Here Are Your “Before” Photos

April 16th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

Filed Under: Mexico Construction

We spent the morning staring at our new house in Chelem, and the time has come to provide some more details on the place. It also seemed like a good idea to take some pre-construction and renovation photos, so you all can follow along with our progress as we work to turn this big, concrete beach-box into the paradise home of our dreams.

Before we dive into the photos, though, it will probably be helpful to see the overall floorplan:

We took more pictures than this entry can handle, so I set up a quick n’ dirty web album, with comments on each photo. Go check that out, and we’ll meet back here. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Welcome back! Now, here’s what happens next, or at least, the way things work out in my imagination:

We are meeting with an architect this week to discuss the project’s next steps. We want to be out of our rental in Progreso by June, and it seems like the short, phase-one list should be adding on a new master bedroom, stripping the old kitchen, and building a new one to join the existing bedroom with the rest of the house. That gets it move-in ready, and then we can polish and landscape as we feel like it.

Phase two? Demolish caretaker’s cottage, reconstruct in back right corner of lot, place swimming pool between front and back house. Finally, phase three will be the addition of a second story, with new terraces for days. Of course, that is all going to be “next year” stuff.

Can phase one really be completed in less than eight weeks? In Mexico? Time will tell, and we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

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There Are 11 Responses So Far. »

1. 

   Comment by Julie on 16 April 2007:

   Wow! Soooooooo cool! Your plans sound great, take lots of pictures please! Enjoy every moments of the renos, even the most frustrating ones. They will be your fondest memories and funniest stories when you are old!
   But I’m sure everything will go well, after all you’ve got the house, you’ve got each other and you even have the beach all to yourselves! Ahhhh! I envy you….Did you know that it snowed today here in Montreal? Yes, on April 16th!
2. 

   Comment by Mom on 16 April 2007:

   Yes, and you’ve also got your mom! Get that guest house going, I’m on my way. June is not that far off; hurry!
   Love you.
3. 

   Comment by Nancy on 16 April 2007:

   Wonderful place, you guys. Are you adding the new master bedroom on the other side of where the kitchen is now?

   I think you can get it done in 8 weeks…think of all the accomplishments you already have under your belts….

   You must be having so much fun! Congratulations.
4. 

   Comment by Lauren on 16 April 2007:

   Did I miss the mention of a guest room in the main house, so your friends can pop down to Mexico for a weekend jaunt? Congratulations, this looks fabulous!
5. 

   Comment by Bruce on 17 April 2007:

   Thanks for the pics and more specifics on the house and plans for its improvement. It looks great and the plans sound fantastic. Keep us updated on the progress, as Nancy stated there are several of us living vicariously through you guys. Good luck on the 8 week time frame!!
6. 

   Comment by Diane Peskin on 18 April 2007:

   I really enjoy your blog. I (we) are family from NJ living la vida loca in SMA for 6 months (we leave in June).
   Congratulations on your new home…I am very jealous. The proximity to the ocean is both exhilarating and scary.
   Buena suerta!

   Diane
7. 

   Comment by pleasureearth on 16 May 2007:

   and the price is…….?
8. 

   Comment by Malcolm on 16 May 2007:

   The price for what? The house? Or the renovation? Or what?
9. 

   Comment by pleasureearth on 16 May 2007:

   just came across this. it seems the abode is still under reno/construction, so please do share with your readers the price you paid “as-is”
10. 

    Comment by Malcolm on 16 May 2007:

    The abode will be under construction for quite some time, as we work to transform it into a palace. I don’t discuss what I’ve paid for things, in the same way it would be impolite for me to demand to know what your yearly salary is. Suffice it to say, being Mexico, the house and the renovations are significantly less than you would expect.

    Thanks!

11. Pingback by Renovating Our Beach House, Volume 4 : Dropped In on 8 December 2008:

    [...] many beach properties in Chelem and Chuburna, our house was pretty basic when we bought it. The “Beach Box” style of construction was, for a time, very popular in this area, and [...]

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