People will definitely like it

We continue the “Keyhole” section. In it, an MS correspondent spends one day with a builder, “spying” on his work. This time the hero of the column was a tiler from the Ukrainian SSR - Alexey Kondratyev. He spoke about the peculiarities of the work of finishers and what tools are of special importance.

Alexey Kondratyev is one of the foremen working on the finishing of the Elektrozavodskaya station (project name - Rubtsovskaya) of the Big Circle Line (BKL). Under his leadership is a team of 15 people. In their area of ​​responsibility is a block of technical premises hidden from the eyes of passengers. They usually house employees of the Moscow Metro. And the further efficiency of transport workers’ work depends on how the tiles are laid, floors and ceilings are arranged.

MORNING DEBATE

The working day for finishers begins earlier than the scheduled eight o'clock in the morning. Fifteen minutes are needed to walk around all the areas, communicate with colleagues, and discuss current tasks. Then the foremen disperse to their work stations, where packages of tiles have already been delivered, which must be laid on surfaces prepared by other builders.

– The work of tilers goes in parallel with other finishers: some putty, others paint, others lay stone - “dress” the walls and columns at the station. Everyone has their own sector, and no one bothers anyone,” says Alexey Kondratyev.

In the team, everyone has a personal set of tools: a spatula, a mallet, a comb and a level. They are not left unattended. After all, in addition to their own, there are also common ones - tile cutters, for example. They are in a special place.

There are few breaks during the day. At 12 o'clock the first part of the brigade goes to lunch, and at 13 o'clock the second part goes. At five there is a short break of about ten minutes. Alexey jokes that it’s almost like an English tradition to drink tea at 5 p.m. However, the builders can simply exchange a few phrases, as they themselves say, “take a smoke break.” Finishers most often work during the day. But in the days before the station is commissioned, there are also night shifts. “When management sets the task to speed up,” notes Alexey, “we strive to do the work conscientiously, so as not to return to the site later.

DESIRE TO VISIT

Finishers do not believe in the sign of returning if you suddenly forgot something or a tool. But they also work so as not to linger at the station, which will soon be put into operation.

Before Elektrozavodskaya, Kondratyev and his team worked on the Butyrskaya Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line, Lefortovo and Aviamotornaya BKL, as well as on the Salaryevo Sokolnicheskaya Line.

After the stations were launched, Alexey no longer entered the premises where he and the team were finishing the finishing work.

“Sometimes I want to look in,” Kondratyev admits, “but it didn’t work out.” I know that there have never been any complaints about what we do.

SAFETY AT HIGHEST

Alexey Kondratyev was born on May 19, 1983, grew up in the city of Kanash, Republic of Chuvashia, and graduated from high school there. He received a specialty as a mechanical engineer at the Chuvash State Agricultural Academy. After the army, Alexey threw in his lot with construction and moved to Moscow. He came to Mosmetrostroy in 2011. The first specialization in finishing was laying tiles. This is where his path to the USR began.

“I don’t refuse other work either,” he says. – There shouldn’t be such a thing as “I can’t and I can’t”, “I won’t succeed.” Our immediate superior, Igor Chibisov, assigns various tasks, and my team and I try not to let him down.

Alexey believes that mutual assistance in a team is very important. For example, hand over a fallen tool, provide support for your comrades at height. The work is dangerous and requires increased attention. On the scaffolding, everything should be at hand, all tools should be laid out nearby. Therefore, composure is one of the hallmarks of tilers.

GRAY SQUARES, LIGHT RECTANGLES

Before Alexey, there were no builders in the Kondratiev family. Now, when repairs are needed, they turn to him for help. But, of course, there is a difference when decorating ordinary premises and metro facilities. There is more responsibility in the metro. Vibrations occur underground, and the tiles must be laid on a stronger adhesive solution, constantly measuring the laid rows of tiles or porcelain stoneware. Alexey does not consider his work boring, despite the monotonous color of the tiles: on the floor there are gray tiles measuring 30x30 centimeters, on the walls there are mostly light-colored rectangles 20x30. The main variety, he believes, is in communicating with people.

Among other objects in the decoration of which Kondratyev took part are the “Young Metro Builder” children’s camp, where all the decoration was updated, and the infectious diseases hospital in Voronovsky, where it was necessary to urgently mobilize. Crews from the USR installed partitions here, dry-screed the floors, and “sewed up” the ceilings with plasterboard. Alexey believes that any type of work, in the metro or on civilian sites, should be enjoyable, since construction is a creative process.

“The construction itself chose me. At first I did something for myself, then for others, and now there are more “others”. After all, the metro is the main transport artery of the capital, millions of people use it, and the work must be carried out as carefully as possible. After completing them, you feel a sense of success because your work is in demand. If you do it well, then people will definitely like it,” sums up Alexey Kondratyev.