Walkway

We decided to finally take the plunge and tackle our next project. Our intention when we built was to build a bridge between our little house and the guest house. We hate to force our guests to walk up or down the stairs, then across the rocky drive and then up our stairs. Especially at night, this can be hazardous. We built the guest house above the bodega with a floor eight feet off the ground. We then had Amelio build our house, which is a little up hill, so that the floor was level with the guest house. With guest coming, we want to make it easier to travel back & forth.

Also, since Dreamer Farm is for sale, it is now either a one-bedroom, one-bath house with a guest house, or a three bedroom, two-bath house. It's easy to chat across the 17' span so that children could sleep in the two bedrooms with safety.

Amelio came over to discuss our shopping list and we decided to use metal purlins to make the span. That way we wouldn't need a brace underneath. Art & I started doing some measuring and discovered that, since the purlins are 8" and we'll be putting hardwood boards above and below, the thickness would be at least 12". Oops! When we analyzed where the purlins would be overhead we found that even at my 5'3", I'd hit my head. Crumb! After walking around this for a bit, we decided to have Amelio build a little landing at the end instead of directly to the deck. Of course this will change my lumber requirements, but what else is new. Thankfully, I bo't a few extra 2x4's and 4x4's, which were slurped up by the new requirements.

The one photo shows where we originally planned to have the walkway connect. The open space with the green table in the background. The other two photos show our revised plan and the beginnings of the walkway. Doing it this way allows us plenty of room to work under the bridge.

We've stayed with Amelio, even tho' he has other work to do, we feel he knows our project since he built both buildings. He's interesting too as he really enjoys building and his recreational reading is of construction books. He and Rene are cut from the same cloth. True craftsmen in their own niche. Rene's oldest son, Alejandro, is helping with the project. We've been truly lucky and blessed by finding these lovely men.

I'm sorry to drop the fact that Dreamer Farm is for sale in the above paragraph, but there are several reasons for this. First, EVERY place in Belize is for sale. All our friends here have their places for sale in one way or another. Also, when health problems surface, most of us dash back to our original home for care. I'll chat more about this in another post. Blessings and prayers for everyone's good health.