The pool takes shape

After pouring day the remainder of the week is a bit of an anti-climax. The wood structure is finally taken away leaving a very bare looking pool shape. Now these walls are to be prepared for the tiles.

Once the wood is removed the concrete inside the mould has a smooth surface. Good enough to tile you might think but no! This smooth surface now needs to have 1cm (1/4 inch) completely chipped off leaving a rough surface to hold a further layer of grey cement.


The chipping is done by hand using axes and any other chipping tools available. This takes a day and a half. To avoid the midday sun, the guys rig up a tarpaulin canopy, which keeps the sun’s glare off the site. Unfortunately it’s a catch 22, the hardened concrete is still in the midst of its chemical reaction and giving off heat, the canopy is also keeping the heat in.

The second layer of cement is thrown onto the chipped first layer with a trowel, which causes much cement to be splashed around and lots of clean up work for the guys later. This layer holds the final third layer of adhesive for the tiles.

By Saturday the stairway into the pool and the little seat step on the far corner are formed. The pool looks ready for the tiles.

Unfortunately two of the boxes of the all important cinefa tiles ordered some four weeks ago (for two-week delivery) still haven’t arrived at Boxito and no-one seems to have any idea where they might be. (cinefa - "sin e fa" the border section of the pool that is partially out of the water.)

They are able to offer me one spare box from a previous clients order (made six weeks ago and only just arrived!). I keenly accept and am taken to the bodega (warehouse) to get them. There I see over a dozen boxes of the desired “paradise luminescents” belonging to other client piled high. It’s almost painful. I suggest since their other client can’t possibly use them all at once could they or their client spare just one more box? Then when mine arrive (by their own accounts … any day now) they can have a box back in return.

They have been swayed in the past but this time its not to be and I leave with my solitary but much prized box. My builder, who is well known to them, tries to persuade them again later in the day but meets the same response. We cannot wait much longer as the cinefa needs to be done first. If they have not arrived by Monday we will have to make plans to travel to Cancun to hopefully find some from another supplier.

. . . . . . . .

Toward the end of the week we put in place my builder’s “cortina de agua” gadget for our waterfall.

This has been cleverly devised using 2 and 4 inch plastic piping. The intent is that the large cylinder shape will fill with water from three directions. The top section will be cut open and water will then flow out of the tube container over a tile. Thus forming the the aforementioned cortina curtain effect which will then pour in our pool over a vista maya, mayan style rock wall.

Sounds exotic eh! … I came up with the design and even I am impressed … its one of those things you doodle while bored or admire in a magazine but never expect to have yourself.


One of the joys of building here … you can put your daydreams into action, and at a fraction of the cost back home ... who could not love that!