The old ways of construction in the Yucatan, as far as building on vacant land is concerned, have changed dramatically over the last few years. The environment agency of the Government SEMARNAT is heavily involved in the process. SEMARNAT is in charge of the protection of natural habitat. That includes any building lot you may buy and wish to build on. The restrictions and processes you have to follow vary, dependant on the zone you are in. But first you have to have an environmental assessment done and this is submitted to SEMARNAT. SEMARNAT will use this assessment to review your plans to build. Most homes will end up being built on Pylons like this one we are doing for customers in Chelem.

Building on pylons is better for the flora and fauna, as well as provides better protection from storm surge. A lot of places that may suffer hurricane damage require homes to be built on pylons by law. But building on pylons requires special engineering and techniques which adds to the costs. In some areas SEMARNAT specifies even swimming pools must be elevated and the level of elevation can vary zone to zone from ground level to 2 meters above terrain height. If you are looking at a lot to build on call us, before you buy, to make sure you will be permitted to build what your planning. Some lots would be almost impossible to build on due to the restrictions in place. A normal SEMARNAT review can take 6 months or more, so that has to considered in your overall timeline as well. We have one customer, that had a large parcel of raw beach front land, in a non built up zone, take 8 years to finally get permission from SEMARNAT. We can help you though out the permitting process, as we know what to do and how to do it.

We often get calls from customers, that go something like this. “My tinaco is over flowing”, “My tinaco is dry” “do I need a cistern” or “the city water is not constant and does not fill my cistern or tinaco”. It is obvious that a lot of people in the Yucatan do not understand how their water systems work.

The tinaco is a staple in almost every home in the Yucatan. A tinaco is a large roof top mounted tank, that gets filled with water. How that water gets to the roof tank, is often problematic. In addition to the roof top tank, a lot of homes have a cisterna or ground level tank to accept city water. This article, is meant for those hooked to a source of city water. So I will use Merida as an example.

Merida has a water system supplied by JAPAY, JAPAY supplies low pressure and low volume water. The key here is low pressure. A lot of people call us and ask, why does my roof top tinaco not fill during the day. Or the equivalent at the beach is, why do I have little or flow, during Semana Santa. The answer to both is supply and demand. Lets look at the Merida example, for the most part city water fills your tinaco, but some times it does not fill. The answer is simple. For arguments sake, it takes 10 pounds of pressure (PSI) to lift the water to your rooftop tinaco. Anything less and it will not fill the tank. Over night most people are asleep and businesses are closed. So water demand is low and pressure is higher than 10 PSI. As a result your tank fills. But, during the day maybe your neighbour is a laundromat and they are upstream on the waterline from you. They get the water before you and your pressure drops below the needed 10 PSI. Under this scenario, your tinaco is not filling to compensate for the water you use during the day. Depending on your demand, you may be using more than you can recover and over time you will run out.

So how to you solve this issue? Well is is simple and complicated at the same time. The simple answer is a tank (cisterna) At ground level. A ground level tank should receive water 24 hours a day as long as it is being pumped, as it will not require the 10 PSI to get to the roof. (Note it is not legal to attach a suction pump to JAPAY lines, to increase your supply) But now the issue is how to get the water from the cisterna to the tinaco. The only way is a pump, this pump transfers water from ground level to the rooftop tinaco. You could also use a well with submersible pump to supply the tinaco. But that is another topic of discussion.

OK, you have decided to add a cistern to you water system and have the space. You install the cistern, but what plumbing do you need. A basic system, needs a float valve to control the water entering the cisterna, an outlet from the cisterna, a suction line leading to a pump, the suction line from the cisterna needs a check valve at the end to stop water back flow and losing prime. A line to the roof top tinaco and a manual switch to shut of the pump, when the tinaco is full. That is the basic system, but it requires you to turn it on and off. However, there are self levelling systems. A self levelling system, consist of 2 electric switched floats and a manual float, 1 electric and one manual in the Cisterna and 1 electric in the tinaco, both hooked to the pump. When the tinaco gets low the float switch energizes the pump and fills the tinaco, unless the cistern electric switch float signals low water in the cistern. This prevents burning out the pump. The manual float, simply controls the flow of city water into the cistern. Sounds perfect right? An automatic float system that controls filling the tinaco, backed up by a manual float to deal with city water filling the cistern. I wish, the automatic float switches are notoriously unreliable. We have had them fail right out of the box and not just once. The electric float switches stick, I have not had a chance, to take one apart to see why, but it is a regular occurrence. One thing you can do is shake the float to free the mechanism so it works properly, but this is a temporary fix. I will take one apart later this week to see if i can find a solution to this common problem. The other less common problem is sticking mechanical floats, due to corrosion or the build up of sarro. In this case it is just cheaper to replace the float mechanism. Note:, due to lack of use. systems that are left unused for a period of time have the most issues.

Either way, equipment that does not work as designed, will leave you with out water.

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to  aerocretos de mexico for constructing my beautiful pool and patio in Chuburna Puerto.

This is the icing on the cake of a 3-4 year long dream. The professional approach,attention to detail and world class quality workmanship is second to none. If you are considering putting in a pool or patio do not hesitate to have them do it for you. Excellent and prompt communication from start to finish and even post job follow up will ensure your satisfaction. Thanks again  for a job well done!

Todays weather forecast, shows the first named storm of the Pacific season and it is predicted to be a hurricane. We are lucky to be on the Atlantic side, but no one one wants to have a hurricane visit their area, but they are a fact of life in the tropics. Traditionally, the North coast of the Yucatan has generally been a safe place to be. Due to the geography of the area, which tends to see storms follow the Yucatan channel or lose strength as they cross land. However, there have been a few notable exceptions such as Glibert and Isadora, that did huge amounts of damage. The one good thing about hurricanes is you can see them coming for days and have lots of time to activate your plans. You do have a plan don’t you?  Here in Mexico, once a storm reaches certain proportions and is predicted to hit this area, on the North Coast of the Yucatan, an evacuation order will be given. Once given, it is mandatory that you leave and foolish or fatal if you don’t. You need to do your own homework, to find out where the closest evacuation shelters are and make sure you know how to get to them. For people who have pets, the problem becomes much more difficult, as the shelters do not allow pets. If you are a pet owner , you will need an alternate shelter for you and your pets. Now is the time to canvas friends, to see if they will allow you to bring your pets with you, in the event of an emergency. Remember, you may be stuck there for a week or more, under not so nice conditions, so tempers of both you and your pets might get frayed.

When a hurricane strikes it is not just a case of high wind. Hurricanes also bring massive amounts of moisture and humidity levels skyrocket. It could be 35+ degrees and 100% humidity for days on end, with no electricity for fans or A/C. Anything you get wet, will never ever dry, clothes, pills, papers, NOTHING! Plus mould and mildew will run rampant if unchecked. It will not be pleasant, to spend a week or more in a damp environment, exposed to mosquito’s nightly, along with your wet dogs. The only way to keep your sanity is to be absolutely prepared for the worst and make sure you have a way to keep everything as dry as possible. If you have an alternate place to stay inland and you have a generator. Make sure you have extension cords and spare fuel, also fill your cars gas tank and have a syphon hose. A modern car has 45 or so litres of fuel which can power a small generator for 4 or 5 days of reasonable use. So having a syphon hose handy is a good idea.

Below is a list of suggested items to have handy in the event that a hurricane does arrive. But, even if you head to a friends house or shelter and then return home, you will still need to be prepared. You may be with out power for a long period, if transmission lines are down and there is a good chance your beach home and more likely its contents maybe substantially damaged. Remember, no power means , no city water and fuel stations can’t pump gas, stores won’t have cold storage, etc. Like the Boy Scouts say “Be prepared”.

Here are recommendations on what to do before a storm approaches:

— Use hurricane shutters or board up windows and doors with 5/8 inch plywood. Make them now before you need them!

— Bring outside items in if they could be picked up by the wind, place screws in your tinaco lid, as they tend to fly away.

— Turn the refrigerator to its coldest setting in case power goes off. Use a cooler to keep from opening the doors on the freezer or refrigerator.

— Make sure your cisterna and Tinaco are full and you have 5 or more Garafons of water available.

— Make sure your vehicles fuel tanks are full and you have spare fuel for a generator, also have a siphon hose

— Have an evacuation plan.

— Learn the location of the nearest shelter or nearest pet-friendly shelter. This is a big issue for pet owners in the beach areas.

— Store important documents — passports, Social Security cards, birth certificates, deeds — in a watertight container.

— Have a current inventory of household property.

— Leave a note to say where you are going, IN SPANISH!

— Contact relatives and let then know you maybe out of touch for a week or more.

— Unplug small appliances and electronics before you leave.

— If possible, turn off the electricity, gas and water for your residence.

Here is a list of handy supplies:

— A seven-day supply of water, a minimum of one gallon per person per day.

— Three days of food, with suggested items including: canned meats, canned or dried fruits, canned vegetables, canned juice, peanut butter, jelly, salt-free crackers, energy/protein bars, trail mix/nuts, dry cereal, cookies or other comfort food.

— A can opener and eating utensils

— Flashlight(s) and candles.

— A battery-powered radio.

— Extra batteries.

— A first aid kit, including latex gloves; sterile dressings; soap/cleaning agent; antibiotic ointment; burn ointment; adhesive bandages in small, medium and large sizes; eye wash; a thermometer; aspirin/pain reliever; anti-diarrhea tablets; antacids; laxatives; small scissors; tweezers; petroleum jelly.

— A seven-day supply of personal medications, in waterproof containers.

— A multipurpose tool, with pliers and a screwdriver.

— Cell phones and chargers, laptops are handy if the Wifi in Merida’s parks is still up and running.

— Contact information for the family.

— A hammock setup, for each person, as a bed is almost useless in high humidity and will never dry.

— Extra cash, ATM’s don’t work if the power is off

— Mosquito netting or mosquito coils

— A map of the area, as familiar routes my be closed due to downed trees or other debris.

— Pet supplies.

— Wet wipes, showers may not be an option.

— Insect repellent.

— Rain gear.

— Duct tape.

— An extra set of house keys.

— An extra set of car keys.

— Household bleach, lots of it.

— Toilet paper in zip lock bags or the handy single wrapped Costco rolls.

— Paper cups, plates and paper towels.

— DRY, Charcoal and matches, if you have a portable grill. But only use it outside.

This is what happens when you have a good primary structure and a little imagination. This 1 story house that needed updating, gained a second story with master bedroom, bath and large sitting area. A beautiful staircase was added, trimmed in Talavera tile. The kitchen and bathrooms were revamped and the pool area had a total makeover complete with BBQ area. The pictures will tell the rest of the story.

Front and back before

Front and back after

Stairs for second story

Kitchen layout

Entertainment center

New Master Bath

Custom mosaic headboard

New entrance centered to match arch

Pool revamp and redesign

If you have spent any time in the Yucatan, you have heard the word SARRO, probably in a combination of swear words. Sarro is to water systems, as cholesterol is to arteries, it plugs them up.

Saro in spigot filter of tap

Lets start with the basics, Sarro is simply a calcium deposit, also called scale in Canada or the USA. It slowly builds up in the inside of your tinaco and in some points of your piping as well. Till the water slows and eventually stops due to the build up. If you notice your water flow is starting to slow down, sarro is the most likely suspect. Remember when it comes to piping, 1/4 the diameter is a reduction of flow by 1/2. So if you kitchen tap normally delivers 4 gallons a minute a 1/4 reduction will reduce the output to 2 gallons a minute. So it does not take a lot of build up to drastically reduce the flow. The other related problem that creeps up and slowly stops the flow, is small particles of sarro breaking off and going downstream. They eventually end up in the fine wire mesh at the end of the tap spigot. Since it builds up over time you don’t notice the flow decrease, until it is partially blocked. The other place this occurs and I am willing to bet a lot of you do not know you have one, is the washing machine inlet filter. Samsung LG and most washing machines here, have a small fine steel mesh filter inside the coupling, where the water hoses attach to the machine. Usually it has a small tab to grab and you pull it out. If you notice the washer doesn’t fill as fast as it did, now you know why.

Saro taken from a tinaco after 2 years.

But, the issue is what do you do about it? The solution is not difficult, but is time consuming. First you need to drain your tinaco and clean every speck of sarro out of it. It is hard to reach the bottom of the big plastic tinacos, but it has to be done somehow. As they build up a lot of sarro over time and of course pieces break off and plug the works.

One way to avoid some down stream problems is to install a filter just downstream of the tinaco to catch particles as they break off. Just make sure it is easy to access and have spare filters handy. Now once the tinaco is clean, comes the messy and what could be dangerous part. No doubt when you have been in a grocery store here you have seen the shelves lined with Muriatic acid (diluted hydrochloric acid). It is used to dissolve sarro. People pour it in the toilet water tank to dissolve the sarro build up on the flapper valve as an example. The locals also use it to clean out the house water lines. I am not suggesting anyone, not familiar with its use, do this, as acid is dangerous, but this is simply an explanation of the process, in a non pressurized house.  Since muriatic acid dissolves sarro, It is diluted and poured into the plastic piping that exits the tinaco, do not use this method if you have old metal piping in the house or a cement tinaco. There are a few things to remember, if you are using this method. Acid stains stainless steel and dissolves limestone or concrete, so if you were to get any coming out of the tap in the kitchen, it needs to be caught in a bucket or other container. you also need to remove every wire mesh filter from taps and other locations and make sure the washing machine taps are turned OFF and all the other taps open and free to let all the gunk out. Now that everything is ready, what the locals do is just pour the acid in the lines, you will see a lot of bubbling and foaming as the acid dissolves the sarro and it may take many bottles of acid to get all the lines clean. While the lines are being cleaned, people pump the tinaco full of water, in preparation to flush the acid and gunk out of the lines. Once the acid has done its work, which could take an hour or more, depending how bad the lines are. the water is turned back on at the tinaco and the lines well flushed. This process may have to be repeated several times, if the lines are really bad.

For day to day removal of saro around sinks and taps, vinegar also works, but a lot slower. As it is not as powerful of an acid. I have also heard of people pouring a gallon or 2 of White vinegar in the tinaco, in an effort to slowly dissolve saro as the home owner uses up the water. But I have no practical experience with it. There are also commercial products like CLR that will do the same job, but they are more expensive than acid.

We often, hear complaints from a variety of sources, saying the concrete on counters, walls or floors has cracked. The answer is yes, it cracks and in most cases it cannot be helped. If for example, you raise a block wall from 4 feet to 6 feet, the majority of the time a crack will develop between the new and old blocks. The “why” is simple, expansion and contract at different rates between the new and the old. When a new section is added the new mortar will not be exactly the same as the old and the new blocks will be slightly different in composition as well. The results in one thing, cracking. But rather that go further in explaining the reasons, this information courtesy of The Concrete Foundations Association of America, explains it perfectly.

Concrete Cracking

A common adage is that there are two guarantees with concrete. One, it will get hard and two, it will crack. Cracking is a frequent cause of complaints in the concrete industry. The Concrete Foundations Association has produced a new flyer to help contractors educate their customers about the causes of cracks and when they should be a concern. A more detailed explanation of cracking is presented in this article.

Cracking can be the result of one or a combination of factors such as drying shrinkage, thermal contraction, restraint (external or internal) to shortening, subgrade settlement, and applied loads. Cracking can not be prevented but it can be significantly reduced or controlled when the causes are taken into account and preventative steps are taken.

Another problem associated with cracking is public perception. Cracks can be unsightly but many consumers feel that if a crack develops in their wall or floor that the product has failed. In the case of a wall, if a crack is not structural, is not too wide (the acceptable crack of a crack depends on who you ask and ranges from 1/16” to 1/4”) and is not leaking water, it should be considered acceptable. It is in the best interest of you, the wall contractor, to educate your customers that the wall will crack and when it should be a concern to them.

Cracks that occur before hardening usually are the result of settlement within the concrete mass, or shrinkage of the surface (plastic-shrinkage cracks) caused by loss of water while the concrete is still plastic.

Settlement cracks may develop over embedded items, such as reinforcing steel, or adjacent to forms or hardened concrete as the concrete settles or subsides. Settlement cracking results from insufficient consolidation (vibration), high slumps (overly wet concrete), or a lack of adequate cover over embedded items.

Plastic-shrinkage cracks are most common in slabs and are relatively short cracks that may occur before final finishing on days when wind, a low humidity, and a high temperature occur. Surface moisture evaporates faster than it can be replaced by rising bleed water, causing the surface to shrink more than the interior concrete. As the interior concrete restrains shrinkage of the surface concrete, stresses can develop that exceed the concrete’s tensile strength, resulting in surface cracks. Plastic-shrinkage cracks are of varying lengths spaced from a few centimeters (inches) up to 3 m (10 ft) apart and often penetrate to mid-depth of a slab.

Cracks that occur after hardening usually are the result of drying shrinkage, thermal contraction, or subgrade settlement. While drying, hardened concrete will shrink about 1/16 in. in 10 ft of length. One method to accommodate this shrinkage and control the location of cracks is to place construction joints at regular intervals. For example, joints can be constructed to force cracks to occur in places where they are inconspicuous or predictable. Horizontal reinforcement steel can be installed to reduce the number of cracks or prevent those that do occur from opening too wide.

The major factor influencing the drying shrinkage properties of concrete is the total water content of the concrete. As the water content increases, the amount of shrinkage increases proportionally. Large increases in the sand content and significant reductions in the size of the coarse aggregate increase shrinkage because total water is increased and because smaller size coarse aggregates provide less internal restraint to shrinkage. Use of high-shrinkage aggregates and calcium chloride admixtures also increases shrinkage. Within the range of practical concrete mixes – 470 to 750 lb/yd3 (5- to 8-bag mixes) cement content – increases in cement content have little to no effect on shrinkage as long as the water content is not increased significantly.

Concrete has a coefficient of thermal expansion and contraction of about 5.5 x 10-6 per °F. Concrete placed during hot midday temperatures will contract as it cools during the night. A 40°F drop in temperature between day and night-not uncommon in some areas-would cause about 0.03 in. of contraction in a 10-ft length of concrete, sufficient to cause cracking if the concrete is restrained. Thermal expansion can also cause cracking.

Structural cracks in residential foundations usually result from settlement or horizontal loading. Most (but not all) structural cracks resulting from applied loads are nearly horizontal (parallel to the floor) and occur 16” to 48” from the top of the wall. They are much more prevalent concrete block construction. They can be brought about by hydrostatic pressure or heavy equipment next to the foundation.

Diagonal cracks that extend nearly the full height of the wall are often an indication of settlement. In either of the above conditions, an engineer should be consulted. Diagonal cracks emanating from the corner of windows and other openings are called reentrant cracks and are usually the result of stress build-up at the corner. Diagonal reinforcement at the corner of openings can reduce the instance of crack formation and will keep the cracks narrow.

This, was one of those projects you don’t want to see end. The project itself was complex, but the customers were very cool to deal with. It is great when the customer gives you some leeway and goes with the flow. The end result is a very cool traditional looking home, with a slightly modern twist. The house to start with was good and solid, but all the systems needed modernizing. The whole house was re wired and modified for modern fittings like Air conditioning and proper grounding. Pressure water system was added and all new plumbing. The newly created second bathroom even has a jacuzzi tub. But the big challenge was putting in a pool. We build pools all the time, but in this case there was no yard to speak of, so we put it on the roof, along with raised walls and a cool bar. Inside the house everything was refreshed or renewed even antique screen doors were repaired and made to match.

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A structural engineer was brought in and he provided a report on the way the rebar needed to be laid out and the concrete poured

The end result is an awesome rooftop pool and bar area, the bar will have a hardwood pergola shortly.

Meanwhile the completely revamped interior was done in very traditional talavera. It requires a certain skill to lay talavera, as each tile is handmade and they vary in thickness and also in width, so making it all seem level and flat takes a lot of work. Even then it is never perfectly flat. Even the bathroom was given a traditional look.

Antique screen doors needed serious help too, so they were rebuilt.

If you have a squeamish stomach, stop reading here. But maybe your stomach gets upset from the water in your home. I realize most people don’t drink house water in the Yucatan or the rest of Mexico, for that matter. But a lot of people do brush teeth in it, bet you won’t when you see the pictures.

Our customer who does not live here full time and rents the property occasionally, called and asked us to look at his toilet as it wasn’t working. Well we took our plumber to take a look and boy were we surprised. Not only were they plugged with saro, but also full of green/black algae and slime.

Remember 1/2 the diameter results in 1/4 of the flow.

This is a problem with pipes not being used often and once you have it this bad, there is really no way to clean them out. So new plumbing is required. There are several systems available to stop the saro from forming, but the algae is a different issue and a problem in stagnant water. You can kill it with a large dose of chlorine in your tinaco, but then the dead stuff gets washed down stream and plugs any sharp bend in the pipe and also all your sink filters. This continues to happen for a long period of time, so replacement is usually easier. But obviously more costly.

There are lots of different types of construction and a lot of different construction companies. At Aerocretos de Mexico, we love a challenge. Lets be honest, just about anyone can put up a wall around a yard. But, can that same company, engineer a complex structural repair? Most can’t and most renovations require this combination of experience and technical expertise. Recently, we were approached to rebuild a very large historical home, that needed some serious help. Beautiful arches and columns that were holding up a rather large and heavy terrace, were in need of serious help. The problem is obvious in this picture.

The column where it met the arch had crumbled and the rebar rusted away. That in itself is not a small issue, but all the columns (7) had the same issues. So the problem now became how to fix the columns, without the arches collapsing under the weight of the terrace they were supporting. Added to that, the arches themselves in some places were cracking. You have to remember this was not block construction but mamposteria construction, which is rock and cement with a facing of cement mortar/stucco. Move the wrong stone and down she comes.

We had our staff engineer come up with a plan and then set the plan in motion. First step was to control any possible movement of the second story. So it was supported from underneath, with extremely strong sapote wood posts. Then we saved the hard to replace old pasta tile, as it was removed and new reinforce footings placed adjacent to old columns without disturbing the existing ones.

One by one, columns were replaced from the top down, not from the bottom up.

You have to remember this is a difficult restoration, not a knock down and recreation, using modern materials. The crew has to know stone construction, in addition to modern techniques and materials

Time and constant attention to detail, along with superior technical knowledge and qualified crews all combine to give superior results.

Once the rest of the surfacing is complete the building will be painted to reflect the colonial feel.  Along with a full renovation of all the interior surfaces and structure, we are adding all the modern touches like grounded and colour coded wiring, pressure water, all new custom windows, to fill the arches and a whole lot more. This building will be stunning!

Normally we don’t post testimonials, as it is common to post nice comments from friends or just make them up. But this is direct from customers we worked for, renovating a house, including putting a pool on the roof, all via long distance emails. The project is discussed here http://aerocretosdemexico.com/category/pools/

Morning Steve

I tried to post on your website but couldn’t.  Thought you could cut and paste this.

We would like to thank Steve and Fernando and the whole crew for the amazing job they have done.  The thought of renovating in a foreign country was a daunting one.  We had a vision and they managed to accomplish it and more. We are thrilled with the workmanship, help and generosity that we received from them.  The constant updates and communication enabled us to feel assured that things were going to be completed as we wanted.  After seeing the final result we were even more impressed. Thanks guys.

Dave and Elaine

Sent from my iPad

From the initial design for a full bar BBQ and pool, with water cascade to the end result, we do it all. Have a rough idea of what you want? Give us a call and we can smooth out all the wrinkles for you, like the happy owners of this new pool and outdoor kitchen/bar, complete with custom tile and large stamped concrete Terrace and for a lot less money than you might think.

Aerocretos de Mexico is pleased to announce the addition of Architect Ana Burgos García, to our staff. Ana will compliment our existing staff, which includes Filiberto Valle a  Licensed Engineer and our normal crew of extremely talented craftsmen led by Master Abañil, Gaspar Varguez. Ana has an extensive background in project management and Architectural design. She understands and speaks english, as a result of attending Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, which is an added bonus for non Spanish speaking customers and of course she is a native Spanish speaker.

Welcome to the Aerocretos de Mexico team Ana, you will be busy.

Contact us, for all your design and construction needs, we can do it all, from the initial design to the final construction. Scroll down for more designs.

People often ask us, why we don’t post more, pictures of our projects. The truth of the matter is, we are so busy we simply forget. We also know people like to view projects, to get ideas for their own.

Final outdoor details for a home in Yobain.                                 Centro reno

New perimeter wall prior to house build.                                   Addition of arches and new balustrade

New second story master addition                                                Totally reno’d kitchen

Specialty concrete polisher for counters                                                         Island after polishing
  

Anyone familiar with construction techniques in the Yucatan or other parts of Mexico, has seen the familiar block buildings. Block is easy to work with and makes a reasonably strong structure, if several variables are taken into consideration. A block structure is only as strong, as the mortar bonding the blocks together and the traditional Viga and Bovedilla roofs are extremely heavy. The other main issue with block construction is heat transfer, as typical block buildings here, do not have any insulation. I have done some testing with a laser temperature gun. On average a block wall facing the Yucatan sun, is approximately 4 degrees C warmer, than a wall not in the sun. That is a very large difference, if you are using A/C in the evening to cool a bedroom. Not only does the A/C have to overcome the ambient air temperature, but it also has to counter the effects of the Blocks radiating heat into the room.

There are more modern alternatives to block buildings and one of them is structural panels. Structural panels are an interlinked welded zigzag of wire, supporting a styrofoam core. These types of panels have been used for constructing multi story hotels and are hurricane resistant, they are that strong.

Some of the benefits of these types of panels is they are light weight, facilitate a faster build, but also very important is they insulate due to the styrofoam core. The panels come in various thicknesses and sizes, so that they can load a second or more stories or just be the wall for a simple single story home. Structural panels also come especially formed to be roof panels, so the suns energy is not easily transferred to the inside of your home. This also means cool air from your A/C unit does not strike a sun heated surface and warm up. It is the house version of a styrofoam cooler.

We have been working on several projects with the manufacturers tech advisor, using these structural panels.. This has offered our clients a lightweight and insulated option for the addition of second stories, as well as the option to build entirely out of the panels for a thermally efficient home.

The roof is probably the last place you will inspect at your house. To check it means climbing a tall ladder, if you have one. Then you have to stand in the sun and walk all over it looking for issues and then deciding if the issues need to be addressed immediately or they can wait a while. If the answer is immediately, you then have to decide if you will do it your self or hire someone. As a result, roofs here tend to be inspected,after there are problems, that could have been prevented. Usually the issues are discovered after it rains and water finds it way into your house. We were recently asked, to look at a roof of a house, that a customer had just purchased. It might have been a good idea, to have spent the money on a pre-purchase inspection. They knew the roof was leaking from the stains inside, but the assumption was it just needed to be sealed. As soon as we stepped on the roof, we knew there was a little more to be done than that.

The first thing that stood out, was the centre portion of the roof formed a shallow fully enclosed lower area like a pool, that only had one small drain, which is just out of view in the lower right picture. Then note the palm debris, centre left of the picture. As soon as there is heavy rain the debris will wash to the hole and plug the only drain on the roof. The shallow pool will fill with water. The area is roughly 20 feet x 20 feet and is 8 inches deep on average it will trap 2400 gallons of water which is roughly 24,000 pounds. Thats like having 5 cars parked over your living room. Obviously better drainage is needed. That amount of weight in one area will cause the roof to flex and cracks will form. In addition to make maters worse, there were areas where the concrete had crumbled and formed shallow hollows, which would allow more water to seep in.

Several quick repairs had been done to fill the cracks, but the surface had become porous and you can see an example of the cement failing in several spots in the lower right, above

Then next thing we noticed was an attempt to put a cement cap over a joint between rooms, It might have worked if they had taken the time to remove the rebar, which was silently corroding out of sight and fracturing the wall below.

Sections of the roof shown below, had never been finished properly with the final coat, this area was in poor condition and extremely porous

As a result, it is not as simple as adding a quick coat of impermeable coating. This particular roof, needs to have larger drains added. It needs to be completely chipped patched and resurfaced to ensure it drains in the right direction. Then it should be sealed with a quality sealer. It is not a 2 minute fix and is not cheap either.

This reno of a Centro home, involved new plumbing, electric, moving a kitchen, twinning the bathrooms building walls and a whole lot more, all on a very tight budget. We added antiqued concrete floors with pasta insets and the final touch was putting it all back together and polishing the floors.

No one wants to have a hurricane visit their area, but they are a fact of life in the tropics. Traditionally, the North coast of the Yucatan has generally been a safe place to be. Due to the geography of the area, which tends to see storms follow the Yucatan channel or lose strength as they cross land. However, there have been a few notable exceptions such as Glibert and Isadora, that did huge amounts of damage. The one good thing about hurricanes is you can see them coming for days and have lots of time to activate your plans. You do have a plan don’t you?  Here in Mexico, once a storm reaches certain proportions and is predicted to hit this area, on the North Coast of the Yucatan, an evacuation order will be given. Once given, it is mandatory that you leave, it is NOT optional. You need to do your own homework, to find out where the closest evacuation shelters are and make sure you know how to get to them. For people who have pets, the problem becomes much more difficult, as the shelters do not allow pets. If you are a pet owner , you will need an alternate shelter for you and your pets. Now is the time to canvas friends, to see if they will allow you to bring your pets with you, in the event of an emergency. Remember, you may be stuck there for a week or more, under not so nice conditions, so tempers of both you and your pets might get frayed.

When a hurricane strikes it is not just a case of high wind. Hurricanes also bring massive amounts of moisture and humidity levels skyrocket. It could be 35+ degrees and 100% humidity for days on end, with no electricity for fans or A/C. Anything you get wet, will never ever dry, clothes, pills, papers, NOTHING! Plus mold and mildew will run rampant if unchecked. It will not be pleasant, to spend a week or more in a damp environment, exposed to mosquito’s nightly, along with your wet dogs. The only way to keep your sanity is to be absolutely prepared for the worst and make sure you have a way to keep everything as dry as possible. If you have an alternate place to stay inland and you have a generator. Make sure you have extension cords and spare fuel, also fill your cars gas tank and have a syphon hose. A modern car has 45 or so litres of fuel which can power a small generator for 4 or 5 days of reasonable use. So having a syphon hose handy is a good idea.

Below is a list of suggested items to have handy in the event that a hurricane does arrive. But, even if you head to a friends house or shelter and then return home, you will still need to be prepare. You may be with out power for a long period, if transmission lines are down and there is a good chance your beach home and more likely its contents maybe substantially damaged. Remember, no power means , no city water and fuel stations can’t pump gas, stores won’t have cold storage, etc. Like the Boy Scouts say “Be prepared”.

Here are recommendations on what to do before a storm approaches:

— Use hurricane shutters or board up windows and doors with 5/8 inch plywood. Make them now before you need them!

— Bring outside items in if they could be picked up by the wind, place screws in your tinaco lid, as they tend to fly away.

— Turn the refrigerator to its coldest setting in case power goes off. Use a cooler to keep from opening the doors on the freezer or refrigerator.

— Make sure your cisterna and Tinaco are full and you have 5 or more Garafons of water available.

— Make sure your vehicles fuel tanks are full and you have spare fuel for a generator, also have a siphon hose

— Have an evacuation plan.

— Learn the location of the nearest shelter or nearest pet-friendly shelter. This is a big issue for pet owners in the beach areas.

— Store important documents — passports, Social Security cards, birth certificates, deeds — in a watertight container.

— Have a current inventory of household property.

— Leave a note to say where you are going.

— Contact relatives and let then know you maybe out of touch for a week or more.

— Unplug small appliances and electronics before you leave.

— If possible, turn off the electricity, gas and water for your residence.

Here is a list of handy supplies:

— A seven-day supply of water, a minimum of one gallon per person per day.

— Three days of food, with suggested items including: canned meats, canned or dried fruits, canned vegetables, canned juice, peanut butter, jelly, salt-free crackers, energy/protein bars, trail mix/nuts, dry cereal, cookies or other comfort food.

— A can opener and eating utensils

— Flashlight(s) and candles.

— A battery-powered radio.

— Extra batteries.

— A first aid kit, including latex gloves; sterile dressings; soap/cleaning agent; antibiotic ointment; burn ointment; adhesive bandages in small, medium and large sizes; eye wash; a thermometer; aspirin/pain reliever; anti-diarrhea tablets; antacids; laxatives; small scissors; tweezers; petroleum jelly.

— A seven-day supply of personal medications, in waterproof containers.

— A multipurpose tool, with pliers and a screwdriver.

— Cell phones and chargers, laptops are handy if the Wifi in Merida’s parks is still up and running.

— Contact information for the family.

— A hammock setup, for each person, as a bed is almost useless in high humidity and will never dry.

— Extra cash.

— Mosquito netting or mosquito coils

— A map of the area, as familiar routes my be closed due to downed trees or other debris.

— Pet supplies.

— Wet wipes, showers may not be an option.

— Insect repellent.

— Rain gear.

— Duct tape.

— An extra set of house keys.

— An extra set of car keys.

— Household bleach.

— Toilet paper in zip lock bags or the handy single wrapped Costco rolls.

— Paper cups, plates and paper towels.

— DRY, Charcoal and matches, if you have a portable grill. But only use it outside.

This was the end result of building 2 rental casitas and Hacienda style entrance and carport