Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bottles on the rebar Quiz

I've heard tons of stories of why the bottles are placed on top of rebar on the roofs in Mexico. My builder just gave me the only answer that makes any sense to me. No it is not to keep them dry and it's not to bring attention that the house is unfinished. You guys get to make a guess or two ....


No more quesses - OK

Rebar sticking out of the roof makes a great lightning rod .... and either glass or plastic will act as insulators

13 comments:

Steve Cotton said...

My workers' compensation mind would say -- safety. However, the only safe construction worker I saw was the dummy on top of the equipment sales store over by the laguna.

sparks_mex said...

No more quesses - OK

Rebar sticking out of the roof makes a great lightning rod .... and either glass or plastic will act as insulators

Over the Pond said...

Hello-this has nothing to do with re-bar or bottles-but I thought you might be a wealth of knowledge for information. My partner and I are planning to get down there in the next few weeks. I have been several times to Barra and Melaque-but he has never. He is an Irish musician and would love to get some gigs down there. Do you have any suggestions. you can contat me at leslienatasha@gmail.com. Thanks

Don Cuevas said...

I read that it was to keep from paying property tax on one's house, so long as the construction was "unfinished."

Saludos,
Mike

sparks_mex said...

Well Mike .... we pay taxes on the lot with/without a house. The amount does not change except with inflation

Anonymous said...

Hate to tell you this, but the glass will do nothing at that potential for a lightning strike. The massive current will just hit the metal rod below the glass and melt the glass. It would only serve as an insulator for low voltage like power line current, but that has nothing to do with it. So you will have to look for another reason.........

cari said...

It's to prevent impalement...

sparks_mex said...

Actually the same guys that told me about the lightning rod idea (my builders) always put plastic bottles on any rebar sticking up in the yard .... to protect the kids that play there when we're gone.

Ah well ... this is Mexico

cari said...

Hey, I'm writing a paper about ways that we grow architecture... would you mind if I use your picture? It's just a school project...

sparks_mex said...

All my fotos are free to use. Grow architecture - sounds interesting

cari said...

Thanks! I fear that I am the only one that will find it interesting...;o) But it will be in the library at NCSU College of Design for anyone in the world to check out... ;o) I, of course, will be pleased if my adviser actually reads it... the basic idea is that buildings can be designed to grow rather than being thought of as a single event that the owner must then struggle against for the life of the building to accomplish their changing needs/goals.

sparks_mex said...

The latest I hear from my new workers is that it simply protects the rebar from moisture. The best option is to paint them

Anonymous said...

I heard that it was a tax evasion practice. By leaving re-bar sticking out of the top, the building can be listed as unfinished. Maybe the bottles are just for makeshift decoration

The construction of the house finished in April 2011 and I'm pretty much settled in. As of March 2014 I'm in preparation for rain mode for this coming summer. That includes sealing and painting things and dealing with drainage issues from last year.

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