About Construction Practices Here In Costa Rica

They’re awful. No, let me restate that: they are abhorrent.

When we made the decision to move to a foreign land some years ago, we were motivated by the desire to enrich our lives by exposing ourselves to a new and different culture. We were not disappointed. Joys and sorrows abound in such an endeavor. Generally when something is irritating and we think that “they” are doing it “wrong”, with a little time it would become clear that “wrong” wasn’t the case. It was a matter of “different”. Not so construction.

In Costa Rica, construction is done wrong.

My first experience was enlightening in this regard, and many subsequent experiences have confirmed it.

I was a certified card carrying, 4 year apprenticed journeyman plumber in my former life as a young man in Colorado. I had mentioned this to a new friend that I met way back when we first moved here, and he remembered it. Everybody loves the plumber. (In fact, I can’t believe that I’m publishing this information to the web. Eeeeks!) My phone rings one day. My old friend is involved in a construction project down on the Panama border and the wife of the “plumber” for the project had had a serious accident and they had to leave the project. Would I be able to go and finish it up for him? “Sure” I said. So Neil, my son, and I were off.

When we got there and took a look around, I immediately knew that I had never seen any plumbing like what I was looking at there on that project. The next 20 minutes were an interesting study in how the human mind works.

I guess that, since I’m from the States, I assume others know what the heck they are doing. So, as I checked out this plumbing system, I assumed that the “plumber” knew what he was doing. So I kinda prioritized that in my mind: “the guy knows what he’s doing” but I also had the thought, “this all makes no sense.” I figured that maybe the near-the-equator physics worked different and I just needed to figure it out. After all, if you cross the equator the water swirls the opposite direction going down the drain, right?. As I mentioned, this lasted about 20 minutes, after which time I concluded that physics were physics, and it was simply wrong.

“I’m happy to finish this project for you”, I told my friend, “but you have to promise that you’ll never mention my name in connection with this project.” “Why do you say that?” “Because the system will not work without constant maintenance. It’s a good thing that it’s a public building so there is a his and hers bathroom. That way at any given time maybe one will be working”

The other option of course was for me to tear the whole thing out and start again, which is the option that he chose.

I have, since then, asked a number of contractors here and just people in general “are you just accustomed to plumbing problems, to sinks not draining, and toilets not flushing and leaks all over the place?” To which they all reply: “yes”. I then proceed to tell them how it is in my country, which is something that I am remiss to do since I didn’t come down here to extol the virtues of where I came from. But again, with regards to construction, it’s an exception.

I tell people here that in the States we install systems that work, trouble free, until the o-rings wear out in the shower valve, or the washer needs replacing in the faucet. There is the occasional stopped drain, but this is usually in response to inappropriate articles being flushed down the toilet or put into the sink. The systems are, for the most part, trouble free for the term of our lives.

But its not just plumbing. All aspects of construction are poorly done here. The strong suit here is cement work and cement block work. Almost everything here is done with cement, but its still inferior to the methods that I came to take for granted in the good ole US of A.

There is a very common practice here called “rapello” (rah-pay-oh). I suspect that the practice comes from not having cement trucks that can dump the whole pour at one time, and the fact that most of the cement work is done in the hot sun. Things like cement floors and drive ways are done with guys standing by a whirling cement mixer mixing and pouring while the cement is setting up almost as they pour it. It is a challenge, no doubt. Its kinda funny to note that in the States, you get washed sand to mix with your cement. Here, I have seen them throwing shovels full of dirt into the mixer, as well as the paper bags that the cement came in, both of which have a weakening effect on the finished product.

I feel like such a bigot writing this.

Anyway, rapello is letting the initial pour harden with a rough finish, and then going back later with a smoother mix of cement and putting on a ½” to 1″ layer of smooth cement so that it looks nice, at least for awhile.

The next time that you are in Costa Rica, look down, and look around at the walls and various surfaces. You will, everywhere, see how that layer of rapello simply does not last and the cold joint between the original pour and the rapello layer does not knit together. The cement is broken all over the country.

And I could go on.

So what is the deal with this article? This website is all about Costa Rica real estate, and as we cycle through our rapid growth in this mecca for relocation and investment, construction is a VERY hot topic. I find myself consulting a lot with my clients about avoiding pitfalls and how best to proceed.

In future articles I will be documenting some of the methods that are being employed here to be able to build a great home and minimize the frustration.