Dateline: Where the plans get plastered
Yes, it has finally started. My remodeling. In earnest. Or perhaps I should say in Ernesto, given who’s doing all of this. After spending a year spinning my wheels looking for folks who could do the job, I went back to Plan A, which was to use the contractor my lawyer had suggested in the first place.
Why the heck did I wait so long? Well, in my defense, I did a LOT of design and planning. I spent myriad hours lurking along Avenida División del Norte, being simultaneously called by the marble sirens of tile and also figuring out what I could really use and couldn’t use. I drew up a detailed floorplan of my house, and spent a lot of time thinking about quotidian things like drains, electrical circuits, and the routing of pipes and wires. And in that year, I did manage to renew all of the plumbing and electrical system, no mean feat given that the first guy basically swindled me.
But I was also waylaid by various folks who said they could get things done, but in the end did not. A young architect who was suggested by a friend was the last such person. I had approached him to help me solve the problem of building a stairway to give access to both the “Dance Studio” over the second house, and the azotea where I wanted to convert the cuarto de servicio into a small apartment. After struggling to come up with anything concrete, he suggested that I pay him to create a “levantamiento,” a scale drawing of the house. He thought it’d take a week. It ended up taking six. Worse, I thought I’d get a 3-D model at the end, one that would facilitate the visualization of stairway possibilities. Instead, what I got was some very basic floorplans that basically just copied what I had done myself, albeit in an obsolete software package. That also cost me $24,000 MXN, money now lost.
The contractor I’m now using, Omni Construction, had given me a quote last July. At that time, the owner and his chief architect took me on a tour of one of their projects, Quéretaro 136, a six-story apartment project that they had completed around a 400 year old house. INAH, the protector of architectural treasures here, had wanted the house conserved, and, ideally, the façade to be visible from the street. Because it was uncharacteristically set back, this was going to be a challenge. But Omni managed to build the project around the old house, create a glassed-in façade so the old house was visible, and even constructed a parking garage under it without breaking anything. Clearly they were up to remodeling my little old house.
Anyway, in early April I called them and we reached a deal. About three weeks ago about a dozen men descended on my house, and have been pounding, cutting, and plastering six days a week. The progress is impressive. My upstairs is nearly done, at least as far as plastering and window work goes. I say “window work” because what they are doing is nothing short of extraordinary.
All of my windows are 1930s steel windows, all originally made by hand by skilled herreros. But the glass is old, and much of the outside glass is coated with eighty years of crud that’s almost impossible to remove. And much of the original glazing compound is either missing or severely deteriorated. That of interior windows is hard as a rock. Well, the guys here are taking out all of the glass in every window, cleaning and sanding the ironwork, and then I’ll get new glass in almost every window. Amazing. There’s a guy working here who has done nothing but scrape paint off of windows every day for three weeks now. This would cost a fortune in the states. Here? It’s quite reasonable.
The plaster too has exceeded my exceptionally picky expectations. When we were negotiating the deal, I said to Wasim, they owner of Omni, “I just want you to know that I’m super-picky. So don’t be surprised when I hold you to high standards.” He just chuckled and said he was happy to have picky clients. In fact this pickiness was part of why it took me so long to get going. I was terrified that I’d hire someone, only to get a very slap-dash job. And in fact that happened with the guy who redid my exterior western wall. The wall was adequate, but not pretty, but it made my neighbor happy, which was kind of the point. But Omni’s work? My God! The plaster work is VERY good. They lines are all very straight. The walls are incredibly flat, and the finish is very hard. They also are doing the ceilings, which, frankly, I had not even really asked to have done. So not only am I getting a lot done, but it’s being done to a very high standard of work. I couldn’t be happier. And every night, I get a PDF document emailed to me documenting me on the progress of the work. When I told my friend and neighbor, Carole, who has lived in Mexico since 1997 and built many a house with her contractor late husband, she was astonished. In short, things are going very well.
So the current scope of my project includes redoing all of the interior plaster, the windows, and the exterior stucco, along with stuccoing the neighbor’s walls that surround my patio. Based on the current pace of work, I’m guessing there’s at least another two or three weeks of work ahead. Inside, I’ve got about 500 square meters of wall, plus another 200-ish of ceilings. Outside, the number is closer to 400 square meters. And how much is all of this going to cost me? Sit down, the figure is kind of shocking. The quote, plus IVA, is just a smidgen under $20,000 USD. I’m amazed.
Still, there will be a fair bit of additional things to do. I’m replacing a bunch of privacy glass, including that on the garage and front door. Those two spots will require the glass to be laminated. There will also be some extra work from an herrero ($700MXN/day), and some additional plumbing, etc. I also will need to do the kitchen, flooring, lighting, and some other things. But I’m having a hard time coming up with a final USD bill that exceeds $70,000 to remodel the entire house. These days, you can’t even get a kitchen in Boston for that. In fact, I spent a fair bit more than that in 1997 remodeling my Boston house.
Not only is this a great deal, but I’m finally beginning to think that I might even be able to move in within a few months which will be priceless.
Thanks for reading. I’ve been bad about keeping up this blog. I’ll try to post a bit more often. Coming up I’ll be writing about paint (amazingly difficult), glass (almost became as much of an obsession as tile), the battle with La Doña and her son, and of course, more about tile.
Saludos!
Serubikin Slav said:
Great progress on the remodeling! The contractor seems to be doing an excellent job with the plaster work and the windows. It’s impressive that they are taking the time to clean and restore the original steel windows. The attention to detail and high standards are definitely paying off. Exciting to hear that you might be able to move in within a few months. Keep up the great work! The positive and detailed progress on your remodeling project is impressive!
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Kim G said:
Thanks for the comment. Sorry it took so long to approve. Cheers!
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Dee Tillotson said:
I think I’m beginning to envision the architecture of the “Great Gatsby” in, of all places, Mexico! Dee
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Kim G said:
Hola Dee! That makes me laugh. Thank you! Let’s see what everyone thinks when I start writing about paint colors, which are vying with tiles to become the bane of my existence. Cheers and thanks for stopping by!
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Dee Tillotson said:
Typo: Sorry, that’s “Gadsby,” not Gatsby.
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Kim G said:
Hola Dee! Actually, if it’s a typo, it’s my fault. I changed “Gadsby” to “Gatsby.” Did you mean someone beside F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character, “Gatsby?” If so, I’m sorry to say that I don’t get the joke. But I’m happy to put it back the way it was. Cheers!
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Dee Tillotson said:
Kim, you are right; it is Gatsby. It has been a long time since I read that book and watched the movie starring Robert Redford. No jokingj! Just the irony of the 1920s style among the very rich then in America being built in Mexico City. Sounds like it could be a background set for a new movie.
Got a chance to visit Havana for a week in 2017. A friend of mine, Croft Randall, introduced me to his friend in Cuba who is a very good photographer and has a deep interest in the old architecture of Havana. I wish I knew you then, and, if so, the three of us could have visited the old architecture to determine if it could be saved. Since you have such a great imagination, you would be thrilled to see it all. I don’t think the country has reopened since the Trump administration and COVID.
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Kim G said:
Hola Dee! I’d love to see Havana some day. I think it’s relatively open, at least if you’re not a U.S. citizen. I think we are still officially prohibited from visiting, though it’s easily gotten around. There are youtubers wandering the streets of Havana these days making videos. There are some amazing musicians there, and it looks like the people are very friendly. Honestly, I do have a lot of trouble understanding Cuban Spanish, but maybe after a few days I’d get the hang of it. But for now, it’s about as unintelligible to me as deeply Scottish English is.
Do you live in Mexico? Or elsewhere?
Anyway, thanks for your lovely comments and have a great day!
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Dee Tillotson said:
Kim, Beach and I live in a little bedroom community (Summerville, SC) just outside of the historic peninsula of Charleston, SC (nicknamed the Holy City because of all the old churches). Yes, we fly back and forth to Mexico City and the Yucatán, mostly in winter, but Covid has kept us cloistered in the Charleston area for the last two years.
When Obama in 2014, I think, made overtures to Raul Castro and started reopening the US Embassy, we decided in 2017 to take the trip to Havana encouraged by Croft (Canada) and his Cuban friend, Rolando. Raul Castro had loosened the strings a bit, and the Cuban economy was taking off; Raul was bringing back the artistic crafts of Cuban architecture by opening specialized schools. Al went back to Cuba I believe in 2015 to visit relatives. He too saw a difference in rising prosperity. What has killed it all is Covid which hit Cuba severely along with the reversal by Trump of all policy changes made by Obama. By the way, the Cuban people are very friendly, and most in the tourism industry speak fluent English. Beach and I stayed with a Cuban family and ate a lot of smoked rooster (the ones which got too old to fight, a national sport, it seems).
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Kim G said:
Hey Dee! Thanks for the comments. I’ve always wanted to see Charleston, SC, though only God knows when I’ll be able to travel again. This house project is keeping me quite busy. As for covid, I’d suggest you look into the differences between what’s circulating now vs what came out in 2020. It’s almost a totally different virus, more like a common cold than anything. Unless you have some particularly high vulnerability, it doesn’t seem like a good reason to remain cloistered any more. Cheers!
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Nancy Dardarian said:
So nice to hear! I can’t wait for the final reveal!
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Kim G said:
Hey Nancy! I’d be lying if I didn’t agree with you. But it’s a while off yet. Meanwhile I’m immersed in paint. Not literally, thank God! But it’s bad enough. Hugs and thanks for your comment!
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fredv8 said:
Wow! This is very good news! Good fortune has struck in the nick of time.
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Kim G said:
Hey Fred! Thanks. Yes I feel blessed. Sure, the whole process is still a pain in the ass, but it’s manageable. I’m blessed to have this opportunity. Hugs and thanks for stopping by.
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phil said:
It is great to hear about your progress. When that last piece of laminated glass is installed, you’re going to sleep like a baby. Next, you can hang out your shingle as a remodel consultant. You’ll have the credentials.
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Kim G said:
Hola Phil! Yes, I now know more about tiles than any normal human being should. And I’m learning quickly about glass, paint and other things. You’re right. I’d definitely be able to manage such a process much more easily than this time. I guess it’s a good thing I have another house to do, hehe. Cheers and thanks for stopping by!
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Carole said:
An excellent summary of the year! Am thrilled to observe the progress daily. Will send to our mutual friends. It is going to be FAB!
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Kim G said:
Hola Carole! Thank you for your comment, and your endless support and willingness to discuss tiles, glass, paint, etc. ad nauseum. This project wouldn’t be possible without you. Hugs!!!
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Carole said:
Thanks! It is a pleasure, truly!
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Michael Dickson said:
Super picky indeed. Well, yes you are. Some might even phrase it somewhat differently. I am really glad you have put the DIY phase behind you. The place is gonna look FABULOUS!
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Kim G said:
Hola Michael!
Thanks. Yes, the place will look FABULOUS. I can hardly wait. Thanks for stopping by!
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bstone1955 said:
Whoo hoo! Congratulations!👏👏👏
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Kim G said:
Hola Barbara! Thank you. I’m delighted and grateful.
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