Post # 9, Septic Tank Project, old 4VEH building, vanity project.

This is Jr., Lane and Floyd mixing concrete in the bucket of the New Holland loader tractor and pouring two septic tank lids to replace this metal one at Holiday House and a rotten plywood one at Bud and Jane's house.

This is the lid for the Holiday House septic tank.  It has a 3/4" key way to keep it over the hole.  I thought I would grace it with a shamrock, being from O'Neill and all.  Plus I gave it the Van Horn brand, since Lane helped with the project (VH), plus the date.  While I was finishing it two Haitian girls came by, 15 & 16, and we visited a little bit.  I told them I was a truck driver, which they say chauffeur, and they must have come back by and drew the car on there.

This is Amigo, with the hammer, and Jr..  Amigo made this bookshelf from scratch and painted it the same day.  This woodworking shop is in the old 4VEH building on the main compound.  That's an Estwing hammer he is holding.  Many of the power tools are Sears Craftsman.  Materials and tools and repairs are hard to come by.  MAF flies in supplies at cost which is $1.60 a # from Florida plus the cost of the item plus customs.  Notice how thin Jr. is.  He is 16 yrs. old.   I paid him a US dollar for helping me with the septic lid project and I gave him 2 more dollars and asked him to give them to Amigo as a Christmas present.  Later Amigo found me and thanked me for the gift and told me he gave his friend, not Jr., one of the dollars.  It shocked me he gave away part of what he couldn't afford to loose.  Those who hurt the most understand compassion the best.

This is looking out the front door from the back of the shop.

This is a plumbing supply room in the back.

This is the vanity in mine and Lyle's room. The top had rotted through and sagged.  It turned out the cure was going to be worse than the problem, long story.  So I braced up the sink underneath and re-caulked the corners, except my caulk was clear instead of white.  Doesn't look real snappy but it doesn't let water in now anyway.  This is the 'before' photo.  Didn't put up the 'after' photo.

I was attempting to install this Corian top but it is only 43" wide and the hole was 49" wide.  Plus the sink needed to be off-set to the right to not hit the drawer in the vanity, and there were no shut-offs on the water lines.  When I shut the water off to the house the handle broke off, it had rusted in-two.  Technically, due to water rot and termite eating, I wanted to tear out the whole vanity and start over.  That is what needs to happen.  I needed the right top, lumber ready, and a key so I could get in and out of the shop without looking for Bud.  It was too much.  I opted for the temporary fix.  Bud is still stuck with the problem.  I saw a ton of maintenance needs on the compound.  Roof leaks, fascia boards rotting off, razor wire down and broken, electrical nightmares, old plumbing valves with no handles, leaky faucets, trees that need trimmed and removed, trash that needs raked up and burned...anybody want to volunteer to go help these folks out?  This was the spare bed in my room.  My bed is to the left with the mosquito net hanging over it.  I was bitten by mosquitoes several times that week.   We've all been taking malaria and typhoid pills.