Quality of construction work

MKLATTE

New member
Jan 21, 2004
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What do you think of the quality of construction work in the DR, what are your experiences.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,368
3,150
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You have to be more specific. Quality of construction ranges from extremely shoddy to top of the line.

-NALs
 

bienamor

Kansas redneck an proud of it
Apr 23, 2004
5,050
458
83
not sure

You have to be more specific. Quality of construction ranges from extremely shoddy to top of the line.

-NALs

Where and what is top of the line, shoddy to good, but top of the line no

Need an example.
 

eastcoastmike

New member
Jul 18, 2004
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EVERYTHING is wrong with Dominican construction.From the cement/sand/gravel ratio to wiring gauges to breakers to forgeting to prime and or glue PVC to grounding to roof pitch/sealing to forgetting the anti corrosive paint on window bars.........get the picture?EVERYTHING!!!!

Your only hope is to do your homework and learn about the things I mentioned above and DONT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF ANYONE!!!Guide every worker through every phase of construction.Time consuming but there is no other option.

If youre buying a condo youll discover all these faults over time.Unfortunately you cant supervise a condo going up.

Best of luck!!!
 

J D Sauser

Silver
Nov 20, 2004
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www.hispanosuizainvest.com
I am still in the observation phase here.
I have been a general contractor in Ecuador and later South Florida and subsequently had a construction company in Spain before coming here. All quite different building technologies.
However, I think that in general they can build quite solidly.
Still, they are prone not to pay attention to some very basic building principles and that starts from the design by architects and engineers.
Issues with humidity, namely from below are typical and even generally accepted, although they could be avoid for life easily when doing the right thing at the start of the construction.
The beam an column concrete frame construction is a very valid approach in regions with earth movement (quakes). Still, it does not make much sense to have these columns "calculated" by an engineer, to then find the plumber to use these spaces to run his pipes thru (empty columns just don't support much weight).
As mentioned, electrical wiring is dreadful.
What I also observe, is that even Dominicans don't seem to hold in account typical local problems when planing their homes, like the common lack of continuous /uninterrupted water supply. Tinacos are never planed for... they are almost always added somewhere later, usually creating an unsightly eyesore on a brand new villa.

In general, as others mentioned, it is supervision by a competent professional which will make a big difference, together with good and thought thru planing and taking a local aspect into account, I might add.

... J-D.
 

retiree

Bronze
Jan 18, 2008
978
10
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constructions

Some builders are terrible and others are very good. We have built 2 homes here and had one that was a nightmare to work with but then another one that met and exceeded our expectations.