To all our customers and friends
December 18, 2016
WOW, I couldn’t believe it a 13.1 degree difference.
November 24, 2016
Today I decided to do a test, to check the efficiency of a 2 inch covintec panel in the real world vs the sales pitch. I already knew it was good but never expected this.
I had the time to do a test, with a laser temperature to gun, to check the efficiency of the covintec panels in direct sun. The wall in question is my west wall, so it gets the afternoon sun but not all day sun. I knew the panels are good but never expected this. The sun had set by maybe 10 minutes and the ambient air temp was 25 degress C. Outside wall temperature with the gun on bare mortar wall 37.7 deg C. Same spot on inside wall 24.6 a whopping 13.1 degree difference, that is a lot less energy required to cool a room, if you are using Air-conditioners. This is with a 2 inch Covintec wall panel. The roof is 4 inches so should even be better in the full sun all day.
Governor of the Yucatán with Aerocretos de Mexico
August 24, 2016
Taking in a Leones de Yucatán playoff game, with Governor of the Yucatan Rolando Zapata Bello (center) and the the President of Aerocretos de Mexico, Fernando Villajuana Mendez (left), along with 2 of our clients, Stan Pappenfus and Jeff Herron
Covintec panel terrace
August 21, 2016
With more and more projects using Covintec panels, like this one, we have to order double semi’s at a time just to keep up. This is just the beginning for this project, which will add a master bedroom and bath up. All sound proofed and insulated by using covintec panels. We currently have 4 large terraces, being built in Covintec as well as 4 major renos with second story additions using them.
Panels in place and re-enforced with rebar ties
Finished upper terrace waiting for paint. Then the second level starts to go up.
Art for your home
July 14, 2016 1 Comment
Art is a personal thing and art for your home even more so, every once in a while an artist comes along that captures the vibe of Mexico. Rosy Peraza Rios, paints the colours of the Yucatan and respects traditional values, with her art. If you are moving to the Yucatan and want to brighten up your home or want one of her works for your Museum in Paris. Contact Rosy for authentic Yucatecan art,
artistamexicana@gmail.com
or artistamexicana.blogspot.com
Hurricane season started Yesterday in the Yucatan
June 2, 2016
No one wants to have a hurricane visit their area, but they are a fact of life in the tropics. Traditionally, the North coast of the Yucatan has generally been a safe place to be. Due to the geography of the area, which tends to see storms follow the Yucatan channel or lose strength as they cross land. However, there have been a few notable exceptions such as Glibert and Isadora, that did huge amounts of damage. The one good thing about hurricanes is you can see them coming for days and have lots of time to activate your plans. You do have a plan don’t you? Here in Mexico, once a storm reaches certain proportions and is predicted to hit this area, on the North Coast of the Yucatan, an evacuation order will be given. Once given, it is mandatory that you leave, it is NOT optional. You need to do your own homework, to find out where the closest evacuation shelters are and make sure you know how to get to them. For people who have pets, the problem becomes much more difficult, as the shelters do not allow pets. If you are a pet owner , you will need an alternate shelter for you and your pets. Now is the time to canvas friends, to see if they will allow you to bring your pets with you, in the event of an emergency. Remember, you may be stuck there for a week or more, under not so nice conditions, so tempers of both you and your pets might get frayed.
When a hurricane strikes it is not just a case of high wind. Hurricanes also bring massive amounts of moisture and humidity levels skyrocket. It could be 35+ degrees and 100% humidity for days on end, with no electricity for fans or A/C. Anything you get wet, will never ever dry, clothes, pills, papers, NOTHING! Plus mold and mildew will run rampant if unchecked. It will not be pleasant, to spend a week or more in a damp environment, exposed to mosquito’s nightly, along with your wet dogs. The only way to keep your sanity is to be absolutely prepared for the worst and make sure you have a way to keep everything as dry as possible. If you have an alternate place to stay inland and you have a generator. Make sure you have extension cords and spare fuel, also fill your cars gas tank and have a syphon hose. A modern car has 45 or so litres of fuel which can power a small generator for 4 or 5 days of reasonable use. So having a syphon hose handy is a good idea.
Below is a list of suggested items to have handy in the event that a hurricane does arrive. But, even if you head to a friends house or shelter and then return home, you will still need to be prepare. You may be with out power for a long period, if transmission lines are down and there is a good chance your beach home and more likely its contents maybe substantially damaged. Remember, no power means , no city water and fuel stations can’t pump gas, stores won’t have cold storage, etc. Like the Boy Scouts say “Be prepared”.
Here are recommendations on what to do before a storm approaches:
— Use hurricane shutters or board up windows and doors with 5/8 inch plywood. Make them now before you need them!
— Bring outside items in if they could be picked up by the wind, place screws in your tinaco lid, as they tend to fly away.
— Turn the refrigerator to its coldest setting in case power goes off. Use a cooler to keep from opening the doors on the freezer or refrigerator.
— Make sure your cisterna and Tinaco are full and you have 5 or more Garafons of water available.
— Make sure your vehicles fuel tanks are full and you have spare fuel for a generator, also have a siphon hose
— Have an evacuation plan.
— Learn the location of the nearest shelter or nearest pet-friendly shelter. This is a big issue for pet owners in the beach areas.
— Store important documents — passports, Social Security cards, birth certificates, deeds — in a watertight container.
— Have a current inventory of household property.
— Leave a note to say where you are going.
— Contact relatives and let then know you maybe out of touch for a week or more.
— Unplug small appliances and electronics before you leave.
— If possible, turn off the electricity, gas and water for your residence.
Here is a list of handy supplies:
— A seven-day supply of water, a minimum of one gallon per person per day.
— Three days of food, with suggested items including: canned meats, canned or dried fruits, canned vegetables, canned juice, peanut butter, jelly, salt-free crackers, energy/protein bars, trail mix/nuts, dry cereal, cookies or other comfort food.
— A can opener and eating utensils
— Flashlight(s) and candles.
— A battery-powered radio.
— Extra batteries.
— A first aid kit, including latex gloves; sterile dressings; soap/cleaning agent; antibiotic ointment; burn ointment; adhesive bandages in small, medium and large sizes; eye wash; a thermometer; aspirin/pain reliever; anti-diarrhea tablets; antacids; laxatives; small scissors; tweezers; petroleum jelly.
— A seven-day supply of personal medications, in waterproof containers.
— A multipurpose tool, with pliers and a screwdriver.
— Cell phones and chargers, laptops are handy if the Wifi in Merida’s parks is still up and running.
— Contact information for the family.
— A hammock setup, for each person, as a bed is almost useless in high humidity and will never dry.
— Extra cash.
— Mosquito netting or mosquito coils
— A map of the area, as familiar routes my be closed due to downed trees or other debris.
— Pet supplies.
— Wet wipes, showers may not be an option.
— Insect repellent.
— Rain gear.
— Duct tape.
— An extra set of house keys.
— An extra set of car keys.
— Household bleach.
— Toilet paper in zip lock bags or the handy single wrapped Costco rolls.
— Paper cups, plates and paper towels.
— DRY, Charcoal and matches, if you have a portable grill. But only use it outside.
A longterm project draws to a close.
May 23, 2016
This reno of a Centro home, involved new plumbing, electric, moving a kitchen, twinning the bathrooms building walls and a whole lot more, all on a very tight budget. We added antiqued concrete floors with pasta insets and the final touch was putting it all back together and polishing the floors.
Modern alternatives to block buildings
April 6, 2016
Anyone familiar with construction techniques in the Yucatan or other parts of Mexico, has seen the familiar block buildings. Block is easy to work with and makes a reasonably strong structure, if several variables are taken into consideration. A block structure is only as strong, as the mortar bonding the blocks together and the traditional Viga and Bovedilla roofs are extremely heavy. The other main issue with block construction is heat transfer, as typical block buildings here, do not have any insulation. I have done some testing with a laser temperature gun. On average a block wall facing the Yucatan sun, is approximately 4 degrees C warmer, than a wall not in the sun. That is a very large difference, if you are using A/C in the evening to cool a bedroom. Not only does the A/C have to overcome the ambient air temperature, but it also has to counter the effects of the Blocks radiating heat into the room.
There are more modern alternatives to block buildings and one of them is structural panels. Structural panels are an interlinked welded zigzag of wire, supporting a styrofoam core. These types of panels have been used for constructing multi story hotels and are hurricane resistant, they are that strong.
Some of the benefits of these types of panels is they are light weight, facilitate a faster build, but also very important is they insulate due to the styrofoam core. The panels come in various thicknesses and sizes, so that they can load a second or more stories or just be the wall for a simple single story home. Structural panels also come especially formed to be roof panels, so the suns energy is not easily transferred to the inside of your home. This also means cool air from your A/C unit does not strike a sun heated surface and warm up. It is the house version of a styrofoam cooler.
We have been working on several projects with the manufacturers tech advisor, using these structural panels.. This has offered our clients a lightweight and insulated option for the addition of second stories, as well as the option to build entirely out of the panels for a thermally efficient home.
An unsolicited email
November 11, 2015
Normally we don’t post testimonials, as it is common to post nice comments from friends or just make them up. But this is direct from customers we worked for, renovating a house, including putting a pool on the roof, all via long distance emails. The project is discussed here https://aerocretosdemexico.com/category/pools/
Morning Steve
I tried to post on your website but couldn’t. Thought you could cut and paste this.
We would like to thank Steve and Fernando and the whole crew for the amazing job they have done. The thought of renovating in a foreign country was a daunting one. We had a vision and they managed to accomplish it and more. We are thrilled with the workmanship, help and generosity that we received from them. The constant updates and communication enabled us to feel assured that things were going to be completed as we wanted. After seeing the final result we were even more impressed. Thanks guys.
Dave and Elaine
Sent from my iPad
It’s time again, Hurricane season starts June 1 in the Atlantic
May 28, 2015
Todays weather forecast, shows the first named storm of the Pacific season and it is predicted to be a hurricane. We are lucky to be on the Atlantic side, but no one one wants to have a hurricane visit their area, but they are a fact of life in the tropics. Traditionally, the North coast of the Yucatan has generally been a safe place to be. Due to the geography of the area, which tends to see storms follow the Yucatan channel or lose strength as they cross land. However, there have been a few notable exceptions such as Glibert and Isadora, that did huge amounts of damage. The one good thing about hurricanes is you can see them coming for days and have lots of time to activate your plans. You do have a plan don’t you? Here in Mexico, once a storm reaches certain proportions and is predicted to hit this area, on the North Coast of the Yucatan, an evacuation order will be given. Once given, it is mandatory that you leave and foolish or fatal if you don’t. You need to do your own homework, to find out where the closest evacuation shelters are and make sure you know how to get to them. For people who have pets, the problem becomes much more difficult, as the shelters do not allow pets. If you are a pet owner , you will need an alternate shelter for you and your pets. Now is the time to canvas friends, to see if they will allow you to bring your pets with you, in the event of an emergency. Remember, you may be stuck there for a week or more, under not so nice conditions, so tempers of both you and your pets might get frayed.
When a hurricane strikes it is not just a case of high wind. Hurricanes also bring massive amounts of moisture and humidity levels skyrocket. It could be 35+ degrees and 100% humidity for days on end, with no electricity for fans or A/C. Anything you get wet, will never ever dry, clothes, pills, papers, NOTHING! Plus mould and mildew will run rampant if unchecked. It will not be pleasant, to spend a week or more in a damp environment, exposed to mosquito’s nightly, along with your wet dogs. The only way to keep your sanity is to be absolutely prepared for the worst and make sure you have a way to keep everything as dry as possible. If you have an alternate place to stay inland and you have a generator. Make sure you have extension cords and spare fuel, also fill your cars gas tank and have a syphon hose. A modern car has 45 or so litres of fuel which can power a small generator for 4 or 5 days of reasonable use. So having a syphon hose handy is a good idea.
Below is a list of suggested items to have handy in the event that a hurricane does arrive. But, even if you head to a friends house or shelter and then return home, you will still need to be prepared. You may be with out power for a long period, if transmission lines are down and there is a good chance your beach home and more likely its contents maybe substantially damaged. Remember, no power means , no city water and fuel stations can’t pump gas, stores won’t have cold storage, etc. Like the Boy Scouts say “Be prepared”.
Here are recommendations on what to do before a storm approaches:
— Use hurricane shutters or board up windows and doors with 5/8 inch plywood. Make them now before you need them!
— Bring outside items in if they could be picked up by the wind, place screws in your tinaco lid, as they tend to fly away.
— Turn the refrigerator to its coldest setting in case power goes off. Use a cooler to keep from opening the doors on the freezer or refrigerator.
— Make sure your cisterna and Tinaco are full and you have 5 or more Garafons of water available.
— Make sure your vehicles fuel tanks are full and you have spare fuel for a generator, also have a siphon hose
— Have an evacuation plan.
— Learn the location of the nearest shelter or nearest pet-friendly shelter. This is a big issue for pet owners in the beach areas.
— Store important documents — passports, Social Security cards, birth certificates, deeds — in a watertight container.
— Have a current inventory of household property.
— Leave a note to say where you are going, IN SPANISH!
— Contact relatives and let then know you maybe out of touch for a week or more.
— Unplug small appliances and electronics before you leave.
— If possible, turn off the electricity, gas and water for your residence.
Here is a list of handy supplies:
— A seven-day supply of water, a minimum of one gallon per person per day.
— Three days of food, with suggested items including: canned meats, canned or dried fruits, canned vegetables, canned juice, peanut butter, jelly, salt-free crackers, energy/protein bars, trail mix/nuts, dry cereal, cookies or other comfort food.
— A can opener and eating utensils
— Flashlight(s) and candles.
— A battery-powered radio.
— Extra batteries.
— A first aid kit, including latex gloves; sterile dressings; soap/cleaning agent; antibiotic ointment; burn ointment; adhesive bandages in small, medium and large sizes; eye wash; a thermometer; aspirin/pain reliever; anti-diarrhea tablets; antacids; laxatives; small scissors; tweezers; petroleum jelly.
— A seven-day supply of personal medications, in waterproof containers.
— A multipurpose tool, with pliers and a screwdriver.
— Cell phones and chargers, laptops are handy if the Wifi in Merida’s parks is still up and running.
— Contact information for the family.
— A hammock setup, for each person, as a bed is almost useless in high humidity and will never dry.
— Extra cash, ATM’s don’t work if the power is off
— Mosquito netting or mosquito coils
— A map of the area, as familiar routes my be closed due to downed trees or other debris.
— Pet supplies.
— Wet wipes, showers may not be an option.
— Insect repellent.
— Rain gear.
— Duct tape.
— An extra set of house keys.
— An extra set of car keys.
— Household bleach, lots of it.
— Toilet paper in zip lock bags or the handy single wrapped Costco rolls.
— Paper cups, plates and paper towels.
— DRY, Charcoal and matches, if you have a portable grill. But only use it outside.
Aerocretos de Mexico 
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