Mary Ann's Tropical Building Page

Construction Tips

Saturday, March 30, 2002   Permalink

Our Front Door.

(This is a picture of our front door!)

Some Email from Web-site Visitors

Doors & Windows in Puerto Rico

Dear Mrs. Green,

Surfing on the net I found your nice page about the contruction of your villas in Anguila.

I noticed that you found some dificulties in get proper supply of doors and windows in Puerto Rico.

I may suggest you that next time you should contact Madeco the Puerto Rican largest supplier of Brazilian hardwood carpentry. They have two fancy show-rooms with hundred of models mainly from Imbuia (Brazilian walnut) and South American Cedar. They also have all finishing mouldings you may need, as door-jambs, panneling, floors, baseboards, astragals, etc.

You can contact them by phone (787) 250 1737 or by e-mail :[email protected]

Regards
Cid Lang, [email protected]
Pomerode- SC Brazil

Questions About Cisterns

At 08:26 AM 3/27/2002 -0500, a web-site visitor wrote:

I do enjoy your site and appreciate your sharing your experiences with those of us who have not tackled what you have (yet). I'm 'collecting' books from your list - and others' - but can't locate any specifics on the technical aspects of cistern construction:

does a house foundation touch the cistern walls?
what kind of top/roof/cover goes on a cistern?
is access provided in the top/roof/cover for
repairs
cleaning
inflow of rain water?

Can you point me to a site or a specific book title that deals with construction and maintenance?

Answers About Cisterns

Mary Ann replied:

Cistern construction is something that all the locals know. Cisterns are usually placed under the decks with the deck forming the roof of the cistern. However, you can have the cistern under any part of the house. You usually pick the place according to any drop-off of the ground level, so you don't have to dig or in the case of Anguilla pound out the rocks.

The deck becomes the roof of the cistern. The cistern is finished with a water sealant. I recommend a product available in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas called Vandex. The other common one is thuro-seal. The down spouts are run on either the outside or inside of the walls. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods- inside often leak and outside the walls don't look as good and are prone to damage from sun and weather.

Louver Doors and Windows

Roger ([email protected]) writes;

I have lived and worked as an architect and contractor in tropical locations for over 15 years. Your site is tremendous. I have had "gazebos" that were boys also, and some girls.

I now own a factory in Peru where we manufacture louvered products. We also build standard doors, and entry systems.

Our products are available in the Caribbean through Triangle Exports, Miami. Tel-305 418 4221. Jeff is the owner, [email protected]. We also sell directly to contractors and developers in the US and Central American markets.

We use Mahogany, Spanish cedar, and Requia. Other species available on request. We normally produce for individual jobs on a quote basis, and our lead times are good. 8 weeks if we have the wood already kiln dried, and 10 to 12 if we have it in log form.

We can ship directly from the port of Callao, Peru to some of the islands.

Good luck to you. Again, a great site.

Roger

P.S. Door hardware

I have used Hafele hardware with good results. It�s expensive, but it works. I also use an extruded Aluminum track and roller system made in Brasil. Very heavy duty. Each roller has 4 nylon ball bearing wheels, and supports up to 175 lbs. Two per door will hold up about anything. I get these in Costa Rica at a local hardware store. We have a custom woodworking studio in Costa Rica also. www.mardeoro.com

Read Earlier News Reports

Site Map: Links, Plans and Other Info

Building the Anguilla Beachhouse

Building the Anguilla Software Center

Building the Anguilla Guest Cottage

Tropical Construction Bookstore

Links to Related Sites

Building Material Sources

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