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In my neighborhood, someone is building a house like none I’ve seen here.
First, they built a concrete deck that is actually off the ground in a hillside. There’s “drive under” space below it. Then, they have erected what appears to be a welded steel main structure for the exterior walls (at least) and the roof. After that, they have filled in the large spaces in the steel structure with light steel framing like what is commonly used in the U.S. And now they’re siding the exterior with some sort of panel siding — maybe Fibrolit — but not aluminum or vinyl.
I don’t know, of course, how the interior walls will be finished, but drywall and similar board-type materials are available here.
This looks like it could be a viable alternative to the traditionnal concrete block construction which crhomebuilder advocates and which I admire. Crhomebuilder, any thoughts?
This type of steel construction is a fine method as long as cost is not an issue and the steel is galvanized and then great care is taken to repeatedly coat the welded joints or torqued bolts with the highest quality anti-corrosive paint in order to avoid corrosion in the future. The flashing and the exterior sheathing being used is the most important part of this construction method because these products are what seal the interior cavity from the elements.
I built a large home in Ciudad Cariari in 2002 with steel construction and this method has some advantages but cost is not one of them. The costly factors involved with this method are expensive sheathing, flashing, insulation, drywall is needed for all walls and ceiling on the interior and of course all of the interior and exterior walls and ceilings need to be finished with expensive plastering products by experienced tradesmen that command higher salaries. Additionally, now a day’s most people have cellular phones and they do not function well inside of steel structures.
I prefer to build with steel because it is the finest method known to man as is evidenced by the fact that most skyscrapers around the world are constructed of steel because it is anti-seismic which is applicable here in Costa Rica. The steel itself is not the expensive part of this construction method. The exterior flashing, sheathing and plastering materials are expensive and must be installed by very experienced tradesmen who have been currently trained by the manufacturers of the products being used. That is difficult here because most contractors cannot send their workers to the USA for training and therefore the installations that are attempted here usually are lacking one phase or another of the recommended installation procedures and therefore the warranties are not honored by the manufacturers.
After 15 years of constructing housing in Costa Rica, I only recommend the use of materials that are widely distributed here and are accepted by the local Latino work force. If someone wants to try new methods down here I always wish them luck. But I do not operate my business on luck. It’s takes hard work and hand on experience to get quality construction completed up to the standards that most foreigners are looking for here in Costa Rica. Look for a follow up posting about exterior cracks on walls where a fine US product was installed where it was not designed for and then plastered with improper materials. The repairs will end up costing the owners a great deal of money because the entire exterior of several buildings of condos now need to be redone the right way the second time.
Great feedback Tom – Thank you!
Your experience in building in the USA and 15 plus years of building in Costa Rica combined with an acute understanding of the local labor market and their talents shines through.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comScott I just realized I was mistaken who “crhomebuilder” was? I thought he was the guy from cr-home or crhomebuilder both whom have web sites similar to crhomebuilders handle on this site. It may be wise for Tom to change his name as others may make the same mistake I did…
Can you please give me a weblink for the prefab houses here in costa rica or contact info?
Thanks SofloHi, I read your post and I am interested in hiring a Costa Rica Builder to build my home in approx. 12-18 months. The property is in the Central Pacific area of Esterillos. The name of the project is “Costa Esterillos” The Developer is Costa Developers but we have zero interest in letting them build our home. We will be in Costa Rica this winter for a few weeks and we would like to see the completed work of some smaller builders who have done work in that area. Is this something you might be interested in? If not, do you have a builder you could recommnend? If you would like to contact me you can do so here on this site or I can send you my email and phone number.(First I would have to ask Scott because I think exchanging personal contact information is against Forum policiy, I’d have to check) I am going to be very careful about who I choose to build my home and so I want you to know that I will be interviewing several builders, I have no intentions on wasting anyones time, my wife and I are very serious people. If interested, please feel free to reply to this post…Thanks, I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Artie and Luz Giordano
Please note that Tom Rosenberger helps his customers build homes in the Central valley area ONLY. He does NOT build homes on either coast.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comArt,
I know someone in Playa Hermosa a young guy with great ideas and has completed homes in the area you can see. Very cool stuff and he has a great crew, If you post your e mail I will send you his contact info.
Keith
Keith. I am consistently asked to recommend builders in the areas outside of the central valley and would like to contact the young guy you know in order to talk to him. I was young once and appreciate the energy of entrepreneurs. Thanks, Tom
I am away on vacation in cape cod and will send you his info when I get back on Sunday. Do you have an e mail address for me?
we are going to visit costa rica end of december. been contacted by costa developers to buy land on their third venture. what other places or developers would you suggest we
see to make up our mind about buying property in cr.jesup100. It would be wise for you to read this article before you deal with any developers in Costa Rica.
https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/1287.cfm
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