By Joseph Sanchez
President, Rocky Point Home Builders
Building your dream home in Puerto Peñasco aka Rocky Point is an important decision and you want to make sure that the quality of the home is given as much attention as to the price to construct the home. Materials are the most important aspect of any construction project, so consumers should demand the best quality to ensure long lasting satisfaction but all too often the focus tends to be only about price. If price is your only concern and not so much quality then buyer beware, because it can turn your dream home into a nightmare for years to come. Here are some quality issues to focus on when building your dream home in Mexico.
CONCRETE
Concrete is one of the most important components of most construction projects here in Puerto Peñasco but whether you are building a driveway, setting fence posts, or placing a foundation for a home, it is important that you or the contractor uses the best concrete product available according to the job you are doing.
Concrete mix has many different types, strengths, and compositions and it is important that you or the contractor choose the correct strength according to the project application. Concrete strength is determined by Pounds per Square Inch (PSI) and range from 2500 PSI up to 5000 PSI. For example, 2500 PSI concrete is typically used for driveways, walkways and floor slabs. At the top end of the scale, 5000 PSI would be used for specialized construction projects with commercial applications. Whatever project you are working on, it is important to ensure that your contractor uses the correct strength of concrete needed for your project application to ensure a high quality and long-lasting finish.
WINDOWS
The sustainable material for windows here are aluminum framed because aluminum is three times stronger than vinyl window frames and withstands the heat, salt and sand environment.
When installing your windows make sure the aluminum frames are rated for marine conditions. This is very important because windows not rated for marine environments will lead to corrosion and rust. Make sure your builder is installing aluminum windows grade 5052 or 5083 or they will corrode very quickly. These grades, for the most part, have additional chromium and manganese to help protect them from corrosive marine conditions and are the highest quality available.
ELECTRIC INSTALLATION
One of the major causes of deadly house fires here in Puerto Peñasco is faulty electric installations. If you are building a new home, you must ensure contractors are not installing cheap wiring. A proper installation will reduce your energy costs by increasing the overall efficiency of the system and will ensure the safety of your home.
The worse the wiring installation looks inside the panel, the less likely the installation was completed correctly by a professional electrical contractor. An electrical panel installation should be clean, neat and orderly and not like a bowl of spaghetti as we sometimes witness out in the field. Open your panel and if it is not neat and orderly then we recommend contacting an electrical contractor for an inspection immediately.
WATER SYSTEM DESIGN
Your home’s potable water system is an important aspect of your home’s design that ensures you have adequate water pressure to all your fixtures while maintaining an emergency supply of water in case of any shortages.
Having adequate water pressure at all your fixtures is an important quality and most will agree that taking a shower with little or no water pressure coming from the fixture is frustrating. To ensure your home has adequate water pressure it is necessary to install a water pressure boosting system that consists of a pump, a bladder-type pressure tank and a cistern. The addition on the water boosting system will boost your home’s pressure to 40 to 60 PSI leaving you enough pressure to take a shower, wash clothes and water the flowers all at the same time.
Another important aspect of this design is incorporating a cistern tank or well. The use of a cistern is an important element of this design because it protects the home from any unwanted water outages giving the homeowner a two to three-week supply of water during any water shortages in the city.
About the author: Joseph Sanchez is president of Rocky Point Home Builders a design/build contractor specializing in custom home design, construction and renovations. He resides here in Puerto Peñasco with his wife and two children and is originally from Chicago. For more information email him at sales@rockypointhomebuilders.com