I never knew that we were planning on having the pool on the deck?

Hey look! I didn’t realize we had a lap pool on the deck ?

So much has happened in the past week, so where do I start? Oh yes, where I left off of course, the water storage tank. You see, our new house is being built in Maya Beach, and our water comes from the Placencia Hotel / Resort up the road a mile or so. It’s awesome water, drinkable, but for some unknown reason, it’s shut off every evening at 4PM and turned back on at 4 AM every day. Because of this, we need to install a small water storage tank and pump with enough water to last a day or so, just in case. After all, how an i going to make ice cubes for my rum at night without water?

Under the house, on right, the 2 area’s.

So we have two separated concrete floored area’s under the house, one for an outdoor washer/dryer, and the larger one for air conditioning units, whole house generator and water storage tank and pump. It’s on the house plans, our builder is aware of this, so we are good right?

I look out one day and see the guys carrying the large white plastic water tank and placing it in the area I thought it was going. I realize that the two large air conditioning units are also in there, on the concrete floor. So, I head down to talk to the site foreman Rigo, and he says the plan is to put either the tank or generator on the other side of the concrete wall, where Marsha’s washer/dryer is supposed to go.

Ooops!

So the conversation arrises with my builder Keven, who says he thought the laundry room was upstairs in the house. I had this discussion with him months ago when they were preparing to pour the concrete floor upstairs for the main floor, remember? They hadn’t run lines, drains and pipes through the flooring for the upstairs laundry room, and I caught it before they poured the concrete flooring the next day? Back then he told me he thought the laundry was going in down under the house, and I reminded him, we were having two laundry areas, one in house, one under house for guests in Cabana.

Upper right hand corner is the “upper level” laundry.

So, here’s another instance where it was paramount that I am here during the building of the house here in Belize. We would have shown up in a month and found Marsha’s under the house laundry, no more! Don’t ever mess with a wife’s laundry room, or house plans!

I also have to say, as I did in last post, having a good builder means he is very busy, on multiple building sites, and I’m sure its difficult to keep up on everything.

That is my purpose in life right now.

On good notes, all the beautiful flooring is laid on the inside, the decks and the stairs both front and back.

All floor tile installed, inside house, deck and front and back stairs.

And then there are the windows and doors, and my initial statement of a “swimming pool”?

All of our windows and doors are custom made, in different places. The double front entry doors and double security doors in downstairs concrete room are being built by a woodworker named Conrad in Hopkins. The giant folding doors going out to the deck, and the massive folding window between kitchen and deck area are coming from Guatemala. All the other windows are being made in Spanish Lookout at Peters’s Glass. Peters Glass delivered the windows almost a month ago, all that is except three very important ones, for the bedroom.

No…not my house, not my guys work 😉

We are almost past what they refer to as the “rainy season” here in Belize. What that means is two months when massive rain blown by heavy winds, blows sideways off the sea. Our new house is right on the sea, and my deck during the past couple weeks has been often a swimming pool. More importantly, the openings for the bedroom windows, provided access to the newly tiled floors, that were continually puddled.. I will say that luck was with us, and the water never reached the wood siding or sheetrock, which was my concern.

              Here is waterfront bedroom, note one window in, three missing?

Yesterday, the final three windows were delivered and installed.

Kevin my builder tells me the large folding window and door crossed the border this weekend and should be arriving soon.

Take note of this date, and everyone…place your bets!

I will finish by saying again, I have an awesome crew of workers building our home. No matter what I bring up, about design flaws, confusion about certain placements and installs, they are doing an outstanding job building our home. They take pride in their work, smile at me all day, from 6 AM until 6 PM every day.

My guys, loading wheel barrels of concrete and dumping for basement floor.

I have heard and seen nightmares from others about the builds of houses and communities. Many houses go thru multiple builders just to complete these builds, that is, if they in fact are completed.

All I can say is I am thankful to be able to be here during the entire building of our new home, from buying the lot, to move in day.

The hardest part is being separated from my wife Marsha for a entire year. It is truly a test of love and trust.

One more month and I hope to be singing at the top of my lungs, hand and hand with her, on our new deck, overlooking the awesome Caribbean waters.

Cheers all,

Gary….the Pirate