Big Day? Must Be Festival Season!
In the middle of the wettest dry season ever, the weather over the last two weeks has been at the very least, fair. Several days have actually been blazingly sunny. So it was with reasoned calm I sat down to supper on Sunday night, still both a little nervous & a little excited about tomorrow’s concrete pour. With everything planned & in place, all indications were it would flow smoothly.
Before we had begun, what it did was rain, rain heavily & it absolutely Did. Not. Stop.
We have progressed well on site since my last post. With the septic completed & its roof cured, we have built a temporary office & a site toilet over the top. The guys think Im crazy – if you build it, live in it or rent it out – why would you build it, only to knock it down later?! Ive tried to explain the principles of site amenities & making ones life easier/better whilst at work. They get the benefit of not having to squat in the undergrowth, as well as having somewhere secure to keep plans/tools & to be able to change from travelling to work clothes. On this last point, the labourer wears trainers to work, but changes into flip flops when he arrives as trainers are expensive here & he doesn’t want to get them dirty. They also understand the benefit of their wellingtons being warm & dry when it starts to rain & you need them. What confuses them is why I don’t want to look at it when it will become part of my garden vista – el loco Britanico 😉 In my defence, it was only a couple of hundred on materials & the same for labour, which is less than the cost of an average garden shed in UK, but I completely get why they would want to keep something they’d spent a months wages on. Continuing this theme, I see it as something of a challenge to demonstrate the benefits of working smarter – where it initially may seem more expensive, its faster, easier & will last longer. This of course is in direct contrast to their need for economy & the longer it takes, the longer their earning period, also future work is ensured when it has to be rebuilt in a few years, or at the very least, repaired. Ongoing yearly maintenance is a necessity here due to the corrosive nature of living by the sea, so it seems like their expectation is for that principle to apply to everything & as they live in the moment, they’ll address it when it happens.
I designed it & let them build it how they wanted. As they usually build in between columns here, corners dont come naturally to them, but the end result is plenty good enough.
Whilst all this constructing was taking place, I busied myself for the next stage, which was to concrete the foundations – quite literally what the house will be built on, they need to exceed tall order, be stout of body & of immovable temperament. To ensure my concrete would be mixed to the appropriate ratios & would be consistent from first shovel to last, I opted for the path less travelled. Less travelled is a bit of an understatement actually, NO ONE uses pre-mix concrete along this part of the coast for house building. In part this is because the plant is 1 ½ hrs away, but also the upfront cost. Their methodology has adjusted to suit these conditions, so they construct concrete in a series of small sections – in essence, however much a man can do manually in a day, multiplied by the number of guys you have on site. In this way they form the mould of wood before lunch, then mix & pour the concrete after lunch. Next day they move on to the next section. This also allows them to reuse the shuttering each time instead of having to buy lots of it upfront & then storing it or transferring to the next job. This means their progress is more rewarding/motivating visually on a daily basis, though overall the work is slower, less consistent, but with very low overheads & very manageable on a daily basis. Other than the structural benefits of everything being poured as one, the interesting thing for me here is that they offer timescale quotations based on what they know they can do on a daily, basis multiplied by the size of the building. Whereas ‘our’ approach tends to be more “completion must be by X date, how many personnel do you need to achieve that?” There’s clearly far less stress involved, but little in the way of expectation delivery, which as L O Annie says, is always a day away…. “Yo Te Amo Manana, Yo Te Amo Manana, Tu Eres Siempre, una dias mas…..”
Spending time in the country, Im seeing a lot more possums. I dont think these two were playing…..
I had the concrete representatives revisit site, we made allowances for low hanging cables & trees along the route from the city to my site. We agreed the process – they were very knowledgeable & professional – everything I spoke of, they had experience of, so any concerns I’d had previously were assuaged & now it was just a question of when. Not unlike setting up any credit account, businesses tend not to automatically trust you, so I had to pay upfront. This simple & straight forward process was made infuriatingly difficult by my own bank. I don’t receive the text security codes, so I cant use online international banking except by phone from the old phone booth in town. Having made the call to set up the transfer & waited for the follow up security call the next day, I got confirmation the money would be sent. It was however not sent, or rather was immediately re-credited & no explanation aside from “unexpected anomaly” has been given. This meant the concrete plant didn’t get my money, so the pour couldn’t go ahead & I was beginning to look flaky. Really wanting the support of the Salvation Army Choir behind me, I launched into a few verses of “we shall not be overcome” & tried to think of a solution. My only vaguely workable solution was for my mother to make the transfer on my behalf (thanks mum!). I then made another call to then my mother set up as a payee on my account – simple right?! Well it would’ve been, but as soon as I tried to transfer the money back to her online when I got home, the bank suspended my account because of “suspicious activity”. Now I am sure I am not alone in this world of sons that have been given far more over the years than they have ever paid back, but was this really so “suspicious”?!! All I can say for sure is that a certain Northern Spanish Bank will be loosing a customer as soon as I can get back to the UK, no matter how much I enjoy Jesse in their adverts.
So it was, I awoke at 5am on the morning of Monday 21st August, 10 tense days after Id originally planned for concrete & 18,992 fabulous days after I was originally born – it was my 52nd birthday. I’ve celebrated in many different ways over the years, but this was the very first time I was ever pouring concrete for my own self build home. Should I have done this sooner, when I was younger & had more energy? No, I have all the energy I need right now & if Id been ready sooner, known what Id wanted sooner, then Id have done it sooner, but would probably have missed out on learning & discovering all the things that made doing this now, possible. Stick that in your paradigm paradox & smoke it 😉
Maybe the rain would have eased off over night…….. of course it hadn’t & there followed a few anxious phone calls as to whether we could proceed. Luckily, as long as it’s not finished concrete where the surface is polished, rain makes little difference to pouring, but we had real concerns as to whether we could get the pump & trucks where they needed to be. Luckily Id bought in some fill material a couple of weeks ago to repair the lower road – they said I was crazy & nobody else cared as they expected the roads to get torn up & super muddy. I displayed my considerate constructor medal & repaired it anyway ……… without having done that, we’d’ve been screwed. In this case, screwed would be owning lots of concrete with no way of putting it where you need it, but not allowed to send it back where it came from. Once it leaves the plant, its yours.
The difference dry & compacted road fill makes to water sodden mud….at $8 per tonne, it paid for itself over & over that day….
It was by no means easy, everywhere was very muddy & very, very sticky, so movement was not pretty, but my plan was sound & once in place, we didn’t need to move around too much. The trucks kept coming as scheduled & we finished up around 3pm having delivered 37 tonnes in the ground with only two men….& they said I was loco 🙂
Everything now is coming up out of the ground & will start with the assembly of the supporting columns. It was my intention to buy these in pre-made, but the supplier guesses it will be at least two weeks because I want thicker bar than they usually use. I have little else to do onsite before or without these columns & my guys have no other option of work. I don’t want to lose my guys & whilst I don’t intend to support them completely if there’s no work, they can sit on site assembling these steel cages themselves & we’ll be at the same point in two weeks time. The cost is the same, but I have to bring in a welder to spot them which would normally be done at time of manufacture. However, whilst the welder is on site, he can weld them into place, so I get a better, stronger job for only $30 more. In addition, Jeff arrives back at the end of this week, so it suits me to have a steady week with minimal supervision required on site – back up plan works out in the end 🙂
I hope to be back here in two or three weeks to let you all know the columns are up & the basement floor has been poured, which whilst slow by UK standards, feels like fantastic progress for me. My landlord asked if I was sure I would be surrendering my lease 15th December, as people are already enquiring. I gulped! That’s three & half months away, which is a long time & Im sure I can get a lot done, but to be ready to move in….??? I lived in my last house as a building site for far too long & I don’t intend to get caught in that trap again. There are though many aspects of the house that I see as projects to occupy my days to come, so it doesn’t have to be at inspection level readiness……
I held a board meeting last night & both sitting member cats voted unanimously in favour of Operation Relocation, Relocation, Relocation, but they weren’t over impressed with the name. We agreed that as long as the house was weather tight, the kitchen was functional, my bedroom & en-suite fully operational, then I would move in. Im likely to have to make the call on that end of October, but for now, confidence is high, all systems holding steady at DefCon 5.
The other significant event on that Monday was the final delivery of my glazing to the container port. What they actually managed was an email confirming they had meant delivery week commencing 21st & the real delivery would be taking place Friday. To be fair, expectations weren’t high, so we weren’t very surprised, just a little more disappointed if that were even possible. The shippers understood & have tentatively booked me to sail w/c 28th Aug. I needed to get a wiggle on with the container!
Sometimes…..even on a cloudy day its still captivating
As I said last time, Ive got a container sorted, but it has to come 3hrs from Guayaquil, so on top of the $1500 to buy it, its another $500 to get it to me & its another $500 for a crane to come & offload it. Of course I can sell it when Im done & should get my money back & the buyer will pay transport etc, but $2500 feels like a lot to lay out & I could end up with an expensive container sitting in my drive until someone else wants one. I also have strong reservations about the crane being able to get where I needed it……so I put the feelers out 😉 Turns out Ol’ Bob has a container with just a few bits of crap stacked at the back, but he’s built a stand off roof over the whole thing to protect it from heat as well as rain, this makes it a challenge to move. So after a bit of back n forth on what was involved, we agreed I could rent it & move it….or just rent it. In an unending turn of positive events, all the roads leading to Bobs are solid & on the flat, so little issue for a large lorry. It was a no brainer. So like two men of old, we spat & shook on a deal whereby I get free use of his container if I help him renew the roof to his extension, or $100 a month rental, whichever worked best for us month to month. All pretty much perfect except Bob doesn’t exactly live next door. On the one hand it will stop me unpacking stuff before its needed, but I will still need to make a number of trips to & fro…….I needed to upgrade my transport to a truck!
Generally most people from the coast, when buying a car, will head up into the mountains of Cuenca. There the vehicles aren’t subjected to the salt air, so are largely corrosion free. I don’t really have the time to go to Cuenca at the moment & even though my Spanish is getting me understood, Im not proficient enough to go 2nd hand car shopping on my own. This means Id have to treat someone to come with me & translate – fun, but an unnecessary expense right now. So as luck would have it, a battered old Chevy Blazer turned up on a side street in Olon with a for sale sign on it. I think Ive said, Ive made a loose agreement with myself that if I can make a cheap runabout do the job until the house is finished & if I can bring that house in on time & under budget, then I may be able to treat myself to a newer, more comfy version next year. For now tho, I want this Blazer!
As instructed I texted the advertised number & got a vague response a day later. We continued the exchange & finally, five days later we finally get it together & meet at the vehicle. We both saw the irony in us having texted in Spanish when he is from Colorado, but it felt right somehow. He wants $4000 for it. Ive offered him $1500 if he can get it matriculated as I intend to be legal. He didn’t formally accept, so I imagine there is some negotiation still to do, but he is currently confirming he can get it matriculated – it’s a combination document that acts as registered owner, road tax & MOT, so whilst lights n stuff are an easy fix, if a previous owner has incurred a fine on the vehicle, it must be paid by that previous owner in person before it can change hands – as you might imagine, this is not always easy to resolve. I do however hope to be an all wheeler by my next update 🙂
As I mentioned costs, Im at the point where I can start filling in a few blanks, so if you are interested, here’s a cost snapshot of known costs & quantities. Those costs shown in sterling were pre-Brexit – given the poor state of exchange these days, the costs shown in $’s can be treated as £’s
So the challenge to myself….& I guess now also with you guys, is: Can I move in for Christmas & bring it in under $100,000.00? Watch this space!! 🙂
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