Archive for the ‘Nicaragua real estate’ Category
Green building in Nicaragua - 29th day of the construction of an Earthship.
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
The waiting game for the wood has begun. We’re not talking about that much lumber, but the complications of material acquisition in Nicaragua are becoming clearer everyday. This is all good ground work for the Earthships that will follow. And the nice thing about this green building project is that there is always plenty to be done.
Today we poured the footings for the wing walls and made an aggressive hit on the adobe interior of the two larger rooms. We have decided that the doors for the end walls and bathrooms should reach the same height as the arched doors to the bedroom and living area. The doors will be seven feet by three feet and three inches. We’re starting to see a nice symmetry emerging in the design.
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green, green building, green movement, green real estate, Nicaragua, nicaragua property, nicaragua real estate, sustainable construction, sustainable housing
Nicaragua real estate - “A work of art” emerges on Day 27 of the Earthship construction
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
The building is beginning its transformation from a solid structure, to a work of art…
Thanks to Jo, Tim, and Lauren for their extra help at the site today.
Nicaragua real estate: Day 26 in the life of a Nicaraguan Earthship
Friday, February 1st, 2008
As our road is under construction, there are very small windows of opportunity to receive materials. And everyday is an opportunity to learn.
Yesterday I was promised by one fellow based out of Rivas that the sand would arrive before 7:00am, an hour and a half before the road crew arrives. I was also promised by a more local building supply store that the 60 cement bags I had ordered would also arrive before 8:00am and that we were first on the priority list for the day.
As we pulled into the site at 6:55am, the truck full of 9 cubic meters of sand was already being unloaded.
The day began with more concrete work on the water catchment system, making sure all drains were slopped at the proper angle. There is also a significant amount of mud/adobe plasterwork underway and it is drying very well. This is the time of year for making mud since it has plenty of time to cure during this dry season.
But all work slowed to a crawl as the last bag of cement was consumed at about 8:30am… We were able to keep busy, but the efficiency of work was clearly lacking for about an hour. The nice thing about building Earthships, is that there will always be dirt to move or sift and tires to pound.
At about 9:45am, the cement arrived.
Of course by this time the road was impassable. As we have done before, we hiked it to the site much like ants marching up a hill.
The day continued and progress was made. Just another good Nica-story…
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green, green building, green movement, green real estate, Nicaragua, nicaragua property, nicaragua real estate, sustainable construction, sustainable housingGreen home construction - Day 25 in the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
The water catchment is taking form. In the next few days we will tie the finish coat on the middle dome into the gutters and cistern. We’re sloping the flow at 1 inch every four feet.
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green building, green movement, green real estate, Nicaragua, nicaragua property, san juan del sur, sustainable construction, sustainable housingLot signs are going in on Day 24 of the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
It’s midway through the week and it looks as though we will accomplish our short term objectives. Today we saw two hits on the dome and both gutters built up significantly.
Although the inside of the building is not currently a high priority, there are enough hands that we are able to continue with “packout” and adobe plaster. The vapor barrier is partially up in both domes as well.
A green real estate community south of San Juan del Sur
All around us things are happening. The community itself is truly developing. Lot signs are up for the remaining six lots and the road has already received its preliminary grading and compaction. The signs mark the sites for new Earthship buildings in this growing green real estate community located a little south of the town of San Juan del Sur.
The roads will be to high standard. Tim is using a very experienced crew and the material he’s throwing down is quality grade that should compact down nicely.
Green building - Day 23 of the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
The middle dome is ready to receive it’s first coat of plaster. Inside the building, Seth has been discussing the art of adobe plaster with the local Nicaraguan crew. The plaster work is coming along well. Lot’s of busy hands all around us.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s been only 23 working days.
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green building, green real estate, nicaragua property, nicaragua real estate, sustainable construction, sustainable housingDay 22 of the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship
Monday, January 28th, 2008
Monday is always a natural time to lay out goals and expectations for the week, and with the addition of Phil and Seth, two of Earthship Biotecture’s finest, we decided to set our goals high.
All in all it was a decent Monday. We were able to get a skeleton of rebar up and supported for the form of the dome. The arches are glommed and scratched, ready to receive a shaping/final coat. And the wing walls are only two tire courses short of being done.
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green, green building, green movement, green real estate, Nicaragua, nicaragua property, nicaragua real estate, sustainable construction, sustainable housingNicaragua real estate: The buzz about the Nicaraguan Earthship is building
Monday, January 28th, 2008We’ve been keeping a daily blog on the construction of a house made out of tires which cools itself passively, creates its own power and harvests its own water. Known as an “Earthship” the house design was conceived by architect Mike Reynolds from Earthship Biotecture, in Taos, New Mexico.
Ever since the construction team arrived in Nicaragua and teamed up with the local community of El Carizal to begin the building, the buzz has been growing:
- Steve over in Newcastle, England updated his readers about the Nicaraguan Earthship
- Closer to home, MyBootsnMe visited the site and took a couple of great shots
- La Prensa, Nicaragua’s daily national newspaper wrote an article about a house made out of a thousand tires and thousands more bottles and cans (Spanish)
- And Dave Kniffen from Casa Llanta reflected on the vision behind the Nicaraguan Earthship initiative in a thoughtful article written on Day 16 of the construction.
There’s also a You Tube video for those who want to see a day by day demonstration.
We are proud to market this Earthship community to our network. The location is great (only 15 minutes south of San Juan del Sur), the logic of green building can’t be faulted, and the construction quality is top class.
Download the floor plan from our property listing, spread the word, contact us for more information, and help kick start what could be the beginning of a green movement in Nicaragua real estate.
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green, green building, green movement, green real estate, Nicaragua, nicaragua property, nicaragua real estate, sustainable construction, sustainable housingGreen real estate in Nicaragua: Day 21 of the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship
Sunday, January 27th, 2008
The west dome has received its final coat. This morning we were hit with about a twenty minute downpour and decided that pounding tires would need to wait due to all the fresh mud. And since the dome was already wet and needed to be done eventually, we decided it was a sign.
So with Camilo sifting out the sand, Eliseo on the mixer, Eduardo and Faustino making bucket runs; Marlo and Fernando led the charge. The local community of El Carizal here are very familiar with concrete since the majority of the structures in Nicaragua are done with little more than rebar, cement, water and sand.
Every day we get more excited about the potential for green real estate here in Nicaragua
On Monday we will see Phil and Seth (Earthship Biotecture) as they have decided to come back down for another week of working on the Earthship, training the local Nicaraguan crew and, ultimately, “putting housing back into the hands of the people.”
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green, green building, green movement, green real estate, Nicaragua, nicaragua property, nicaragua real estate, sustainable construction, sustainable housingGreen real estate in Nicaragua: Day 19 of the construction of a Nicaraguan Earthship
Friday, January 25th, 2008
The greenhouse wall is ready to accept the bond beam. Fernando, Eliseo and Marlo will spend the first part of tomorrow plastering around the few bottles that are left while Eduardo, Freddy, and Miguel Angel (who has re-joined us for a few days) will pound out a few tires to channel water away from the building in the rainy season.
Although cleaning bottles is slow and meticulous work, I am still pleasantly surprised with the progress considering that this is really only the 19th work day on the site of the first Earthship to be built in Nicaragua.
Technorati Tags: Earthship, green, green building, green movement, green real estate, Nicaragua, nicaragua property, nicaragua real estate, sustainable construction, sustainable housing