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Can anyone recommend a good builder in Grecia? If so, do you know more or less the square meter cost?
Thanks
Our main house was built by Victor Merino who has worked closely with our architect, Rodrigo Torres, for a number of years. Victor is a structural engineer who has a construction company. Our main house was built on a fixed cost basis. Victor has also built for a couple of others we know and everyone has been quite satisfied with his work. His price, as compared to another builder here in Grecia, was very reasonable. If we had it to do again, we’d start with Rodrigo and Victor.
So much depends on variables such as the location and setting of the house, the design, etc. that conjecturing about costs doesn’t accomplish very much.
If you would like to come and see our home, please let us know. We’re in el Cajon de Grecia about 7.5km from city center.
Im currently working with an architect/general contract. It a pair of sibling, ones the arch. and the other is GC [one stop shop, all permitts from water to muni]. They dont speak much english, but I can help in translating if you like. Im building my house in Bajamar, Puntarenas.
I have found them to be quite accomidating and in the “know” of getting good discount on raw material. They build to american standards. Feel free to reach out to me if you wish get ther info. regards
Thanks David,
Do you have a number for Victor? I already have my plans and permits. I will be building close to the center of Grecia.
Hi, j,
Victor’s cel number is 8388-4302. That’s probably the best way to reach him.
Or you can try his office number: 8279-6581.
Victor’s English is good but not perfect. You kinda have to be sure he understands what you’re saying.
Please tell him that I gave you his name. I get a 5 colon referral fee.
Dave
P.S. Having been down this road twice ourselves, if we can help finding things, etc, please let us know.They are located in San Jose.. but can they come to you.
The Architect name is Sergio Solorzano (506) 8834-7388 or office (506)2285-0947.Im helping them build there website.. I can send you some of there pic of home they have constructed.
pebo1, you’re asking an impossible question. So much depends upon the site, the style and features of the house, the finish materials, etc. that no answer anyone offers will be meaningful to you.
Some sites require virtually no preparation. You just start digging footings. Others, with significant slopes, etc. require extensive excavation. Some sites require no additional drainage or retaining walls; others require major modifications. If you’re close to a main road, utilities are easy and cheap; if you’re not close to that road, utilities can be a major expense. None of this has to do with the square footage of what you propose to build. If you have good porous soil, the septic system goes in cheap; if not, it’ll be expensive.
We spent $5,000 on site prep (three weeks with a backhoe and a dump truck to bring our site up to what the soil engineer specified). That five grand alone brought our cost up about $4.00 per square foot.
The style of home matters, too. Two story homes are inherently cheaper since you need less roof and less foundation. But if you want fancy arched windows and doors, the cost will go up.
And finish materials can vary greatly in price. Cabinetry, countertops, wall and floor tile, electrical and plumbing fixtures, paint, windows, landscaping (yeah, I know, but you’re gonna pay for it sometime), all add to the costs in varying degrees. You can go cheapo and replace some of it prematurely or go high end and pay a bundle. And don’t forget appliances. You’re going to have to cook, right?
A tile roof, with the necessarily much more substantial supporting structure, will cost you an arm and a leg. A really cheap metal roof will be really cheap. Or you can put on a good metal roof and insulate against heat and noise and have yet another cost factor.
Everything adds to the cost which you can divide by square foot to get a “per square foot” number, but until you have final plans and structural drawings, no one can give you a meaningful sense of what your particular project will cost. I could tell you what our house cost (three years ago), but so what? You’re not building our house.
You will also encounter some “builders” who can, indeed, dig footings, bend rebar, and lay block. But there are wide variances in the actual structural quality and finish of what some so-called builders construct and what competent builders build. Having been through projects with one of each, I can tell you that paying a bit more for competence is well worth it.
And finally, you may find that, with the current downturn in building in some areas, some builders will work for a bit less.
Edited on Oct 23, 2009 08:12
I can ad to David’s post about how land inspections; soil testing and site preparation can increase building costs. I’m currently building a 700m2 custom home on a 4000 sq. mt. view lot in an established condominium subdivision in Santa Ana where there are already more than a dozen existing homes dating back 20 years. The area is in the mountains and has varying types of soil and rock. The owner, (a young American) purchased this expensive lot based on the confidence he had in the developers, a husband (60+ year old, construction contractor) and wife (60+ year old, architect). The lot is large, however only one area of the property offers the panoramic views where the owner wanted to position his new home.
In order to obtain the views and build the large home according to the architectural plans that the Costa Rican architect completed, I needed to create a building platform for the large home to sit on. In order to create this large platform, a retaining wall would be built 20 meters inside the ridge where the views are available and then I would fill inside the retaining wall with compacted road grade stones.
When I began excavation of the footings I encountered clay down to 3 meters depth. I then stopped the excavation in order to have the soil tested in the exact areas where the footings needed to be installed. While the 3 weeks soil testing process was taking place, it rained and subterranean water began seeping from the wall of dirt that now existed from my excavation. As the rain increased so did the flow of water from the wall of clay and the soil began to collapse and become heavy, like quick sand. It would be impossible to excavate and construct footings in the excavated trench with this moist clay falling into the excavated area during the evening rains.
When the results of the soil testing were provided, they were given to a civil engineer, who designed extensive footers and retaining wall, 50 mts long and 5 mts. high. When I say extensive, I mean 5 mts wide and 1 mt. deep footers with a .90 mt. wide wall all tied together with thousands of #6 and #8 re-bar installed in a square mesh, 10 cm’s on center.
In order to advance the construction of the retaining wall, I needed to divert the flow of subterranean water and control the collapsing clay. Three trenches were dug with a backhoe and 6” thick walled PVC tubes were installed to provide drainage. Symons metal forms were rented and concrete was poured on the seeping wall of clay in order to control the collapsing soil. 3 months after I excavated the initial trench for the footers. I was able to begin the construction of the retaining walls. 6 months later, I completed the retaining wall and building platform at a cost of $150.000.00.
Most property owners cannot afford these types of surprises. Fortunately, my client can afford the increased costs and he reminds me on a regular basis how expensive his new retaining wall is and how he will never buy another piece of property without having a land inspection prior to closing the purchase.
There is no yellow brick road in Costa Rica. Do your homework just as you would do anywhere else. Before you purchase property, seek recommendations for land inspections at, https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/department62.cfm.
Edited on Oct 24, 2009 11:34
So if my math is right, this unanticipated additional cost comes to $19.49 per square foot dividing the $150,000 by 700 square meters, right? This is why I caution that nobody’s cost per square foot numbers mean anything.
So, crhb, what other surprises have you encountered, or is it too early to say?
Most surprises can be avoided by utilizing the services of recommended professionals who have years of experience with the construction process here in Costa Rica. The need for retainage on the building site could have been revealed with a land inspection prior to closing. If the owner knew about the additional cost to build on this lot, he could have selected another property that would have been more compatible with the construction plans that were designed to suit his lifestyle.
Additionally, more compatible construction plans could have been created by an experienced architectural designer to fit the lot and avoid much of the needed retainage. This property purchaser relied on the recommendation of the developer and the recommended architect was not capable of factoring the building site requirements into the design of the construction plans. Most architects do not actually draw their own construction plans. They hire architectural designers who work full time with CAD design software, http://usa.autodesk.com/industries/architecture-engineering-construction/architecture to create the construction plans for their clients.
I suggest to my clients that many times an architect who is educated primarily in design rather than structural studies may not be necessary. Costa Rican engineers are capable and licensed to create plans, obtain construction permits and monitor the construction process with more practical knowledge. I’ve designed most of my construction plans for each individual building site for more than 27 years and I rely on an experienced Costa Rican engineer to assist me and maintain the requirements of the CFIA, http://www.cfia.or.cr, during my construction projects.
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