……..Locally available materials, manufactured materials and fixtures were used throughout the house. Electrical, plumbing, steel re-bar, concrete, pre-formed concrete, windows, doors were all sourced locally which meant short lead times and ease of delivery. Many a construction project has turned into a nightmare of delays and cost overruns waiting foreign imported materials, either backordered from suppliers or delayed in transit. This can be avoided as well known US and European manufacturers have facilities in Central America and they produce high quality finishes at low cost. I encourage this approach for my projects both to shorten lead times and reduce excess importation costs.
My client selected Honduran hardwoods for use throughout the house – mahogany, cedrillo, rosita, aceituno, – producing beautiful, glowing finishes for doors, baseboards and shelving. The interior doors were made on the mainland in La Ceiba. A simple, two-panel design in mahogany was selected and they turned out beautiful – excellent quality and very reasonable cost. American Standard plumbing fixtures from Nicaragua, fired tile products from Mexico and excellent quality custom exterior windows from Guatemala were used. The folding 24-foot exterior doors to the pool deck were an important architectural feature of the house – they open up fully to provide free flow of air and space but need to close tight and secure for protection against the elements. Ventanas Alemanas in Guatemala made these doors as well as the exterior windows of exceptional quality with a custom finish to match the prefabricated galvanized metal roof…….
to be continued
