Manufactured Homes in Costa Rica

I would like to know this too since we want to build three cabina’s on our lot in Uvita. Thanks Rick

There are Pre-fab concrete panel homes that they build right on site. They can be constructed pretty quickly, and are pretty reasonable to build. Scott did a story on a company in Escazu who built them about a year and a half ago. You can do a regular search and find a couple of other companies that do the same thing.

As David points out, wood as the primary building material for housing construction is not practical here in Costa Rica for several reasons. We are approximately 10 degrees north of the equator. A prudent and responsible builder needs to factor in the effects of the suns rays as well as the seismic activity and pest infestation into the selection of building materials here.

I know an American of Latino descent who has lived and worked here for many years who bought one of the pre-cast concrete home packages years ago and he had additional time and expense with finishing the walls to look decent. Their system uses concrete structural posts that are thicker than the wall panels that fit into them. The pre-fab walls and posts still need to be plastered with concrete to complete the structure. Those systems are only good for storage sheds or other structures that do not need to be finished to look like normal interior and exterior walls.

Based on my 15 years experience here in Costa Rica, the best product to use from a cost and construction standpoint is traditional 40x20x15cm block with 3/8″ and 1/2″ steel re-rod for vertical reinforcement. As long as there are entrepreneurs there will be new products available and sometimes something new makes sense but perhaps it may not be practical for cost or availability reasons. Unless you have lived and worked in Costa Rica, one thing you wouldn’t realize is that transportation to the beach and mountainous communities can add considerable cost and time to your project. So any new products that are not distributed throughout the country by the major building supply companies will be a hassle to get to the building site, on-time and within budget.

Traditional concrete blocks have been used by builders around the globe since the beginning of time and more recently to build Habitat for Humanity homes throughout the world. The blocks’ convenient availability and ease of lifting was the selling point for the Habitat projects, as they are dependent on volunteer labor. These traditional blocks are all 40cm long and 20cm tall with three variable widths of 12cm ($.51), 15cm ($.64) or 20cm ($.90). Along with these blocks I would install steel reinforcement, re-rod, of 3/8″ ($3.51) and for columns 1/2″ ($6.24).

Another product available here is SuperBloque. This product is basically an over sized block that the local tradesmen do not like because of its weight and bulk. When a mason is installing these blocks the labor is complicated by the fact that each block must be lifted on top of the previously installed blocks and it is more difficult than regular sized block. Therefore the fit and distribution of concrete mortar is sacrificed for less quantity of blocks. The width and strength of the vertical steel reinforcement rods (columns) which support the block wall system and horizontal concrete support system (headers) that will support the roof structure that are part of the SuperBloque package are only 1/4″. These thin steel reinforcement rods and the smaller poured concrete columns that will support the entire structure are marginal and in the event of seismic movement would give out much sooner that a larger vertical steel reinforced column construction system like I install in my traditional concrete block construction method.

The additional hassle of using the SuperBloque is that they only sell them through a few distributors by the square meter ($25.75 m2) including the steel reinforcement, re-rods, which are only 1/4″ ($1.27) and in my opinion are inadequate.

Traditional vertical concrete support columns are 12″ x 8″ and reinforced with six 1/2″ thick steel rods and then the horizontal support headers are 12″ x 8″ with six 1/2″ steel rods. There is additional labor involved in order to assemble the steel reinforcement and install the quantity of blocks used in the traditional construction method but the tradesmen are familiar and accustomed to this method and therefore take pride in the quality of their installation therefore the consumer receives a higher quality finished product. I sleep much better at night knowing my building structures are anti seismic and do not develop fissure cracks prematurely which require much more maintenance for the owners. As was discussed in a previous posting, painting and preparation of poorly installed concrete surfaces is not only expensive but also unsightly until repaired.

I have close up photos of all the above construction methods as well as the Endless Beach Condos that were taken on July 23, 2007 on Potrero Beach, Guanacaste that I would be happy to send you offline. I built these buildings 50 meters from the salt water of the Pacific Ocean in 1993 and 1994 with the traditional concrete block construction method. In the photos you can see that during the last 13 years they have withstood seismic movement as well as constant salt water and radiation from the sun.

It’s comfortable to know that there are experienced people like you out there who understand what is involved with the finishing methods of the construction of homes in Central America. Over the years I have been hired by several foreigners to inspect the construction of pre-fab home packages they have purchased here in CR. Unfortunately, for the owners, the costs to finish these supposedly turn-key, pre-fab designs has always been more costly and time consuming.

Please help I looking for the last 3 months in the Costa Rica net for Email adress of the prefab builder in Jaco area
I see his house builded in Playa Narancho last year
I am very interesting to contact him or any company in CR in order to start planing the my dreem house in Costa Rica
My adress internet tnick@videotron.ca

I have had some interest in pre fabs and manufactured homes, here is some alternative designs that ain’t your grandma’s double wide as well as two sites of CR companies.

http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/fablisthome.htm

http://www.moduloscr.com/index.html

http://www.superbloque.com/index.html

“How did you or your builder compensate for the inches of difference in the thickness of the columns and pre-cast panels in the interior walls of your pre-fab home?”

I am sure that Peg can answer this question on her own. It is not a problem!

How do you work around exposed roof trusses? I just finished doing this in my home. As a contractor builder, you should know that building materials are just a pile of materials. It is all about what you, the contractor, builder, does with them. When building any home, using any material, you must arrange the materials to get your end result as you want it. This technique is no different.

These homes are not sheds by any means. Shame on CR Homebuider for not knowing the difference, as a builder you should know how to work with various materials. If not stay away from them.

The joy of owning your dream home is not about how much money you can pay the home builder, although he would like the money. It is about you having your dream. Dreams are not always delivered by spending the most money.

Prefab concrete and steel homes can be as lovely and as long lasting as any other home.