Building a house in Trinidad

[rspann]

them fellas have links to convert the cheap agri land into residential and backfill all how
plus they does do all kinda thing to "improve" any drainage deficiencies

spann, are you serious? With land, that house would cost as much as 1.6m to build as shown in the pictures? Waw!

Go Grande and see how G doing it all in Fishing pond etc. You will understand what I'm saying. Plus he getting the bank to finance too.

[telfer]

The labor cost in those houses are $350k
Materials I don’t know ....I spoke to the guy who builds those houses in Cunupia

[pugboy]

That man is a boss
I see he turn the river by railway road into a box drain, fully covered and no longer visible.

He must be sure no boulders and rubbish will clog up underneath and won’t need to go under to clear it.
Then again he have plenty quarrying equipment to remedy anything.

them fellas have links to convert the cheap agri land into residential and backfill all how
plus they does do all kinda thing to "improve" any drainage deficiencies

spann, are you serious? With land, that house would cost as much as 1.6m to build as shown in the pictures? Waw!

Go Grande and see how G doing it all in Fishing pond etc. You will understand what I'm saying. Plus he getting the bank to finance too.

[rspann]

Boss is an understatement.

[knthprks]

Gooday to all, I'm looking for some backfill in port of spain area any help please thanks.

[rspann]

Call Don Ramdeen or Hassanali's transport.

[supercharged turbo]

Is overburden and backfill the same?If yes,what the average price per load?Also,saw some constructing a 2 story house with concrete block right around.I know almost everyone uses red block but is there a noticeable difference in using the concrete block?

[rspann]

You could load the concrete blocks because they are vertical core if you are doing load bearing walls . There's also vertical core H/C but they cost more.

[adnj]

Overburden is the unwanted material from strip mining.

Concrete blocks do not require plastering while clay block does.
Concrete blocks require a larger foundation and column/beam structure because of increased dead loading.
A clay block is about half the weight of a concrete block. Clay blocks are better sound and thermal insulators.
Clay block allows for in-wall, horizontal runs of services.

[*KRONIK*]

I was wondering about the clay vs concrete block also,
Can you elaborate on this?

Overburden is the unwanted material from strip mining.

Concrete blocks do not require plastering while clay block does.
Concrete blocks require a larger foundation and column/beam structure because of increased dead loading.
A clay block is about half the weight of a concrete block. Clay blocks are better sound and thermal insulators.
Clay block allows for in-wall, horizontal runs of services.

[rspann]

Overburden is the unwanted material from strip mining.

Concrete blocks do not require plastering while clay block does.
Concrete blocks require a larger foundation and column/beam structure because of increased dead loading.
A clay block is about half the weight of a concrete block. Clay blocks are better sound and thermal insulators.
Clay block allows for in-wall, horizontal runs of services.

Concrete blocks allow for vertical runs, which is better for electrical since the pipe goes vertical in any case. Plumbing needs less horizontal runs as compared to electrical so the concrete blocks have less cutting in the long run.

Wrt the plastering, if you are building a house you will still have to plaster because even flush pointing looks uneven.

[adnj]

Concrete blocks allow for vertical runs, which is better for electrical since the pipe goes vertical in any case. Plumbing needs less horizontal runs as compared to electrical so the concrete blocks have less cutting in the long run.

This may perhaps be true for a simpler structure. More complex structures or more complex services designs typically involve adding chased runs to position services connections that could not be placed until after the walls were constructed. Horizontal chasing of walls is a structural issue and is typically not allowed.

Wrt the plastering, if you are building a house you will still have to plaster because even flush pointing looks uneven.

Many homes and buildings worldwide have interior walls of unplastered concrete block. It really depends on how good your architect and contractor are.

[rspann]

Typically on my buildings I use load bearing walls but almost no horizontal chasings. I position the baths and kitchens so the pipes go directly out the walls.. upstairs in some of them I use H/C because of the weight .

[rspann]

Wrt the unplastered walls, it's too much work to get a good finish inside. I have one building where the outside is groove pointed and there are bands around the window and door openings. It looks nice but the challenge is inside when you have to cover the channels and outlets.

[wingnut]

You could load the concrete blocks because they are vertical core if you are doing load bearing walls . There's also vertical core H/C but they cost more.

Are the walls which support the weight of the roof not considerded load bearing?

Asking because i see most residential houses are built with horizontal core clay blocks and the vertical core concrete blocks mostly used for foundation

[adnj]

Typically on my buildings I use load bearing walls but almost no horizontal chasings. I position the baths and kitchens so the pipes go directly out the walls.. upstairs in some of them I use H/C because of the weight .

This is an example of simplified layout and services. Moving the bathroom, kitchen, lighting, and outlets to the places where people actually want them necessitates much more elaborate services layouts and planning.

Moving from splits to ducted AC poses similar challenges but that seems to be where the upper end of the market has settled, in my experience.

Wrt the unplastered walls, it's too much work to get a good finish inside. I have one building where the outside is groove pointed and there are bands around the window and door openings. It looks nice but the challenge is inside when you have to cover the channels and outlets.

Once again, it depends on the planning, the architect and the contractor. More careful installation, accurate placement of outlets and switches, installing service conduits in the walls, etc., can help to facilitate a satisfactory interior finish. Plaster allows for extra structural rigidity of a clay block wall and the hiding of errors made - not necessarily a bad thing.

Formed concrete walls pose similar challenges but can be even less forgiving.

[adnj]

You could load the concrete blocks because they are vertical core if you are doing load bearing walls . There's also vertical core H/C but they cost more.

Are the walls which support the weight of the roof not considerded load bearing?

Asking because i see most residential houses are built with horizontal core clay blocks and the vertical core concrete blocks mostly used for foundation

If the wall is a structural element then it is load bearing. Different types of wall materials an widths have different load bearing capacities.

You do not need to fill the cavities of concrete block if it is a free-standing non-loadbearing wall such as you would have surrounding your property. Though there are maximum height restrictions for doing so.

[rspann]

Typically on my buildings I use load bearing walls but almost no horizontal chasings. I position the baths and kitchens so the pipes go directly out the walls.. upstairs in some of them I use H/C because of the weight .

This is an example of simplified layout and services. Moving the bathroom, kitchen, lighting, and outlets to the places where people actually want them necessitates much more elaborate services layouts and planning.

Moving from splits to ducted AC poses similar challenges but that seems to be where the upper end of the market has settled, in my experience.

Wrt the unplastered walls, it's too much work to get a good finish inside. I have one building where the outside is groove pointed and there are bands around the window and door openings. It looks nice but the challenge is inside when you have to cover the channels and outlets.

Once again, it depends on the planning, the architect and the contractor. More careful installation, accurate placement of outlets and switches, installing service conduits in the walls, etc., can help to facilitate a satisfactory interior finish. Plaster allows for extra structural rigidity of a clay block wall and the hiding of errors made - not necessarily a bad thing.

Formed concrete walls pose similar challenges but can be even less forgiving.

Quite correct. The only problem is that trini contractors and workers hardly meet those standards.

[supercharged turbo]

True..you know what you want,you show them what you want and yet they do their own thing and give you some half-assed excuse as to why they couldn't do it so.

[Lance]

I have a situation here and I was wondering if anyone had some experience that they would like to share.

My dad had an approved plan for a 2 story dwelling home that he began to construct. The structure was built to plan up until the decking and steps were casted.

However, he then realized that he wouldn't have had the funds to complete the upstairs of the house due to the cost of roofing at the time.

He instead focused on blocking up and outfitting the ground floor of the structure.

My dad has since passed away and I'm about to continue the building. I had a look at the plan and it only detailed construction of the upper floor. In other words, the ground floor of the house was open space.

I had a chat with the borough and they informed me that to get the construction going again I would need a renewed permit. Part of this process would include me resubmitting the previously approved plan with a complete sketch of the ground floor (which was not part of the initial plan). They would then consider the complete document.

Does anyone have any experience with this process? And perhaps may have some advice for me on how to proceed - things I should look out for etc.

The initial phase of the house was completed about 7 years ago.

[telfer]

That doesn’t sound right if you have an approval why do you need to go again sounds like someone wants a payoff

[telfer]

Also any building infraction done over 5years is statue bared and T&C can’t do anything about it

[*KRONIK*]

They probably want a retention plan for the work completed so far to make sure it was done accoring to the previous plan. Once they verify that it is, they will pass it and renew the building permit

[pugboy]

So if you put up an illegal structure and was never addressed by t&c or local corporation for 5 yrs you get away?

Also any building infraction done over 5years is statue bared and T&C can’t do anything about it

[matix]

^^^^^
Interesting because I know of countless buildings that went up without any approval.

[pugboy]

They usually get away on freehold land and of course if neighbors don’t complain.

But on leasehold land the local corporation usually have more teeth eg woodbrook

I don’t think it is really t&c job to go out in the field to check building as they going up for code compliance.

^^^^^
Interesting because I know of countless buildings that went up without any approval.

[matix]

Understood

[telfer]

So if you put up an illegal structure and was never addressed by t&c or local corporation for 5 yrs you get away?

Also any building infraction done over 5years is statue bared and T&C can’t do anything about it

Once your neighbor doesn’t have you in any legal litigations t&c cant do anything

[shake d livin wake d dead]

ah come in here for some guidance

i.e: building of kitchen cupboards(recommend some1, or some people or reputable businesses please)

[Kronik]

ah come in here for some guidance

i.e: building of kitchen cupboards(recommend some1, or some people or reputable businesses please)

I think it's roopnarine I see selling complete kitchen units for around 20k