Demolition of Old Structure

After Keith gave the go-ahead Luis immediately started with the demolition of the old structure and getting the lot set up for the building of the new buildings.

March 30, 2010 - One very important thing that needed to be done was to salvage whatever could be salvaged. Here you see the worker removing the roof beams. These beams are made of Almond wood (Almondo) and are very hard. So hard that it is difficult to drive a nail through it, and they will last forever. Luis will take these beams and re-finish them to their original beauty.

The structure that Pedro started was not very strong. This became obvious when they removed the beams over the door and the overhang collapsed.

April 5, 2010 - Now the backhoe has begun it's work to completely demolish the old structure. Luis has made arrangements for the debris to be hauled away by truck instead of being shoved over the cliff like some others would do.

April 6, 2010 - ALMOST DONE

April 11, 2010 - Now is gone what was a bad rememberence of a project that went bad. Now, it is time to start again and move forward.

The Construction Team

 BUILDER - Luis Alpizar: This is a small Costa Rican builder who Keith found to be very honest, and capable of building his home. You can be assured that Luis will be on the job everyday to ensure quality and being completed on time. Luis will be completely responsible for the construction of the entire project, and Keith is relying on him to do an excellent job.

ARCHITECT - Jose Sanchez. Highly respected, very experienced and creative in his designs. Jose will design the guest house, rancho and main house. He will also make weekly inspections to ensure that all construction is being done according to the plans he did.

PROJECT MANAGER - Pete Bogatinoff. Just a guy from Nashville, TN who got a lot of experience in building homes in Costa Rica. Pete is a friend of Keith's who wants to make sure everything goes to the best interest of Keith's investment. He will over-see all phases of the construction and work closely with Luis and Jose to ensure that objective.

Background

Keith Bell came to Costa Rica to build his dream retirement home. He bought a lot in Roca Verde, a very nice community located in Atenas, Costa Rica and hired Pedro Sebaja to build a home that Keith had designed. It was going to be a gracious and comfortable home. A few months into construction, Pedro went "bust" and left Keith hanging with a partially finished home and took Keith for mucho dinero. - However, Keith did not give up on his dream home and made several trips from Alaska to Costa Rica to find a way to make his dream come true.

On his last trip here, he found a builder, architect and overseer to demolish the old structure and build a guest house, rancho and pool. This would give him the opportunity to visit and enjoy his property until he retired. After retirement, he would decide on a plan and build his retirement dream home.

This blog will provide a picture and history of the construction of the guest house, pool and rancho. Please follow it to completion and help Keith celebrate a dream come true.