costa rica

We had these doors and windows hand made from a local Tico wood craftsmen.  We installed steel 4×4 window/door jams and mounted the windows and doors to them with screws.  Next we sprayed insulation around the seams of the doors and windows.  We installed locally sourced bamboo flooring we had found through our local builder (Sustainable Solutions of Costa Rica).

Here is the temporary bathroom that we built with mostly left over materials.  We installed a propane tankless hot-water, low-flow eco toilet, shower valve and biodigester.  In the future we plan to harvest the methane gases from the biodigester to fuel the hot-water heater.

Next we cut out the spaces for the windows and doors for our container house.  Then we painted the interior and installed 4×4 metal framing for the doors and windows.  At this point the container is starting to feel like a house.

Here we used 2×6 metal steel beams for the floor joists, teak trees for the vertical posts, Bamboo rafters, and metal roofing.  We are installing one of the most durable hardwoods in Costa Rica for the decking.   We installed the deck first so we had a good level work space to work on for the next stages.

We have started the foundation.  Dug out the four corners and installed  1m X 1m concrete footings with rebar framing.  The containers are designed to carry all of their vertical load at the corners which makes them able to be stacked up to 9 containers high.  We plan to dig out the material under the container just enough to deter bugs and let air pass through to help with temperature and moisture.

It’s on!! After an excruciatingly long lull in our progress we have finally learned what patience is! Nearly two months after purchasing our shipping container it is finally being delivered to our lot. But not without some creative Costa Rican planning. Check out the 20 ft truck with the 40 ft shipping container hanging off it–and a little help from a backhoe.