Gringos de Marimán

Kenny (our constructora) warned us that this stage (foundation) and the finishing always seemed to be the longest. Going to the site everyday gives me a good appreciation of all the work that's involved. First the bodega was finished up by adding items such as the door, the window covering, and the stairs.



We've actually seen a few cabañas in Pucón that look similar to this. A favorite chilean terms to describe this look is rustica. The word not only describes the quaint unfinished style, but can also be used to describe the rural and coarse life in a cabaña with no insulation. Add 4 cats and a pin-headed dog and things get really rustica.



Kenny and Andrés (arquitecto) review the details while the real workers begin to assemble the outer border. This wooden border, setup at floor level, will stay while the foundation is being laid. Creating the border actually takes quite a bit of time since everything has to be measured carefully, levels checked, and the wall positions marked. Oh I forgot, we have to make the bench for the plans first.



So the border's all set and the wall positions have been marked with chalk. Having the chalk outlines really gave a good sense of the floorplan. Of course as luck would have it, there was rain that night and I held my breath hoping that they would be able to start digging in the morning.



As I said my back and shoulders hurt just watching. I would have helped, but I had important things to do in the huerto (garden).



Digging continued for several days . . . .



Engineers provided an approxomate depth for the holes, based on soil samples. However the actual digging had to continue until firm ground was reached. Since our house is on a slope the firm ground varies depending on the location. I still had important things to do in the huerto.



I think they found prehistoric dog bones here.