It was HOT today, in the lower 40s! I started at 5:30 AM 
and by 11 AM I had completed most of my electrical installation and other utilities. I have the inspector coming on Monday morning. If he approves of everything I can go ahead and burry the trenches and hook the house up. But after this week and last week I am cooked. But Happy! I just hope I don’t get sick again. A heat stoke usually takes a day to “kick in.” Our summer heat has started. I have to be careful. This kind of heat can be dangerous. The good thing is that the nights are wonderful, so cool and refreshing.
June 4, 2005
The Inspector came today and passed all of my utilities. He also said once the stucco is complete he will issue an occupancy permit. This means the house may be cleared for living in about 7 to 10 days. For now I have electricity, water, sewage. Gas will come in about two weeks. Air conditioning will be done in about three weeks. So slowly slowly I am getting there. This was my fourth week working outside on all of this. The end is in sight! 🙂
In this country I had to pay about $5000 for a building permit in order to build this house. Part of that money went towards a school tax. At various stages in the construction I have to call an inspector to come and check that the work is done properly. He signs a construction card. Without his approval I can not move ahead to the next stage. Although this process makes the work even more expensive it ensures that decent construction quality is maintained. This is why most of our houses in this country are able to survive earthquakes, etc. This is how stucco is applied to a house. You can see the first coat that just covers the wire mesh. This is called the scratch coat. The second coat is called the brown coat. After the brown coat there is one more coat called the color coat. We are considering what color to make the house in the final coat that will be applied in about 30 days.
June 24, 2005
Happy happy, the inspector just signed our occupancy permit. Technically we are now allowed to move in. Moving in is still a few months away, but at least as far as the government regulations are concerned we are done. This is a milestone for a project I have been working on for six years. So I am pleased. I bought the land six years ago with nothing here, no road, no water, no electricity, nothing. Then each year we have done a little work and gradually I have gotten to this point. And to make matters even better I was able to get the hot water turned on today. I can now even take a hot shower. In another few days I will have a nice new shower that is all black granite.
September 9, 2005
Ah happy happy happy, this morning I finished the 
telephone and data wiring to the house. This completes all the utilities: water, gas, electricity, sewage,telephone, internet (data), air conditioning, dryer venting. Building a house is a massive undertaking. It is satisfying to know that I did it, but I would never do it again. In a few months I will begin the outside patios, but at least all the inside is complete.