TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Building your Baja dream home

The total footprint of the construction will be almost a 1000 sqft which includes a 2 car garage, workshop and bathroom. The roof will be concrete (losa) which will leave us a nice, elevated terrace area and plenty of room left over for an upstairs game room / bar.

The reason I ask is we have plans for a 900 sq. ft. garage with a similar layout, bathroom etc... I thought I was overdoing it a bit with the square footage but I guess I'm not the only one!

You can never have too big a garage IMHO. A key part of this project is the outside bathroom - a very important part of the social element down here. When folks stop by to visit the guys will never ask to use the bathroom in your house - that's for their wives and kids to use.

As a good host you will have a bathroom outside for your "compas".

Don't ask me why, I don't make the rules around here...

So, are you going to have both an indoor AND an outdoor bathroom? Ours is going to be inside (my wife insisted) but maybe a urinal outside!

Yeah, it's a funny thing down here. The local social rules seem to dictate that when the guys come over to the house they hang around outside (which is why a palapa is a must have) and the women and small children inside. An outside bathroom is a social must have...

Gee. From my experience in Baja, I thought that outdoors WAS a bathroom!

Where does the garage/shop sit in relationship to the casa? Could you please walk out a little farther to take a picture of all? I gotta know in advance what my closest options are in case the dogs are having a bad day!

The macho approach to banos IS weird here! I've had a young friend actually walk 3 blocks back to his casa to use his own bano while he's working at my place for the day!! We were close enough that I felt comfortable asking him what the deal was....I have two perfectly functioning banos with all the necessary supplies & typical accessories that he's welcome to use but he he opts to run home....what gives? He said my bano is "too nice & he's afraid he'd mess it up!" I'll refrain from getting into the mental image that comment created! Other male friends & workers have opted to take a leak in full view outside rather than use my bano in total privacy! Is there some obscure male rationale to a dinner guest opting to water plants out back rather than use the bathroom inside? I swear it's now pink or frilly!!! But I noticed this week, someone in the painting crew did make use of a bathroom here....but he musta figured it'd be a dead giveaway if he'd have "announced" he'd used it by flushing to get rid of the evidence! And as BG said, Mexican women have absolutely no problem in asking to use the bano....it's gotta be a gender thing!

The garage is set off from the house about 15 feet and sits a bit farther back than the house. The vehicles that will be parked in the garage will not be my daily drivers so there is no big advantage to an attached garage. The Yukon and the F250 will be parked out in front off the porch most of the time and I really prefer it that way.

The bathroom phobia thing with men down here is just a cultural thing. They are brought up to believe that it is bad manners to ask to use the indoor bathroom of someone else and why most people here have an outdoor water closet for that very reason. Some may be as simple as an outhouse but I have actually seen some very nice ones with marble, travertine and mosaics.

This one will have indoor plumbing but not so sure yet about any marble???

Thank you!! Please leave that ladder in place for me....just in case I need to move really fast!

Oh, I'd prefer to be shown to the indoor bano, if it's all the same to you! I'll leave the "men's room" free for the men!

That is a nice looking place Ron.
Oh, and PUHLEEEZE put a Caballeros sign on the outdoor bano.....
Those dang women are always leaving the seat down.

Or, are you going to have a trough with an ice machine to fill it, a kegerator and music?

Originally Posted by longlegsinlapaz

Thank you!! Please leave that ladder in place for me....just in case I need to move really fast!

I take it you saw who was peeking around the corner of the house, just right of the ladder?

Originally Posted by soulpatch

That is a nice looking place Ron.
Oh, and PUHLEEEZE put a Caballeros sign on the outdoor bano.....
Those dang women are always leaving the seat down.

Or, are you going to have a trough with an ice machine to fill it, a kegerator and music?

Thanks bud. I am working on an idea for a door sign to make that message clear. I agree - how rude to always leave the seat down!!!



The music and adult beverages will be upstairs in the bar / game room that will be built on the roof terrace. It will be 16X25 and leave room for music system, bar and a pool table...

So now it is starting to take shape. We are using 8" block as a first row off the foundation and continue up with 6". Plumbing and electrical are all set up. Before we dug the foundations the septic tank was put in (I wanted to keep it separate from the other two tanks) and is already covered up...

Wow! Great progress since I was there last week!

Nice...I'm so jealous. Soon......

Ron, are the poly 55's for water to do the job?

Also, how much wind do you get daily... here in Mission Viejo I don't think I get enough wind for the "wind generation"..

Remember a number of years looking at it... but, think we are bit to low on afternoon breezes coming though the Saddleback Valley...

We almost always have an afternoon breeze, but think it is only 10-12... for about 2-3 hours a day.. but the wind backup has proven pretty good to augment you "system"

I'm still "thinking" about it... but, ...................

Looking good though.... what fun to be able to build your place... eating my heart out..

Keep it coming... just love to watch "projects"...

Very Cool!

Margaret&Maggie would like to know if there's going to be a place we could afford, in your places?

Really, really really inexpensive?

Truly looks wonderful!

M&M

The problem here Margaret is that there isn't much in the way of the rentals, down here close by the beach. I don't know your full economic situation but if you were able to put enough together to buy a small lot you could probably live pretty cheap in a trailer or motor home on your lot. Problem is that most of the cheaper areas don't have electricity right now...

OK, so now the walls are coming up and the spaces better defined...
.

Moving right along!! Progress.....ain't it grand? Thanks for leaving that ladder up as I requested! It makes a good vantage point for you to take pics, huh?

And what makes you think I haven't installed an elevator inside the house???