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As our regular readers know, we’re building a house in Merida, several blocks south of where we live now, in Colonia San Sebastian. Many people who come to live here buy an old colonial building and restore it. There are some really beautiful buildings here, with columns and pasta-tile floors, that have been abandoned or neglected. It’s a real pleasure to bring them back to life.
For the last five years, we have lived in one of those restored colonials. Now that we have two rather big dogs, we decided we needed something bigger. At the same time we decided to try something a little different. We bought a rather small and simple colonial house that was on a large piece of land. We saved the first two rooms of the house, with their high beamed ceilings and thick stone walls of mamposteria. But all the newer construction behind it was demolished and we are building a totally new home behind the colonial facade. Our design aesthetic is based on the notions of a renovated monastery with a modern Yucatecan ambiance.
The designers have created a plan, of course. The section shown to the left is of the inner courtyard with the front rooms of the house at the bottom and a passageway on the right. We spent quite a few meetings pouring over both the general plan and the electrical plan. We’ve decided to put ceiling fans in every room and outside on the terraces under the tejebans (which almost translates as "eaves". A tejeban is the structure built over an outside living area). We have been careful to place our lights and outlets where we are going to need them. Even though we have planned everything in advance, the albañiles will still build the walls and then carve out channels afterwards to put in the electrical and plumbing. That’s just the way they do it here.
And we’ve also had a couple computer renderings done of what the completed structure is going to look like. The view below is of the inner courtyard, looking toward the back of the house. The rendering comes complete with guests in bathrobes (for scale, we suppose) enjoying the terrace outside their guestroom upstairs. Underneath the guestroom is the kitchen, with large floor-to-ceiling glass-and-iron doors to let in light and air. At the end of the passageway on the right is the backyard and the pool.
For the last few weeks, we have been refining the design of our home with our designers/ contractors. We have been visiting showrooms and deciding on floors, columns, finshes and tile designs so that we can more accurately understand how things will look and what our costs are going to be.
While we’ve been doing that, albañiles have been digging holes and pouring foundations, digging pozos (wells), locating and digging a new fosa septica, and finishing the perimeter walls. In the process of finishing one of the walls, the albañiles had to build a new outdoor laundry-washing station for one of the neighbors in order to replace the one they had been using that was where a wall needed to go.
Most of the work being done so far is by a team of masons. We’re finding that this part of the work is the hardest to budget for, because it is the hardest to estimate. For instance, we had one number for the cost of building the perimeter wall, based on square meters. But once it was decided that the walls were going to have to go higher because the pool is being built above ground, not only did the square meters increase, but the rebar-
reinforced towers that are built at intervals along the walls were going to have to be built closer together to accommodate the increased height. This was going to take longer and cost more. And so the inevitable increase in expenditures begins!
The photo to the right is the same view as the computer rendering, but as things look today. Notice the big hole on the left behind the man in the blue shirt? That’s for the fosa septica, which is located under the courtyard. For decades, houses in Merida have worked with an elaborate French-drain type of system. There is a new, cheaper method now of dealing with human waste that involves installing a type of plastic septic tank. But it also requires maintenance and cleaning every two years, whereas the time-tested option only needs to be serviced every 10 years or so. We had to decide which to use. We opted for the traditional system and greater cost up front with lower maintenance in the future.
Most of our floors are going to be concrete, another low cost and low maintenance option. We have a lot of floors, so we needed something we could afford. In the exterior spaces, the concrete will be treated to look like terracotta and left a little rough like sandstone, so we don’t slip when it rains. In the interior spaces, the concrete will be a buttery color and polished. In some rooms, we will have borders or central tapetes (rugs) of pasta tiles, because a house in the Yucatan without those beautiful mosaicos is like an Italian meal without wine.
Another thing we’ve been dealing with in the last few weeks are the utilities. When we bought the house, both the water and electricity bills had been paid up to date by the previous owner. Now we’re trying to put those bills into our name, and there are always complications and of course, in Mexico, this sort of thing can never be done with just one visit.
In the case of the water bill, we’ve discovered that through some typo by a data entry clerk years ago (the house was abandonado (abandoned) for years before we bought it), our address became associated with two water "contracts". The one that was paid up has its own problems. We need the water company, called JAPAY, to install a new medidor (meter) because the old one has so much condensation inside, it’s unreadable and the meter-reader can’t take lecturas (readings) from it. The other erroneous contract has a past-due balance of over $8,000 pesos. That’s over a hundred years of water bills at the normal rate. Needless to say, we aren’t planning to pay that bill, but it’s taking multiple visits to set the record straight and get the bill into the name of its rightful owner. That rightful owner is not going to be too pleased when their water bill finally catches up to them!
This week, the interior walls of the house are going up. There is nothing more exciting in the process than seeing two-dimensional plans suddenly turn into three-dimensional reality. In the next week or two we should be able to see the basic structure of our house spring into existence. After that, you’ll be able to watch us agonize through the next few months of adding in all the rest of what makes a concrete block structure into a liveable home.
Stay tuned!
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So what do you estimate this home will cost you, of course knowing that the cost is very much a flexible thing?
Just because I’m curious, how wide is the long passageway that goes along the right-hand side of the plan excerpt? Do you plan to “live” under the tejaban?
We’re planning to construct a small covered terrace, and I am curious to know the mimimum depth of a functional, comfortable and livable portal.
Ray, our original budget was $180,000 US, but the eventual design raised that estimate to about $240,000 for about 7,500 square feet on two floors with pool. In the end, it looks like the whole project will cost closer to $300,000.
Steve, we won’t be living under that long corridor to the back yard (which is just shy of six feet wide), but the house design does have four tejaban, including the one facing the interior patio outside the kitchen, as seen in the computer rendering.
We have tejaban on our current house and our office. The house tejaban covers a 10d x 15w foot area and works well in all weather. The office tejaban covers only 6d x 12w, so we get a bit sprayed during a heavy downpour. How much you need depends on which way it is facing, probably. You’ll probably need less if you are facing north or west than if you are facing south or east.
Is that budget amount for construction only or does that include the property also. I suspect it is for construction only.
My questions are based on my wife and I planning on retiring soon to Merida and working out how we want to buy or build a home.
Right, Ray. The property itself cost an additional $40K, including commisions and taxes. The construction budget cited earlier includes all but the landscaping, but many will point out that ours is not a “thrifty” approach, as we are indulging ourselves in ways big and small.
Thanks very much. Our challenge will be moving there with our very big dogs, one is a yellow lab at about 100 pounds and the other is our English Mastiff puppy who just turned 11 months and 165 pounds on her way to about 220! Renting a home may be a struggle although both dogs (especially the Mastiff) are not big on outdoor yard space as strange as that sounds. Mastiff’s are giant couch potatoes, ours even tries to sit like a human on the couch and be warned to never walk a Mastiff further than you can carry one as when they decide they have had enough, they mean enough.
just a curious outsider from Southern California…my wife (of Mexican decent) and I (pure gringo) are looking at possible semi-retirement locales in mexico where we can build a home..thanks so much for the insight!
Thanks for the good info. Would you feel comfortable referring me to your contractor? I’m probably going to buy/renovate a house in El Centro next spring. Will be there in early December to look.
Hola Dan,
Sounds like fun! Our contractors have asked that we keep their contact information private at this time, due to scheduling issues on current projects (like ours!) but we will gladly forward your name and email to them so they can contact you directly.
I was just wondering, I’m an interior design student at Mount Ida College. For my current project I’m “renovating” a hacienda 30 minutes outside of Merida. I’m supposed to use local materials and furnishings. I was just wondering… would you be able to post a few names of companies, especially if they have web sites I could look at? I’ve been having quite a time trying to do my research from Boston!!!
Thanks, Monica
I too would be interested in contractor names as well as architects as our retirement plans are to move to Merida from Vancouver, B.C. We want to be out of this crazy town well before the Olympics hit in 2010 and also capitalize on the spike in real estate values that have occurred here.
Dear Monica,
The most authentic Hacienda renovation would involve tearing down a Mayan archeaological structure to use the stone. This is how the oldest hacienda in Yucatan was built, namely Hacienda Chichen, where stones from Chichen Itza were used to build the casa principal. Needless to say, this kind of authenticity is no longer permitted.
Here in Merida, there are not many “companies” that do renovations. Usually, the process involves hiring an architect whose team creates the plans in Autocad, but then sub-contracts the labor to independents, most of whom are Mayans, who wouldn’t know how to do it any other way than authentically. The architects seldom have a website (we’re having a tough time finding any – although we know of several architects who do this kind of work).
The local experts in this field are Salvador Reyes, Alvaro Ponce and Henry Ponce. Their writings have been published in various venues (in Spanish), but not on the web (that we could find).
One English language book we know that discusses methods and materials is called Casa Yucatan. You can find it on Amazon.com.
As for furnishings, most of the haciendas were decorated using imports from France or Italy, then later from the United States or Mexico City. There was not much of a furniture tradition in Yucatan during the hacienda boom years.
Ray,
If you send us your email, we will be happy to pass it on to our architects/contractors. Hopefully, we will find time to do an article in the near future on whose available in the area.
I have been enjoying your articles of the progress your home. I check constantly for updates. Would you please send the names of your architect/contractors to me also. We are trying to put together a package for a house that is basically a shell now. I want to get the financing for the improvements in with the basic mortgage. This means I would need the drawings and estimates for the work to present to the bank before they would fund. It would have to be done quickly in order to take the house off the market. I am coming down the first of Dec. if not before. Thanks for any information you can give me. I am also ordering the Casa Yucatan book today.
I’m sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I’m actually planning to just use adobe for the little bits of the structure that I’m changing. What is giving me a problem is finding distributors for plumbing and lighting fixtures, furniture dealers, paint companies and the like. I don’t expect them to all have websites, but I have to be able to say where I would purchase the items I plan to use. So, if you know any information of this sort, please feel free to send it to monicamattingly@hotmail.com. And thanks for your help. It’s very kind of you. Monica
How goes the construction work, any recent updates on the work and how your planned budget is working out?
Hi Ray,
As a matter of fact, we do have recent fotos and some updates… we’ll get them up soon! Stay tuned.
Monica, I hope you don’t mind me jumping in to help the Working Gringos with some ideas.
Lighting Fixtures can be handmade to order for very reasonable prices. There are some shops in Centro (including one rather popular one on a corner whose street numbers I cannot remember) who make a metal frame, insert the glass of your choice and wire it up to work. These would be “old style” Spanish lanterns, as well as various types of chandeliers. Yucatecos were quite fond of Europe and tried to imitate many European styles in their haciendas.
Also, concrete is used by workmen on site to make wonderful uplighting wall sconces. Hard to put into words, but if you can imagine a corner of a room with a sort of triangular cement ‘cove’ or 1/4 cone, large end up, with a bulb fitted inside, that would be it.
Old haciendas, of course, were lit with lanterns and chandeliers with lanterns or candles. Merida was one of the first fully electrified cities in Mexico, even having public street lights before many cities in the USA. (a lot of money came from those haciendas).
Plumbing supply companies are all over the city. Boxito is one (”little dark fellow” in Spanish/Mayan): http://www.boxito.com.mx/ and there are others.
Quite beautiful sinks can be made of cement by same craftsmen who put up the walls of the house. In fact, shelves and all sorts of decorative cornices are commonly made of cement. I’ve been quite impressed with all that is done with cement. Old haciendas had delicate porcelain sinks imported from Europe. I’ve seen many with a “toile” style of scenery. Also, sinks can be made in Dzitya of stone. Many families in Dzitya specialize in all sorts of stone carving. A beautiful stone bathroom sink bowl that sits above a shelf (rather than below the counter) costs well under $100.
Floors in older haciendas are commonly made of “pasta tile”, so called from the ‘paste’ of color and cement that is compressed by huge presses and then cured. The colors and patterns are quite beautiful, they last forever, and you can have your own designs made, if you wish. Oftentimes, the tiles were in the pattern of a cement “rug” on the floor. (Wool doesn’t do well in humidity.)
Modern furniture can be bought from departments stores, but more rustic furniture is sold alongside the road by the craftsmen themselves. A fellow from Veracruz shows up with loads of wicker furniture (and it quite proud of it) that he sells along the highway.
I guess to sum it all up: Most of the things you have done will not be done by big firms (well you can do it that way, for 10 times the cost). Most will be done by local craftsmen, with more or less local materials.
Finally, if your (imaginary) hacienda is in Yucatan, please do not use adobe to make changes or patch it up. The heavy tropical rains would dissolve it in no time. Older hacienda construction is always limestone rocks and lime cement. So, use cement and stone to be most authentic.
Building in Merida means “handmade.”
Thanks, Casi. Exactamente.
Here are some links to some local architects if you want to pick their brains for additional information:
Henry Ponce: http://www.henryponce.com
Alvaro Ponce: http://www.yucatansol.com
Victor Cruz: http://www.estiloyucatan.com
Gabriela Cornelio: http://www.gcornelio.com/
P.S. These are not the “final answers.” There are hundreds of ways of doing things. I’ve just tried to hit the highlights.
Mind?… I’m thrilled.
Thank you so much for your time in giving me this information. It is VERY much appreciated. You know, I suspected that the limestone was the way to go as well, but didn’t really trust myself on that one. I’m going to try and find examples of the ‘pasta tile’. You wouldn’t happen to have a photo of some sort, would you? I have a sample of some beautiful mexican handmade terra cotta (imported here to MA… it’s funny to be looking at imports in order to be able to buy local.)but I’d like other types of flooring as well. Is Centro a town, or do you mean the centro of Merida?
Another question about the rain… the info I had says that it only rains heavily July and August. Would you mind telling me about the rain patterns, just from your own experience?
Again, thank you, thank you.
Monica
Monica… We have written extensively about the pasta tiles, also called mosaicos. You can read the article here: http://www.yucatanliving.com/art/love-those-floors.htm
Note the link at the bottom of that article to the website of our favorite manufacturer, Peninsular.
The kinds of tiles that you have there are probably NOT these tiles, and would be imported here as well from Puebla, Saltillo and other parts of Mexico. The only tiles that are created here are the mosaicos described in the article.
Centro means the Colonia Centro, the center of town. Merida is divided into colonias (colonies)… we’ll have to write more about that soon.
As for the rain, the heaviest rain of the year is usually in September, with July and August close behind. But nothing has been normal this year. Suffice it to say that there are two rainy seasons per year, and two dry ones. And when it is dry season, it’s so dry you have to water your plants or they will die. During the rainy season, you have to bring out the machete so they don’t take over the yard.
Hope that helps!!
You have given me in two days more information than I have been able to uncover in 2 months. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I read the article on the pasta mosaicos and it was very helpful. I’m going to email the company and try to get a sample… hopefully the shipping won’t take forever.
Are there any other local idiosycracies I should know about?
Again, thanks for your help. Monica
We would assume you have read all the other articles in the real estate section, at the very least, yes? We would imagine that Features of a Colonial Home would be helpful to you.
Other than that, just feel free to ask questions! And can we see the project when it is done?
Great information as always from everyone. My wife and I look forward to our first visit in the early new year as we make plans to permanently move to the Merida region.
I do have the ‘Features of a Colonial Home.’
If it comes out well, I’ll try to post it for you.
Monica,
We’ve added a new section to our Photo Gallery called Hacienda Details. It should help you visualize some of the things CasiYucateco and others have been describing. If you hover your mouse over the photos, a description will drop down.
Suerte!
The Hacienda Details are beautiful. Thank you so much for posting them.
I had a couple of questions.
You said that the paint was mixed with colored powders, cal powders and white glue. Do you know what the colored powders are? Different for each color?
Also, is it mixed with water as well?
Finally, I’ve waited two days for an email response from Peninsular. I realize that isn’t such a long time, but I’m trying to get a sample of the pasta tile by Dec 7, when I have to present my project in school. I realize it’s alot to ask, but would anyone have a bit of time to get a tile and fedex it to me? I will send a check to cover the expense. Those gringos… always in a rush! But it would make a nice addition to my project if I could get it. If not, well, that’s ok.
Thank you again for all the help. It has made a big difference to me.
Monica
Monica,
We have watched painters mix cal paint several times and if our memories haven’t failed us, the process starts with a five gallon plastic bucket filled with water. They then add the cal, which is finely-sifted white cement, until the mixture is the consistency of pottery glaze. They then add pigment, which is mineral-based (but we’re not sure from what), white glue (resistol) and sometimes a few drops of motor oil. The pigment colors are traditionally limited to blue, yellow, green and a deep red, but these can be mixed to produce other colors and new colors seem to have come on the market lately.
Ignacio at Peninsular probably doesn’t check his email every day, as he runs a traditional walk-in business and pasta tile manufacturing is not usually a rush job. If he hasn’t responded by the end of the week, email us your address and we’ll fed-ex you a sample.
Again, thank you. I’m going to have to find a way to repay you all for all of this help!!
Monica
I just remembered my other question. What type of wood would be used to make such things as shutters? It would need to be local, but not a tropical hardwood, because the project has to be sustainable… ie, not cutting down a tree that takes 80 years to grow.
Thanks!
Monica
Monica,
Yucatan really has no local hardwoods left. Most of what grows here today is not suitable for shutters, doors or furniture. Most restorations involve reclaiming the hardwoods found at the site. If new construction is required, the most popular wood used these days is called cedro (Cedrela odorata) or Spanish Cedar. Much of this is imported from Belize, we’ve heard, and is becoming rare and relatively expensive.
But just as it makes sense to build an igloo with ice, it’s important to use some sort of hardwood in a tropical environment. Humidity and insects make short work of softwoods here. Perhaps that’s why hardwoods grow in the tropics.
Another option that is often used because it is affordable is wrought iron.
The good news is that most haciendas have few windows to shutter.
That makes perfect sense.
I would definitely plan to use the reclaimed wood first.
An option that some people are starting to use here for hardwood is the coconut palm… do those grow nearby?
Thanks, Monica
Monica,
Absolutely. We’ve got coconut palm, date palm, royal palm… we’ve got palm species we’ve never heard of. Palms we gots. But we’ve never heard of using them as a source of wood.
Anybody?
I just found it and I think it’s a new idea. You can look at one type at http://www.durapalm.com. It explains the process a bit more i the About Us tab.
Another question… how thick are the roofs/ ceiling on the hacienda?
Thanks once again, Monica
Monica, on average, the roof or techo is one third to one half meter thick.
Hi. We’ve been reading your blogs with great interest as we’ve just bought a house in Merida. We’ve enlisted Victor Cruz as well and so far are delighted with his willingness to communicate and discuss different options. We’re just about to begin demolition but are still trying to hold down the price of the renovation before the main work begins. Are there any surprises or areas that we might not know about that you could alert us to? I work in the design world so I’m pretty familiar with construction etc. but we don’t know Merida very well.
Many Thanks.
nikwhey
Welcome to Merida, Nikwhey. We just published an article we’ve been working on for quite some time on this very subject, but it required a bit more research than we expected. Here it is:
http://www.yucatanliving.com/real-estate/how-to-build-a-house-in-yucatan.htm
I just read all three of your “building a house” posts, and wanted to thank you.
You have such a relaxed, level-headed, and good humored approach that it really makes your posts a treat.
-Nancy
Hi. I so happened to run into your website. It’s great info. My wife and I purchased an older home in Merida, which use to be in my family for generations. My parents have now retired to Merida and have their own home building materials store. So my plans are to continue investing in Merida and later to retire there to be part of the Yucateco lifestyle. Thank you.
[...] **** To read the progress of our house project (something we find a bit painful, but you might find interesting…), here are the links: Building Our House III Building Our House II Building Our House (Please rate this article) Loading … [...]
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I love these stories about building in the Yucatan. It is so much different that Ajijic, because of the difference in heat and rain. I am always dreaming of remodeling. I do not care if I am in the US or Mexico I love to remodel. If you get a chance to fix something and make it useful again, all the better.
I was wondering about pools in Merida. I see that many pools do not have filters. Is that because the minerals in the water make filtering too expensive? Also I see many pool are above ground. Why is that? I wonder what a lap pool of about 6 feet by 30 would cost? Do you have any guess?
BY the way, I REALLY like the type size you use. As I get older I have a harder time reading small print. Thanks for increasing the size of your print.
Lynn, it is true that many of the older pools do not have filters. Yucatecans are famous for being careful with their money, and pool filters use up electricity… so we think many people just never installed them. It was too easy to drain the pool and refill it from the well when they needed it.
Nowadays, pool filters are common and no, the minerals in the water do not cause a problem. Sometimes a pool is built above ground because there is so much rock in that spot, it doesn’t pay to dig it into the ground.
As for price, no… we couldn’t guess. But you might try asking one of the architects listed on our article about Building a House.
Fabulous documentation here. I am in awe!! What generous spirits sharing all this information that is so useful to the “newbie.” Working Gringos ROCK!!
Casi…..Loved your informative email as well and I want to find that fellow from Veracruz that sells wicker furniture. I can’t have it here in CA, as we have siete gatos, who would think of it as a scratching post, so I’m delighted to hear I can find it there.
My husband will be down in October and he could then order some or however it’s done, for the end of December.
Muchas Gracias!!!
K.