Drains and Studs

We completed the drainage system in the building in March 2010.  First we cut the concrete and then dug a trench by hand and sloped it to drain.  We had to go through two old rock foundations with our trench, which took more time and sweat that the entire remaining 70 feet of trench.

Fortunately we already had a slope to the floor in the production room (left to right in this picture), so we put all three drain inlets along the right wall.  Note the trench along the right wall and the drainage pipe lying on the floor ready to install.

Here is Moses putting the finishing touches on the cement after the drain pipe has been laid and the trench re-filled.

Moses is demonstrating how he used this glass bottle as a form to make the area around each drain.

We made a drainage channel along the wall that slopes towards three different drains.

Brian and Bev Mogler from Iowa spent a week in Mexico helping us.  Here is Brian framing a wall using metal studs.

We really are thankful to Brian and Bev for all their help.  We put in the entire drainage system and a 50-foot stud wall during the week they were here.  And framing a wall is not as easy as you might think when working in an antique building.  For example, we had to make a bowed wall into a straight wall and a slanted ceiling into a level ceiling.  Here is a picture of the studs.