section that has been filled in with gravel.
The drain is currently completed and working it’s magic by re-routing water away from the property. So what’s the next step? After the holidays both Dominican and American teams will hit the ground running. The Dominican engineer and his crew will begin preparing the land using more of those fun Caterpillar big-boy toys. This will involve taking out the soft topsoil, filling in with harder dirt, as well as compacting and leveling the site. The American teams will commence with the outer perimeter wall which will surround the entire property. If you’re planning to come and serve on a construction team in the next few months you had better refresh your cement-mixing and block-laying skills, because they will be put to the test!
Be sure to continue checking in on this blog as there will be monthly construction updates. Also don’t forget the REVOLUTION photo album on the Solid Rock International Facebook page, as it has more detailed photos of the happenings at the site. Starting in January the site will REALLY start to change and transform into the clinic that God will use to REVOLUTIONIZE the health care of the San Juan area!