Cistern patio and walls - Week seventeen

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

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

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

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

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