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pacside
Nomad
Posts: 316
Registered: 1-16-2006
Location: N. Cal
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LB
One of the best advise so far is: be on site during building no matter what!!
Look out for bids that are lower than others....what has been left out that
the other guy included in the bid. Always will cost more than you think.
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Well it appears I am doing the exact opposite of what most here recommend. I spent my time looking for a reputable builder local to the area. I
received multiple references from various sources and picked my builder but not until I had learned a couple lessons. I started out with a high end
architect and wasted $2400 bucks on design plans that were modern when I wanted authentic mexican, then I wasted another $2500 on a "middleman" gringo
type person who would design a home and deal with the builder.
Then I met this builder who did it all; designed home based on my feedback, got all environmental reports, got all permits, gave a quote and is
sticking to it, sends me pictures of the construction process.
I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at how easy this process is going. I can't say enough good things about this person. I've had independent
sources say his crew is out there daily working hard and by the pics it is evident they are making great progress. He pays their social security.
I am giving him creative license to pick out all appliances, fixtures, finishes etc. This is after he showed me some of the homes he built and I
pointed out the things I liked so he had a good idea of my tastes.
Now having said this I am paying a higher per sf ft cost (but not unreasonably so) then if I was onsite and managed the project myself. The other
thing is I am unable to be down there to manage the project so needed someone reliable and trustworthy to oversee it and so far so good.
There also is the point of time vs money. How much is your time worth. I am a small business owner and my time is better spent doing that and paying
someone else whose expertise is doing what they do best.
Just my 2 cents. I don't want to scare off those folks who are told they can't build remote. The biggest thing is finding the right person. It took me
a couple mistakes and a couple years to find the right person.
Another point re prices. Prices of materials are going up so the longer you wait the higher the cost of construction imo. However, there may be less
demand for workers so wages may be stagnant which could offset the higher cost of materials. The other thing to think about is the longer you wait the
more rules and regulations may be implemented in your area.
pacside
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Salsa
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Posts: 178
Registered: 2-4-2003
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We built in 2000 when digital cameras were new and internet was telephone line and scarce.
I bought a digital camera for the builder and he Emailed me the progress pictures every 2 weeks and he got paid for progress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Should be easy now.
Don
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schwlind
Nomad
Posts: 362
Registered: 8-30-2008
Location: Daytona Beach, FL/San Antonio Del Mar (Colonet)
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We broke ground for our house in September 2002. Our property is on the Pacific a little north of Colonet. We started out with a local builder and
had our caretaker (whom we trust completely) oversee everything. BIG MISTAKE #1.
Then we found out (not from our caretaker but from someone else in our area) that our caretaker had fired the builder, because he was not reliable.
(Part of BIG MISTAKE #1). So construction came to a grinding halt for about 6 months. We weren't upset with our caretaker for firing the guy, but it
would have been nice for him to let us know he was going to do it.
We knew a guy who owed a property on a bluff to our north who was planning on doing a housing development there. He met with us and said he had built
houses in the US for years prior to moving to Baja, and had done some residential developments in Baja as well. He said he could build our house for
us, and that everything would be built according to California code.
We had developed our own design using Vectorworks and had very detailed, scaled floor plans and plans for plumbing (water and gas), electrical, roof,
etc., etc., etc. including elevations of each level. One set in Spanish and another in English. We wanted a block house (ours is 2 story with a
garage below the 1st floor). Seems most Baja builders can only do block on the first floor with some other type of material used for upper floors.
This builder told us he does "not do block" above the foundation, and strongly suggested that we use the same type of construction being utilized all
over the US… steel frame with Georgia Pacific DensGlass Gold sheathing and a thin stucco type exterior finish.
Although we were reluctant, we were really eager to get our house built, so we finally agreed, not having too many other options available to us at
that point in time. In addition, this guy was a neighbor, so we knew where to find him if there were any problems. The price wasn't too bad, but it
did not include any doors, windows, plumbing, light fixtures, electrical boxes, etc., nor any interior finish work. We were planning on doing all the
interior finishes, cabinetry, plumbing etc ourselves. Plumbing for water supply and waste and gas as well as electrical were roughed in.
Even though the builder had detailed, scaled plans, we later found out he took liberties with the locations of a number of the electrical outlets and
plumbing for water and gas.
Our current residence (Florida) is about 3,000 miles away from our house in Baja and it was impossible for us to be there for the duration of this
construction. BIGGEST MISTAKE OF ALL!
To this very day, we have water penetration (we believe because the windows were not properly installed with flashing), and remember one night during
a particularly nasty storm our ground floor had 3 inches of standing water, with two of the windows experiencing cascading waterfalls over the top.
That was a fun night. (According to our caretaker, this was a regular occurance during the rainy season)
Anyway, the bottom line is be very careful if you can't be there to oversee the construction as we know from experience that your presence can make
all the difference in the world. If we had it to do over again, we definitely would go with block and would definitely not build unless we could be
there to oversee everything. We thought our builder was competent, but as it turns out, he cut corners on many things (undoubtedly to increase his
bottom line), which we did not painfully learn about until after the fact.
We still need to have most of our windows pulled, and reinstalled with proper flashing, so any recommendations would be appreciated.
Linda
PS… Despite the ongoing problems we still love our house in Baja and enjoy every minute each time we're there! Attached is a pic of our casa!
[Edited on 10-24-2008 by schwlind]
[Edited on 10-24-2008 by schwlind]
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BajaBruceFan
Junior Nomad
Posts: 33
Registered: 12-27-2007
Location: SJD
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Mood: unpocoloco
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Thanks everyone for the great responses & information! Like pacside, we are small business owners and will not be able to be present for much of
the construction. Yes, it's a scary prospect, but there is no way we can be down in Baja overseeing things fulltime - we need to be up here making
money to pay for everything, lol!
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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schwlind, Your Casa is beautiful! Thanks for the pictures. Would a "French Drain" eliminate a good portion of the water problem?
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schwlind
Nomad
Posts: 362
Registered: 8-30-2008
Location: Daytona Beach, FL/San Antonio Del Mar (Colonet)
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Hey Cypress...
Thanks...
My understanding of french drains is to control the water flow over the land... perhaps there is a different meaning when it comes to houses that have
water migrating in more than likely around the windows? Since we've never had any water damage on the second floor, except for a couple of leaks now
and then around the skylights; the water accumulation and damage has been isolated to the 1st floor. So my guess is it is the windows... But don't
know for certain.
Linda
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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schwlind, Your understanding of french drains is correct. Guess you'll just have to be there when a serious rain event happens. If it's seepage around
the baseboards, a french drain will help. If it's running down the walls? Roof? Sealing around windows? Good luck1 It'll all be worth it!
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3881
Registered: 2-9-2004
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A friend of mine has a water accumulation problem that originates from the large back yard, and adjacent large back yard of his neighbor behind him --
there's a slight slope of both yards, and once saturated, heavy rains seep toward the house and finally accumulates in the flat area which happens to
be under his house. He's installed a sump pump and will dig a large trench with sideways drain pipes to capture some of the seeping water. Check
your geography and see if a slope toward your house may be part of the problem. I witnessed the same problem on my own lot after my next door
neighbor installed a sprinkler system and new lawn - she watered so much the water seeped 30 ft. all across my lot and settled in my neighbor's
driveway - and it's not much of a slope.
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Ken Bondy
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3326
Registered: 12-13-2002
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A french drain is a trench in the soil, partially filled at the bottom with a permeable material, usually gravel, that is used to direct subsurface
water away from a particular area (like a foundation or the perimeter of a house). Instead of gravel, often it is done with a perforated PVC pipe
that slopes to an outlet, or connects to a subsurface drainage system.
carpe diem!
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CaboRon
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3401
Registered: 3-24-2007
Location: The Valley of the Moon
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Here is a pics of the French drain in action at my present casa 
CaboRon
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
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Location: on the bayou
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CaboRon, Yea, that's way past anything a french drain can solve. But a mega one
might help?
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15940
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Bondy
A french drain is a trench in the soil, partially filled at the bottom with a permeable material, usually gravel, that is used to direct subsurface
water away from a particular area (like a foundation or the perimeter of a house). Instead of gravel, often it is done with a perforated PVC pipe
that slopes to an outlet, or connects to a subsurface drainage system. |
what Ken said.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15940
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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that really sucks if you gotta bust out all that stucco just to put some flashing around the windows. are mexicans that dumb? their windows don't
leak?
if you have to bust out the windows you might want to use some sort of foam or rough saw 2x4 around the window to create a "pop out" trim all around.
it's a nice little detail that makes the finished window look finished. you will still flash-in the window but to make it bullet proof you should
install some sheet metal pieces of "water table" on the top of the trim piece. it is a 90 degree piece of galvanized sheet metal with a 1/4" kick on
the edge. 3" up the wall, 90 degrees out to cover the top of your trim (1-1/2" if using 2x4), down 1" over top of your trim with a 1/4" 45 degree kick
top repel rain. flash it all and re stucco!
sides should be caulked and paper/flash laps should all be done with respect to water runs downhill!!!! DUH!
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6364
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajadock
For square footage pricing comparisons, space inclusions/exclusions can make for more fun than accurate currency exchanges.
Udo, hope to check our your rig someday, as that's lots of space for your vacation on wheels. |
| Quote: | | Hola doc...thanks for the compliment. I do think that in square footage comparisons our traveling house is fairly comparable to a lot of casas in
Baja. However, we plan on retiring in the RV in under 4 years and after speaking with many retired RV owners in Baja, the general concensus was that
they wanted more interior space (i.e. four slide-outs instead of one or two). We were not looking to park in an RV lot somewhere in Baja (45' is about
7' longer than many Baja RV parks can accomodate). The RV now has five solar panels and I plan on installing a vertical windmill next year. Plus, I
plan on towing a 24' trailer to house our Toyota FJ Cruiser. |
I'll be sure to yell loudly when we are coming down.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Ken Bondy
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3326
Registered: 12-13-2002
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody in ob
| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Bondy
A french drain is a trench in the soil, partially filled at the bottom with a permeable material, usually gravel, that is used to direct subsurface
water away from a particular area (like a foundation or the perimeter of a house). Instead of gravel, often it is done with a perforated PVC pipe
that slopes to an outlet, or connects to a subsurface drainage system. |
what Ken said. |
That's funny woody!! Now that I read what I wrote again it does sound kinda pointy-headed 
carpe diem!
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15940
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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only time i've seen a french drain it was used vertically to irrigate a newly planted tree. about 5 feet long it is filled with rocks and buried with
one end a few inches above ground level. it provides air to the roots, supposedly, and when filled allows water to penetrate to the roots.
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