Day 3

We added more bricks to the walls all around. Installed one more louvre window at the front and continued adding bricks to the walls until we reached the roof line.

A Sri Lankan contract mason helped us to keep the walls straight and upright. He used a plumb line, whereas our Kiwi builders preferred to use a spirit level. My job was to fill in the holes after they moved on. I also helped to build scaffolding, mixed the mortar, moved bricks and keeping them wet in a bucket of water before using.

Greg came from Nelson on the South Island. He is a builder by trade; but he did not use a plumb line. His walls were also straight and vertical.

Japanese group

Tea break twice a day at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. There were snacks and coffee available. We refilled our drink bottles with water from a cooler. It was also a chance to exchange notes with builders of other houses and try to make some new [friends].

Our doctor on site is Kat. She had a busy time treating [patients] for sunburnt, sprains and a host of other complaints.

That looks not so bad.

She also did the daily head count on the bus and led the sing alongs.

Most of the walls were up to the required height by the end of the third day. It was a small one bedroom house; but there was plenty for me to do as a roustabout, mixing mortar, moving bricks, scaffolding and doing house keeping.