So It Begins

Building a house in Costa Rica has thrown me a curve. It is so completely different from building in the US. I sold new home builds for large builders for nine years. I watched them go from dirt to complete, and there is nothing in this that resembles that. Nothing!

First of all, I chose to build my home with the cement blocks. I had never experienced an earthquake until four months after I moved here. It scared me to death. So, needless to say, I want a home that is the strongest possible to stand up to future earthquakes. With the materials and design my builder is using my home can stand up to a 9.0 earthquake with little to no damage. It takes more time to build with blocks than with some of the other systems, but I am more than willing to wait.

The most amazing thing to me right off the bat was the fact that the workers were digging by hand and literally bending rebar with a vise to create the rebar structures to hold cement in place. This makes all the walls sturdy and strong.

The workers had to first dig two feet deep into the ground to put the rebar system and pour concrete into the trench with the rebar. This is the first step in a strong foundation to keep my house standing and in place during earthquakes. All done manually.

HAND BENDING REBAR WITH VISE

HAND TYING THE REBAR

THIS ENTIRE SYSTEM WAS HAND DONE! AFTER BENDING THE REBAR THEY THEN HAND TIED THE BENT REBAR TO THE LONG REBAR POLES.

ALL THE 2 FOOT TRENCHES WERE DUG USING A SHOVEL AND PICK!

Once the rebar was in the trenches the builder, using a small cement mixer and the rocks and sand they have on my property, made the cement to pour over the system. They used a wheel barrel to get the cement out of the mixture, walk it over and dump it into the trench. This was done over and over until all the trenches were filled. The next step was to place tall rebar poles into those cemented trenches where they will start lowering the cement block. This required a tall ladder. One man had to place the block over the nine foot rebar and another to lower it. They continued this several weeks getting all the block in place to create the house.

DUMPING THE CEMENT INTO THE TRENCHES USING A WHEEL BARREL

All the walls are now up and they are beginning to put the crown at the top. They put on another layer of the rebar system they build, pour in cement, and it is held in place with wood. Once the cement has set they remove the wood. This is to further strengthen the walls. From two feet under the ground to the top of the walls.

THIS IS TAKEN FROM THE FRONT SIDE OF THE HOUSE

THIS IS THE BACK SIDE OF THE HOUSE. ALL THE OPEN SPACES WILL BE CEILING TO FLOOR GLASS LOOKING AT THE VIEWS.

CROWN GOING ON THE TOP OF THE WALLS

Roof comes next!

Pura Vida!