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Construction Project: Casa "La Esperanza"

Stage 6 - Finishing (Outside)

This page covers the work from completion of the masonry work on the house, onwards. It includes a substantial amount of remedial work from phase 1, both structural and cosmetic.

The total time taken for the work on this page is about 7 weeks. Click here to see a summary of masonry costs for this stage.

Week 46
21 Jan 2015

The shower cubicles have been completed in both bathrooms; we are a little concerned here in the shared bathroom that it is rather too close to the bathtub. The wall-mounted cabinets are still under construction and do not appear too promising. We reported our concerns to the manager and he says we should wait until they are finished and see if the end result is satisfactory. Let's hope...

21 Jan 2015

The ceiling fans are being fitted, including here in the second bedroom. In each bedroom, the ceiling fan will also serve as the main room light, with pairs of spots over the closet and bed (the latter operating via dimmers). The bedroom closets are essentially finished.

21 Jan 2015

They are now working on the fachada; both inside and outside surfaces of this wall will be reinforced. Inside, the aparente work on the conspicuous house wall is done, and they are continuing work on the storage room.

24 Jan 2015

On arrival today we were confronted with this excavation around the entrance. They are making the surface for the parking area, and taking advantage of the excavation to remedy some more of the structural defects of "maestro" X. This is where most of the action is at the moment; there is little new to see inside the house.

24 Jan 2015

A view from the other side. Care must be taken with the water pipes and manguera for electrical cables that Jaime previously installed. As can be seen, the excavator has already put a ding in the large marquesina; elsewhere, the sewage pipe to the septic tank is broken (probably unavoidably), and there is also a broken manguera (although the cable inside thankfully seems OK).

24 Jan 2015

In addition to the excavation in the area of the fachada, holes are being opened by the castillos of the barda in areas away from the house. This is to fit replacement zapatas to prevent likely collapse of the wall, since those of "maestro" X are either absent, or hopelessly inadequate. We used the house foundation to support the wall by the house, but this is obviously not possible here.

24 Jan 2015

Some of the zapatas that will be employed. These are a good deal more substantial than the only ones we were able to see of "maestro" X - the "extra large" ones that he proudly showed us by the neighbor's wall (purportedly to ensure that it would fall their side and not ours). To avoid encroaching on neighboring property, we will have to place these zapatas only on our side of the wall.

24 Jan 2015

Another area of serious concern is the construction of the septic tank and storage room. We cannot yet see exactly what issues there are with the septic tank; but we do know that it is being used as the foundation of the storage room. This issue is all the more worrying as we are also pretty sure that "maestro" X did not consider it necessary to reinforce its base (despite our clear instructions and photos). However, toward the right of the photo is revealed what "maestro" X did consider necessary to support the storage room between the septic tank and boundary wall: five loose bricks...

24 Jan 2015

On a happier note, the barbecue of the entertainment area is under construction; it is being covered with an elegant type of baldosa. We will fill the gaps with a dark grout, rather than normal mortar.

Week 47
28 Jan 2015

Some of the lighting has now been installed, including here in the shared bathroom. The two bathroom wall cabinets have also apparently been finished, but they are completely unacceptable. The photo clearly shows that there is a large gap between the two doors, the insides are of unjoined pieces of dark aluminum, and the doors are plain mirror without any aluminum backing (this is the Mk II version, without the ridiculous hinges). We will be visiting the manager again, and not paying more until we have a decent result.

28 Jan 2015

One of the zapatas has now been inserted, awaiting filling in with concrete. Whereas Rubén has provided a substantial plantilla, it now appears that this is yet another thing that "maestro" X did not consider necessary, since the only photos we have suggest that he simply put the metal on the ground and covered it with concrete. For comparison, see one of "maestro" X's "extra large" zapatas by the neighbor's wall here. Those he put in the other walls are clearly just about non-existent.

Another worry I have on reflection of "maestro" X's work is the connection from the top of the foundation to the wall above. Remember that rather than use single lengths of varilla to cover both foundation and wall, "maestro" X cut it off just above the foundation base. This means having to tie the lengths above. The good thing on examining the photos is that there is a substantial amount of overlap - then if properly tied, "maestro" X's "technique" is mainly a waste of time and materials, rather than a serious structural issue. Let's hope...

28 Jan 2015

They are having to rent a jackhammer in their attempts to remedy the dreadful structural shortcomings from "maestro" X. This is not being done without good reason; apart from the numerous structural problems already noted, the doors of the portón will again not close properly - this can only be due to movement in the fachada wall.

28 Jan 2015

On the other side of the fachada wall, they are continuing to deal with the risible cosmetic outcome due to "maestro" X (having first reinforced the wall with steel mesh and concrete to compensate for some of the structural shortcomings). We will simulate with aparente the tabicón columns and adoquín (the mortar rows are already being shaped here); the original design using only structural materials would have looked great were it not for "maestro" X's terrible implementation of it.

30 Jan 2015

We had expected to see bent castillos by the sides of the two round columns, since some "adjustment" was required here (remember that all castillos were placed at the whim of "maestro" X without bothering to measure any distances between them, and in particular without paying any heed to the width and position we specified for the portón - see here). Rubén showed us a photo he took before he rectified them, and indeed the curvature was pretty gross. But we hadn't expected to see that all the other castillos excavated to date were also twisted and/or well off vertical - from what we have seen, he didn't put a single one in straight. Unfortunately, we were not there at the right time to note this when the work was done. As seen here, Rubén is using a substantial amount of extra reinforcement to ensure that the wall above is firmly anchored to its foundation.

30 Jan 2015

Work is continuing on the fachada; they are recreating the original design with diamonds. We chose the color for the columns, and are waiting for a suitable solution to color the adoquín.

31 Jan 2015

The end result of one of Rubén's efforts to provide proper support for the boundary wall, here in the wall of the fachada. This work included providing proper plantillas and zapatas of an appropriate size; they also straightened out and augmented the twisted castillo reinforcements. Above, both sides of the fachada wall (outside and inside) have been reinforced with malla.

By this wall, "maestro" X chose to use six loose blocks to support the storage room, rather than the five loose bricks he employed by the side wall.

31 Jan 2015

A view of the house from the excavation. As one can see in the foreground, there are a lot of cable conduits and tubing that will have to be refitted once the excavation is done.

Today they arrived to fit the curtains. They provided no means of tethering the cords that open and close the curtains; each window has a loose loop of cord by the side that could easily strangle a small child. On calling them, they claimed that this was not included in the price, and wanted another $2000 pesos (later reduced to $600) to fix it. I was not best pleased, and withheld a significant part of the total amount due. All things considered, I don't expect to be hearing from their lawyers...

Also, more lighting is being installed. We are awaiting more carpentry (the doors and windows of the bedrooms and full bathrooms). Some of the supporting steel for the outside roofs arrived today, and we should see some progress on this soon.

Week 48
05 Feb 2015

The fachada is now shaping up nicely, and some tiles have been placed on the small marquesina (we will need to buy more tiles to finish). Jaime has installed the lighting under the large marquesina.

The excavated area is being filled in with filtro and compressed with an extremely noisy bailarina. Also, aplanado has been done on the inside of the storage room.

05 Feb 2015

Inside, the herrero has installed some of the metalwork for supporting the roofing, but unfortunately he does not seem to have taken much notice of the plan we gave him. After spending the best part of an hour in discussion today, we hope he will set off on the right track this time...

Also the walls of the kitchen area have now been tiled, awaiting grouting. After having explained today how to lay the tiles of the tables with the decorative trim, I expect that this too will soon be underway.

05 Feb 2015

Work is continuing on the other side of the fachada, with our artist doing the decorative work. Rubén is cutting off the curved edges of the adoquín and resetting them, to deal with one of the consequences of "maestro" X's bungling - see here; it looks like this will enable us to preserve the adoquín.

07 Feb 2015

At last we can see more work from the carpenters. The windows have been fitted in both bedrooms and study, and the doors have been made for the two bedrooms (those for the bathrooms and study are still not present). Unfortunately the windows are swing type, rather than the sliding ones I specified. The good thing is that they fold right back, so they can be left open while the curtains are closed. I suppose we'll just have to say "ya que"...

07 Feb 2015

The sitting room, showing the hanging lamp, and two of the kiddy nooses supplied by the curtain villains. The issues with the curtains can easily be remedied by buying the relevant components and fitting them myself. Alternatively, we can fit something so they can be pulled up or down in the manner of a pendulum. Other things lacking are something to hold the curtains at the side (so they do not cover half the window when open) and a fitting over the top to cover the curtain rail. But we can move in before this is done.

The ceiling fan at the back of the room has still not been fitted - it will need to be suspended from a pole around 1m in length, as the ceiling is rather high at this point.

07 Feb 2015

In the living room with its high ceiling, I chose an industrial-type fan, with metal blades and a much higher airflow capacity than the usual domestic types. Jaime had to install a control unit for this, which can be seen at the left of the photo.

In the walk-in pantry, Jaime has installed a motion sensor that switches on the light as soon as someone enters.

07 Feb 2015

Outside, the parking area and the path to the entrance of the house are being compressed with the bailarina. We will surface this path with small river stones, similar to those we have on the path to the casita in "El Refugio". By the corner where the storage room meets the side wall, we will make a circular enclosure for burning trash, also faced with these stones.

The inside of the storage room has now been textured, and a lamp fitted; the main thing required here is tiling. We will try to use left-overs as far as possible.

We had still more discussions on the sheet roofing, but we seem to be edging in the right direction.

07 Feb 2015

In the entertainment area, the kitchen counter has now been tiled, and the sink unit and tap fitted (although not connected). The barbecue unit now has a grill made by the herrero (not quite finished). One of the tables and benches has been tiled, and the decorative trim is now being grouted by our tiling expert. We splashed out on a curved aluminum trim to put around the edges of the tables and benches, for both better appearance and durability.

07 Feb 2015

Our artist and Rubén are continuing work on the fachada. We are impressed!! The columns look like well-laid natural material, and the diamonds within the textured concrete look better than tabicón could have. The top row of adoquin has been skillfully touched up, and now looks very good as a final finish; after Rubén's remedial work, we hope the other two rows can be made equally good.

Week 49
12 Feb 2015

On arriving here today, we noticed that they had poured most of the firme for the parking area and path to the house. The parking area and paths around the house will be surfaced in white cement with white marble chippings.

The steel frame for the roofing over the entertainment area and path to the right was also done. Outside, work is continuing on the fachada.

12 Feb 2015

A view over the entertainment area. Over the path, the steel roofing is 1.5m wide, but widens to over 4.5 meters over the entertainment area.

12 Feb 2015

A view from the roof, showing that the steel sheeting has arrived, and they are starting to fit it by the entrance door.

We had some unseasonal rain yesterday, as indicated by the water in the foreground.

12 Feb 2015

They made another registro here to make the connection from the sewage outlet pipe to the septic tank. Care needs to be taken to ensure water drains from this area toward the portón (the only place where water can exit the property).

14 Feb 2015

Excavation for the banqueta is being done using pick-axe and shovel (use of the excavator would be too risky). They have delivered 21m2 of roof tiles for finishing off the two marquesinas.

14 Feb 2015

The fachada is now done, except for a few details, and sealant is being applied (it is still wet in places). The aparente finish has also been applied inside the meter housing. Rubén's people have worked miracles to turn "maestro" X's disastrous result into this!

14 Feb 2015

They have started the cobbled path from the parking area to the house. We chose to have a relatively wide spacing of stones in the concrete, to reduce the likelihood of stones lifting off.

14 Feb 2015

All concrete in the parking area and paths to the side has now been laid. Steel covers for the eight registros are being made. The water pipes have (presumably) been reconnected, but the sewage pipe to the septic tank is awaiting reconnection.

Week 50
18 Feb 2015

Most of the sheet roofing is now in place, but for some reason they still have not painted the supporting steelwork. This will be done in a dark chocolate color, similar to that of the epoxy resin paint that will be used for the bases of the tables and benches. The path to the house is being built, but they have run out of river stones, so we gave Rubén money to get some more.

18 Feb 2015

Underneath the steel roofing over the entertainment area. There has been no more tiling here; this has been deferred to avoid damage from other work (especially from the herreros). There is already damage to the barbecue and to a tile of the table by the kitchenette.

18 Feb 2015

They have now completed the tiling on the marquesinas, and all work on the fachada is now done, except for finishing off the columns and painting the steel doors. The excavation for the banqueta has still not been completed.

There are masonry materials all over the road now, but this is hardly a problem, given the lack of traffic here.

18 Feb 2015

A view showing that tiling has also been done inside. The path curves around the storage room in accordance with the plan. To access the roof of the storage room, the herrero will fit a steel ladder on the left hand side of the wall. This will start at a height of about 1.8m, so that it cannot be used by visitors (except perhaps acrobatic ones). This access should only be needed to read the gas meter, or when it is necessary to put more impermeabilizante on the roof. Since we are using a solar water heater, a tank of gas should last well over a year. The connection to fill the tank is of course on the outside of the fachada wall.

21 Feb 2015

The remaining texturing of the wall is now complete, except on the right of the storage room, where the circular fire enclosure is being built.

Rubén says the masonry work will take only two more weeks; the banqueta and paths around the house will be finished this week, and final cleaning up the week after. As such, I now think it will be best to wait until after the masonry people have finished before we move. But we want them to do a similar cleanup to "El Refugio" before we put it on the market.

21 Feb 2015

The path around the house and by the side (also the parking area) is now being surfaced in white cement with marmol. The area of the banqueta is being filled in with filtro.

We are concerned that, despite the trabes made to support the back wall (at the level of both losa and dala de desplante), the back right corner has opened up slightly again. Rubén will make another replacement zapata here, which we hope will finally cure the problem. We also have some more minor cracks appearing in the side wall, which we hope Rubén can make good. Naturally we have serious concerns about the long-term future of the boundary wall - it is a lot easier to do things properly in the first place, than to try to patch up something built to "maestro" X's standard.

21 Feb 2015

The path to the house has now been completed, needing only scrubbing with muriatic acid to remove the concrete residues from the stones. The sheet roofing to the right side has been painted, and is now essentially complete, except we have an issue with the section by the house.

We have some steel sheet left over, and will use it to provide a housing for the pressure system (and possible future water softener) on the roof, and also to make a cover to shelter the gas water heater.

Week 51
25 Feb 2015

The banqueta is now being made. The columns have now been finished in a gloss black with white granito (not very clear in this photo). For vehicular access, they will make a small ramp from the curbstone down to the street level.

There has been some discussion on whether we should fit an external sewage connection, to minimize work and disruption in the event that municipal sewage arrives here. But it seems a little late to do this now, and I don't think we will have municipal sewage here for a long time, if ever.

25 Feb 2015

In the entertainment area, tiling is mainly complete on the tables and benches; painting has also mainly been completed on the bases. But we had to buy another box of tiles for the remaining bench, together with some more epoxy resin paint for the bases. The floor of this area is also being tiled.

Apart from the tiles, today we also brought in swimming-pool paint for the inside of the aljibe, plus a fan to ventilate the fumes from painting in this enclosed space.

25 Feb 2015

In the kitchenette, the wall tiles have now been grouted, and the wall lights have been fitted. The result is not too elegant - I hope that the wires can be hidden. The kitchen surface is awaiting grouting.

Inside, the carpenters have at last made and delivered the five doors for the rear of the house, but they have not yet been fitted. There is a little more work on fitting the lighting; we hope that Jaime will be able to do plenty of work this week, as this area is now somewhat behind. We still do not have the Mk III medicine chests from the aluminum people, but Verónica has chased this up over the phone.

28 Feb 2015

The banqueta is almost complete (it should look better when it has been cleaned up). Rubén has made some decorative squares to simulate tiles. We think this continuous surface is better than using separate blocks of material such as adoquín, where the cracks tend to get filled in with dirt and cultivate weeds.

28 Feb 2015

Tiling in the entertainment area is mostly complete, but we have had to buy another box of floor tile, plus three more sacks of grout for this area. We also bought a cheap tile for the storage room; the odds and ends would not have been sufficient to complete this, and the cost of the tiles was trivial in relation to other things. The tinaco we bought at the beginning of the project is once again being used to store water, since the aljibe has been emptied in preparation for painting its interior.

Each table will have three LED spotlights over, and a power outlet. There will be a box with a light switch and power outlet fitted at the post on the end of each table.

28 Feb 2015

There is still some work to do surfacing the path around the house - the parking area has not yet been started. We are hoping that Rubén will be able to finish a week today, as he said; in any case, we intend to move in then.

28 Feb 2015

Inside the house, the medicine chests Mk III have at last been delivered. They are at least an improvement, and so we paid off the aluminum people.

Unfortunately, the carpenters are dragging their feet, and we do not now expect them to finish before the end of next month. There is still some electrical work outstanding - for example fitting covers on the light switches and power outlets, and some lighting to do. Also, we have yet to buy bathroom accessories.

Week 52
04 Mar 2015

We were relieved to see the carpenters here when we arrived today. They were working on fitting the doors to the bedrooms, study, and full bathrooms. They had also completed the laundry room closet, as seen in the photo.

04 Mar 2015

The surface of the banqueta is complete, and the doors of the portón are now being painted. The gray is a lot lighter in color than I had expected from the samples in the shop - it is amazing how much difference lighting makes to one's perception of color. Still, I hope it will go well with the light copper color (for the floral details) and the light gray (for other raised parts).

04 Mar 2015

The inside of the aljibe has been painted in the special impermeabilizante (swimming-pool paint).

04 Mar 2015

Surfacing of the path around the house is pretty much complete, and they are now working on the parking area. As can be seen, the small door of the portón has been removed for easier painting.

04 Mar 2015

Tiling is being done in the storage room, using the cheapo tile we bought. The covers of the registros will be flush with the tile.

07 Mar 2015

The carpenters finally finished the doors to the bedrooms, full bathrooms, and study as shown here in bedroom 1. This is as well, since we are moving in tomorrow, for sure. We still need to get window glass fitted, and improve the curtains.

Jaime has already moved and installed the washing machine, cooker, and dishwasher from "El Refugio".

07 Mar 2015

As expected, the masonry work is still not completely finished, but we got a couple of truckloads of this soft brown soil for the garden area, which Rubén's people are now distributing.

07 Mar 2015

Another view of the long-awaited doors in Mexican pine, this time by the shared bathroom and study. The next doors to be made will be for the entrance and half bathroom, both in American oak. We will also use American oak for the doors to the living room and sitting room.

07 Mar 2015

The storage room has now been tiled, and painting is just about complete. Still to finish is painting of the portón.

We still have a significant amount left to do, especially carpentry and electrical work, plus some masonry work. But we are moving in tomorrow, and this is the last of the construction photos. To see how the house eventually turned out, see the next page.