Samurai and I were really positive that everything will be approved in time for us to start building later this year so I started calling around for the prices of shipping containers to house our materials on the land.
Most companies I called referred me to Mediterranean Shipping Company for purchase options. When I called, the price maxed around $15K including payment to Customs and to a driver to deliver the container to our location. I also called a company that rented containers and even containers converted to offices but their $18K price to rent the bare container for one month was the same cost to purchase! Why? I do not know but we knew we will obviously be purchasing one. We therefore had to decide if we were willing to go through the hassle of buying it directly from the shipping company to save that $3K.
My cousin who recently completed her house had a novel idea of purchasing an old run-down trailer attachment for next to nothing in price and she cleaned out and lined the inside. It had doors and windows just like a container office but just when we thought about probably offering her a rental payment to use it as our storage, she decides to expand her newly built house.
Did I say this woman is crazy? She is. After building her single-storey house, she decides to add a floor. Yes she built her foundation for this, but she had a roof, not a first-floor decking over her head. That means she now has to raise her roof, if it could even be used again, and add a next storey.
In the mean time, we decided to visit the land to check on the plants because well, we kind of abandoned all our hundreds of dollars in plants. Of course, the land was overgrown with thick and tall grass. We could hardly venture far onto it to see the plants. From afar we saw a coconut tree struggling to grow and to the front, our sugar cane stalk was doing well. Other than that, the property looked like some wild forest. Sadly, we decided we were not going to even bother to trim or attend to these plants. Our plan for a lush garden when we moved in will just have to be squashed.
We did notice a storage container at the beginning of the development though. Christmas present? No. It seems another property-owner in the development planned to build as a lot about three down from ours was cleared of all grass and somewhat leveled! Yay! I was excited because we'll have neighbours and it also brought more hope to the area and value increasing even more.
When I got home, I watched the plans that showed the lots and the proposed drains. I realised that the drains were designed to run off into the pond which was a bit of a concern to me. Samurai decided to call the owner of the development regarding an update on the WASA water connections and drainage and he explained that WASA was currently doing an expansion project in the area but the drains were our responsibilty. I was confused. I called the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation a few days later to find out if they did drainage or if we were responsible and they explained that they only do the roadside drainage. However (and I must mention how helpful the staff at this agency was), the inspector did explain that earthen drains are just as good as concrete drains so we are not required to construct actual drains with the construction of the house. This was a relief and running a box drain along the perimeter of an acre of land would be something we just could not afford, however, we still needed to devise a plan for proper drainage on the lot into these earthen drains that already existed.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Circa 2012: New quotation
So I'm getting closer and closer to present day.
Note to self: Improve on your writing skills, lol
We heard back from Foundation Guy two weeks after. In fact, Samurai did and called me hastily while at work to get pen and paper to take down the list of items quoted:
140 lengths of 5/8" Corrugated Steel
180 lengths of 1/2" Corrugated Steel
120 lengths of 3/8" Plain Steel
1400 6"x8"x12" Concrete blocks
30lbs Tying wire
18 lengths of 1"x4"x14' Pitch Pine
8 lengths of 2"x2"x14' Pitch Pine
5 lbs of 2 1/2" Nails
2 lbs 2" Nails
2 loads of Gravel
40 bags of Cement
1 load of Plaster Cement
35 cubic metres of Poured Cement (Cement Truck)*
We also had the option of Foundation Guy mixing the cement himself instead of the Cement Truck which would replace that item with:
4 loads of Gravel
140 bags of Cement
So, this of course got me excited because I could almost see my foundation built in front of me. I created a nice little spreadsheet and started calling the popular hardware stores and a few random ones I chose from the telephone directory, informing them of my desire to get a quote. They all gave me their fax number to send it across. Some were more pleasant than others but I honestly didn't care, cost is what mattered at this point.
Some of the places I faxed the quotation to:
Central Wholesale Stores
Azad Abass Ali Hardware
Bhagwansingh's Hardware
Southern Wholesale Stores
Gopaul Lands Hardware
Ramlagan's General Hardware
Roopnarine Hardware
Quite a few of them did not sell gravel and the poured cement. I guess you need to have a really large storage facility to sell something like this. Some of them instead recommended I call the cement companies like Trinidad Cement Ltd and Readymix directly for that quote but the few that did, included a transportation cost that was of course cheaper the closer your destination was from their office. The level of difficulty in getting the cement to the location on the property can also influence the cost.
I was surprised at how quickly I got back some of the quotes. Some even called to discuss the purpose and other little tidbits of information I needed and left out. One error I made was putting plaster cement when it should read plaster sand.
The average price from the quotes I got back (excluding the gravel and poured cement) was around $35K. The few that were able to quote for the gravel gave an average price of $2,500.00. Only one gave a quote for the plaster sand at $2,000.00 and the poured cement averaged $28,000.00
I also contacted the cement companies but for nothing I could find my notes with these quotes. As soon as I do I will update this post.
Anywhoo. The total cost from what I do remember for the gravel, poured cement and the quotes on these other items above brought our material cost of roughly $100K. This plus the $50K in labour by Foundation Guy and minor unforeseen expenses gives us a rough estimate of $180K for the foundation. This was doable but this was also based on quotes at this time. With such an unpredictable construction sector and the boldface profiteering of some of these businessmen, we still had to re-do this entire quotation process closer to the time of purchase but at least we had a base figure to work with for now.
So, after receiving these quotes, Samurai and I were ready to submit our plans to Town and Country. We went over all the minor details again and took a deep breath an agreed, this is what we wanted.
We sent the plans over to the draughtsman via e-mail and we called him the next day. I guess with our history of postponing this decision, he had to confirm with us a few times if this is what we wanted with no expected changes. We confirmed
He then stated that he will work on them as soon as possible and briefed us again on the cost and process for submitting on our behalf.
I was crazy nervous.
Note to self: Improve on your writing skills, lol
We heard back from Foundation Guy two weeks after. In fact, Samurai did and called me hastily while at work to get pen and paper to take down the list of items quoted:
140 lengths of 5/8" Corrugated Steel
180 lengths of 1/2" Corrugated Steel
120 lengths of 3/8" Plain Steel
1400 6"x8"x12" Concrete blocks
30lbs Tying wire
18 lengths of 1"x4"x14' Pitch Pine
8 lengths of 2"x2"x14' Pitch Pine
5 lbs of 2 1/2" Nails
2 lbs 2" Nails
2 loads of Gravel
40 bags of Cement
1 load of Plaster Cement
35 cubic metres of Poured Cement (Cement Truck)*
We also had the option of Foundation Guy mixing the cement himself instead of the Cement Truck which would replace that item with:
4 loads of Gravel
140 bags of Cement
So, this of course got me excited because I could almost see my foundation built in front of me. I created a nice little spreadsheet and started calling the popular hardware stores and a few random ones I chose from the telephone directory, informing them of my desire to get a quote. They all gave me their fax number to send it across. Some were more pleasant than others but I honestly didn't care, cost is what mattered at this point.
Some of the places I faxed the quotation to:
Central Wholesale Stores
Azad Abass Ali Hardware
Bhagwansingh's Hardware
Southern Wholesale Stores
Gopaul Lands Hardware
Ramlagan's General Hardware
Roopnarine Hardware
Quite a few of them did not sell gravel and the poured cement. I guess you need to have a really large storage facility to sell something like this. Some of them instead recommended I call the cement companies like Trinidad Cement Ltd and Readymix directly for that quote but the few that did, included a transportation cost that was of course cheaper the closer your destination was from their office. The level of difficulty in getting the cement to the location on the property can also influence the cost.
I was surprised at how quickly I got back some of the quotes. Some even called to discuss the purpose and other little tidbits of information I needed and left out. One error I made was putting plaster cement when it should read plaster sand.
The average price from the quotes I got back (excluding the gravel and poured cement) was around $35K. The few that were able to quote for the gravel gave an average price of $2,500.00. Only one gave a quote for the plaster sand at $2,000.00 and the poured cement averaged $28,000.00
I also contacted the cement companies but for nothing I could find my notes with these quotes. As soon as I do I will update this post.
Anywhoo. The total cost from what I do remember for the gravel, poured cement and the quotes on these other items above brought our material cost of roughly $100K. This plus the $50K in labour by Foundation Guy and minor unforeseen expenses gives us a rough estimate of $180K for the foundation. This was doable but this was also based on quotes at this time. With such an unpredictable construction sector and the boldface profiteering of some of these businessmen, we still had to re-do this entire quotation process closer to the time of purchase but at least we had a base figure to work with for now.
So, after receiving these quotes, Samurai and I were ready to submit our plans to Town and Country. We went over all the minor details again and took a deep breath an agreed, this is what we wanted.
We sent the plans over to the draughtsman via e-mail and we called him the next day. I guess with our history of postponing this decision, he had to confirm with us a few times if this is what we wanted with no expected changes. We confirmed
He then stated that he will work on them as soon as possible and briefed us again on the cost and process for submitting on our behalf.
I was crazy nervous.
Circa 2012: Foundation Guy?
Sooo (insert shame-face smiley here) we either heard wrong or assumed our own thing but some type of miscommunication occurred regarding this foundation and retaining wall.
After discussing the new version of the plan done by the draughtsman, we spoke about the retaining wall issue, only to find out that it is PART of the foundation structure. Yes, it will make the cost we averaged for the foundation a bit more but it will not be a huge and separate cost that we need to pay.
You would not believe how relieved I was but Samurai played it cool like 'oh, I knew that all along'... *roll eyes*... so why did you get a quote from that company eh? eh?
So anyways, the cost of the foundation that was quoted by the draughtsman INCLUDES the retaining wall but was still too much for us. After speaking with my new-homeowner-cousin and her boyfriend about all the costs and headaches attached to building your own house, they too were a bit doubtful about this $280,000.00 quotation. Even though they put us on to this draughtsman, they joked that maybe it was the contractor in him quoting us on that price.
Now, my cousin is a red 'oman. You know when I say "red 'oman" and not "red woman", she aint easy. She can tough it up like any other man and as her boyfriend admitted, is why she oversaw the entire construction process for their house and not him. He is too soft-spoken and patient, Samurai and I are their opposite. Anyways, she recommended a new guy for a quote. He actually did her foundation, which I am now learning about... jeez, explaining that even though the draughtsman was great at floor plans, this other guy had decades of experience with foundations and more specifically, retaining walls. She said he is very thorough and will quote his material down to the exact brick.
My cousin isn't afraid to really pull-up people when they're slacking off and she admitted that she didn't even have to do any of that with this guy. He actually did the retaining wall for a piece of land her sister purchased years ago. The back of the lot was several feet higher than the roadway and she wanted to address the structural issues as she planned on building soon when she returns from the States. Another person purchased the lot next to hers and did the same thing, built a retaining wall to the back but when the heavy rains came earlier in the year, and there was flooding and houses sliding down the hills, and roads crumbling like cookies, the neighbour's wall crumbled with it but her sister's wall remained strong.
Well you know, Samurai and I were sold! My cousin's boyfriend called the guy (now dubbed 'Foundation Guy') to brief him and to let him know to expect our call. I had Samurai call him the very next day, because well, I'm a socially challenged.
This guy was also very pleasant and friendly and we arranged to view the land the following Saturday.
On our way that Saturday, he called Samurai to say his car was down and wanted to know if we could pick him up in the East. When we pulled up, he did not seem like any man who did construction. He jumped in an I immediately felt very comfortable speaking with him as we discussed the house and showed him our floor plan (to date) along the drive.
When we arrived, our daughter was fast asleep so we initially stayed near the van while Samurai talked about random stuff like steel options and the issue with the retaining wall. I am so obsessed with learning everything I could about construction but the more Samurai and the Foundation Guy spoke the more they wandered further into the land preventing me from hearing what they were saying, ugh.
From afar, I saw Foundation Guy pound on the soil with his foot and stooped down for a bit for further inspection I assume. Sigh, I wish I could read his mind because according to sipreal.com, we should have gotten an engineer to do a soil analysis especially with this very thick clay soil, but crazy us, we just went with the fact that we know it's clay soil so we don't need someone to tell us that again.
On our way back, Foundation Guy explained he is really simple. He just wants to come in and do the work and we source the materials and have them ready for him. He said he will work out the item list and quote and get back to us in a week. We were happy to hear that because just the night before we discussed purchasing the materials and finding the labour as being the only cheaper option to this special foundation that we need.
We waited patiently and I kept thinking positive that he would give us a quote that was doable in order to complete our plans and finally submit them for approval.
After discussing the new version of the plan done by the draughtsman, we spoke about the retaining wall issue, only to find out that it is PART of the foundation structure. Yes, it will make the cost we averaged for the foundation a bit more but it will not be a huge and separate cost that we need to pay.
You would not believe how relieved I was but Samurai played it cool like 'oh, I knew that all along'... *roll eyes*... so why did you get a quote from that company eh? eh?
So anyways, the cost of the foundation that was quoted by the draughtsman INCLUDES the retaining wall but was still too much for us. After speaking with my new-homeowner-cousin and her boyfriend about all the costs and headaches attached to building your own house, they too were a bit doubtful about this $280,000.00 quotation. Even though they put us on to this draughtsman, they joked that maybe it was the contractor in him quoting us on that price.
Now, my cousin is a red 'oman. You know when I say "red 'oman" and not "red woman", she aint easy. She can tough it up like any other man and as her boyfriend admitted, is why she oversaw the entire construction process for their house and not him. He is too soft-spoken and patient, Samurai and I are their opposite. Anyways, she recommended a new guy for a quote. He actually did her foundation, which I am now learning about... jeez, explaining that even though the draughtsman was great at floor plans, this other guy had decades of experience with foundations and more specifically, retaining walls. She said he is very thorough and will quote his material down to the exact brick.
My cousin isn't afraid to really pull-up people when they're slacking off and she admitted that she didn't even have to do any of that with this guy. He actually did the retaining wall for a piece of land her sister purchased years ago. The back of the lot was several feet higher than the roadway and she wanted to address the structural issues as she planned on building soon when she returns from the States. Another person purchased the lot next to hers and did the same thing, built a retaining wall to the back but when the heavy rains came earlier in the year, and there was flooding and houses sliding down the hills, and roads crumbling like cookies, the neighbour's wall crumbled with it but her sister's wall remained strong.
Well you know, Samurai and I were sold! My cousin's boyfriend called the guy (now dubbed 'Foundation Guy') to brief him and to let him know to expect our call. I had Samurai call him the very next day, because well, I'm a socially challenged.
This guy was also very pleasant and friendly and we arranged to view the land the following Saturday.
On our way that Saturday, he called Samurai to say his car was down and wanted to know if we could pick him up in the East. When we pulled up, he did not seem like any man who did construction. He jumped in an I immediately felt very comfortable speaking with him as we discussed the house and showed him our floor plan (to date) along the drive.
When we arrived, our daughter was fast asleep so we initially stayed near the van while Samurai talked about random stuff like steel options and the issue with the retaining wall. I am so obsessed with learning everything I could about construction but the more Samurai and the Foundation Guy spoke the more they wandered further into the land preventing me from hearing what they were saying, ugh.
From afar, I saw Foundation Guy pound on the soil with his foot and stooped down for a bit for further inspection I assume. Sigh, I wish I could read his mind because according to sipreal.com, we should have gotten an engineer to do a soil analysis especially with this very thick clay soil, but crazy us, we just went with the fact that we know it's clay soil so we don't need someone to tell us that again.
On our way back, Foundation Guy explained he is really simple. He just wants to come in and do the work and we source the materials and have them ready for him. He said he will work out the item list and quote and get back to us in a week. We were happy to hear that because just the night before we discussed purchasing the materials and finding the labour as being the only cheaper option to this special foundation that we need.
We waited patiently and I kept thinking positive that he would give us a quote that was doable in order to complete our plans and finally submit them for approval.
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