Enlucido is most simply translated as “plaster.”

It can also serve as the past participle of the verb “to plaster,” meaning “plastered.” But whether “enlucido” is being used as a noun or a verb depends entirely on context, and honestly, that’s beside the point. For the purposes of this post, all you really need to know is: it means plaster.

But! Probably not the kind of plaster you’re picturing. This isn’t the smooth, white, goopy stuff used on drywall to even things out before painting. This is the sandy, sloppy cousin. The kind you slap onto concrete block walls to… well, even things out before painting. So yes, it is kind of like the plaster you were thinking of, just grittier and greyer. And it is now being installed on our home in Villaflor!

The process begins with the mix: cement, two types of sand, and a generous amount of water. Once blended into a slurry, it’s scooped up with a shovel and flung at the wall, where it lands with a satisfying plop. A few moments later, it’s ready to be smoothed into a finely textured, level surface. After drying, the enlucido can be sanded down in preparation for primer and paint. But we’re not quite at that stage yet here in Villaflor. For now, to help illustrate the installation process, I’ve put together a short video. Enjoy!

As of this posting, most of the first floor walls have been covered in enlucido. The workers have also moved on to installing it on the second floor as the walls get completed. Here are a couple of shots from the completed walls on the first floor:

It is a messy part of the home-build process, but another interesting step towards the completion of our home.

Now, let’s move on to some updates about where the rest of the house currently stands. As mentioned earlier, all first-floor walls have been completed in concrete block, and most have already received their coat of enlucido. The second floor is inching ever closer; nearly all the blockwork is done, though only a handful of walls have been plastered so far.

Meanwhile, there’s been a big push on the roof. The entire metal support structure has been cut, welded, and locked into place. That brings us one major step closer to sealing off the house from the elements, which, in turn, will allow more finishing work down the line.

Uh oh!!! Did you see that big boo-boo in the last photo? What happened to that wall?

That wall had an unfortunate encounter with the rear end of a 3-axle truck delivering material. The exact specifics of how it happened? I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t need to. Accidents happen. What I do know is that we got lucky: the truck only hit concrete block. No damage to the metal support structure, foundation, or drainage lines. And as for the messy bits like responsibility and compensation; our architect Marco has already handled it. So we don’t have to give it a second thought, nor a single cent. The wall will be torn down and rebuilt in an afternoon.