Curious and Unexplainable Building Practices of Costa Rica

So we wanted to remodel. Full scale, plumbing, electrical, tile, roof and so on. One of the big motivations for the remodel was the bat problem we had. We had lots of bats living up in the attic. I know, as you read this you are thinking of at least one solution that you know would work. Well, we’ve tried it, whatever it may be. I have put garlic all around, hung sharp blades of jungle grass up, lights, noise, moth balls, plug in devices for this purpose that didn’t work, etc…

So now we were going to try and rebuild the house in such a way that the little blighters wouldn’t call our home “home” anymore. We had heard that they hate fiberglass insulation, so we were going to put on a new roof and insulate it with fiberglass. I’ll go ahead and tell you how it ended up since this isn’t really the point of this article. It didn’t work. We now have a guy enshrouding the whole house with screen. I’m not sure how we’re going to get in and out of the house, but it might just work with respect to finally getting the bats to go away.

Remodeling is an interesting endeavor no matter where you live. But I have become convinced that it is super complex here, due to what I wrote in my previous article. Click here to view.

Europeans, North Americans, Icelanders, even other Latin American countries such as Mexico and Guatemala, all have a certain sense of style. Costa Rica doesn’t. Well it does in that the lack of style is universal. There is little to no attention given to the aesthetic of the living space. Look below the surface of the unimaginative décor and design of most Tico homes, offices, stores, whatever and you will find a poorly put together mechanical structure.
For instance:

For my remodel, I was going to use stud construction and sheet rock. Sounds normal to a North American, but here it is not. If you are going to do such construction here, make sure to see some other work that the contractor has done with this type of work. It is not something that they know well. I was informed that they were going to do a “slick wall” finish. They actually didn’t use the term “slick wall” but this is what the end result was going to be since they didn’t know about the various texture possibilities for drywall. I raised my eyebrows since this is the hardest finish to get right with sheet rock. I mentioned this to them but was resoundingly reassured that they knew what they were doing. I said “great, I love slick wall”. “But if you were to put some texture on it, it wouldn’t need to be perfect like with slick wall since the texture reflects light around and hides some imperfections.” Again, “no se preocupe (don’t worry) don Benjamin”. Ok, we’ll see.

It was about this time in the project that I noticed that there were no electrical plugs in the wall. I mentioned this to the guys and they explained to me that the electrician was going to come in a few days and put the wiring and boxes in. I had to stand back and scratch just a bit. I asked why on earth they would put the sheet rock on prior to the electrician putting the wiring and boxes in the wall. It was explained to me that they were ready to put the sheet rock on, and the electrician hadn’t yet shown up to put in his stuff. So he’d simply have to put it in later.

I thought back to the projects that I had been involved with in the States and how a plumbing crew, or an electrical crew could hold up a job by not being there the day they were supposed to be, since it all just works that way. They frame up the walls, then get out of the way. The plumbers and electricians come in and put their stuff in, then they sheet rock, cutting holes to accommodate the electrical boxes that protrude from the wall the width of the sheet rock. If the sub-contractors are out of sync, there is always a huge stink. So I guess one could say that the Costa Rican method avoids such problems. They just go ahead and put the sheet rock up, regardless.

It is good to understand a fundamental point here. The general contractor may or may not feel responsible for the timing of such things. You must make sure when you are negotiating the original contract, that he understands that he is the one that you are going to look to for coordinating the whole project. This is not a given. As it turned out, even with the retrofit method of putting in the electrical boxes, they were extremely reluctant to have the electrical boxes come out flush with the sheet rock. Some times the screws that hold on the finish plate of the wall switch or wall plug weren’t long enough to reach into the box and so special screws had to be purchased.

Most construction here is slab build. For the foundation walls, a ditch is dug and formed up for the concrete. Correct practice is to lay out the plumbing and wiring so that sleeves can be put into the foundation walls and the rebar and cement can pass through the hole created by the sleeve.

Not so here in Costa Rica. Here, the foundation wall is put in with no regard for anything but the foundation wall, and the rest of it can just find its own way, busting holes in the foundation wall later on to accommodate whatever might need to pass through. Keep in mind that the principal behind cement construction prohibits the cutting of rebar since it creates an unbroken and very strong web of iron running around the circumference of the building.

Its kind of like living in a culture that puts its shoes on first and then struggles like crazy to pull the pants on over the shoes.

I know, you are thinking, “man this guy is burned out on Costa Rica”, or at least on the building practices of Costa Rica. Actually, the more I live here the more I love it. The theme of this blog is Costa Rica Real Estate. I am normally rather Polly Anna in my view point on things, but with regards to construction in Costa Rica, it is an exception.

As for the general real estate market here in The Zone, we are entering our construction phase in a big way, so I feel that candor with respect to these things is appropriate.

I sometimes think that I have seen it all… but then again, maybe not. I hope that this information will be useful for those who are going to build here in Costa Rica. The intent of detailing out the “electrical box” scenario is, quite frankly, one of the lighter weight problems that I have witnessed here. The examples of poor business and building practices here are extensive. The point is to understand what you’re dealing with, and then have your eyes wide open as you embark on the project.

You can do it. It is difficult, but there are a lot of nicely built homes here. Talk with people who have done it and you’ll hear everything from “it was an endless nightmare” to “no problem, it went great”.

I am available to receive experiences you may have had in a construction practice here for the purpose of helping others to know what to look for. Please feel free to e-mail them to me.

As is the case with all free markets, the demand is there, and it is starting to be met by good quality craftsmen and overseers. The crews are all Tico, but with a well thought out contract, and a good engineer, you can make a success of your construction project in Costa Rica.

Click here to see other construction articles.

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