Casa Loros Bed & Breakfast

Progress Report

October, November, 2008

This is the Casa Loros Progress Report for October, 2008. 

A lot of changes have taken place during the past year.  Our builder, Doug, became unable to complete the project due to personal matters.  He has moved to San Jose and is no longer in the construction business.  No work was done on the property after the last progress report until this past July. 

Fred returned to Costa Rica in early June with the objectives of arranging for electricity to be reconnected on the building site, renewing the building permits and reviving the building process.  He met with Juan Carlos, our architect, who suggested that we should replace Doug with someone who would be willing to pick up where Doug left off and complete the project.  He introduced Fred to the builder, Leyner (as in Leonard), who had recently built Juan Carlos' new home in Orotina.  The three rode up the the property to let Leyner see what needed to be done.  Fred also showed two other builders the property and asked them for a bid, but they decided to not submit.  Approximately two weeks after Fred retuned home, Leyner sent a proposal which was accepted.  Leyner and his crew began work in mid-July and Juan Carlos was engaged to manage the project.

Fred, with Juan Carlos' assistance, applied for the renewal of the building permits.  They were unable to get the approval while Fred was there because the Chief Engineer was busy with other projects that week.  And again with Juan Carlos' assistance, Fred applied with ICE to have the electricity reconnected. 

Fred returned to Costa Rica again in October.  During the time between June and October, Juan Carlos solicited bids for the roof and well.  He received bids from three suppliers for both items.  During this October trip, Fred selected a roof and a well driller, and completed the purchase of the insurance to cover the workmen and the building permits.

At this time, work is proceeding in an orderly fashion.  Leyner anticipates the construction will be complete in February of 2009.

In other news, Millicent has closed her hotel, Casa Pura Vida, in Playa Hermosa.  We found another hotel on Calle Hermosa which is much closer to our property.  Larry and Daisy own and operate it.  They're great people and would welcome your business.  Here's a link to their web site.  Las Brisas Resort

We hope you enjoy the photos below.  Remember to click on the thumbnails to enlarge them.  They were taken during the period of October 6 thru October 10, 2008.

Each group of photos is immediately followed by a description of each picture left to right.

This first group contains aerial photos taken during February, 2008 by Doug and Rosie from an ultra-light aircraft.

1) The first photo in this group was taken looking at the back of the house from the northeast.  The gray colored box in the foreground of the top plateau is the old water tank which will ultimately be broken up and removed from the site.  The plateau located to the southeast of the front left corner of the house is owned by our neighbor.  When you visit Casa Loros, you will drive across the edge of this plateau.  The flat area in front of the house is the lower plateau which will be used for parking and gardens.

2) The second photo in this group shows the front of the house looking at mostly the southwest corner.  On the left side of the lower level you can see a flight of steps under construction.  A second flight will be built on the right side.

3) The third photo in this group was taken from a higher altitude.  It also shows the front of the house, but this time from the northwest corner.  On the right side of the photo you can see our neighbor's lot also shown in the first photo of this group.

4) The first photo shows the West and South sides of the house.  The metal that is leaning against the lower level was used to build the supporting structure for the roof during the week of Fred's visit in October.

5) This photo was taken from what will be the enclosed patio and pool area.  The primary rafters for the roof can be seen above Leyner on the left and the welder.  A portion of the future glass wall and kitchen area can be seen on the left.

6) Photo number three shows the Southwest corner of the master bedroom.  When the balsa trees outside are removed, the view of the ocean will be spectacular.  This photo was taken later in the week after most of the cross members of the main roof had been installed.

7) The fourth photo shows the back of the house and the welder on the roof welding the cross members to the primary rafters.  These cross members will be used to attach the metal roof.

8) Photo five views the back of the house and future patio and pool area.  Note that the cross members have all been installed.  Also note the steel beam which supports the back of the roof.  The beam was build on-site.

9) The first photo in this group shows the steel structure which will support the roof over a portion of the front porch.  The corner is the Northwest corner of the second level.  This area will become the dining area.  The kitchen will be to the right.  Note the jungle view to the north through the window.

10) The second photo in this group shows one of the workmen applying repello to a wall in the office.  Repello is a fairly thin cement that is applied directly to the concrete forming the panels.  Initially, it's "thrown" onto the wall using a trowel and then smoothed with another tool resembling a "comb" used to apply floor cement when installing vinyl flooring.  This "comb" however, has no teeth.  The result is a smooth interior surface which will be covered with sheetrock spackle and then be sanded by hand to a finish that's smoother than sheetrock.

11) The third photo in this group shows the northeast corner of the house.  The ocean is clearly visible from here.  The back of the house has received its layer of repello while the side has not.  The difference in the texture of the surface is clearly visible.  The outside walls will be covered with a layer of stucco which contains the color of the exterior walls.  It will be applied after all the exterior repello has been applied.

13) The fourth photo in this group shows the roof covering.  It was taken inside the warehouse (bodega) at the local "Home Depot", El Lagar in Jacó. The terra cotta is the true color of the material.  The gray color is just dust that collected there.  When installed, it will resemble a standard "Spanish Tile" roof.

13) The last photo in this group shows the new cement road which was recently installed.  It makes the ride up the steep incline of the mountain much easier.

In November, Fred and Susan returned to Costa Rica for their sixth consecutive Thanksgiving week in this beautiful country.  As you'll see, significant progress has been made since October.  The roof is on and is in the process of being completed, and the well has been drilled.  Water was found at a depth of one hundred fourteen meters after four days of drilling.  The following photos were taken during this trip with the exception of the last group which was taken by Juan Carlos, our architect.

14) The first photo was taken from Las Brisas Resorts hotel where we stayed.  The house can also be clearly seen from the Costanera Highway which parallels the Pacific Coast.

15) The second photo was taken from the front porch which extends all the way across the face of the house on the second floor.  The house shown in this photo belongs to our neighbor.

16) The third photo was also taken from the front porch.

17) The last photo in this group was taken through one of the windows in the master bedroom.

18) The first photo is of Fred.  He's standing in the future dining area of the Great Room.  Susan took the photo while standing at the opposite diagonal corner of the room.  The front of the house is the Fred's right.

19) The new roof taken from the back of the house looking toward the ocean.

20) Another shot of the roof looking into the court yard which will contain the pool.

21) This photo was taken while standing in the front doorway and is looking toward the north.  The ceiling is actually the underside of the roof which completely covers the porch.

22) This is another shot from the porch, this time looking south.  It was taken from the far end of the porch.

23) This photo was taken from the Great Room looking through the glass doors and windows that will separate the room from the court yard area.

23) These photos were taken by Juan Carlos.  The first is taken from the northwest corner of the porch.  The doorway shown is the main entrance.  This shot gives you an idea of the scale of the house.

24) This photo was taken from the porch looking out over the Pacific Ocean.

25) The last photo is of one of the stairways located on each side of the house.  They connect the upper level to the lower level.  Additional stairways will allow guests to climb from the ground up to the first level.

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