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Kgryfon
Senior Nomad
Posts: 624
Registered: 1-27-2009
Location: East Bay, CA
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How do Palapa-style homes work?
I've seen a few postings about palapa-style homes and am curious. It looks like a shell under which you park your RV, yet the "shell" is fully
furnished like a house. They look totally open to the outside world. How do you keep it from being looted when you are not there? How do you protect
the furnishings from the elements?
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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https://www.google.com/search?q=palapa+style+homes&tbm=i...
google is your friend....
[Edited on 5-19-2013 by BajaNomad]
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neilm81301
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Are the traditional, thatch palapas kind of problematic, attracting scorpions, etc.? Seems I read that here.
Neil
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by neilm81301
Are the traditional, thatch palapas kind of problematic, attracting scorpions, etc.? Seems I read that here.
Neil |
And rats. They like to live in the fronds.
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grizzlyfsh95
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Palapa shelter for RV...great
Palapa roof on enclosed dwelling...not so much
The harder I work, the luckier I get
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DaliDali
Super Nomad
Posts: 1132
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Location: BCS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by neilm81301
Are the traditional, thatch palapas kind of problematic, attracting scorpions, etc.? Seems I read that here.
Neil |
And rats. They like to live in the fronds. |
I have NEVER seen scorpions or rats in or around my palapa roof.
Nor have I EVER seen a scorpion or rat around my immediate surroundings.
Little mice yes.....RATS no....unless you count "ratas" of which there are the infrequent few.
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rhintransit
Super Nomad
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Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
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I've had scorpions drop onto my bed from a palapa roof. so I started sleeping under mosquito netting. no experience with rats, though I do know some
cats like to climb up/scratch around (one neighbor's cat even used the roof as a cat box). bugs, roaches, scorpions, yes. in good shape they are very
secure from rain..better than most flat roofs down here.
of course people keep adding on, enclosing things first seems to be a bathroom, then a bodega, then an outside kitchen, then screen or plastic window
walls, etc. all you have to do is watch the natural evolution to see the downside. and the upside.
palapa roofs are beautiful, rustic, authentic, but I'd never have one again.
as for making things safe when you're not there...lots of things you can try, like strong bars/locks on bodegas, good year round neighbors, good
landlord (many on leased land), being in a gated community, etc, but if someone wants in, anywhere in Baja, they'll get in.
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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CaboMagic
Super Nomad
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We rented 2 different houses in CSL with palapa roof .. the first in 1993 in Villa Serena and OMG we had tons of scorpions and snakes. I did not like
it .. I'm too much of a prissy city girl.
From there we went to the mid level of a 3 story house - top level had palapa roof where the owners lived .. they fumigated every month - they had to
.. couldn't stay there after 3 months because not only did it just stink from all the fumigation, the bugs would come to second level to get away!
We've seen some great palalpa roofs built for RV coverage that extend to cover outside living space. I imagine they require regular fumigation and
repairs following storms.
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
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Palapas... cool...!
Palapa homes. Gotta love 'em.
Many of the people of Baja still use them.
The limits of what you can do and make with a palapa house are only defined by the limits of your imagination.
Baja palapas are made from two basic materials, I believe, palm fronds or petate.
Petate is big sheets of woven material made from split cariso, which is a slender bamboo that grows along the riverbanks, indigenous here in Baja.
They sell for about $300Pesos a sheet depending of the size and quality and the quantity you wish.
Palm fronds are a natural by-product when tree guys clean the many palm trees. They sell for about 5 pesos per frond. They make great roof covering
and can be made into walls, too.
You can use these materials on their own or combine with other more durable materials like bricks, cardon cactus, or rock walls to create, well,
pretty much whatever kind of structure you want.
I remember living in a palm frond house. A mother hen and her babies lived in the livingroom wall-- totally enjoyed them. Incidentally the floor was
hard-packed dirt, and I loved that, too. Just sweep it clean every day and sprinkle water and you're good to go. There was also a big-a@@ spider lived
in the kitchen ceiling; she set up shop there to catch the other bugs that would dare to enter the house-- no complaints about her once I got used to
her presence and no worries about other bugs in that house!
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DaliDali
.....RATS no.... |
Stealth rats. You don't see them, but they see you, and they have excellent vision as well which is necessary for them to jump from the roof onto
your neck and tear into your jugular vein and suck out all your blood before you have a chance to do anything.
Real ornery lil critters. Yep....real ornery.
Sweet dreams. 
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Skeet/Loreto
Ultra Nomad
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Great!!\
My Mesicano Friends and I and my Wife built Rancho Sonrosia just North of loreto starting in 1980;
First: Palm Ojas selected from Plams growing in the Mountains 14,000 of them.
Second Roofing and Rails cut from Mountain Palms,
Third: c-cks from San Nicholas very near to the Petrogliffs were used for the foundation and Columns.
Flooring was Handlaid Tile. from La Paz.
We used Ceiling Fans only as we were on the Beach Air condition was not necessary.
67 Hand Maid wooden Windows which stayed open most of the time.
Never had any Problems with Rats, Scorpins, or any other Pests. It was great living for many years.
If i were to go back i would live in a Palapa.
Make sure you use Palms from the Mountains and you will have very few problems
Skeet/Loreto
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
Never had any Problems with Rats, Scorpins, or any other Pests.
Skeet/Loreto |
We forgot to mention, "Bats in your belfry." Thems is serious. 
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Russ
Elite Nomad
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We have discouraged palm roofs. After a few fires the folks with real homes next to Palapas have requested that if there are any improvements that the
roof be more fire resistant. There are still many palapas out in front of homes with palm roofs. I personally love the feel they give to a
neighborhood. And of course I much prefer a net over a palm roof than in the water.
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
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Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Russ
I much prefer a net over a palm roof than in the water. |
Good one, Russ. That should be a bumper sticker.
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Lindalou
Senior Nomad
Posts: 623
Registered: 1-12-2004
Location: Punta Banda Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by DaliDali
.....RATS no.... |
Stealth rats. You don't see them, but they see you, and they have excellent vision as well which is necessary for them to jump from the roof onto
your neck and tear into your jugular vein and suck out all your blood before you have a chance to do anything.
Real ornery lil critters. Yep....real ornery.
Sweet dreams. |
If he did not
know his leg was being pulled the first time, he should now.
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Skeet/Loreto
Ultra Nomad
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BATS ! Yes we had a problem one time with Bats.
One beautifull night there was a Full Moon. My wife and I had just got into Bed when a Marine Bat flew in and was hit by a Fan blade and ended up in
the bed next to my Wife.
You have never seen a Women leave a Bed in such a Hurry!!!!
From then on we left a small light on outside on the Porch and never had anymore Problems.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Lindalou
If he did not know his leg was being pulled the first time, he should now.
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Pull Skeet's leg?? Never.
Actually, rats do live in Palm Frond roofs, but my experience was in Puerto Vallarta. Maybe Baja isn't a rat zone like in the tropics.
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thefishaholic
Nomad
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Registered: 4-8-2006
Location: Colorado Springs
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Love Ours
We love ours except this year we have had problems with the bugs. Everyone had that this year tho.
Normal years are great living outside as the weather here (CSL) is why so many snow birds live here.
We have an enclosed bdrm so can get away from bugs.
Better insulation than tile or metal and quitter when it rains.
Make sure you lay the palms not more than 4-6 inches apart or they will deteriorate sooner. Also use at least a 5/12 roof slope.
Also most times the Palms come with "Palmitas" and are controlled with a onetime spray.
As everywhere in Baja you will have to keep up with spraying no mater the const method.
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
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Palapa roof construction, con't.
Good points, Mr. Fish.
We put a palapa up on the top of our two-story pueblo-style house. Its accessed by a sturdy ladder from the second-floor porch.
Killer views 360 degrees! However, we're on a hilltop and that roof is the highest structure around and subject to hurricane winds whenever Mulege is
hit.
It did just fine in the last Hurricane Paul but didn't keep the rain out (which was blowing in sideways 'cause its a hurricane). The roof stayed put,
perhaps because we attached the palm fronds with 2 inch screws with good-size washers, not nails which tends to split the wood.
We'll see how they hold up with time. Palm fronds dry and get more brittle with age. We felt the screw and washer technique might hold up longer... no
one wants to go back up on top of that third-floor roof to fix it!
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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Lindalou
Senior Nomad
Posts: 623
Registered: 1-12-2004
Location: Punta Banda Baja
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When we lived in Santispac, we all had palm frond roofs and no rats, they did keep them oiled down though.
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