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Construction Project: Casa "La Esperanza"

Stage 3 - Floors & Walls

This page describes making the floors and raising the walls up to the level of the roof, including the preliminary plumbing and electrical installations.

The total time taken for the work on this page is about 4 weeks. Click here to see a summary of masonry costs for this stage.

Week 21
30 Jul 2014

There is now a considerable quantity of filtro which is being moved into place with the excavator and compacted.

30 Jul 2014

They are also working on the entertainment area: there will be a plantilla underneath. Here they are working on the aljibe, which will have a capacity of about 12,000L. At least we can see here that the base is reinforced!

30 Jul 2014

Here they have almost completed compacting the floor of the living room, ready to receive firme.

02 Aug 2014

All material needed to fill in the spaces of the foundation has now been delivered and mainly placed. This is taken from by the master bathroom. Water is mixed with the sand prior to compacting, to make a solid surface.

02 Aug 2014

Another view, this time by the study, showing that some firme has already been poured in bedroom 2.

02 Aug 2014

A view by the living room; firme will also be laid on the path around the house.

02 Aug 2014

Work is also continuing on the aljibe, and they have started the wall around the outdoor kitchen area.

02 Aug 2014

An overview. This foundation is a larger and more expensive one than that of "El Refugio", in part because it involves a complete excavation of the whole area, with none of the original soil being retained.

Week 22
06 Aug 2014

The walls are now being built. The main walls (all external walls, that by the corridor, and that by the living room) are of this construction with a finished thickness of about 26cm.

06 Aug 2014

Jaime has done a significant amount of plumbing work, including the rainwater drainpipes seen here. Firme has been laid in the two bedrooms, but not in the bathrooms and laundry room - these must wait until the plumbing has been installed (including pipes for sewage underneath the floor).

In the center of the photo is a copy of a plan; both Rubén and Jaime use these! "Maestro" X does not need to look at them, as he already knows.

06 Aug 2014

Another view from by the study, showing some drainage pipes; there are also water pipes in the shared bathroom. All these need to be installed before we have hard surfaces. The conduits for wiring will be fitted later, as channels will be cut in the brick and concrete to accommodate these.

06 Aug 2014

A view from the back to the front. We will need about 35,000 bricks for the walls - about 13,000 of these are shown in the picture.

06 Aug 2014

A closer view around the shared bathroom, showing piping for hot and cold water.

06 Aug 2014

Yet another problem in the work of "maestro" X - this crack by the castillo that developed after building the upper section of the wall is clearly more serious than the others we have seen. Examination of photos of this area taken when the foundation was exposed show that the rocks to the left were badly laid with hardly any concrete - it appears that they have dislodged and caused the problem here.

09 Aug 2014

A view of the front showing the kitchen, entrance hall, and half bathroom. The underground drainage appears to be complete, together with piping for hot and cold water.

09 Aug 2014

Plumbing and walls of the en-suite bathroom. The two nearest pipes are for the shower, with the washbasin in the wall the other side.

09 Aug 2014

A view down the back path.

09 Aug 2014

The laundry room and room under the stairs, from the en-suite bathroom.

09 Aug 2014

A view down the back of the house showing walls between the bedrooms, bathrooms and study.

09 Aug 2014

The back of the wall around the outdoor kitchen, showing that plumbing has been fitted here too.

09 Aug 2014

A view over the entertainment area to the main construction of the house. The ayudante to the right is using a hand tool to compress the sand and gravel in the borders prior to laying the firme here.

Week 23
13 Aug 2014

The study, where I will be spending a lot of time...

13 Aug 2014

The master bedroom, looking from where the closet will be at the door to the en-suite bathroom.

13 Aug 2014

An overview, showing another delivery of bricks - this time 9,400. They built a wall (that for the kitchen) in the wrong place - but Rubén was already aware of this. The foundation walls appear to be all present and correct - mistakes here would be a more serious problem!

16 Aug 2014

A view over the living room, showing significantly more walls.

16 Aug 2014

A view down the back path, showing the back wall to the base height ready for the dala. (The pipe should have been embedded within the wall - it will be remedied later).

16 Aug 2014

The problem with the kitchen wall has now been corrected.

Week 24
20 Aug 2014

A view down the corridor. To the right is the study, and on the far left is the short corridor that leads to the front of the house.

20 Aug 2014

Looking from the sitting room, over the kitchen and dining area, toward the living room.

20 Aug 2014

A view over the kitchen/dining area from the front.

23 Aug 2014

An overview showing that most of the walls have now been built and the pile of bricks almost exhausted.

23 Aug 2014

A view from by the windows of the sitting room. To the left, the copper pipe for the gas supply is being installed. To the right is masonry work on the walls to the right of the entrance hall (for the half bathroom).

23 Aug 2014

The living room walls have now been built to the level of the dala.

Week 25
27 Aug 2014

A view inside the living room, showing the window arches completed and some firme poured.

27 Aug 2014

A view down the corridor from by the master bedroom. To the left can be seen the start of the wooden supports for the losa of the flat roofs. These will cover all areas of flat roof, which will then be reinforced, and concrete poured as a single piece.