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[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Isn’t the proper term for power-coating “electrostatic coating”? If yes, maybe Googling that would produce results.[/quote]
Powder coating is a baked on finish in an oven. I have parts on my boat that were made from aluminum by a fabricator and then powder coated. Looks great, but no so durable.
Electrostatic coating is where the paint is applied with a spray gun and both the paint and the piece to be painted has an electrical charge. The paint is “attracted” to the piece by electricity; it gives a more consistant cover and prevents overspray.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”tomstew1″]We should be brushing up on our Mandrin 😀
My experience has always been that if you constantly stir “crap” you will most certainly get some on you….
Boredom + forum = crap[/quote]
So you’re saying that you’re bored, right?[/quote]
Actually I was eating lunch…..
Not bored. I like to refer to it as multitasking. 🙂
We should be brushing up on our Mandrin 😀
My experience has always been that if you constantly stir “crap” you will most certainly get some on you….
Boredom + forum = crap
Climate: Agree 100%. Plus, no matter which climate you choose, the scenery is beautiful and full of wildlife.
Healthy Diet: Agree 100%. Everyone from the liberal side of this board complains about wars and stress from a failing democracy….Our diet is killing us Americano’s much faster than either of the aforementioned.
Health Care: Agree somewhat. I really cannot comment with any real knowledge. I have only had to use the healthcare system once when I was bitten by something while trekking through the jungle…I was taken to the small Nicoya Pen town of Carmona where a very, very pregnant youngster at a Farmacia ask me alot of very good questions prior to despensing me two meds. Both meds seemed to work..I am alive!
Affordable Domestic Help: Agree 100%. No comment needed.
I would add:
Flora & Fauna: Plenty of beautiful plants and many animals in every direction you turn. Simply a Beautiful country.
Pace of Life: Much slower pace of life in CR. This can be an adjustment, but I like it much better personally.
TS
[quote=”Scott”]Looks good.
Quite a transformation…
How would rate the quality of the work of the local workers who helped you?
Scott[/quote]
Thank you.
Yes, quite a transformation indeed….The house had been neglected for the past 5 or so years, but there was hope!The General Contractor was a guy out of Heredia named Fabio Foti….I think they work just about everywhere and I know they do a lot of work in the Parrita area…they just completed a new school in Parrita.
I am completely satisfied with his work. We had only a couple of minor issues and given the scope of work that had to be done, I am very, very satisfied. Basically, we took this home down to the block, inside and out. New plaster, new windows, new doors, new tile, new fixtures, new paint, new mini splits, new wiring, new electrical service (had 75amps upgraded to 200 amps), new cabinets throughout, etc. His employee’s are competent and given better equipment they would be timely. Some of the items took longer than expected due to not having modern equipment, ie, sanding wood by hand as opposed to an orbital sander; just minor stuff like that…
I am about to use him again to build a casita for my caretaker.
Fabio is a smart guy and he has two of his crew that are extremely good at cabinets and tile work. Italian born in US, raised from a very early age in Costa Rica. Went to college and grad school in Miami where he met a Tica, got married and eventially they moved back to CR. He is an environmental engineer by education.
I have read all of the horror stories about building and remodeling, so I was somewhat skeptical about this project. I can say that all of my worries were wasted energy.
Scale from 1-10, 10 being the highest.
Timeliness: 8 (done during the rainy season)
Cabinet work 10
Tile work 10
Paint 9Overall satisfaction 10
I had both dry wood and subT termites and got them treated from a guy in Quepos. He comes back each year to treat again so that they do not return using similar methods used in the states. I’ll get his number if you are interested, but I don’t know if he would come to Grecia or Atenas…
TS
I wouldn’t suggest dogs…They will be poisoned and die a miserable death. If you insist, look at AM Costa Rica. There are people in CR that train German Shepards…..again, you will end up with a dead dog and possibly have other neighbor issues if someone accidently gets bitten.
Camera’s won’t do any good for many reasons. I have wireless camera’s at my home in the US so I can peak in on my dogs occassionaly. They have to be reset when there is a power outage…That doesn’t happen that often at my home in the states, but it happens frequently in CR…
You can get these online at any security type store. The do rely on an internet connection (good speed) and a running pc if you plan on recording. Again, I think this would be useless…I have them just to view my babies (dogs).
Unfortunately, you need a caretaker. Regardless of what you might hear, unless your next door neighbors will watch your place day and night, you will need a caretaker to watch your place or you will have items missing when you return. Sad but true. Scott has a special guardian angel and he is the ONLY person in CR that I have read, spoken with or overheard that hasn’t had the same theft concerns/problems.
Good luck,
TSI would suggest that you use something else rather than a small safe. Theives will pick it up and steal it as fast as the laptop.
Get a piece of furniture built with a hidden drawer. I am building a couple myself….one is a book shelf with the toe kick being a hidden cavity for storage. Second is a sofa table where just below the top is a hidden cavity.
I would also suggest not getting it built locally.
Just a suggestion.
TS
I got all of mine at Construplaza which is at the Guachipilin exit off the pista just outside Santa Ana. They have a huge selection of Moen, American Standard and plenty others…some are German and Italian mfgs. Actually they have too many choices. My wife and I had a hard time deciding. fyi, same products are about 1/2 the price in the US if you have the option of bringing them with you…
TS[quote=”stevetx5″]The TVs I have purchased in Costa Rica have not been at all reliable. Once is still waiting for parts after nearly 2 years! Also they appear to be considerably cheaper in the US
So I am now considering bringing one with me from the US next month. Has anybody had any experience doing this? Any problems going through Customs? It would be small enough to conform to airline regulations (weight & size)[/quote]
Stevetx5:
I’m in Houston and flying to sjo on contintental you can bring up to a 42″…just leave in original box and check it as baggage…cost’s approx $50.Where do all of these worthless comments come from? Who gives a crap whether you like to read or not? Pls carry on reading and stop posting your worthless comments.
The damn question was does any of us have any experience bringing a TV from the US.
[quote=”diesels12″]I just purchased 6 – 9000 btu units for 165,000 colones each and it was 50,000 colones to install them. They also came with a 2 year gaurantee. I purchased them at Leaho in Guanacaste and the store was located on the right 300 meters before you make the right hand turn to Playas Del Coco as you are coming from Liberia. This was the best price I found and the units are decent and come with everything to install them.Good Luck.[/quote]
diesels12:
Can you tell me the brand?
Thanks,
TSCRF: Thanks for the info.
I should have said that the house is in between Quepos and Parrita…I can shop in San Jose or possibly Golfito or anywhere in between. Parrita prices are way to high and anywhere I have shopped in Quepos has been one of these….We don’t have any, but my friend XXXX can get you one…
Driving to Liberia and then back to Quepos would cause me to fall on a sword!
[quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”tomstew1″]I have posted some new photos of the remodel of my beach house. [/quote]
Excellent. I particularly like the arches but the color change in the exterior make a huge difference too. Did you restucco with the color added to the stucco or was it painted?
Having lived many years in California I am familiar with the problems of stucco. Our home had been painted when the previous owner wanted to change the color. The paint sealed the outer surface of the stucco but over time moisture works it’s way in beneath the paint and peeling paint and stucco deterioration occurred.
Our solution was to remove the deteriorated stucco and all of the paint and apply a new coat of colored stucco. This allowed the stucco to “breathe” and eliminated the problem of deterioration.
Within the next couple of years our here home will need to be refinished on the exterior for the same reasons of deterioration beneath paint. The initial cost is higher but it lasts much longer.[/quote]
Waggoner41:
Well I really don’t know how to answer your question because I am somewhat unfamiliar with CR building material terms…Here is what I do know.There was a course pebble like stucco finish on all of those arches. The contractor called it a stucco finish. The rest of the house he called the finish product repello. There were quite a few places on the three sides of the house where the repello finish was applied where there were voids or cavities….You could tap on the walls and hear this void…The whole front of the house where the stucco was applied was separating from the block…The contractor said that due to the moisture associated with beachfront living and probably some steps being skipped when the house was being built that we should strip all of these spots back to block and start over. He said that most likely the agent used to make the repello stick to the block was either skipped or poorly applied. I can’t remember the name of it but I do know that it is a bright blue material that is applied like paint. He stripped all of the pebble finished stucco material and about 3/4 of the remainder of the house back to block, applied this bonding agent and then reapplied repello to the house. Yes, it was alot of work, but I wanted it done correctly. The contractor (Fabio) warned me that this would be alot of labor, and I didn’t find it to be overly expensive, so we opted to to it the hard way………So now the house has block, the bonding agent, repello, primer and two top coats of paint. I think that the hot, humid beachfront location will require more attention than you would normally find elsewhere, but I think it is now done correct….I say that with very little actual experience however…I have built a couple of my own homes and they were all stick frame construction….so my statements are based upon other persons comments.
TS
