Ojo de Agua, Panama

Throughout the building process there are moments when construction seems to go at a snails pace, the last few weeks are a great example. We have been “pecking away” at the foam panel installation. It is a slow process filling in the spaces between the post and beam framing. Some of the spaces, especially around the eaves still had to be framed. When building one seems to always leave the more tedious parts of a process for the end. So the last few parts seem to take forever. But now all the panels are fastened to the posts, beams and bottom plates of the floor. Once the stucco is in place the house is going to be well insulated and strong.

We also installed seismic straps or “hold downs” in case of any future earthquakes. Any one who has spent time in Panama and has some construction knowledge can see that most residential buildings are not designed to withstand an earthquake. I’m not saying all houses are built poorly here, but unfortunately the majority are not constructed well. Concrete is king here. Almost all construction is concrete block and stucco. Builders here generally use the least amount of rebar they can possibly get away with. This is mainly due to economics. The majority of Panama’s population can not afford to spend anymore money than what is absolutely necessary to put a roof over their family’s head. So they must cut corners and rebar reinforcement in the popular concrete construction is minimum. If there ever is a strong quake here most likely many good people are going to have their homes crumble around them. This is one reason why I choose to go with a post and beam home. Wood flexes and bends when the earth shakes, concrete does not. Anyways, one important part of our construction is attaching the posts that are in the ground to the posts that are standing on the floor and supporting the beams that support the roof. We designed the seismic straps and had them fabricated by the local pig farmer / welder named Toni. He did a great job at a fair price in a quick manner. One strap is screwed into the ground post below and another to the wall post above, then the two are connected together by a long threaded rod. They are fastened on each corner of the house. In case of a quake the house should hold together as one unit. In the near future we will be installing Simpson hurricane/seismic straps, brought in from the states, to the roof rafters and top plates or beams. This should really hold everything together in emergency.

The past couple days we worked on the main entrance to the house. We built a small “star deck” with steps leading up to the large front porch. As those of us who live here know, the night sky is absolutely amazing. Here in the Azuero their is so little light pollution. The star gazing is incredible. This little deck will be a perfect place to recline a chair and stare in to the vast dark night watching the stars and listening to the coyotes howling in the distance. Of course we built the stairs to U.S. code, seven inches high and eleven inches wide. Easy to maneuver stairs are a rarity here, not these, their perfect.

Since the last update we also worked on the bathroom design, mainly the shower. As the photos show we placed a lot of windows in the bath for natural light and ventilation. For now the only glass in the house will be in the corner of the shower and a window between the beam and the roof above the entrance into the shower. The rest of the windows will have screens and shutters.

Enjoy the photos.

While walking around, coming or going from the project, or running errands, I can not help myself from snapping photos of random points of beauty, or at least things at that moment that I think look beautiful. And of course, since I am trying to sell gorgeous ocean view land located in Panama and always in need of new material for my website ranking, these aforementioned photos end up on this blog. Whether it’s my neighbor’s tractor bailing hay for his livestock to chew on at the end of the dry season, photos of near-by churches or the sun shining through a cloud, if I think it’s beautiful it’s my duty to share. So, enjoy the sharing.

Nothing makes a structure start to feel like a finished home like raising walls. I have a sense of deep satisfaction seeing the design come to life before my very eyes. All those hours sitting at the table, with a sketch pad, pencil, calculator and Google Sketch-up running on the computer are finally paying off. As the walls go up, empty spaces become future bedrooms and baths.

The interior construction is going slow, but after finishing the roof, working on the inside is a big relief and time passes quickly. In the morning, park the car near the house, turn some music on and build some walls. Before I know it each afternoon it’s time to clean up and go for a surf to wash off the dirt, saw dust and foam shavings of the day.

We framed all the walls with 2 x 6 material from bottom plate to beam so that after the foam insulated panels have their final stucco finish a 3/4 inch relief between the lumber and the stucco will show. We choose this particular construction method for easy framing and for a unique style that does not exist around here. We will see how the finish product turns out. At this point I am very excited.

Here are some photos of the project up till now.

Nothing is as tropical as a coconut palm tree.

Though it is not natural for coconuts to grow in the hills of Ojo de Agua, we have been vigorously planting them on the property over the last few years. It will take a few more years for them to start producing fruit but, I look forward to the day when I have plenty of chilled refreshing coconut water in the fridge. Can you say Piña Colada? Yummy.

One of the investors here asked me to plant two large palm trees at the entrance to their property. Lucky for them I have plenty of palms that I originally planted to close together, perfect for transplanting. I pruned and dug out two three year old palms growing near the well house. It is not easy digging out a tree that has spent years “putting down roots.” It took some time, but they eventually succumbed to my pick, shovel and elbow grease. Once removed, I walked down to one of only two mature palms I have on the property and grabbed two young sprouting coconuts to plant in the place where their elders once grew. Thank heavens they were much easier to remove from their habitat. We transplanted the large palms in their new location with some of the dirt from their old home. The dirt was rich in pieces of roots, leaves and other quality organic material. They’re going to need all the nutrients they can get since their new spot is basically compacted road surface. We staked them to make sure they stay in one place and put a hose on trickle to rotate between the two, this will keep them watered throughout the dry season. I usually do not plant much this time of year due to the lack of rainfall, but since I have spring and well water at my disposal they have a good chance of surviving. Below are some photos of the transplanting process.

La Casa Verde

A good friend of mine from back home in Pensacola took a side trip to visit me here and catch some waves with him and his family. I don’t think the kids were ready to leave back to their vacation house in the wave rich area of Santa Catalina, Panama. Above is a link to his website. Take a look if anyone is thinking about taking a trip to Catalina, they rent the house and have it for sale. The house is perfectly located for access to town and of course the point. Below are some photos of me on my twin fin fish and of his daughter riding her first wave at Venao.

We had a nice swell in the middle of last week. Glassy, powerful overhead rights peeling off the sandbar at Venao. What a refreshing way to cool off after a hard days work in the sun. Of course I got out of the water right before dark. Here are a few photos I snapped while changing out of my wet baggies. Another beautiful sunset.

Here are some updated photos of parcel one, the premier ocean view titled parcel we have available here in Ojo de Agua, Panama. This parcel has one large home site and several other building sites. The property has basic utilities on site and is covered in native fruit and hardwood tree species, some mature, but most trees planted during our intensive reforestation project started four years ago. Take a look at the real estate section of the site for details.

Here are some nice photos showing the vegetation difference at the entrance of the property after a few years. The before photo is right after we installed the fence about three and a half years ago. The after photo is from about a month ago. The pampas style grass in the photos is Vetiver or locally called Valariana. Vetiver grass is amazing at retaining moisture, controlling erosion, shading out weeds, has medicinal qualities and is used throughout the cosmetic industry. Also, the root can be dug up, cleaned, boiled into a tea and drank for a pain reliever. I have never tried the tea, but someday I probably will. I bought about 60 small sprigs of Vetiver a few years ago and have propagated it all over the property. I lost count, but I must by now have nearly a thousand of these plants along the road side and on many slopes. It stays green all year, never needs watering and the seeds are sterilized so it does not spread. It’s a wonderful plant. I look forward to planting more each rainy season.

For more information about Vetiver and it’s uses take a look at Vetiver Network International, vetiver.org.

Most people have heard the expression, “hotter then a tin roof.” Well now I understand the meaning. Never wear surf trunks while working on a metal roof. It’s hot! Especially in the Panamanian equatorial tropical sun. More than once I kneeled down to tighten a screw and my knee or leg got burnt. Next time I will wear long pants. Wait, do I even own a pair anymore?

From Hopsa, a construction material store located in Chitre, we ordered twenty-two gauge corrugated metal. Under the metal is one by six tongue and grooved treated fir covered by felt paper and striped with two by two boards screwed into the roof rafters. The steel is screwed into the strips.

Old style corrugated metal is not the most beautiful material, but here on the Azuero Peninsula their are not a lot of options. A popular roofing material is corrugated cement fiber sheets that is very inexpensive, but fragile and should not be walked on. Another commonly used material is the traditional teja. Tejas are beautiful rustic hand made tiles, but again they are fragile and can not be walked on. Their is also corrugated metal with a painted coating, but it does not come in as thick of a gauge as the twenty-two that we used. As Dexter likes to say “steel is real.” I went with the strongest metal available in the country. In the future I can comfortably walk on the roof and sweep it off or make repairs without fear of breaking something.

There is a certain feeling of pride building a home for yourself. The feeling is really strong once the roof is on. I am relieved knowing that the interior work from here on out is all in the shade.

I thought we would have the roof on before the end of last year, we almost made it, only a few days behind schedule, not bad for around here.

Below are some photos of the roofing process.

Enjoy,

Here we are, the third month working on the home here in Ojo de Agua, Panama. Since my last blog update things have been moving along steadily. We had to take about two weeks off due to the weather and other responsibilities, but for the last week we have been going strong. All the posts and beams are up, all the rafters are up, nearly all the blocking is finished and we are starting on the 1 x 6 tongue and grooved sub-roof. If all goes well we may have the roof completely finished before the end of the year. The weather has finally improved here in Los Santos so rain should not be a factor, we hope to maintain a brisk pace. Here are some photos of our progress.
Enjoy,