Home Construction Summary Weeks 1-8
Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
Tres Marias
June 5-July 30, 2006

It's been 8 weeks now since ground was broken for our home. The time has gone by very fast for us, as we have been excited going to the lot nearly every day to see the progress. The work has been a real eye opener for me because construction is very different here in Mexico compared to the United States. I have been very impressed with the hard labor of the workers. Our architect, Arturo, comes to the site at least 3 or 4 times a week to make sure the work is going according to his plans. There is also a maestro, Roman, who is like the foreman for the job. Roman is on the job every day. There have been between 20 and 26 workers on the job every day. The pictures I have taken show the progress on the retaining walls and lower house floor during the past 8 weeks. There are 3 pictures posted side by side showing the approximate same view. The first picture shows week 1, the second shows week 4, and the third shows week 8. At the end of this posting I will give an inventory of the materials used for the first 8 weeks work.

The first picture shows the lot before any work began. The second picture shows the cleaning and leveling of the lot. The third picture shows the nearly finished retaining wall in the distance and in the foreground the foundation for the lower floor of the house.

The first picture above shows the lot, photo taken from the street below us. A retaining wall will be built here to level the lot. The second photo shows the beginning of the construction of the retaining wall. The third photo shows the completed retaining wall.

The first photo shows the trenches that were dug for the house foundation. The second photo shows the beginning work on building the foundation. The third photo shows the completed foundation. The house, itself, will sit up about 8 feet above the ground at the top of this wall. This height will give us a very beautiful view of the canyon below, the golf course, and the mountains surrounding us. Now, my future postings will show the construction of the house.

Inventory of materials used during first 8 weeks of construction.

1. 49 truck loads of stone (piedra) for the retaining walls and house foundation
2. 3 truck loads of gravel (grava) to provide traction for the trucks delivering stone to the lower levels of the lot.
3. 7 truck loads of filter rock (filtro) to provide drainage for the retaining wall and house foundation.
4. 1 truck load of fill dirt (cementante) which is a soil that compacts very hard and gives a very solid base.
5. 19 tons of cement (cemento)
6. 24 tons of mortar (moretro)
7. 10 truck loads of sand (arena)
8. There were also loads of steel rebar and wood that was rented to build a storage shed.