Labor and design costs of building a house

my opinion

have the contract if possible broken into small peices that are independently prices out and are descreet tasks. If you give a maestro the whole job to start with disaster will soon follow. Make sure you know the materials that will be used, and you should be provided all facturas of materials. Finally make sure you have a plan that is approved by the governement, get a copy of the plan and if your not sure take it to a lawyer out side of the deal. AN official plan should have about 5 - 7 official stamps/seals on it (check in the legal section about this).

handing off the deal to a maestro is a recipe for disaster, especially if you put too much money up front, then the job will stop and they will say they need more money, never give more than the work outstanding, and be prepared to switch maestros if required. If you have some one that is recommended, that is your best bet.

A maestro might make . . . . well I don't really know, but I imagine if it goes over 10% of the costs i.e. more than $3000 of 30,000 your in definite trouble.

But don't base you decision solely off me, wait for other replies.

One thing to keep in mind is the work that is typically done is generic, the quality of maestros might vary, but a cement roof is a cement roof, is a cement roof, and if you stop a job before the roof is in place, any qualified maestro can pick up the work where it is left off, (something to keep in mind).

-Lee

That is pretty good advice

I'd take it!

DO NOT try and build a house yourself with local labor and a Maestro Constructor..

Go with a well known firm, get your design approved, and calculate the sq meter cost before you put out one penny.

With your budget you can let a contract. Insist on having overall supervision: Things like squared buildings not being very well done here., not windowsills that slant downwards and outwards, nor kitchens with functional designs. So you keep a hand in it.

HB

In Jarabacoa there is an Architech that works for the city that approves or tells you what or whatnot you can build. I would think it would be simular in other municipalities.

My wife and I have been going to the D.R. for over 8 years, 1 to 3 times a year and staying from 1 to 6 weeks. We would look at land and homes each time and purchased land a couple of years ago and will start building our full time home in a couple of months. (This is not a vacation home, so lots of details and toys.)

Research, research, researh. Talk with people that own or have built and ask questions. Then do it again.

Over the years, we have become friends with many people on the North Coast and developed many good advisors... some better than others and learned that many/most times the buying/building process will differ.

After the research..
We started with a good Real Estate broker and lawyer. Made on low ball offer on ocean front and got it. Also bought the D.R. corporation that owned the land. It took 6 months to get the deal done, mostly waiting for the system in S.D. Interviewd 6 architects, seeing projects being construced and finished. Making notes as to builders. Bids for the architects was from USD$4K to 40K. We also needed to be comfortable with the architect, needed to speek english and be a Dominican. The one we liked cut his fee in half. We provided the basic plans and he finished.... 6 weeks ended up 8 months to get them. (contract set up that he would not get paid the second half until we have the local permits.) The architect, my wife and I met with the local inspector in an office and let our architect negotiate the permit fee. 36K pesos... 26K pesos... 16K pesos.. done. Went to town hall, paid the clerk, got the stamp. Met the inspector back at the office and showed our appreciation. About 6-7 other permits/stamps come from S.D. Will take from 1 to 2 years... and thats knowing someone. Interviewed 6 General Contractors and agian, went to several projects for inspection. Again, looking for a Dominican that speeks some english and understands what we want. Checking references from several sorces and education. (When the word got out that we are ready to build, contractors would come out of the woodwork and stalk us at the hotel.) Every step of the way, we had our lawyer look at everything and consult. (A good bottle of single malt scotch to various people can do wonders.)

Will clue you in on the Contractor bids when I get them.

Good luck.

I could be talking out my arse, but as I understand it

suarezn said:

Thanks for your reply guys. I was planning to have the work done and paid for when specific milestones were completed (i.e. Cement roof is done...here's 10% of your pay, etc...). Do you know who needs to approve your plan? Is it the Ayuntamiento? What if you don't get it approved, can they come and stop the construction?

Click to expand...

Land with a house is taxed at 0.25 % annually, while land with out a house is taxed at 0.500%. If you do not have an approved plan, you can not get the deed to the house assigned to the title of the land, this may prove problematic when you try to sell the house. Also be aware that you should not commence with a design to a house that is not approved and assume you could get it approved later, orienation of the house to the road, distance from the road etc, may leave you a house that can never be officially approved. You might also have problems (I'm guessing here) getting electricity run to the house if the deed was never assigned to the title, etc, etc.

-Lee

Great tipis Ringo & ItSnyder

I had the same questions as Suarez did. On my last trip I purchased a little piece of land about 7 to 8 hundred sq Mtrs ( Very basic) in Sabaneta, I 'm contemplating building a small contemporary style home on it, I found a pretty good plan on the internet . My Goal is to built in three parts like itSnyder suggested. Foundation ( sewer, water electrical) structure ( walls, framing, roof ) then anemities ( cabinets,doors, fixtures). As expected I 'm sure I will loose a few dollars here or there, I plan on inspecting each phase personally and only make payments as construction progresses. I am bit nervous but I look forward to the experience. Below is the website and plan number for the home I chose.( hope it links!).

jwb I looked at that plan

That plan is for a wooden frame house designs don't carry over well to cement. A Vaulted ceiling would be a recipe for disaster in a earthquake reigon.
It's a good idea to look for a canned design, but your better off just calling architects in the norther coast area and teling them you need a plan on the cheap and will pay for a design they alreay have (asking them if you can look over a set of designs they already have in that construction price range).

-Lee

JWB I looked at that plan

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I looked at over 100 plans and this one was my favorite. Oh well back to the drawing board. Itsnyder would you be open to give me a second opinion when I make the second choice.

Lee is right.

I chose a Dominican architect because they know what materials can be used, design for climate/security/power and assist in getting things done. Two of the non-Dominican architects would not get the local permit/stamp to build and 2 to 4 times more money for the plans. Find a good one, give him/her your ideas and see what they have and if they will assist in the permits. Even with a full set of plans signed by an "outsider", you may have a problem if a Dominican has not sign off on them also.

Building cost can range from USD$35 to $85 per sq. ft. (Where I live, outside of the D.R, the average is USD$250.) Builders will build to meet your budget needs. It is not uncommon for a house to take 5 years to complete and many builders will take the 10% payment method.

But again, reseach and ask questions.

I Guess it depends where you are building

My experience..if building in the Boondocks..me....well .. anything goes... Tourista areas.. more rules and regs.. Whatever you do....try and be there sometime during the different stages.. otherwise the front may be at the back... it certainly will be something to talk about to your grandkids no matter which route you take......I laugh about my construction to this day. Anyone else got some funny stories????????? Cheers. M.

Forgot to add.CEMENT ALL THE WAY

Cement, Cement. Cement.. only way to go...Cant imagine a wooden frame house as we know it lasting here in the D.R.. I have so much in my house I could take a direct hit from Tomahawk missile and say... What was That......Cheers. M.

If you do decide to go with a wooden frame

celibrate the opening of your house, go out to the movies, come back late, chances are you house will be gone by the time you come back and you'll find tire tracks from a flatbed truck leading away from where your house was. Build with would here is like building with gold in the US.

-Lee

Point well taken gentlemen

I'll take your advice about consulting a Dominican architect and give him ideas for what I want. I drove around some neighborhoods to get a feel for the area, but because my lot is narrow and long my choices are limited. The other thing I noticed is that most of the homes in the DR are cookie cutter models, they all resemble two level boxes, with a front patio surrounded by metal bars. I want to go contemporary with cathedral ceilings if I can. I'm open for ideas and would consider buying a plan from someone who has already built in the Dr. Hope to get more feedback from you guys.

Since this be our full time residence and our furniture coming with us I needed a design that worked in many ways. I use a basic/easy program call 3D Home Architect from Broderbund. I have 4 other programs but they are not user friendly. (I studied architecture but never completed for a degree.) Again, knowledge is good but not always applicable.

I studied many on line plans to help with new ideas. We walked and walked and walked around our D.R. area... looking at different buildings and designs. Sometimes having to ask the owner, "why did you do that?". Next trip down I will have a good dig. camera with zoom to get details for the contractor.

Fit the house to the lot. I sat on ours hour after hour. The ellevaition, slope, sun, breezes and general area. What is the view from a second floor? How to have the house self venting. Security "blind spots".

We are not in a gated area. We put our bedroom and office on the second floor for the view, breezes and SECURITY. Very few windows will have bars, but a minimal system will be installed.

Cost is a reason for the cookie cutter designs, but also lack of owner imagination. Depends on what you want... then do it.

You too !

I have that same program, I find it to be the best. I especially like the fly around and walk around feature. I've scanned a couple of designs (If you know what I mean) that are unique.

I also have a few plans that I drew out over the years, but I figured since their are so many professional home plans being sold with complete construction details on the internet, I could save a few dollars by dealing with an engineer and skip the architectual design phase, wrong answer huh. I guess what I'll do now is I will present some of my earlier CAD drawings to an architect and let him package something for me.

Thanks guys y'all been great :squareeye hope you share the progress of your home with us Ringo.

windows-no metal-no house

There must be areason the Dominicanos have mucho metal... I know at first when I built my house it seemed I was on the wrong side of the bars.. but now 5 yrs later... wall around and 4 Rottis inside.. better overkill than a be kill. wouldnt want to trust my security on a power alarm.. with the usual outages and all....I suggest that security be more than just a token measure in the D.R. not too many police patrols here at night....no car.. no gas.no working.... Cheers. M.

M.

I aggree that security must be a high priority and takes a lot of time to figure it out when planing a house and even type of finish on some things.

Walls, with pitched top that is hard to grab (same with house windows) with electric gate. Live in caretaker on second floor over a garage, so he can see better, at the gate. Even providing him a porch. Bars on some windows and many designed not to be easily accessible. Extra thick doors and locks, especially(sp) upstairs. Some built in alarms. Camera system. Mostly wireless systems that are on their own power. Inverters and a gen. Night watchman, armed. I have also arranged to have my own personal protection. Maybe a dog?

We are on a dead end street and is difficult to get to other then the street. Two houses up from us have live ins at the gate, dogs and night watchmen.

I don't want to feel like I live in jail.... Each house has to look at what is around, what they have and plan as needed.

Thanks..

Ringo... Pardon Me.

Well, you have obviously given Security some thought......Only one Comment Left.....You cant bribe DOGS.. and they dont talk about what you have......Good Luck with your project.... The best part of outside walls is you can cement the top with broken Cervesa bottles. which of course you have to empty and they make a nice colour in the sunlight.....Cheers.M.