The clearing of the lot begins

After all the minor delays, the clearing of the lot has begun. The tree stump is gone, the layer of topsoil has been scraped down to the marl and pushed towards the back of the lot.

Once the lot is leveled, we will make the final determination of where we want the house to be located. So far, the grading has gone well, with no problems. Our building contractor is starting to bring in the fill dirt that will be needed for the beginning of the work although I'm sure a lot more fill will be needed. The fill runs around $60US per load of about fifteen cubic yards, delivered to Consejo.

The foundation work has begun on Pip and Jason's lot and it looks as though it is moving along. I am looking forward to seeing their house go up because it will give me an idea of how well we are doing and if we are on schedule. Scheduling starts to become an issue due to the beginning of the rainy season in June.

In the last picture, you can see the walls of the cistern being built. Due to a miscalculation the original cistern design, it was smaller than Pip and Jason had wanted, but John has modified the design to allow for more water storage. The water supply at the community has trouble with water pressure, so I don't know how much it can be counted on. Rainwater storage is critical. I have a great study on cisterns and their upkeep and would be happy to pass it along to anyone who might be interested. It is in pdf form, so I'm not sure how I can post it on the blog site. If you're interested, just e-mail me or post a comment. In the mean time, I will try to find a way to post it online or add the web address.

We are still waiting for the final plans but are not in that much of a hurry at this point