home building in puerto rico

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Have you learned anything about building in Puerto Rico since you posted your question?  We are considering buying land in Boqueron (southwest coast) and really need to learn about the construction process-- from septic tank to roof.

I guess it depends a lot on where you are.
We're building a new house on a site that we owned for a long time and where a (wooden) house was. Water and electricity was connected in that house.
A local construction crew did the concrete construction and walls; they also made a septic tank.

We're finishing the house now. The only thing we need when we're done is to get the electricity meter connected again.
We know somebody who knows somebody and that's how we're planning to get that done the Puerto Rican way.

Now this is somewhere out in the boonies. I'm sure it's different in a town and also on a site where no house was before..

Gary wrote:

I guess it depends a lot on where you are.
We're building a new house on a site that we owned for a long time and where a (wooden) house was. Water and electricity was connected in that house.
A local construction crew did the concrete construction and walls; they also made a septic tank.

We're finishing the house now. The only thing we need when we're done is to get the electricity meter connected again.
We know somebody who knows somebody and that's how we're planning to get that done the Puerto Rican way.

Now this is somewhere out in the boonies. I'm sure it's different in a town and also on a site where no house was before..

I would love to contract to build a house, but too many unknowns including cost VS what it can be valued at afterwards. Not handy, I work with computers, not cement.

There was a house I found for 15K, it was a mess, but I figure I could tore it down and build my place instead. But the lot was too small for my needs so I passed on that property.

ReyP wrote:

Not handy, I work with computers, not cement.

I work with computers, too - I own a computer & network service business. We exclusively work for companies, a lot of them are from the mainland but we also do local companies. (many private people start whining when you tell them that a repair may cost 30 bucks).

As far as the house is concerned, I won't let anybody touch electricity, plumbing, kitchen and bathroom installation in our new house, I've seen too much crappy work here. I rather take my time doing it myself whenever I have time and get it done the way I want it.
I have known the guys who did the concrete / cinder blocks job for a long time. They're living in the next barrio and I know that they do a good job.

So you contracted a local crew to do the cement work, what about the house plans and layout?
I assume the electric wires to all the sockets, switches, networking cables within the house and water pipes need to go thru the cement walls. Did they put them in or did you?

I would have hired and Electrician and Plummer given that unlike you, I have very little knowledge and inclination to do those.
What do you expect the bill to be for the total construction?
Have you figured out your cost per square foot of living space?
Did you get a loan for the construction or paying cash?

ReyP wrote:

what about the house plans and layout?

We did that ourselves - it was fun. I learned the basics of that waaaaay back in engineering school. The standard way of building the typical PR concrete/cinder blocks houses calls for a column every 10'. 'Everybody' knows how many (6) and which size (5/8") rebars you need in those columns. So with that knowledge we made a layout that was approved by the builders. We never bothered with a permit and out here in the boonies you can still get away with that. "We only added a couple of rooms to the existing house"

ReyP wrote:

I assume the electric wires to all the sockets, switches, networking cables within the house and water pipes need to go thru the cement walls. Did they put them in or did you?

I did that. The normal way here is to use flexible conduits for any wiring that goes in the concrete slabs between floors.
Drain lines are in there, too, and water lines go mainly in the cinder block walls. Opening those up is not too difficult, an electric chipping hammer helps a lot.

ReyP wrote:

What do you expect the bill to be for the total construction?

Somewhere around 80 Grand for a two story house

ReyP wrote:

Have you figured out your cost per square foot of living space?

Not yet but I will when we're done.

ReyP wrote:

Did you get a loan for the construction or paying cash?

No loan, savings and a small inheritance take care of it.

I have the construction site in my backyard and that makes it easy to handle.

Long story short: my father-in-law bought a big lot 40, 45 years ago, assuming that his four children would maybe want to buy a piece to build their own house. Only my wife and her then-husband were interested and they bought 3/4 of the total lot and built a simple wooden house where they lived for 20 years or so.
My FIL had his own (concrete) house built in the front.
After my MIL died FIL re-married, moved in with his new wife and gave us his house to live in. For the last 6 years we have been working on our own project and hopefully some time next year we will move in.

Gary wrote:

ReyP wrote:

what about the house plans and layout?

We did that ourselves - it was fun. I learned the basics of that waaaaay back in engineering school. The standard way of building the typical PR concrete/cinder blocks houses calls for a column every 10'. 'Everybody' knows how many (6) and which size (5/8") rebars you need in those columns. So with that knowledge we made a layout that was approved by the builders. We never bothered with a permit and out here in the boonies you can still get away with that. "We only added a couple of rooms to the existing house"

ReyP wrote:

I assume the electric wires to all the sockets, switches, networking cables within the house and water pipes need to go thru the cement walls. Did they put them in or did you?

I did that. The normal way here is to use flexible conduits for any wiring that goes in the concrete slabs between floors.
Drain lines are in there, too, and water lines go mainly in the cinder block walls. Opening those up is not too difficult, an electric chipping hammer helps a lot.

ReyP wrote:

What do you expect the bill to be for the total construction?

Somewhere around 80 Grand for a two story house

ReyP wrote:

Have you figured out your cost per square foot of living space?

Not yet but I will when we're done.

ReyP wrote:

Did you get a loan for the construction or paying cash?

No loan, savings and a small inheritance take care of it.

I have the construction site in my backyard and that makes it easy to handle.

Long story short: my father-in-law bought a big lot 40, 45 years ago, assuming that his four children would maybe want to buy a piece to build their own house. Only my wife and her then-husband were interested and they bought 3/4 of the total lot and built a simple wooden house where they lived for 20 years or so.
My FIL had his own (concrete) house built in the front.
After my MIL died FIL re-married, moved in with his new wife and gave us his house to live in. For the last 6 years we have been working on our own project and hopefully some time next year we will move in.

Man; you make me home sick, much of everything you said is the way people build their homes when I was a kid (over 40 years ago). You are not in the boonies Juncos is a good town. While I grew up in Carolina, most of my family lived in Juncos, Las Piedras, El Mango, and El Publito del Rio where my grandmother and great grandmother lived. I visited El Pueblo del Rio almost monthly when I was a kid and into my 20s. I liked that whole area. Looking into Fajardo mostly because the wife wants to be closer to the water.

"No permits" that is the way most things get done. I miss being home, the itch to go has me scratching every day when I get up.

ReyP wrote:

You are not in the boonies Juncos is a good town.

Oh, Juncos is just fine. We're not in town, we're on the south side of the valley up in the hills/mountains.

ReyP wrote:

While I grew up in Carolina, most of my family lived in Juncos, Las Piedras, El Mango, and El Publito del Rio where my grandmother and great grandmother lived.

I know the area, it's nice over there!

ReyP wrote:

I miss being home, the itch to go has me scratching every day when I get up.

Well, you're on it, hopefully it all works out great for you guys!

A few more questions Gary:
Are people now days wiring the house with the TV cable wires or are they just running it in the outside and drilling a hole to bing the cable into that particular set of rooms?

In this date and age of wireless, I am not sure that it is super practical in a house made of concrete and rebars to expect to get good penetration of the WIFI signal, do people making new homes run Cat5 or Cat6 thru some ducting to every room?

Are houses being build created with a wiring closet for phone, tv, ethernet?

ReyP wrote:

Are people now days wiring the house with the TV cable wires or are they just running it in the outside and drilling a hole to bing the cable into that particular set of rooms?

The latter is the normal practice in standard houses

ReyP wrote:

In this date and age of wireless, I am not sure that it is super practical in a house made of concrete and rebars to expect to get good penetration of the WIFI signal, do people making new homes run Cat5 or Cat6 thru some ducting to every room?

You're right there. WiFi doesn't work too good once you're a room away from the wireless router.
Maybe in custom built houses people have conduits added for TV, network, phone etc. In standard houses you won't find that, heck, many of  the conduits for electricity are in the columns and switches are there, too. It's completely normal to have to go to a corner in a room (away from the door) to find the light switch.
That's one reason I won't let anybody touch my electricity wiring and yes, in my new house I have plenty conduits for network, tv etc. planned.

ReyP wrote:

Are houses being build created with a wiring closet for phone, tv, ethernet?

In custom built houses, yes. Many standard houses have the breaker cabinet somewhere in the hallway or anywhere else where it's convenient for the electrician.

Now, what I call standard houses are the < 100k$ "shoe carton" houses that you find in many newly built urbanicaciones. Also the next step up, 120-150 k houses are built economically and won't have the above described "luxury".

If you would buy a lot and have a contractor build your house you can have the above done, of course.

I'm a conteactor in Puerto Rico. Will suggest getting in touch with a home builder. In PR most residential construction is done in concrete and concrete blocks, but a few new greener construction types are appearing in the market. Depending on location and site you might connect to sewer line or septic. Also will suggest acquiring an architect or engineer to make sure the design is up to code. Remember that PR is prone to hurricanes and your house should ne anle to withstand one.

We designed our house and have all the conduct done thru the walls. They only mistake our builder did was not allowing for the alarm system, everything else goes thru the walls and conect on the roof. Since the house is in concrete, he have 2 routers, one in the living room and the other in the office. This way we have wifi through the property.

I may have overkill the design but I plan on the future, multiple areas to conect water heather(roof, front and back of house), internet outlets on each room, solar and generator conection. Outlets on all walls.

When building a home, anywhere, get to know who the people in the Building Department are. This is important! First name basis. They know you and you know them. Formalities are import, "Yes, Sir/Madam" will go a long way. "This is what I have and am looking for your input." , not advise.. beware of that statement 'advise', they can not give that. Recommendations, they can. 

Your plans should be concise and stamped. This shows you have a clue in what your about to do. Intelligence goes a long way!

In NH, and most of the US, the homeowner can do most of the work themselves. Get this though, it will be inspected to meet code.
If it doesn't pass, your done with self building... Trust me on this. Your foundation doesn't pass,  they be stringent on all else to the point you'd be better off hiring someone.

Be aware, be careful, do it right.

The recent codes here in the US insist the Septic is designed by a licensed contractor. Even if replacement of same.
I had my re-done before the law passed. Knew it was failing and jumped on it. Would have cost me 5K more if I hadn't....

PR codes I don't know. Assume they're falling in line with the rest of the US.

Cost Questions

I have been told the new constitution on the island (concrete) costs from $100 - 160 per sq ft.   Is that an accurate estimate?   I need a good number to plan a new house.

We're thinking a house about 1800 sq ft.  Elevated (beach location) with parking/garage & laundry on ground level with the living area on the elevated level.

Depending area and contractor anywhere from $65 and up. Also, you need to consider materials, security windows and doors will increase the cost as well as design. I will suggest get the plans done and consult with differents contractors.

adlin20 wrote:

Depending area and contractor anywhere from $65 and up. Also, you need to consider materials, security windows and doors will increase the cost as well as design. I will suggest get the plans done and consult with differents contractors.

Adlin, I am wondering what the increase in sales tax has done to the cost of construction.  Any idea what the sales tax was when you built?

I believe it was 9%? I am not sure to be honest.

We did custom windows, doors and cabinets. We shopped around for the tiles and fixtures, bathroom fixtures were purchased on line and most of the electric connections I brought them on my trips from the mainland.
This is going to be our retirement home so we didn't cut corners and got the stuff we wanted without looking too much at prices.
Raw materials are relatively inexpensive, you're going to spend the money in the final phase and labor. If you are looking at building a house, talk to several contractors, the raw part of the house is basically the same, the part that will set it apart and can vary will mostly depend on the terminations. Do you want miami windows or security glass windows? Metal decorative doors or just plain? Tile floors, stain concrete or terrazzo? Showers or tubs? Full tiled wet areas? Archs on the columns? PVC or wood cabinets? Soft closing doors in cabinets?
Those are some of the questions you may need to answer before talking to a builder. Depending your wants/needs the different can be significant.
Also, most contractors will change an extra 10-15% if they purchase materials. Plus you wont have control of the material quality they use. I have seen contractors that use leftover materials and sell it to you as new. You will not notice it now but in 10 yrs when the rusted iron bars they pass you as new starts to explote in the walls you will have to have it fix.

Question; on island, they do they seem incapable of designing a septic system, forcing homeowners/renters to put human waste into our landfills? I grew up with a septic system, three sisters and my mom made 4 females in the house, and we NEVER had problems, in 20+ years.

mac00677 wrote:

Question; on island, they do they seem incapable of designing a septic system, forcing homeowners/renters to put human waste into our landfills? I grew up with a septic system, three sisters and my mom made 4 females in the house, and we NEVER had problems, in 20+ years.

I have never heard that, I grew up on a house with septic tank and my current one have one as well. Actually it is ilegal to dump waist in any river, ocean or landfill in the island.
Most rural homes will have a septic system. Sewer is mainly available in the city limits.

Hello Adlin,  I own a lot in Aguada and we plan on building a home there in a few years.
Just so that I'm clear,  we could be looking at $65 a square foot.  I'm guessing that is what they refer to as " La Caja", the box. No windows doors or fixture.  We're thinking that would be best for someone who wants more control over the final touches. Right down to the tiles. The details make all the difference.  So at 1700 square feet, it would be about 110K for "the Box".

Does that include any electrical or plumbing work do you think?  Or just concrete...

As I understand it, all plumbing and Electrical would be in place.
All else would be additional.

It is cheaper to buy an existing home than to build. Building may make you happier but will cost you likely 50% more than preexisting building.

Wow that sounds pretty decent -

Always true Rey!

Agreed, and we've been torn.  Build on land we already own, or buy an existing home and save.
We love our location in Aguada. Steps to the beach, quiet neighborhoo
d and beautiful homes.  So, if we can find a builder that can give us a great deal, that's what we may end up doing.  The lack of building in the area may give us that opportunity. We'll see.

I will be building, I have a great location 5 minutes by car to the beach. It is about 1,000 feet above sea level with a great view of the coast. It is 1.7 acres plot.

Because it is on a semi hilly site, I need a good foundation that will ensure my house does not slide down the hill, also I will be building a pool around 10' x 30' long with a covered bar & outside kitchen and lounging area. I already pay cash for the land and will be building a 2 story (2 family) home and the pool so I expect to put down around 200k for the building and pool.

One floor for Airbnb and another for me. I should be able to get around 30K from airbnb a year. Check out M2 panel building system, more expensive for materials but faster and cheaper on labor and a lot of flexibility on items like electric wiring, Ethernet ports, cameras, etc. You do not have to break the wall to run cables during construction, you run it inside the walls by melting the inner foam then covering with concrete when all is in place.

See below for how I plan to build my place. Note that it will be a custom home, to my exact needs.

See: http://en.mdue.it/construction-system/p … ue-panels/ and they have several videos that show how it works.
https://youtu.be/P_cFEYJnrxchttps://youtu.be/Jufs8t1iKyQhttps://youtu.be/7uRaCALNXN8https://youtu.be/CF5JT1c-agg

Each side of the wall ends up with 1.2 inches of concrete on each side, the foam is insulating so rooms that are air conditioned will be nicely insulated. During the heat of the day, regular concrete gets hot and at night it releases the heat to the house interior. Due to foam construction there is little heat penetration to the inside of the property when using these panels.

Because of rain a lot of time it takes a while to build a house, panels can be put in place very quickly so working in the rain is less of a problem. on a rainless day you can do the outside, the inside concrete and electrical and plumbing work can happen regardless of weather. Most houses like these can be put in place in about 3-4 months instead of a year.

Ray, that sound great. Are you on west side of the island? Costa del Sol?
We have a similar plan. 2 two story. upstairs is a Airbnb but when family and friends com to visit. It becomes one big 4 bedroom house.
I'll have a look at M2. Thank you.

Fburgos wrote:

Ray, that sound great. Are you on west side of the island? Costa del Sol?
We have a similar plan. 2 two story. upstairs is a Airbnb but when family and friends com to visit. It becomes one big 4 bedroom house.
I'll have a look at M2. Thank you.

I will be on the east side in Ceiba. next to Fajardo. Do watch the videos.

Ray, we plan on traveling there in December. And We have two designs we will be sharing with a couple of builders. Not sure every builder out there will be familiar with the M2 process.  I'd like to meet with your builder if you Wouldn't mind Sharing that info with us.

I don't have a builder, I won't be looking into building for another year. I have a contact in the west side for an M2 builder you can talk to. Ill find it and send it to you later.

Try this guy, he gave me some names for others in the east side since he only handles the west side.
M2 Panels contractors:
Ing.Carlos Calderón
Dunas Contractors
787-246-8837

Other than that I know nothing about him.

Perfect, I'm on the west side. Thank you!

I will be using the money I get from the sale of the Property in MA to build in PR so I can minimize what money I take out of my savings.

Try to get an idea of what it cost on average per square foot using the M2 system. All I know is that they advertise lower manual labor cost.

I plan on a very and I mean very detailed house plan with every Internet wire, electric switch, light receptacle, etc clearly in the plan. I want no deviations or last minute changes. I will buy the windows, doors, light fixtures, tub, toilets, tiles, etc and they will then put them in place as part of the building cost, so these items are not part of the cost of construction, just their standard rate for construction.

Second floor is cheaper since there is no need for a foundation which is expensive due to the amount of concrete needed and anchoring to the ground.

Fburgos,

We built our house in Sabana Grande, I will agree with Rey that is cheaper to buy than to build. Plus the paperwork and permits are a nightmare to navigate if you're not familiar with the process. To us the decision came down to taste. We could not find a house that had the amenities we wanted so we decided to build. For us, to custom built our house was around 165-185K, this includes our main house, the guest room (1/1) , the garage, fences and upgrades we did to the land and surroundings.

I cannot tell you if it was too much or not, at the end we love our house and that is what's important. This is our retirement home so we want it to our taste.

We used local contractors and monitor the progress almost daily. We shop around for doors and windows, brought  most fixtures on line and purchased all the materials ourselves. Just labor costs amount to almost 1/2 the costs.

Btwy, to most builders, a shell house means the house without cabinets, tiles and paint. You can buy a house with plans and all terminations from Ace or National, the come with all the materials, plans and some of the permits. Usually, most builders will charge you the same amount of money that you pay for it to build it. Have seen several of them and they look very elegant.

Hi Adlin, thank you for that information.  You mentioned you were in the range of 165-185K for the house.  Curious what square footage of your home is?

Our plan is to do what many others have done.  Buy our windows doors and fixtures. Tiles as well.  Unlike paint, tile can not be easily replaced.

https://youtu.be/pYRr6VHCpv0
this is fascinating.  I'm just learning about these panels...seems like the way to go in a hurricane prone/possible area.  I wonder which brand is better, or which can you get in PR?

dblahusch wrote:

https://youtu.be/pYRr6VHCpv0
this is fascinating.  I'm just learning about these panels...seems like the way to go in a hurricane prone/possible area.  I wonder which brand is better, or which can you get in PR?

Yes that is the same type of product as the M2 panels I posted links for. Read up in this thread, several links explaining how the construction works.