Home Construction
Techniques & Methods Mexico...

I am going to post a few of the interesting things I have photographed while following the construction of our home in Morelia. These are techniques and methods that are very much different than what I'm familiar with and have interested me. I am no expert in construction in the U.S. as my only experience is wood frame homes in Salinas, but from what I am witnessing the Mexican workers are very ingenious and find ways to make things work. Thus far, no electrical machinery or tools have been used, everything is hard, physical manual labor. It seems that construction technique is passed from grandfather, to father, to son. I'm sure much of their construction has been done in this manner for hundreds of years. The buildings are very strong, as evidenced by the buildings in Morelia that go back 450 years.

The two photos above show concrete being mixed on the ground and the finished concrete being carried in a bucket. Even though there is a mixer, the workers prefer the ground. After mixing, the concrete is carried to the job in buckets. No wheel barrels used her!

The boy in the orange shirt standing on the ground is throwing bricks up to the brick layer on the top. The bricks are tossed up one at a time. I was impressed, no fumbles or errors.

I'm not up on my Greek history, but I seem to remember Archimedes or some other Greek scientist using water to level things. Well, the workers have levels, but it is very interesting for me to see this water level that the workers also use. The water level is pictured above, it is the white tubing laying along side the column. They use this type of level to measure and level things around corners or objects where a conventional level would not work.

This truck above is delivering wood that will be used for forms and supports. Since wood is not used in most Mexican homes, this wood is rented by the square meter. After it is used it is returned to the warehouse to be used for the next home construction. One advantage to no wood is there is very little danger of home fires in Mexico. Most homes do not carry fire insurance. The two photos below show how this wood is used. The first photo is the construction shed, which holds tools, cement, mortar, etc.

All the wood in these photos will be returned after the project is completed. I imagine there will be a charge for any shortage when returning.

The two photos above show the same wood, photos taken from below and above. It is very interesting that the man is walking on wood trays which are also rented. I used to dry fruit on wooden trays exactly like these that are used for the ceiling and flooring. The photo below shows a stack of these wood trays.

These are the wood supports for the concrete slab that will be poured for the roofing and flooring. These trays are well oiled so that the concrete doesn't stick to them when they are pulled off. About 4 inches of concrete are used for the ceilings.

Lunch time in Mexico is nothing like my experience in the U.S. No brown bagging it here! About 10 minutes before the workers stop for lunch, the youngest boys gather wood and build a fire under these metal covers. The boys cook tortillas, the men bring rice, beans, pork, chicken, beef from home and they all share in making tacos. Sandra and I had the pleasure of joining in for this lunch and boy was it tasty. The men say you can't beat the food from the ranches where they all live.
I have not tried to make judgments on the way these men work, all I know is that it sure is effective. It is an experience to watch their enginuity and problem solving skills. I am getting an education following their progress.

Home Construction Week 12....
August 21-27, 2006

This past week the foundation/side walls for the upper level of our home was completed. The walls will bring the home entry to street level. The last walls to be completed were for the stair case, which will descend from the top floor to the bottom floor of the home. The two photos below show the progress with the stair case.

The black on the side foundation wall is a water imperiable coating to keep water from passing through the bricks. These walls are about 10 feet tall, eventually the area where the men are standing will be filled in with rock and soil, providing a level foundation for the upper level of our home.

The first photo above shows closer detail of the steel rebar that strengthens the stair well and the second photo shows the entrance to the stair case from the lower floor of the home.

The two photos above show some of the rock and soil that will fill in the foundation. This coming Monday trucks will be delivering more rock and soil which will then be compacted prior to having a cement slab poured over it. Along with the upper foundation walls, the support beams for the ceiling of the lower level were completed this past week. The photos below show how wooden beams were arranged to provide a support for the concrete slab which will be poured later.

Sandra, discussing the floor plans with Arturo. Sandra like to visualize the completed rooms, the scenic vistas and the flow of foot traffic when furniture is added.

In the photo above, wood has been placed above the support beams. This wooden platform will provide the base for the concrete slab which will be poured for the ceiling of the lower level.

The photo above shows the same wood support as seen from above the lower level. From this angle the concrete slab that is poured will be the floor for the upper level.

This final photo shows the progress, picture taken from the street above us. It clearly shows the roof over the lower floor and the foundation walls and stair case for the upper lever of our future home. The posting for next week should show the completed concrete slab for the home.

Home Construction Week 11....
August 14-20, 2006

The photo above shows the cement brick foundation for the upper level of our home. This entire area will be filled in with rock and soil, leveling the lot. Next week the steel rebar reinforcing rods and columns will be laid and concrete flooring will be poured. Then the interior walls will start going up. Very exciting for us!

The photos above show the progress on the red brick, interior walls of the house. The ceiling in these lower level rooms appears to be about 10 feet tall. The door that is visible in the stone foundation in the picture just above leads to a storage room. This is where we will store our gardening supplies and equipment.

This final photo, once again, shows the view of construction from the street above our lot. To the right in the photo you can see two other new homes under construction. It looks like we won't be alone in our neighborhood. It is the rainy season in Morelia and the surrounding mountains, valleys, and landscape are every imaginable shade of green. Sandra and I both wish Morelia stayed this green year round, but alas, there is a dry season when everything turns brown. We really like the rainy season!

Mexican Handcrafts

Carved & Painted Furniture......... Michoacan Style

Michoacan is one of the states in Mexico that is known for its production of handcrafts. Today, there are over 30 different varieties of handcrafts made in Michoacan. They include a variety of groups such as pottery, metal work, woodwork, textiles and vegetal fibers. Most of these handcrafts originated prior to Spanish colonization, and many of them are still being produced using the same ancient techniques. This will be my first in a series of blogs documenting these handcrafts. Michoacan is famous for its brightly painted and carved furniture. The photo above shows an example of carved and painted bench seat, depicting Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Another example above of a carved and painted bench. The photos below show carved and brightly painted tables and chairs.
One of the positives of living in Morelia is the nearness to many different indigious peoples and their cultures, dress, food and handcrafts.

Home Construction Week 10....
August 7-13, 2006

This past week the walls for the bottom floor of our home have started to go up. The walls for the home are being constructed from a red brick. There will be 2 bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom and a television/recreation room on the lower floor.

The cement colored bricks are another foundation wall to support the upper floor of our home. The area where Sandra is standing will be filled in with rock and leveled and then the concrete floor will be poured. This floor, which will be the ceiling for the bottom level, and the floor for the top level will have the same steel reinforcement as used for the other floor that was poured last week. The upper floor will be leveled out, street level, so we will have no stairs to climb after parking our car and entering our house. Sandra and I thought that this would be a very good idea, just in case in our elderly years stairs would be hard for us to navigate. The upper level is approximately twice the size of the lower level. This upper level will include our master bedroom suite, family room, kitchen, dining room, service room, and office.
Sandra is standing on the future terrace off the television/recreation room. At the point she is standing a staircase will descend to the garden. This is the beautiful view from this terrace. We purchased our lot for these views.
View looking at the foundation wall of stone, with the red brick walls of the house beginning to arise. This view is from the garden level.
This final view is a picture taken from the street above our lot. You can see the walls arising from the foundation. This part of the house seems to be going extremely fast, after the time consuming building of the stone retaining walls and lower foundation. Architect, Arturo, tells us that in about 2 weeks the walls and floor for the upper level will be complete.

Home Construction Week 9...
July 30-August 6, 2006

This past week was super exciting for Sandra and I. So much work was completed and now it is looking like a house is being constructed. The previous 8 weeks were very hard, slow, tedious work: leveling the lot, putting in retaining walls and building a stone foundation. Now, we can really start visualizing what our future home will actually look like!

After filler rock and soil leveled out the foundation for the bottom floor of our house the soil and rock were compacted with this gasoline powered compactor.

The workers are constructing steel rebar columns (castillo's) that will reinforce the concrete that is poured for the floor and also reinforce the columns for the house walls.

The two photos above show the reinforcement steel rods that will provide strength to the concrete floors and walls. I was really amazed to see that everywhere two steel rods crossed they were tied together with wire to give extra rigidity. I mentioned to Architect Arturo that the house really seemed to be constructed very strong, what with all the large stone rock foundations and tons of steel rebar. He remarked that houses in Mexico were built to last 300 years, I believe it!
Next came 3 truck loads of concrete mix and a pump truck with a large boom to deliver the concrete to the now leveled, reinforced lower floor of the home. Also, plumbers have put in the cooper water pipes and PVC drain pipes. Electricians have also installed tubing where the electric wiring will provide electricity, phone and TV cables for the bottom floor.
The two photos above show the concrete being poured and spread over the floor. The final picture below shows the finished foundation, the picture taken from the street above us. The part of the flooring you see will be two guest bedrooms with a television/recreation room separating the two bedrooms.

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.