Freakin Ants

In Mexico, at least where we are, it's unheard of to have a slab foundation. They normally dig trenches, pour footings, put up the walls, roof etc, then pour the floor when everything else is done. This method leaves a "cold joint" between the floor and the wall. This becomes a problem as it provides an area between the floor and wall where ants can find their way into the house much easier.

In our guest house there must be 4 or 5 different colonies under the house now. If a piece of food is left out they show up in less than 10 minutes. Another big problem is termites. One of our neighbors who's an incredible carpenter made beautiful baseboard only to have subterranean termites come up through the joint and destroy it. This is a problem we never considered.

I've since found out that in the bigger cities you can have the soil fumigated prior to pouring the floor to resolve this issue. Out here in the boonies, all we'd get is some guy with a can of raid who would charge $200.00. Another solution I've discovered it to pour boric acid powder around the perimeter of the footings before pouring the floor. That sounds like it may be our best option when we build the main house.

In the meantime we've tried everything. They laugh at ant bait and chew right through the silicone I used to try to seal the joint. I don't want to spray because of the cats. That would only work for a few days anyhow.

Below is my next great attempt to block the ants. I'm hoping they cant chew through mortar and grout. Hopefully this tile border will seal them in for good!





Hey...it actually looks good too...

Pantry Completed

Finally finished the pantry construction. Remember how crooked the walls were? I made the pantry square with the back intersecting wall because it looked better, but that made the inside dimensions out of square. It was difficult to cut shelves with so many acute angles

Chalk Lines

We've been chalking out the location of the main house. This looks like it will be the final resting place. It's about 20 feet further back than we had hoped to put it.
It's hard to balance what we want with keeping good neighbor relations, but this is the max compromise.

Final Plans

DownstairsUpstairs

The architect incorporated too many rocks. We're using the computer to redo the drawing to reflect more what it will look like:

Where to Put It

Last evening we started laying out the house to see how it fits. We're trying to get the best views possible without blocking the neighbors. Still don't know what the cost is going to be though (bid's not done yet) so this may be a moot point! I sure hope not.

Cindy sitting in the dining room

And with everything else going on I was able to finish half of the pantry, finally. The box of drywall mud had been sitting in the garage since last August and was unusable. I went to the "hardware store" in town but they don't carry it. The only place that has drywall mud is two hours away, so I added a bit of water and mixed it with a mortar paddle. Hmmm....good as new!