Almost exactly ten months ago we started construction work for our project „Marevilla“ vacation rentals here on Cozumel.
A lot has happened on our property since then, and today we want to invite you for a tour around our premise to show you the progress we´ve made.
These two photos show the current status of the construction work on Sunday, October 9, 2022. In the foreground you can see how the deep end of the swimming pool has a concrete floor and parts of the wall are already done. On the left will be the shallow area with seating and stairs into the pool.
While the surrounding wall of the property, the foundations and the building itself were raised fairly quickly, as you may already know, we had to deal with the question of whether the pool should be excavated and built in this first construction phase or at a later point in time. As you can see in the photos above, thanks to the generous support of many dear friends, we were able to start digging the excavation pit, and subsequent work on the swimming pool has begun. We'll have to see whether we can finish the pool completely before we open, either way, we need to finish the walls of the pool enough to make the transition to the structure of the house. Only then can the masons start plastering the outside walls of the building.
While work is being done on the pool, windows and balcony/terrace doors will soon be installed throughout the building.
In the foreground the deep part of the pool. Behind it, the shallow part of the pool is waiting to be built.
In the background the small renovated house where Liang and I live.
We decided to use a natural, local stucco in a warm yellow color for the exterior facade and parts of the interior walls. The pool will get its final "look" with the same material, which will cause the swimming pool water to tend towards turquoise in color.
The name of this stucco is „Chukum“, named after its main ingredient. It has a limestone-base which is mixed with resin from chukum trees, a species of tree which is endemic to the Yucatan region of Mexico. The resin from these trees is extracted by boiling the tree’s bark twice, and it imparts the mixture with water-repelling qualities. It also gives the stucco a warm, golden tone without the need for additional dyes. Chukum is affordable and environmentally friendly, it can significantly increase the lifespan of masonry construction. This technique was lost during the decline of Mayan culture, and was thankfully recovered, and has become popular in recent years.
To be continued in a few days....
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