The main action now is on the aplanado inside and out. This is the study, which now appears to have been completed (at least in rough). We have been considering suitable finishes for the walls and ceilings.

Now we have the aplanado on the walls, we took some measurements of the real house in the kitchen and shared bathroom today. We are organizing carpentry, fitting of granite, and the bathtub; up to now we only had the house plans as the source of measurements for this. No changes were needed to our information - the real house and the plans corresponded to the centimeter. Thumbs-up to maestro Rubén and his team!

As per the plan, in obra negra the lowest part of the double-sloped roofs is at the same level as the top part of the single-sloped ones. It is left to Rubén's ingenuity and experience to finish off the three places where the four roof sections adjoin.

Aplanado has been completed in the kitchen and here in the dining area/bar; they are now working on the built-in dining and bar tables. These will be finished in the "Green Butterfly" granite.

They have finally started work on the stairs. The pipe to the left is the gas supply for the water heater - Jaime needs to raise it at least half a meter so the heater is not in the way of people using the stairs. The gas heater will only be fired up on the few (if any) occasions when the solar water heater is insufficient.

An overview, showing aplanado being done on the exterior at the front of the house; this has already been completed to the back and sides. We will also reinforce and aplanar the boundary wall around the house before applying the finish to the house walls, to avoid messing this up with the aplanado.

To the right on the entertainment area kitchen wall are samples of texture Rubén prepared for us to select from. We chose different types of texture for the flat ceilings, inside walls, outside walls excluding the terrace, and other outside walls.

The study is now receiving a primer (with vinyl sealant) ready for applying the texture and paint.

The steps have now been built; these are of brick (to use up some left over), but on a reinforced concrete base. A sliding door will go here; the fixed section is to the right. The wall here was originally made 20cm too long; it has now been cut back to give the proper space for the door.

In the kitchen, work is in progress making the bases for the kitchen units. Like other bases (for bedroom and laundry room closets, and for sink units), they will later be tiled.

The obra negra of the dining and bar tables has now been done, ready to receive the granite. They are still on wooden supports while the concrete hardens.

Aplanado is continuing in the corridor, although it has been completed in most places elsewhere.

Bedroom 2 has also received the primer. We were worried that the interior would be too dark, but it is surprising how much lighter it is with lighter-colored surfaces, rather than the absorbent obra negra.

A view from the outside, showing that nearly all the aplanado is now done. The patches on the right of the living room wall are the remains of samples of textured concrete to be applied around the living room and entrance; we chose a smoother pattern than was done in "El Refugio".

Inside too, aplanado has pretty much finished, and they are covering it with the primer.

The holes for the skylights were roughly formed using polystryrene blocks before pouring the roof; they must be properly shaped before the glass blocks can be fitted.

The subfloor (final layer of firme) is now being poured in the living room, ready to receive the floor tile. As can be seen, this is 3-4 centimeters thick, on top of the first layer of around 8 centimeters.

This is the textured concrete finish that will be applied here around the entrance, and also around the living room.

Inside the living room, they are painting the beams and cleaning the brickwork. The spaces between the beams and the bóveda arches have been filled in with white cement; two here await painting.

Before fitting the glass blocks for the skylights, the rough holes must be accurately formed into squares of the right size. This is done using plywood as seen here - this work is now almost complete. Next the insides of these holes will be painted white to maximize light transmission; finally the glass blocks will be cemented with high-grade silicon. Since the blocks are quite heavy, we hope the silicon has sufficient adhesive power to hold the internal ones securely in place - if not, other adhesives such as epoxy resin must be considered.

A view from the kitchen over the dining area / bar; the holes for the skylights have been rectified, and texture is being applied to the ceiling.

The completed kitchen bases (these were actually cut back 10cm since we decided it would be better for the kitchen units to overhang a few centimeters). The carton contains the sink unit, which will be needed to enable the carpentry and granite to be fitted here.

Most of the action now is on preparing the walls (with primer and texture), and floors (with the final layer of firme). Then the floors can be tiled and the walls painted or tiled.

The side of the living room, with some of the adhesive and grout for floor and wall tiles. The registro toward the front center is to provide connections for an entertainment system (there are also holes in several places to connect loudspeakers and other equipment).

The roof intersections have been capably dealt with by maestro Rubén, and the sloping roofs are now being sealed against water (as seen on the right). Together with impermeabilizante, we are also fitting membranes to prevent any possible problems from cracks forming in the concrete, since unlike the flat losa, these are not poured as one piece. The sloping roofs will later be tiled, and the flat roofs will simply receive two coats of impermeabilizante. Note that the latter will drain away from the sloping roofs, towards the rear of the house.

The first tile to be fitted is the wall tile in the kitchen, since the carpenters are making the kitchen units, and these cannot be installed without the tile in place. However, we are having a few problems...

We chose a decorative tile, with the idea of fitting it only where it would be exposed (i.e. not covered by the kitchen units), and bought just the amount to cover this. However, Rubén considers it desirable to tile the entire wall area. When we went back to buy more of the wall tile, we were told it was no longer available; we therefore bought a plain tile of the same size to put behind the units. This has now been used, but it has also been put above the stove and possibly other areas where it will be exposed. Subsequently, the decorative tile has rematerialised; we will now buy more of this, and use it to replace some of the white tile already fitted. Fingers crossed...

Another problem is that there are a couple of redundant connections for lighting in the ceiling. We will fit tubes (LED) under the wall-mounted kitchen units - the connection for these is lower down. Maybe I didn't make it sufficiently clear in the electrical plan that these two tubes were to be fitted underneath the kitchen units.

Apart from the tiling, a significant amount of texture has been applied in this area.

In the terrace, the tops of the brick columns are being filled in to avoid birds' nests and other issues. The bricks in both the columns and the bóveda have been cleaned, and the spaces between the arches and beams are being filled in and painted black. Warm colors will predominate in this area, as the floor tile will be a terracotta style, and the walls will be a warm yellow.

More texture in the dining area / bar; this is darker since it has not yet dried. In the kitchen, only the refrigerator alcove seen here will be textured, the rest tiled.

The stairs to the roof are now ready for tiling.

The roof edges are being finished off - the undersides where there are beams are painted black, the edges will have white texture applied.

The boundary wall is being reinforced with steel mesh.

Texturing has almost finished here in the living room. But we have another snag - the wall to the back right has damp. It seems that this can only be coming from the tinaco on the roof above, so we suspect a leaking pipe. Jaime said he will come next Monday to investigate - we will have to wait until this issue is resolved before applying the texture here.

Impermeabilizante is now being applied to the flat parts of the roofs. The skylights still have not been fitted, but I suspect that Rubén has quite deliberately left this for at least two good reasons:

• to enable the wet materials being applied inside to dry more quickly
• to make it easier to apply the impermeabilizante

There are also some ventilation pipes from the bathrooms, one of which can be seen here; we are not quite sure how these will be dealt with...

The floor tile has been laid in the kitchen, including for the bases. Three plain wall tiles above the stove have now been replaced with the decorative type. But there are still some issues to be resolved here in the kitchen, where we have to coordinate work on the masonry, carpentry and granite (as well as electrical and plumbing work). Fingers are still crossed....

Outside, work has started on the built-in tables and seating in the entertainment area. These will be the same size that we have in "El Refugio", but supported on columns rather than on blocks.

Tiling is now nearly complete here in the living room, awaiting grouting. When we first saw this we were afraid they had fitted the wrong tile, but the white appearance is thankfully merely dust - when cleaned, it will have a parquet wood effect.

More work on one of the two sets of tables and benches in the entertainment area. Each table is supported by 3 columns of 20cm diameter, and each bench by 5 columns of 10cm diameter.

Tiling is also nearly complete here in the kitchen, and has also started in the corridor between the kitchen and dining area. But there is not quite enough of the decorative tile to finish around the window, so we had to buy another box. Also at the left side of the kitchen, we have only a strip of the decorative tile above the work surface, not the complete area as I had wanted. However Verónica likes the contrast between this and the white, and she will probably be spending more time here than I.

We are still awaiting the kitchen units and island from the carpenters - it should be fitted any day now. The white tile to the right will all be covered by the wall-mounted units (we hope)...

Outside, the terrace walls have been textured, and they are dealing with the boundary wall. The sloping roofs have received a second coat of impermeabilizante (this time red, but the color doesn't matter as it will be hidden by the tiles).

The first of the window frames have been fitted - here in the kitchen, in the half bathroom and sitting room, and some in the living room. The color we chose for all our aluminum is a very light bronze; only slightly different from plain aluminum, but a more elegant hue without its coldness. Whereas in "El Refugio" a large proportion of the windows are of tinted mirror glass, here we will be using only plain glass, since the windows are well shaded.

Tiling is underway in the dining/bar area, and in the passageway between this and the kitchen. Contrary to the plan, an extra row of the mosaic tile is fitted, to avoid having to cut a narrow piece of the beige tile. However, since more of this was used than planned, we had to buy another box (only two pieces were actually required). There is also zoclo around the bases; I had intended to paint them black from the floor upwards, but Verónica likes the zoclo.

The insides of the skylights have now been painted white, and this has quite significantly increased the amount of light inside. The skylights provide a very pleasant and even illumination - we expect that once the glass is fitted, it will be better still.

The main pieces of granite have been cut. The light colored ones to the left and center are for the kitchen; the darker pieces to the right are for the dining table and bar.

The wall that showed signs of damp has now been textured - Jaime assured us that there are no pipes in this area, and there is no more evidence of damp, so we assume that this was from some one-off spillage.

Some parts of the kitchen units have been placed - in fact only sufficient for the granite to be fitted. The rest will be done after the granite is in place, to avoid the granite work spoiling the kitchen units.

The texture is being applied to the rear of the house, including here in the study. This dries to a slightly cool white - it is blue here as it is still wet.

I splashed out on a mosaic for the sitting room. Unfortunately, there is not quite enough of the tile to complete the border (since they put zoclo around the dining table and bar) so we had to buy another box.

There is now granite in place in the kitchen, but we have had a few more concerns. With the zoclo of 7cm at the back of the surface (this has been cut, but not fitted), there will still be 3cm of white tile exposed. This is because the unit was a little lower than it should have been; the carpenters will hopefully raise it by 3cm to overcome this issue. The unit is also a few centimeters too long, and I was concerned that we would not be able to insert the dishwasher between this and the wall for the refrigerator alcove; however, it should nonetheless fit in OK. The dishwasher would also have barely fitted in heightwise, but there should be plenty of space now we are raising the level. The compactness of the kitchen does make measurements more critical - fingers continue to be crossed...

Rubén found the boundary wall at the back to be leaning outwards by a few centimeters - this is just the area where we noted the particularly bad foundation from "maestro" X. Just as we put trabes below ground level, we now plan to put another set in to tie the wall at the level of the losa of the roof. We will turn our remedy into a feature by making these in the form of arches.

Fitting of granite here in the dining area and bar is almost complete; all that remains is some of the faldón. The dark green color is intended to complement the light-colored granite used in the kitchen. We will finish the columns in a black epoxy-resin paint.

Tiling and texturing is now well underway in the rear part of the house, including the study, bedrooms, and here in the shared bathroom. But we have another snag - the vent pipe goes directly through the recess for the wall-mounted cabinet. There is another similar problem in the en-suite bathroom, where the manguera for the power point by the sink is also in the way. We hope Jaime will be here soon to resolve these problems (we hadn't thought too much about medicine chests by the time Jaime did these installations).

In the dining area, bar, and here in the kitchen, granite fitting is underway. The base units have now been raised and the zoclo fitted, but unfortunately there is white tile exposed by the edges of the wall-mounted units. In fact, both this problem and that of lack of space for the dishwasher are due to inaccurately-made carpentry; the base unit being too long, and the wall-mounted units being too short. The carpenters agreed to dismount the latter so that the wall tile at the edge can be replaced by what is left of the decorative style. The lack of availability of this has made a difficult task still more difficult.

Another worry is that the granite at the end of the unit overhangs, reducing the 80cm width I allowed for the stove to 77cm. We hope that it will fit anyway. I am also concerned that the granite has been cut such that two large joins to the sides will be required, rather than one small join under the sink unit - this despite making a drawing and his agreeing that this would be done. It seems that only Rubén and Jaime are capable of following plans and making accurate measurements.

A view from by the entertainment area, showing one of the two sets of tables and benches completed in obra negra, and the other under construction. I have taken some care to make sure the benches are at a proper height and distance from the tables - this is especially important since they are not user-adjustable. Naturally, both columns and slabs are reinforced, and the two tied together.

The sink unit has not been fitted very well; there is a gap between it and the granite. We are getting the granite guy to fix this by rebating somewhat the granite so the sink unit will be recessed within it. Another problem we have is with the island unit - it does not have the internal partition I specified, and it consequently wobbles from side to side; this is especially worrying with the weight of granite on it. The carpenters will hopefully deal with this soon, and further reinforce it with cross-bracing.

The granite surfaces for the dining table and bar have now been completed.

The base for the bathtub is being built in the shared bathroom. The floor underneath the bathtub will be a few centimeters lower than the rest of the floor; this will allow the side to be lower, making for easier entry. Although the tub is a rigid one, Rubén will support it further by making a bed of sand for it to rest on. The two shower cubicles will also have recessed floors for drainage reasons.

The problems with the recesses for the medicine chests have now been dealt with.

The terrace is being tiled, including the zoclo here at the edges. There will be a path from here across the garden to the parking area. They are making round edges for the columns, and they will be fluted with ornamental bases and capitals; I am still not quite sure about the design of this, and to some degree am leaving it in Rubén's hands.

Texturing inside the house is now complete, leaving only external areas. Tiling inside the house is also done, except in the bathrooms.

Tiling is also virtually complete here in the terrace; this same tile will also be used for the entertainment area.

The tables and benches in the entertainment area have now been finished in obra negra; the surfaces and edges will later be tiled, and the supporting columns painted.

Here in the shared bathroom, they are still making the base for the bathtub, and the recess for the shower cubicle.

In the kitchen, the units have now been fitted (minus handles) - the new arrivals are covered with plastic to prevent contamination from the dust that can be seen everywhere. The decorative wall tile has now been extended to cover the area around the wall units. The tap has also been fitted, but is rather wobbly; this will probably need to be fixed onto the granite.

The outside, showing work underway finishing the two round columns. The length of manguera in the wall for the entertainment area kitchen is for another power outlet. To the left, they are continuing work reinforcing and finishing the boundary wall.

Tiling in the en-suite bathroom, looking towards where the shower cubicle will be fitted; the recess for the built-in wall cabinet is to the right. The curved wall gives an irregular (but I hope comfortable) area for showering.

The three bathroom sink units are now nearly complete.

The shared bathroom, showing that the base for the bathtub is essentially complete, the toilet has been installed (as also in the other two bathrooms), and the floor cabinet is in place. The tiling in the shower cubicle still has to be finished - the floor tile will be cut into smaller pieces here to enable water to drain correctly.

The half bathroom, showing the floor cabinet in place, ready for the granite. Work is in progress installing the light switches and power points. The gas water heater is also installed, although we still await the solar water heater.

The side door, with one leaf sliding and the other fixed, has been fitted so that it opens onto the second step. Surely, only a clinically-certifiable idiot could do something like this - or maybe he thought we needed the improvement in agility and development of the thigh muscles that passing through this door would provide...

Not much new to see today - I suppose that shouldn't be surprising, this being the festive season. In the outside front area, they are still finishing off the columns and reinforcing the boundary wall.

Finishing work is also continuing here on the roof. It is an unfortunate fact that doing new work has a tendency to mess up that already done; so there will be some cleaning and repair work to do. Rubén is waiting until all this has been dealt with before fitting the glass blocks for the skylights.

The granite work in the three bathrooms is now done. This is the "Green Butterfly" granite in the shared bathroom, which has also been fitted in the half bathroom.

The solar water heater has been delivered, but not yet fitted. This has a 300L capacity and a rather high price tag, largely because the cheaper ones are not suitable for use with a pressure system.

In the en-suite bathroom, we have the "White Dallas" granite, as we didn't have enough of the dark granite for all three bathrooms. But I think the lighter-colored granite actually works better in this bathroom with the lighter-colored wall tile. There is still a significant amount of this granite left; we plan to use this to make a coffee table for the sitting room to replace the cracked marble one we have in "El Refugio".

At last they are fitting the glass blocks for the skylights; the interior ones are being fitted first, and they are using a vacuum cleaner to remove dust and debris before fitting the exterior ones. This is complete in the central section of the roof; they are now doing the rear section. When this is done, there will be a final thin coat of impermeabilizante to make sure the edges are well covered, and for cosmetic reasons.

150m² of roof tiles plus a number of ridge tiles and terminators have arrived for the sloping roofs of the house and the two marquesinas. We ordered these from a place in Sahuayo, since we could not get a good price locally. These are the same "El Aguila" tiles that have served us well in "El Refugio".

The fluted shafts of the round columns are now done, awaiting decorative bases and capitals. I'm still not quite sure how these will turn out - I'm going to trust Rubén on this one...

Roof tiling is underway, and work is continuing on the reinforcements and aplanado on the boundary wall (including the marquesina).

All the glass blocks for the skylights have been fitted, which is something of a relief because it has been threatening to rain recently.

The dining table and bar counter are now essentially finished, although the underneath surfaces will be leveled and then covered with the black epoxy resin paint.

Tiling over the living room is something of a challenge - particularly due to the deviation from the plan in fitting the beams. Here Rubén with two albañiles are trying out positioning of the tiles, and I am here offering commentary on how it looks.

The bases and capitals of the columns are now essentially done, requiring only some detailing.

The columns are now done, and roof tiling is complete, except for the challenging area over the front of the living room. I had expected the edges of the roof underneath the tile to be white, but they seem to be grey; Verónica thinks this is OK, and I'll see whether I can live with it...

Parts of the bedroom closets have been made and delivered; but we are a long way behind the promise of having them ready this week, and it appears that carpentry is likely to hold up the show.

This view of the master bedroom also shows the bathroom sink unit with tap fitted (also the plug, with an opening mechanism from the tap); but we are still awaiting the wall cabinets and shower cubicles (the aluminum work is not progressing well).

A view from the roof, showing the tricky roof intersections tiled; it looks like we will have to buy more tiles, as there is significant wastage from cutting them.

Apart from finishing the boundary wall, aplanado is being done on the marquesina. To the right of the portón is a sample of the finish Rubén proposes to use for the fachada. We will cover the whole of this over, including the adoquin; although we were previously thinking of preserving it, the ugly thick mortar layers preclude this.

This wall, together with the tiled roofs, is conspicuous from the ground; it is therefore important to finish it attractively. This guy is doing some pretty impressive aparente work on it; even close up, it looks like real stone and clay tile. I have been persuaded to have a black background with this, rather than the beige I was thinking of.

The closets are now well underway in both bedrooms, and I understand that work has started on the windows and doors in this area (we will need these before moving in).

The difficult part of the roof over the living room is now being tiled. The "droop snoot" is now much less conspicuous; although the edge appears somewhat uneven, it is turning out rather better than I feared it might.

Construction of the kitchenette in the entertainment area has now started. To the right is an alcove for the refrigerator (only 65cm wide, but there are various tall and thin models that will fit). At the other side of the wall is an 80cm wide space for the cooker (we decided to have an oven as well as a stove). There is a counter with space at the left for a double sink unit (which we have already purchased). All this will be tiled (Verónica wants another granite surface, but we don't have enough left).

Work is now in progress on the storage room, with aplanado and a wall being built to house the gas tank. Provision is also being made for proper drainage of this roof. As can be seen, the shoddy brickwork of "maestro" X has been covered over; but we are thinking of leaving uncovered Rubén's brickwork above.

On arriving here today, we were relieved to find that the windows and side door had been refitted correctly. The small door for the bathtub motor was in place, and they were working on fitting the shower cubicles. Said clinically-certifiable idiot had made his version of one of the medicine chests; it was merely a face plate with two doors featuring ridiculous-looking external hinges. This will go in the bin, and the manager will hopefully ensure we get what we want.

The carpenters were also here today, and were fitting handles on the kitchen units and bathroom sink units, and finalizing work on the closets.

They are still tiling the roof over the living room, but it looks like we should get a satisfactory result.

Work is continuing on the two marquesinas and the storage room. The boundary wall at the other side is being opened up so that an additional castillo can be inserted to remedy one of "maestro" X's numerous structural defects (one can just see the hole in the wall through the storage room window).

The shapes of the aparente work on this conspicuous wall have been done; it just needs coloring. With this done, the masonry work on the house itsef will be essentially finished.