Constructing Vientiane

I've been watching the empty block next to my office become a construction site. I'm taking pictures as they build. They do things a bit differently here...

 

After they had chipped away a couple of bumps to level the ground, (sort of), the formwork is laid out using strings as guides, plastic is unrolled to cover the lumps and bumps and grass

 

Rolling out plastic

 

Rolling out the reo

They ran out of plastic - some areas of the slab won't have plastic underneath. Will it matter? Yup, probably. But not for at least five years. So keep going guys, we've got a 5-storey apartment block to build!

 

Laying out the reo - note thongs and rubber boots - not quite regulation PPE

 

Stomping down the reo

 

In comes the concrete

 

Spreading the concrete - straight over the grassy bits that don't have plastic. Seems a bit wrong to me in a land that is soggy for 6 months of the year - but what would I know?

 

It's a big production and a big slab

 

Barefeet and rubber boots. But I do love the headwear.

 

stay tuned... more to come.