If you are new to the series, feel free to read the project introduction post for the back story of our remodel in Mexico. The project is scheduled to take 5 weeks, which is pretty ambitious, but possible. Before we move on to a day-by-day account of the remodel, allow me to introduce the cast of characters.

Condo Owners

Brad, Kristi, and a cranky 9-year-old chihuahua named Teddy Bear. We are the people crazy enough to take on a project like this in a foreign country where we don’t speak the language.

General Contactor

Miguel Salazar with MCD Construction. Miguel comes highly recommended by a friend. He is only 26 years old, but we are never ones to judge a person’s ability by their age. We are optimistic that he will use our project to support his portfolio and have another valuable expat reference.

Air Conditioning Contractor

Hector Aguayo with Mas Frio A/C. We initially planned to use a different contractor whose bid was considerably lower than Hector’s. Upon receiving the news, Hector agreed to match the lower bid and promised to deliver much faster than the other company (a week or two, compared to 6 weeks).

Custom Furniture Carpenter

Tavo also comes highly recommended. We have seen his work in other condos, and it is fantastic. Tavo’s English is about as good as my Spanish, so communication is a struggle. We are told if you show him a photo of what you want, he will build an exact replica. Tavo is very kind and stays in touch, which is worth a lot.

Week 1; Kitchen Remodel in Mexico

Day 1 – Monday – June 20

Much to my surprise, no one was waiting at the security gate at 9:00 am to begin working. Finally, around 10:45, the drywall guy arrived. First, he taped off the kitchen area to prepare to remove the existing ceiling. Next, he agreed to move the refrigerator to the living room so we could continue to use it. As he disconnected the water from the back of the fridge, the spigot broke off… like from the wall. Water was gushing everywhere!

I know what you’re thinking. Really?! We are 15 minutes into the project and have to turn the water off at the main valve. This is NOT a good sign.

So, by 11:00 am on Monday, we have no running water in the condo. No big deal. We expected these types of things to happen. I messaged Miguel, who said he was calling a plumber immediately. Day turned into evening. No plumber. I followed up with Miguel around 6:00 pm. He said the plumber couldn’t make it, but he was sending his handyman over to cap off the water at the wall.

Handyman arrived and plugged it with some putty that was supposed to set up in 2 to 3 hours. We returned home from dinner, turned the water on, and realized it was still leaking. In an abundance of caution, we left the water off. Our sweet neighbors, Mark and David, let us shower at their place. I was afraid it was going to be a pool bath for us!

I sent Miguel a message informing him that the putty approach didn’t work and it needed to be fixed ASAP. He said a plumber would be here at 8:00 the following day.

Day 2 – Tuesday – June 21

Imagine my fury surprise when the plumber still had not arrived… at NOON! I called Miguel. He sent a guy over to actually cap off the pipe (instead of plugging it). This solution worked, so we finally had water again by 2 pm. A permanent solution will need to be deployed, but it can wait until the plumber comes to relocate the water for the island.

In the meantime, work started to remove the cabinets. Demo is so exciting because you can really begin to see the space! This part should go quickly, but we are very nervous about removing the concrete bar. We have no idea what is buried inside, so we’ll be holding our breath. We are the first people in the building to make any substantial changes. We hope the concrete bar was just a bad idea and doesn’t serve an important purpose!

Later in the evening, we asked Miguel to meet with us to discuss the water issue. We, politely and professionally, expressed that leaving us without running water for 27 hours is NOT acceptable. We were candid with him by saying that this first incident did not bolster our confidence in his ability to successfully accomplish a project of this magnitude. To his credit, Miguel received our feedback well and promised to be more attentive in the future.

Day 3 – Wednesday – June 22

Tavo arrived with our custom-built bedroom furniture. Our inspiration photo came from Bernhardt. Unfortunately, this looks like a “Pinterest fail”. It seriously looks like Teddy stained it. Every time I look at it, I get nauseous. At this point, we are still waiting on the bed. Once it arrives, we will pay Tavo and part ways. After the A/C project is finished, I will paint the dresser and nightstands in hopes of salvaging them for the guest room. Ugh!

Kitchen demo continued. Cabinets and countertops were removed. Appliances are now sitting in our kitchen waiting to be sold on Facebook Marketplace. I felt a tinge of PTSD after selling the contents of our entire house on Facebook last summer. But this stuff is heavy and can’t go in the elevator, so it’s better to sell it for nearly nothing than pay someone to haul it off.

Drywall guys are almost finished removing the ceiling. Definitely our loudest and messiest day so far, but we are pumped at how much height we can add to the ceiling. This will make a massive difference for airflow in the hottest room in the house.

Day 4 – Thursday – June 23

Our kitchen sat like the aftermath of a bombing for 2 days. Miguel’s guys were supposed to come to clean it up but never showed. Living in a war zone when work is happening is one thing. I get to a whole other level of crazy when the mess sits there, and no one shows up for work.

Miguel’s design guys arrived around 3:00. The drawings were not even close to what we discussed the first time they were here. I suspect the design will require multiple revisions before cabinet fabrication can start.

At 3:00, Miguel said he was on his way but never showed up. When I told the design guys they needed to stay around to visit with Miguel. They said, “oh, he’s not coming.” I responded, “sure he is. He sent me a message an hour ago saying he’s on his way.” Pretty sure they knew something I didn’t.

At 6:00 pm I sent Miguel a message to see if he was okay. He said he had stomach issues. Poor guy must have been really sick since he couldn’t text me and tell me not to wait on him.

Day 5 – Friday – June 24

Miguel’s guys arrived at 10:00. They cleaned up most of the debris in the kitchen, so my OCD tendencies settled down (a little).

A/C guys started installation. We are SO excited about getting new air conditioning throughout the condo. The central air was 20 years old and ran non-stop just to keep the place halfway cool. Since electricity is about 3 times more expensive here, we want to have the most efficient units possible. Brad keeps saying “it better be colder than penguin nuts in here” when they’re finished. Hector says it should only take about a week to get it in, which is good because it is SO hot and humid in PV right now!

Day 6 – Saturday – June 25

A/C guys continued installation. They cut holes for vents, which is super messy since they are hacking into drywall. Our entire condo, except the guest room where we currently sleep, is covered in a fine layer of drywall dust. Thank goodness I covered our furniture with old sheets before they started. Oh, and Teddy is pissed about the guys junking up his last good squeaker. Is nothing sacred these days?!

Drywall guys arrived around 10:30. They had no idea what was going on related to the A/C project. We had to explain to Miguel that there was still more drywall to remove. Miguel was clueless because he had not been on site since Tuesday. Thank goodness Brad was supervising. There is no telling what our ceiling would look like otherwise.

I asked Miguel to come over and meet with me to recap how things went this week. He said he would be here around 1 or 2:00 pm. At 2:00 pm he sent me a message saying he was on his way. At 3:30 he arrived.

Needless to say, waiting for 2 and half hours (after being stood up earlier in the week) felt pretty disrespectful. We had a frank conversation. I explained that if we were going to work together, he has to be forthcoming and honest with me. No more of this “you won’t like what I’m going to say, so I am not going to tell you” business.

Day 7 – Sunday – June 26

Day Off for the workers, and we are SO glad. I tidied up the utility room enough to do laundry. Brad went to Costco to buy more frozen junk food. Teddy got caught up on sleep. He’s worn out from “greeting” so many workers this week.

Remodel Recap for Week 1

Oh. My. Gosh. The first week of our Mexican kitchen remodel was rocky. We knew this project would be challenging, but goodness gracious, I thought it would at least start off strong.

If I was handing out grades for the week, this is what they would be:

• Brad gets an “A” for preventing mistakes, learning everything in the world about A/C, and tolerating my complaining.
• Teddy and I get solid “B’s“. We showed up and worked but forgot to use our manners a few times.
• Hector and his A/C crew get an “A” for showing up and jumping right in (okay, maybe an A- for messing up Teddy’s squeaker).
• Miguel gets a “D” for being an absentee general contractor.
• Tavo receives an “F“. He’s sweet, but his product did not turn out well.
• Mark & David get an “A+” for being the best neighbors. Not only did they let us use their shower, it was great hanging out with them and getting our minds off the mess!

Whew, the first week is done! Every project has highs and lows. Hopefully, we got our low point out of the way early and will see some great progress next week. Stay tuned, amigos!