Barra de Navidad (House Building - It's finished!)

If you missed the previous parts, you can catch up on:

How this whole thing started.
Building the dock on the canal for Sea42.
Building the House Part 1 and finding the property.
Building the House Part 2.
Building the House Part 3.
Building the House Part 4.
Building the House Part 5.
Building the House Part 6.

My blog on Barra de Navidad.

After 8 months of intense anticipation, the house is finally complete. Sure there are lots of little details to do, including furnishing the whole place, but essentially its ready to live in.

Instead of waiting for the winter season, we all decided to fly down and see the house. The kids finished school for the summer and we headed down south, wondering just how hot and humid it would be. The first week was no problem as it rained during the night and kept it cool. The second weak was a lot hotter and gave us a good chance to test out the AC system inside.

Will anyone notice if I take a quick dip??

The pool was 90f just from the sun

 Most of the kitchen appliances are working

Tropical storm! The thunder and lightning certainly got our attention.

The carpenter made us some bed frames and we found some mattresses in Manzanillo

Barra de Navidad (House Building 6)

If you missed the previous parts, you can catch up on:

How this whole thing started.
Building the dock on the canal for Sea42.
Building the House Part 1 and finding the property.
Building the House Part 2.
Building the House Part 3.
Building the House Part 4.
Building the House Part 5.

My blog on Barra de Navidad.

It seems like no time since the last trip and I'm back in Barra again. I've been having a fun time home in California as we have had such a mild dry winter and lots of sun. Ive spent so much time here now that I slip back into the routine of living on the boat very quickly.

One goal of this trip was to get the boat out of the canal and out into the ocean. I've been in the canal10 months and I've forgotten how to sail! It will be a good opportunity to empty all the holding tanks and check all the equipment still works.

The tides are favorable this week early in the mornings to get out of the shallow canals so I prepared the boat to sail over to Cuastecomates bay, anchor and dive on the boat to check the hull and prop. I got out of the canals no problem and the boat went fine. It took about 30 mins to get to the anchorage at Cuastecomates and I dropped the hook. The water was clear and warm and I got to dive and clean the hull.

The house is moving along, not as fast as I would have liked, but progress has been made.

The retaining wall for the pool is complete


Most of the interior/exterior rendering is finished and sealed


Details on the cupola. I'm really glad I added the tower. It has become the centerpiece of the house.



The frame for the kitchen island. Power points on both sides. Ready for concrete.



The island will have a gas stove and a granite top when its finished



Spiral stairs to the kids bedrooms. The frame is welded in place.


The stairs from the master bedroom balcony to the pool/garden. The room below the stairs is for the pool equipment.



During this trip I selected the tiles/stones for around the pool area and on the stairways. I think that is the last of the choices to be made. Hopefully I'm done with choosing house finishes and materials for quite a few years!

Our architect Alejandro estimates completion in around 2 months. I will return again at Easter with the family.

I'm keen to see the windows and flooring completed.