Calling experts on Colombian building

JMCana says on May 28, 2007, 14:19:

Rubito better ask Rubito you might want to ask how high they are putting the switches in your apartment. You could mess up your back just turning on the light.

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Atrevido says on May 28, 2007, 17:03:

Jm I believe you are absolutely correct but are you sure you want to open up the pandora´s box of horrendous Colombian building practices? Macheteros all! (or on the coast chapuceros).

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vicshere says on May 28, 2007, 19:45:

actually tinto ceiling fixtuers are out wall sconces are the in thing...but i still prefer ceiling fixtuers..call me old fashion

listo

listo

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webmanco says on May 29, 2007, 05:54:

leave it ousite the room





On most new construction apartments there are "apartamentos modelos" which ara a replica of what you would be paying for. On a few exceptions you could do a few changes while your apartment is being built.

Like not having the switches so low, or when there is a bathroom for the maids room you could ask them to leave it ousite the room, adding electrical outlets, changing the floors etc.

...A yo, déjenme queto y no me jodan má! ...

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JMCana says on May 29, 2007, 06:55:

one light per room Tinto - yes, this place had only one light fixture per room and only one wall plug.
Ceiling heights also bother me here. In many of the apartments I can reach up and touch the ceiling, sometimes with the palm of my hand. Frequently explaining to someone that ceilings in the USA are at least 240 CM, they respond with, "Why waste that much room?" Or "the room will be too cold."

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JMCana says on May 29, 2007, 06:59:

6 foot level And as long as you guys are talking about lights, all the lights in my house were originally in the center of the wall (bare bulb in fake porcelain socket) at the 6 foot level, right where you would hang a picture. When I inquired why so low, the 5 foot 2 inch guy who had originally re-modeled the house said, "It was as far as I could comfortably reach."

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JMCana says on May 29, 2007, 08:16:

Seems to be working for the Japanese. Miss Japan was named Miss Universe. I do not think Colombia has had a Miss Universe since 1959. But I am not sure about that. This time she did not finish in the top 15 but Miss Venezuela was, hmm what 3rd I think and Miss Brazil was up there too. Sorry I am not a beauty pageant expert.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

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medefockinllin says on May 29, 2007, 08:39:

You don't seem to make sense??? Surely, lower light switches mean more cable used (lights in the ceiling)??????

1500 meters of cable works out at about USD$300 ...so I think your argument doesn't stand my friend.

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vicshere says on May 29, 2007, 10:00:

actually you wouldn't believe where they cut corners in construction in Colombia sometimes it is just plain scary...did you hear about the 52 story building in Cartegena they are going to have to take down and rebuild cause it sways too much because of the coastal winds...what a joke

listo

listo

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Tinto (Moderator) says on May 29, 2007, 10:02:

No way! If ColombianoX was still around that would break his heart. He was very proud of that building - tallest in Colombia and maybe the tallest in Latin America.

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cayita says on May 29, 2007, 10:11:

haha well I am no expert but could it have something to do with the way they pour the floors in those buildings. The walls are made of block which is easier to cut for a wire but the floors and cielings are solid concrete?

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JMCana says on May 29, 2007, 10:36:

I see your thought process medefockinllin Yes, I see your thought process medefockinllin and it makes sense, but when I took the switch box apart, the wires went down instead of up. But if indeed they were trying to use less wire that would explain why Tinto found wall fixtures instead of ceiling fixtures.

Well you have me thinking, now I need to go back to that apartment and really take a look and see how the wires get to the light fixtures from the switches.

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Robert Jorge says on May 29, 2007, 21:36:

Our apartment in Villavo had one outlet per room. The master bedroom had two, but one was damaged and unusable / disconnected? That was my biggest complaint about the place. The ceilings were low also. I guess 7.5 feet. I could touch them with my fingers, flat footed, and I am 5'11".

Actually, I couldn't get used to the bathroom either. The floor was slightly sloped AWAY from the drain in the shower, so we either had to squeegy it out after each shower, or there was a pond of shower water. Like 2 inches. Estrato 4. Not trying to turn this into a bitch session, but just a couple of observations: Never saw a screen over a window. Is there such a thing as a screened window in Colombia? I chased everything from a wild cat to a 3 foot long iguana out of our apartment. Last thing: why no shower heads? My apartment didn't have a shower head, my wife's family's houses had no shower heads, the hotels I stayed at in Villavo had no shower heads, etc. Just a bent pipe coming out of the tile with no threads even for a shower head. The end of the pipe was rounded off with a lip, so maybe there was a shower head originally installed, but once broken off, never could be replaced without major structural / plumbing work.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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adrimm says on May 29, 2007, 22:44:

Screens Come to think of it i'm not sure I've seen them.. but I have seen those gauzy circle nets suspended over beds (very romantic-looking). Most windows in older buildings are those slat-glass anyhow that catch the breeze but wouldn't let screens work. The bugs aren't too bad in cities tho.

imho I'd agree that overhead fixtures are out, sconces, task lighting, floor lamps and *maybe* tiny halogen potlights are it.

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poco says on May 29, 2007, 23:32:

A switch No, I must be wrong - no contractor would be that cheap. So, it is really so kids can reach the switches?

I seriously doubt it. Almost every Colombian house I've seen has the switches HIGHER than normal so the kids don't mess with the light. However, the switches are nailed to the cement wall on a board. Not exactly your class installation. Still, that's what they want.

Doorbells the same. They are all higher than kids can reach.

The building codes in my rural town are non-existent. One receptacle per room,, Ha,, thats more than a lot of the cheaper houses.

I'd NEVER buy a Colombian property. NEVER, ever. Even with specs you don't know how many bags of cement or rebar "disappears". What you can get is weak concrete or concrete with a "lot of aggregate". You've got to watch it being built everyday.

One receptacle per room. That's a joke,, but common. I think most homes in the U.S. have one receptacle per wall and if the wall is a certain length then two are necessary. Plus, kitchens get special treatment.

This is a Colombian light switch with a key holder.


When I build it, it is built right.

This kitchen I had built has three receptacles above the countertop. Two additional receptacles were added in the living room making a total of 4.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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Robert Jorge says on May 30, 2007, 00:24:

You da man Poco. One thing I remembered growing up, was a lack of recepts in my parent's house. So when I built my house 4 years ago, I over-did it. Not really, but I have an outlet within 6 feet of any place you are at in my house. I just counted 54 and I have a 2000 sq. ft. house, 3 beds, 2.5 baths. I went from that, to having 7 recepts in a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment (in Villavo).

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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cayita says on May 30, 2007, 05:33:

I am laughing at this the switches are lower for the kids. That is classic Colombian salesmanship. Putting lipstick on a pig.....

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mecca says on Jun 2, 2007, 19:12:

jajaja cayita, that's funny. Poco, that's a good looking kitchen.

Who knows why they do things like this. We had the same switches low and ripped all of that out. It's nuts. Yes, the single bulb in the center of a large bedroom, what's with that.

If you're getting to a new apto. or house in colombia, you HAVE to have someone that knows construction advise on the wiring. Not the colombian builder, you need a north american view on that if your'e going to be happy. You'll want probably 3 times more switches controlling 3 times more fixtures at a bare minimum. You have to do that stuff up front as you channel out the walls and ceiling for all your wires. Make sure you do this with alot of thought, ALOT. The cost is not that great when doing it from new as an extra. And it makes the home far, far more attractive for resale.

I agree on the style of mixing ceiling lamps with sconces and hanging depending on height.

As far as construction. Apto. building floors are typically 15 cm thick then there is a space about another 15-20 cm where drains and plubming is located then the ceiling of the floor below which is another 15 cm. The walls are brick (actually non supporting) the columns which are concrete with re-bar are what holds up the ceiling and separates the floors. The floors and ceiling are also concrete with re-bar, there is the obvious plaster on the walls and ceilings that affords up to about 3 cm so you can channel in all your electric wires and some shallow fixtures. Above that you get into concrete.

We've got 2.7 meter ceilings, i've seen higher and lower, it's strange for sure.

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Terry2 says on Jun 2, 2007, 19:52:

Torre La Escollera Would be nice if I knew how to delete a post...

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Terry2 says on Jun 2, 2007, 19:55:

Torre La Escollera Took a couple of pictures of that 'tallest' building on my last two trips and being a steel construction supt, I was rather amazed at the lack of bracing, vertical or horizontal... or even pan. I never once saw any activity that could be construed as providing moment connections. I'm not an engineer but I had to wonder.... I hope all the Colombian buildings are not designed in a similar fashion.

I would like to eventually purchase an apartment in or near Cartagena and hope I can depend on a reasonable building code!



Terry2

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mecca says on Jun 2, 2007, 19:58:

Terry its' that the taller buildings. Are all cable tensioned floors. The vertical supports are up and bolted or rivited from floor to floor and then the high tension cables are strung for the floors. In buildings like that the floors are only a total of about 3-4 inches thick of concrete and it's not the concrete holding things up, it's the cables. The concrete would weigh too much. So essentially, it's a structure of cables and I or H beam support with glass on the walls and thin concrete floors. Amazing for sure. And if you look at the torre de cali, they brought in the (swiss???) company which set it up with rollers below and fluid mobile counterweights. To strongly dampen the sway from wind and of course earth quakes.

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Terry2 says on Jun 2, 2007, 20:02:

Ah.... Thanks for the info mecca...for some reason I thought that cable stays were embedded into the concrete floors and tensioned afterwards.

Only experienced one cable tensioning incident in Vancouver BC Canada where the cable ripped up the concrete and shut down power for an entire block of office buildings.

Thanks again
Terry2

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