Saturday, January 5th, 2008...9:30 pm
More Construction In Mexico
A few days ago I posted pictures of the work of constructing an addition to the apartment building in which I live.
The workers are now placing the reinforcement bar for the beams that will support the upper floors and placing the form work for the second floor slab itself.
Above is a shot of some of the construction workers after work on Saturday afternooon enjoying a few hands of cards. I have become quite familiar with the fellows, who, I think, consider it a bit odd that a gringo would take such an interest in their work.
The photo at right shows the form work for the second floor slab. The posts are slender tree trunks which support wooden boards laid on edge, over which are placed thinner boards upon which the second floor slab will be poured.
Again, every bit of concrete used in the construction is mixed by hand on a concrete slab, using shovels, and placed into or onto the forms using five gallon buckets.
And here you can see a typical rebar bundle for the beams that will span from column to column and which support the upper floor walls.
The rebar is laid up essentially in the same manner as it is in the USA, but here the bundles are put together on site using only hand tools and manual labor. Often in the USA the rebar bundles are assembled in specialized workshops and shipped to the site for placement.
In the USA workers use special twister type pliers to secure the tie wire that is used to connect the pieces of rebar together. Here the fellows use a piece of rebar that is bent at 90 degrees and sharpened at one end to twist the wires that connect the pieces.
I find it all quite fascinating.
![[Bloglines]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[BlogMarks]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/blogmarks.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Google]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[Newsvine]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/newsvine.png)
![[Slashdot]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/slashdot.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.expatriateruminations.com/Blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
5 Comments
January 6th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Whenever I see construction in Mexico, it looks haphazard and, well, not very safe. But I don’t know anything about construction, so maybe I’m way wrong. Do you have an opinion on this? I wonder what sort of building codes they have and whether they are enforced.
January 6th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Hey Dan,
Good questions. I should explain that I spent the last 25 years of my working life as a local government building inspector, planner, and/or public works administrator.
My understanding from a conversation with an architect here is that, yes, permits are required and that the structural plans must be approved by local authorities prior to commencement of construction, as it is in most everywhere in the USA. (Banks; insurers; and, when building in flood prone areas, the federal government insist that local governments enforce building codes. Such institutions utilize incentives and disincentives, such as lower or higher insurance rates, to compel local governments to adopt and enforce codes. Most state’s have adopted state codes that require local governments to enforce them.)
The architect with whom I spoke also told me that local government authorities also conduct inspections of construction in progress, though not to the extent to which it is in most of the USA.
Modern construction here, as shown in the photos I have posted, utilizing the system of concrete columns, beams, and reinforced floor and, in most cases, roof slabs is the same method often used in larger commercial buildings in the USA. It is exactly the same system I saw used in construction along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia.
The reinforced floor and roof slabs act as rigid diaphragms that provide lateral bracing to the column and beam system.
Such buildings perform fairly well in earthquakes.
One very often sees here buildings with rebar bundles, for future construction of an additional story, projecting from the upper most story.
Older buildings here, as in Merida, are constructed of unreinforced masonry, without the column and beam system. Many consist simply of mortared rubble stone upon which is constructed a wood framed roof.
Unreinforced masonry buildings perform very poorly in earthquakes.
I hope the foregoing answers your question.
January 6th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Great info! Thanks.
January 6th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
At your service. Construction is about the only subject upon which I am able to write with authority.
The rest is only iconoflatulence.
February 4th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
[…] You may remember the photos and commentary I posted relative to the construction of an addition to the apartment building where I live, here from December and here from last month. […]
Leave a Reply