Construction update: How we make the plaster.

by: Andy

Sorry about the long period between post. I promise the lack of new material here isn’t because nothing is going on. In fact, just the opposite, so much is going on that it is hard to find the time and energy to create a new post. But enough whining. Here’s what I have for you:

I am long overdue for a construction update on the new Makarios House and I will post up a detailed description of what the progress has been very soon. But to hold you over I wanted to show you how the “mezcla”, or plaster mixture, is made before it goes on the walls to give the house a smooth finished look.

For the last two weeks I have been working hands-on with the construction team learning how they work here (hard and for a long time) and helping out with the simple stuff like carrying the mezcla in buckets to the skilled guys who put it on the walls. Like these workers who are plastering the walls:

But the mezcla doesn’t just appear out of no where. Nope. It’s made by hand and a lot of sweat, just like everything else here. And I can now say that I have experience making the stuff. So without further ado here’s a picture tutorial:

Step 1: Sift the sand

Step 2: spread the sifted sand on the ground

Step 3: Add cement mix in the correct ratio

Step 4: Spread the cement out on top of the sand

Step 5: Shovel the sand and cement into a pile

Step 6: Admire your pile

Step 7: Knock down the pile of the mixture

Step 8: Spread out the mixture

Step 9: Create a well in the middle of the mixture

Step 10: Fill it with water

Step 11: Put the walls of the "pool" into the water.

Step 12: Keep mixing with shovel

Step 13: Make another pile

Step 14: Knock the pile down

Step 15: Add water as needed

Step 16: Continue mixing

Step 17: Transport the "mezcla" (mixture) in buckets

The whole process takes about 25 minutes to make a batch and seems pretty simple, just a lot of shovel work, but the magic is that these guys know just how much sand, cement and water to add to the mix to make it just right so it all sticks to the walls. Also, you may notice from the pictures that every shovel in this country is about half as long as it needs to be. This leads to a lot of bending over (especially if you are like me and are a foot taller than Mingo, in the white ball cap) and to having a sore back by the end of the day.

So there you have it. Now you too can make your own plaster.