timwood202000
5/30/2016 15:41 EST
I recently bought a farm in the Chinandega area where I am in the process of building a 4000+ sf house. I needed the services of an architect to do some design and draw my house plans. You can imagine what an ordeal this could be if you are not fluent in Spanish and the architect you are dealing with has not a clue of American house plan terms and what Americans want in terms of floor plans, closets, where to put bathrooms and hallways, etc.. I was introduced to a young professional licensed architect named Rodrigo Watson who produced for me a thorough professional set of house plans with dimensions in feet and meters that included everything you would get in the states....floor plan, roof plan, 3D elevations,etc. He speaks fluent English and understands what you want. His fees are quite reasonable and he is honest and a pleasure to deal with. He works the entire country of Nicaragua out of his office in Managua.
You can contact him (505)8809 2338 Movistar or rodrigowatson.archstudio@gmail.com
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atz111
5/30/2016 15:56 EST
Two questions...
1.Did he spec things out...like rafter and perline spacing and size of the beam...the footing and column dimensions, or just do the overall outline of the rooms, etc. 2. What was the cost.
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timwood202000
5/30/2016 19:25 EST
1. He gave detailed dimensions of the roof, eaves, etc. I did not want him to give perline spacing and size because I am going to have a metal roof under a tile roof and I have an engineer who will provide the specs. I do not have any beams. He did show the column spacing and dimensions. His work is all done on CAD and is very detailed. I am using the styrofoam walls and the manufacturer will spec. the footings. There were 6 pages of drawings for $450.00. I know you can get work done cheaper, but dealing with someone who understands what you are saying is worth a lot more to me. I paid Tiffer $800.00 for my Cedula, but he got it in 3 months with nor hassles or extra trips to Managua. Life is too short for some of the head aches involved in trying to save $2.00 here.
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elduendegrande
5/31/2016 12:13 EST
Had a funny talk with a friend who is just starting construction on a large 2 story house. They sat down with the builder and explained "we do not want this house built like you want it built, we want it build like we want it built". Needless to say, they still have to be there watching every day, the Culture of Cheap and Mickey Mouse being what it is.. "No!" is one of the best worlds in the Spanish language,
Years ago I came up with the term "house arrest" for what it is like having work done on your property. Hope your engineers turn out right for you
Incidentally, rafter spacing in Nic. varies from 70 cm to 10 feet, so somewhere along the line a standard needs to be made and Enforced. Watch our for the bad math and C of C--they put the rafters, perlines, pilares to spec-- until they come to a place where they do not get an even number, so instead of adding one evenly spaced unit they just leave one section too large. Think of all the money they are saving you!
etc, etc.
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novato1953
5/31/2016 12:29 EST
I've never custom-built a house anywhere. After listening to almost everybody I ever knew who did, it will be a triumph of hope over experience if I ever do.
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timwood202000
5/31/2016 15:49 EST
This will be my fourth building project here and I was in construction in the States for 30 years or so. The key word is house arrest......you have to always be there. I did not have this problem with the architect that I recommended. Thanks for your advice.
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JonesS1975
6/10/2016 09:14 EST
You are lucky that you have found a very good professional at a good price. I worked with BJCarchitecs and they charged me $1500 for the plans WITHOUT 3D and my house is going to be much smaller than yours.
They charge a LOT and like to do an "assembly line" type of work - in and out fast. However as I had lots of questions and wanted the house to be build on a way that I wanted to be build they took my money and then QUIT. They said that I asked for a "illegal things" like a door on my stairway and that they didn't want to continue. They are young team and quit arrogant as they are getting lots of money and feel powerful, especially among Nicas who get much less money. They do speak English however don't have 100 % understanding of it.
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timwood202000
6/10/2016 18:31 EST
This is a small country with small town/cities and I do not understand why so many business people want to get it all now or nothing with no thought of future repeat business or getting a good referral.
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elduendegrande
6/11/2016 10:13 EST
Culture and tradition.
And in Esteli, for example, they know you are 100 miles from shopping in Managua and many northerners are just plain afraid of managua.
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dickcobbs1
6/11/2016 18:15 EST
Isn't there a business wanting to be born here? I am in Somoto and have gotten on the bus at 4:00AM shopped in Managua and got back home at 8:00PM! I would be happy to pay 50% more for goods delivered to Somoto.
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elduendegrande
6/12/2016 09:47 EST
It can be worked out. My last 2 flights back in to Nic we rented a vehicle and driver. 3 family members and a neighbor went to Oriental and elsewhere, then picked me up at the airport and back to Esteli by 11ish.. It worked out well--they could not have afforded the van, not even for their small business. It cost me a little more than a taxi and about the same as a cold shower at Las Mercedes.
Another option is have somebody, for pay or friendship or both, ship stuff up to you by bus, and it should cost a lot less than 50%. The express buses are individually owned, so it would not be hard to set up a shipping deal with the owner or driver.
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