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mitsu
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
| Quote: | Originally posted by mitsu
Need some advice
Looking to build a home just North of San Felipe. Talking to a few builders and they are offering a variety of building materials available for
construction. Most are recommending Ladrillo, Cement Block with 1" of foam or Foam (Tri-D Panel, Rastra or Ice Block). I will not be living in the
house during the summer months so don't know if I want to spend the extra for the Tri-D Panel, Rastra or Ice Block. Any thoughts??
Mitsu |
building new would probably be a PITA. lots of people trying to sell their vacation homes in mexico, so why not by a home already built?
how are you going to manage/inspect construction when you are living 1,000 miles away?????????? perhaps you should hire a local architect...
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Have owned the lot for about 10 years and it is a great location on the water. We are going to hire a local architect and plan to be down often
during the build process.
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jakecard
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I think Riom's advice is extremely sound.
What do you think, mitsu, has anything in this thread helped sway any decisions?
Jake
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mitsu
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Jake,
The information is helpful. One of the builders I'm talking to is recommending using Ladrillo (fired red brick) with Castillos every 8'. I would like
to get input from someone who has build a home this way to understand the Pro's and Con's. The foam block options are about 15% higher but i'm not
planning to live in Mexico during the hot summer months.
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jakecard
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So many options and so much to learn. Good thread.
Best,
Jake
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Riom
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mitsu
i'm not planning to live in Mexico during the hot summer months. |
But do you plan to be there at night in January or February? It gets cold. Not always, not many nights, but near freezing does happen.
Here's the hourly temperatures from my weather station at El Dorado for the days around a cold snap last Feb 3rd. 31F for a low, and a couple of daytimes
that only just went over 50F. There were some similar days in early January. And that was quite a mild winter.
Are you sure a nearly uninsulated brick building would be comfortable? With electric heat costing (at a higher use tariff) 20c/kWh?
Rob
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RnR
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Riom
| Quote: | Originally posted by mitsu
i'm not planning to live in Mexico during the hot summer months. |
But do you plan to be there at night in January or February? It gets cold. Not always, not many nights, but near freezing does happen.
Are you sure a nearly uninsulated brick building would be comfortable? With electric heat costing (at a higher use tariff) 20c/kWh?
Rob |
Propane is a better choice for heat than electricity. For the few nights when heat is needed, use a ventless propane heater with a quick disconnect
to permanently installed propane lines to the rooms requiring heat. Moderate sized heaters are $200. Or, install small direct vent heaters, $400 to
$500 each. Or, incorporate a gas log fireplace into the living area decor. Lot's of options.
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mcfez
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McFez's Reality Company has a deal for you!!!!!
Another Americana is moving to Baja? 
Right off the bat.....rent a home for a year...half year. That was good advice given earlier...and given here in the BN posts for years! Oh...yes....I
have a small opened spaced home for rent...txs for the plug... brother BN 
Before you buy the land...or lease.....TALK TO EVERY SINGLE LIVING SOUL in the place! Ask about the terms of the land. Has all been fair?
Crime/security exist? Building restrictions and the NO restrictions (!)..Do not believe Realtors. Get yourself a good legal referral from this BN
format to do the land deal...I wouldn't spit on the ground till this was done!
The house....
I designed a house that was small...to be used as a base camp. No sense to having a big joint if you are to going go there for a few weeks out of the
year (s).
Design the house with the wind direction in mind! Comfort outside sitting area should be away from the wind. Sunset is a big factor too....dont have
that 3 p.m. sun beating your windows. ......or do what I did....planted MANY trees in front of the house...and added wooded shutters to block the
blaring afternoon sun. My home faces the mountains with no obstructions....had I had it facing the ocean....I'd be looking at my neighbors walking
around in their underwear.
Materials. Not going to use it in the Summer (we dont)? I used concrete block without form......but form on the roof. A.C. window type from HD. Shade
from the trees. But if you use the house in the summer....dont copy me!
Outdoor kitchen...a must. It's great to cook outside.
Buy or lease where is there is water and power!!!!!!!! Dont take promises that it is "coming soon". In Baja....."coming soon" is ten years or so :-)
Oh.....need a lot? Campos Ocotillo. That's where we are......and I have a lot for sale there too!
Good luck with your adventure...you will not regret it!
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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mitsu
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mcfez
Another Americana is moving to Baja? :P
Right off the bat.....rent a home for a year...half year. That was good advice given earlier...and given here in the BN posts for years! Oh...yes....I
have a small opened spaced home for rent...txs for the plug... brother BN ;)
Before you buy the land...or lease.....TALK TO EVERY SINGLE LIVING SOUL in the place! Ask about the terms of the land. Has all been fair?
Crime/security exist? Building restrictions and the NO restrictions (!)..Do not believe Realtors. Get yourself a good legal referral from this BN
format to do the land deal...I wouldn't spit on the ground till this was done!
The house....
I designed a house that was small...to be used as a base camp. No sense to having a big joint if you are to going go there for a few weeks out of the
year (s).
Design the house with the wind direction in mind! Comfort outside sitting area should be away from the wind. Sunset is a big factor too....dont have
that 3 p.m. sun beating your windows. ......or do what I did....planted MANY trees in front of the house...and added wooded shutters to block the
blaring afternoon sun. My home faces the mountains with no obstructions....had I had it facing the ocean....I'd be looking at my neighbors walking
around in their underwear.
Materials. Not going to use it in the Summer (we dont)? I used concrete block without form......but form on the roof. A.C. window type from HD. Shade
from the trees. But if you use the house in the summer....dont copy me!
Outdoor kitchen...a must. It's great to cook outside.
Buy or lease where is there is water and power!!!!!!!! Dont take promises that it is "coming soon". In Baja....."coming soon" is ten years or so :-)
Oh.....need a lot? Campos Ocotillo. That's where we are......and I have a lot for sale there too!
Good luck with your adventure...you will not regret it! |
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McFez,
Thanks for your advise. We purchased our lot in 2002 and come down to San Felipe a few weeks a year. The lot has both water and power. The front of
the house will face the Sea of Cortez. We are going to the outdoor kitchen. The hone is designed so the garage blocks the wind from the North. As
our view is all to the east and south.
[img]http://[/img]
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El Camote
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Mitsu, my family built a north San Felipe home out of stucco over ladrillo in '98, before the insulted concrete options were popular. Same story as
you, my father and his lady were only planning on wintering there. The house has an open floor plan, open beam ceiling and oriented to the
north/east.
Without obscene amounts of heating and cooling the house is comfortable in November and March/April. That's it.
In the cooler months, the orientation doesn't take advantage of the warming effect of the sun and the house never heats up during the day. It's like
a fridge in there and propane heating is needed just to bring the inside up to the outside temps.
In the warmer months, and I'm not talking about summer, the brick absorbs sun all day and radiates it all night. So in May when it typically hits 100
during the day but cools comfortably at night, the inside of the house can be 85 when it's 70 outside. It's like living in a pizza oven. And this
thermal transfer happened in all the rooms, included the north/east side. I experimented with opening and closing windows, fans, etc. There was no
overcoming this effect.
There are a lot of creative options for building, including partial underground, that I've seen down there. I'd scratch ladrillo off the list and
keep exploring your options.
[Edited on 10-18-2011 by El Camote]
Knowledge is good. - Emil Faber
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capt. mike
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www.omniblock.com
great stuff.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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oladulce
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mitsu
Big Wooo'
Thanks for the pictures and information.
What part of Baja are you building in? Any advice on the construction would be helpful. We are planning to select our builder next month but
continue to weigh the pro's and con's on the structure of the house, |
Mitsu, BigWooo and I are on the Pacific in central Baja Sur with a different desert climate than your location. Weather played a definite part in our
home plans but we don't have the extreme highs and lows that you'll have.
The remote location was the biggest factor that determined our choice of building material (transportation is already a huge part of our building
cost) so any new and "exotic" material would have to trucked in from far away. There's no equipment to blow the stucco on Tri-D so the coats would be
applied by hand and there's no one in the nearby fishing town that's familiar with working with Tri-D. A friend tested the local raw materials and
found they weren't ideal for making adobe blocks. Concrete block with a foam block roof is what we're using for these reasons.
Sounds like you'll have lots of choices and I agree with previous posts that climate will be a huge factor in your location.
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mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
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Cement block and foam beads in the hollow of the brick.....is how we did our place. Foam the roof! Elevate the wall with a false front ......on the
afternoon sun side of the house...it will cast a shadow onto the roof :-)
The materials is available and readied in San Felipe. We found this house to be suitable for the winter....using a simple space heaters if needed.
Summers...we have a simple wall A.C. although we do not use the house during late June to September. ...that's for tough guys!
Place your windows AWAY from the setting sun......the heat blares right in. Build shutters! I landscaped for shade against the harsh summer
sun....much shade now. There are native shrubs that you can use.....requiring little water after a few years.
Feel free to run down to our place and take a look at it. Campos Ocotillio. Just ask where Deno's house is.
[Edited on 2-12-2012 by mcfez]
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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