Ecuador Construction

 It is common for Ecuador homes to begin with one story and then expand years later to two and three stories. When I look out my kitchen window, I can see some of that construction happening.

I don't know how long the home has been used, but it looks like the first floor and half of the second floor are finished for interior use. The second half of the second floor is used for hanging laundry. This is very common. You can see my view here.

They installed a chute and threw everything onto the ground this way. By the end of the project, this was an enormous pile of concrete and trash. The half walls on the third floor went first.

They began to build new walls and then cleaned out the second floor.

I have to say that Hong Kong does bamboo scaffolding better than Ecuador. This was frightening to watch.

It didn't take long to form walls and windows with concrete blocks. They would mix mortar on the site in a wheelbarrow or on the floor. It took a while to install a metal wall next to the water tank on the top.

The workers covered the exterior of the blocks with a skim coat of more mortar so everything looked smooth.

The laundry line went up again. Almost ready for windows and doors. At this stage I wondered if they would finish the third floor or not. Time to paint.

It looks like this is the finished stage for now. They have installed a door, but it is open nearly all the time. Occasionally we see people digging through the trash pile for something they may need. It was indeed an upgrade.

When a terrible storm was rolling in, I took another picture, not realizing my kitchen light was reflecting. It looks like a UFO has arrived.