Hola friends!
Quite a few pictoral updates to share this week. Project status, the roofing has been applied. There are some ridge caps which remain, but at the moment, the greatest quantity of rain falling is shed OFF the casita.
This week, Gerardo and his crew have started on the bodega level, and as you'll see here, has made a TON (or is that several kilos?) of progress. This first photo shows the initial cross pieces which form the main bodega floor going in.
The next photo shows the step up floor with some fibroleit in place. So let me begin to explain just how this level is envisioned
to work. You'll see quite a bit of floor space, with only a relatively small amount claimed. The floor has two levels. The larger rectangular main level, and a step up level that is more trapazoidal in shape. That upper level will have walls framed in with fibroliet on both sides. As you look to the edge of the structure, there will be a modest window in this outer wall mostly to transmit natural light. We'll make it a simple slide open window, but for most of its life it will remain closed. I can imagine the dry season day when we open it to air out the space. But for the most part, this enclosed room will have a dehumidifier operating full time, and will be the place we store all our personal items, especially when we're in the states, and renting to guests for their 
vacations. The smaller front part of this space will be separated from the larger back part with a cage door of sorts, so we can store linens, soaps, etc for employees to stock the upper rooms for vacationers. This owners closet is how we will make this structure work for both ourselves, and vacationers. In this last bodega level shot, you can see the fibroleit subflooring going in. We will tile this, although we will source this tile from Maxi Ferriteria in Parrita. We already found the grippy, non-slip tile that will make this a useful clean level. 
Next to the owners fully enclosed closet will be a utility cage to hold our backup generator, the water filter system, compressors, and hopefully, if Jim can source the proper connectors before mid October, the propane gas containers for the stove upstairs. We would most ideally keep those at this level. We have an alternate plan where the tank will be in the cabinet next to the stove, with spares down here, but that is not our favorite solution.
This generator room will be in the very back section of this main level. So as you can see, there is considerable space before either storage area. For now it is our intention to do nothing. We'll make this front area securable as well, protecting both the generator room and owners closet behind two layers of security. But in the future we envision being able to store our motorcycles here, with a roof added on to the side to create a single car carport.
So, the BIG PICTURE, our casa with roof and where you can finally all see the bodega level in the context of the rest of the structure!
Our thanks to our friends Rob and Kent for taking such a great shot that contains it all. You'll see a lot more detail emerge in the next month as the upper fibroleit gets the stucco, and the lower 
fibroleit gets applied and finished. During our trip on Oct 18 - 25 the stair from the entry pad upstairs will be constructed. And the final rough plumbing and electric will be completed that week. Once the stairs up are in, we can close off that small upper section that we're currently using to get upstairs.
We'll happily share photos after then, but once those stairs are in, the look of Casita Torrente de Agua will be pretty well set. After then, so much of what I've been explaining with words will finally have context. I'm sure there will be some really exciting pictures as the various floor/wall tiles go in, windows are installed, etc. But on balance, the structure will appear to change very little after about three weeks. In fact, if you go back several blog postings, the shape has been there for quite some time now.
This whole place has really grown on us. It started simply, but some logical extensions led us to move it to the relatively large place it is, even though technically just about half of it is 'inside' space. Upstairs, while this is hardly a huge structure, the volume of the roofline makes it seem huge.
Regrettably, October will be our final trip of 2008. We intend to return after the holidays to put in lights, fixtures, and hopefully spend a couple of nights enjoying our little casa. Sometime between October and January we hope to begin working with our new neighbors Steve and Bruce with their little casa's conceptual design. They've purchased another pair of "the best lots" at Alazan, with a stunning view of the Parrita River Valley and the rainforest.
For those of you following this blog with interest of Costa Rica of your own, there are still many beautiful parcels for sale at Alazan (www.alazancostarica.com) we encourage you to check out.
Thanks for reading...
Ciao!
Ricardo y Jeeeem
No comments:
Post a Comment