I waited patiently while Oscar called around to check on prices to figure out how much it would cost to rebuild the house and held my breath.

Two days later he arrived in the morning with the figures written on a piece of paper and his always present broad smile.

I could have it all, plus a carport built to match the beautiful metal studio structure with everything painted in my choice of colors for $17,000.

My 940 sf house would keep its concrete floors and basic Tico floorplan and become upgraded, waterproofed, sound attenuated, electrified with ground wires and it would be brighter and much more comfortable for $18/sf.

Incredulous and ever hopeful, I explained to Oscar that I would have to find the money. My meager savings of $4,000 plus one son’s contribution of $5,000 was enough to buy the initial materials we’d need.

And Oscar was willing to have me pay off the rest as the money came in. Whew! We shook hands which meant we had a firm contract. I kept track of the bills and payments as we went along, always checking that we agreed on the numbers in both colones and dollars.

The metal arrived for the roof structure on January 3 and Oscar, his brother (and electrician) Mario and another neighbor, Alonzo began the 6 a.m. – 5 p.m. routine that would continue for 4 full months! I slept wherever they weren’t working and carted a cardboard box along that contained my Kindle, clip on light, makeup, and toiletries.

The Rebuilding Process.

The next four months proceeded in a more or less orderly fashion beginning at 5 a.m. when I’d bolt out of bed to quickly shower and dress before the crew arrived at 6 — with only Sundays ‘off’.

I slept and showered in the house and used the outdoor kitchen and makeshift office in the studio. Old roof off, new roof on, new supports, new walls, painting, gutters…

Throughout the ups and downs of the building process Oscar and the crew maintained their senses of humor, warm cordiality and proved their willingness to tackle whatever I wanted done.

Oscar always replied, ‘No problem, Jan!’ which was about the only English he spoke. My Spanish moved haltingly toward fluency but hand gestures or sketches were still absolutely essential.

The only difficult aspect of the rebuilding process was that the dry season is also when most of my students come to paint and enjoy Costa Rica. Two big week-long workshops and five 5-day intensives left only a week between visitors and little chance to rest while the work on the house plodded on.

And add in a freak dry season rainstorm while the roof was off drenching books, paintings and electronics. If you want to read the details of that adventure, just go to http://www.janhart.com/index.php/jans-blog

But — I made it — with the help of so many — and especially Frank, my life partner who I met my first year in Costa Rica. (I’m currently writing a book that includes this most unexpected but deeply satisfying life adventure.)

Observations

Along the way I made a few observations about the way my Costa Rican builders approached the project.

• The least expensive way is the best way. Function is important; how it looks is less important.
• If you want an outlet in the wall — put it up where you can see it. Anywhere and mostly in the center.
• Center is more or less center. It can be 1 or 2 inches off.
• If you want 3 drawers in a kitchen cabinet, you divide the space into 3 equal parts. A smaller drawer for cutlery? Why?
• If you decide you want 3 steps or three shelves, the first riser or shelf doesn’t count. My three steps outside included four risers and my three shelves in the kitchen turned out to be three above the first one???
• Rooms should be just large enough for their purpose – within and inch or two. A Tico bedroom is often just a bit larger than the bed.
• Windows are for seeing out to people — not for views. The most important windows are those that face the street. My neighbor Anita has a house overlooking one of the best views around — with no windows to the view. Her windows and door face the street so she can see who passes by.
• Kick spaces, recessed shelves, offsets, reveals and things like consistent window and doors heights are fine but not necessary.
• Safety issues like standardized risers in steps, slippery tile floors, unprotected edges are just not important. Costa Ricans seem to manage just fine even while wearing 4 inch heels.

My training in architecture was both an advantage and a disadvantage. I could visualize and I could draw whatever I wanted. But our communication was still difficult — and not just because of language.

Oscar and the team didn’t understand building drawings. Sometimes, after I’d drawn something, explained it with gestures and was reasonably sure Oscar understood what I wanted I would be completely surprised by the result.

Sometimes what was built made little sense to me but perfect sense to them. They adhered to ‘form follows function’ with the outward appearance definitely secondary to utility and cost.

For me, design was imperative and the result must look good as well as function well. I also found out that it was absolutely imperative that I was on the site all the time so I could try to catch something I didn’t want before it was cast in concrete!

So we progressed along in a one step forward, one back and one and a half forward manner toward finish. They wanted to put doors in the corner of the room, when just a few inches of space between the wall and the door edge could allow for shelves, trim, etc.

They used levels for making sure the horizontal was correct, but often paid no attention to the vertical. And then there was this 1 or 2 inches thing…

Sometimes I liked the result. And sometimes my architectural eye had to blink twice and squint to take a second look. Then I had to decide how important the issue was. And the good news?

If I decided I really couldn’t live with it, I could ask them to redo it and they would — with the same smiles and words, ‘no problem, Jan’! And at $2 or $3 and hour, it was an affordable re-do.

These wonderfully generous, amiable and very practical people just kept getting the job done.

Whatever the job. For my part, I had to remain calm and keep my expectations in line by remembering that this was affordable and that there was no way I could do this in the U.S.

Every morning Oscar and I began the day with his greeting, ‘Buenos dias, Jan! Como amanecio?’ (Good morning, Jan! Did your waking up go well? – or something to that effect) to which I would respond that I was fine and proceed to ask him the same.

Our mutual greetings of respect and caring set the tone and started another work day off well.

Though there were some extra costs in the project, 95% were because I decided to add something like a few more glass blocks, a window, interior wood. Oscar never added on for the time and effort to do the changes.

My final costs will be covered in Part III along with some reflections about the process and result.

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Jan’s workshops are open to all levels of experience and include opportunities to see and experience the life she lives. Her book, The Watercolor Artist’s Guide to Exceptional Color is a widespread favorite among watercolor painters and published in 5 languages.

You can enjoy the following articles in this series written Jan Hart:

1. Rebuilding a Tico House in Costa Rica – Part I. A path less traveled.
2. Rebuilding a Tico House in Costa Rica – Part II. The contract.
3. Rebuilding a Tico House in Costa Rica – Part III. The bottom line and some thoughts.

If you have ever dreamed of living in a place that’s as close to a tropical paradise as you can find … Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors James Drews, Daveed Hollander and John Wieland by using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.