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“our typical Tico style home went up in 10 weeks, only two and a half months, and it looks a lot better to me than any pre-fab I’ve seen anywhere.”
The problem is you DON’T read the threads or look at the links.So you are not informed, just have an opinion based on a very limited experience. Why do you even waste your time posting about something you know very little about or care to know about by your own admission? I don’t get it? It is truly bizarre…
The thread was started not to hear uninformed opinions about prefab, but to share the experiences of people who have used the method and can share information about their building experience.
John and all: take a minute and click on the links and learn something. I mean you have enough time to post your cripes. None of my posts are advocating prefab as the only way to build. Unfortunately it has been arguing with people who admit they don’t read the posts, don’t open the links and have almost 0 experience with the process.
I’ll throw in my .02 just for the heck of it since I am into green/sustainable home building which often includes the words ‘modular’ and ‘prefab’ in its vocabulary.
Today in the US and Europe there is a growing industry of green and sustainable building. A lot of the front runners over the last 10 years or so have been builders and architects who are into the modernist movement with many of the homes being prefab, modular and/or made from ISBU’s (shipping containers) in addition to the typical built onsite homes.
These are not the prefab homes of old to be sure and are actually built VERY well. In fact they are built so well that many of them are being featured in countless architecture magazines with many awards to show for it. They incorporate renewable and sustainable materials and are by far WAY more energy and water efficient than their built on site counterparts. This is the new buzz in architecture and we will see much more of this as the economy rebounds with “green” being the new thing.
Unfortunately, with that being said these homes are generally NOT cheaper to build then their stick and brick built onsite counterparts. You will end up paying more upfront for the modular/prefab (or the green houses built onsite for that matter) then you will for a typical built less efficient house. This will change over time as more materials, systems and trades with green building experience come online but for now is an unfortunate reality as these are not homes where corners are being cut. Of course, over time you will save money in saved energy expenses and there is always the fact you are not harming the environment nearly as much as building the conventional house.
Here is the thing though as far as Costa Rica. I have been looking for years for people in CR who are doing this and who are doing this [i]right[/i]. To date I have mostly found only greenwashing. I see all the buzz words (prefab, eco, green, modular, sustainable et al.) but when the rubber hits the road it’s mostly fiction and marketing hype more than reality. That’s not to say they don’t exist in one-off cases but at the price point and level we are talking about… not so much. (There are some but they are very much luxury homes built by CR’s premier architects and as such are very expensive.)
My point is that the words ‘prefab’ and ‘modular’ today (as found in the US/EU anyway) typically have a different meaning than what we saw in the ‘military housing’ days so these words in themselves should no longer in [i]all circumstances[/i] convey a cheap or cheesy slap together product.
In CR though, I’m not so sure you can expect the same level of building or perfection with these types of products. Hopefully this will change… 😕
[quote=”redelvis”]I’ll throw in my .02 just for the heck of it since I am into green/sustainable home building which often includes the words ‘modular’ and ‘prefab’ in its vocabulary.
Today in the US and Europe there is a growing industry of green and sustainable building. A lot of the front runners over the last 10 years or so have been builders and architects who are into the modernist movement with many of the homes being prefab, modular and/or made from ISBU’s (shipping containers) in addition to the typical built onsite homes.
These are not the prefab homes of old to be sure and are actually built VERY well. In fact they are built so well that many of them are being featured in countless architecture magazines with many awards to show for it. They incorporate renewable and sustainable materials and are by far WAY more energy and water efficient than their built on site counterparts. This is the new buzz in architecture and we will see much more of this as the economy rebounds with “green” being the new thing.
Unfortunately, with that being said these homes are generally NOT cheaper to build then their stick and brick built onsite counterparts. You will end up paying more upfront for the modular/prefab (or the green houses built onsite for that matter) then you will for a typical built less efficient house. This will change over time as more materials, systems and trades with green building experience come online but for now is an unfortunate reality as these are not homes where corners are being cut. Of course, over time you will save money in saved energy expenses and there is always the fact you are not harming the environment nearly as much as building the conventional house.
Here is the thing though as far as Costa Rica. I have been looking for years for people in CR who are doing this and who are doing this [i]right[/i]. To date I have mostly found only greenwashing. I see all the buzz words (prefab, eco, green, modular, sustainable et al.) but when the rubber hits the road it’s mostly fiction and marketing hype more than reality. That’s not to say they don’t exist in one-off cases but at the price point and level we are talking about… not so much. (There are some but they are very much luxury homes built by CR’s premier architects and as such are very expensive.)
My point is that the words ‘prefab’ and ‘modular’ today (as found in the US/EU anyway) typically have a different meaning than what we saw in the ‘military housing’ days so these words in themselves should no longer in [i]all circumstances[/i] convey a cheap or cheesy slap together product.
In CR though, I’m not so sure you can expect the same level of building or perfection with these types of products. Hopefully this will change… :?[/quote]
That’s all fine and Dandy for those that appreciate that kind of stuff. It just seems way out of character for the CR landscape. Sounds great for the US and Europe and Japan but I just can’t envision “Modular” amidst the CR Rainforests.
@redelvis. Thank you for that information. I have come to the same conclusion regarding price, it seems with products like “SuperBloque” or a fabricator of concrete walls the savings is only about 10% over cement block. That said the time frame can be a 1/4 once the product is on site to get your walls and roof up.
I was intrigued by the prefab cement walls getting put up on my foundation, which can happen in about a week for a 500F2 guest house. Then hiring local craftsmen to do plumbing and electric and do some of the finish work myself. I am currently talking to a builder from my area(Playa Hermosa/Jaco) who uses traditional block construction and has sent me some sketches. I will also talk to another builder who has used the prefab “wall kits” to build his own home and compare price, quality, time.
I have also looked into Bamboo, but not a lot of homes have been built. There is one in Hermosa that is used as a Yoga studio and home that looks great. But I remember speaking with the previous owner a few years ago and his experience with cost was not a good one.[quote=”bogino”]That’s all fine and Dandy for those that appreciate that kind of stuff. It just seems way out of character for the CR landscape. Sounds great for the US and Europe and Japan but I just can’t envision “Modular” amidst the CR Rainforests.[/quote]
Actually when done right a ‘modern’ style home would fit very well with the CR landscape. Most (read 95%) of what you see on the websites provide throughout this thread though would not IMHO and on that we can agree.
I’m not really a fan of the style in its pure form either and prefer the tweaked versions that are designed to fit into their environment using local renewable materials. For that you need a good architect though and that would be the hard part in CR. Most want their homes to [i]stand out[/i] as opposed to [i]fit in with[/i] their surroundings.
I would also argue that the modular/prefab subset of modern architecture would indeed be difficult to pull off outside of the big cities and probably not worth the additional expense. It’s one thing to build and transport modules made of wood and something else entirely to transport concrete structures. That’s where you would unfortunately see a difference in quality over something built onsite.
What I do like however is the modernist embrace of sustainable construction which can be done equally as well with any architectural style. However, as noted above this is really not as prevalent in CR as one would think. Again, lots of lip service paid but no real substance.
[quote=”*Lotus”]@redelvis. Thank you for that information. I have come to the same conclusion regarding price, it seems with products like “SuperBloque” or a fabricator of concrete walls the savings is only about 10% over cement block. That said the time frame can be a 1/4 once the product is on site to get your walls and roof up.
[/quote]There is definitely a difference between something of quality prefabricated offsite for the purpose of less construction waste than something prefabricated offsite for the sole purpose of cost savings. I would definitely continue with your due diligence.
I would hate to save money on an inferior product that would cost me more in lost energy efficiency in the long run due to improper fit. Also, bear in mind the strike-slip fault line located on the west coast as well.
[quote=”redelvis”][quote=”*Lotus”]@redelvis. Thank you for that information. I have come to the same conclusion regarding price, it seems with products like “SuperBloque” or a fabricator of concrete walls the savings is only about 10% over cement block. That said the time frame can be a 1/4 once the product is on site to get your walls and roof up.
[/quote]There is definitely a difference between something of quality prefabricated offsite for the purpose of less construction waste than something prefabricated offsite for the sole purpose of cost savings. I would definitely continue with your due diligence.
I would hate to save money on an inferior product that would cost me more in lost energy efficiency in the long run due to improper fit. Also, bear in mind the strike-slip fault line located on the west coast as well.[/quote]
Yes I am continuing my due diligence. I am comfortable with the seismic resistance and quality of a few of the companies I have found. There are a few very talented, young architects building some interesting homes that I came across and an North American that was building a “sustainable” development near Manuel Antonio.
I will see if I can find the links, this was a few years ago. There is also a community of “loft style” modern homes on Calle Hermosa in Playa Hermosa. They look like they were built from steel frames, kind of cool.
[quote=”*Lotus”] There are a few very talented, young architects building some interesting homes that I came across and an North American that was building a “sustainable” development near Manuel Antonio.
.[/quote]Do you have the link for the ‘sustainable’ development in Manuel Antonio? I’d really like to find one that is doing [i]real[/i] ‘sustainable’ development. Thanks!
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