House building in Pinal Villa Costalegre

Yard, new palm and party garage

2011-12-21T16:20:00.000-06:00

This is what half the yard looks like these days. I got the palm from a neighbor that had it growing too close to his house. The garage/tent/toldo I bought almost two years ago in the Chapala Walmart and never set it up. The tent works to shade the car but also nice for neighborhood parties.

Finally had a plumber come in so two more ceiling fans are installed, the second bathroom is finished and all the interior light fixturs are up. Next up on the schedule is to install a water filter as it comes in from the street. The sand is clogging my faucet screens, messing with valves and is in the cistern and tinacos.

New palm and garage tent

First real bathroom

2011-09-26T18:04:00.003-05:00

This is my first real "indoor" bathroom. The first was tucked under the outside stairs and has served well during construction for the last 10 months. Now I need to think about shower curtain, bathroom door and possible moisture ventilation problems. There is only a small vent over the shower. Moisture and ventilation is of extreme importance here in the summer.

Just bought an identical bathroom set for the second bathroom

Humidity, bathroom, tropics, Mexico

Dos Marquesinas

2011-08-11T08:16:00.000-05:00

The weather has been good, a little too hot actually. It has allowed the guys to stucco the inside of the roof wall an build two marquesinas (awnings) over windows and doors. The large awning below on the side of the house and a smaller one over two windows in front. I just finished painting them this last weekend.

Besides providing a little bit of shade the marquesina stops water from running down the wall and in the doors and windows. Typical Mexican construction usually the roof is extended for the overhang. Eventually I'm hoping to cover the walkway with a lamina roof tucked under the marquesina so I won't have to seal the lamina against the house.

The storm windows I made a few weeks ago work well and I guess I could have taken the plastic tarp off the door for the foto ... but what the heck. The tarp is to stop wind blown rain

Marquesina and storm windows

Front marquesina

Yard and pump house from above

Keeping the water out

2011-07-25T07:50:00.002-05:00

The one meter wall around the roof level was left uncovered block and I'm convinced part of the roof leaking problem was water seeping in through the block even though the block sits on top of the cement roof slab. I may be wrong but it definitely looks better, I'll be able to seal and paint it and will be able to run the impermeabilizante 20mm up the wall.

The other water issue is the windows. I like the steel frame windows but they don't seal well when rain water is blown against them. I took care of the side windows with plastic in a wood frame but the two front kitchen windows have water spouts above them. When the wind is blowing there's no way to keep that much water out. That's what the small awning or marquesina is for in the bottom picture. They'll start stuccoing it today.

Newly stuccoed wall

Marquesina made with foam panel

Geting ready for impermeabilizante (roof sealer)

2011-07-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

Only studying the proceedure right now, filling low spots or the roof and cleaning. Then wait for at least 4 days of dry weather.

Storm windows

2011-07-07T08:27:00.001-05:00

When the wind blows the rain like the storm last week the water comes right through my south facing windows and under the doors. I found some decent plastic at a local cristaleria store. This thick plastic looks like it might be used as a table cover and is almost like water bed plastic. I should be able to pop them out and put them in storage over the winter.

I scraped half the roof by hand yesterday, first day of sun for two weeks. Scraping will continue today and tomorrow in the hopes of being able to start sealing (impermeabilizar) Saturday. Hopefully the rain will stay away.

First rain of the season

2011-06-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

... and my roof leaks. Same places it was leaking before we put on the Tacata layer.

Guess this means I get a power washer, wait for a dry spell and roll on impermeabilizante - probably Fester. Fester was quoted at about 1200 a cubeta. A cubeta will do about 20 meters in 2 coats. My roof is about 110 sq meters. An unexpected cost and work

A Cyclone Fence corral

2011-05-30T04:54:00.000-05:00

I've been putting this fence off for a few weeks now. Coyota, my dog, would have returned my lawn to dirt without it. In this heat her way to cool off is to dig a hole where it's damp and lay in it. Attempting to train her would have been impossible. The new lawn has to be watered and has become her favorite area to cool off.

The fence guys were great and finished up yesterday, Sunday. I would rather have spent the $5000+/- pesos somewhere else but the lawn is now safe.

The new Cyclone fence (maya ciclon in Mexico)

Front door and mosaic window

2011-05-22T08:10:00.001-05:00

Finished the door frame over a week ago but finally got around to painting it and the front wall. Don't criticize the paint job as it's mostly sealer with some white paint added. 1st coat is 2/3's sealer and second coat is about 1/3 sealer. If you paint pure sealer (sellador) it is transparent ... so except for the slight gloss, you don't know where you've painted.

The grass is looking good if the dog doesn't tear it up. The other night she started pulling up a patch and besides a few swats I'll have to wait and see. I'd hate to have to fence it but she is a real digger when she wants a cool place to lie down or just has energy to burn.

Took a picture of the window and with the contrast of dark green and white wall ... the darker won.

Front now painted

Mosaic window

New front door frame

2011-05-03T18:58:00.002-05:00

I was thinking of something like this months ago but how many extra little things can you add to a house. This got forgotten in a long list because things had to move along.

So now we're back to it because between my metal guy that made the door and the aluminum guy who made the screen door ... they could not figure out how to hang both with enough room for the screen to close. I just removed the screen door yesterday and we are building a frame around the door that will extend the opening 3 to 4 inches. This will give both doors room to work together and the screen door won't be flush with the house like it was.

The original idea of frames around doors and windows was that it's kind of old style and gives a bulky look to a house if the dimensions are right. We'll see what this looks like in a few days.

Not a gravel yard for me thanks

2011-04-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Against the advice of a few people that meant well I went with grass. This will mean more upkeep and water but but a gravel yard just does not get it for me. This is Bermuda grass and I got it through the vivero (nursery guy) near the Jaluco intersection on the way to Barra. Also got two lime trees from him.

I ordered 50 meters and sent some home with one of my workers. Price for the pasto (lawn) was 35 pesos a square meter. I think I overworked placing and cutting and didn't drink enough water so stayed in bed 'till noon today.

Still have almost half the property unplanned except for a few trees and plants. Think it will just sit while I finish the house. Hugo started painting grout joints with sealer today and I'll join him tomorrow.

6 months later finishing up

2011-04-26T14:54:00.002-05:00

Finally ... only one more week. There's one more inside (the property) wall next to the house that they will stucco next week, along with a few corners and the finishing the entrance gates and YA! A little more finish work on the stairs that I've sealed.

After next week the maestro goes but I'll keep my neighbor who's been the helper. He'll do preparing the garden work, sealing grout lines (whole house) and little odds and ends we find over the next few weeks. He may even make the pavers for a driveway that Elke says she has forms for, sounds interesting. I'll continue painting, cleaning and using sealer on various places before the rains.

A welcome relief and rest are coming

Joke is, it's the Centro de Salud of Pinal Villa

Kitchen, dining and entrance

Last bedroom, extra tile and Tomas the cat

Floor patterns

2011-04-07T19:19:00.003-05:00

There have been a number of jokes about "my hospital" and the mono-chrome colors so far. Workers wanted to cut tiles and make a design in the middle of one of the main rooms (same tile, different tile, now we need to shop?). Personally I don't mind a light mono-chrome environment. Light colors reflect light, you can see the dirt ... and you can see the critters.

I went to Interceramic in Melaque and they had nothing that fit my idea of a color scheme. Back to Cihuatlan where I bought most of the tiles and bought this green tile. This green tile is nothing I would buy as the principle tile for a room but thought it might work as an accent. I do think it's reasonable.

Now my workers want to outline this pattern with black, blue or I don't know what ... colored grout. I had to say sorry, the same grout for the whole house, "cafe champagne".

This center piece will also draw attention away from the walls that are not straight or aligned with the house

My house is not straight

2011-04-07T18:50:00.000-05:00

So finding a straight line (or wall) in my house is not easy. Remember this started as a family project with not the best builders. The current guys have done their best to correct many of the issues but moving walls was not one of them.

Starting at the front door and wall we ran a line of tile into the dining room. From there through two doorways to the back room. Another over to the back door. This pattern will give an overall appearance of organized tiles but tile sizes along walls will vary as needed and will vary a lot.

Front door and wall to the left

Along wall to the left - with 90 meters of tile

Line from dining room into the back rooms

And the filling in begins

Sidewalk and Driveway

2011-03-25T08:25:00.000-06:00

The new sidewalk and driveway are finished and they look good. That was the last of the major cement mixing so we are breaking up the very large pad that has formed over the years and will soon be back to dirt.

The glass guy was here yesterday installing all the panes and within a week he'll install mosquito screens on all the windows and make a front screen door.

Hector and Oscar started tiling one bathroom and it looks great. We somehow under estimated the number of wall tiles (azulejos) we need so I'll buy 4 more boxes in the next few days. They will also use some on the sides of the kitchen counter.

Kitchen counters

2011-03-13T08:07:00.003-06:00

Decided on white cement with granite chips for the counters. Here's the construction process after building the support walls.

Fill the major portion with normal cement and then cover with the white cement and granite chips (granito). I chose size number 2 for the granite size but larger might have been more interesting. Next comes a lot of sanding with a grinder followed by hand sanding with wet/dry sandpaper.

Filled with cement

White cement and granite mix

Counters after some sanding

Also did a little house painting while they worked on the kitchen

Beach rock in sidewalk

2011-03-04T07:50:00.000-06:00

I've been making trips to the beach to collect rock for the sidewalk and need to make another trip this morning. My first collection the rocks were too large so we've run out of the smaller ones. I don't mind the beach trips at all.

Sidewalk is done so today and tomorrow it's repairing small stuff anywhere we can find them, nail holes, seams between walls and stairs/sidewalk, etc. Deciding if it's a sidewalk in front of the house or kitchen counters next week.

Doors and windows

2011-02-28T20:38:00.001-06:00

Doors and windows seem to almost make the difference. I guess it's the privacy and security that they bring. I opted for steel windows with the built in security rather than aluminum windows with bars on the outside. I never did compare prices but assume steel is cheaper than a 'two step process'.

I do have to paint these, install the glass and caulk around the edges so they are not finished by any means. The screens (mosquitero) is coming Wednesday.

We also built a small foundation for the walkway all around the house which is basically one meter wide. Incorporated into the walkway is a registro cover for grey and rain water, redoing the registro top for black water and a drainage registro at the bottom of the stairs which will hopefully handle some of the roof rain water as well.

The walkway foundation, 2 registros and windows

Front door - salon

Kitchen window

Redesigning the Stairs

2011-02-27T08:59:00.002-06:00

The stairs were unfinished and I knew we'd get around to it someday. The cement block is porous and has been letting water seep into the bathroom below. What I wasn't expecting was for my maestro to figure out a way to rebuild the stairs giving them a proper "run" (step space) compared to the very narrow original steps. He added the extra couple inches to each step by adding an angled step on what used to be the bottom platform.

To add a bullnose to each step he cuts a 2" tube in half and nails it to the step form. For a non-slip surface we used 'granito' (granite chunks) in the cement and then wash away enough cement to expose the chucks.

The old stairs

Rebuilding begins

Plastic tube cut in half for 'bullnose'

Finished stairs

The added step on the bottom

More Tecata

2011-02-20T07:53:00.002-06:00

This is the last of 3 roofs to tile. The second floor laundry room and the main house are finished. Quite a project and didn't come out smooth like I pictured it. I suppose with two more layers of cement wash the tiles pattern would dissapear but it's not necessary.

Next week starting on the redesigned stairs and waiting for the rest of the doors and windows. The electric is in with four fans installed. The plumbing is finished except for areas waiting for tile and counter tops - baths and kitchen. One room left to give the first coat of sealer-paint mix.

Pump house and bodega

Main roof

Installing a Tecata Tile roof

2011-02-10T17:52:00.002-06:00

The roof tile installation has started. First photo is yesterday filling in the first section. They lay out rows (rayas) at a measured slope, about 4 inches at the highest point down to one inch in the direction the water will drain.

The second foto is starting a small section off to the side and the main section is done. When finished with a third large section this all will all be covered with a thin wash of cement and sealer (sellador)

Day one - filling between the 'rayas'

Day two - first large section done

Tecata tiles are here

2011-02-08T09:57:00.001-06:00

The tecata tiles arrived sooner than expected and late enough in the day that we had to leave then in front of the house over night. We also had to get a pulley and large rope used to pull them up the wall bucket by bucket.

Hugo pulling from below, Oscar handling the buckets at the top ... and me stacking them. From 9am to 1pm and 3000 tiles later they are up on the roof where they will be used

Pinal Villa, Melaque, Mexico

Making tecata tiles

2011-01-29T08:52:00.002-06:00

An upcoming project is covering the roof with tecata tiles and I've been looking for a source for a few weeks. Finally found this brick yard behind Jaluco just past the new Melaque Bypass road. I put in an order for 3000 and he says he'll have them in 9 days (make that 7 now).

This guy also makes fine finish brick (in foto) on order and I was surprised to see a builder from Nayarit that has been building a number of gringo houses ordering more. His houses aren't intended to be stuccoed, just nice brick with mortar well tucked between. They look nice but dark inside for me.

The idea with my roof is it needs a slight slope for water runoff and they will do that with cement covered with these tiles like tiling a floor - and then covered with a thin cement wash. The extra layer is also more insulation, the tiles absorb moisture and the second 'floor' is a separation barrier.

Tecata tile drying in the sun

Stacked for firing with some fine bricks drying

Working in the brick yard

The whole family works there

The brick kiln fired with coconut husks

Beginning to paint

2011-01-23T17:52:00.001-06:00

Why do rooms look bigger when they get painted a light color. Don't know but they always do. My rooms are small so it makes a difference

This is the second coat (paso) of a mixture of sealer and white paint. I actually have 5 rooms that can be painted and I won't show you the bathroom - a strange under the stairs contraption that works but is not a visual delight. Another is the bodega that is full of stuff that I don't feel like moving. Another is the pumphouse that is also full of stuff and the tinaco above has been leaking - think it's fixed now. The last is the wash area upstairs.

Haven't painted in awhile, never painted new cement ... and never painted 10 foot ceilings. It's a workout.

Painting a small house in Melaque Mexico

New front window bars

2011-01-20T20:46:00.001-06:00

These front window bars were put up just to keep kids out while I took a break from construction. We never considered the added thickness of the stucco so the bars had to be adjusted for the new finish work. I also decreased the window size across the bottom so the bars were raised.

Pretty simple, chip the cement away from the bar legs, pull them out ... and I get to wire brush and paint them. Usually new metal work is not well painted here in Mexico so the owner is responsible.

So now the unfinished stucco is a distance away from the bars that we can continue with the fine finish and the front of the house will look a lot better. Windows will be installed inside the bars for double protection since these are the only openings to the street. Yes security is an issue in Mexico, especially if you leave for any period.

You also see the difference light makes in a foto. The first is in the morning ... and the second is afternoon with no shadows and was automatically adjusted with MS Picture Manager. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.

On the right - old bars. Left new window size

Complete and ready for a fine stucco

Oscar enjarrando mi casa - video

2011-01-14T07:42:00.001-06:00

Oscar is my maestro and here is finishing up the last part of the rough stucco (enjarrar). The music in the background is what we listen to all day ... and the other noise is Hugo mixing more mortar.

Viga falsa

2011-01-11T09:00:00.002-06:00

We are now enjarrando (stuccoing - verb is enjarrar) the kitchen/dining room and that room has a viga (support beam) across the middle of it. The problem is the roof was originally designed with a slope and now it's flat. The solution is to extend the high side of the viga down to the level of the lower end. To do this they use a wire mesh nailed to the viga and just trowel on the mortar mix.

So Oscar says we need 4 meters of this wire mesh (maya falso or maya plafon) and off to the ferreteria I go not knowing what I was really looking for. The first ferreteria sent me back with 4 meters of chicken wire. Nope, that's not it. The second ferreteria had the wire mesh but only in 20 meter rolls. No other options so I now have 16 meters of this maya to use on something else.

Below is the roll, the bending process, the installation and the stuccoing. These false vigas or beams are sometimes used to cover plumbing pipes or electrical wiring.

The viga pretty well covered

New door and window on the workshop

2011-01-02T07:34:00.000-06:00

Just installed a new door and window on the workshop this last week. I wanted to check out this new guys work and wanted another secure storage area now that Ron is keeping his stuff here. Nice metal work and think I'll use him for the rest of the house.

Closet a la Mexicanada

2011-01-02T07:24:00.001-06:00

Here's the first closet and the way they supported the cement for the internal shelves and the large shelf above. Very ingenious forms they built. The top shelf is the same principle as the large shelf in the bodega but the internal shelves are something new. We tried white cement with color and 'marmol' (marble). This week we will use a grinder to smooth the surface and the marble chunks will show through the color.

This marmol idea was to show how it would work on a kitchen counter top but at this point I'm thinking it's too labor intensive. The next closet is just going to be smooth finish cement that gets painted later.

The other issue is I believe the albañiles are getting tired of the stucco work. I don't mean bored, but physically tired. Throwing cement at a wall all day for weeks on end is difficult and not many people can do it. These smaller projects give them a break ... but I need to get the house stuccoed so I can install windows and doors and get the electrician in to finish the wiring. Will have to have a sit down with them this week and maybe bring in another guy.

First bedroom finished?

2010-12-24T07:33:00.002-06:00

Well, not quite, but it now has a floor and a finish coast of mortar on the walls. The bodega was finished a couple weeks ago and is filling up with stuff already. They will do the outside finish work next week so I can put a door and window in for security.

The foto below is of the shower floor and the 'mold' they use to get the level and slope they want. After the mold sets up they just fill in the openings. The same method is used for every floor but usually in straight lines in a normal room.

The bottom foto is of the doorways now sized to the Home Depot doors I bought. They cut 5 centimeters off the top cement beam to give a little more room. My original builders put the beams at 2 meters when they should be 2 meters and 10 centimeters. A little more headroom and I won't have to cut as much off the doors.

The notching on the wall is for a future closet which was not in the original plan. Will be 2 meters high and have storage above and over the door. I don't feel so bad after a builder friend told me how common it is to forget closets when planning a house.

Want a shelf, these guys can build it

2010-12-11T09:05:00.002-06:00

They are finishing up the bodega/workshop and I wanted a storage shelf around the room. This will also be the safe storage room for valuable stuff when I'm away. I put up a second layer of bricks on the outside walls up to the 2 meter level and this shelf sits on top of the second wall.

Then the re-bar to hold the cement together and the wood supports to hold it up for a day. They used 2" PVC cut in half as a mold for the front cap on the shelf. Very nice work, I'm really impressed

Hugo (Jugo) finishing the cement support

Oscar filling it

Finished shelf

Grey water and sewer

2010-12-11T08:34:00.002-06:00

The last couple of days has been connecting the grey water from the upstairs laundry to a new fosa (septic) and registro (connection box). Since we don't have sewer in Pinal Villa everyone has septic tanks and it's not a good idea to mix laundry water with bathroom drainage. Also the house is 20 meters long and roof drainage may be an issue next summer. I may install an extra downspout beside the 3 roof drains in front.

Since we may have city sewer some day, the connection box will be used to redirect water to the street. The normal house drainage also has it's own connection box that can be directed to either the street or a separate septic. Both of these systems will meet next to the street in another connection box that the city will hook up to. A bit complicated but it should work well and I shouldn't have to re-engineer anything.

Six guys working on the house today kept me running!

Grey water fosa and registro

Putting a top on it

Grey water and black water will meet in a registro here and be connected to city sewer

Stuccoing the second floor

2010-12-11T08:32:00.001-06:00

Had to rent three sets of staging (andamios, torres) to safely stucco the 2nd floor of the laundry room. I was relieved that they were a sturdy as they were when locked together. Last thing we need is someone getting hurt. Oscar will do the 'fine' coat today so we can return the third andamio. The two remaining sets will be used by a neighbor who will start to stucco the front of the house and front walls.

Oscar almost finished with first coat of stucco

The roof, the wash area and the stairs

2010-12-11T08:29:00.001-06:00

Today they finished putting up the Panel-MG for the hand rail (pasa mano) and started a one meter wall around edge of the roof. The wash area still has it's roof supports so work there will wait a few more days. The main roof still has a week to go before the supports come down.

I'm anxious to see the work on the handrail as I've never seem them work with the Styrofoam panel. We decided to put four cut-outs for looks and a little more light in the evening.

Sad to say we are stuck with Mexican steps (short run almost equal to the rise). One fewer step with more foot space on each would be nicer. The maestro has some good ideas for the steps but that's finish work and will have to wait.

The roof

Panel-MG on the stairs

The stairs and a bit of the upstairs wall

Finally on the Map with newer Google fotos

2010-12-04T07:59:00.001-06:00

Google Maps has updated their fotos of the area sometime last year so the project now shows on the map. I guess last year (summer '09) because last winter my neighbors build a garage behind me and it does not show in this view. Zoom in to get a closer look.

View Larger Map

Google Maps of Pinal Villa and Melaque

Stairs, handrail and perimeter roof wall

2010-11-19T08:53:00.000-06:00

I'm anxious to see the work on the handrail as I've never seem them work with the Styrofoam panel. We decided to put four cut-outs for looks and a little more light in the evening.

Panel-MG on the stairs

The stairs and a bit of the upstairs wall

Roof is nearly a week old

2010-11-14T18:27:00.003-06:00

And the laundry room roof was just finished. Small area looks kinda out of place but will not look so strange with one meter hand rails and probably a screen porch beside the wash area. The second floor is important for tinaco pressure as I've found with the first tinaco above the first floor of the bodega.

Next is the hand rail on the stairs and stuccoing the walls where we have room. Still another week to wait before the roof support posts and lumber come down.

The plumbed area in front is for a future small apartment

How much does all that weigh

2010-11-09T08:34:00.002-06:00

Two loads of sand, one and a half loads of gravel and 100 bags of cement. Of all that we had about a half load of sand left, a quarter load of gravel and used exactly 100 bags of cement. There is also about 120 pieces of six meter rebar under the cement on a 120 square meter roof.

No cement pumpers used here - it was the bucket by bucket brigade up the street side of the house. Street was closed to all but bicycles for almost 4 hours. The roof foto only shows the beginning of the pour but it is all up there. My job now is to water the roof at sunrise and sunset so it dries slowly.

Sand and gravel in the street

100 bags of cement

About a quarter of the way thru the pour

Cement crew in the street

We have roof (supports)

2010-11-07T15:57:00.000-06:00

When cement roofs are poured they require lots of support to hold the weight and also just something for the cement to sit on (obvious). Well here we needed three loads of flat lumber and support posts to hold a 125 meter roof. Took the crew a day and a half to put it up and the wood will remain for a little over two weeks while the cement cures and dries.

The roof actually got poured yesterday (Saturday) and I've begun the twice a day watering (sunset and sunrise) to let it dry slowly. So far the crews have been great and priced under estimates. Next will be about the roof pour and preparation.

One load of lumber

Filling rooms with support posts

Roof is about half done

All wood supports in, rebar in along with plumbing and electrical

Cement roof in Mexico

Finished another 2 weeks work

2010-10-31T13:43:00.000-06:00

Got the same good crew back that built the bodega and plan to finish the plumbing, electric and roof in the next few weeks. Made a lot of changes of windows and doors, opened up the inside of the house, added another room off the front side. Extended the bathrooms a few feet so everything is inside. No sink in the bedrooms (motel style). The roof also had a 20mm pitch and we decided to level it for future construction above. I eliminated the back bathroom and will just use the old bedroom area as a bodega and workshop.

Next week will be the wooden supports for the roof pour and then installing the electric and plumbing on top of the supports along with a large amount of rebar. We also decided to run a beam the length of the house that will be hidden inside the cement (not showing above or below).

Foundation of new room

Walls almost up on new room

New doorways through the house

Last week at the place

2010-09-11T14:30:00.002-05:00

Spent last week in Melaque moving stuff down and cleaning up the place. So much rain and water everywhere I only spent a day and a half on the lot. Roads were almost impossible if not paved. The tarp covering the trailer was in shreds from an earlier wind storm so now it's uncovered.

Lots of weeding and moving dirt around for better drainage. With another trip to CFE I finally got the power turned back on even tho I'd paid the bill over a month ago plus extra to carry over into November/December. More storage shelves for the trailer and bodega. No water again so I couldn't test for the one water leak I found last trip. It's an incoming line in the ground so not a big deal.

House construction Mexico Videos

2010-08-29T10:44:00.001-05:00

These are a semi-interesting set of videos if you are considering building and living in Mexico. Not really new information to anyone that's been here awhile. I imagine they were created for those considering Mexico for retirement.

This guy has his prices of construction lower than most can manage but this is his third house in Mexico and he's been here awhile. Looks like quality work too if you check out his perimeter wall. Masons that will build a wall that does not have to be stuccoed after are rare.

Pumphouse, bath, wash area, well and patio

2010-08-01T12:42:00.006-05:00

I originally went down for one week but ran into some workers that could really crank it out. Rather than getting the place livable in November I decided to get it done so I can move right in.

We first brought electric to the pump house to a 4 breaker box. Installed lights, outlets for trailer, washing machine and two pumps. Two pumps because we hadn't had city water for two weeks so I decided on a well. The second pump is from the cistern to the tinaco when there is no city water for short periods. The tinaco has an automatic float switch to request water when needed.

The albañiles (masons) were great and fast. They stuccoed the pump house, in and outside of the bathroom under the stairs, made a cement pad for the wash area, support for the clothes wash basin and a small container for the well pump.

During the end of the 2 1/2 weeks my neighbor built a flower bed around the wall near the trailer and started on a patio. He also had some old palapa wood that we used to make a lamina ramada over the wash area.

So generally the place will be ready to move into in November except I'm not sure the fridge in the trailer will work well enough. Will have to get a reefer guy to check it or just buy another fridge.

Starting the stucco work

Setting up for the pad in the wash area

Bath under stairs and pump house (jail)

Lavadero and well pump area

Patio and flower bed

The new pump house

2010-06-01T15:53:00.003-05:00

The first roof. Ok, it's only 10sq meters but it's just a pump house with a little room for storage and elevation for a tinaco on top. Also going to put the electrical distribution box there.

First part of the week was finishing the third meter of the house with block and castillos. Then bringing out the crew that builds the wood supports for the cement. Then laying and tying the re-bar, the electrical boxes and tubes and putting up sides to hold the cement.

Next bring over the mixer and recruit half the neighborhood to form a chain gang or bucket brigade to get the cement up on the roof. Our bucket brigade was Keystone Cops at first because one guy couldn't make the step up on the cistern/patio with a bucket full of cement but they changed the pattern and things went smoothly.

In the mean time we installed a manifold for water distribution, ran two new water lines, an electrical tube for future wiring to the pump house, planted a few plants/trees and blocked up and covered the trailer.

Hierberto finishing up the walls

Wood to support the cement crew

Tying in the rebar

Starting the pour with electrical in place

Bucket brigade

Finished roof the next morning

The new 5th wheel

2010-03-24T07:39:00.002-06:00

I found this for sale on the La Manzanilla message board located in Boca de Iguanas. The owner offered to bring it down and set it up on my lot included in the reasonable price. I was originally told it was 23 feet but is actually 28 which makes a large difference in a trailer.

Next trip will be leveling, taking some weight off the axels and getting a temporary cover while we think about a permanent shed for rain and sun. They are now building a pump house behind the cistern and will run power and water from there rather than the front wall of the lot.

Here's a nice trailer cover I saw in Melaque but I plan on a shed roof supported by the wall behind when extended almost 2 meters.

New interest in the property

2010-02-22T13:08:00.000-06:00

Well my interest is somewhat renewed in the property as well as that of a local store owner. He's going to be looking with family when they get here. My interest was peaked when we found the 3 meter walls would move towards the top when they had only standard width columns (castillos). For that reason they're putting in 5 new castillos next to the existing ones that will act like buttresses. I did not want to get a call that one of the walls collapsed in the next earthquake.

So I spent the last week working on the place and enjoyed it once again. They are also finishing the third meter of the walls that was only 1/4 completed. If they have time they'll paint the rebar. They have all the material and wages for two more weeks work. The lot is cleaned and leveled once again after the rains so should be good for at least 4-5 months before the growth starts.

The bottom foto is of the Canadian neighbors place over my back wall. Really coming along nicely with all the conveniences of home even though they live in their garage. They started the year (November) camping in a tent but now have a real bathroom, electricity, water and a nice garden.

New interest in Pinal Villa property - price went up!

Pinal Villa on Google Maps

2010-01-17T12:15:00.002-06:00

View Larger Map

Weed wacked the lots

2009-07-31T16:57:00.005-05:00

After a week in San Miguel and 3 weeks up north I came back to grass (wild) and weeds almost 3 feet tall. Two days with my Ryobi weed wacker in this heat got most of it. Still have two rooms to go since they have no floors.

Double lot forsale in Pinal Villa - Just outside Melaque

The new lawn

2009-06-01T12:53:00.004-05:00

Well the yard is cleaned up, gravel and sand moved, septic covered and pretty much leveled to handle some heavy rain. I was thinking about bringing in some turf of the Bermuda or St. Augustine type but it would just be ruined if and when construction ever starts again. So I cut a bunch of plugs out of my garden and planted them around the septic to both hold the earth and mark it's location (no vehicles). For the last three weeks we've had water all day - every day, and sure enough when the grass goes in - no water. I've been taking those five gallon jugs of water out every day .... because stupid me drained the tinaco.

Here I go again with another bottle and see if we have water yet ....

The new lawn (pasto)

Front gates installed

2009-05-03T08:43:00.006-05:00

The front gates were installed yesterday and only the two front window bars remain for next week. They came late on Friday to install but we are only setup for 110 volts and their welder is 220v. Yesterday they climbed the wall and hooked directly to the incoming lines giving them the 220v.

Definitely not the strongest protection in the world but we can always beef it up later. This will work to deter people with a minor interest in looking around but there will be little there to see - kids have used it as a playground.

I've been moving the stacks of brick and block over to the side so we can level the lot and cover the septic. Still have to move a large pile of gravel and then a much larger pile of dirt .... so will probably enlist a neighbor for that. I want the lot level with a slight slope towards the street before the rains. Not ready for turf yet so may bring some grass seed to hold things together

I think on the last post I called the fencing material Maya Ciclon but on the ferretería bill it was called Malla Ciclon. Pronounced the same but interesting

Installers putting in the last section

Complete from the outside

Added the window bars this morning (the 5th)

Villa Pinal, Melaque, Costalegre

The septic tank is finished

2009-04-27T17:59:00.006-05:00

Chui is just filling in around the sides today. They finished the top Saturday working pretty late (well almost). After the cement pour, it needs to dry for two hours before putting a cement wash over as a sealer. We had borrowed a neighbor for the cement mixing and for two hours we drank caguamas along with a few other neighbors. Saturdays are usually half days but we finished up after 4 PM.

The top will sit for a week before covering to allow it to dry ... and doused with water so it dries slowly. The registro shown below is the connection box and also a cleanout. Not sure if a registro is a fall back to pre-plastic days when joining a bunch of pipes was difficult but it was insisted upon. We also added a capped pipe to the street in the event we get a sewer system in Pinal

I found a guy for gates and windows today so that's the next project before we close up shop for however long. Might as well secure the place. Just decided on metal frames for the gates with Cyclone fencing (maya ciclon) welded on. Will have normal bars on the two front house windows

Building the box

The registro or connection box for pipes

Wood forms and rebar (varilla) for the top

Starting the pour

House project put on hold

2009-04-15T10:56:00.003-05:00

Sadly the project is being put on hold. Someone with keys to my house has relieved me of about 15,000 pesos ($11-1200 dollars). Mari had the keys but was not guarding them well so I have to assume it's someone in the family. Going to give it a couple of months and let the feelings work themselves out.

We will finish the septic tank since the hole would collapse in the rain and that will take a few weeks. I'll post on the progress of that .... and then, quit for awhile.

Electric installed and Septic dug - Week 23

2009-03-28T17:24:00.007-06:00

Another week of not getting a lot done as far as man hours but still major accomplishments. Went into CFE (electric company) on Monday and they had the service installed the next morning. I paid nothing up front and told to just pay the first bill.

Was supposed to get the septic dug Thursday afternoon but the guy came up on his scooter and said his machine had a flat. Made an appointment for 8:30 Friday morning and he showed up about 10:30. When he moved the gravel he broke the water line but we'll fix that next week.

Still not sure about Chui so next week Pedro, Jorge and I will be working on cutting the brick for electrical and incoming water (you have to inlay the pipes in the wall)

Slow house building in Mexico

Electric and Drainage - Week 22

2009-03-21T15:07:00.006-06:00

Chui is still not feeling well enough to get back to work after his fall and may require next week off as well. This week I got the plumber/electrician out and we put in the drainage for 3.5 bathrooms (outside wash basin below the stairs and a toilet under them).

I was advised to buy a 4 meter pole for the electrical hookup but it turns out is was too long and wouldn't be well supported. We cut it back to almost 3 meters and cemented the castillo (column) around it. Then installed the two meter bases (basos) and installed a main breaker for each meter behind the wall. Also one outlet so have electric on the site. Will be headed for the CFE office in Cihuatlan next week to apply for installation from the pole.

Drainage plumbing runs along the outside of the house to a connection box (registro)

Breakers and an outlet

Two meter bases (basos)

I guess this is week 21

2009-03-12T14:33:00.003-06:00

We have just been finishing up walls around the lots so not much there. My albañil fell off the scaffolding on Monday from 2 meters up. Nothing broken but scraped and bruised. Doctor told him to take 3 days off and we've since decided the whole weeks rest is better.

Next week we will be working on the electric pole, the support castillo, meter base, a breaker and plug. If we have time will start on the septic and drainage lines

The septic (fosa septica) will look something like this

Walls and Gates - Week Nineteen

2009-02-22T10:16:00.007-06:00

The foundation is in around the lot and walls are one meter high. Driveway and gate opening are lower for drainage. Going to have two people gates in case there is ever a privacy divider between the two lots. Mari has no car and doesn't expect to get one but you never know. Still she opted for no vehicle entrance on their side.

Soon will have to start thinking about gates (porton) and bars (reja). Something strong enough it can't be easily bent, not easily climbed and the locks out of reach. No I don't think it will look like the foto below.

Walls and gates across the front of the lot

Now what is that gate going to look like - this one, I don't think so

Building a swimming pool in Mexico

2009-02-15T09:42:00.007-06:00

This Pool project is shown from start to finish. Sadly Barbara and I had to move out of this place due to landlord problems after she paid for the entire construction. Another lesson to trusting gringos new to Mexico. There is a link to a complete foto set of the project at the bottom of this page. Not sure if we'll get around to a pool on our lot some day but we should have the room for a smaller one

Cement floor directly on the sand

Double rebar around the sides and in the second floor layer

Side walls getting finished

Grounting in the tiles

Link to more fotos of this swimming pool project

Week of rest and cleaning up - Week Eighteen

2009-02-15T08:59:00.003-06:00

Three days of no workers because Chui took his kids to Guadalajara to visit family. I moved most of the rock pile that was partially buried from the cistern excavation and spread some dirt around. Finally hired a neighbor to move the heavier rocks and finish spreading dirt. I came back yesterday to rake it out.

Next week they should be finishing up the side wall and starting on the front where we need a large gate for vehicles, a people gate and an electric pole.

Lot from the street

Lot from the top of the back stairs

Cistern patio and walls - Week seventeen

2009-02-07T13:59:00.003-06:00

The top of the cistern would have made a huge table but at only knee high we would have had to excavate for seating. Nope wasn't gonna work so I asked them to make a rectangle we could use it as a small patio - covered someday. Here they are blending the rectangle top with the circular one.

The bottom foto is the foundation for the lot sidewall. Just ordered another 1000 blocks for the front wall foundation and the septic tank.

Cistern patio from the corner of the lot

Sidewall foundation

Construction of small house in Pinal Villa, Costalegre

Week Sixteen - Installing the Cistern

2009-02-01T10:26:00.006-06:00

Brought in a backhoe on Monday to dig the hole for the cistern (fresh water holding tank) and the ditch for the wall foundation on side of lot. The tank is 2800 liters and cost $4000 pesos (less than $300us). At the bottom of the pit is a cement floor with rebar. They decided to put in 3 castillos (support posts) to tie it together. The form for the top is made a few feet away, also rebar reinforced. We'll see how easy it is to move next week.

It was the first time these guys had installed a plastic cistern (usually just a block box) so the plumbing presented a few new problems. We had conversations about venting, where the pipes go and height of the top above the tank. They had no problem with pipes coming out the top - but the top will be part of a patio. I talked them into another ring of block so pipes exit the side.

Next day I brought out our plumber and he had us turn the tank around so the 1" fitting aimed at where the pump will be. He also mounted the street shutoff on the front wall of the lot, made a spicket for garden water and ran the line back to the cistern. We then waited 'till after 1 pm for city water to start flowing

Building the container walls for the cisterna

Mixing cement for the lid - before the extra ring of blocks were added

Cisterna installed and plumbed with lid sitting in the background

Week Fifteen - starting the front yard wall

2009-01-24T09:00:00.004-06:00

The new project is the front yard wall with gate opening and space for air flow with security bars. Also installing drain pipes through the wall so rain water has a place to go without forming a lake. The driveway and gate on the second lot will have a low level entrance that will allow water to escape but don't want it collecting near the house. Yes, when it rains here it pours.

The stairs are finished in basic form so I've been studying finished steps in the area to see what we can do. The cover coat will be pure cement with a little sand for traction. You can make a 'bull nose' extension off the lip of the step formed with plastic pipe that looks very nice but may be trickier than I think.

Some second floor views and my neighbors progress on property walls.

Latest project is front wall and rain water drainage

Finished steps (basic form)

From top of steps looking towards the ocean and Melaque

Canadian neighbors progress - just walls this year

Pinal Villa house

Week Fourteen - the Stairs

2009-01-17T07:53:00.004-06:00

The stairs took a little over a week and are finally usable. I left the run and rise up to Chui and I would have been happier with a higher step and more foot room. Not sure if that could be done with one less step and make them all a little larger or if it's trickier than that. The next set of steps will be 12 inches wide at least. Going up is fine but coming down is when you need more foot space.

So anyway you see the 'ditch' cut in the brick for the bed of cement to sit on and the beginning of the forms. Next is the bed of cement. When putting in the steps, he starts at the top because he can't work on newly set bricks

Beginning of support forms

Cement bed to set the stairs

Stairs started from the top and small bodega below

Mexican stair construction in Pinal Villa

Lucky Week Thirteen

2009-01-06T16:42:00.005-06:00

After a paid vacation over Christmas week and a paid New Years day the back of both lots are walled, a 5 meter lot divider almost finished and the stairs are started. The vacation was a kind of aguinaldo which is common in Mexico at the end of the year. Normally the aguinaldo is equivalent to 15 days pay if they have worked all year and is paid by the 20th of December for buying Xmas presents, food and fiesta.

We finally have a stair plan and that is up the back wall with a 2 step approach to a one meter landing. Under the stairs will be walled for a small bodega (storage). If any more stair work is done this week I'll add a few fotos at the bottom.

Back of lot walls, divider wall and 2 steps of the stairs

Platform at the beginning of stairway - one meter wide all the way up

My Canadian neighbor putting in a Cisterna

2008-12-11T09:33:00.004-06:00

Our neighbors have finally started work this year and began with lot clearing and a cisterna, aljibe or water storage tank. Lots of talk about how to do it, plastic or a cement box, both building a protection wall for the plastic or just put it in the ground. He decided to to do both with a block wall around. Also discussed if it should have a cement floor because the block enclosure can collect water during the rainy season. He opted for a cement floor - we'll see

Protection wall for the plastic cisterna

The plastic cistern

Semana Diez para la Casa

2008-12-11T09:02:00.006-06:00

Updates may be every two weeks but we will see. Putting up walls is only so interesting. Last week we finished the walls to roof level and installed a support beam across the larger front room. This week we've started on the second stage of walling off the back of both lots, stairs and a wash-utility-storage area. I have no exact measurements for this utility area so we will wait for walls and when the dirt is removed, mark it out. The jog that you can almost see in the second foto is because both lots are not the same size

Roof support beam for the large room

Second stage foundation

Second stage from roof level

Retired and building a small house in Villa Pinal, Costalegre, Jalisco Mexico

Week Eight - Walls up to three meters

2008-11-23T08:04:00.005-06:00

This week we are starting on the top level of the walls up to the future roof level. The wall on the left is about 12 centimeters higher than the wall on the right for water runoff. You can't allow water to drain into your neighbors yard if you are on the lot line - and we are on the lot line on two sides.

We had to build an A-frame scaffold for solid support when working 3 meters up. I also bought a 2x10 by 10 feet to use as a platform. The thin 1x8 palm boards used for cement forms were not stable enough.

View from back neighbors lot

View of one bedroom - A-Frame scaffold partly shown

Building a small house in Pinal Villa, Costalegre

Weeks Six and Seven

2008-11-11T12:51:00.005-06:00

They finished the walls to the two meter level and now it's time to tie it all together with a cement header (dala) all the way around. Today they will finish pouring the header on the two rooms in the back .... and them on to the front two rooms. We're also putting some of the electrical tubing in the dalas so the roof installation will have a few less to do. The routing of the wires is not what I would have chosen but unless I'm there all day to check ... and I've been feeling under the weather this week. Anything can be re-done by chipping away the cement and brick and that's what they rely one.

Beginning of week Six

Toward end of week Six

Week Seven and dalas (headers) are started

Rebar for dalas almost in place and cement forms starting

I added this foto from the end of week seven to show the headers with forms off

Building a small house on the Costalegre, Jalisco Mexico

The roof maze

2008-11-02T09:26:00.006-06:00

This is the maze we are going to deal with someday when we put on the roof. The foto below is of a soon to be multi-story so we'll have no plumbing extending up - but all the electric will be in the ceiling. Most plumbing in Mexico is also on the roof because that is where your water storage tank is unless you have a pressure system. The foam is both to lighten the load and to better insulate from the sun. The orange tubing is where the electrical wires are run - after

Building a house in Pinal Villa, Costalegre, Jalisco

Putting up more walls - Week Five

2008-10-30T08:53:00.006-06:00

This week we are finishing up the walls of two rooms of the four and putting up half walls of the last two. The half walls you see are one meter and they stop there so as to not put too much weight on the wet mortar

The second foto shows how the wooden forms are held in place for the castillos. They push a stick through the wet mortar as they lay brick (rather than drilling holes later) and use wire to attach the boards. The brick and smaller board make a lever to hold the forms close.

The bottom foto is how one of the neighbors brings out water from his place because the street water has been shut off for two days. Like siphoning gas out of a car, we suck on the hose and get 55 gallons mas o menos.

A couple of windows in front and more second level walls

Forms for the castillos (upright beams)

The neighbor brings water needed to mix mortar
House building in Pinal Villa, Costalegre, Mexico

Week Four - Starting on the walls

2008-10-22T11:06:00.008-05:00

We finally got some clay brick but started with cement block just so they could go to work. Both bricks are nearly the same size. There is a regular brick and an over-sized. We're using the larger which will use less cement and go up faster - the problem is they are not as easily found and do cost more. The first section laid is a meter high so the weight does not compress the wall. One meter is also the standard window height

The bottom foto shows how when working with block, they insert a few rows of clay brick because clay is more flexible and will relieve earthquake stress on the walls.

From lot next door

Mixing the bricks

Example from other construction - A few rows of clay brick for stress relief

Building a house in Pinal Villa, Costalegre, Jalisco

Building the foundation - Week Three

2008-10-15T09:34:00.004-05:00

Week three. They finished up the dalas and added foundation walls and dalas for three bathrooms. We then needed fill inside the foundation to put the slab on. They couldn't find anyone they knew that would deliver so I went out yesterday and talked to a guy on the carretera. He was a little vague at first when he could do it but showed up an hour later with his 'tractor'. He leveled out and moved what dirt we had into the house and a half hour later the BIG truck showed up - three loads total.

The dirt (arena) is from Aguacate and looks like sand but has clay in it that compacts well. There are a few large pieces in it that are cement stone like but break up easily. This stuff is what is normally used below a slab. We ended up with about a 1/2 truck extra and will have to use it elsewhere.

Can't spread it out over the yard as it will make terrible soil for a garden. 3 truck loads and the tractor for half a day was $2500 pesos.

Double load

The tractor

Foundation is full - with watering or rain it will compact

Pinal Villa, Costalegre, Jalisco

Building the foundation - Week Two

2008-10-14T07:57:00.006-05:00

Our first albaniel turned out to be fast but very little thought was going into what he was doing. There were not enough support columns (castillos) for our spans and bathrooms were not planned. We added 7 new columns - 5 down the middle and two on either side of the large front room.

The bottom foto is of the reinforced 'header' (dala) that goes above the block, the top of which will be the floor level. I rented the wood for forms but will buy some next time as we'll use them multiple times.

Adding the extra castillos

The dala - header

Building a house in Pinal Villa, Costalegre, Jalisco

Building the foundation

2008-10-12T11:51:00.005-05:00

This is three days of foundation work but they are nearly finished after the first week. The delay is mostly because of the hand digging required because the backhoe didn't go deep enough towards the rear of the lot which is higher than the front. The albañil (mason)says the backhoe guy wasn't experienced enough ... but the albañil left me to oversee the digging and I didn't know what they had planned.

So here they are laying out the perimeters and finding level with the "water in the hose" trick. The castillos (support columns) are almost a meter deeper than the bottom of the foundation and spaced 5 meters of less

Water level

Finishing off the ditches

Foundation and castillos

The second 1000 blocks arrive

Digging the foundation

2008-10-12T09:49:00.005-05:00

This is the second day for the backhoe and he'll be digging the house foundations. The house is approximately 19 meters by 5 meters with 3 bedrooms and a larger kitchen and living room. All rooms will open onto a ramada (covered porch) with no interior hallway. This is tropical living.

The water guy showed up the same day (late) and didn't dig the ditch as deep as he originally said. He did include the fancy connector from 2 1/2" pipe to 1/2", the hose and a brass faucet. $1100 pesos may not seem like much but compared to the other work being done it is. This guy was referred to me by the Municipio ... but if we do it again, we'll do it ourselves or hire a plumber. We may re-dig the ditch deeper later.

The water guys showed up the same day

Clearing the lots with a backhoe

2008-10-12T09:31:00.003-05:00

Jorge cleared the lots of all the undergrowth and smaller stuff and then found a friend with a chainsaw for the trees. Multiple fires got rid of the brush and branches but there was much we had to haul away including the stumps the backhoe removed.

Lot cleaning with the backhoe took one day and he came back the next to dig the foundations.

Our lots in Pinal Villa, Melaque

2008-10-12T08:02:00.007-05:00

These are fotos of our lots in Pinal Villa about a mile back from the beach and directly behind Melaque. I looked for lots for over a year and was about 2-3 years late to find real bargains. Prices closer to the beach doubled and tripled in that amount of time. Even though there were a number of lots in our price range back from the beach, many didn't have water or electricity. Pinal Villa still does not have Telmex (phone) services.

I found the lot in the first foto last winter but the family member of the adjoining lot didn't want to sell at the time. He later called us to see if we were still interested.

The two people sitting in the back of the first foto are Canadians who own three lots behind us and are building two casitas. They only plan to work on their place during the winter and I'm not sure they will finish this year.

The lots last winter with Canadians sitting on lot behind

Costalegre, Jalicso, Mexico

Building a house in Mexico

2008-09-25T17:53:00.004-05:00

Building a house in Mexico
A small place in Pinal Villa, Costalegre

Pinal Villa is a small community about a mile behind Melaque, Jalisco on the Costalegre, Mexico.

I bought the first of two lots in November of 2007 and the second adjoining lot in the summer of 2008. What we paid is less important than to say they were equal to less developed lots that had no water or electricity and no neighbors to share the costs.

I've learned a lot and am still learning - but the first lesson was to fence and mark your lot well because the Ejido will just go by fence lines and ignore what your original paperwork says. We lost almost three feet off the back and a foot or two on one side. Many of the lots in Pinal Villa are un-plotted (not on a map) so had to be re-measured.

The cost of title transfer is only per square meter and doesn't matter if there is a house or vacant lot. For us it was about $2500 pesos. If the previous owner has not paid taxes or have receipts you need to pay the last 5 years - $100 pesos a year.

Building in Pinal Villa Web Page

Costalegre, Jalicso, Mexico