House plans

Really interesting

There are many excellent arquitects in the DR. That much is for sure.

However, you have to know the soil, the location of the lot, what are the neighboring houses like, in order not to stand out like an idiot...

About six houses down from me, this whako woman (crimenally insane, now serving life!) from New York, came and bought a house, tore it down and put up a horrible thing that looks totally out of place, cannot be sold for anything near its cost, and while she is rotting in a jail in New York for the rest of her life, her brother comes on his motorcycle to look after it.

If you go around the country and look for monstrocities that are out of place, those are the houses of the drug dealers back from the big cities of the US...

So, in order to avoid that scenario, you had best get a good look at the surroundings, talk to a good arquitect, show him/her what you have come up with and go from there.

A good Civil engineer is also necessary to build at a reasonable cost. And you should be there for a lot of the construction.

Lastly, 99.999% of Dominican arquitects have little or no, absolutely no, idea of how to design a kitchen, so beware. They are not too good on bathrooms either.

HB, been there, done a lot of it, seen more of it!

I'm also interested in getting some house plans for a "caribbean villa" style house. When Rob posted the Sea Horse Ranch web site earlier in another thread, I saw the type of houses I would like to build. Does anybody know who built these houses or have an idea where I could get some plans for that type of house???

Here's another request....

I am also building a centre/house on a piece of land in a batey. I have the plans all worked out and dimensions, I just need some builders for cheap, but that are good workers. Is there any place to target in the D.R. or is there any organization on the Canadian side, that will work with the people living there to help build, that have a knowledge of the work? Others besides Habitat for Humanity?
Thanks for the help!!

Where

What town in the cibao, my wife has had several buildings built for her in Jarabacoa and knows several architects in that area and also a very reliable builder. My personal observation of the builder own home is the person did a good job of the whole house. There some very nice houses in Jarabacoa, nice without being pretentious.

Great advice Hillbilly. But if you want it done right, take your time, do it yourself. But DON'T do it yourself. Sounds conflicting? It is. You need both.

One man's palace is another man's dump. A great place to start is to look around and copy what you see and like. These days one can do the aesthetic design by computer.

I built my house, with absolutely no experience whatsoever, right down to the blueprint using a computer program to where I could literally "walk" through the house in 3-D on a computer screen. Then I let the professionals make a real blue-print and build it under my supervision. They pointed out what I didn't know, showed me what wasn't obvious, and together we came up with a great house. It helps to start with a model close to what you want and modify from there.

Of course, what makes a great house? Is it resale value? Function? Visual appeal? Security? Economy? Strength and longevity? Artistic taste? Balance with the surroundings? Are you spending or investing? Only you can answer those questions.

When one designs a house, you don't design the foundation, the electrical, plumbing, ventilation, and lighting. You design the frame, the function, the flow, and then adjust to accomodate the former.

There really isn't that much to building a house, technically speaking, but the finishing has about a million decisions to be made. And that canl make a huge difference in the cost.

You'll need to decide if your architect will design the house, or simply implement YOUR design. Find a house you like, find out who did it.

As far as doing a good job on the whole house? Pretty hard, since every part should be done by an expert in that trade, therefore a different person. I don't want my framer doing the tile work, or my plumber doing the foundation.

Aw forget it. It already sounds like work. Go rent a house.

I have some experience in building homes in the States. I use to build custom designed luxury homes. Planning took over a year on every home I built and none smaller than 3400 sq. ft of heated living space.

Construction is much different in the DR because of many factors but I know the basics and could help you with the things you may not notice. I am a very critical person when it comes to building and many people don't want me in their houses because I point out all the flaws which stand out like a sore thumb to me but it may help you before you build.

You can email me and then file attach a plan. I can comment and return if you would like.

Regards
Escott`

Esperanza is in Valverde Province, Mao is the

Provincial capitol.

I certainly would not invest a penny in anything more than a house of de palma, blocks and a roof of zinc sheets. Not worth it. No resale, no culture, no services. I know exactly where you are talking about.
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It is now 8 to 10 minutes from Navarette...by the way.

Jarabacoa is a much better option, or Santiago if you have to be close to the family. Your investment is safer and you can get a return on it if youdecide to more or go somewhere else.

FYI, Santiago is just about 25 minutes from Esperanza nowadays...

HB