Category Archives: Construction

October 1, 2023 · 5:57 am

Roof Project 2023

Almost exactly a year after the last roof project was completed, we managed to scrimp and save enough to get the final third-floor room roof finished. Unfortunately, the intersection between money and time coincided with Mexican Independence Day celebrations, so we had to delay roof-building gratification until the Monday following said festivities.

There was the issue of a rather large swarm of bees that had taken up residence in the chimney. My husband has tried to smoke them out on more than one occasion, to no avail. To avoid angry bees during the tromping up and down while the roof was being poured, we covered the entrance with a blue blanket. It wasn’t foolproof, but it did keep most of the stinging insects contained.

Bruce, Fred, and George were tied in the back by the pool bright and early so that the coladores (roofers) could do their stuff and get the ramp set up. That took nearly no time at all, and so most were sitting around waiting for the materials to arrive. Two enterprising guys went exploring and came back with nopales (cactus) on a stick from up the hill. They requested a knife and cut the spiney bits off–CACTUS FOR DINNER BABY! One of the two also brought his slingshot in case a rabbit, squirrel, or bird presented itself.

My son was tired even before starting. As his fear of heights prevented him from ascending the ramp to the third floor, he was the water boy as usual–bringing buckets and buckets of water to the cement mixers from the pool.

The materials arrived a bit late; it being the Monday after all the Independence fun, several of the workers at the ferretería failed to arrive for their shift. A phone call and run into town got things moving, and the roofing activities finally commenced.

Since this is only a smallish room, half the size of the room below it, even with the late start, they were done by noon. The haze finally cleared away, and the workers sat beneath our jacaranda trees in front of the house, which Cocoa and Bear did not approve of.

Around 1, the circus moved on. All that was left was a bit of tapping to solidify the cement setting, and it was finished–the last roof.

The wood guy, though, has been a pain this time around. He wasn’t the same guy we usually rent the framing wood from, and this guy wanted half up front. Ok. Then, the day AFTER the roofing, he came by again and wanted the other half. Umm. No. Generally, the wood rental is paid upon completion of the cement drying period — 22 days. He came twice more that week. As I hadn’t expected to need to have that money on hand, I didn’t have it right then. On his third trip to La Yacata, I was able to hand over $1000 pesos, and he seemed okay with that, the remainder to be paid once the wood is removed and picked up.

Needless to say, there wasn’t a lot of extra cash in my pocket during September, even with a nice book royalties check. Here’s hoping October is a little easier in the financial department.

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Read more about our off-grid life in La Yacata in A to Z Reasons Why La Yacata is the Place to Be in Any Disaster: A Prepper’s Guide to Mexico, part of the La Yacata series.

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Tagged as building in Mexico, homesteading in Mexico, La Yacata, off-grid living in Mexico

January 6, 2023 · 8:20 am

Step Right Up

The final project on my son’s house for 2022 was the stairs to the rooftop area. I insisted on these because it’s such a pain to get on the ladder and climb to the roof to check the solar panels and tinacos.

We went back and forth about the design. I thought it should be on the opposite wall from the stairs to the second floor. I also rallied for a set of spiral stairs in the middle around the support beam. But in the end, since it was my husband who made them, they were positioned beside the fireplace over the first flight of steps.

As with most recent projects, this one took WAY longer than it needed to. However, it was not costly. The rebar, sand, and gravel were all leftovers from the roof project. We did need to buy some additional cement mix, but that was only about 1000 pesos total (about $50 USD). Then the wood framing was rented, but not expensive (about 40 pesos).

So the steps are finished. Hopefully, 2023 will see enough funds to finish the very last brick project, a small room with a door that opens onto the roof. Whoop!

Despairing of the Roof Project

So what have we been up to? ROOFING! Yep. The roof to my son’s mini-abode is finally done! Let me tell you, I despaired of it happening at all! Here’s how this construction adventure went.

If you recall, I lost my main source of income in March and spent several months living on a prayer and painstakingly earning just enough money to pay the internet before landing some ho-hum jobs. In August, my cup runneth over with the Chinese company, and I had classes every day. Since I was pretty sure that wouldn’t last (and it didn’t), I decided that the best use of those funds was to go ahead with the roof project.

I still didn’t have quite enough moolah gathered, having not taken the 15% increase on building materials into account, so the materials guy in town agreed to allow us to have the necessary items “fiado” (on credit). I have one large outstanding bill remaining, but I hope to have that paid with my next paycheck.

With the materials taken care of, the next step was to rent the framing wood. My husband went to a few different places. It seemed that their policies had changed since the last time we put on a roof. Now, instead of paying when the month was up, we’d need to pay part upfront. I wasn’t thrilled with that, but it is what it is.

Next up was getting the framing wood in place. Unfortunately, my husband was unable to do this vital part of the project. Because the wood rent was a daily charge, and fees were mounting, so he hired someone to put up the wood. Well, he found someone to do it, and I paid him to do it. It was yet another additional expense, but it got done.

After the wood was up, it was time to hire the colladores (roofing crew). This part actually went pretty smoothly. In fact, it was the easiest roofing day we’ve ever experienced. The crew boss was competent. My son was on hand for any last-minute needs. And I stayed out of the way. Yet again, I didn’t take into account the 6% rise in the cost of labor, but I managed to pay the guys (and buy beer and carnitas).

The next step was to wet the roof daily for the setting period (22 days). Some days, Tlaloc obliged, and it rained. Other days, my son had to haul buckets of water through the hole. Bruce liked to hang out while he did this but was anxious when he disappeared into the sky.

During the setting period, we had a few earthquakes ranging from 7.7 to a measly 3.0. The epicenters were mostly in Michoacan, a hop, skip and jump away, so we did feel the shaking in La Yacata. Fortunately, the roof seemed to have sustained no damage.

The past weekend, it was time to take down the wood. The process took just 2 days. Further construction will need to wait until my finances recover, but pretty much everything else will be less expensive than this roofing endeavor, thank goodness.