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BigWooo ... what does HM HM HM HM mean on the second floor around the staircase area?

Kate-

We've got 2 different computer design programs we use for playing with design ideas as well as making detailed copies of the plans for the masons. So there's multiple copies of this basic floorplan- one with window sizes, one with exterior dimensions, interior dimensions, etc.

Wooo happened to grab the copy of the floorplan I'm using for the "lighting plan" and the one I've been using for playing with patio and landscaping ideas. "HM" is my code for "half moon" which are those little eclipse shaped lights you see on patio walls and decks. We're putting some of those 12 volt lights below waist level in the stairwell for times when you only need to illuminate the steps.

Bet you were wracking your brain for an architectural term - "HM HM what the heck could HM be???"

HM=half moon
Well DUH, I shoulda know that! You two must be having a blast working all this out. Hope the execution goes as well as the plans.

YES!!! I had zoomed way in on that legend, but still couldn't decipher the half moon line....could read all the others, so knew it had something to do with lighting & since it was on an interior wall in the stairwell tower, I GUESSED it was foot lighting! I doubt if I coulda read "half moon", it would have clarified a thing! Isn't it funny how we all come up with our own unique legends?

Nice looking plans and construction progress so far. Are you guys using a pressure tank for your water?

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Nice looking plans and construction progress so far. Are you guys using a pressure tank for your water?

Thank you.

Yes we're using a pressure tank. I'm running a Dankhoff 4.5 gpm pump and a pressure tank. Don't remember the actual tank size, It's one hundred something, but actually has around 80 gallons of usable water before the pump fires up to replenish it.

I've heard there are some good tankless pumps now, but I installed the utilities several years ago (before they were available). Eventually, I may split the water supplies to the casita and main house. Then I'll use a tankless pump for one or the other.

What kind of power does that thing pull at startup / running?

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

What kind of power does that thing pull at startup / running?

I don't know what the start up draw is, I've never measured it and it's not in the specs., but at 30 psi it draws 13 amps DC, 50 psi draw is 16 amps DC, and 65 psi (max pressure) draw is 22 amps DC. I have my pressure switch set at 30/50.

How big is your pila and how often do you have to refill?

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

How big is your pila and how often do you have to refill?

Our Pila is about 8700 gallons. With daily use, plus a modest garden and some fruit trees on drip, we're going through about 10,000 liters (2600 gallons) every 25-30 days.

The truck that delivers our water carries 10,000 liters, so I have him come about once a month to keep the tank topped off. I don't like to let it get more than one truck low, just in case the truck breaks down. There are no others around to fall back on.

I'd be curious to see how much other people use.

When we are doing some heavy building we go through about 3 to 6,000 liters per week on average, based on how much concrete they are pouring. With no building / just day to day living we average about 1,200 - 1,500 liters per week, ranging from winter to summer. That was one of the reasons I decided to elevate our tinaco and just use the gravity flow in lieu of the pressure tank; figuring that with the reduced water pressure we would waste less water and save on night time power use as well.

It has been working out good so far...

I average about 10,000 liters per month, a little more in summer. That's with a swimming pool that needs to be topped off because of evaporation, backwashing, etc. Trees also need deep-watering because there's so little rainfall here. The rest of my garden is desert plants, but even those need some water.

My place is on city water, which comes maybe 2-3 times a week, usually in the middle of the night. A week ago Sunday they turned it on during the day, whee!!

I tried using gravity for a year, and it sucked. My tinaco is on the roof, but the house is only one story. Believe it or not, adding a pressure pump (tankless type) didn't affect my consumption, though it did make showers a lot more enjoyable.

I bought one of those small, in-line pressure pumps Kate but was having trouble keeping it running in automatic mode. I debated just leaving it running all the time during the day as the power consumption is low. When we built I had them elevate our tinaco about 8 feet higher than normal and that does give us a little more pressure. I bought another pump / different brand last trip north and was planning on trying it out this weekend. It does seem like a good compromise if I can get it to work.

I guess there's still some "city" in us. It just bugs me of there's no water pressure.

What I have to figure out someday is just how much water's going into my drip system. I'm guessing about half our use is for plants. Once we get the grey water system up and running to supplement watering, I'm hoping that our use will decrease quite a bit.

Did you split your drain system for grey water?

Yes! The showers in both the casita and main house along with the washer will go to the grey water cistern, with an overflow to septic just in case the pump goes down or there's some other problem. Toilets, bathroom sinks, and kitchen sinks go to septic.

Below is the grey water system I'm using. The price has gone WAY up since I bought mine. I was their first customer several years ago and bought the demo system they were using in trade shows for less than 1/4 the price that they are going for now! It's been sitting in my garage forever. I don't have the sand filter though, as it requires too much water to back flush the debris back to septic. I opted for a large cartridge washable filter. If I put good traps in the showers, and filter out the lint at the washer, it shouldn't be a big deal to clean it once in a while.

http://rewater.com/Overview.html

Interesting....why showers to grey water, but not bano sinks?

If that cartridge filter you going to use is equivalent or comparable to a pool cartridge filter, the pool guys here recommended they it be replaced every 6 months!! After I was quoted $250 (NOT pesos!) a pop here in the early 2000's, I made the original one the builder had installed (without discussing it with me, which, in all honesty, might not have made any difference at that point in time since it was my first ever pool)....last 5 years!! I'd never use a cartridge filter for my pool again!! Sand filter is the only way to go & based on the frequency you'd need to backwash, or swap out the sand, it might still be more cost-effective. But then my water only has to come 10-12 miles & costs me $600 pesos for 10K liters....I know yours has got to be a bundle more! I suppose you guys looked into the cost of a small desalination plant? What would happen if you came up with an alternative water source (50-gallon rain barrel) & back-washed grey water system every few months with sea water? It'd be flushed shortly with "fresh", so I wouldn't think limited saltwater would damage the filtration equipment. But I'd research it well!

My pool backwash, shower, bano sinks & washing machine all end up watering (non-food) plants & none of my plants have complained! Only my kitchen sink (w/garbage disposal), dishwasher & toilets go to my black water tank & I still think I have to have it pumped way too frequently!

It's a washable filter, doesn't need to be replaced except every 3 or 4 years, if it doesn't work out, I always have the option of installing a sand filter. I'm still debating the bathroom sinks. Main reason I didn't include them is that I wash my hands with harsh soap after doing projects, which might not be too good for plants, plus I didn't want toothpaste residue in the drip system, I don't think that filters out very well. Since the bathroom sinks really aren't that big of a source of water, so far I'm inclined to exclude them. I'd love to collect rain water, but in year and a half we've lived here, we've had exactly 3/8" of rain.

As far as desal or backwash with seawater, I believe desalinization is very expensive, and I'm just too lazy to haul seawater , I'd rather waste water in a normal sand backwash if the filter doesn't work out. Oh...I wish we were paying $600 a truck! 10,000 liters costs us $1000 pesos

When we set up our system we ran only the toilets to the septic tank. All of the other drains go to the grey water tank. If you do some math and calculate the total grey water volume and divide that into the minute volume of harsh soap / toothpaste, you will probably find that the dilution factor is overwhelming. A cartridge filter on the grey water out would remove any solids that might cause problems with your drip feed.

We pay 800 pesos per pipa and really try to economize our water. I am currently negotiating with some neighbors to go into partnership on a very nice water truck available up north and just bring in our own water. It's about an hour drive from the well source out here to the beach.

Things have been moving a bit slowly lately as there's been a lot of steel to tie, along with many trabes and castillos to pour. They are getting ready to form up the final bond beam for the lower level, so today we had to run all the wire that will go to the second story. Actually "they" ran it....I think I'm getting better at supervising "

Kinda scary thinking that once the beam is poured, if we forgot anything, it's going to be a huge job to run the wires later.



We received a load of the foam that will go in the roof to insulate it:



The kitchen and living room windows are starting to take shape:



and the columns that will form the arches and support for the upper level are going in:



We may have a roof in the not too distant future