"How we build"

The following information is provided to help prospective clients and those interested in building a home in Baja / Mexico to obtain a clear idea of the variety of building materials available.  Also, some of the options available from MX Casas Construction Company.

DESIGNING AND BUILDING YOUR HOME

Materials to be used.

Even before starting your blueprints, consideration should be given as to what materials will be used in the construction of your home. Your decision can effect the options available in the design of your home as well as costs and the construction schedule.  Depending upon location and average temperatures, wall and roof insulation become additional considerations as well.  Below are some of the common materials used as well as the insulating values.  Please see our links page for more information from distributors and manufacturers. 

• Metal framing                                    Value as installed      

• Block                                                  R-2

• Brick                                                   R-12

• Block with 2" foam covering        R-22

• Nudura or ICF Block (14" foam)  R-35

• Rastra (performance wall)             R-32

• Straw bales                                        R-55

• Tridipanel or styrofoam panels    R-22                           

Note: All insulation values may vary according to exterior plaster thicknesses, paints, location and exterior considerations.

Metal framing

Provides unique home designs.

Using steel allows for large span openings.

Steel is roll formed for consistent quality.

Steel is stable and won't shrink, bow or warp.

Steel does not rot, promote or cause mildew.

Impermeable to pests. 

Metal framing (also referred to as metal or steel studs) have been used for over 40 years.  Metal studs are used primarily in non-combustable commercial construction but have gained favor as an alternative to conventional wood construction of homes as well.  Metal framing can be used throughout the entire home including non-load bearing interior walls, load bearing walls, floor joists, curtain walls and roof trusses. Metal framing is corrosion resistant and protected with a galvanized coating.  The galvanized coating protects the steel from rusting. 

Steel offers builders and owners an environmentally friendly alternative to wood.  There is little waste when using steel pre-cut materials.  Chemically sensitive homeowners and those susceptible to asthma are exposed to fewer toxins in a steel framed house.  Steel studs or steel framing has one of the highest strength to weight ratios of any building material.  Because of its strength, steel can mean fewer framing members with wider on center spacing, reducing material and labor costs.  Steel framing is also non-combustable and will not add fuel to a fire.  Steel framing also provides a pest or termite proof solution for the structural integrity of a home.  Steel also does not promote the growth of mold and is inorganic, and does not contain moisture required for mold.   

Some builders also use metal framing in combination with other materials such as block.  Using concrete block to build the shell of the home, they use metal framing for most of the interior walls with drywall on both sides of the framing.  This makes construction very fast as well as making it easier to change the interior layout of the home at some future date.

Block

Provides unique home designs.

Extremely durable material and easily maintained

Energy efficient.

Provides protection against dry rot, fire damage and weather concerns.

Concrete block is one of the most durable materials on earth.  There is no rotting or warping due to temperature and no extensive maintenance or upkeep requirements.  Concrete block is also an extremely flexible building material when it comes to home designs.  Building with concrete block means you have the flexibility to do just about anything you want when building your home.  Whether it is a one - two or even a three story home with options such as columns, arches, high ceilings and tall windows, concrete blocks provide the needed flexibility for every type of job.

Concrete block homes are more energy efficient than conventional wood homes especially in areas of hot, humid and sun baked climates.  That's because the mass factor of block acts as a reservoir to trap and store heat from the sun, so that interiors stay cooler.  Another point is that air infiltration from "wall leaks" is estimated as 39% of a typical homes energy loss.  Concrete block walls, which are more airtight than wood frame walls, seal in air conditioned air far better - while keeping out hot, humid air.  What's more, block homes are virtually immune to dry rot, one of the major causes of exterior maintenance.

Brick

Block with 2" foam 

Nudura block

Hollow foam blocks are filled with concrete. 

Tongue and groove design interlocks for installation.

Blocks provide thick and continuous insulation.

Blocks serve as thermal, sound and fire barriers. 

Nudura is the new generation of ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) technology.  Nudura's double insulation protection is a high-performance expanded polystyrene building form made for erecting concrete walls.  Nudura is basically a hollow foam block designed to be filled with concrete.  A unique tongue and groove design provides interlocking connections for alignment of the blocks as well as providing insulation value.  The block forms provide thick and continuous insulation and also serve as fire, sound and thermal barriers.  With the insulating capacity of expanded polystyrene combined with the structural strength and thermal mass of concrete, Nudura makes walls stronger, safer and more energy efficient than typical walls.

Performance wall

Panels consist of cement and polystyrene for easy assembly.

Panels are stacked, placed with rebar and later filled with concrete.

Panels serve as thermal, sound and fire barriers.

Available in different widths and thicknesses.

Panels provide high insulation value.

Straw bales

Provide unique home designs.

Provides superior insulation values and filters air.

A renewable resource, durable and easily maintained product.

Provides for thick walls.

Tridipanels

Panels provide design flexibility.

Panels are 4" thick and covered with welded wire mesh.

Panels serve as thermal, sound and fire barriers.

Panels provide high insulation value.

The Tridipanel is a prefabricated panel. This extremely strong structural product consists of a super-insulated core of rigid expanded polystyrene sandwiched between two-engineered sheets of eleven-gauge steel welded wire fabric mesh. To complete the panel form process a nine-gauge galvanized steel truss wire is pierced completely through the polystyrene core at off set angles for superior strength and welded to each of the outer layer sheets of eleven-gauge steel welded wire fabric mesh. Once these three elements are joined, you end up with a three-dimensional lightweight panel that due to their characteristics, makes them one of the strongest building materials you can find.

Tridipanel is used for numerous building applications. It may be used in place of wood framed walls, metal-framed walls, and masonry block walls or in place of pre cast panels. Tridipanel may also be used for floor systems, ceilings and to provide a roof structure. Tridipanel is an excellent product for building privacy walls around the home or building structure.

In regards to costs, using tridipanels vary according to the design and finish of your project and this affects the final cost.  Tridipanels are not price competitive with (2x4) stick framing but they are competitive with (2x6) stick framing, metal stud framing and is generally more price competitive than block. For return on investment, Tridipanel beats stick framing as well as most other building systems readily since they account for only a fraction of your structure's cost. The dollars you spend on the Tridipanels can be made up very quickly in energy savings alone. Over the life of the structure, the savings are quite staggering.  This system ensures strength, speed and versatility with an insulation value of R-22.  With the rising costs of electricity in various areas, the tridipanel system can save the homeowner from as much as 30% to 50% and in some cases to 80% in energy savings compared to the traditional mexican block construction.

MX Casas Construction Company

MX Casas Construction Company has been building in the Baja / Mexico areas since 1999.  Our company was founded by an American Contractor and has held a California contractors license since 1981.  We have a combined a total of over 25 years of hands on construction experience and include that with Mexican construction techniques suited for the Baja Penninsula.  We have strived to construct quality homes that include US code structure, electrical, plumbing and ducting materials to produce a home that is low on maintenance, very competitive in cost, comfortable to live in and provides a higher equity in the resale market.

MX Casas Construction Company builds using a variety of products including tridipanels, styrofoam panels, concrete blocks, metal framing as well as ICF blocks.  Our construction costs are typically one-half of U.S. home construction prices. We also install septic systems, water storage systems and exterior home improvements. 

We also offer:

Custom home design, architectural services, consultations.

Cabinetry and custom built cabinets.

Standard and custom doors and windows.

Mexican tile work, designs and elaborate custom projects.

Specialized wood work, interior and exterior finishes.

If you have any questions regarding any of the materials or construction systems discussed above or would like to schedule a meeting regarding construction of a new home, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Telephone: 1-310-535-5777 International

                 (This California number automatically forwards your call to our Mexico Office)

Fax:           1-714-893-4246 International

                 (This fax number automatically forwards to our Mexico Office)

Web site:    www.mxcasas.com

Email Address: mxhomes@yahoo.com

We offer a full line of construction services including:

We do new home construction and remodels in most parts of Baja California North and South.  We also do home construction in a variety of cities throughout Mexico.