First bedroom finished?

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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Google Maps of Pinal Villa and Melaque

Stairs, handrail and perimeter roof wall

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.

Panel-MG on the stairs

The stairs and a bit of the upstairs wall

Roof is nearly a week old

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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