House Construction

Our neighborhood is in a great location, right on the borders of three of the city's districts, including District 1, the city's financial and upscale tourist district, and the constant state of demolition and construction since we've lived here reflects its popularity. As in much of the city, the houses in our neighborhood are mostly of the high, narrow variety, most a mere 12 feet or less across and anywhere from one to six stories high. The one story variety are becoming somewhat of an endangered species as their owners either convert their property or sell to investors who tear down the original structures and build five or six story giants in their place. Such a transformation is taking place in our little alley with the house two houses down and across, under construction and the couple just across the street in the process of moving out in anticipation of their house being torn down in the very near future.

Watching houses go up here is an interesting past time and many of our neighbors have been doing just that - parking their plastic stools and chairs in the alley across from the construction or standing around in groups chatting about the daily changes. From what we've heard, and seen, most of the construction crews on these small projects (and even the bigger ones) are young men from the country who come into the city for just such work. Once the houses afford a small amount of protection from the elements, the crews usually string up hammocks and live in the houses until they are completed, often on bare dirt floors with on a plastic covering giving them any privacy from the rest of the alley. Unlike the larger projects, there seem to be no really set safety procedures and as the houses go up, scaffolding is nonexistent, as are hardhats, goggles, gloves, etc., as the crews climb up and down narrow bamboo ladders, or haul buckets of brick and cement up five floors on a makeshift pulley attached to a two-by-four jutting out over the alley. I always take care to be sure that the bucket is either completely up or down before walking past. 

While interesting, the construction is also noisy and the days in our once peaceful alley are now filled with the sound of banging, pounding, and whatever else it is they are doing over there. Right now it isn't so bad because it is a few houses down, but I'm not looking forward to the mess and noise once it is right across the street. On the bright side, at least I will have a front row seat to all the action.

 

 

 

Below is the one and a half story house across the street which will soon be replaced by a big, noisy construction site.