The Reveal

My wife's favourite part of any HGTV construction show is the reveal. So in a nod to that, I thought I better make it a good one. This picture set will be pretty beefy, but hopefully worth it. The finishing was probably the most challenging part of the job- we were working with tiles that were not square, workers that hadn't laid a lot of tile (and certainly not to the standard that my mother expects), missing materials, non-standard design, sub-standard tools, and a whole host of challenges that threatened to derail the outcome of the project.

But at the end of the day, we did it. We had some angel volunteers that had both a wealth of knowledge and an eye for detail that really shows in the end product.

Saturday was our party for the project workers, so we had everyone and their families over for food and booze. Thanks to everyone who worked on Casa Dorada and made its completion such a success!

With that, on to the pics...

Mike and Melanie enjoying the Top of the World Lounge at coffee time in the morning

View down Emiliano Zapata towards the ocean

Open house happy hour to christen the house on the third floor

Countertops. 60cm x 60cm porcelain tiles never looked so good.

Another countertop money shot.

Second floor living room area. Furniture arrives in a few weeks.

A suite bathroom first floor. All of the bathrooms have an identical layout, driven by the wheelchair-accessible first floor layout.

Vanity of the same bathroom from a different view.

Second floor primary kitchen and work area.

Grand entrance stairs from the second floor balcony to the yard

Second floor rear balcony space and outdoor kitchen

Happy hour on the rooftop patio

More rooftop 3rd floor

First floor main entrance

First floor golf cart area, currently occupied by alternate means of transportation.

Main entrance to the left, Golf cart gate to the right.

Stairwell from 1st to secondf floor

Rear covered/parking area. Future pool goes to the left of where the jeep is parked.

Second floor balcony and outdoor kitchen.

Second floor balcony and outdoor kitchen with outside view

Second floor balcony skylight

Second floor balcony, looking towards skylight

Second floor streetfront patio

Second floor streetfront patio, overlooking the street

Another stairwell money shot. This one from the third floor looking down.

Main floor kitchen. Mom has moved right in.

1st floor outdoor patio with outdoor kitchen to the right.

Have I mentioned sunrise? Sunrise over the Sierra Madres Occidental from the third floor.

Third floor balcony at sunrise.

Another stairwell shot.

Party for the workers that made it all happen in the rear courtyard.

Another party shot.

House pic from lot 3.

Who doesn't love sunsets? Sunset shot from the beach, a block away.

Tiling continues, appliances arrive, windows!

Ok, so a few weeks between posts. The place has been a mess with tiling, so my mom wasn't keen to take many pictures of that. She's not a fan of messy.

But this series gets to show the great leap forward in progress. While we had been slugging away at the telework and grouting, we had been waiting patiently on doors and windows.  It was starting to be a concern, since we have some friends staying in the place in about 10 days. We wanted at least one of the spaces to be livable when that happens.

Sliding entry door installed on the second floor B suite.

Grout continues on the third floor bathroom. This room will be ready for fixtures shortly.

Tilework complete on B suite kitchenette. Sink and cooktop being installed.

Window installed in second floor A suite master.

Grout work being completed in 2nd floor master bath.

Window install work continues in the 2nd floor kitchen.

2nd floor living area window

1st floor kitchen-to-kitchen window installation.

Appliances start to roll in. While we were sure that we had calculated properly, its still a relief  when they fit properly.

Second floor outdoor kitchen, tiling complete and appliances installed.

The work crew takes a well-deserved break.

Dad installs fixtures on the outdoor kitchen

Patio sliders on the second floor installed.

Indoor sink installation, second floor

main floor living area window with security grating outside

1st floor second bedroom window install with view out to the street.

Tilework nearing completion, front landing area at the street

1st floor master window installation complete

1st floor shower pan install complete, grout being finished

stairs wrapped in exposed aggregate finish

Stairs wrapped in aggregate finish. This was harder than expected, since it was a late-in-the-day finishing decision.

One last pic of the aggregate finish on the stairs.

The pic is a little dark, but this one shows the installed roll down security grate for when  the main floor is closed up.