Hello readers,

Its been a while, and for that I apologize. The reason for my absence is two fold. first, and less interesting, I was submerged at the office in a series of 14 hour days that lasted 2 weeks.

Second, and this one is germane to the building project, I was trying to confirm that I indeed owned my property. Yes, you read that correctly.

One of the reasons that I was able to buy the land cheaply in Costa Rica, is that I was not facing, at that time, a lot of competition driving the market up. The Guanacaste peninsula was not easily accessible, for example, the river bridge at Tempesquie [SP] was not yet build and Liberia was a much smaller airport, and therefore the land was unknown. Another reason for there being not much competition for land in Nosara at that time, was that it is daunting to buy land in a foreign country, in a foreign language. There is much uncertainty, and uncertainty creates risk, and risk, in turn, depresses prices.

I bought the land from a local who sold real estate. He was representing the owner. I never spoke to, or heard from, the owner. I, on the agents advice, used a real estate agent in Nicoya, who treated me well, and spoke English. But the fact of the matter is that I knew nothing about land deals in Costa Rica. I knew nothing about deeds and titles, and land records. I was fortunate, perhaps, that everyone in the deal was honest and everything was recorded properly, for I could not have been much more naive when it came to the transaction. You hear, on occasion, horror stories of people buying land that was not for sale, or buying land that could not be sold, or developed. This is not always costa rica, of course. This happens here in the United States. But frankly, I felt very exposed, standing in the law offices of Ceasar Jiminez in board shorts and flip flops with naught but a year of college spanish and faith.

I checked the Rigistro Nacional on line, and learned that my land was registered to a USEKARA SA. An SA is an anonymous society. Like a corporation in the US. It was possible that I was USEKARA, but since I had never heard this word before, it only made sense in the attorney had selected it for me.

I began to worry that the land was registered to someone else.

Fortunately, Guillermo, in his recent trip to CR, called Sr. Jimenez on my bahlf and the matter was quickly resolved. My name is on the local title, which is the one that counts, and only the national registry has not updated their records. It was a very welcome e-mail to receive. And thanks to Guillermo for doing what I would have had a very hard time doing without speaking Spanish.

With that, on to Plan B.
Guillermo recommended Marine Plywood for the paneling of the ceiling of the horizontal volume. I quickly had to look up what it was. Now it looks like clear wood panels, you can check on line for yourself, but Wikipedia, what would I do without thee, informed me that:

"In construction, marine plywood is a specially treated plywood that is designed to resist rotting in a high-moisture environment. Marine plywood is frequently used in the construction of docks and boats.


Advantages of marine plywood
Durability - small scratches through painted plywood may expose the interior to water. Inexpensive plywood may not last long when it is damp
Strength - marine plywood is stronger and has consistent mechanical properties: no voids.
Workability - marine plywood is usually easier than fiberglass to cut and bend
Resistance to Warping - marine plywood (with the exception of Fir-based plywoods) will resist warping or check

Disadvantages of marine plywood
Cost - Marine plywood is much more expensive than standard plywood. Costs for a typical 4 foot by 8 foot 1/2 inch thick board is roughly $75 to $100 US or around $2.5 per square foot. This is about three times as expensive as standard plywood.
Marine plywood comes in several common thicknesses:
1/8 inch (3 mm)
1/4 inch (6 mm)
3/8 inch (9 mm)
1/2 inch (12 mm)
3/4 inch (18 mm)

[edit] Standards and ratings
Marine plywood can be graded as being compliant with BS 1088, which is a British Standard for marine plywood.
There are few international standards for grading marine plywood and most of the standards are voluntary. Some marine plywood has a Lloyd's of London stamp that certifies it to be BS 1088 compliant. Some plywood is also labeled based on the wood used to manufacture it. "
www.wikipedia.com

Now, there several dozens of types of wood used in marine plywood, and which one will be used in Plan B, I don't know, but the material choice makes sense- low warp, high resistance to moisture, flexible. I like it.

And that's about all I have for now. We are filing for permits, and the soil report should be done anytime now. Its exciting, and I am looking forward to breaking ground.

M