Decisions, decisions, decisions.
On Tuesday morning the palapero (the guy who builds the thatched palapa roofs) dropped by. For the record, my builders are a father and son team. The son speaks good English, his father speaks slow enough for me to follow with my limited “building Spanish” vocabulary but the palapero spoke at over 100mph without even breathing. Clear instructions are important here so we called the builder for assistance. Within the hour my builder, the palapero and I, had finalized a design I was very happy with. The palapero will also quote me for replacement to our little palapa guest house roof (concrete with decorative palapa topping), which took a beating during Wilma and right now is looking like a bad Beatle haircut (– yes I am a boomer!)
That done my builder and I then went off to Boxito (Bo-shi-to), a well know building goods supplier here on Cozumel, to choose the pool tiles. Here in Mexico it is better to tile a pool. Painted pools have problems when the effects of intense sunlight and pool chemicals cause the paint to start peeling. This will eventually get your filters blocked and require a repaint in the long run. The labour costs are lower here too so the tiling work is cheaper. So although the tiles cost a bundle - in the long run tiles are your best bet for a longer pool life! The downside is that unlike paint, once in place, tiles are pretty well permanent. And at that price ... they will be staying!
The supplier Boxito is probably about as close to Home Depot (Great Mills) as you are going to get on Cozumel. I strangely enjoy my visits there. It’s a very different place since Wilma though … its all poshed up now and has a huge new bodega (storage area). Ah …the supplies, the possibilities - I told you I’m not a sunning myself-on-the-beach gal, and anyhoo, suntans are so passé these days!
After some humming and hawing and a bit of hands on checking through the boxes of tiles in the bodega ( they dont always know what they have in there), we finally chose pool tiles. My builder showed great patience while I wrestled with the choices.
Anyone who knows me well will know that I am a "decision challenged" person. When in doubt I usually prefer to leave decisions to the nearest person available ... strangers included! In the past I have had a whole wall of newly installed tiles removed when I forced a decision then decided they just didn’t quite fit my vison.
This decision understandably took the wind from the sails of the builder who had just installed them that previous day! Gobsmacked was putting it mildly, but he took it with good humour and agreed my new choice was much better. He benefited well later, when we made a deal and he took them home. Returns do not go down well here - (especially tiles just peeled off a wall!) so unlike back home, where returns are a walk in the park - when you make your choice here ... you are usually stuck with it.
That done my builder and I then went off to Boxito (Bo-shi-to), a well know building goods supplier here on Cozumel, to choose the pool tiles. Here in Mexico it is better to tile a pool. Painted pools have problems when the effects of intense sunlight and pool chemicals cause the paint to start peeling. This will eventually get your filters blocked and require a repaint in the long run. The labour costs are lower here too so the tiling work is cheaper. So although the tiles cost a bundle - in the long run tiles are your best bet for a longer pool life! The downside is that unlike paint, once in place, tiles are pretty well permanent. And at that price ... they will be staying!
The supplier Boxito is probably about as close to Home Depot (Great Mills) as you are going to get on Cozumel. I strangely enjoy my visits there. It’s a very different place since Wilma though … its all poshed up now and has a huge new bodega (storage area). Ah …the supplies, the possibilities - I told you I’m not a sunning myself-on-the-beach gal, and anyhoo, suntans are so passé these days!
After some humming and hawing and a bit of hands on checking through the boxes of tiles in the bodega ( they dont always know what they have in there), we finally chose pool tiles. My builder showed great patience while I wrestled with the choices.
Anyone who knows me well will know that I am a "decision challenged" person. When in doubt I usually prefer to leave decisions to the nearest person available ... strangers included! In the past I have had a whole wall of newly installed tiles removed when I forced a decision then decided they just didn’t quite fit my vison.
This decision understandably took the wind from the sails of the builder who had just installed them that previous day! Gobsmacked was putting it mildly, but he took it with good humour and agreed my new choice was much better. He benefited well later, when we made a deal and he took them home. Returns do not go down well here - (especially tiles just peeled off a wall!) so unlike back home, where returns are a walk in the park - when you make your choice here ... you are usually stuck with it.
posted by casaolivia at 12:50 AM
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