Chile Forum

Yea, same goes for the new fangled spray on foam. Which from my research indicates it has questionable insulation properties (at least for the cost). On the other hand, any R value is an improvement over many houses in Chile.

Charles is the use of pnuematic nailers common in Chile? I was thinking of bringing mine when I start the cabin but then getting the right nails for it might be a problem, might be better to pick one up there with availability being the key. I'll have plenty of room in the container. Yeh I know about the duty too but since I have it....
Thanks

copfish wrote:Charles is the use of pnuematic nailers common in Chile? I was thinking of bringing mine when I start the cabin but then getting the right nails for it might be a problem, might be better to pick one up there with availability being the key. I'll have plenty of room in the container. Yeh I know about the duty too but since I have it....
Thanks

Sure, bring it down but be sure to bring plenty of nails and hoses. The fittings suck, the hoses are expensive and the nails non existent, (esp #8 galv ringshanks).
the 16d nails we use in the US are a little anaemic for full 2 X 4 "en bruto" but for the usual planed 3 X 2 const will be ample.
DO NOT bring a Paslode nailer down, getting the cartridges is out of the question, in fact, if you're bringing a container down I'll pay you to throw in a few gas cartridges for a finisher and a framer!

Since I mentioned Budnik in Viña del Mar, let me add that they're now on our shit list for failing to inform us on how to install a specific type of tiles in one of our bathrooms, then laying the blame about the subsequent water leaks at our feet and refusing to compensate for our loss (easily 100.000 pesos in wasted maestro time) us in any way.

Before and during the sale we received ZERO information from the staff, there was NO information on the packaging or otherwise coming with the product, and NO information on the product as showcased in the store (which is *not* set up the way they're now claiming it should be installed), NOTHING gave us specific installation instructions to guarantee that these tiles won't leak (which ends up being totally non-intuitive and makes them a pretty stupid product really, at least for a shower). In other words they refuse to be accountable for their own failure to properly inform their customers, and they don't show the product in the way it's supposed to be used.

We've spent more than a million pesos with them and they know we have a lot more in the works. Frigging idiots that have no idea how to run a business. Moral of the story, friends do not let friends buy from Budnik, you've been warned!

cerámicas Budnik en Viña del Mar = ladrones!

If anyone from Budnik is reading this, I can guarantee you I'm going to make you lose way more money than if your staff knew how to do their job professionally.

xxx

otravers wrote:Since I mentioned Budnik in Viña del Mar, let me add that they're now on our shit list for failing to inform us on how to install a specific type of tiles in one of our bathrooms, then laying the blame about the subsequent water leaks at our feet and refusing to compensate for our loss (easily 100.000 pesos in wasted maestro time) us in any way.

Before and during the sale we received ZERO information from the staff, there was NO information on the packaging or otherwise coming with the product, and NO information on the product as showcased in the store (which is *not* set up the way they're now claiming it should be installed), NOTHING gave us specific installation instructions to guarantee that these tiles won't leak (which ends up being totally non-intuitive and makes them a pretty stupid product really, at least for a shower). In other words they refuse to be accountable for their own failure to properly inform their customers, and they don't show the product in the way it's supposed to be used.

We've spent more than a million pesos with them and they know we have a lot more in the works. Frigging idiots that have no idea how to run a business. Moral of the story, friends do not let friends buy from Budnik, you've been warned!

cerámicas Budnik en Viña del Mar = ladrones!

If anyone from Budnik is reading this, I can guarantee you I'm going to make you lose way more money than if your staff knew how to do their job professionally.

In a bathroom scenario one uses felt to waterproof the walls, floors etc before installing tile "backer board" (or Internit here) but in a shower, a hot mopped pan is installed prior to floating the shower floor. If this is what Budnik are describing now, they are right. Tile has joints, joints are porous despite sealer.

El P, welcome back, How's that prarie style house coming?
You were expecting the tile to be waterproof? With the exception of a few types of swimming pool tile, none are.

I wasn't expecting the lines *within* the mosaic tiles to be so leaky, no, because that defeats the purpose of buying "mosaic tiles" in the first place (not sure how to call this - it looks like mosaic but it's really one larger tile). If I wanted the maestros to have to seal every space between the fake mosaic pieces with frague, I might as well have bought real mosaic. You put a piece of that tile under a dripping tap for 10 minutes and you can see at its back how it's "drinking/mopping" water. This is not happening with regular tiles. Forget about waterproof, the stand-alone product is not even water repellent.

I question that this product should be sold in water rooms at all, but at the very least it's totally irresponsible to sell such a product for bathrooms without showcasing it as it's really supposed to be installed, nor informing customers. As per Chilean law it's their duty to inform us during the sale. Since they failed to do so, next step is Sernac. Even if Budnik were now technically right, it's a moot point because that information was provided to us way after the sale. The fact of the matter is this: if Budnik had properly informed us per their legal obligation, we would simply have bought another product that can be installed faster (i.e. larger tiles that don't try to look like mosaic). We try not to borrow gratuitous trouble and like to KISS.

Bottom line, even if, as Joe Consumer, I have misplaced expectations about a product (expectations in large part shaped by how the store itself showcases the product), the onus is on the seller to proactively dispel these expectations. It's the law in Chile as in many other countries.

By the way we have not tiled the shower floor, this is not the issue at all - we're talking about the walls. We're drifting off topic anyway.

In any case, you live and learn, the damage could have been much worse and we're dealing with it (it's mostly a waste of time), but we're not going to let these guys off the hook so easily.

El P, you're right, we would do what you're describing for a more technical product - in this case we never thought such simple things could go wrong! That said, stores here will hard-sell you into using their overpriced (outsourced) "technicians" which are just the same maestro you have, with a 100% markup on top. They're not informing you on purpose to make the product look scary and dangerous, especially when they sell to women. That's bullshit. We'll see what Sernac has to say about it.

I wasn't expecting the lines *within* the mosaic tiles to be so leaky, no, because that defeats the purpose of buying "mosaic tiles" in the first place (not sure how to call this - it looks like mosaic but it's really one larger tile). If I wanted the maestros to have to seal every space between the fake mosaic pieces with frague, I might as well have bought real mosaic. You put a piece of that tile under a dripping tap for 10 minutes and you can see at its back how it's "drinking/mopping" water. This is not happening with regular tiles. Forget about waterproof, the stand-alone product is not even water repellent.

Sounds like a regular tile, "kerfed" with a diamond blade, if you haven't taken them down yet, use a silicon grout sealer on the fake joints and try your dripping tap test again. Good luck anyway.

Hello, Speaking of construction does anyone have a contact builder/contractor/carpenter in Villarica/Pucon that speaks English? I need a roof inspected and quote for work given. Schindler group is too busy for some time to come. Thanks mucho

xxx

xxx

I agree with what you're saying, I guess the lesson is that the threshold for "you need to get really involved and micro-manage every decision" is really low or else. This of course costs you time. And we've come to realize, just as you're saying, that there's a bunch of things that end up actually being available here, but it's a treasure hunt. We have two maestros that stuck around since last year with whom we have a good ongoing work relationship, we're training them to meet our expectations ("yes, you need to paint even in the corners and clean up the spill-overs") and apply techniques they're not familiar with. They like to do more than the hack jobs the average Chilean boss forces them to do ("cut corners because I'm not paying a luca more"). Aside from that problem in one bathroom, we're pretty happy overall and moving on with rolling improvements.

To go back to the original topic, there's more to "cost" and "availability" than the sticker price and what's for sale in the big stores. There's life beyond Sodimac, but you'd better do your own homework on materials and their use beyond what people will tell you, especially sales staff.