Construction Update: Where are the doors?!?!?

So close and yet so far… Here we sit, waiting on electricity, waiting on cabinets, and waiting on doors.

We won the standoff with I.C.E. (the national power monopoly) that I mentioned in an earlier post. Our little service road has now been declared a public rode and I.C.E. showed up last Saturday and actually ran power cables up to the pole in front of our Casa. First thing Monday morning, we went to our local I.C.E. office and requested new service with an electric meter to be mounted on the service pole a couple of meters from I.C.E’s new power pole. Cindy, the I.C.E. agent that waited on us, said the law states electricity must be hooked up within 10 business days of the request for service. At this time, she thinks it will be installed in 4-5 business days. Today was day 4, so I’m hoping, by this time Monday, we have power. Do you think we’re being too optimistic?

Doors!!!

Where are the doors?!?!?!


We inked the deal for the 11 doors on the 10th of April. At that time, we were told it usually takes a month for an order, but they felt they could have them ready in about 2 weeks. Yeah, right. Two weeks have come and gone, a month has come and gone, and still no doors. We really need the 4 external doors, like right now. With doors, we can actually start moving our stuff out of the Casita’s garage and start unpacking things we haven’t seen in almost a year. We’ve had problems getting John (not my John, but John the door guy, whose name is also John, not Juan) to return phone calls or give us a straight answer. So our builder Rodolfo told us where the door workshop is in a neighboring town. This past Tuesday we took a drive and after a few stops for directions, we found the workshop. John wasn’t there, but his dad, Eduardo, was busy making doors and was well aware of our order. He said they could probably install the external doors on Thursday (yesterday) or Friday (today), and the internal doors can be installed Monday or Tuesday of next week, “si Dios quiere” (if God is willing.) Yeah, right. At 2 p.m. this afternoon, no external doors had been hung and I called John the door guy again. This time he told me they are just putting the finish on the doors and they can probably be hung tomorrow, “si Dios quiere.” Now I don’t know, but I really believe God wants us to have doors and He wanted us to have the doors about 3 weeks ago. I don’t think it’s a matter of “si Dios quiere.” I think it’s truly a matter of John the door guy “no quiere” and God doesn’t enter into this equation at all. What do you think?

I think the cabinets are supposed to be ready sometime next week too. William (not Guillermo) the cabinet maker is a pretty reliable guy. He worked in New Jersey for about 15 years as a cabinet maker when he was younger and he tells it like it is. So far, he has been great to work with and he has made some beautiful furniture for our friends, Maritza and Vinicio. I trust that when he says 2 to 3 weeks, he means 2 to 3 weeks. He doesn’t get caught up in the Tico way of telling you what he thinks you want to hear, he tells it like it is.

Other than these few finishing items, we are almost finished and we are extremely please. I know I’ve promised to post more photos, but I’m holding off until everything is done. I want you to enjoy the full effect.

¡Pura Vida!
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Just another Casa update

Every week, since we started construction on the Casa, we have monitored our expenses to make sure we stay on budget. As of today, it looks like we are going to finish the job right on track. Our actual cost per square foot is going to be just under $50 USD. That's not bad considering the house we sold in Houston, just before we moved here, went for $91 per square foot, and it was almost 40 years old.

Today, the boys have been busy on clean-up details and small projects. Two of them leveled the dirt in the yard so we can put St. Augustine sod down in the next couple of weeks. Mario, the tile master, started the tile work in the master bath today and it's looking great. Eliécer hired a dump truck and a backhoe to haul away all the left over dirt, broken concrete and general debris. The folks that play in the sports plaza across from us should be pleased when they see our unsightly mess is now gone.

I.C.E. (see last week's post) actually showed up on Saturday and set the new electricity poles. I talked to the jefe from I.C.E. and asked him if I could submit our application for service today and he said we should give him a week to get the cable strung so the guys from the office don't whine about putting in a meter when the cable isn't installed.

The technician responsible for the L.P. gas lines came today to hook-up the lines for the water heater, dryer and gas range. As soon as we have electricity, we will have a tech out to hook up the mini-split A/C unit we are installing in our bedroom. I wonder how often we will actually use it considering the affects of our insulated clay tile roof. We have an A/C unit in the casita, that only gets used once or twice a month. I must admit, it is a nice luxury to have when you need it.

There has been another delay on the concrete pavers we ordered for the driveway and walkways. We ordered them back in March and were told they couldn't get them until after Easter. Now they are saying is looks like it will be at least another week.

This past Saturday, we went shopping again and found a small shop in a town very close to us that carry some really nice kitchen, bath and lighting fixtures . To top it off, the sales clerk spoke perfect English, making it so much easier for John. We found some nice pendant lights for the master bath and some for the front and back entry ways. They had to order them for us, but the sales clerk told us they should be in tomorrow or Wednesday. The last thing we need to buy now, which will round out everything, is wood for the baseboards. That will be our next, and hopefully the last, shopping trip for the Casa.

I'll post plenty of photos when everything is closer to completion.
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Casa Update, Shopping Sprees & Electricity

We are both so ready to move out of our 300 square foot casita. We’ve been in cramped quarters for more than 9 months and the new Casa is really starting to look like a home. All of our tile floors are in, with the exception of 8 trim pieces that are still back ordered from Columbia. We picked up all that was available back in February and were told rest of our order would be filled within 30 days. Still waiting, but the vendor “promises” they will be here by the 2nd week of May. I’m not holding my breath on this one and if we have to move in without the tile trim, so be it.

The glass bricks have been installed in both showers and they look beautiful. Mario, our tile expert, is working in the master bath and it should be finished in the next couple of days.

We overestimated the amount of tile we needed for the house and wound up purchasing too much. Rather than return it for a credit, Mario went ahead and laid tile on the floor of John’s Mirador (observatory deck) and inside the storage room under the Mirador stairs.

Mario’s brother, Enrique, had been busy painting the interior. It’s amazing to see this “construction project” actually turn into a “home” as each room gets a coat of paint. Enrique will start painting the Casa’s exterior next week.

We went on another shopping spree this week to select lighting for the house. We were able to find most of what we needed to keep the electricians busy installing light fixtures and fans all over the place. Cali, our head electrician, attached all the wires to the main breaker box, and the rest of his crew installed all the switch plates and electrical outlets. I estimate they are now about half way through with all the electrical work. They still have 4 more lights to install inside and none of the outside lighting has been started.

Yesterday, we went into the big city of San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica) to meet William, our cabinet maker, to pick out cabinet hardware and accessories. I was astounded at all the choice there are for interior cabinet organization. I saw some nice stuff when we remodeled our Houston kitchen back in 2008, but I never saw some of the choices that are available here. Most of this stuff is imported from Europe and Australia. We picked out a 2-tiered, stainless steel, lazy-susan, stainless steel racks for the pots and pans drawers, stainless steel pull outs for spices, and this amazing stainless steel pull out for a corner cabinet that actually lets you use that corner dead space for storage. I’ll have to post a picture of it when it’s installed.

After we finished shopping with William, we went looking for more lighting fixtures. We found most of what we needed. We still have to find 2 pendant lights for the master bath and 3 outside pendants for the front and back porches.

Ronald, our window guy, came back today to install the last two windows and then he installed all the window screens and weather stripping. The windows look great and as soon as we get the doors installed we will be able to secure the Casa and start moving stuff in. Before that can happen, we’ll have to make another shopping trip to buy door hinges and locks.

We are finally down to a short list of things that have to be done before we can move in:
• Pick out the counter tops for the kitchen and bathroom.
• Install toilets, sinks and plumbing fixtures
• Install mini-split A/C in master bedroom (already purchased)
• Install on-demand gas water heater (already purchased)
• Install brick pavers in carport, terraza and walkways
• Install wrought iron gate (scheduled for Tuesday)
• Install wrought iron window trim
• Install electrical meter and hook up electric grid

We have had sort of a waiting game going on between us and I.C.E. (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (the national power company)) to see who would give in first. Our property line parallels a “servidumbre,” or “right of way,” that gives access to several properties below us. On the other side of the “servidumbre” is a sports plaza owned by the city. The power company will only install electric meters on public streets, not “servidumbres.” Guess what, our new Casa is almost 100 meters from the public street. That’s a lot of high voltage wire we would have to buy just to tap into the power company’s meter. Lucky for us, Minor, our Civil Engineer/Architect, heard a rumor from a reliable source, that our “servidumbre” is about to be declared a public street. So we’ve been in a holding pattern to see what I.C.E. is planning to do and we haven’t solicited electrical service yet. Two months ago, I.C.E. showed up with a big truck and dropped two concrete power poles along side of the sports plaza. The poles have just been lying on the ground all this time. Today a small truck from I.C.E. pulled up right in front of our new Casa and 3 guys got out, started measuring and setting some ground stakes. I asked one of them if they were there to bring in electricity and he said yes, the poles will be set tomorrow. Yea, we win! We will not have to pay for 100 meters of cable!! Now, I do realize that setting poles doesn’t mean that power cables will also be strung, but it’s a start. Monday morning I plan to go to I.C.E. office in town and officially request electrical service for the Casa. If they start in again with that tale about “servidumbres” and how power meters can only be installed on public streets, I’ll show them photos of THEIR newly installed power poles.

We’ll folks, that’s all the news for now.
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Construction halted for Semana Santa

Costa Rica is predominately a Catholic country, and as a result everything comes to a screeching halt for Semana Santa (Holy Week.) Our construction crew just left for a few days of reverence for Holy Week and Easter Sunday. They will be back from their mini-vacation next Monday.

The boys really got a jump on a number of things in just 2 days and I love seeing some of the finishing touches being applied to the Casa. Here we have a photo of the outdoor housing for the LP gas tanks. Since we had clay roofing tiles left over, they decided an awning would look really great and tie in nicely with the roof.

Mario got started on the tile for the shower in the guest bathroom.

We will be installing glass blocks with a water bubble pattern above the wall on the left and we think it will be gorgeous when it's all finished.

John and I spent this morning pouring over paint chips and we've now decided on all the paint colors we're going to use for the exterior and interior of the house. Lucky for us, one of our suppliers is having a sale that ends tomorrow, on Sherwin Williams paint. They have agreed to honor the sales price for us, even though they can't get all the paint ready for pick up tomorrow, due to Semana Santa.

As we mentioned a couple of days ago, John has come up with a great wrought iron design for our new driveway gate, windows and stairway railing. Eliécer and Rodolfo reviewed it with us today and plan to start work on all of it offsite, where they have a workshop setup for iron work. That keeps the welder out of our carport so they can get started on the concrete pavers next week.

Next week we should have a lot happening and we'll be able to post more photos showing our progress.

Happy Easter Everyone!
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264: Casa Construction Update

We are finally finished with the clay tile roof. The crew did a beautiful job as you can see here. The white platform is the top of the carport and John's mirador/observatory deck.

We still need a railing around the deck and a bannister on the stairway. This will be built out of wrought iron at the same time they build the entry gate and window coverings. It should be a beautiful finishing touch for the casa. I'll post pictures of John's wrought iron design work soon.





 




Here is a view of the front porch taken from the driveway. The driveway and all the walkways will be multi-color concrete pavers. Most of the prep work for the underlying foundation for the pavers is finished. Last week the team set the concrete bricks to form a curb on either side of the driveway.

We now have a pair of built-in twin beds that are built out of concrete blocks in the nook/office. The plan is to use the inside box for storage, cover the opening with ¾" plywood and top each of them with a twin mattress. I'm going to try to find someone that can make a couple of slip covers and bolsters out of upholstery material. I want some thick bolsters and over-sized pillows to line the walls and make these into super comfortable day beds for reading. When we have guests, we can use this space as an additional bedroom.

This photo is a picture of our view from the master bedroom.




In other news, the construction crew finished the installation of the septic tank and all the dirt has been replaced over the drain fields. After all the construction debris is cleared out, we will have our gardener, Mario, re-sod the lawn and help us do some landscaping. We have lost several trees to the construction efforts and we really need to replace some of the shade trees.

We finally have some decent water pressure! We installed a 2500 liter tank on stilts behind the bodega and contracted with a local company to install a 60 liter pressure tank with a 1 hp water pump. We then connected a valve to the casita's water line, so we can take advantage of the improved water supply before we actually move into the casa. Now, instead of taking an hour do do a load of laundry, it taking between 20-30 minutes for a full cycle. The 2500 liter storage tank will be more than sufficient to keep us supplied when the water from the municipalidad is unavailable.

We received some bids on windows this week. One guy gave us the "gringo" price and the other guy gave us a real price. They both brought us the same samples of their work and the 2nd guy is charging us half of what the 1st guy bid, for exactly the same thing. Turns out these two guys used to work together a couple of years ago and decided to go their separate ways. Ronald, the guy we contracted with, will start on the windows tomorrow and promised they will be finished in a week.

We also met with a cabinet maker and a door maker this past week and we are waiting on their bids. Once the doors are in place we will have a way to secure the casa and we will be able to install all the plumbing and electrical fixtures.

John and I went shopping again this week and finally decided on the tile for the two bathrooms. We've decided on white marble countertops and white cabinets to offset our beautiful Talavera pottery sinks. Both of the sinks have cobalt blue and white in their patterns, so we also decided the inside shower walls should be white tile with an accent band of cobalt blue with glass bricks above it. The team expect to start on the tile work this coming week. I'll post pictures when they are finished.

It has been really hot this past week with temperatures reaching into the 90's. The casa seems to be at least 15°F cooler all the time. We can see the clouds beginning to build every afternoon and sometimes we hear thunder. I think it is just a question of days before the rainy season begins. We are both ready for the season to change, even though we know we will be looking forward to the dry season when the October rains return.
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176: Casa Construction Update

Happy New Year everyone! We wish you the very best of everything in 2012 and always. Christmas and New Years was very quiet for us this year. We had to stick close to home to oversee the construction material to make sure it didn't grow legs when no one was watching. We live in a quiet Tico neighborhood, but one never knows if stacks of our pre-paid concrete blocks and bags of cement would come in handy for someone else's construction project.

It has been over a month since we posted an update on the construction of our new Casa. The house has now gone from a jungle of re-bar and concrete footings to something that actually looks like a house. Quite a transformation in just a month!

I'm going to post a series of photos and try to describe the room and the view, so bear with me.

This is the front entryway.

This is a side view of the front entryway and spare bedroom window from the Northeast corner.

This is the kitchen door on the North side of the house.

This is the doorway to the master bedroom from the great room.

This is the hallway from the master bedroom to the master bath.

This is the nook/office as viewed from the great room. It will have French window pane doors.

Here is Mauricio standing in the window of the guest bathroom at the Northeast corner.

Another view of the Northeast corner of the house to give some perspective.

More steel for columns on the South side of the house, with the bodega in the background.

View of the Kitchen from the great room.

View looking South to Atenas from the master bedroom.

Rodolfo and Pato preparing steel for the support columns

The Southwest corner of the terraza outside the master bedroom.

A view from the Southeast corner of the terraza to the master bedroom.



The weather has been beautiful and this has helped the construction team stay on schedule. We anticipate the casa will be completed by May, and we'll finally be able to unpack all the stuff we have crammed in the garage and attic. You have no idea how cumbersome it has been living in our little 300 square foot space with no place to put anything. We are always in each others way for one reason or another. Just imagine 2 adults trying to make coffee and breakfast within 6 square feet of counter space. It can be very comical at times. We've got a pretty good rhythm going now, but it's a good thing we are so in love with each other.
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142: Dirt and Ditches

The construction crew has been busy all week digging ditches. Each one of the ditches represents the location of one of the walls of the house. We had been a little worried about how they were going to level the lot and had envisioned truckloads of dirt being hauled in to fill the slope at the edge of the property. Obviously, with the amount of dirt you see here, that will not be an issue.

The base for our Pizza/Bread Oven is finished and John started assembling the actual oven yesterday. It's a slow process with lots of components that have to cure properly before he can move on to the next step. He has promised the oven will be finished and ready for baking before Christmas, in fact it should be ready by my birthday.

We found a local cabinet maker and from the photos of some of his work, he might be the solution to all the cabinetry we're going to need in the new casa. We went ahead and contracted with him to make us some cedar cabinets to go under the counters in the rancho. If we like his workmanship, then we can get him to bid on the cabinets for the house.

We've been enjoying our days outside in the rancho. Today we had a rare treat when this White Hawk perched in this tree for awhile hunting prey. Hopefully, he caught that neighborhood rooster that wakes us up crowing every morning around 2:30 AM.

This week we hung bamboo curtains around the perimeter of the rancho to give us some flexibility for sun shade as needed. The weather has been spectacular this week, mid 60's at night and low 80's during the day. I think it's safe to say the rainy season is behind us. We should have dry weather for the next 5 months, or so.

Time for a nap in the swing...

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137: Rancho Party, Casa Construction & Pizza!

Last weekend we threw a fiesta to inaugurate the Rancho. We had about 50 people, mostly Ticos (Costa Ricans) and a few Gringos thrown in for good measure. Nephew Scott is here visiting with his fianceé Stacy. John smoked some Texas barbeque and grilled some Tico style chorizo. I had meant to take lots of photos, but once the party started I totally forgot. We had a great time and I think everyone had fun. With so many people, we just didn't get enough time to sit and visit with everyone.

Scott and Stacy left Sunday for the beach at Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Park. We haven't heard a word since. If they still plan to fly back home on Monday, I suspect they may find their way back to our place sometime today.

The construction started on the casa this week, so we've been busy getting bids on materials, looking at tile and flooring options, etc. Our work crew started early Monday and they've spent lots of time bending steel re-bar for the the re-enforced concrete columns. We've decided we are going to go with a colonial style roof, made out of clay tile. This will give us great insulation and with a radiant barrier beneath it, the house will always be cool and comfortable.

While we where shopping for construction material, John found the outdoor Pizza/Bread Oven he'd been wanting to get to put next to the rancho. It was delivered it on Tuesday and by Wednesday we had to halt some of the progress on the house so a couple of guys from the construction crew could build a concrete base to set the oven on. Do we have our priorities in order, or what?

Thursday, John scoured the neighborhood for the kindling and logs the power company left behind when they cut trees down last month to put in new concrete power poles. He chopped some of the wood and we now have a nice stack of firewood for the oven. He didn't really have the right tools for chopping wood, so we picked up a big axe at the local hardware store. The hardware store didn't have the maul and wedge he really needs to do the job right. So, we'll keep looking until we find one.

Once the oven construction is done, we'll plan a Christmas luncheon for the crew and they can make their own individual pizzas.

I roasted a couple of Thanksgivings Day Chickens this year, instead of spending $40-$60 USD for a 15-18 lb. turkey. It was great with just garlic mashed potatoes and a salad.

Yesterday, we finished the paperwork and the final step required to apply for our building permit from the city. I turned in all the papers, insurance and plans to the city clerk and she said to allow 30 days processing time before they issue the permit. I won't repeat what John said when I told him 30 days, let's just say it was colorful! Our contractor called his buddy that just so happens to work for the city, in the building permits department. How handy is that?? The buddy said, "No way will it take 30 days, it's more like a week to 10 days." Whew, this means the workers can continue prepping the lot and assembling material. They just can't start to erect the house's structure until the permit is in hand.

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.
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126: La Casa, La Bodega, Paperwork & Red Tape

What a week! The construction crew finished a nice little bodega for us last week that will give us a place to store tools and materials during the construction of the casa.

They even installed an outdoor sink we can use in the future for cleaning garden tools. It's just a basic area for general outdoor clean-up.

A couple of weeks ago, we started the process of gathering all the documents required to get our building permit. It appears this is going to be a never ending list of documents and red tape.

Yesterday we picked up the final set of plans for the house from our civil engineer along with a list of the materials we will need to get started.

Just to give you an idea of how complicated it is to get a building permit from the city, here is a list of everything we have to get and the complex process of pulling it all together.

1. Plano Catastro (Cadastral Plan): This is a comprehensive survey of the metes-and-bounds of the real property, certified by the National Registry. It requires a trip lasting several hours to obtain the document from the National Registry office for our Province.
2. Visado por la Municipalidad of Atenas (Visa from the Municipality): This is an official authorization to apply for a building permit and it requires all of the following documents:
1. Certification Registral de la Propiedad (Certified Registration of the Property): This document shows who owns the property and it is also issued by the National Registry. Fortunately, it can be combined with the same trip to get the Plano Catastro.
2. Personeria Juridica (Legal Entity Status): This document defines who has the rights to act as legal representative for the Sociedad Anonima. In our case, our property is owned by our S.A., and in actuality this is the same as a corporation in the States. (We did this for liability reasons and to make future inheritance easier.) Fortunately, getting this document can also be combined with the trip to get the Plano Catastro.
1. Since we used a Personeria Juridica, we will also need copies of our passports to show the same identification as listed on the Personeria Juridica document.
2. In addition to the original Personeria Juridica, we will also need a photocopy for their files
3. Sellado por la Oficina de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) (Office of Water and Sewer): Official seal on the Plano Catastro indicating water can be made available to the property. Oh and, of course an extra photocopy of this document with the Office of Water and Sewer's seal.
4. Certification de la Contaduria Municipal (Certification from the Municipal Accountant's Office): This document certifies all of our property taxes are paid up to date.
5. Constancia de Póliza de Riesgos del Trabajo (Proof of Labor Risk Insurance): This is an insurance policy issued by the Instituto Nacional de Seguros similar to workman's comp.
6. Constancia de la Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (Certification from the CR Social Security Office): This document certifies we are up to date on all social security obligations.
7. Planos de Construcción (Construction Plans): The plans must be presented with the signature of the professional responsible for the work and it must have the approval from the Federal Chamber of Engineers and Architects of Costa Rica.
8. Contrato de Servicios Professionales (Professional Services Contract): A copy of this document must be signed by the owner and labor professional.
9. Visado por el Ministerio de Salud (Visa from the Ministry of Health): This is an official approval of the construction plans by the Ministry of Health.

As you can imagine, the process is very complicated, requiring multiple visit to all of the entities mentioned above. It took us more than 5 days just to get the water company to come out to our place and verify water could be provided to a piece of property that has had a water meter installed now for several years. Go figure.

Naturally each one of these entities requires multiple photocopies of various document, and no, they can't use their photocopier to make the copies. You have to go to a little gift store that makes their living charging to make photocopies for you so you can take them to all the entities around town.

Today, we submitted the documents to the city for their Visado (number 2 above) and they told us it would take about 10 days. Once we have this, we can submit the rest of the documents and wait several more days for the actual Building Permit.

We met with our builder this afternoon and gave him his set of plans and the initial list of building material. Tomorrow morning we meet with both the builder and our civil engineer to go review the plans, timeline and expectations. It is very important to make sure we are all on the same page.

The dry season is just about to start and we can expect almost no rain for the next 6 months. With a little luck, our building contractor expects the casa can be finished in 4, or 5, months time. Then we can move all the furniture and boxes we brought from the State into the new house and finally unpack, once and for all.

All I can say is you must keep your sense of humor through all of this. The red tape is so complicated it’s funny. So far, we've managed to be patient and keep everything in perspective. I know there is light at the end of this tunnel, just so long as it isn't the headlamp of the train.

¡Pura Vida!
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106: El Rancho is finished! Now we start on the casa..

If you've been following our progress, you know we had a major set back on the construction of our Rancho due to a tropical depression that locked in on us for 14 days. Even the locals were complaining they hadn't seen a storm last this long in something like 15 or 20 years. It was definitely one for the record books. Last week we watched all the freshly applied concrete block sealer and paint wash away with the rain. We finally pulled the plug and told the construction crew to go find some indoor work while our place dried out. This week we've had several days of dry, summer like, weather and the team came back to finish the rancho.

Everything had to be re-sealed and re-painted. Yesterday, we were finally able to finish grouting the tile floor. Today, we installed bathroom accessories; mirror, towel bar, tissue holder and shower caddy. The only thing remaining is a good floor mopping and we're ready to move the patio furniture in so we can enjoy our outdoor living space.

Thanks to the poor job our packers did when they loaded the sea container, most of our wrought iron patio furniture managed to get nicks in the paint surface when it was shipped from Houston. John borrowed an air compressor from our contractors today and he is in the process of re-painting everything with an anti-corrosive paint in a nice hunter green. We will be planning the fiesta to inaugurate to the Rancho very soon.

Last week we received approval from the Chamber of Civil Engineers on the architectural plans for our new casa. Now the plans will be submitted to the local municipality for our building permit. In the meantime, our construction team is ready to start preparing the lot for the new house. Since they finished the rancho, the team started putting up temporary fencing today that will section off the area of the lot where the house will be built. This will make the dogs so happy! Throughout most of the rancho's construction, the pups had to be chained to a post to prevent them from biting the workers, or wandering off down the street. This fence will give Randy and Gus plenty of room to play and chase, but they won't be able to get out of the yard and, even better, they won't be able to bite any of the workers.
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94: Rain, rain, go away, we need to finish the Rancho!

So much for finishing the construction work on the Rancho this week. We've had 5 days of almost non-stop rain. This always happens in October and we should have know there was no way to finish. The crew has been here religiously, every day at 7 AM, but most days they've only been able to work about 4 hours. The rain will stop sometimes for a few minutes and then it starts all over again. It has been impossible to finish the grout work on the ceramic floor, but they did manage to get a lot of the finishing touches completed.

The bathroom is finished and as soon has the door is hung, you can actually have some privacy to take care of business. This is probably the smallest bathroom ever, except maybe for those tiny ones they put on cruise ships.

No shower curtain, so you can SIT, shower and shave all at the same time. Very efficient.

All of the floor and counter tile is installed and we just need to finish the grout where it's raining. The walls got painted today and we are now going to start enjoying this wonderful outdoor space, in spite of the rain Mother Nature has dumped on us.

The weather forecast says this "Temporal" (seasonal storm) will be over and gone in the next day or two.

The crew knocked off about noon, promising to be back on Monday to finish. Of course, that means we have to have some sunshine to dry things out for a few hours.

In the meantime this nursery rhyme keeps going through my head....

Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Pat and John want to play...
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86: El Rancho construction is nearing completion!

El rancho (sometimes referred to as John's Cathedral) is looking great. All of the electrical is finished, light fixtures have been hung and we have running water in both the bathroom shower and the outdoor shower.

Today, the team started laying the ceramic floors in the rancho and baño.

The glass block window in the bathroom looks great.  As soon as the bathroom tile is in, they will install the bathroom sink and toilet.

After they finish with the ceramic floor in the rancho, they will tile the rancho counters and paint the walls. We expect everything should be finished sometime next week.
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81: El Rancho has Lights

John returned yesterday from his whirlwind trip to Texas to gather his documents for his residency application. He was able to get everything he needed pulled together and mailed off to our agent that is handling the residency application. It is so nice to have him home again.

We had very little rain this week so the construction crew made some serious progress in the Rancho.

They finished "mudding" the concrete block walls. This is sort of a concrete grout that gives the walls a smooth finish. We also have lights now! This makes a huge difference. Monday, they start on the bathroom and sometime this coming week, the ceramic floor and counter tiles will be installed. Here are some pictures of what we've selected for the finishing touches.

This is the ceramic tile for the floor. The casita wall in the background is the same color we will use on the walls of the Rancho.

This cream colored tile will be laid in a diagonal herringbone pattern on the counter tops. We haven't decided what pattern we'll use for counter sides and back-splash. The trim is multi-colored earth tones that almost looks like bamboo. This will used as the edging on the counters and back-splash.

It will be another week, or so, before everything is finished and we are ready to have our first friends and family get-together celebrating the completion of our Rancho.
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Day 77: El Rancho has a roof, water and counters!

We got lucky today... no rain all day! The crew finished painting all the support beams and almost finished with the roof. We now have an L-shaped counter poured in concrete that you see on the back wall to the right. We plan to have stools on both sides of the counter.

The guys also finished installing the water lines. We now have water in the bathroom, kitchen sink and outdoor shower. Tomorrow they will pour the other two counter tops along the back walls where the sink and outdoor stove will be located. All of the counter tops and back splash areas will then be tiled.

Over the weekend we went on a shopping spree and bought the counter tile, lighting and bathroom fixtures. We are really getting excited about how everything is finally coming together. Here is a photo of the view you can expect to see from the Rancho.

John left this morning for a quick trip to Texas to pick up some of the certified and notarized documents he will need for his residency application. So, here I am, missing my guy, surfing on the internet and blogging for all our followers. He will be back in 4 days and in the meantime I'm left supervising the construction crew.
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Day 72: Rancho Progress, Credit & Official Residency

The crew has made lots of progress on the Rancho this week, in spite of the rain. The structure to support the roof is now finished and the concrete base for the tile floor was poured today. Tomorrow, all of the structure will be painted and they will begin to lay the roof. The guys will be so glad to have a roof over their heads to give them a break from the sun in the morning and the rain in the afternoon. Now they won't have to call it a day when the afternoon storms roll in across the mountains.

We have been buying building materials as needed from the local hardware store and this involves several trips during the week. Sometimes we have made 2 or 3 trips in the same day because we forgot, or ran out, of something. The hardware store offers substantial discounts for cash; anywhere from 3% to 15%, depending on the type of material. Cash is not a check or a debit card. Cash is the printed paper and coin that comes from the Banco Central de Costa Rica. Needless to say, this means multiple trips per week to the bank's ATM or lobby to get CASH. I hate walking around with large amount of cash!

Our contractor recommended we talk to the hardware store about opening a credit account because they will give the same discounts if you setup an agreement to pay weekly or bi-weekly. This would be really convenient later on, when we start to build the house. I'm thinking to myself (having been a banker in my previous life) why would they extend credit to a couple of foreigners, foreigners who are relatively new residents in town that they don't know from Adam?!?!?! Where is the guarantee that we even have the means to pay? Yeah sure, they're gonna do that just on our good looks. The banker in me is screaming, "No Way José, estas loco?"

So, wouldn't you know it, we had to make the second run of the day to the hardware store this afternoon to buy about $600 worth of electrical goodies, plumbing supplies and other miscellaneous stuff. What the heck, I'll ask for credit and if they say "No," no harm done. Wow, not only did they say "YES," but they will give us the same discount, as if we paid cash, if we pay the bill once a week. They extended credit to us without asking us to producing any type of credit reference. Not only that, but they will invoice us by email and accept payment directly into their account through online banking.

I LOVE THIS COUNTRY! I grew up in a small town like Atenas. My dad owned the local hardware store, so I really appreciated the courtesy and credit they have extended to us. Couple this with the high tech convenience of on-line bill paying and they've got themselves a new loyal customer for the foreseeable future.

In other news, we made the trip into San Jose Monday for a final meeting with Migración for my residency. Once again, I was reminded senior citizens over 65, the handicapped, pregnant women and parents carrying an infant, always get to go to the head of the line for preferential treatment, EVERYWHERE in this country. It's the LAW. If you fall into any of these categories, you will be given your cedula (National ID carnet) on the spot, instead of having it mailed to your local post office, or having to come back to the Migración Office in 10 days to pick up the cedula in person. Guess what? I don't fit into any of these categories.

When it was finally my turn, I provided them with proof I had made all the bank deposits to cover the cost of my cedula and another $300 deposit to cover the cost of my deportation if my residency is ever revoked for some reason. They took my photo for the cedula, verified all my personal profile data and asked if I wanted to be an organ donor.

The official, who was entering all of the data into the computer was a young lady, struggling to learn to speak English. She was so relieved to find out I speak Spanish. She said she always has a problem with the residency applicants that only speak English, because she doesn't know how to ask them if they want to be organ donors. She asked me to teach her how to ask this question in English and I taught her a couple of ways to say it. We practiced for a few minutes until she had it written down and memorized.

When she was comfortable with the phrase, she thanked me for the lesson. I told her she was very welcome and if she wanted to "pay" for the lesson, how about giving me my cedula on the spot so I could avoid the return trip to their office, or the post office trip a week later. To my surprise, she said, "Con mucho gusto. Seria un placer." She said I would have to wait about an hour, but she would go ahead and push it through for me.

I have been granted "Permanent Residency, Without any Restrictions" since my sons are Costa Rica citizens. With my cedula in hand, this put us in a position to apply for John's residency. We immediately started the ball rolling. Wednesday we went back to San Jose to get John photographed and fingerprinted for his application.

It took forever for John to get called into the fingerprinting office. He kept getting bumped back in line because of those entitled to preferential treatment. He got bumped by two parents accompanied by their infant son, a man over 65, a woman over 65, and a man with a cane + his wife. Next time we have to do something like this, I'm think I'm going to borrow somebody's baby! Finally, after about 2 hours, John was called in to be fingerprinted. The government will automatically run a check through Interpol to make sure he's not a bad guy. After we finished this lengthy ordeal, we headed over to the lawyer's office to sign some additional documents for his application.

On Monday, John is heading back to the States on a 4-day trip to gather all of his certified documents; birth certificate, marriage certificate and local police record. Once he has these documents notarized they will be shipped to the agent that is assisting us with the residency process. With any luck, John will have his residency application approved within the next 6 months.

!Pura Vida!
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