Email & ShareWe’ve probably made more progress in the construction of our new house since we wrote our last update than ever before. The structure is complete, plastering is nearly finished, and many of the built-ins (counters, shelves and closets) are being installed. Pumbing and electrical tubing and wires have been fished through the maze of concrete walls. We even have a working fosa septica!
While we hope to have a more detailed article written shortly, we thought some of our readers would like to see the common construction processes used here in Yucatan, so we’ve put together this short video that shows what it takes to build a house out of concrete, cinderblock and cochinita pibil. Enjoy!
If you have not yet read our previous articles on Building Our House, you’ll find the most recent one here. It explains some of the processes seen in this video.
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Looks like it won’t be long now. I know you are way past ready to moved in, with all the dust and bother behind you.
Hopefully the next time I make a cameo appearance in this series, I will be swimming in the pool!!
congratulations!
And the next time I make a cameo appearance I’ll be (make a guess)… eating!!
Me too, if the rules don’t prohibit food and drink in the pool!
I remember when i used to be my dad’s helper in electrical, we used to do big jobs, really big jobs just like this one. When there is no electrical engineer to tell you where everything goes and there’s no blue prints to follow,and you have to do your own electrical design. I miss those days when i had my Dad next to me talking to me about how to do the next job easier and stuff like that. I used to hang out with the albaniles and drink beer with them los lunes. I miss the cochinita pibil so much! Sometimes i make my own but it does not taste the same, u know what i mean????? Theres is something else: i know i am missing something but,it still tastes good. I wish i could hang out with the albaniles and drink beer with them again. Now my dad can not get mad at me i am 27 years old now, not 18 anymore. All i want to say is i miss those days when it does not matter the money you’re making as long as you’re happy working with people you do not even know but they treat you as their friend. I wish i can be there. I would do my best job for you. Don’t you want a central air in your house?????????? I bet you do, but not a problem when i am in Merida i’ll do it for you, no charge! I swear, just buy the equipment and I’ll do it for you. What do you say about it???? Is that a deal????
You guys are going to have a lovely house. I’m always amazed at how much more physical labor is involved in construction in Mexico than in the US. I’ve recently been pouring a concrete patio here in Los Angeles, and I can’t begin to imagine mixing the concrete with just a couple of shovels. A small mixer costs about $300. How such a concrete-centric place gets on without them is a mystery. Maybe the albañiles union bars them. Anyway, I really enjoyed the update.
NOISE? you mean YOUR workers don’t have a blaring radio in each room? you got off easy !
Wow! What a change! The Lord is truly blessing you.
You guys rock. Thanks for the video– fascinating for even to non-builders like me. Good luck as you enter the finishing stages!
Wow, what a fascinating and informative piece of work! I am watching and listening to workers next door and across the street building as I watch the video…thanks for a great story, as usual!
Your home is coming along beautifully! I cannot wait to see the finished product. I’m writing because I just learned that your neighbors Ivan and Paula of Merida homes were featured on HGTV’s International house hunters show. Do you know anything about this? I would love to read an article about it and if possible see the actual show. Since you are posting more videos these days, this may be an excellent one to post. I missed that episode and the HGTV website does not mention any future showings either.
I hope to soon experience the same remodeling process as you are now. Our goal is to move there as soon we can. In the meantime, I’ll have to settle with your awesome articles, pictures and videos.
Claudette
Dallas, Texas
wow you are building a mansion! i love the archs. i miss Merida. i was born and raised there. now i live in L.A. but not for long . la cohinita pibil is calling out my name. thanks for this fantastic website
I’d have to echo Grant’s amazement at the amount of physical labor involved. I too wondered why they at least don’t have a cement mixer. Not only would it raise productivity, but it’d probably provide a better-mixed product too. And goodness, I was watching those guys hoisting the cinder blocks up to make your expansive roof. Man! Those guys are small but tough! I don’t think I could probably hoist more than a dozen or so blocks before calling it a day.
Looks like your house will be absolutely lovely. How are you going to cool it?
Regards,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Great Video! I’ve been a Contractor in Southern California most of my professional life, so it was great to see their means and methods of building. My wife and I hope to be moving the Yucatan after my son graduates high school next year! By the way love the new look of YucatanLiving!!!
Grant and Kim,
Sometimes they do use cement mixers for large pours, but they are rented. In general, labor here is less expensive than renting and powering a cement mixer, and most of the cement is mixed in small batches for differnt purposes and immediately applied by hand. Did you notice in the video that one guy was skimming the milkly cement off the top to use as the rich, while another was using the same batch to make some mortar? Multiple tasks are performed step-wise by teams of two or three that mix their own as needed, so we doubt a single cement mixer would be very practical. The rest is tradition, we guess.
Kim,
Five of the nine rooms will have air conditioning, but the house is designed to take advantage of the cool northerly breezes, as well. We put our bedrooms on the second floor with this fact especially in mind.
Wow! Your guys wear SHOES??? Ours are barefoot or wear plastic flip flops. I recognize the blok, armex, bulto tras bulto de cemento, (no cal?), grava and polvo. I have the same video of the concrete mixing.
What an amazing SCALE though! What a grand home!
Dear Working Gringos,
We purchased a casa on calle 55 in Santiago two years ago……and let me tell you ,we have been going through a nightmare. The “contractor/architect/engineer” has taken $, tore up the house, demolished two rooms and now hasdisappeared! Ouch.
If you get a chance could you forward some info. to us on names of reliable and trustworthy people that might be able to set our dream back on track?
Thanks for your help.
Hola Gringos,
I am truly happy for you guys down there,your place looks great …more than great !
I was wondering if when they put your roof together, if they cemented the blocks together as they layed them? And do you think those cement rails are available in the states? i love the idea’s. I am going to try and build a small version using blocks and cement. I live in Oklahoma “Tornado alley ” and more homes should be built this way!
Thank you for the inspriation…..
God Bless
what an awesome experience to watch construction of a home in a country where everything is so labor intensive. Please continue to supply us with videos on the construction process as it progresses. :^)
I really enjoyed the video. I will look forward to seeing the house progress. It will be beautiful and I know you are proud. Lots of hard work in the very hot sun…wow! Good luck.