Chile Forum

Relatively...I'd say if that kind of mark-up holds true, I'm being gouged without a dinner and a kiss.

Vicki

I think that the labor quote of 800,000 CLP, in addition to the contractors list of "unexpected" expenses, double billing for transportation of materials from Puerto Montt to El Azul and El Azul again totalling 130,000 is clouding my ability to see without seeing red. The entire quote is nearly double the quote we received the week before the volcano blew.

What is a "Single Phase Light Meter? Anyone know? And does it costt 14,000 pesos? Now it might sound like I'm nit picking, but with a total cost of almost 1,800,000 pesos for the job, I'm a bit skeptical at this point.

Vicki

Actually, I've decided I'm INSULTED. I may eat those words later, but for right now, the kindest thing I can say is that I'm insulted. Double the original quote is a little hard to swallow, so...now...I will just figure out how to right the situation. If I can get a quote from Sodimac, or Easy, order the materials, ship them down, and hire someone else, maybe it will send a message that we're not the ignorant gringos that they think we are. I realize I'm working myself up to a frenzy, but I've lived in some seriously corrupt places, and the last place I thought I'd be scalped was this place. I'm insulted.

Someone calm me down!

Vicki

You should be insulted... sounds like the guys is ripping you off. Big time.

Answering your question, a "Single Phase Light Meter" just measures how much power you are using. The power that comes in to your house in Chile is single phase 240 volt. In North America we have 240 volt as well but it is 2 phase and is split at your breaker box into 2 lines of 120 volts for domestic use. But in essences it is the same power meter that you would have back in Canada or the US.

One thing I never understood about Chile is why they continue to put the power lines on posts in most places. I am pretty sure it is cheaper and I know it looks way better to put them underground. Dig a 6’ deep trench, run some PVC pipe along the bottom, pass your cable through and cover it up. Looks way nicer, and the length of PVC would most likely be equivalent in price to what you would spend on power poles. Just another idea… I am fairly convinced we are going to do it this way as long as there isn’t too much red tape… which may be the reason it doesn’t get done to start with. Or maybe you live on a granite mountain and less digging is better. But I would think that as long as your property wasn’t solid rock it would be something to look into.

Jason Roesler

Yea, they do the underground thing. The question is if they will do it correctly.

If they can't dig a hole, and properly use contact cement there are more serious problems in the Chilean building industry then I thought possible.

Jason Roesler

It is more along the lines of just dropping any old sort of wire in a hole. You are thinking way too advance.

Yes, in the big builders do the proper underground conduits. Our new house had very nice conduits running under the street for the phone, electric, and cable companies, with guide wires in them.

You need to understand though in Vicki's case we are talking about an area that takes around 2-3 days to reach under the best conditions. We are not talking downtown Temuco or Santiago here, and the even bigger problem is that the next guy to do it is at least a day or two away.

Vicki
Calm Down! No one can do anything until the Olympics are over!
Heli

See Hel???? All I needed was someone to give me a little "grounding"! And now I know what a light meter is. Whew!

Vicki

p.s. in the meantime, I will request my materials list in Spanish, and do a little online comparison shopping.

Can you rent a pickup truck for a day? Go and buy the materials yourself. We typically run a 15% markup across the board on labour and mats, subs too. Most of the competition runs 20% hence our popularity. sounds like your electrical sub is from Newport Beach...

yea, they can not exactly drive to the hardware store (well not a cheap one anyway). That would mean at least a 2-3 day trip through Argentina and back in to Osorno. Futa is more isolated than it looks on the map.

I am considering buying the materials and shipping them to Futa, if I can get a full quote for materials and shipping from a supplier. Then I hope to find a licensed electrician to give me a quote to come to Futa to do the job. I would put him up and feed him on top of his labor. I have two workers and a team of oxen to do the heavy work. If anyone knows of a licenced contractor that would be interested, I could work from there.

Vicki