Question for those who have built a house in Mexico..

[circle110]

I am getting ready to start building my house here in Guanajuato.

To get a building permit the city requires the signature and seal of a licensed architect on your plans. Once you have the permit you have two ways to build -- having an architect manage the project or working directly with the albaniles from the plans to build the house.

We started out with the idea of directly hiring the albaniles, but the first group we started to work with gave me ridiculous prices, no doubt thinking I was a wealthy, dumb gringp. (I am a gringo but I'm not wealthy and I hope I'm not dumb!) So, we cut that off right away.

We then met an architect who we wanted to draw up the plans (I had already done the design, we just needed a properly done drawing for the city). He offered to manage the project and gave us a very low package price for the whole deal -- he builds the house and hands over the keys for X pesos. It seemed a good deal to us so we seriously considered it.

Then he said he needed all the money up front "to buy materials". In my book that's not how large projects are done and it sounded strange so I began asking around if that was normal procedure here for such a project. We were told that no, it isn't. All the people we talked to who had gone the architect-managed route had had bad experiences like poorly built foundations and cheap acabados (finishings). All the folks who skipped the architect had had more positive experiences.

I told the architect that there was no way I'd pay that kind of money up-front and he got very angry. I asked for a price for just the plans and doing the city paperwork with his seal/signature and he gave me a price four times higher than anyone we talked to had payed. So, we ended that one too.

I was just recommended a group of albaniles by a good friend. He says they built his house, his brother's and his daughter's and they are honest and that and my friend and his family are very happy with the work they did. I met them and they seem competent and easy to work with. I am now looking back down that road.

So my question is:
Do any of you that have gone through the building process have any advice as far as working with architects or just going directly to the albaniles?

Thanks for any help,
Sorry for the long post!

[chicois8]

I am in the process of building an adobe house just outside Dolores Hildago and only a proper size set of drawings is required for the permit, guess it al depends where you build, Suerte y paz

[circle110]

Thanks Chicois8,
So I guess the only difference here is that the architect has to sign and seal.

2 questions:

I assume you are just building directly with albaniles, no architect involved after doing the plans?

I have always dreamed of an adobe house but was told it is far more expensive. Do you have a guestimate of how much more adobe is than tabique (brick)?

[chicois8]

I am paying 7 1/2 pesos per adobe brick, but I have no square corners so there are many curved corner bricks that are custom made....

[sparks]

Check with the municipio office and they may have an engineer in house. I took a table napkin drawing to them and they produced the required plan to build for less than 1000 pesos. Then there is the 6-7000 more to complete the process. Prices are going up around here.

Finding the right workers is the toughest part. I went thru 4 sets to finally get quality, reasonable pay and really nice guys. Too many that either just want your money or are not really pros.

[sparks]

Quotes are either done by the sq meter (depending on difficulty) ... either laying brick or stucco .... or pay them by the week. By the week you have to be there every day unless you have real special guys. I'm paying by the week because there are so many details and I think of changes as they move along

[RVGRINGO]

We hired a local builder, who supplied the crew and directed them from time to time. I was on site and pitched in on many jobs, so the 'maestro albanil' knew and respected my capabilities. We all got along and learned from each other. The builder charged no more than 500 pesos per week for arranging deliveries & helping with layout details. Maestros and laborers were paid every Saturday morning, as were 'notas' for all materials that week. No problems and we're still all good friends.

[TundraGreen]

I have a neighbor who is having extensive modification done on his house. He has hired the workers directly. He pays the foreman $2500 pesos/week and the other laborers 1500/week. They work for him full time, 5 days a week. The foreman is very competent and very honest and often saves him money.

Also a comment on adobe versus other materials. I live in an old adobe house. The bedrooms all face to the south. In the winter they get direct sun on the sides and the adobe stores enough heat from the afternoons that they are toasty warm on these cold mornings. In the summer the sun is to the north so the rooms don't get direct sun and they are comfortable in the heat of the afternoon. So my recommendation is that adobe would be worth some extra cost for the added comfort. And also I suggest it would be very smart to pay attention to the orientation vis a vis the sun when planning the layout of rooms and windows. It certainly played a big role when I was deciding which house to buy.

Memo

[RVGRINGO]

Absolutely right! Orientation of a home is extremely important and should definitely be the first consideration in making a choice of a lot, a home to be built or even a rental. Your comfort is important. So few expats realize this, as they have grown up with a thermostat on the wall.

[chicois8]

In the building of this adobe home we are basically off the grid except for city water,it will have recycled old doors and window shutters with double paned glass, solar and wind power (and a backup generator), a well which is tested every 30 days for purity as it is used for organic crops. I may add a fire place if needed...I also figured the extra cost of adobe over brick would almost even out when 1 adobe is about the same mass of 4 or 5 bricks....