Building a house in Trinidad

[1UZFE]

Rspann good info. Cant wait to link with you.

[rspann]

York, really good info bro, I now going back to do some jobs, I'll come n post some prices for those of you who wanna start your house.

thanks man.

wow! if only i cud get a roofman to do a complete roof for $15g. it has to be examined if he is giving you what you are paying for...meaning the technical / structural design details.

ah mean, everybody has to live and while rspann getting it done for that low price, it sounds a bit oppressive. and i doh think he passing on the savings to his renters, i cud be wrong...

I ask him for a price and that is what he charged me,how is that oppressive? He took four days to fabricate and sheet and came back after the building was plastered and painted and did the underceiling and guttering in two days.

He has two workmen ,but he leaves Paria 5 o clock in the morning and is on the job before eight o clock. Not like a typical trini. I'll post some pics later you'll be amazed at the quality of the work. Just got a quote from a major roofing company for a 42 x 68 hip roof with Bermuda tile system (horizontal profile ) big difference $248000. Only reason I checked them is that my guy said he never did that profile before .

[pugboy]

Tha sounding real cheap, what typeof sheeting did he use ?
That is almost 4000sq ft
Approx $4/sq ft

Unless that $15k is labour you posted

Actually you could save a lot if you check a private contractor over the large roofing companies. I have one who works for me,from Paria, whose prices are very reasonable and does a good job . He just finished a 95x 42' Hip roof with gablets (dutch gable) for me with underceiling and guttering for
$15 g. I give him a lot of work so my price is cheaper but he is still very cheap.

[can_coke]

That could never be materials included... Its obviously labour only...

[York]

York, really good info bro, I now going back to do some jobs, I'll come n post some prices for those of you who wanna start your house.

thanks man.

wow! if only i cud get a roofman to do a complete roof for $15g. it has to be examined if he is giving you what you are paying for...meaning the technical / structural design details.

ah mean, everybody has to live and while rspann getting it done for that low price, it sounds a bit oppressive. and i doh think he passing on the savings to his renters, i cud be wrong...

I ask him for a price and that is what he charged me,how is that oppressive? He took four days to fabricate and sheet and came back after the building was plastered and painted and did the underceiling and guttering in two days.

He has two workmen ,but he leaves Paria 5 o clock in the morning and is on the job before eight o clock. Not like a typical trini. I'll post some pics later you'll be amazed at the quality of the work. Just got a quote from a major roofing company for a 42 x 68 hip roof with Bermuda tile system (horizontal profile ) big difference $248000. Only reason I checked them is that my guy said he never did that profile before .

did he weld cleats to the beams or tacked the purlin to the beams? If he used cleats, were they flat or angle iron? Were the purlins bolted to the cleats or were purlin screws used? How many screws or bolts were used per cleat? Spacing of beams and purlins? Size / wt of beams?

[rspann]

Welded the cleats, angle iron cleats,they were bolted with two 1 x 3/8 with 2 flat washers and a lock washer at all points,the beams were spaced 8 ft apart and the purlins 32" apart. The beams were 3'' x 5". Hoss I trying to show people another way of doing things so that they could save money ,or build their house if they not rich, what you feel I don't know what I saying or you don't believe it is possible unless you spend millions? The same guy building roofs all over Trinidad years now, Just finished one in Mayaro last week and doing two in San Juan right now. Right now I in line waiting for him to do one for me.

[worksux101]

Welded the cleats, angle iron cleats,they were bolted with two 1 x 3/8 with 2 flat washers and a lock washer at all points,the beams were spaced 8 ft apart and the purlins 32" apart. The beams were 3'' x 5". Hoss I trying to show people another way of doing things so that they could save money ,or build their house if they not rich, what you feel I don't know what I saying or you don't believe it is possible unless you spend millions? The same guy building roofs all over Trinidad years now, Just finished one in Mayaro last week and doing two in San Juan right now. Right now I in line waiting for him to do one for me.

thanks for sharing!

[York]

Welded the cleats, angle iron cleats,they were bolted with two 1 x 3/8 with 2 flat washers and a lock washer at all points,the beams were spaced 8 ft apart and the purlins 32" apart. The beams were 3'' x 5". Hoss I trying to show people another way of doing things so that they could save money ,or build their house if they not rich, what you feel I don't know what I saying or you don't believe it is possible unless you spend millions? The same guy building roofs all over Trinidad years now, Just finished one in Mayaro last week and doing two in San Juan right now. Right now I in line waiting for him to do one for me.

great! pm me his name and number.
yuh does have to be careful pal, ppl does give 6 for 9.

[York]

about the bermuda, let the sheeting company explain what framing needs to be done. the purlins have to run down, so the beams may have to go opposite to how they normally are put?

[The Raven]

You can recommend some one to do plastering and block work?
Pm name and number pls.
Thanks.

[York]

Raven,
Your general location may be of assistance.

[York]

Man eh send the roofman contact yes!

[number4]

can someone give me an estimate of how much will it cost to construct a fence wall approx. 150 ft with the following specs:
1. 8" concrete blocks to a height of 8'
2. steel reinforcements @ 16" loaded with concrete.
3. columns @ 10' intervals
4. plastered on both sides.

the land is flat btw.
???

[pugboy]

What kind of trenching is required for the wall base ?

[York]

can someone give me an estimate of how much will it cost to construct a fence wall approx. 150 ft with the following specs:
1. 8" concrete blocks to a height of 8'
2. steel reinforcements @ 16" loaded with concrete.
3. columns @ 10' intervals
4. plastered on both sides.

the land is flat btw.
???

Between $250-$300k material and labor with 5/8" rebar and 3/8" stirrups. Higher price will include piling 12" about 10ft deep. Pm me if you want to get it done.

[rspann]

1200, 8" blocks @ $11.75 =$14100.
2,tonnes 5/8 steel@$5000=$10000
1/2 tonne 3/8 " @$5000=$2500
16 pcs 1x12x8ft =$800
16 pcs 2x2x16ft =$600
5 loads Gravel =$12500
2 loads plastering sand = $2400
approx 200 bags cement =$12000
Misc (nails pp, nails conc. tying wire, buckets etc)$2000.

Material, $56 900. Labour depends on who doing it.
If you get a couple of skilled men and a couple of labourers ,building a wall is no science.
Have steel tied before you dig trench and butts so you can cast immediately in case of bad weather . A backhoe or mini excavator will save cost of digging over manual labour, It can cost $1500 for the day,but all can be done in one day. Drop in the mats and columns and the ground beams tie off ,cast every thing together. Readymix is always cheaper and more efficient ,make sure to put your starter bars in with measurements (16 "). Block up,keeping blocks the correct distance from the steel so the formwork fits perfect and no patching is needed.
10 ft apart will take 16 columns, cast 8 at first and then remove the formwork the next day and do the other 8. I like to use a tie beam on the top of my walls for added strength.
Depending on your soil, you may have to pile like York said. That costs approx. $10-$20 per foot.

[1UZFE]

can someone give me an estimate of how much will it cost to construct a fence wall approx. 150 ft with the following specs:
1. 8" concrete blocks to a height of 8'
2. steel reinforcements @ 16" loaded with concrete.
3. columns @ 10' intervals
4. plastered on both sides.

the land is flat btw.
???

Between $250-$300k material and labor with 5/8" rebar and 3/8" stirrups. Higher price will include piling 12" about 10ft deep. Pm me if you want to get it done.

This is a joke. Right.

[can_coke]

Same thing I thought ... Lol weyy y dread... Be careful fellas

[York]

It's called a budgetary estimate, maybe on the high side but no contractor will quote a job without seeing to break even or make a loss. There's a difference between cost and selling price. Factor in preliminaries, security, supervision, transport, financingm communication, tools equipment, safety, sanitary facilities....fixed price turnkey guarantee.

[ssaroop]

Rspann,

Your building is a 95x42 hip (dutch) with underceiling and guttering can take around 10 to 15 days allowing for slippage and materials availability. Notwithstanding any setbacks, I would use 1 fabricator @ 400 per day = $4000. plus 2 labor @ $300 ea per day = $6000. I would pay myself $5000, plus a contingency of $4000. hence a total of $19000. (total for 10 days)
The anchor system on the ring beam and most of the steel connections must be bolted, the amount of screws must be the correct amount for the sheeting. The size of the beam cannot be that thin 2x4 and the purlins must be in the correct direction. Framing of trusses must be well designed.

Anything less than is what we call cutting your nose to spoil your face. Simply underbidding is not good as it leads to poor workmanship in trying to complete in a rush which almost always lead to the sacrificing of quality.

Cheers

[York]

Rspann,

Your building is a 95x42 hip (dutch) with underceiling and guttering can take around 10 to 15 days allowing for slippage and materials availability. Notwithstanding any setbacks, I would use 1 fabricator @ 400 per day = $4000. plus 2 labor @ $300 ea per day = $6000. I would pay myself $5000, plus a contingency of $4000. hence a total of $19000. (total for 10 days)
The anchor system on the ring beam and most of the steel connections must be bolted, the amount of screws must be the correct amount for the sheeting. The size of the beam cannot be that thin 2x4 and the purlins must be in the correct direction. Framing of trusses must be well designed.

Anything less than is what we call cutting your nose to spoil your face. Simply underbidding is not good as it leads to poor workmanship in trying to complete in a rush which almost always lead to the sacrificing of quality.

Cheers

This is much lower than going rates, just get a quote from a roof company and you'll see. While i dont expect it to be same, it's a good maximum budget. The good roofmen are booked all the time and their prices are high. So if someone has to low bid to get work, it leaves to wonder how good they really are.

What about heat proof? Will add time but he pbly will not use to cut cost.

Pm me your number pal, or just post it here to get business. I have 3 roofs to do in the next few months and im looking for a go to roofman who will not do short cuts, inferior welding and steal material.

[rspann]

ssaroop, your price is very good and all what you said is true, but I never spoke about 2x4 beams. Can you do the Bermuda? Send me a No. York I don't have anything to prove and I am not looking for work, I only do buildings for myself. I am just trying to help by showing alternatives. I do not try to do anything in my buildings by cutting corners, so you are wrong there. Go back to page 5 in this thread and see where you told somebody about building a wall around a lot of land, $25 g material and $50g- $60g in labour. Show me how that material list works out. You try to punch holes in everything I say,but I speak from experience and I can show the quality of my work,without spending the kind of crazy figures you talking about.

[The Raven]

I have gotten some good advise from york thus far, just recent a structural engineer visited and give some quality advise and came up with a plan to solve my problem, at a good price. Recommended by York.

[pugboy]

I need a small wall built in woodbrook,
probably 2 sections, 8ft and 10ft each, 4 columns
around 4 feet tall.

Anybody know somebody who willing to take this small job ?

[York]

ssaroop, your price is very good and all what you said is true, but I never spoke about 2x4 beams. Can you do the Bermuda? Send me a No. York I don't have anything to prove and I am not looking for work, I only do buildings for myself. I am just trying to help by showing alternatives. I do not try to do anything in my buildings by cutting corners, so you are wrong there. Go back to page 5 in this thread and see where you told somebody about building a wall around a lot of land, $25 g material and $50g- $60g in labour. Show me how that material list works out. You try to punch holes in everything I say,but I speak from experience and I can show the quality of my work,without spending the kind of crazy figures you talking about.

So what i posted before was a basic concrete BLOCK wall around a property. Owner would have to manage himself. That's $100,000 cost say. A contractor would charge maybe $30k profit, thats $130k total.

The guy above asked for an 8" steel reinforced concrete filled retaining wall i presume. If that costs me $180k and i make a $70k profit, thats $250k. I built a similar wall a couple of yrs ago and it will not be $100k, trust me. The guy who is spending this kinda money on a wall not going to shop around to buy material and supervise day work labour himself. The person has a choice, are you going to build it for him at material and labour cost? Are u going to guarantee a fixed price?

There are some "contractors" who low bid, collect money up front , complete foundation, floor and run up blocks fast....then pull out before roof taking ppl money and a tidy profit on that phase. Quantity surveyors would always over value because they more deal with bigger projects. Owner is left with $100k less to complete his house after.

I build complete houses and then sell property, t&c approved, rc completion certificate. If ppl want to fall in a trap, it's their own fault. I am just giving advice and sharing my experience as well. I dont have anything against you but not everyone is fortunate to have good skilled labour at dog cheap prices like you. Plus you havent shared his number, and roofman here has not posted or pm his #.

When you build a house that costs $1M, would you sell for $1M for the valuation of $3M? how much do you value your supervision and profit for investment?

Houses are currently valued at $500+ per sq ft. So a 1800sq ft (3 bdrm 2 bath flat) house would be valued $900k plus land $500k, fencing/gates $ 100k = $1.5M. How much labor cost can you save on a house? total labour may be close to 1/4 to 1/3 of total cost.

[rspann]

York ,You are correct but I was only trying to help those who cannot afford a contractor ,so I was giving an idea of the cost price.
What you saying there about some contractors is true. They always ask for downpayment and then run off never to be heard from again. one of them did a large development for the government(plumbing) and when they checked after, there was only pipe sticking out of the ground and nothing was connected below. I think it cost them $90 million or something so.

[The Raven]

Rspann, york, I am looking for someone to do plastering inside an second floor. Caroni area. Pm some number pls.
Thanks.
York this week I will be calling the number you send for the iron work.

[1UZFE]

Rspann do u hav a FB page??

[lancer3]

about the bermuda, let the sheeting company explain what framing needs to be done. the purlins have to run down, so the beams may have to go opposite to how they normally are put?

Yes York the purlin need to run down, the framing is more or less the same with ties connecting each rafter so that you can attach a cleat. See pic below, client was going with standing seam but then decided to go with bermuda sheeting. Every piece was fabricated and put together to ensure that there was no error because of the building height and location.

[York]

about the bermuda, let the sheeting company explain what framing needs to be done. the purlins have to run down, so the beams may have to go opposite to how they normally are put?

Yes York the purlin need to run down, the framing is more or less the same with ties connecting each rafter so that you can attach a cleat. See pic below, client was going with standing seam but then decided to go with bermuda sheeting. Every piece was fabricated and put together to ensure that there was no error because of the building height and location.

what about the new design of not using steel I beams, only C-channel purlins? wonder if this is fully approved by local construction code?