Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

IanMcInnes

Jun 1, 2007, 9:40 PM

Post #1 of 15 (3914 views)

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Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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I have enjoyed reading details of several home construction projects on this forum and elsewhere,
and thought the following three files on my own effort might be of interest to others. They are all
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations; I tried conversion to HTML documents, but was not satisfied
with the result. All images are at a resolution of 1600x1200, and best results are achieved using
at least this display resolution.

The main presentation chronicles construction of the house (300 slides, size 194MB):
http://www.whisper-wood.co.uk/ElRefugioBuilding.pps

There is also a (developmental) presentation of the (not yet) finished result, which contains
plans and further information (114 slides, size 53MB):
http://www.whisper-wood.co.uk/ElRefugioBrochure.pps

The third presentation documents work done on the land other than house construction (12 slides,
6MB):
http://www.whisper-wood.co.uk/ElRefugioOriginal.pps

You will see from the above that these are not for the casual surfer; with 1Mb/s DSL the first
presentation alone will take about half an hour to download. I recommend clicking Save at the
prompt and opening later using Microsoft PowerPoint (rather than Opening them in the browser).

There are probably mistakes/inaccuracies and other shortcomings in the descriptions I have given
with these slides; I would welcome feedback to help me improve them. I also welcome any other
comments or discussion.

These presentations somewhat gloss over the miseries involved - in particular that it always costs
more and takes longer than you are led to believe. In my case this was by a factor of three in
both parameters; my architect ceased working on the project about halfway through.

Ian.

Rolly / Moderator

Jun 2, 2007, 7:36 AM

Post #2 of 15 (3891 views)

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Re: [IanMcInnes] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Ian, thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures. I have only looked at the main presentation thus far. I'll watch the other presentations after lunch.

You're right, the download took a while -- I ate breakfast and washed the dishes while it was loading -- but it was worth the wait.

It is obvious from the quantity and detail of the pictures that you were on the scene watching carefully. I learned in my projects that is the only way of assuring that you will get what you want.

Slide 90 shows an interesting way of turning the stairs. I may steal that idea for a project I am helping a friend with.

In slide 196 you show a lavadero ready for installation and say that every Mexican home must have one. That's not quite true. It is not the custom in my part of Mexico. I have never seen one in a home or offered for sale at any of the many supply stores I have haunted. All the homes I have visited in Manzanillo had them. Personally I think they are a very good idea.

Rolly Pirate

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jun 2, 2007, 7:37 AM)

johanson

Jun 2, 2007, 8:52 AM

Post #3 of 15 (3875 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Great job Ian. Could you imagine someone trying to download one of those files if all he had was dialup. It could take days.

Folks don't even try downloading these files unless you have broadband. But if you do, by all means check out these power point presentations

IanMcInnes

Jun 2, 2007, 9:34 AM

Post #4 of 15 (3872 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Rolly, thank you for your comments. I was living in the casita during the construction, so had
plenty of opportunity to check and record the work done on a daily basis.

Re the stairs, I think you are referring to the slide numbered 88. Original plans included a
rotating type of staircase, but this simple and practical solution won the day. With the wall at
the side, there is actually no need for a balustrade, although I am wondering what could be put
there to improve the cosmetic aspect.

I was being a little facetious about the lavadero, but it does seem to be a standard fixture
around here. I remain puzzled by the fact that the left bowl has an output but no input, whilst
the right bowl has an input but no output. I plan to get my plumber to cut a plug hole in the
right bowl so water can be drained from it - then it will be a useful item.

Ian.

IanMcInnes

Jun 2, 2007, 9:46 AM

Post #5 of 15 (3868 views)

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Re: [johanson] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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The largest presentation will take about 10 hours to download with a 56k dialup connection. Sorry about the size of these - they were originally developed for personal and local use, and I did not want to compromise on quality.

Ian.

Rolly / Moderator

Jun 2, 2007, 9:51 AM

Post #6 of 15 (3868 views)

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Re: [IanMcInnes] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Watching my friends in Manzanillo use their lavaderos, I saw that the bowl on the right was used as a reservoir for water to be splashed on to the rub board side by hand or cup. (I got bitched at for letting the soap get into the reservoir. "How can you rinse clothes if there is soap in the rinse water?") It also makes a good place to ice beer.

Rolly Pirate

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jun 2, 2007, 9:52 AM)

Papirex

Jun 2, 2007, 10:38 AM

Post #7 of 15 (3861 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Thanks Rolly, now I know what the little small compartment was intended for. Our lavadero has drains on both sides though; it was originally built that way. The lavadero and the automatic Clothes washer are not piped directly into the drainage system. They both drain into a floor sink.

The floor sink has a drain like the drain in a shower. When too much lint from the washer builds up in it and starts to overflow onto the patio slab, it is easy to clean it out; it beats having a stoppage in the drainpipes.

About the only thing that we wash in the lavadero is doormats, car mats, and sleeping rugs for the dogs though.

Señora White-Westinghouse washes all of our clothes, and Señora Maytag washes all of our dishes.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

sparks

Jun 4, 2007, 5:17 AM

Post #8 of 15 (3820 views)

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Re: [IanMcInnes] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Is there a Power Point viewer out there. My new computer only has Works and doen't know what a PPS file is. I don't want to install Office just to view these

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

tonyburton

Jun 4, 2007, 7:26 AM

Post #9 of 15 (3811 views)

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Re: [sparks] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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There are several "PowerPoint viewers" (as opposed to PP makers) - google "free power point" and you'll find them - they include PowerPoint Viewer 2003 http://www.microsoft.com/...4&displaylang=en. Alternatively, free open source Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org) is a fully functional suite similar to MS Office which allows you to make PowerPoints too.

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Jun 4, 2007, 7:29 AM)

sparks

Jun 5, 2007, 6:33 PM

Post #10 of 15 (3774 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Thanks ... I did install the MS viewer (forgot about it). I just don't have time to download those files. Kids want to use the computer for homework or I need to work on something. Just to large for me

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

bfwpdx

Jun 16, 2007, 9:49 AM

Post #11 of 15 (3714 views)

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Re: [IanMcInnes] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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Well I was really impressed by Ian's power point documentation of his building experience. There was so much useful and interesting information conveyed visually. I find following verbal explanations of Mexican building techniques and processes (mine or others) very confusing. A picture really is worth a thousand words!

Last September I posted some photos of our building project in the Jocotepec area. We started construction in 2005 and halted 15 months later in July of 2006 after the completion of the basic house structure (no interior finishing) and the completion of the casita (inside and out). We re-started the process the last week of March 2007 and after 3 months, we are a week or two from finishing the interior of the house.

I have updated the photos (the new ones start at photo # 19) and they can be accessed at: http://www.flickr.com/...iaevalgardener/sets/

I found a number of interesting contrasts between our building process and Ian's. He has power and water on site and more workers on his project. We had neither power nor water and our crew was limited to 3 albanils and their peon teenage sons. The lack of power really slowed down our process and increased the labour cost. But it was fascinating to watch how they managed without it.

Our Mexican builder had a firm policy towards the procedure. He finished from the outside in and from the top down. I noticed in Ian's house that they were plastering inside as soon as first floor was complete. In our construction, they didnt start plastering til the roof was on and water tight. They then laid the outside tiles on the uncovered section of the mirador so everything was water tight. Only then did they move inside to the finishing, which they began upstairs, doing the walls first (plastering and tiling) and then the floor tiling. Then they moved to the stair well and did the same kind of order, finishing the remaining structural work (the stair treads) and then the plastering of the walls and then the installation of the railing. After finishing the stairwell they moved into the mian floor and again did the walls first and then the floor. I don't know if this is just the idiosyncratic style of my builder or if this a regional difference.

Our experience so far (all the accounting hasnt been toted up yet) has been that the inside finishing has run about 25% of the total cost and has taken about 3.5 months to complete compared to the 15 months for the structural work. Again, these times are extended because of working with no power or water on site.

I also noticed a large difference in the foundations. Ian's were immense due to the type of ground he was building on. Ours were much less so, perhaps only 2-3 feet deep, and made of stone, but because we were building on solid bedrock, the men had to chisel them out by hand and it took a very long time.

The last difference I saw is a very important one. Ian was able to live on site and supervise and observe on a daily basis and we were not. Ian's is the correct way if at all possible and we would have followed that if it had been possible. We were extremely fortunate that we used all workers from our local pueblo (close neighbours) and we worked without an architect (I was the architect) and we had no labour issues whatsoever, with the same crew on site from beginning to end. But we would never recommend this way to anyone else. The risk is really too high.

Next time I post, the house will be painted and the mirador railing installed and the project from our point of view, finished.

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jun 16, 2007, 9:53 AM)

Judy in Ags

Jun 19, 2007, 3:32 PM

Post #12 of 15 (3655 views)

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Re: [IanMcInnes] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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I have DSL, but I haven't had the courage to try to download your presentation, although I'd like to see it. If it is strictly photos (maybe it isn't), wouldn't it be better to put it on Shutterfly, or Kodak Gallery, or Shapfish (all free)?

My other question is, how long did it take you to develop a PowerPoint presentation that huge? I know it takes me a long time to develop, having to insert all those photos!

(This post was edited by Judy in Ags on Jun 19, 2007, 3:34 PM)

IanMcInnes

Jun 19, 2007, 7:15 PM

Post #13 of 15 (3638 views)

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Re: [Judy in Ags] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacán

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I have seen one or two photo album sites, but they invariably process the images into their own
low size and quality parameters, which would result in important information in the presentations
being lost.
Besides, the presentations are not simply collections of photos, but have additional textual
information, and a specific sequence. The sites I have seen do not cater well for this, especially
given the large number of slides (300+ in the main presentation). Quality of display, navigation
and general usability in my view fall a long way short of running these presentations.

The Powerpoint Presentation format does not impose significant size overheads; invidividual images
of the same resolution and quality would be almost the same total size. Most of the slides contain
a single 1600x1200 JPEG image at high (not best) quality level. However, some are maps and plans
in GIF format. Some slides contain several smaller images. All contain several text boxes. I have
made every effort to make the presentations as small as possible, consistent with high quality
requirements.

I tried exporting the presentations as web pages, but performance and presentation are both poor
compared to using a Powerpoint viewer. This is why I recommend to Save rather than Open the
presentation when prompted - I found the latter opens the presentation in the browser.

For someone wishing to view the entire presentation, a single unattended download with good
subsequent function and usability is surely better than downloading individual images piecemeal.
And I don't see why a download time of about 30 minutes for the largest presentation (1 Mb/s DSL)
should deter anyone at all serious. If stuck with a dialup, I suggest starting the download before
retiring in the evning, then it should be done after breakfast! The other two presentations are
much smaller. Once downloaded, the slides may be viewed full-screen with no further downloads
needed, and with better usability and presentation than using photo album software.

As I acknowledged, this format does not lend itself to casual browsing of individual photos. Maybe
a few small sample images might help people decide whether to download the whole thing, but they
could in no way serve as a substitute for the presentation.

The main presentation was developed as the house was constructed. Most of the time was spent on
selection and processing of the photos and in the descriptions, rather than manipulation with
PowerPoint. Obviously I have put a lot of work into these presentations, but hope they will be a
good record of this important project many years hence. I am currently making Spanish language
versions for the locals.

Judy in Ags

Jun 19, 2007, 9:24 PM

Post #14 of 15 (3621 views)

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Re: [IanMcInnes] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacï¿½n

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As I mentioned in my post, I didn't know if you had included text. That would certainly preclude doing it in any of the ways I suggested. I will soon download and look at your project. It sounds wonderful. I don't know if you've look at my blog. It isn't, as you have done, a pictorial journal of your construction project, but rather an overall view of our coming to Mexico.

I'm still puzzled about one thing, though. Why is it necessary to have such high resolution if the presentation is for viewing on a computer, which can only utilize (not a good word) about 72 dpi? Maybe I'm missing something there.

Thanks for your hard work and for sharing with us.

IanMcInnes

Jun 19, 2007, 11:12 PM

Post #15 of 15 (3612 views)

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Re: [Judy in Ags] Construction Project in Zamora, Michoacï¿½n

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Yes, I did look at your blog, amongst a number of other construction projects. I liked the courtyard approach, and there were some very nice finishings. My place is not as yet a home, and things will be refined over time.

I chose a resolution of 1600x1200 since it is the display resolution I use on both my laptop and desktop machines, and hence allows the full display capabilities to be utilized. It does mean that people using a lower screen resolution will not see the full detail in the images, but 1600x1200 or better is commonplace nowadays.