Building a House (future Sim Site)in Mexico

[louross]

Found an area I liked back in 1995. Also affordable. Bought 400 sq. meters in the area of fields of Nopales here in Jalisco. Good deal too. 12,000 pesos (more-or-less 1 grand, USD.), two thou down, the rest financed by the owner for two years- no interest! That was a story in itself. Worked for about 6 years, mostly alone. Two days a week 8-12 hours a day plus one or two days at 4 hrs/day. I was, younger. Then. In my later 40's. My wife is now 40. That's another stroy. MMMMM. Anyway.
We let it sit for about 9 or 10 years. Back working now the past several. First thing I learned was the 12 days are a thing of the past. I could work one day a week for 8 hours. Now I work about four or five hours, preferably with help. One day a week. It's the age thing. The younger Mexicans in this area here don't have any money. They don't work either. Could be a correlation there. Our boy's in college, so his time working with me is quite limited.
Steel beams, brick, block, concrete. Welding. Not wood. Wood is extremely expensive here- only for the very wealthy. Why? Ramant corruption, gross mismangement, very high taxes, etc, etc. The materials used here are cheap. So is manual labor. A construction crew takes 6 months to build a simple two-bedroom house.
In preparation for covering the roof, I pumped water from a friend's house above us into the underground tank. You guessed it. A galvanized pipe that was put in back in the 90's was never capped. Took me three hours before I checked it. Have to go back tomorrow and see what I have to do to seal it.
Here're a few photos:
From the road below, 120 meers to up there


a closer view


Hope to be in it for Christmas.
lr.

[louross]

Christmas!! haha. It's December. 4. I think we can be in it this coming summer.
I haven't done the deck yet. The family said that due to my health, we should work on the house itself, not the deck- which is my thing- and a luxury. So...
The roof is basically covered. My boy is putting clay tile on the roof itself, a third a section at a time, working about 3 days a month, due to his college obligations. I put a sealer over the tile as each section (about 20 sq. meters) is completed by him. He is now finishing the first section. I go out one or two days a week, and do about 3 hrs work each day.
Upstairs, the walls all have stucco and the floor is done. Some of the downstairs walls are stuccoed and some of the floor is in. My wife, and me a bit, have painted the prime coat on at least half of the stucco that's bene done.
Everything on the balcony is finished- except for the wood deck. The walls have been primed, and my daughter has painted the balcony walls. I'm doing some finish up work upstairs, on the balcony, and in the bathroom.
In the meantime, December is a slow month for me, and I lost amojor client due to a job change on his part, but I think we'll be able to continue working, but at a slower pace. Some photos will follow.
lou.

[Ed Burke]

I admire your determination Lou, hang in there, Ed