A Boveda

Last week and a few days before were jam packed with work. I had spoken with Pedro, the bovedero who worked for Yvonne and had done all the dome ceilings or bovedas at her house and school. He had already given me a quote and told me what supplies were needed. Finally we had fixed a date for his coming to do the work but when I checked with him on the 28th for beginning the work on the following day, he announced that he was coming only to have a look… I had to make a quick decision.

Fortunately, a pueblo renowned for famous bovederos, El Zaus, was a few kilometers away and many bovederos had their work displayed on YouTube. This is how I contacted Juan Mejia after seeing him work on his video. He came within the hour, had a look, gave me a quote, and agreed to complete the boveda within two days. On Saturday March 31 and Sunday April 1st, he was here with his team and did a marvellous job. Since Juan has posted a video of him at work. Here it is:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvZJ4UGaGcA

Here are photos of the boveda. It was impossible for me to catch a photo of the entire ceiling. On the left is the center design. On the right is an arrow that is found at the four cardinal points.

Believe me, it is a work of art. The ceiling still has to be scraped and covered with a sealant. That way, the bricks will stand out more. So will the design.

 

 

Now let me backtrack to explain how the whole installation is first erected. It is a temporary installation and once the ceiling/roof finished, the platform will be returned to its original purpose; encasing pillars or cadenas in which concrete will be poured.

Quite simply, this is how it starts. The bovedero moves from one corner to the other. His skill at shaping the bricks is amazing and the speed at which he “glues” them remarkable.

This is Juan at work and below is

 

 

 

 

On the left is a view of the work in progress. Below right shows the four corners completed at which point the work will be handled towards the center.

I have sharpened the photos to better show the brick design.

 

 

 

 

Later, the outside will be scraped, after which a layer of pure cement will be spread after a waterproof compound will have been applied. Or… it may be the other way around. I’ll find out.

Once the boveda was finished on Sunday April 1st, the team was brought in to erect the roof over the kitchen/dining area. It was laid out in identical fashion as the one over the bedroom.

In a later post I will be showing what costs I incurred.

LiveJournal Tags: Construction in Mexico,Dome Roof,Boveda