BajaNomad

Guatamote as a building material?

oladulce - 1-12-2012 at 10:38 AM

Guatamote (Mulefat, Baccharis salicifolia or Baccharis viminea?) has been suggested to use for a patio shade cover instead of tallos (date palm stems). The sticks were described as straight and round and it grows in riverbeds. Wonder if it resembles Palo de Arco?

I don't know what it looks like and don't know about the longevity and bug resistance? Anybody used this for a fence or shade and what do you think?

KaceyJ - 1-12-2012 at 12:54 PM

Mulefat is plentiful in wet river bottoms. It is relatively straight , gets to about 1" in diameter. Native americans are said to have used it for arrow shafts .

If you decide to use it , I would nail it down green. Once dry it becomes somewhat brittle and is pithy inside.

woody with a view - 1-12-2012 at 01:55 PM

i know of a surfspot named Guatamote. never saw a big enough plant to use for building tho.... maybe in the south they get more water and grow?

edit: the central coast locals use it for skin ailments.:light:

[Edited on 1-12-2012 by woody with a view]

Bob and Susan - 1-12-2012 at 03:26 PM

i had some Guatamote for lunch today...with chips...:biggrin:

sorry....

I went to the source for information

Mulegena - 1-12-2012 at 04:03 PM

Hola, Dulce (Oladulce, been waitin' to say that)

I just asked Ricardo who asked his mom if she knew what guatamote is. She was born and raised up in La Purisima, and sure enough she proved to be a font of information on the subject.

Yes, guatamote grows up in the mountains on the riverside. It looks much like cana, the bamboo that grows in the rivers, also, but it is more tree-like in its qualities, she says.

Its used to make chairs and such. It can also be used as a cover for ramadas, she stated.

Its a solid wooden stalk that is flexible when green. Its quite strong and durable when dried.

It has a white flower-like growth that she calls "pelos blancos" (white hairs) and a distillation of this may be used as a hair tonic. I'd like to know more about this and will ask her later-- she's taking a nap right now.

So, in answer to your question I brought this back to Ricardo who is a builder. He says that because guatamote is tree-like it can be used successfully as a patio covering. It will give your patio a very rustic atmosphere (as opposed to a tropic look with palms). He says not to use the guatamote as your base supporting uprights, but to use good-size stalks in lieu of 2x4 stringers, then choose thin, slender stalks as the fill-in. You might even want to use "vaqueta del cuerdo de la vaca" to tie it down to complete your ranch-style look. This is tendons from freshly-slaughtered cattle which you can get from rancheros. He says this is very expensive but exquisitely beautiful and will last and last. To lash it together with rope is certainly cheaper, he notes, but it will quickly be destroyed by the sun.

Wow, ask a question and boy do you get some answers!

Mexitron - 1-12-2012 at 05:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by oladulce
Guatamote (Mulefat, Baccharis salicifolia or Baccharis viminea?) has been suggested to use for a patio shade cover instead of tallos (date palm stems). The sticks were described as straight and round and it grows in riverbeds. Wonder if it resembles Palo de Arco?

I don't know what it looks like and don't know about the longevity and bug resistance? Anybody used this for a fence or shade and what do you think?


Some info here: http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calr...

Also google images has lots of pics of Baccharis salicifolia. I was surprised to see it way out in West Texas and the Rio Grande...its all over Baja in creeks, arroyos, anywhere there's some seasonal water.

BooJumMan - 1-12-2012 at 08:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by woody with a view
i know of a surfspot named Guatamote. never saw a big enough plant to use for building tho.... maybe in the south they get more water and grow?

edit: the central coast locals use it for skin ailments.:light:

[Edited on 1-12-2012 by woody with a view]


Wow I didn't think anyone else used that name... i think the actual name is El Huatamote, but we always called it with a "G"

oladulce - 1-13-2012 at 01:38 PM

Thanks for all the responses.

Mulegena and KaceyJ, I think palm tallos will work better for the large area of ramada-like shade we're making. But it sounds like Guatamote might be good for windblocks, or rustic fencing or decorative cabinet fronts and I'll get some samples for future projects.

Here's what the palm tallos look like on our garage shade and we're doing the same type structure on the courtyard area of the house. It's definitely a rustic look, but it provides a nice dappled shade and the stuff hold up well. Best part is, bugs don't bother it.



[Edited on 1-16-2012 by oladulce]

woody with a view - 1-13-2012 at 08:46 PM

that looks AWESOME, Dulce.

can you provide a shot of the Guatamote, in the form you are planning to use it for a reference? our central brothers are wondering WTF?

Mulegena - 1-13-2012 at 09:13 PM

Beautiful, Dulce, and yes its a good idea to keep the same architectural theme going throughout your whole project.

Just gorgeous, and I love the dappled filtered sunlight!

KaceyJ - 1-13-2012 at 10:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by oladulce
Thanks for all the responses.

Mulegena and KaceyJ, I think palm tallos will work better for the large area of ramada-like shade we're making. But it sounds like Guatamote might be good for windblocks, or rustic fencing or decorative cabinet fronts and I'll get some samples for future projects.

Here's what the palm tallos look like on our garage shade and we're doing the same type structure on the courtyard area of the house. It's definitely a rustic look, but it provides a nice dappled shade and the stuff hold up well. Best part is, bugs don't bother it.




Very nice Oladulce

Question, is the trave (beam-lintel) rock and cement or a rock covered cement beam??

woody with a view - 1-13-2012 at 10:12 PM

i'm guessing a wood framed "header" with some re-enforcing and the slabs stuck to it.... note the recessed light fixture?

Bia wants me to cover EVERY vertical space in our yard to match Dulce's.....

oladulce - 1-14-2012 at 10:03 AM

Here's the framework for the shade structure that's in progress and it's the same way we did the one on the garage. The beam/trave is poured concrete and the posts are block. This time they placed the rocks in the form before pouring so they didn't have to do a michaelangleo later. The red things are to secure the wood support beams that will support the tallos, and the stonework will wrap all around.

That recessed light on the garage shade was poured in the form last time Woody.

I'll try to get a better photo when the sun's at a better angle. Right now I've been given an assignment to start staining the beams.

KaceyJ - 1-14-2012 at 10:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by woody with a view
i'm guessing a wood framed "header" with some re-enforcing and the slabs stuck to it.... note the recessed light fixture?

Bia wants me to cover EVERY vertical space in our yard to match Dulce's.....



Good eye there Woodrow!:yes:

I'm really diggin dulces' pad.

KaceyJ - 1-14-2012 at 10:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by oladulce
Here's the framework for the shade structure that's in progress and it's the same way we did the one on the garage. The beam/trave is poured concrete and the posts are block. This time they placed the rocks in the form before pouring so they didn't have to do a michaelangleo later. The red things are to secure the wood support beams that will support the tallos, and the stonework will wrap all around.

That recessed light on the garage shade was poured in the form last time Woody.

I'll try to get a better photo when the sun's at a better angle. Right now I've been given an assignment to start staining the beams.




Casalava looks good. You can post more pics anytime . Love to see the processes .

Did you drill and bolt the steel supports to the lintel ? Looks like caulking on there too??

And another question, are the block for the columns the local block with bottoms, did you knock out the bottoms and crete in the voids ??

thanks

sooper!

BFS - 1-14-2012 at 11:52 AM

That looks really beautiful Dulce, nice work.