Our Honduras Story - Beginning the Construction Process

We started construction in January of 2008 with an estimated completion time of end of June 2008. So we were on a 6 month stroll through the building process. We went to Honduras in January and sited the guest house on the property and picked out construction materials like cabinets, tiles, lighting fixtures, etc. The materials shopping took place in San Pedro Sula which is the second largest city in Honduras and the most modern. It is about 90 miles from La Ceiba.

We met our architect in San Pedro Sula as this is the city we fly into when we visit Honduras. We flew into SPS and got settled in our room for the evening and met our architect the next morning early for a day of shopping.

He doesn't speak English and we speak very little Spanish so Kent the broker that we bought our lot through has graciously sent along an employee of his to interpret for us. We still try to communicate in Spanish as much as possible, which makes for a humorous day. It is also our first experience with shopping in a foreign country that was not souvenir shopping. It was quite a different indeed, but fun and educational.

This is the first time we have met with the architect separate from Kent and we find him to be a most charming gentleman. He is very familiar with all the tiendas that he takes us to and the owners. It is a very personal business doing business in Honduras! He takes us to tile shops, lighting shops, building supply companies for bath fixtures, sinks, faucets and cabinet shop. We make our choices and he places orders with each vendor. I take photos of each item as we make our choices. Later when we return home we are to scan each photograph into the computer with a note on each one confirming that this is the item chosen. This was a good idea and also helped us to chronicle our choices and also to be able to show to friends and family!

We leave the next morning early to drive our rental car the 90 miles to La Ceiba. This is the first time we have made this trip as we had previously flown into La Ceiba by commuter flight. We are a bit apprehensive of the drive as it is a long way and we have no real idea of the quality of the road. We have a map that I ordered and paid $40 for from Maps.com before we left the states. Word to the wise you can not easily pick up maps at the station or travel center it is best to order one before you go.

The drive is beautiful and the highway is nice and in good repair other than the occasional pothole and the occasional driver passing on a blind curve, but this is just Honduras. They are a people of great faith, faith that no one is on the other side of that hill or curve or whatever.... :) Last time we were in Honduras the highway had all been repaved which was nice as it really needed it.

Anyway the highway meanders through small villages and bigger towns also through palm plantations and over what seems like a thousand bridges over this river or that. It is a land of many rivers and wonderful variety of flowering trees, which also line the highway. The drive is just another confirmation that we have chosen the right place.

After reaching La Ceiba we get checked into our room and get ready for a meeting with Kent and our architect to go over the details of the construction and to site the villa on the land. We meet at the restaurant in Mango Tree for lunch and discuss all the details of water cisterns, electrical transformers and biodigesters for the septic system. We need to understand the costs and process of getting all of these things laid out for the entire property. As we are planning a main villa, guest villa, pool with deck and a champa by the pool we have to lay out the entire property not just the guest villa to make sure we plan for everything.

When you build in Honduras you have to buy the electric transformer that is installed on the municipal power pole. This means you have to plan for the kilowatts you will need for all of your electrical needs in the foreseeable future. It is quite expensive to buy the transformer and have the electrical line ran if you are doing new construction, but the price of your service seems to be fairly reasonable.

The biodigester is a bacteria tank system that is used in conjunction with your septic system and is required for all new construction you can no longer use a basic septic tank system. It adds some to the cost but increases the efficiency of a septic system and protects ground water. For information on this follow the link below.
http://www.bayies.com/faqs.htm

After a nice lunch by the river in Mango Tree and much discussion in English, Spanish and lots of sign language we make our way down to the lot to site the various pieces of our overall plan. It is exciting and a bit of awe to actually survey the land and mark the spots we have drawn on plans in the states for months now.

We spend time in the next few days just walking over the land, taking photos and just imagining the next time we return there will be a little villa sitting in this open spot just south of the tall stand of trees. Amazing!

We returned home and started the process of getting a contract with costs and dates of expected completion time for the steps along the way. We get money transferred for he initial startup costs and we break ground late January 2008.

Watch for my next article in the series on completing the construction by email.