Sept 19th Update

Hola our friends!

Some MAJOR advancements this week. Our zinc roofing came in. Not sure you can actually see the green color. No surprise that it challenges Jim. But the terrific news is that we finally have the roofing going on, which makes for DRY insides! We had hoped we would have been at this point before our Labor Day trip - but alas, materials don't always come available in Costa Rica in the week that one might want it.

Actually it was due to this that we bought and paid for all the floor/wall tile - have purchased all our faucets and fixtures, and ordered the kitchen. This way all those items will be in stock and available.

This photo is from the living room, looking up the 20 feet to the cupola feature. All of the underside/inside of this will be teak. When you see that gap at the middle of the photo, there will be openable windows. You can begin to see how dramatic this ceiling feature is...

We are so exited though. Gerardo and crew have put in many roof panels - and as you can see some of the febroleit outside veneer. So why zinc roofing? Well, two reasons. It should not rust. And IF we choose to collect rainwater for reuse - this is an inert material so we wouldn't be adding undesirable chemicals to our water supply.

What is febroliet? It is a fiber/cement material which is smoother and more workable than the concrete board so many in the USA use as backer board for bathroom sub wall where we apply tile. It doesn't break apart, mold, mildue, or rot with the intense Costa Rican humidity. In our case, that febroleit veneer will be covered with stucco in a nice champaigne color.

We're on deck to return on October 18th for a rather aggressive schedule. We will complete all of the supply plumbing which includes a double filter system down at the bodega level; all of the dual grey/black water drain system so that Gerardo and crew can route to the grey water treatment system, and black water septic system. We will work with our crew to create the steps going up to the top floor. We will work with our electrician to wrap up all the rough wiring.

When we leave a week later, Gerardo and crew are free to complete that septic system, put on all the inside walls, install the teak ceiling, finish the inside walls with a troweled plaster finish, complete the floor tile and shower floors/walls.

We will contract with Gerardo to build the three custom bathroom vanity tables (which will get a beautiful tile and some locally produced basket drawers).

So loyal readers, we need MORE FEEDBACK. The area outside of the stair going up is open. We can of course continue the railing feature done on the two veranda's. But, there is HUGE open space above the stair. When you look at this last photo, you can see how the roof covers what will be the stairwell. that febroleit is against the 'outer' wall - stair is outside of that. Will start by that leaning piece of febroleit, and go UP and to the RIGHT intersecting the upper veranda right about where the upper febroleit ends to the right.

We think some of Gerardo's beautiful iron work would be great to softly enclose the space. For certain we want iron doors at the bottom of the stair, and going into the lower laundry (will allow us to lock up the structure when we need to). So please, consider some ideas of iron work. Maybe take some photos and send them our way??? All would be appreciated!

So friends, thanks for visiting our blog. These photos were taken on Sept 18th. We know our friend and project manager Rob has some taken on the 19th - and at this stage the progress moves right along. We expect next week we'll see the "famed" bodega level emerge.

Best wishes to all of you

Ricardo y Jeeeem


ps - Jim set up a NEW BLOG which will set about to give the history BEHIND this construction project. Several parts have been posted, others to follow as this blog evolves... Link is: http://jimdicktdacasainthebeginning.blogspot.com/