we have been a bit quiet over the last few weeks, because most of the work was on the inside, and not so interesting to photograph... but today the scaffolding came down, allowing us to get a better idea of what the building will finally look like.

Of course, there remains much to do:  an awning over the lower windows, windows to be fitted, rendering and painting, paths and landscaping ... but the final picture is easier to imagine now.  Below is another picture looking from the North-East.

Work started yesterday on the second part of our project, a modest extension to our kitchen.  It has had the intersting side-effect of exposing the foundations of the existing building - and it is indeed interesting to compare them with our new work.

This picture tells the story.  The bricks of the foundations to the old house are 1.2 metres deep, with the bricks resting on concrete which is 60mm thick at its thickest, but generally about 30mm thick, and about 30mm wider than the bricks themselves  This is resting on the white clay soil.

On the other hand, the foundations of the new building, and of this extension, are 1.8 metres deep.  The bricks rest on a footing of reinforced concrete (containing ten longitudinal reinforcing rods and regular lateral rods) that is 400 mm thick and 1,000mm wide, resting on a layer of gravel placed over the clay soil:  massive by comparison.

In another place, the old foundations do descend 1.8 metres like our new construction, but again they rest on very thin concrete, and in this place that concrete footing is no wider than the bricks themselves.

The old building has stood up very well over the twenty-five years since its erection:  we can expect at least as good a performance from this new one.

Once again, I'll let the pictures tell most of the story.  The huge pump and boom truck was most impressive ... and a bonus for us was that we were able to use some left-over concrete to mend a washed-out portion of our driveway.  As I write, the bricklayers are already laying the bricks for the walls of the upper storey.

The pictures below show the steady progress we are making with the building:  the ground-floor walls are up, and we are nearly ready to pour the concrete floor of the first storey...

Below, you will see that one of our neighbour's dogs enjoys the sand pile, while one of the bricklayers passes on the craft to his little som

This is the picture from the end of the balcony outside my room this morning (Saturday 11th June.)  You can see that the concrete infill of the bricks is partially complete on the wall on the left.

The bricklayers - quiet, methodical workers who start at first light and rarely finish before dusk - have begun laying the brickwork in the foundations.  You can see the accuracy of their work!  Also, note the reinforcing rods, just peeping over the top of the bricks:  the bricks are filled with concrete, and new rods will be inserted for the next layers above.

These pictures were taken on Thursday, 9th June.

After a long delay, due to an usually prolonged wet season in Port Moresby, the foundations of our extension have at last been laid.
Progress has been swift, once the builders made a start.  The first photo you see below was taken on Sunday morning;  the last, this  morning (Tuesday.)  Both architect and builder are delighted with the 1.8m foundations.  The black, alluvial soil was not as deep as we feared, and the soil below will make a good foundation.  "You can build four stories," the builder assured me confidently.  But two will suffice for us now!
Enjoy the snaps ...

It has begun! The builders may not have turned up, but on Monday morning after Mass the community celebrated undeterred the turning of the first sod and blessing of the site for our building extension (see earlier post.) In the words of the psalm, nisi Dominus frustra... Unless the Lord builds the house, in vain do the builders labour.
We concluded with the antiphon to St Dominic, O Lumen Ecclesiae. The pictures tell the story ...

It looks like action is about to start on building an extension to Dominican College to house an additional eight brothers.  The extension has become necessary because - thanks be to God - vocations are continuing to come our way in both PNG and the Solomon Islands.  We built a new house at Henderson (near the airport and seminary in Honiara), then we  extended it.  We have sent students to study in Australia... but still we require more room!  It is a problem, but it's a good problem to have.

The new building - which will connect with the existing, very sturdy and serviceable construction erected in the 1980s by Fr Maurice Keating - will provide eight serviced bedrooms, and two small storage rooms.  Every attempt has been made to keep costs to a minimum.  More kitchen and recreation space, and a new library would have been desirable, but these desiderata have been left to the future.  CTI itself offers an excellent library, and we believe we can manage our current dining and recreational facilities efficiently enough to get by.

Peter Mildner is our architect, and the builders will be New City Constructions.  The building will cost close to one million kina, or about Au $450,000.  Needless to say, the province would be tremendously grateful for any contributions towards this very significant cost.  To date, we have received one donation:  a personal contribution from the Vice-Chancellor of UPNG.  Thank you, Prof. Ross Hynes!

The basic floor plan (below) and artist's impression (above) will give you some idea of what to expect ...