Thursday Before Christmas

A second day's concerted efforts to finish the Diamond Brite in the pool. I must say, it looks like they are doing a good job of it too.

Diamond Brite the Walls

Diamond Briteing the walls is really going fast. They apply a rough coat, then go around and sponge it smooth. It really looks nice.

It's Moving Right Along

Rene pretty much does the technical parts of plastering. Corners are hard to get nice and smooth. He has the touch.

Washing Down Set Walls

Part of the process. Wetting the walls after the Diamond Brite sets, helps show up any defects and other problems.

Rene Doing a Corner Wall

Looking down on Rene as he finishes the transition between the steps and the wall.

Touching Up the Steps

Laying down on the job helps get the right angle to finish the plastering.

Pump House Almost Completed

Bani is almost done with the pump house. About all that's left if to add sand to the filter, tablets to the tower, and to fill the pool and test everything. I can't wait. Probably will fill the pool tomorrow afternoon.

This is probably the cleanest installation I have seen for a pool in Belize. Very impressive.

Started on the Floor

 They've started Diamond Briteing the floor. Everything looks so white.

Floor Getting Close to Done

From this angle a little later, they're almost done with the Diamond Brite application.

Wednesday Was Busy

After a couple of weeks of inactivity, we had a full house today. We had Carlos, the welder on hand working on railings, a door, and some stairs; Endher and Rene, and the boys doing the Diamond Brite thing; and Bani, completing the plumbing and electrical stuff in the pump house; and finally, the guys doing the screen doors. It seemed like a real three-ring circus for most of the day.

So, let's get started.

Noel Just Having Way Too Much Fun

First off, our new arrival, Noel, our little calico kitty, who weighed in at three-and-a-half pounds at Doctor Sheila's on her second Vet visit, has discovered the absolute joy of toilet paper.

What you see here was just the start. That's only a few feet out of a new roll of TP. She managed to unroll the whole thing, then went running with mouthfuls of the stuff into the bedroom and on into the living room.

All that is when she didn't have Bella's tail to wrestle with, or any of the other dogs, or Nelson to harass so much that he comes up to me, tucks his head into my shoulder and meows plaintively, "please Dad, make her stop. I can't take it any more."

Diamond Brite Arrives on Scene

Here's the Diamond Brite arriving on the scene. I don't know how many bags of it they got, but there ended up being a couple good sized pallet loads under the palapa.

Incidentally, I think Bani, although he's a plumber and an electrician, also has a strong back. He unloaded all of that by himself, except at the very end. Carlos, our caretaker helped him stack the bags onto the pallets.

Dianna Supervising

First things first, the guys had to assemble a pump to begin de-watering the pool. During the inactivity, it did rain a bit. We had about three or four inches of rainwater in the bottom of the pool that had to be drained off.

It's Supposed to Suck

Part of the initial process of pumping is to get the thing to actually pump the water.

You've got to prime the pump, you must have faith and believeYou've got to give of yourself 'fore you're worthy to receive

- Desert Pete, by the Kingston Trio

Priming the pump can be a challenge. They finally got it going. It still took most of the day to finally get the bottom of the pool free of water, well, enough that the plastering process will be able to move ahead.

Getting Crowded in the Spa

Here's Rene and Theo applying the Diamond Brite in the spa. It's amazing how beautiful it looks as they smooth it up.

Screen Doors Being Installed

And the screen doors - they're simply gorgeous. The screening material used is the same shade cloth, so it should last a good long while. Each door (one at either end of the deck) also will have a doggy door just like the screen doors in the rest of the house.

A Quick Scrub-Down of the Pool

With all the rain and inactivity, it didn't take long for the water in the pool to turn green. So, before the plastering began, the pool was given a quick scrubbing and rinse with the hose as the pump was removing the debris.

Doors Going In

The screen doors went in without a hitch. The latches have yet to be installed, but they work well and look really sharp. An added bonus was that they made it easy for the guys to block access to the pool by the doggies at the end of the day - the Diamond Brite takes time to set, just like concrete.

What They Look Like Installed

Here's a quick look at one of the doors installed. Very nice. That bag on the floor has the latches for the doors.

Diamond Brite Being Applied

Even though de-watering took a good part of the day, nothing prevented the guys from applying Diamond Brite to the upper edges of the pool around the tile waterline.

Stairs and Walls Being Done

The job is really moving along fast. And it just looks gorgeous. The spa, except for the floor, and the stairs are all pretty much done.

The guys have started doing the major wall portions already as well.

Ensuring A Good Fit

Some final work with a block plane and the door will be a perfect fit. It was nice to see someone using traditional non-powered tools. Usually, if any planing is required, someone brings out the power planer and away they go. I love hand tools. That's why I've always enjoyed watching the Woodwright's Shop on PBS.

Welder's Hinges, An Example

Here's the hinges that Carlos, the welder had promised me. They're called 'welder's hinges'. As you can see, there's a hole at the top, where lubricant can be periodically applied to keep things working smoothly. I'll be able to apply my silicone lock lube in there with no problem.

They're available at the Chinese hardware store on San Andres Road. Carlos says that welder's generally don't like to use them because they cut down on repeat business of replacing broken or rust-frozen hinges.

Circular Stair With Treads

Carlos, the welder and his helpers are also busy working on the circular stairs. Treads have been added, priming is done, and the top coat, blue (naturally) is being applied.

Bani, Hooking It All Up

Bani is in the final stages of getting everything hooked up in the pump house. I'm looking forward to him briefing me up on how it all works together and just what valve does what.

I've been very impressed with the way he's organized the pump house. Everything has easy access and there's plenty of room to maneuver in the room.

Saturday

A Saturday work-fest 15 October, 2016. For some reason, today has seemed slow, to Dianna and myself. Not sure why. Maybe we didn't sleep all that good or something. Who knows? Anyway, here's what's been happening today.

Ramp Columns Curing

First off, the forms came off the columns as soon as the crew started working. Nice looking columns too.

New Forms Up and Ready

Next thing, those forms were put in place and braced for a pour this afternoon. Then the guys moved quite a few more wheelbarrow loads of fill into the ramp walkway and the stair pad. Shortly after lunch, they filled the three forms with concrete.

Electrical Work in the Pump House

While that was going on, Bani, the electrician, was busy wiring up the pump house for lighting. I need to ask him if he can put a porch light just outside the door too. I just did that very thing. Light switch and box will be going in.

Next Forms Already Filled

Here's the forms I mentioned. They're already filled. Mario came by. He and Endher talked it over and decided there was too much of a span in the ramp itself, so they're going to add two more columns. That'll work good.

Endher Making Two More Forms

Here's Endher fabricating the additional forms. I'm always amazed at what they can get done with just a few hand and power tools, oh yes, and dull saw blades and drill bits. Why buy a new blade, it still cuts?

Saturday A Nice Cool Day for Construction - Then it Rains; Sunday Even Worse

Saturday was a day for the plants, not so much for the workers trying to get some concrete and block work finished.

The Deck North Wall Going Up

The guys have been working hard to get this project moving along. The deck wall, as it grows, marks the northern terminus of the pool deck. Just outside of that will be an accessibility ramp from the parking area up to the deck - about a two-foot rise, and hopefully, a gentle one at that. Dianna has a real hard time negotiating steep slopes with her walker.

It Changes Minute by Minute

As you can see, it's been changing minute by minute as the day progresses. Probably Monday, some of the marl will be moved around to level out the fill for the deck. We'll see.

Forms Up to Pour South Wall Footing

On the south side, the footing for the wall is a bit easier to see. Here the form has been put in place.

Presto Chango It's Full

And here, the form has magically been filled with concrete. It extends from the house to the pump house. There will also be an accessibility ramp at this end, a virtual clone of the one on the north side.

Pump House Doorway

The pump house is growing too. Here you can see where the door will be going in. The pump house is going to be about twice the size of the old one, and will have roughly the same shape. But it will be constructed to be more bomb-proof than the old one. No more lean and cracks in it's wall.

South Deck Wall Growing Fast Too

The deck wall is quickly growing to its final height. I'm really looking forward to seeing the marl shifted around to fill in some holes.

Pump House Wall Definitely Growing

Here, you can see the walls for the pump house are also growing right along. It won't be long before the opening for the window louver will become evident. Incidentally, the waterfall will be returning, but without the glass marble mosaic. It's going to have a stone-look backing and will gently cascade over them to the pool instead of a straight fall to the pool, which, although it looks marvelous, was entirely too noisy for us.


If Saturday was a day of drizzle and gray, Sunday was even worse. Rain all morning, either drizzle or fairly hard rain. Thunder, off in the distance completed the picture. It was one of those days that made you just feel like napping all day.

A good thing, the thermometer went down to 75 (f), but the humidity for most of the morning was hovering up around eighty-five to almost ninety-percent.

The rest of the day was gray, just like at least parts of the previous two weeks days. One of the reasons we don't live in the Northwest (Olympia, WA) anymore. We couldn't stand the nine months of water torture. Today has been a good reminder of that. We're hoping Monday may see an improvement.

Related to that, we are keeping a sharp eye on that disturbance coming due west from Africa. Invest 97L is tracking West, Northwest, by West, right now, just grazing Venezuela. It could be named Matthew before too long. It looks like it has us in its sights. And there might be another one right behind it. We'll see. Sleep light.

Guess What's Started?

I admit it. I did take a brief hiatus for a few days. I'd like to say it was due to some sort of equipment malfunction or something, but no. It was mainly due to laziness on my part. My apologies to everyone.

Here's what's been going on. We've started making great use of Skype, as evidenced by the photo of Dianna below talking to her brother, David.

Dianna Talking to Her Computer

Since we're on Satellite, we can use Skype. If we were still on BTL, well, that's something that they block. I've heard they block it illegally, but still it's blocked.

Skype works pretty good. It's not perfect by any means, but when you think of the distance and nearly instantaneous comms, well, it's really better than pretty good.

I've finally started shooting more stuff with my DSLR (a Canon). A couple of days ago, I fired up my telephoto lens and snapped this great egret roosting in the pine trees across the canal from our place. If you look carefully, there's someone else in the picture also checking out the crane.

Two Visitors

Long-time readers will remember Cody's (our caretaker) silver and red Chevy van. Well, he finally sold it (for more than he paid for it too). He took that money and now is the proud owner of this nice little red Nissan. BTW, the stereo works fine - sounds like a jukebox on wheels as he comes down the road.

Cody's New Ride

Now to the news... Construction has started again. Our guest house is finally underway. Here's a couple of shots showing the logistical end of things, the staging of the materials. Loads of sand and gravel, and about 700 6" blocks, and under the palapa, 35 bags of cement. Oh yes, and a bunch of lengths of rebar.

Getting Ready for the Job

Getting Ready for the Job - Part II

And here we are with construction underway. You can see it's going to be about 23'x23' and will but up right against the pool deck. A nice location.

Forming the Footprint

More Forming the Footprint

Isidoro and his brothers are doing the construction, working for Bob who's the GC. Footing pour is well underway in these shots.

Guest House Footings Being Poured

More of the Guest House Footings Being Poured

More of the Pour

And More of the Pour

Esidoro Adjusting the Bridge

We have a new "pool boy" - Cody. We enlisted (ok, press-ganged) him to clean tiles in the pool. Here he and Dianna are hard at it. I know, it's pretty rough duty. Notice the liquid refreshment...

Dianna and Cody Cleaning the Pool Tile

Still Cleaning the Pool Tile

Quackers is Keeping an Eye on Things

Cody Hard At It

We had been thinking of having a mural painted on the pool house where the waterfall comes into the pool. We met with Gale Peterson and Ali Shandiz and they suggested doing a mosaic. Here's a design they've proposed for us. It's based on a Roman spa mosaic and looks pretty cool. It will definitely be a great addition to our pool. They have a website too: (http://cpsnetworki.com) showing off their artwork and projects they have done.

Proposed Mosaic for Our Pool

Last but not least, just to show that we have done some things in the interim, I've been working some to neatify the pump house. I've added a bracket (actually a planter box support frame) to hold up the vacuum hose.

Pump House Beautification