Thread: Cost of building

Anyone have a accurate range for the cost of construction per meter squared?

Here is a thread that was discussed awhile ago. It has some pretty decent information. There are a few more if you use the search function and a few keywords

Cost to Build (How much it will cost to build a house?)

from $10 a meter or until you run out of money . depends on what you want as far as a house , if you are going to build it yourself or hire a contractor .

It will be a building that will eventually be a bar...We will probably use a contractor...I do have some experience in construction trades but I think I will leave this up to people who know the regulations of the country...Also if you have any knowledge of well drilling costs or installation of sewer system or septic it would also be very useful...Thanks for taking the time to respond

Originally Posted by Digital Rockstar

It will be a building that will eventually be a bar...We will probably use a contractor...I do have some experience in construction trades but I think I will leave this up to people who know the regulations of the country...Also if you have any knowledge of well drilling costs or installation of sewer system or septic it would also be very useful...Thanks for taking the time to respond

well that is funny . ( leaving it up to the people who know the regulations ) most of them in the interior dont know the difference between piss and paint . so if you have even the slightist idea of how something should be built , you are miles ahead of most . level , sguare , water lines that dont leak under the cement floor , light switches that really turn on a light , etc . ,so if you hire a contractor , stand at the job site all day or you will most likely be sorry in the end , friends just had a well drilled at $23 a foot and went down 120 ft , i dont think they have there sewer in yet and on mine i did it myself for under a $ 1000 , two plastic tanks and the field , you need to drill your own pipe as they dont sell sewer pipe as we know it in north america . i layed a chunk of 2 inch angle iron on the 4 inch pipe and drilled a 1/2 hole every 6 inches down both sides of the angle , , then lay this facing down on a gravel bed just like up home

Thanks for sharing information.
It is up to 10per meter and you increase or decrease the cost. If you use the good material is cost is high and if use low material cost is low.

It is funny I knew you would say that Naked... I will oversee anything that I am paying a Panamanian to construct... It is the one consistent suggestion... I can definitely do piping...I was for a few years a heavy equipment operator... My father owned a company and I did underground utilities... I'm fairly certain I can "figure out" how to do some sort of septic install though I never have... I was in heavy civil construction and did installation of full sewer systems... I guess the confusion or uncertainty comes from not knowing what is available or what is suggested... My knowledge is of large scale sewer/water/hydrant systems and grading... Intricate details of a individual buildings, concrete pads, and building construction would be more in the field of carpentry and I do not, in any way, claim to be a carpenter... Standard sewer pipe is SDR 35 but can be substituted for schedule 40 or better if necessary... Are you telling me that there is no PVC/CPVC?... Have you had any concrete poured or any idea what the costs would be?

Originally Posted by Digital Rockstar

It is funny I knew you would say that Naked... I will oversee anything that I am paying a Panamanian to construct... It is the one consistent suggestion... I can definitely do piping...I was for a few years a heavy equipment operator... My father owned a company and I did underground utilities... I'm fairly certain I can "figure out" how to do some sort of septic install though I never have... I was in heavy civil construction and did installation of full sewer systems... I guess the confusion or uncertainty comes from not knowing what is available or what is suggested... My knowledge is of large scale sewer/water/hydrant systems and grading... Intricate details of a individual buildings, concrete pads, and building construction would be more in the field of carpentry and I do not, in any way, claim to be a carpenter... Standard sewer pipe is SDR 35 but can be substituted for schedule 40 or better if necessary... Are you telling me that there is no PVC/CPVC?... Have you had any concrete poured or any idea what the costs would be?

there is tons of PVC and CPVC , just not that weeping pipe for the field , down here they run theres into a tank that only has 1 compartment and then into a pipe out to a hole in the ground full of rocks , thus the signs in bathrooms not to flush the paper , they dont do the 2 compartment tanks so that no solids go down the field pipes . so i took 2 of there plastic sewer tanks and hooked them together , a friend made a block tank that was devided into 2 like up north . , and not knowing everything is ok as you own a computer and can google search just about anything you need to know , like someone else posted after he gave his contractor a chaukline , they filled it with water , thats what you are working with here for the most part . if you build with blocks it just like LEGO , myself i used shipping containers , a friend just did steel frame and Densglass , like drywall except a fibreglass coating on each side , just forget wood frame here , to many termites

A few plumbing related things I noticed (although other areas may be different).

1) Couldn't find pipe dope anywhere - only tape
2) Couldn't find PEX tubing - only PVC (which can crack, especially when a cow steps on it)
3) Nobody uses primer on the PVC - just the glue/cement
4) I don't think they pressure test
5) Power failures are so common that a tank on a hill is popular. But I'm not sure that a generator for the pump isn't better.
6) The water is so warm that the tankless heaters have to be set to minimum and even then, a low flow shower head may be too hot and cycle.

Not plumbing related - concrete is mixed with way too much water. This makes it weak and causes cracking. Little concern is paid to keeping it moist for a complete cure. Little concern for air tight construction - which is very important if you are going to run any AC.

Originally Posted by jonr

A few plumbing related things I noticed (although other areas may be different).

1) Couldn't find pipe dope anywhere - only tape
2) Couldn't find PEX tubing - only PVC (which can crack, especially when a cow steps on it)
3) Nobody uses primer on the PVC - just the glue/cement
4) I don't think they pressure test
5) Power failures are so common that a tank on a hill is popular. But I'm not sure that a generator for the pump isn't better.
6) The water is so warm that the tankless heaters have to be set to minimum and even then, a low flow shower head may be too hot and cycle.

Not plumbing related - concrete is mixed with way too much water. This makes it weak and causes cracking. Little concern is paid to keeping it moist for a complete cure. Little concern for air tight construction - which is very important if you are going to run any AC.

thanks for the info on the tankless heater , i have been fighting mine since i moved into my new house a few months ago , i can get a total hot shower no prolbem but at the kitchen sink i have to go turn the burner off and then on again just after my pump starts , so there also must be something about the amount of pressure in the unit

You might want to work at a home for retarded children for 3-4 months before so you have an idea of what to expect.

Otherwise the cost per square meter might be $190 + your sanity.

I just had a guy spend 3 days fixing two water leaks in my building with two workers. After this work (and he is an expert in leaks) I believe we would be better off removing the entire roof since the inside would dry faster after some rain.

No warranties would be honored, but rather they would play a cat and mouse game, delay meetings, not picking up phone, finding an angle for blaming someone else, including you.

Deep down every single Panamanian, who does not have to face you continuously, is an extremely dishonest and corrupt person. They play the game above and then they claim you offended them so now they don't have to fix their shoddy work due to that. I would bet 70-80 % of the population here would rather see you lose $4,000 in rental income and be truly happy when you died in a car crash if it saved them a 40 dollar warranty.

You don't necessarily need to prime PVC... Schedule 40 in the US is not always primed either and it is standard water pipe...Unless you are using higher pressure pipe like schedule 80 then it is neither primed nor pressure tested...It should be bed halfway up the pipe with gravel if possible and make sure to chink dirt under using a shovel...Also I have walked excavators over PVC with one foot of cover (compacted) and mini excavators over 6 inches of cover...I have also put a shovel though schedule 40 and SDR 35 so you are right it is fragile but I assure you with a foot of cover there is nothing that will be on your property that is going to break it other than something being used to penetrate the soil...But fear not...I'm not saying that to stick up for Panamanian "workers" I just thought maybe it would set your mind at ease...I'm taking your comments seriously Ed and wonder what you would suggest a person do who would like to build a building to be used commercially that doesn't have the knowledge to do so?

Also I would bed every PVC pipe in gravel after considering the moisture content of soil in the rainy season

Originally Posted by Digital Rockstar

Also I would bed every PVC pipe in gravel after considering the moisture content of soil in the rainy season

well for sewer it has to be in gravel , and elsewhere it is under the cement floor of the house or building , that why you would want to prime and glue yourself . save you hammering up the floor looking for the prolbem

So the cost is $10 a square meter or about $107 a square foot for new construction...

Now Is that if you hire a builder or contractor or you are your own contractor, since the cost can be 20% to 40% difference depending on which way you go....

Just would like that cleared up... Thank...

Originally Posted by BEL-AIR

So the cost is $10 a square meter or about $107 a square foot for new construction...

Now Is that if you hire a builder or contractor or you are your own contractor, since the cost can be 20% to 40% difference depending on which way you go....

Just would like that cleared up... Thank...

I'm no genius, but you may want to re-check your math:
1 sq meter = 10.76 sq ft
$10/sq meter = $.92/sq ft

This does not seem right, since your figure mean it is less than a dollar per foot to build....

So to build 1000sq foot house without lot would be $920

closer would be about $100,000 at builders cost... Maybe $130,000 retail...

Perhaps it is less per foot I don't know, I do know a guy just built a house in Mexico himself and it cost him $100 per foot, so I thought Panama with similar wages would be about the same...

Panama about 6 years back was like $55 at cost per foot for builders, but with all the inflation around the world I thought it would be like at least $75 to $80 a foot by now.

Thank for your input, unless of course the $10 per square meter is also wrong...

In Canada retail prices for an average new home is $250 per foot, plus cost of the lot which runs at least another $150,000 so 2,000 foot house with lot about $600,000, in usa lets say maybe $140,000 to $199,000 depending on state of course for a 5 year old used home...

Who has built a new home lately in Panama on there own that can comment here on wholesale and also retail prices...

Thank...

I'm absolutely certain $10/sq meter is WAY too low!

Last year I received feedback the costs were from $65 - $85 per sq ft for a newly constructed home. Multiply that by 10.76 to get the cost per sq meter.

Originally Posted by TennVol

I'm no genius, but you may want to re-check your math:
1 sq meter = 10.76 sq ft
$10/sq meter = $.92/sq ft

You're right! LOL

$10/sq meter = $107.639/sq foot.

http://www.metric-conversions.org/ar...quare-feet.htm

Originally Posted by TennVol

I'm no genius, but you may want to re-check your math:
1 sq meter = 10.76 sq ft
$10/sq meter = $.92/sq ft

You're right! LOL

$10/sq meter = $107.639/sq foot.

Square Meters to Square Feet converter

Originally Posted by TennVol

I'm absolutely certain $10/sq meter is WAY too low!

Last year I received feedback the costs were from $65 - $85 per sq ft for a newly constructed home. Multiply that by 10.76 to get the cost per sq meter.

it was me that started the $10 a sq mt , someone asked how much to build a house , with no detailes on what they wanted , you know like asking , how long is a string ? , well if he was building himself with that mud/straw mix over a bamboo frame like the locals , then that should start at $10 a mt . if you want top of the line everything , then the cost goes to the moon ,

I talk to a few people while I was in Panama and also on the forum who actually built there own homes, anyone done that lately and built a home for themselves in the last while with or without the use of a contractor.

Who want to know the details and mostly about the prices

Nakedguy has been constructing his own place and the job is being done correctly. For those of us with construction experience it makes sense to build our own place hiring local labor. You can contain the cost of construction and build it exactly how you want it. I have been considering a dairy farm operation given Panamas lack of milk production and poor quality. I would definately build everything myself to ensure quality control.

Seems Panamas reputation for building quality is not very good with lots of unhappy people buying from Panamanian builders...

Just what I often hear....

I hired alot of Colombian workers here in Canada, and they seem to be good in business, now it is only three different companies I dealt with but seemed better than even the local Canadian workers. I wonder if it is possible to hire mostly Colombian workers from Colombian owners in Panama as they seem to be better to deal with, what are others thinking of this, and would there be enough to hire to build a house in Panama?

Be interesting what others think of this.

Don't sell the Venezuelans short they have a decent work ethic and take pride in their trade based on my dealings with them. It is just sad that people have to go out of their way to avoid doing business with a Panamanian.

I have never dealt with Venezuelans before, but will if I get the opportunity in the future.

Fleeted if I built a house in Panama would it be possible to hire non Panamanian workers and companies to do the work if I looked around hard?

Thank you.

It's Panama so anything is possible. I think building it yourself using local manuel labor is plausable. You provide the brains and they provide the brawn.

Obly iff they show up sobr.

Originally Posted by fleeted

I hink building it yourself using local manuel labor is plausable.

Pingun you make a very valid point. I think using my connections in Medellin it would be more cost effective to bring the site boss and some workers from Colombia. Bring them in on a tourist visa and get the project built faster. Export them when the project is complete.

That is a good idea Fleeted, I never thought of that one before. Be great to go to Medellin again, then bring back the workers.