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[quote=”bogino”]That’s all fine and Dandy for those that appreciate that kind of stuff. It just seems way out of character for the CR landscape. Sounds great for the US and Europe and Japan but I just can’t envision “Modular” amidst the CR Rainforests.[/quote]
Actually when done right a ‘modern’ style home would fit very well with the CR landscape. Most (read 95%) of what you see on the websites provide throughout this thread though would not IMHO and on that we can agree.
I’m not really a fan of the style in its pure form either and prefer the tweaked versions that are designed to fit into their environment using local renewable materials. For that you need a good architect though and that would be the hard part in CR. Most want their homes to [i]stand out[/i] as opposed to [i]fit in with[/i] their surroundings.
I would also argue that the modular/prefab subset of modern architecture would indeed be difficult to pull off outside of the big cities and probably not worth the additional expense. It’s one thing to build and transport modules made of wood and something else entirely to transport concrete structures. That’s where you would unfortunately see a difference in quality over something built onsite.
What I do like however is the modernist embrace of sustainable construction which can be done equally as well with any architectural style. However, as noted above this is really not as prevalent in CR as one would think. Again, lots of lip service paid but no real substance.
I’ll throw in my .02 just for the heck of it since I am into green/sustainable home building which often includes the words ‘modular’ and ‘prefab’ in its vocabulary.
Today in the US and Europe there is a growing industry of green and sustainable building. A lot of the front runners over the last 10 years or so have been builders and architects who are into the modernist movement with many of the homes being prefab, modular and/or made from ISBU’s (shipping containers) in addition to the typical built onsite homes.
These are not the prefab homes of old to be sure and are actually built VERY well. In fact they are built so well that many of them are being featured in countless architecture magazines with many awards to show for it. They incorporate renewable and sustainable materials and are by far WAY more energy and water efficient than their built on site counterparts. This is the new buzz in architecture and we will see much more of this as the economy rebounds with “green” being the new thing.
Unfortunately, with that being said these homes are generally NOT cheaper to build then their stick and brick built onsite counterparts. You will end up paying more upfront for the modular/prefab (or the green houses built onsite for that matter) then you will for a typical built less efficient house. This will change over time as more materials, systems and trades with green building experience come online but for now is an unfortunate reality as these are not homes where corners are being cut. Of course, over time you will save money in saved energy expenses and there is always the fact you are not harming the environment nearly as much as building the conventional house.
Here is the thing though as far as Costa Rica. I have been looking for years for people in CR who are doing this and who are doing this [i]right[/i]. To date I have mostly found only greenwashing. I see all the buzz words (prefab, eco, green, modular, sustainable et al.) but when the rubber hits the road it’s mostly fiction and marketing hype more than reality. That’s not to say they don’t exist in one-off cases but at the price point and level we are talking about… not so much. (There are some but they are very much luxury homes built by CR’s premier architects and as such are very expensive.)
My point is that the words ‘prefab’ and ‘modular’ today (as found in the US/EU anyway) typically have a different meaning than what we saw in the ‘military housing’ days so these words in themselves should no longer in [i]all circumstances[/i] convey a cheap or cheesy slap together product.
In CR though, I’m not so sure you can expect the same level of building or perfection with these types of products. Hopefully this will change… 😕
[quote=”kordan”]
Cannot be exported[/quote]You might wanna add some context to the first post. It’s just kind of… [i]random[/i], to say the least. 😉
No, not really…
US Federal Tax penalties are generally a low percentage of your unpaid taxes over time with most of them having a 20% to 25% of your unpaid tax as a maximum with the exception of Fraud, Tax Evasion etc.
This includes Failure to File, Failure to Pay and Accuracy Related issues much like we are discussing here.
Let’s do the math:
Owe $1,000 in the US to the IRS and don’t pay up over a certain period of time you can be assessed a maximum of 25% or $250 total. If you keep messing around then they start adding fun stuff like criminal penalties.
The IRS is no joke and will put a hurting on you but let’s look at the CR example now.
Owe $1,000 in Luxury Tax in CR and don’t pay or have accuracy related issues you can be assessed 5x or 10x or in this example $5,000 to $10,000.
So, as bad as the IRS is, there is a bit of a difference in the math.
Very true… that would be one “hot dog”.
(Sorry, I have a kid so my sense of humor is becoming somewhat simple…) 😳
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]I should add to the above that 3M and Johnson both make transparent window films that render glass virtually unbreakable. A would-be thief could waste a lot of time trying to break a side window with this stuff installed.[/quote]
I need to check that film out!
As far as the dog, why not get two so you can work ’em in shifts. 😉
I’m gonna agree here with Caliskatari on the premise of bang for your buck that you get from reading between the lines on his informative post. Unless you have a lot of additional money and just want to be green you won’t get much return (if any) for your investment with solar energy like you would in other countries. This seams silly to me for a country such as CR but I guess ICE has their own agenda and “green power” for homeowners is not on it. Maybe that will change? I have heard it’s been talked about and I will be researching it more when I get down next year. It’s still the right thing to do to be sure!
Like others mentioned though solar water heating is very efficient and with a low cost you can realize the return pretty quick (relatively speaking) and be green to boot! The companies already mentioned in this thread do solar water as well. (Another I have found… http://www.intitechsolar.com )
Here’s some food for thought though… If you can import building materials for a lesser duty than other items is it economical to import some of the solar power components yourself and utilize a CR company to install? If you were building a house and bringing in your household goods from the US you could upgrade from a 20’ to a 40’ container and add some of the bigger value items such as the inverters etc.. I’m just thinking out loud here… Maybe you have some insight Cali?
Also, try and talk to a contact at the CR branch of the Green Building Council. Maybe they have some advice and some contacts as well. The current executive director has a master in environmental engineering from the University of Florida and the CRGBC is dedicated to green and sustainable building.
http://www.crgbc.orgGood Luck!
Unfortunately the MultiLock and the Klub can both be defeated in under a minute by a thief with basic tools. The good news is it only takes about 30 seconds to disable most car alarms so those items add a bit more time. LoJacks are good but if the thief knows they are there they can be defeated pretty quick as well.
The key with LoJack though is knowing they are installed which many low tech thieves probably won’t. The downside is paying for the service but if you get big savings through INS as David mentioned it’s probably worth it. Just as an FYI though the LoJack will help you recover the car but if its been stripped (which takes about 6-10 minutes) then you are out of luck and will only have a shell. The best time to find a vehicle with LoJack is the first couple days due to the likelihood of the thieves letting it cool off somewhere. The question is how fast do they respond to missing cars in CR?
The best thing I have researched is called a Ravelco theft deterrent system but it’s unfortunately not available in CR and would have to be installed in the US or Canada prior to shipping. I’ll probably get one on my ’99 4Runner that I’m shipping in April. This system coupled with my factory immobilizer/alarm should make the car very hard to steal. They are not cheap but you save money with an AAA card (amongst other things) and the price ends up around $350 or so.
Other bits of advice would be to add some locking lug nuts to the wheels to deter wanna be tire thieves (they will not stop a real thief) and of course to leave nothing of value in the car ever. Nothing will stop a thief from grabbing your stereo, iPod, fancy sun glasses and cell phones!
When in doubt, get as much as possible and use them in tandem like David said. Thieves like easy! Unless you have a very desirable vehicle.
