Pouring the marquesina

They poured it on Saturday starting about 9 and finished at 1pm. Rented a mixer and hired two neighbors to help. They dumped the cement on the ground and shoveled it in buckets because there were not enough guys to form a bucket brigade. The machine cost 250 pesos for 4 hours (they gave us no gas) and each of the workers paid 200 pesos each.

It will sit there with supports in place for almost 2 weeks. They will put a leveling finish on it soon. I've been watering it down a few times a day and I removed the cardboard tubes this morning.

Waiting for the cement to cure they are now working on four columns around my ugly cistern top that is over a foot above ground level because my last workers didn't measure the depth of the tank correctly. Hopefully there will be a palapa over it and a tile floor made from the extra house tiles. Just trying to make the outside more livable in our outdoor weather.

Actually finished but can't see from this angle

The first pour

Mixing the cement

Finished product

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