Calle Obraje 64 Int 2, San Miguel de Allende, MX
2021-07 Original State of the Development – This collection of homes consists of twelve semi-attached townhomes. Eight are on the street, five to the east of the entrance to a courtyard, and three to the west, with an additional four in the courtyard as well.
The buildings themselves are of identical size, differing only in the layout of the second floor, bedroom level. The floorpans for the various layouts are shown in the second album of this collection, below.
The prices of the units originally ranged from USD $295,000 to USD $425,000 with the difference in price based up the size of the lot on which individual units are located. The lot layouts can also be found in the second album in this collection.
2021-08 Sales Brochure – After sixty-one years of living in Denver (save three years in the US Army, and two years of graduate school at MIT), I visited Mexico in April 2021 with the idea of scoping out a new living space.
The places being considered were the north shore of Lake Chapala about thirty miles south of Guadalajara, and San Miguel de Allende, in the state of Guanajuato.
San Miguel won out, because it provided an environment where I could live without an automobile.
I examined a number of likely homes for sale, and finally settled on a new house in Colonia Aurora, perhaps one mile north of the center of town. I made an offer on this house shortly after returning to the states from this trip, and finally closed escrow on August 10, when I moved here, more-or-less permanently.
The house was new when I bought it. This, however, has not dissuaded me from implemented MANY upgrades and improvements. The following photo albums document both the starting point for this house and the various landmarks achieved in the process of making my house what it is today.
To start with, here is an album with two pics of the original site, sans houses, of the development in which I live, as well as the builder’s brochure for the neighborhood:
2021-07 – During this last month before I moved in, the developer was still putting the finishing touches on my new home.
This gallery shows their efforts at installing cabinets and countertops in the kitchen and the main bedroom bath.
2021-08 th 2021-10 – During this period, I was simply settling into my new home and making a first attempt at furnishing.
I had not, at this point, even begun to think about upgrades and improvements.
2021-09-30 – We were subjected to a major rainstorm which flooded the streets to the extent that they were running like rushing rivers.
Just to the northeast of our development, drainage was so inadequate that cars were abandoned in the intersection.
The street in front of our houses were running at least six inches deep and quite rapidly.
The city was concerned that a dam upstream from us might give way, and, due to an abundance of caution, asked us to abandon to higher ground. We did so for an hour or so, and had an impromptu party in the parking lot of Parque Zeferino.
2021-10-30 – Dia de Muertos is a huge thing in Mexico, and doubly so in San Miguel.
The costumes are sometimes ordinary, but many times are so ornate as to make one imagine that they occupied a major chunk of time since the same holiday a year before.
2022-11 – At this point, Taly has been living here for about five months, and most of our efforts at improving our living space have revolved around furnishing and hanging artwork.
The furniture in these pics are doomed to be replaced when we find the suitable replacements.
The only real upgrades we have implemented have been in the kitchen.
We had Orlando build some wooden hanging containers to mount on a wall for the purpose of storing/displaying our spices.
I had been casting about for ideas to divide the pantry into three horizontal spaces, with the top and bottom spaces having doors to cover the contents, and the middle space being open to accommodate appliances such as a toaster oven, and a small microwave. Taly came up with the brilliant idea of leaving the whole space open and eliminating the doors altogether. It has worked extremely well.
2022-11 – At this point, Taly has been living here for about five months, and most of our efforts at improving our living space have revolved around furnishing and hanging artwork.
The furniture in these pics are doomed to be replaced when we find the suitable replacements.
The only real upgrades we have implemented have been in the kitchen.
We had Orlando build some wooden hanging containers to mount on a wall for the purpose of storing/displaying our spices.
I had been casting about for ideas to divide the pantry into three horizontal spaces, with the top and bottom spaces having doors to cover the contents, and the middle space being open to accommodate appliances such as a toaster oven, and a small microwave. Taly came up with the brilliant idea of leaving the whole space open and eliminating the doors altogether. It has worked extremely well.
2023-09 Building The Back Wall
The back wall of our property was originally a wall of the standard construction (brick, with a topcoat of mortar), but was only six feet high. This wall was topped by a metal framework with fabric stretched over it.
The amount of privacy afforded was minimal, so we opted to replace the metal and fabric portion of the wall with brick and mortar to math the bottom six feet. The overall height of the wall thus became fifteen feet tall.
The final product afforded real privacy, and was truly much better looking.
2023-09 Covering the Rooftop Back Deck – The back deck (the north forty) of the rooftop was originally separated from the main area of the rooftop by a three-foot tall wall. We cut that wall down to accommodate a full-height door allowing easy access to the north forty. These photos document the covering of the back forty with a steel framed roof covered by faux Spanish tiles.
2023-10 – Converting the rooftop terrace to a living quarters required a good deal of construction and movement of infrastructure.
The space that became the new bathroom and kitchenette had both the laundry appliances and a bunch of water purification facilities.
I moved the water purification facilities to the north forty, and built a room in the “panhandle” of the back patio to become the new laundry room.
These pics document the creation of the laundry room.
2023-12-31 State of Calle Obraje 64 Int 2 – We have reached a milestone in the upgrades to our house, so here is a photo collection showing the state of the house at this point in time,
2024-03 th 2024-07 Elevator Installation – I had entertained the idea of installing an elevator for a long time. The cost in Mexico, made this “pipe dream” a bit more practical.
On one hand, it had appeal because of its novelty; on the other hand, being in my ninth decade of life, and having joints which are beginning to show signs of failure, the idea of an elevator had appeal which was a bit more based in realistic “need”.
I had started to look at a more modern elevator from a company in Quetero, which was all stainless steel, and had all the modern features such as automatic motorized doors, etc.
Nevertheless, I allowed a local installer to talk me into a less modern elevator based on its being less expensive.
This simpler elevator has conventional doors in the shaft, and a manual gate, and by the time the cost of the shaft and the electrical connection was figured in, the difference in cost has become negligible. Shame on me for not exercising a bit more due diligence.
In any event, the elevator works reasonably well and I am content with the functionality.
Here are some pics which document the shaft construction and the elevator installation.
2024-04-26 Hot Tub Installation – We bought an oval, two-person hot tub. These pics document the installation of the hot tub.
