Water Cistern

 Monday Anna and I did extra school and food preparation knowing that we were going to be busy on Tuesday.

Cory prepared the water cistern and had the workers take out some of the water and put them into large storage containers at the house site.

Cory and I arrived shortly after 7 a.m. on Tuesday to start the job and Anna joined us a couple hours later.

Some of the extra water was bucketed out of the cistern. Some was poured on the walls after they were brushed down with a small piece of wood to removed the small rough pieces of cement and gravel.

Cory then mixed Planiseal 88 compound with some water and then you let it sit for 10 minutes.

Thankfully we had brought two 3 inch brushes and one 5 inch with us from the north. Then we started. Once we completed an area Cory put a tarp over to prevent the sun from drying the walls too fast.

Shortly after noon we completed the first layer on the walls so we headed back for lunch and a break. Best to wait six hours between the first and second coats but the second coat needed to be on before 24 hours passed.

One end of the cistern still held a few inches of water but we now all have rain boots. The occasional dropping of a glob of compound in the water sounded like frogs jumping. 

So then we started again, this time painting under the tarp. I sat on an upside down bucket. Anna took the middle area, and Cory the top. If Cory was busy mixing more of the sealant or other jobs we would split the wall between the two of us.

The afternoons at Délice rarely pass without the building of rain clouds and right as we got to the second short wall the wind began to blow the fog under the tarps. Soon the cold rain began, pushing Anna and I to use up what was left in our buckets very fast, thick and sloppy.

At first Cory told us to stay under the tarp and wait but after a bit he changed his mind and told us to make a run for the truck. Because he had been trying to get the tarps situated to protect the walls from direct rain he was soaked.

So tired, cold, and wet we made it back just in time for supper, thankful to have that much done.

Wednesday Cory and I returned. Sorry forgot the camera. Only the last short wall needed to be redone. After we finished that we started on the floor, covering it with a mixture of cement and the Planiseal because parts of the floor were so rough. 

All the water needed to be removed. So a couple of guys worked most of the morning, working with a push broom to get the gravel and rocks to one side and remove the water. We finished around 1:30 p.m. and tarpped the whole cistern to help things stay wet and warm to help the compound set up strong.

Thankful to finish before the rainy season. Now the water can collect for later use. 

We continue to wait to hear that the road repairs are complete that will allow a dump-truck to come up the mountain with a load of building supplies so that the floor can be poured.