it came in pre-cut and shaped sections
The pieces of bamboo for the wall arrived yesterday morning, without any warning of course. I can’t hear the doorbell from the bedroom upstairs and when we didn’t answer, they called on the house phone and my cell phone. So, it’s not like they couldn’t call the day before, it just doesn’t occur to them I guess.
like putting together something from IKEA
You can’t really get scaffolding set up because of the pool and the pond so they had to balance on the wall. It went up pretty easily, they drilled the holes and tied it into the metal framework.
Jeremy
The bamboo structure came from Xixim Bambu, a bamboo farm outside of Muna here in Yucatán. The director is Jeremy Faulk, who is an American from Tennessee that has lived here for many years. He’s fluent in Spanish as he spent several years in the Peace Corp in Peru. He’s an interesting guy and his work with bamboo and other renewable resources is fascinating. Check out their web page for ideas. I want to go and see the hacienda one of these days, they have 25 hectares of bamboo. I love great groves of bamboo, the sound, the movement, the peace they invoke.
the gap is to the right of the scaffolding, over the pond
There were a couple of snags. In one corner they were lining up the bamboo by the tops and that left a cat sized gap at the bottom. I had them move it down and I don’t think the difference in height matters in the corner. Along the long wall to the right, there are places that the wall dips several inches. The wall is 100+ years old and has been repaired many times and is no way level or even. If they lowered the bamboo to cover the gap at the bottom, you could see the metal framework at the top. None of us liked that. So, they raised it to cover the metal frame and Jeremy came up with the idea of having rocks concreted in on top of the wall to fill the space. It’s the area over the pond and there isn’t anywhere for Tita to get a good stance for jumping so we’re not too worried.
the left corner completed
Alfredo came over (one of Henry’s job bosses, he is working on this project for us) and we talked about the neighbor situation. Yes, we have the official lot dimensions from the city that show the wall as either our wall or a common wall, depending on which part you measure. Remember that the wall is neither straight, square, or level. Our land according to the city map is slightly over 8 meters in width at the back of the lot. We measured from the inside of both walls and it is 7.6 meters. So, dividing in half there is at least 6″ of wall that is ours. However, to absolutely establish the facts it would be necessary to involve the city and pay for a survey. When we bought the house the city surveyed the front and found it within their range of error so they certified it. What if an exact survey showed that we owned 6″ into the neighbors yard? Or, they owned 6″ into our yard? Either of those is possible. Where is the gain in pursuing it?
Alfredo and I went next door to talk to the neighbor. I have a new situation that is coming up a lot in Spanish conversations. In situations like this, I want a native Spanish speaker to talk for me so that there are no misunderstandings. However, I find myself wanting to jump in and remind them of things or add something. Alfredo and I only speak Spanish, all our previous discussions were in that language, so I suppose the misunderstandings could already be there. Just an interesting aside, I’m not sure whether I should indulge when I get these urges because it could negate me having someone else speak.
The neighbor answered the door in his wheelchair, I still cannot believe he got up that ladder to the top of the wall the other day. He was very nice, Alfredo told him that we would be happy to have his yard cleaned out and plant the 2 cocos. We arranged that the workers would come on Monday and also that while they were in his yard they could add a couple of stones to the wall where the gap is. All good, Señor Vecino (I can’t remember his name) said some very flowery things about good neighbors and cooperation and we all smiled and shook hands and that was that.
view from above
Once the workers left, we let Tita out free in the backyard. She was so excited not to be dragging her long rope and anchor around, she covered every inch of the yard sniffing. She also spent a lot of time staring up at the new wall from every direction. She went back to her favorite jumping spot under our bamboo plants and stared up at the top. We left her there, checking every so often, and we don’t know if she tried to jump or not. I didn’t see any broken plants from a fall but there are quite a few broken stems from the workers so I’m not sure. She stayed out all evening, coming in through the new screen and going back out. This morning she walked out along the lip of the pond on the wall side and stared up at the gap. We chased her off but I still don’t think she could make that jump.
We are both really pleased with the new height. It gives us a real feeling of privacy, that this is our oasis in the city. It blocks our view of the pieces of tin and flattened cans that make up the roof of the sheds behind us that are rented to very poor Chiapan workers. It blocks more of the ugly hotel on the street behind us, when our bamboo plants get fuller I think we will have eliminated that eyesore. So, while the impetus for getting it put up was to try and keep Tita safe, we really like how it looks and the increased feeling of privacy.
Tita laying at her usual launch spot, "what have you done?"
Wow….that looks fabulous! Thanks to Tita for being the excuse for doing something that enhances the backyard so much.
It looks wonderful and adds to cozy feel..love the texture & design !!…but wondering if it will cut down on your fresh air breezes.
GUAU!!!!! That really looks fabulous, and a happy Tita makes a happy family!!!!
It looks great, and I love the expression on Tita’s face – disbelief! But I think I also see some defiance, I think she is planning to give it a try, in the very least. Hope not, she just needs to accept that that part of her life is over!
Mic, I too was concerned about cutting off the breeze and making a stone hot box. There is a nice space between the bamboo stakes that lets the breeze through and it has given us a little more shade. It’s not the heavy shade that the banyan was giving but a dappled shade that my plants should enjoy. I can’t lay in the sun as late into the afternoon though, oh well.
Sue, I watched Tita check out the wall for about an hour this morning. She was up on her back legs looking for a route. Eventually, she gave up and went off for a nap. She lived here for almost a year before she figured out how to get up the wall and then she only made it twice before we locked her little butt up. She’s stubborn though. I’m so happy that we don’t have to carry her upstairs for the night and down in the morning and we don’t have to put her harness with ball and chain on to let her outside.
I really like the undulating line at the top — reduces the linearity of the space, and really makes the entire garden even more interesting visually than it already is. The contrast of the bamboo and mamposteria is wonderful.
What do you think the “life” of the bamboo wall will be (e.g., before it deteriorates from sun, rain & insects)?
It looks fab….you and your helpers have great taste….
Jonna, it’s just gorgeous. I love the undulations, love the look of the bamboo, and am giggling at the stubbornness of that feline. What a riot–I hope it takes her the rest of her nine lives to figure it out!
xoxo
Cristina
mcm, Jeremy said there is little to no maintenance required for the bamboo and that it is pretty impervious to insects and heat. The gap between the pieces should keep it from getting mold in the rainy season but he said if it did we can power wash it. It should change color as it dries, going to a khaki color first and then a light gray. If we want to keep the color at any stage we can paint it with something like Thompson’s Water Seal. If and when it does degenerate, only the panels need replacing and that is the cheapest part of the wall.
Cristina, thank you. I know that you understand my determination to keep the cats inside our space and safe. It’s worth it even if I didn’t love the way it looks. When are you and Judy going to come and visit? Have you thought about the blogger conference in November? hint hint
Love the wave effect. And oasis is the perfect term for the space.
Love reading your blog…love your house/backyard…and of course love Tita! My Cheetah (cat) is a climber as well. I can relate, totally. Short of having eyes in the back of my head and lightning agile speed neither of these I possess….Cheetah likes to scale the frost fence in our yard. So far I have been able to grab him before he gets over. Now that they are covered in ivy he seems to be able to climb that much better. Do you think Tita might figure out how to climb the plants when they get bigger and make it up to the bamboo? It sounds as though she doesn’t have the stubborn drive to climb Everest like my cat seems to have, which is good for you!
I guess we’ll deal with it if it happens. We do have chicken wire wrapped around the trunks of our small batch of growing bamboo, and that has kept them from climbing it. They chinked the gaps between the wall and the bamboo yesterday and it is now a solid 15 or so feet of wall all around. I think she’s resigned now, she looks up at it but she isn’t on the prowl of the perimeter that she was at first. Her attention has switched to the dog door to the roof from our bedroom, she knows that is a route to freedom. She always checks to see if we forgot and left it open at night and she watches carefully when we let the dogs in and out to the roof. I think it will be human error if she gets out to the rooftops again. Luckily, she will come from anywhere at the sound of a Whiskas bag and our special “come and get Whiskas whistle”. We trained her to that from the beginning when we lived in the RV and we didn’t want to lose her. We always, always reward her for coming to the whistle.
That wall looks fantastic! I love the bamboo undulations at the top. Poor Tita!
Hi,
We need a wall section of about 30-35 feet–Any idea of what it might cost?
No, I don’t know but you can email Jeremy from this site, http://www.bambuxixim.com/