Building your Baja dream home Advice, photos and ideas...

Old 04-27-09, 12:40 AM   #21
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

And now we get the ground wet and compacted, just like with the first phase.

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Old 04-27-09, 05:12 AM   #22
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Ron, WOW what a view! That is a beautiful site to build a home on. I am so happy for you guys. I can picture you and your wife sitting on your patio drinking a margarita and enjoying the sunset. Picture perfect!
Old 04-27-09, 05:40 AM   #23
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Very Nice! Smart design. I like your idea of building on the back, it's nice to view the water through some nice landscaping, plus it looks like you have a bit of a rise. I bet it "feels" much better from your house location than closer to the front.

I noticed you are using a grey water tank. Are you building it, or is it a pre-manufactured tank?
Old 04-27-09, 10:08 AM   #24
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by ELINVESTI8
Ron, WOW what a view! That is a beautiful site to build a home on. I am so happy for you guys. I can picture you and your wife sitting on your patio drinking a margarita and enjoying the sunset. Picture perfect!
Thanks David - we are really excited and looking forward to getting it done. We hope to see you there on our patio sharing a Cadillac Margarita or two my friend...

;)
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Old 04-27-09, 10:13 AM   #25
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigWooo
Very Nice! Smart design. I like your idea of building on the back, it's nice to view the water through some nice landscaping, plus it looks like you have a bit of a rise. I bet it "feels" much better from your house location than closer to the front.

I noticed you are using a grey water tank. Are you building it, or is it a pre-manufactured tank?
That's what we figured. The weather is so nice outside we know we will be spending a lot of time out there so we figured by giving ourselves a lot of room in front we can expand our living space enormously. Having a lot of fun working on those landscaping plans which will include a submersed fire pit.

As far as the grey water, we will be burying a 5000 liter prefab tank to store that water which should handle most of our landscaping needs.
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Old 04-27-09, 12:21 PM   #26
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Ron it would be a pleasure to stop by on my way down to El Rosario and have a soda water with lime with you on your patio once it is completed.

David M.
Old 04-27-09, 01:54 PM   #27
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaGringo
As far as the grey water, we will be burying a 5000 liter prefab tank to store that water which should handle most of our landscaping needs.

Ron....... I'm sure your homework has pointed out that it has to be a HEAVY plastic tank as the underground pressure will cave in a lighter material when the tank is empty. I bought a heavy duty 1000 gallon septic tank from Tank Depot and this point was made clear in the specs.
Old 04-27-09, 02:09 PM   #28
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaGringo
As far as the grey water, we will be burying a 5000 liter prefab tank to store that water which should handle most of our landscaping needs.
Ron....... I'm sure your homework has pointed out that it has to be a HEAVY plastic tank as the underground pressure will cave in a lighter material when the tank is empty. I bought a heavy duty 1000 gallon septic tank from Tank Depot and this point was made clear in the specs.
Yea, I know. Chava said the same thing which is why we haven't installed that yet. My Plan B was to build a simple retaining wall around it with block and then a small losa over the top of it. Chava told me he is going to try and see if the hardware store will just swap us out some materials for the tank at the same price and if they do, we will just make it out of block and concrete. (as I should have done in the first place)
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Old 04-27-09, 07:43 PM   #29
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

It sounds like you already have a grey water plan and have probably already seen this book: http://www.amazon.com/New-Create-Oas...0886006&sr=1-1

It's a pretty good book on how to store, design, and use grey water.

Also a couple links to prefab systems, don't know anything about them, but they looked interesting:

http://www.thenaturalhome.com/greywater.html

http://rewater.com/

You'll be done way before us. I'm just beginning to figure out how to use grey water. I'd be interested to see what you come up with.
Old 04-27-09, 07:56 PM   #30
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Thanks for the references - to be completely honest I was really just shooting from the hip on this one. I had a few years water treatment experience and my plan was to just "pre-filter" the grey water going into the tanks through gravel and sand filters via gravitational flow before it hit my storage tank, just to get out any solids. Time and temperature would be my two biggest enemies at that point and I am still drawing that part of it out right now. I was also planning on installing a filter on the outlet which would be pulled by a 12v pump powered by a solar cell and battery. Since we will be running the entire irrigation system via drip, I just need to be sure that I keep solids and algae out of the lines. When I have it all drawn out and begin that part of it I will post them in the thread. If you are going to have any outdoor landscaping it just makes a lot of sense to me to use the grey water from an economic as well as ecological viewpoint.
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Old 04-28-09, 11:27 AM   #31
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Very nice Ron, I did not even know you were building. Was the lot expensive? What about the building? Does that mean you will not be around much in Rosarito anymore? I am very happy for you and your wife but miss you dearly.
Old 04-28-09, 12:45 PM   #32
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

And, of course, storing grey water below ground level will necessitate a pump to get it out.
Sometimes it's best to let the irrigation take place while the water is being used in the house.
Just a thought.
Old 04-28-09, 09:22 PM   #33
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by bajaangie
Very nice Ron, I did not even know you were building. Was the lot expensive? What about the building? Does that mean you will not be around much in Rosarito anymore? I am very happy for you and your wife but miss you dearly.
I didn't tell you? Really????

I will still be online and for the work I do I could be in Timbuktu!!!

In fact, I think some wish I were???

:P
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Old 04-28-09, 09:26 PM   #34
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by DENNIS
And, of course, storing grey water below ground level will necessitate a pump to get it out.
Sometimes it's best to let the irrigation take place while the water is being used in the house.
Just a thought.
I had considered that Dennis but we are going to have a lot of watering areas to cover and drip seems to be the only way it makes any sense to do it without having to revert to using our primary, clean water. I think that if I can get most of the solids filtered out BEFORE it hits the grey water tank we will be okay. I was planing on using a 12 volt submerged pump to supply the drip pressure and it will have an inline filter before it hits the drip lines. I am still working on the design but that is my gut feeling right now.

Tomorrow is another day, and I will have slept as well as consumed a Cadillac Margarita or two, so all could change by then...

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Old 04-28-09, 11:10 PM   #35
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Living on Lava.

If I can learn to embrace the bed of lava that our homesite sits upon instead of being at odds with it at all times, we'll have alot fewer headaches during construction. Unexpected modifications to the design and some creative thinking has been required so far.

Paying for the delivery of a couple dump truck-loads of soil for planting made more sense than paying for the carpal tunnel surgery I was going to require after my shovel struck solid rock time and time again.

Here's our septic (the pile of broken hand tools lays at the bottom of the hole)!



Have fun on your lava Ron!
Old 04-29-09, 12:24 AM   #36
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

I can really relate to that!

We are looking at bring in soil for our gardens too although we will lay down a 6 inch bed of crushed volcanic rock first. That really helps to hold the water...
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Old 04-29-09, 10:26 PM   #37
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Just a question out of curiosity:

How much more money in dollars or percentage do you think that you are having to spend for building in a remote location like that? We have been checking out a couple of such spots ourselves and wondered how much more expensive it would be?

Nice thread by the way and love the way you tell the story of your house. The wife already told me that we are going to have to do the same thing when we start building next year.
Old 04-30-09, 09:56 AM   #38
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Nice place gringo. Looks like you have it all figured out. Was this something you had been planning on for a long time? We are thinking about doing the very same thing. A small weekend place for now and add on later to make it our home in retirement.

Do you have electricity and other services out there?
Old 04-30-09, 10:03 AM   #39
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by k-pasa
Just a question out of curiosity:

How much more money in dollars or percentage do you think that you are having to spend for building in a remote location like that? We have been checking out a couple of such spots ourselves and wondered how much more expensive it would be?

Nice thread by the way and love the way you tell the story of your house. The wife already told me that we are going to have to do the same thing when we start building next year.
It's a funny thing how that works. Some things will be more expensive solely due to the fact that materials will have to be transported out to the job site. What I didn't expect to find is that many of the materials I need for the project - sand, gravel, block, etc are actually cheaper down in San Quintin than in Rosarito Beach, which is where I came from. The cost of labor is also cheaper as life in general in the San Quintin area is much lower than coastal areas closer to the border. After factoring all that in along with the fall of the peso, I have come to discover that it is costing me about 40% less to build than my original projections.

Imagine that on a construction project! It was definitely a first for me...
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Old 04-30-09, 10:07 AM   #40
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Default Re: BajaGringo Construction Report in San Quintin

Quote:
Originally Posted by beachbum
Nice place gringo. Looks like you have it all figured out. Was this something you had been planning on for a long time? We are thinking about doing the very same thing. A small weekend place for now and add on later to make it our home in retirement.

Do you have electricity and other services out there?
We had been planning on this for about the last five years, although we only landed on the exact location to build in the last year. I do think it is a smart idea to plan your building project in stages which will allow you to adapt the home to your lifestyle needs without breaking the piggy bank.

We currently do not have electricity out there. There is a project that has been approved to do so but is awaiting federal funding in the current economic downturn. That is why I am looking at other options. See this related thread:

Calculating Solar Power Needs

Good luck on your future project and keep us posted...
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