10 January, 2003

Construction full speed ahead!
Good news! The house construction is moving right along! It has been perhaps the most physically challenging phase of the home construction, but we've passed a second milestone: the structure is up. In late November, we completed the foundation, all with poured concrete and lots of rebar reinforcement all tied together - for seismic considerations. Now this December, we had excellent weather conditions and the workers were able to make significant progress with the assembly of the house.

Heavy wood
All the nine main posts (8x8) were put in place. The posts for the second floor were quite a challenge, each weighing many hundred pounds and difficult to lift and put in place. Using the latest Tico technology (ropes and muscles), it took 3 days to lift the last 3 posts and put them in place. The woods used for the posts and structure are nisporo and almendro, both extremely hard and heavy tropical woods. One cannot put a nail in this wood it is so hard! The wood is so dense, that we will never have any issues with wood destroying organisms such as termites, water, humidity, mold, etc. All the posts and beams are attached together by nuts and bolts. This is also because of seismic considerations. It is desired that the house can 'move' during an earthquake, and nuts and bolts allow much greater flexibility than nails or screws.

The roof
Our roof will be made of shingles (compared to the typical tin roofs in most of the country). It is unrecommended in Costa Rica to place tiles of any kind, due to earthquakes. They make heavy objects that can fall on your head! So, we've gone with shingles, cafe color. We will be one of the very few homes in the region to have a shingle roof. Large sheets of marine grade plywood will be fastened to the roof, weather protected by a coat of 'elastomatic' paint, tar paper and finally the shingles.

The Weather Factor
Once the main roof is in place, it's all downhill. It can rain without affecting the work progress very much, since the workers will have a roof over their heads! This is a major consideration down here (although we've just gone through 4 months of perfect weather - except for the 2 week storms in November)! The next few months are forecasted to be reasonable nice weather months...until the summer rainy season...but hopefully the house will be finished by then. The current schedule calls for an April / May completion date.

The next steps after the roof is all set will be to put up the walls and floor of the second floor. At the same time, electrical and plumbing connections will also be put in place.

Septic Tank
We have completed the septic tank. It consists of a grease separator (for kitchen waste), and then 2 other tanks that separate the solids from the fluids. Once the fluids are 'processed', they drain through a drainage field about 12 meters long. And yes, the septic system IS far away from the well!

Power
Power for all this construction work has come solely from one 4400 watt gasoline powered generator (thanks again Nia and Jonathan!). The generator is on all day...makes a bit of noise...but somehow doesn't seems to keep the toucans away. We are very thankful for it's dependability and great function. We do plan to bring in real power within the next 2 months. We will have to put up several posts to bring power to the property and then will most likely bury the cables coming to the house.

 

Archived Writings: November 28, 2002 Maya's Graduation Day November 22, 2002 Jake visits Maya November 05, 2002 Well Well Well - the well is well We have a road - or does it have us? Home construction begins OUI OUI Update October 30, 2002 Gisele and Marlene's Vacation October 4, 2002 Building plans are in Snake in the yard OUI OUI Update Welcome Christain New Wheels Manuel in Miami September 21, 2002 The trucks are rolling in OUI OUI Update Where's the water? September 14, 2002 Bridge is finished September 7, 2002 Jeep birthday A new Arrival A day on the waters September 4, 2002 The NONI plant September 1, 2002 August in a Flash August 10, 2002 Tornadoes and Earthquakes July 11, 2002 The Road Begins....and ends July 9, 2002 The Container July 1, 2002 We Made It June 1, 2002 We're Moving!

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28 November

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11 January








Schedules

January
Put roof on house and walls on second floor.

Continue garden design and planting.

Pintos in Miami 10th through 24th.

February
Begin cementing steep road sections

Build 'Garden Center' for plant propagation

March
Bring electricity to site

April / May
Complete home construction

Punta Uva Visits:
Laure & JeanNoel
11 Feb to 07 Mar


Farragut Reunoin
Sept 2003