House, pool and garage build in Mexico
Discussion
I mentioned this on another thread and was asked to give more details, so hopefully this will be of some interest to people. We're currently about 60-70% through a fairly big project we're doing in Monterrey, northern Mexico. The project consists of a 3 bed / 2.5 bath house, pool, garage, two BBQ areas and a few garden areas on a 3100m2 piece of land in a national park around 25 minutes from the city.
I'm in my mid 20s, and we're doing all this (including the land purchase) with no form of mortgage or loan, so don't expect anything remotely as beautiful or well built as some of the other projects here. It should however show what is (and isn't!) possible with a relatively small amount of money. This was quite a struggle financially: I had to sell everything from my Range Rover to my laptop to pay for the land, and we've moved in with my wife's family as I had to sell our previous house to pay for the construction of this one.
So far, we've paid the following (all converted to GBP for simplicity):
Around 60k for the land (about half the market value as it belonged to a customer who needed the cash ASAP)
Around 40k for the house, with around another 10k left for completion.
Around 3k so far on one of the BBQ areas, trees, landscaping, paths etc.
Around 3k for a 50m well with pump, tank etc
Around 1.5k for the fence for both sides of the land
And we still need to pay:
Around 25-30k for a pool suspended on columns which will act as a garage. Ironically, I'm going to have to sell one of my beloved cars to pay for it.
Around 2k for the front wall
All of the furnishings, AC units etc, which will all be relatively basic
Probably many other things I've forgotten
This was how the land looked when we bought it. It has one flat area at the level of the road, a lower flat area which will be my garage, and eventually the site of a tennis court, a sloped forest area, and a flat area at the top which we're going to turn into a kind of observatory / BBQ area / pellet gun shooting range.
We did all the clearing ourselves, and used old railway sleepers to make a path through the forest area, which left it looking like this.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/x9T8RyQk[/url
We then bought some plants to go around the edges of the land, to eventually cover up the fence.
And seeing as we still didn't have enough money to properly start the house, we started working on the upper garden. The fence is purely decorative, our actual boundary is way further down. It was also built by my father-in-law and I, so any professionals might want to look away now.
I bought around 15 palm trees as well: I couldn't say no at the equivalent of 25GBP each!
We also hired a well drilling company recommended by two friends who have country houses. They turned up in this incredibly old truck, which they slept in for several days. This was in winter, and it must have been freezing. Unsurprisingly, they ended up having a fight and one of them stormed off, but they got the job done eventually.
So, that's all for the preparations. I'll continue a bit later with some pictures and details of the house itself. This is how it looks currently, but it took a fair while to get to this stage. There is, of course, a long way to go.
I'm in my mid 20s, and we're doing all this (including the land purchase) with no form of mortgage or loan, so don't expect anything remotely as beautiful or well built as some of the other projects here. It should however show what is (and isn't!) possible with a relatively small amount of money. This was quite a struggle financially: I had to sell everything from my Range Rover to my laptop to pay for the land, and we've moved in with my wife's family as I had to sell our previous house to pay for the construction of this one.
So far, we've paid the following (all converted to GBP for simplicity):
Around 60k for the land (about half the market value as it belonged to a customer who needed the cash ASAP)
Around 40k for the house, with around another 10k left for completion.
Around 3k so far on one of the BBQ areas, trees, landscaping, paths etc.
Around 3k for a 50m well with pump, tank etc
Around 1.5k for the fence for both sides of the land
And we still need to pay:
Around 25-30k for a pool suspended on columns which will act as a garage. Ironically, I'm going to have to sell one of my beloved cars to pay for it.
Around 2k for the front wall
All of the furnishings, AC units etc, which will all be relatively basic
Probably many other things I've forgotten
This was how the land looked when we bought it. It has one flat area at the level of the road, a lower flat area which will be my garage, and eventually the site of a tennis court, a sloped forest area, and a flat area at the top which we're going to turn into a kind of observatory / BBQ area / pellet gun shooting range.
We did all the clearing ourselves, and used old railway sleepers to make a path through the forest area, which left it looking like this.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/x9T8RyQk[/urlWe then bought some plants to go around the edges of the land, to eventually cover up the fence.
And seeing as we still didn't have enough money to properly start the house, we started working on the upper garden. The fence is purely decorative, our actual boundary is way further down. It was also built by my father-in-law and I, so any professionals might want to look away now.
I bought around 15 palm trees as well: I couldn't say no at the equivalent of 25GBP each!
We also hired a well drilling company recommended by two friends who have country houses. They turned up in this incredibly old truck, which they slept in for several days. This was in winter, and it must have been freezing. Unsurprisingly, they ended up having a fight and one of them stormed off, but they got the job done eventually.
So, that's all for the preparations. I'll continue a bit later with some pictures and details of the house itself. This is how it looks currently, but it took a fair while to get to this stage. There is, of course, a long way to go.
RichTT said:
Crikey, good effort so far. How far are you from the nearest town/village/city?
Around 25 minutes drive, and we also have a small historic town around 15 minutes in the other direction. I'll post some pictures at some point.DSLiverpool said:
Why Mexico ? Wife ? How’d you meet - set the scene please.
I met my wife whilst working in France, she's from the city nearest to our land. She originally planned to stay in Europe but once she saw the cost of living etc she agreed it was worth going back to Mexico and seeing what we could do. I started a small business here which will probably never make me rich but pays enough for a quality of life far better than what we could have had in the UK / France.normalbloke said:
That truck has some stories to tell. Any bandito issues being out in the boonies?
Surprisingly, no. The part of the Mexico we live in is actually quite safe: I've felt far more in danger in the US than I have here. That said, I wouldn't fancy driving to remote places in our state late at night - you still have to exercise some common sense.Edited by normalbloke on Sunday 25th July 07:34
Austin_Metro said:
Looks epic. Do you have that tremendous view from what looks like a 1st floor terrace?
We do have a nice view from the first floor terrace - I'll try to remember to take a photo today and post it later on. It's not quite the same view that you see in the pictures though, as the "view" pictures are taken from the upper part of the land, which is a fair way above the level of the house.DonkeyApple said:
Enjoy. Looks like an amazing project. I believe you can get guard hippos quite cheap in SA? 
I think you can get them in Columbia as well - they have a fairly large feral population as they escaped from Pablo Escobar's ranch. I'll probably stick with our two pigeons and dog though: quite a bit easier to look after!mike9009 said:
I set up a foundry in Apodaca, Monterrey about 15 years ago.
Spent a few months there over the course of a year - great city. The nightlife was excellent, down near the canal in the centre - loved it.
How dangerous is it there now? Last time I went (about 2011) I had two armed guards escorting me everywhere.....
Nice build, looks like it is quite far from the city though....
Interesting - I know Apodaca very well as two of my clients are based there. The “Barrio Antiguo” are around the canal is indeed great, although not so much now with the whole COVID situation.Spent a few months there over the course of a year - great city. The nightlife was excellent, down near the canal in the centre - loved it.
How dangerous is it there now? Last time I went (about 2011) I had two armed guards escorting me everywhere.....
Nice build, looks like it is quite far from the city though....
In terms of danger, my wife tells me that around the time you were there, the president at the time “declared war” on the cartels, when actually he was in agreement with one cartel to remove all their competition. This caused a lot of issues, as you can imagine, so I’m not surprised you needed an armed guard. As I said, it’s honestly very safe now, although some states such as Sinaloa and Chiapas are still places I’d personally avoid.
The land might look far from the city, but it’s about 5 minutes from a major highway so it really doesn’t take long to get there. With the traffic right now this second, Google says it’d take me 30 minutes to get to Barrio Antiguo, and it’s only about 10-15 minutes from my nearest client.
mike9009 said:
Geekman said:
mike9009 said:
I set up a foundry in Apodaca, Monterrey about 15 years ago.
Spent a few months there over the course of a year - great city. The nightlife was excellent, down near the canal in the centre - loved it.
How dangerous is it there now? Last time I went (about 2011) I had two armed guards escorting me everywhere.....
Nice build, looks like it is quite far from the city though....
Interesting - I know Apodaca very well as two of my clients are based there. The “Barrio Antiguo” are around the canal is indeed great, although not so much now with the whole COVID situation.Spent a few months there over the course of a year - great city. The nightlife was excellent, down near the canal in the centre - loved it.
How dangerous is it there now? Last time I went (about 2011) I had two armed guards escorting me everywhere.....
Nice build, looks like it is quite far from the city though....
In terms of danger, my wife tells me that around the time you were there, the president at the time “declared war” on the cartels, when actually he was in agreement with one cartel to remove all their competition. This caused a lot of issues, as you can imagine, so I’m not surprised you needed an armed guard. As I said, it’s honestly very safe now, although some states such as Sinaloa and Chiapas are still places I’d personally avoid.
The land might look far from the city, but it’s about 5 minutes from a major highway so it really doesn’t take long to get there. With the traffic right now this second, Google says it’d take me 30 minutes to get to Barrio Antiguo, and it’s only about 10-15 minutes from my nearest client.
I think we set up on the Finsa Industrial estate (?) - sadly the plant shutdown a couple of years ago.
The surrounding mountains are beautiful and the wider population were so welcoming and friendly -i think being a Brit helped! I would love to visit again, but don't think I will get the opportunity.... I loved the local delicacy, baby goat..... I wish I could remember the names of the places we visited.....
The baby goat is great, my father-in-law does a particularly good one. He did it for my parents when they came over - I went to get it from the market and they immediately regretted joining me.
Anyway, onto phase 2:
As there's only my wife and I, we wanted the house to remain relatively basic and not too huge. The fashion here is to build enormous places, and only have a small garden, which was pretty much the opposite of what we wanted. So, we found an architect, and made a plan for a house of 200m2, or around 185m2 excluding the terrace.
Things progressed relatively quickly:
While the builders were busy working on the house, my father-in-law and I were busy trying to improve the upstairs garden. The only real issue with this was the obvious fact that it was upstairs, and carrying the materials up there was difficult to say the least. At one point, I had to carry around 70m2 of turf up there by hand, which was genuinely the hardest physical thing I've ever done. It was worth it in the end though, as the garden started to take shape.
We started with the basics, and stuck a few cacti in the dry, stony area at the end
I then hired a couple of guys to build a basic metal BBQ area.
My father-in-law has a contact who owns a lumber yard, and he said we could have as many old railway sleepers as we wanted: no payment necessary. Getting them in my truck was the easy bit, getting them up there was more challenging.
We managed it though!
Then, we started bringing the grass. Turned out I'd under-ordered which meant we needed to space it out more than I'd have liked. This didn't end up being a problem in the end, as you'll see in later posts.
I also found a couple of cheap palm trees to put at the entrance to the BBQ area, which are currently doing really well. These were another thing that almost killed me in terms of bringing them up there, but I managed it with the help of an ice box full of beer.
I'll stop there for the moment: I hope it's been at least vaguely interesting so far! For the poster who was asking about the view from the balcony, here's how it is currently. Not as nice as the view from the upper garden, but still not too shabby.
We started with the basics, and stuck a few cacti in the dry, stony area at the end
I then hired a couple of guys to build a basic metal BBQ area.
My father-in-law has a contact who owns a lumber yard, and he said we could have as many old railway sleepers as we wanted: no payment necessary. Getting them in my truck was the easy bit, getting them up there was more challenging.
We managed it though!
Then, we started bringing the grass. Turned out I'd under-ordered which meant we needed to space it out more than I'd have liked. This didn't end up being a problem in the end, as you'll see in later posts.
I also found a couple of cheap palm trees to put at the entrance to the BBQ area, which are currently doing really well. These were another thing that almost killed me in terms of bringing them up there, but I managed it with the help of an ice box full of beer.
I'll stop there for the moment: I hope it's been at least vaguely interesting so far! For the poster who was asking about the view from the balcony, here's how it is currently. Not as nice as the view from the upper garden, but still not too shabby.
Glad people are enjoying the updates!
The main reason is that we want the pool to be on the same level of the house, and close to the patio. This leaves us with two options - the way we’ve chosen to do it, or the other way which would involve filling the lower flat area with rocks and dirt so it all ended up at the same level as the house. This is technically illegal however, and would involve building an expensive containing wall at the part where the lower line of bamboos are. This would also mean the pool wouldn’t get quite as much sun as it would in our current plan.
Add that to the cost of filling the land, and building a separate garage, and you’re not far off the cost of doing it the way we are right now, plus you’d end up using more space.
We have plans later to build a tennis court in the lower part of the land, which wouldn’t be possible if I had the garage there.
There’s still time to change our plans as they’ve only just started, but I honestly can’t think of a better way to do it.
VTC said:
Re the pool
What is the area like for earthquakes?
Seems complicated you have plenty of area why not a pool in the ground and a nice separate garage?
That’s a good question, and something we thought about a lot before deciding to go this route. We don’t really get earthquakes here, certainly not like you do in the south and centre of the country, anyway. However, doing it this way is a lot more expensive and complicated than a normal pool.What is the area like for earthquakes?
Seems complicated you have plenty of area why not a pool in the ground and a nice separate garage?
The main reason is that we want the pool to be on the same level of the house, and close to the patio. This leaves us with two options - the way we’ve chosen to do it, or the other way which would involve filling the lower flat area with rocks and dirt so it all ended up at the same level as the house. This is technically illegal however, and would involve building an expensive containing wall at the part where the lower line of bamboos are. This would also mean the pool wouldn’t get quite as much sun as it would in our current plan.
Add that to the cost of filling the land, and building a separate garage, and you’re not far off the cost of doing it the way we are right now, plus you’d end up using more space.
We have plans later to build a tennis court in the lower part of the land, which wouldn’t be possible if I had the garage there.
There’s still time to change our plans as they’ve only just started, but I honestly can’t think of a better way to do it.
TCEvo said:
Great thread - always enjoy the updates on the your Ford truck Thread.
Can't be many Jag XJ's in rural Mexico - is that the architects wheels?
Thanks! The XJ is actually mine - I bought it from the first owner who’d abandoned it, and fixed it up. It actually had very little wrong with it and drives beautifully now. As far as I know, it’s the only one in our state, and one of less than 20 in the country. It will unfortunately be sold to pay for the pool, with the only silver lining being that I should be able to sell it for around 3x what I paid for it.Can't be many Jag XJ's in rural Mexico - is that the architects wheels?
So, now we're starting to get a bit closer to what it actually looks like now.
We planted the palm trees, which seemed none the worse for wear despite being dragged all the way up there.
The builders made pretty good progress with the second floor
And the interior started looking vaguely house-like.
The view from the upstairs hallway is nice, although it reminds me that my neighbours have rather deeper pockets than I do!
One of the things I was worried about buying was the gates. We needed a relatively large one: 3m for each entrance, and we didn't want one that people could see through. This meant buying one made of solid metal, and they were very expensive. Luckily, Facebook marketplace paid off and I managed to find 2 matching gates of 3m each for the equivalent of 450GBP. They're in great condition, and I'd have paid easily 4x that for a new one.
I did get stopped for this, but the officer let me off as I was apparently one of the very few old pickup drivers he'd stopped with tax, insurance and a valid licence.
I bought bags of red gravel to fill the path in between the railway sleepers on the upper part of the land, which made it look a lot better IMO. We then had a lot of rain, which did the grass a lot of good - no worries about the gaps when we laid it or the yellowing.
The builders then started plastering the outside of the house: this took longer and was a fair bit more expensive than I'd hoped, but they did a good job so I can't complain.
Finally, we hired some engineers to do a soil survey of the area where we were planning on putting the pool. Not cheap, but essential so that the architect can decide which foundations etc to use.
We planted the palm trees, which seemed none the worse for wear despite being dragged all the way up there.
The builders made pretty good progress with the second floor
And the interior started looking vaguely house-like.
The view from the upstairs hallway is nice, although it reminds me that my neighbours have rather deeper pockets than I do!
One of the things I was worried about buying was the gates. We needed a relatively large one: 3m for each entrance, and we didn't want one that people could see through. This meant buying one made of solid metal, and they were very expensive. Luckily, Facebook marketplace paid off and I managed to find 2 matching gates of 3m each for the equivalent of 450GBP. They're in great condition, and I'd have paid easily 4x that for a new one.
I did get stopped for this, but the officer let me off as I was apparently one of the very few old pickup drivers he'd stopped with tax, insurance and a valid licence.
I bought bags of red gravel to fill the path in between the railway sleepers on the upper part of the land, which made it look a lot better IMO. We then had a lot of rain, which did the grass a lot of good - no worries about the gaps when we laid it or the yellowing.
The builders then started plastering the outside of the house: this took longer and was a fair bit more expensive than I'd hoped, but they did a good job so I can't complain.
Finally, we hired some engineers to do a soil survey of the area where we were planning on putting the pool. Not cheap, but essential so that the architect can decide which foundations etc to use.
johnnyBv8 said:
Great work - looking forward to the updates. Intrigued to see the swimming pool on columns!
How much is safety and security an issue in the area? Asking as it’s a rural location and looks like you’ve got some high security fencing.
It’s actually pretty low security fencing by Mexican standards - a pair of bolt cutters would get through it in a few seconds. How much is safety and security an issue in the area? Asking as it’s a rural location and looks like you’ve got some high security fencing.
The sector where we’re building is private - you have to pass a guard to enter and show a card, so it’s pretty secure. In the last year, there’s only been one incident when a worker (not one of mine) smashed a window of another property and stole a laptop. He was caught pretty quickly as you’d imagine.
I think the obsession with security here dates back 10-15 years, when things were genuinely very dangerous. For example, the last area I lived in was also a private sector, and there was a grand total of 0 robberies during the two years I lived there. This didn’t stop the neighbours going round collecting money for reinforced gates, 4G cameras, a higher wall etc. All this happened just as I was leaving, and they weren’t very happy when I told them I had no intention of giving them any money for it.
Ultimately, my experience so far is that the road I used to live on in London is far more dangerous in terms of robberies. Measures such as the fence and some other stuff I’ll be doing later are more of a deterrent - if anyone is genuinely motivated to rob the place they’ll be able to get in, and I wouldn’t have any intention of stopping them tbh.
johnnyBv8 said:
That’s great. A lot of it comes down to knowledge and your perceptions… quite stressful feeling under potential threat (I have a friend in South Africa moving back for this reason). It sounds like you’ve got no such issues.
I consider myself fairly relaxed in terms of danger but South Africa would be a step too far for me - I don’t blame your friend for moving back. Onto the next stage....
I bought some more turf for the other side of the upper garden. For some reason, there was a shortage, and people were charging double the normal price, or refusing to sell any at all. I finally found a guy selling some at the normal price, but it had to be on a particular day, which meant the turf would sit in the back of my truck for around 3 days. Everything I read online told me that this was a terrible idea, and that it would almost certainly die, but I decided to go ahead with it anyway.
When we finally installed it, it didn't look too happy. Neither did the oak tree we planted in the middle, but more on that later.
Luckily, we needn't have worried. A few days of regular watering and a helpful thunderstorm and the grass came right back to life, although the oak still looked like it had given up.
It also became apparent that the fancy varnish I'd bought for the fence wasn't much good. Last week, I finally got around to painting it with used engine oil which seems to have done the trick.
I then ordered some dirt to top off the area at the side of the house, and cover the septic tank. It wasn't the kind of dirt you use for proper filling, it was more to prepare the ground for planting. The trucks were pretty big, but they just about fit down the side.
I then ordered an excavator to level it out, and it was at this point that we encountered our first real problem since the build began.
The containing wall was built by the first architect/builder team we hired before starting the house, who were, to put it mildly, useless. I'd long had my doubts about it, as it never seemed straight even when it was newly built, and with the weight of the earth, it was now quite clearly leaning to one side. I spoke to our current architect about it and he said that while it will hold for the moment, it wasn't correctly built and needs to be reinforced. The only positive about the situation is that our boundary is actually about half a metre away from the wall, so there's working room for whatever they need to do without encroaching on anyone else's land.
You can see what I mean about the wall in the picture below - the fence probably makes it look worse than it is, but it's definitely something that needs to get fixed either way.
In more positive news, the upstairs bathrooms were starting to take shape, and the floor laying was beginning.
A useful depth gauge also appeared further down the road.
I bought some more turf for the other side of the upper garden. For some reason, there was a shortage, and people were charging double the normal price, or refusing to sell any at all. I finally found a guy selling some at the normal price, but it had to be on a particular day, which meant the turf would sit in the back of my truck for around 3 days. Everything I read online told me that this was a terrible idea, and that it would almost certainly die, but I decided to go ahead with it anyway.
When we finally installed it, it didn't look too happy. Neither did the oak tree we planted in the middle, but more on that later.
Luckily, we needn't have worried. A few days of regular watering and a helpful thunderstorm and the grass came right back to life, although the oak still looked like it had given up.
It also became apparent that the fancy varnish I'd bought for the fence wasn't much good. Last week, I finally got around to painting it with used engine oil which seems to have done the trick.
I then ordered some dirt to top off the area at the side of the house, and cover the septic tank. It wasn't the kind of dirt you use for proper filling, it was more to prepare the ground for planting. The trucks were pretty big, but they just about fit down the side.
I then ordered an excavator to level it out, and it was at this point that we encountered our first real problem since the build began.
The containing wall was built by the first architect/builder team we hired before starting the house, who were, to put it mildly, useless. I'd long had my doubts about it, as it never seemed straight even when it was newly built, and with the weight of the earth, it was now quite clearly leaning to one side. I spoke to our current architect about it and he said that while it will hold for the moment, it wasn't correctly built and needs to be reinforced. The only positive about the situation is that our boundary is actually about half a metre away from the wall, so there's working room for whatever they need to do without encroaching on anyone else's land.
You can see what I mean about the wall in the picture below - the fence probably makes it look worse than it is, but it's definitely something that needs to get fixed either way.
In more positive news, the upstairs bathrooms were starting to take shape, and the floor laying was beginning.
A useful depth gauge also appeared further down the road.
gregs656 said:
This is awesome. I take it you speak fluent spanish? I feel like a lot of these developing nations offer something for the 20-30 somethings of us who want to make a bit of a shot of it, particularly as the progress is pretty rapid now and telecoms are much better.
I wouldn't say fluent, but I can manage most situations with no problems, albeit with a few grammatical mistakes / poor pronunciation. I've never actually taken a Spanish class, and didn't speak a word when I arrived here. I did already speak French though, which probably helped.Telecoms as you say are much better than they used to be: in fact, Mexico has great telecoms service. I literally can't remember the last time I didn't have mobile signal good enough to watch a video or download my emails, including in very rural areas. Whenever I go to the US / UK, I'm always amazed at how poor the signal is when I'm out of town.
Another update: we're getting pretty close to what it actually looks like right now.
The door got fitted, and the builders got started on both upstairs bathrooms. We're not very imaginative people, so the design of both bathrooms is very similar, with the only real difference being that our ensuite is larger than the bathroom for the other rooms. Still quite a lot of tidying up and finishing off to be done, but they're starting to take shape.
They also got started on the lower BBQ area, which should be a nice place to relax near the pool.
Patio and balcony doors were fitted, and the balcony got tiled.
And finally, the oak we all thought was dead came back to life. I was a lot more excited about this than I probably should have been.
For those of you interested in the pool, there's not a lot to see yet as most of the team are focusing on building the front wall and finishing off the house. I should have some good updates in a few weeks though, so stay tuned.
The door got fitted, and the builders got started on both upstairs bathrooms. We're not very imaginative people, so the design of both bathrooms is very similar, with the only real difference being that our ensuite is larger than the bathroom for the other rooms. Still quite a lot of tidying up and finishing off to be done, but they're starting to take shape.
They also got started on the lower BBQ area, which should be a nice place to relax near the pool.
Patio and balcony doors were fitted, and the balcony got tiled.
And finally, the oak we all thought was dead came back to life. I was a lot more excited about this than I probably should have been.
For those of you interested in the pool, there's not a lot to see yet as most of the team are focusing on building the front wall and finishing off the house. I should have some good updates in a few weeks though, so stay tuned.
Rushjob said:
Glad to see the tree fighting back :-)
Keep the updates coming in, I enjoy seeing how folks get on with their own builds like this, makes our 6 year ongoing renovation here in France look a bit tame by comparison!
Consider me jealous - I lived in France for a while and seriously considered doing something like that over there. It's a beautiful country and one I'd happily have stayed in for a long while. I was just put off by the bureaucracy: it's not a whole lot better over here of course, but some money to the right person generally sorts things out, whereas any kind of legal / administrative process I wanted to do in France was always met with "c'est pas possible". One of my French friends bought an entire chateau in the south west which he's been renovating for the past 3-4 years. It's absolutely stunning and genuinely unique, but he has the right trade / government contacts and considerably more money than me.Keep the updates coming in, I enjoy seeing how folks get on with their own builds like this, makes our 6 year ongoing renovation here in France look a bit tame by comparison!
Not a huge amount to report over here - builders have been finishing up the wiring, and are building a small concrete path and pipelines around the back of the house to help with drainage. Patio and balcony doors / windows have also been installed as mentioned above, although one upstairs window still hasn't been put in due to the sheer incompetence of the window company. I've only paid them 50% of the entire job so far, and the other 50% is only given to them on completion, so I'm perfectly happy for them to leave it as it is now and I'll just pay the builders a bit extra to install the last one.
Progress with the wall has been good, and I reckon they'll be done with the main structure of it by this weekend.
It's been a while since I've updated this, so I thought I'd do another post. There's good news and bad news.
Good news - the house is now finished, and we've moved in. There's still a lot of unpacking to do, and the two spare bedrooms are still unfurnished, but the rooms we use day to day are ready and we've been living there since the weekend. This is how it looks right now, and over the coming months it'll steadily improve as we buy new furniture and throw out some of the old stuff we got for free off Facebook Marketplace etc. I still need to adjust the doors on the kitchen cabinets and sort out various other little details, but it feels good to be living there at last.
Bad news - you'll notice a conspicuous lack of finished wall, and lack of pool. Unfortunately, we have a boundary dispute with the neighbour on one side. It isn't his fault or ours, but it seems that the two engineers who did two separate studies to mark the boundaries messed up, and our land needs to shift around 8 metres to the other side, which will involve knocking down part of the wall and rebuilding it. Luckily, none of our construction will be affected, which is a big relief, and the area where we were going to put the pool is also safe.
The other option is to buy that part of the land from the neighbour, but I need to get a second opinion from the municipality and land registry before anyone does anything. It's all been very civil and easy so far, but I'm obviously not going to plaster the wall and fit the gates properly until we know exactly what's happening. And I don't want to start the pool in case I need the money to buy the land from the neighbour.
I'm hoping to have a proper resolution in around 3-4 months, at which point we'll continue with the wall and pool. In the meantime, the builders are coming this week to finish the lower BBQ area, and I'm going to be planting grass and fruit trees around the back and one side of the house, which definitely won't be affected by any potential boundary move. So there's still plenty to be getting along with!
Good news - the house is now finished, and we've moved in. There's still a lot of unpacking to do, and the two spare bedrooms are still unfurnished, but the rooms we use day to day are ready and we've been living there since the weekend. This is how it looks right now, and over the coming months it'll steadily improve as we buy new furniture and throw out some of the old stuff we got for free off Facebook Marketplace etc.
I still need to adjust the doors on the kitchen cabinets and sort out various other little details, but it feels good to be living there at last.Bad news - you'll notice a conspicuous lack of finished wall, and lack of pool. Unfortunately, we have a boundary dispute with the neighbour on one side. It isn't his fault or ours, but it seems that the two engineers who did two separate studies to mark the boundaries messed up, and our land needs to shift around 8 metres to the other side, which will involve knocking down part of the wall and rebuilding it. Luckily, none of our construction will be affected, which is a big relief, and the area where we were going to put the pool is also safe.
The other option is to buy that part of the land from the neighbour, but I need to get a second opinion from the municipality and land registry before anyone does anything. It's all been very civil and easy so far, but I'm obviously not going to plaster the wall and fit the gates properly until we know exactly what's happening. And I don't want to start the pool in case I need the money to buy the land from the neighbour.
I'm hoping to have a proper resolution in around 3-4 months, at which point we'll continue with the wall and pool. In the meantime, the builders are coming this week to finish the lower BBQ area, and I'm going to be planting grass and fruit trees around the back and one side of the house, which definitely won't be affected by any potential boundary move. So there's still plenty to be getting along with!
Dr G said:
I've only just found your thread but really enjoyed reading through it!
Bookmarked and will follow for further updates.
Annoying on the boundary but seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. How close are your neighbours?
Thanks! The neighbours don’t actually have any construction on their land, and I’m pretty sure they’re just interested in selling it. Their boundary is around 17m from where my house currently is, so not extremely close, but they are a direct neighbour and anyone they sell to would probably be looking to construct fairly soon, so it definitely needs to get sorted at this point. Bookmarked and will follow for further updates.
Annoying on the boundary but seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. How close are your neighbours?
Time for a long overdue update.
In terms of the boundary issue, it's all got a bit weird. I've had some good luck with my business lately and decided it might be an option to simply buy the entire land from the neighbour. He agreed, and said he would give me a price, but never did. I didn't want to appear desperate so I've only called him once, at which point he said he'd get back to me and also never did. I've seen people arriving to look at it on two separate occasions, but can't see it marketed anywhere. All a bit strange really - I wonder if he's fallen into the trap of thinking it's worth the same as the urbanized lands lower down the mountain, which is definitely isn't. Those lands include water and drainage service, fibre optic internet and paved roads, which obviously makes a big difference in terms of value. So for now, my wall still remains ugly and unplastered.
As I already mentioned, the pool is well within the "new" boundary, so I decided to get started on that instead.
First step was to get the excavator to clear a ramp so that the builders and their vehicles could access that part of the land
Didn't go 100% according to plan but they got it sorted in the end.
Then, the builders marked the holes for the columns.
And the excavator started to dig
The builders started bending the rebar to make the columns
Then it was time to start filling the holes with concrete and put them in the ground.
We also built a loft for my pigeons, which is still a work in progress.
We're hoping the pool should be done in 2-3 months, but let's see.
In terms of the boundary issue, it's all got a bit weird. I've had some good luck with my business lately and decided it might be an option to simply buy the entire land from the neighbour. He agreed, and said he would give me a price, but never did. I didn't want to appear desperate so I've only called him once, at which point he said he'd get back to me and also never did. I've seen people arriving to look at it on two separate occasions, but can't see it marketed anywhere. All a bit strange really - I wonder if he's fallen into the trap of thinking it's worth the same as the urbanized lands lower down the mountain, which is definitely isn't. Those lands include water and drainage service, fibre optic internet and paved roads, which obviously makes a big difference in terms of value. So for now, my wall still remains ugly and unplastered.
As I already mentioned, the pool is well within the "new" boundary, so I decided to get started on that instead.
First step was to get the excavator to clear a ramp so that the builders and their vehicles could access that part of the land
Didn't go 100% according to plan but they got it sorted in the end.
Then, the builders marked the holes for the columns.
And the excavator started to dig
The builders started bending the rebar to make the columns
Then it was time to start filling the holes with concrete and put them in the ground.
We also built a loft for my pigeons, which is still a work in progress.
We're hoping the pool should be done in 2-3 months, but let's see.
Siko said:
Epic thread! Really enjoyed reading that 
I have only been to Mexico once (to Tulum near Cancun) and drove pretty much all over through all sorts of areas, rich and poor. I’d also echo I never once felt threatened or anything like that, wonderful county and people. Sad to see been quite a few shootings in Tulum recently so hopefully just a temporary blip.
Yes, there have been more shootings recently in virtually every state. Luckily, in all the cases I've seen around here it's been gangs shooting other gang members, so hopefully it continues that way. I certainly don't feel in any danger where I live, or in any of the places I visit. I have only been to Mexico once (to Tulum near Cancun) and drove pretty much all over through all sorts of areas, rich and poor. I’d also echo I never once felt threatened or anything like that, wonderful county and people. Sad to see been quite a few shootings in Tulum recently so hopefully just a temporary blip.smack said:
Hadn't seen your thread before, as I have some friends building houses in Jalisco (Mexican/American building a holiday home) and Aguascalientes (Brit married to a Mexican) it is interesting to see your build story. Your story mirrors theirs, with finding decent workers, neighbours, which all in the end get solved with money.
I have spent quite a lot of time in Mexico, not managed to get up to Nuevo Leon - the local food specialties, mainly meat highly regarded, so have to get there at some point. I find Mexicans are mostly so warm and friendly, and I admire their ingenuity (or bodging) in making things and keeping stuff going. A mate just got a transfer case mount on his Sprinter Van fixed (welded), along with brakes serviced, discs skimmed, broken swaybar mount fixed, and puncture repair all for 500 mxp!
Some of the repairs you see are indeed amazing, and if you have an old, basic car, they can be incredibly cheap to maintain. The only problem is if you have something newer and computer controlled, as there are very few shops who know how to work on them. I can get most things on my 78 F150 fixed for under 1000 pesos which certainly takes the stress out of hearing a strange noise or feeling something breaking.I have spent quite a lot of time in Mexico, not managed to get up to Nuevo Leon - the local food specialties, mainly meat highly regarded, so have to get there at some point. I find Mexicans are mostly so warm and friendly, and I admire their ingenuity (or bodging) in making things and keeping stuff going. A mate just got a transfer case mount on his Sprinter Van fixed (welded), along with brakes serviced, discs skimmed, broken swaybar mount fixed, and puncture repair all for 500 mxp!
If you get the chance to come up here let me know and I'll send you some restaurant recommendations. The meat is indeed great: people tend to think of Oaxaca and Merida when they talk about Mexican food, but Nuevo Leon is pretty good too.
Some more progress... The basic structure of the "garage" part is pretty much done.
The columns should be filled with concrete by Saturday, then they're starting on the roof. I reckon that will probably be the most complicated and longest part of the job as it uses a lot of rebar, and our "pool consultant" will have to put the pipework and cables before the concrete truck comes to fill the roof structure. The contractor was cheerfully telling me that if they screw anything up in the roof it'll be a complete nightmare to break and rebuild but he's done quite a few of these before so hopefully it all goes smoothly.
The columns should be filled with concrete by Saturday, then they're starting on the roof. I reckon that will probably be the most complicated and longest part of the job as it uses a lot of rebar, and our "pool consultant" will have to put the pipework and cables before the concrete truck comes to fill the roof structure. The contractor was cheerfully telling me that if they screw anything up in the roof it'll be a complete nightmare to break and rebuild but he's done quite a few of these before so hopefully it all goes smoothly.
oblio said:
A very interesting thread, thanks.
Sorry if I missed it but out of interest how complicated was the buying land/gaining PP/permits to build etc or equivalent? Also finding good/reliable builders/workers etc?
Buying the land was easy as I bought it from a friend/client and we didn’t involve any agents. The administrative process is generally complicated but I have a lot of contacts in the municipal government who made things much easier for us.Sorry if I missed it but out of interest how complicated was the buying land/gaining PP/permits to build etc or equivalent? Also finding good/reliable builders/workers etc?
In terms of the planning permission, nobody in the entire area has permission, but I did get one for the house. This was very complicated and I actually regret it, as everyone told me that it’s easier to just build everything, then report it to the municipality and pay a small fine which is only about 20% more than the planning permission costs in the first place and gets everything solved much quicker. I’m supposed to also get permission for the pool, garage, BBQ area etc too, but I’ve decided to do the regularisation process instead.
I was very lucky to find the workers we have, as the majority here are unreliable / do poor quality work. The contractor was recommended by an architect and he brings his workers with him - he’s very knowledgeable and between him and his dad they have over 80 years of experience in construction.
deckster said:
Geekman said:
Love this thread!Forgive my layman's stupid question. But how stable is the ground there? From this perspective it looks like a decent rainstorm is going to wash away most of your house foundations! Are you going to have to reinforce the ground behind the garage?
When this area was "developed" in the 1980s, some parts of the lands were filled with rubble and dirt to put them on level with the road. The part of the land where the columns of the pool are dug into is the "real" level of the land. As a result, when we constructed the house, we had to make the foundations vastly deeper than they would normally have to be, so that everything would be stable. We had a soil study done on multiple areas of the land so that the architect could calculate everything properly.
The reason the garage walls are filled with concrete and rebar instead of being a normal block wall is because we will be refilling the gap between the wall and the ground behind with a lot of the earth we removed during the initial construction. This should mean there won't be any movement of soil around the back of the pool, where the BBQ area is.
In terms of rain storms, we were lucky in the sense that we had a severe hurricane shortly after buying the land. Much to my wife's annoyance, I decided to drive through the floods in my Range Rover to have a look at what would happen in terms of soil movement / flooding etc, and while the road outside our property got pretty bad, the land itself was fine, mainly because the water comes down the mountain and get diverted away from our land and into the road long before it gets anywhere near the house or anything else.
I'm not an expert, but I feel as confident as I can be that we won't have any issues. If it all comes crashing down one day, I'll definitely post an update here in the interests of honesty!
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