I'm waiting now for the architect to show up and give us an update, he said he would contact the head plumber and find out about the gas.
It has rained all night and morning, not hard but steadily. I think this is a tropical depression that I read about last week. It's been cool and fresh, really a nice break in the heat and humidity of late August. Down here we call it 'good sleeping weather' and make jokes about oversleeping because it is cool.
As to how the outside of the pond is going to be finished, I think lots of tile would be too much and of course it would cost more. I have a lot of polished concrete in the house, both floors and counters and I think that will be the way we go. I can always tile it later if needed or if I just want to spend more money
They did talk to me about the edges and I agreed that they should be rounded and not sharp corners so they will be more comfortable to sit on or run into, which I will no doubt do.
I like the look of the brightly colored tiles you often see in Mexican houses but truthfully they are not normal in this part of Mexico, they are from the highlands. My architect was quite clear about that when we renovated the house and I kept away from the talavera look of the big homes in Puebla and Mexico City. Here the style was more restrained even when they tiled everything, so you would be more likely to see lots of off white tile or local stone with a geometric pattern in a muted color.
Stone would be the obvious choice for the pond but it is significantly more money and I am trying to keep costs down on this. If it were a pond in the public part of the house I would go with the native canterra. What I like about polished concrete is that it ages well, it develops patterns and swirls that resemble stone and I like the look. Also, when we did the pool we were told that if you use natural grey concrete for the finish the water will take on an aqua tone and if you use white cement in the finish it will be a clear blue. I like the aqua tone, it looks like a natural pond. As with the other pond downstairs, the inside walls will quickly become covered with green and the color of the water will get a bit darker. It is the outside and the top that will remain a swirly grey. I'm not going to tile the counters either so I think it will all blend together.
