Patio

Our little dining table fits nicely under the palapa, and gives good shade on the house and over what will be our outdoor kitchen to the right of the sink.


Here are the men of the hour - Papa on the left and Rauol on the right! Great work, gentlemen!!!!!

Ta Da!!!

Papa did a wonderful job putting on the undercoat of cement, and with a high concentration of sand, it is a lovely soft beige colour.

We will wait a week or so, then paint all the cement surfaces with "sellador", a clear sealant that protects the cement, and then a couple of days after that, paint the cement.

The zapote tree came as a full sized tree, which Rauol had to debark with machetes before putting it in place - this is the little stump that is left, which I am using as a plant stand! It is only about 12 - 14 inches high and weighs 20 pounds - that is how heavy the wood is.

I have kept a couple of the slices of wood as well, to show the great cedar colour, and will use the larger one as a hot plate for the outdoor dining area.

The zapote trees have to be cut in the 9 day period around the full moon, so that the sap is at its strongest and therefore protects the wood from insects. We will nevertheless paint on a bug repellant oil and then varnish just to fully protect it.