Chile Forum

I know I have found this information somewhere before but I can't remember if it was here or even online. It might have been at one of the hardware stores in Chile. But did to a quick search on the forum and on Google and came up empty handed. I have been working on the design and layout of our that house we are planning to build in the 7th Region and it is at the point were I have to start working out the structural elements and soon enough draw up wall construction details. But to do that I need the actual size of the lumber available. So, if anyone knows where to find that it would be appreciated because so far everything I found on Google gives North American and some Australian sizes.

Where does your lumber come from?

Not sure this will help but:

http://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/20 ... al-arauco/

Technical specifications for materials in Chile:
http://www.registrocdt.cl
Example for Arauco: http://www.registrocdt.cl/fichas%20espe ... /index.htm

Thanks mariposa83, that is exactly what I am looking for. I saw this with extreme caution but the lumber sizes should be fairly standardized. Like a 2x4 in Canada is always 1.5" by 3.5" no matter where you buy it.

But if I remember correctly they have 2 types of lumber in Chile. One being rough and the other being a smoother product. But with in each type I don't remember seeing a noticeable difference from a 2x4 from one mill or store when compared to another, but I wasn't really paying attention to that at the time. But for the time being anyways these dimensions will work perfectly. Thanks again.

Hi Jason, from my observations, a 2 X 4 is full 2 X 4 in "bruto" but this has brought other complications, as the locally available skinny insulation will now need to be double stacked.
Most Chilean places seem to be framed in 2 x 3, go figure. I had them frame my place at 16" OC, with full coverage 1/2" OSB under the sheathing, the maestro had never seen anything like it.

That is good to know MikeO. But this house shouldn't be comparable to anything that is common in Chile. The spec is basically more along the lines of something you would find in Vancouver and maybe even Anchorage. I know something people on this forum and in Chile in general think that houses in North America are way over build, even when they meet minimum code. One day after we actually get started I will post some pictures.

But just to give you an idea we are going with 2.8 meter (just over 9’) main floor ceilings, 2x6 < NO EMAIL > 16” exterior walls and if I can get the Spray foam guy in Temuco or find one that is closer to where we are building to come out the entire wall cavity will be spray foamed. All the sheathing will be glue down to prevent squeaks and lock everything together. I was even looking at using 5/8” T&G for the sheathing but that might be over kill even for me. Electrical will be significantly upgraded, specifically not having the entire house on one breaker and having the entire house prewired for internet and cable. I am planning on doing the framing and anything else I don’t need a “qualified” trade to do my self (with the help of my in-laws), simply so I don’t have to argue with the maestro.

I want my house to be structurally sound 50 or 100 years from now and not have to worry about major repairs in 4 years (or less) like most of the construction I have seen in Chile. It seems to me like everything is Chile is done the cheapest way possible, from mixing concrete for sidewalks and foundations on site in small batches to using the smallest framing members they think they can safely get away with. That is not how I want any house construction project I am apart of to be built… let alone my own place.

50 years from now I might be remembered as "that gringo" but I doubt it. In the meantime I just want the place to be as comfortable and maintenance free as possible. I have 3m ceilings throughout, framed as I said in 2 X 4 but with only 2 runs of blocking, at 4' OC to catch the edges of the drywall. I don't like those multiple runs of blocking the Chileans use, too hard to insulate or fish wiring later. Seems like most people around me have satellite TV and internet so I'll go with the flow, running a wireless router.
I've said this before and it bears repeating, they don't know how to flash openings. Be onsite for this critical phase and save headaches later. We used a local sheet metal fabricator to run up valley flashings for the roof out of stainless as the galv ones just don't hold up that close to the ocean. The local maestros seem to believe anything can be flashed with fieltro or black paper. It can, but not for long.
If you are going to be any distance from the beach, the air won't be so damp and salty, galv flashings should be fine. If you are sending a container down, spend a few hundred bucks at Home Depot on a good selection and save headaches later. IMO one of he reasons the local maestros are so set against using drywall (Volcanit) and so in favor of that Hardibacker like stuff (Internit) is that they expect the house to leak and the Internit is better in the damp. Go figure.

We are looking at a couple properties about 1 - 2 km up the river valley from the ocean. And with the design of the house I should only have 2 valleys on the roof to worry about, so it should be fairly straight forward. I saw a really good window flashing detail a couple years ago that was recommend for us in Vancouver which I am going to track down just to make sure I do it right. Like I said before… I am doing a lot of the work my self. I plan on hiring someone to pour the concrete, certify the electrical, and spray foam and if I can find a good drywaller I will hire him as well (I hate drywall).

But every other aspect (structure, roofing, windows, exterior cladding…) is going to be done by me or under my direct supervision, it just feels nice to do the work and work towards the end product (plus I may be a bit of a control freak when it comes to these types of things). I am trying to keep it s simple… just your basic 2 storey box with a small second cantilever and a simple gable roof. But with my contacts here in Canada I basically have an unlimited pool of knowledge that I can tap into if I have any problems. So I am not predicting any major problems, biggest problem I can see are material shortages or having to spend time looking for material substitutions because I can’t find what I am looking for.

xxx

El P... thanks for the information. There is still a lot to consider. I thought about using a stove to heat the house or those natural gas space heaters that my in-laws use. But the truth is I am not comfortable using either of them. I am pretty sure we are going to look into a forced air system. Mainly because I like to have air movement in the house and you aren't breathing in the same air that you were yesterday. Plus if we use a ground source heat pump to condition that air we won’t be burning anything, which is a huge plus in my books.

Basically, from seeing what my in-laws pay for a tank of natural gas (large tank = 20 lukas every 2 or 3 weeks) to heat there house one room at a time in winter it looks like using a heat pump should come in a little under that. Plus it will heat the entire house AND provide cooling in the summer. And if I get really ambitious it probably wouldn’t take too much on site generation to run the system.

say, p is that "foam" you are referring to the same as "eco-blocks"?

http://eco-blocks.com/

I have been thinking of importing and testing these, if I can not find them in the country. Errors in concrete tend to happen at building the forms point (assuming the concrete is done right). So, I am looking for a way to eliminate the workers and the errors with them. I still have not priced these, but if I can subtract the workers, the errors, the materials for the forms, the time setting up the forms, and so on, they could likly be made out of gold and still be affordable. They also have r-40 to r-50 insulation rating. You just leave them in place.

I got interested in it because i seen a house get hit by a tornado on the Discovery channel with 150+ mile an hour winds and survive, and one man was setting them up with like 6 in his hand at one time. I thought to myself, "that is what I need in Chile (or something similar)".

Hey Charles,

Owens-Corning has a similar product of inter locking blocks. Their product is available for different wall thicknesses and I am pretty sure they have a distributor in Santiago (if I remember correctly I saw them at a trade show last winter in Santiago). Not sure if they would have them is stock but they could probably bring them in with less head ache then an individual trying to import them from the US themselves. So that might be an option as well.

For a while I was also looking into these blocks too, but I don't think this house in Region VII is going to need a basement so I really have no reason to insulated the foundation.

Oh yeah, ICFs. There are a number of manufactures that make the ICF forms. Concrete Homes Magazine (http://www.concretehomesmagazine.com/) list a number of different manufactures. Owens-Corning makes them. ICFs is still on my list for building materials. Setting up the forms is rather easy, it is the filling of the forms part that can be fraught with peril.