Home Construction Week 4
June 26-July 1, 2006

This is Sandra and our architect Arturo Vargas. When Sandra and I first moved to Morelia we spent about 4 months looking at homes, homes under construction and talking to architects. We decided on hiring Arturo to help us design and build our home. At the time, Arturo was building one other home in Tres Marias. We called it the palapa house because it had a palapa (palm leaf covered outdoor BBQ like you will see at the beaches in Mexico). We were impressed with the quality of construction and the beautiful finish work of the home. Arturo really has an eye for detail and the finished house had lots of nice custom details which we especially appreciated. We have been working with Arturo for about 9 months in the design and construction of our home.
Sandra and David visiting the lot during 4th week of construction of the retaining walls and foundations.
The foundation is shaping up. It looks like it needs 2 more weeks to finish, then construction of the house can begin. This past week about 16 men have been chipping and shaping the rocks. Sandra says it's looks like they are putting a puzzle together, getting difference size rocks to fit together. This must be how the pyramids in Mexico were built.
The lower retaining wall is now about as tall as the men building it. When complete it will be about nine feet tall. We will plant climbing and hanging vines along the footing of the wall to help secure and beautify everything. We estimate another week or two to complete this retaining wall.