Chile Forum

There could be some work available serving the coastal boatyards.

It never ceases to amaze me that governments in countries like Chile who desperately want to come up to speed do not allow capital equipment into their country duty free. Even if it is being sold for profit it would allow small start up manufacturing firms to flourish and eventually be competitive with the large wealthy established compa......, Oh, ok, now I think I'm starting to understand.

i can second all of the comments about chilean maestros showing up for work without the proper tools....i brought a better set with me on the plane than they have in their homes, and they are the supposed "professionals". i think i have caught on fairly quickly to chilean construction methods and materials. they ARE adequate, IF the work is performed conscientiously. but when you combine substandard materials with poorly equipped workers and a lack of concern over producing a quality product...you get the crappy housing we have discussed many times here.

for the most part, i am working within the system as it is...using the materials that are fairly easily available here, which compels me to use some of the same methods. i'm not making a big effort to build a gringo style home in south america. i'm happy with a well-built chilean style home, although i tend to use larger dimension lumber than what is typical here....and larger dimension lumber allows me to do other things like run wires and pipes inside the walls. i'm also watching as new materials become available....things like gypsum wallboard, joint compound, vinyl windows, certain tools (like a chop box).

i understand that part of the problem is the general economy and the fact that many maestros can't afford all the tools they might like to have, but there is a reasonable middle ground between the guy who walks to the job site with a hammer and a pair of pliers and the guy who drives a truck filled with tools. the best maestro i have worked with here had a station wagon and a decent set of basic tools. more importantly, he took pride in his work and he was honest and punctual. i had no problem sharing my tools with him and buying whatever we needed to get the job done right and get it done on time....but that mentality is rare.

i worked on a house in santiago last year and the maestro lived a block away. now i am 6 hours out of santiago with only two neighbors within shouting distance, both very poor chilean families. i am dismantling, re-using and recycling as much as possible, and i generally resist the idea of paying someone to do work that i can do myself...which makes the work slower but it also gives me direct control of the job and the final result.

Cali

Perhaps the being conscientious and having an adequate number of tools goes hand in glove and we can determine the abilities of a maestro by examining his tool kit prior to hiring him. I have built most of the houses I have lived in here in the US and will probably do the same if we decide to stay in Chile. I am currently studying up on strawbale construction which looks very promising, especially for the northern regions.

[[[[.......i generally resist the idea of paying someone to do work that i can do myself.....]]]]

Even in the USA, we do our own work. Unless you know the workman well, there is sadly often no savings in time or money to hire work done, since it often has to be re-done. Or else, if the workman thinks you don't know what is involved, they will seriously overcharge. Even the good workmen seem to go bad after awhile.

We just finished a job. 1 day of our own labor labor, about $48 in materials, and $240 for labor to my usual roofer. Three bids form contractors ranged from $21,000 to $25,000. But then, I am an old gray-haired lady, and how would I ever know that they are trying to overcharge me? I get the same treatment from garages for car repairs. They think I don't know what is involved, so they try to rip me off.

oregon woodsmoke wrote:...We just finished a job. 1 day of our own labor labor, about $48 in materials, and $240 for labor to my usual roofer. Three bids form contractors ranged from $21,000 to $25,000...

Wow. I take it, that it was a roofing job of sorts.

helitool wrote:...For the CNC plasma table I can bring all the high tech stuff down in a suitcase (weighs less than 30 lbs) and then buy the steel tubing there to make the table itself. Total cost less than $1000 for a 12' x 5' table that will cut any shape you can draw in autocad...

I am curious about the details on what high tech stuff you brought to make your CNC plasma table in Thailand.

xxx

[[[[.....I take it, that it was a roofing job of sorts....]]]

Tree down, through the roof.

We removed ceiling, wall paneling, insulation, and inspected rafters and top plate for possible damage. Replaced the materials that we removed. Two torch down patches were placed on the holes in the roof (plus a square of new roof deck). Hammered out a dent in the metal porch roof. Also replaced 4 light fixtures. None of them had been damaged, but I wanted new ones, and I had the workers there.

It would have cost another $20 for paint and another hour of labor to cover the new drywall in the ceiling, but I hate to paint and I thought it was a good excuse to call my painter in and have him do the entire interior, top to bottom. That's going to cost me another $950.

While everybody was there, we inspected everything and repaired any little thing that needed some help, and that labor and material was included in the costs I already gave. New GFI, patch a hole in the drywall in the closet, replace a broken wall socket, reinforce a section of the cedar deck... none of which had anything to do with the tree coming down and wasn't included in the $25,000 bid.

el p,

Thanks, very interesting.

This is pure speculation on my part, but many Native American religions are animist in nature. When the Europeans came through and destroyed entire cultures and religions, perhaps they left the feeling of animism with nothing that the people were allowed to attach it to (without getting themselves burned at the stake). So it got attached to inorganic objects of everyday life.

I see something similar in the USA concerning old cars. Cars seem to develop personalities after they reach a certain age, and you will often find that they have earned a name and the owner makes concessions to their individual quirks.

If an old car can have an off day, why not an old hammer? Believe me, my computer sometimes has days when it is feeling particularly defient, or simply doesn't feel like getting any work done. I often confess that the computer alpha in my home office isn't me.

El P, what a great post-you capture the flavor and culture well. Three years ago, i may not have understood it but i do now

mlightheart wrote:

helitool wrote:...For the CNC plasma table I can bring all the high tech stuff down in a suitcase (weighs less than 30 lbs) and then buy the steel tubing there to make the table itself. Total cost less than $1000 for a 12' x 5' table that will cut any shape you can draw in autocad...

I am curious about the details on what high tech stuff you brought to make your CNC plasma table in Thailand.

For one machine: 2 ea. 400 oz. inch stepper motors, 2 ea. stepper driver modules, 2 ea. power supplies, one torch head lifter motor, 8 gantry trucks plus various timer belts and their pulleys. I doubt that anyone on this forum is interested in the details and I do not know your level of expertise as far as CNC nomenclature is concerned. The software to run it all is available for free off the internet. If you want to build a machine PM me and I will try to get you lined out on sources and details.