Costa Rica Garden Show!

Wordz

Well-Known Member
hey phil how in depth is a building inspection? like are they just gonna look at electric and plumbing? the building inspector showed up today. Apparently the city has to check my house out before I can live in it. lol I have been here for almost a year. He says I can't put up dry wall with out the city coming and checking my work..... I jumped the gun and have to tear out a room with alot of things out that arent code. I framed the inside of a room all the way around so now it's 6ft8 but needs to be at least 7. So i tear all that out make it look normal and they leave me alone maybe? I bought my wire and receptacles this morning. Glad it didn't get wired in yet. I have lights and plants to remove now not the best situation. Dammit a months work and material costs down the drain.
 

Wordz

Well-Known Member
question 2 is it code to patch in floor boards like say one joist to another or do I have to pull 4x8 pieces and replace the whole board?
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
Give me a job and a place to live, and move me down. Classically French trained Le Cordon Bleu graduate, and been cooking for rich people at a country club for the past 5 years. It's a mellow job as far a chef is concerned, leaves me time to grow still, but I wouldn't mind spending a couple years in Costa Rica. lol
you might be able to get a job cooking for the big boats in the marina and some of the private homes. i'll try and help as much as i can.
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
hey phil how in depth is a building inspection? like are they just gonna look at electric and plumbing? the building inspector showed up today. Apparently the city has to check my house out before I can live in it. lol I have been here for almost a year. He says I can't put up dry wall with out the city coming and checking my work..... I jumped the gun and have to tear out a room with alot of things out that arent code. I framed the inside of a room all the way around so now it's 6ft8 but needs to be at least 7. So i tear all that out make it look normal and they leave me alone maybe? I bought my wire and receptacles this morning. Glad it didn't get wired in yet. I have lights and plants to remove now not the best situation. Dammit a months work and material costs down the drain.
what up wordz. i'm not really sure how strict they are. i think a lot depends on whether it's new or old construction. i know some things are grandfathered in but that really depends on the individual municipality. sounds like you built the place yourself? if so, then the city isn't too concerned with drywall and floor joists. the do wanna see your electrical and plumbing. definitely your septic. i'd just wait till after the inspection and then do whatever you want. they're never coming back so it doesn't matter.

you should talk to someone with more experience though. i never built a home in the U.S. before i moved down here. i worked on wall st. before so i've never had to deal with a construction inspection. especially in the u.s.
 

Wordz

Well-Known Member
what up wordz. i'm not really sure how strict they are. i think a lot depends on whether it's new or old construction. i know some things are grandfathered in but that really depends on the individual municipality. sounds like you built the place yourself? if so, then the city isn't too concerned with drywall and floor joists. the do wanna see your electrical and plumbing. definitely your septic. i'd just wait till after the inspection and then do whatever you want. they're never coming back so it doesn't matter.

you should talk to someone with more experience though. i never built a home in the U.S. before i moved down here. i worked on wall st. before so i've never had to deal with a construction inspection. especially in the u.s.
thanks. no it's an old house. The electric seems good to me I don't see anything janky looking all the lights and receptacles work. The plumbing appears good too. The water flows and toilets flush. It's hooked to the sewer. It just sucks though I made my first super bad ass sealed room but it all has to disappear so I can have a ridiculous ass occupancy permit. I've been looking at the code/ city ordinances. I don't think they are gonna like the windows sealed up behind a wall. It was a lot of work and now it's gonna be a lot more work to take it all out and then make it look "normal". I think I'll strip it down to the insulation then let them come in for inspection. Then I'll get the building permit for the dry wall. put in the new drywall have em reinspect and then put in my double walls again. I will have the double walls lol. If I would of known a month ago this wouldn't suck so much.
 

FR33MASON

Active Member
here's a funky plant in the yard. this stuff grows wild almost anywhere. tends to like the sun though. looks like a fern kinda but then if you touch it, all of the leaves fold inward like a japanese fan. it's funny. this one is inside one of the raised beds in the backyard. i took all the soil out a few weeks ago cause i'm changing it and also cause the rainy season kinda destroys it. i just put the soil back in the compost box. add goodies to it all rainy season.

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Mimosa pudica. A.K.A. sensitive plant, shame-shames, and probably many other names. They will bloom with mauve powder puff blooms. I have some in a terrarium. Easy to propagate with cuttings.

I always wanted to live in a terrarium and Costa rica is pretty close to that.
Do you Get the 'attack of the flood flies' thing in your area? your coastal so probably not but...I was in Belize when I was 14 doing young a young missionaries work in some remote areas around Punta Gorda. We were taught How to use and maintain our own machetes...a three foot 'Coroneta' double ended that could go through a 2' diameter Kahoun tree which are somewhat spongy but still.
We built community centers from the timbers that we produced from the trees that were felled the year earlier from another group and cleared other space for roads and future building projects.
I went with my group from The beginning of July to the end of August and right around the first week of July is when the day became night with these winged termites. For about three days you had to wear a net over your head and keep your shirt done up tight and in the heat and humidity, that really sucked.

I'll take dodging those skin burning Fig bombs over a 3 day winged termite storm anyday.
 

F A B

New Member
hey phil how in depth is a building inspection? like are they just gonna look at electric and plumbing? the building inspector showed up today. Apparently the city has to check my house out before I can live in it. lol I have been here for almost a year. He says I can't put up dry wall with out the city coming and checking my work..... I jumped the gun and have to tear out a room with alot of things out that arent code. I framed the inside of a room all the way around so now it's 6ft8 but needs to be at least 7. So i tear all that out make it look normal and they leave me alone maybe? I bought my wire and receptacles this morning. Glad it didn't get wired in yet. I have lights and plants to remove now not the best situation. Dammit a months work and material costs down the drain.
called a occupancy permit and before sheetrock u need a rough in inspection to check framing and wiring and if any the plumbing
u can check the codes online to know if and how to do everything to pass
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
your right fo rthe most part but i dont think in these time thats is true as hard as a job is too keep right now, getting what worth your time is twice as hard. never known an electrical inspector to pass up a few bucks.... but this is all in how you approach and how you are gonna comprimise. more of a last resort i would do what i have to do, but that sucks man.

but you got a real good point fab i was just throwing it out there.
 

F A B

New Member
your right fo rthe most part but i dont think in these time thats is true as hard as a job is too keep right now, getting what worth your time is twice as hard. never known an electrical inspector to pass up a few bucks.... but this is all in how you approach and how you are gonna comprimise. more of a last resort i would do what i have to do, but that sucks man.

but you got a real good point fab i was just throwing it out there.
do it right
i do this kind of work daily and i say would i have that work in my own house
i treat every job like im doing work at my house
and since he is im assuming going to live there
wouldnt u want it right
codes are there for reason
u can cut corners but eventually u have no more corners to cut
do job right and do job once
cant put a band aid on it
 

Wordz

Well-Known Member
I don't want to cut corners other than some grow related things that won't/ can't pass inspection. I want it tight so there isn't any problems later. I don't think this old guy is going to take a pay off at least not at the level I could afford to pay him. I'm just gonna rip it all down to the insulation then let them tell me what they want fixed. I'm not gonna touch the original wiring now. After it all clears for an occupancy permit I'm gonna unhook a few circuits and wire in a couple new ones off the old breakers then I can hook the original circuits back up when I decide to sell the house. the breaker box is in the brand new unused/ former grow room. These mofo's want blue prints and permits to hang sheetrock but siding doesn't need a permit. Any hoo my brains gonna explode after reading building code and city ordinances all evening. I need to get my sleeps so I can go deal with the red tape tomorrow.
 

Wordz

Well-Known Member
called a occupancy permit and before sheetrock u need a rough in inspection to check framing and wiring and if any the plumbing
u can check the codes online to know if and how to do everything to pass
so I take it down to the frame have them ok it. then hang the dry wall and them ok it. then I should be good to go? This has me soooo upset I have girls that have been vegging between 2 and 4 months and I have to move them out of the building. Driving with a joint makes me paranoid a moving van of plants and supplies is fucking scary.
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
Mimosa pudica. A.K.A. sensitive plant, shame-shames, and probably many other names. They will bloom with mauve powder puff blooms. I have some in a terrarium. Easy to propagate with cuttings.

I always wanted to live in a terrarium and Costa rica is pretty close to that.
Do you Get the 'attack of the flood flies' thing in your area? your coastal so probably not but...I was in Belize when I was 14 doing young a young missionaries work in some remote areas around Punta Gorda. We were taught How to use and maintain our own machetes...a three foot 'Coroneta' double ended that could go through a 2' diameter Kahoun tree which are somewhat spongy but still.
We built community centers from the timbers that we produced from the trees that were felled the year earlier from another group and cleared other space for roads and future building projects.
I went with my group from The beginning of July to the end of August and right around the first week of July is when the day became night with these winged termites. For about three days you had to wear a net over your head and keep your shirt done up tight and in the heat and humidity, that really sucked.

I'll take dodging those skin burning Fig bombs over a 3 day winged termite storm anyday.
thanks free. always wanted to know what it was. i've never heard of those bugs. we don't get them here. the thing we worry about the most here is the fer de lance. because we live so close to the jungle; basically in it. you get bit by one of those and it's gonna be a rough couple weeks at best. i've found 2 on my property in 4 years i've had this house. i've probably run into another 10-15 of them over the years at projects or other places.
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
so I take it down to the frame have them ok it. then hang the dry wall and them ok it. then I should be good to go? This has me soooo upset I have girls that have been vegging between 2 and 4 months and I have to move them out of the building. Driving with a joint makes me paranoid a moving van of plants and supplies is fucking scary.
i'm not sure if they come back out after the drywall is up. FAB would know better. why not just get or make a cheap tent and stick the plants in there for a few hours while the inspector is there?
 

F A B

New Member
so I take it down to the frame have them ok it. then hang the dry wall and them ok it. then I should be good to go? This has me soooo upset I have girls that have been vegging between 2 and 4 months and I have to move them out of the building. Driving with a joint makes me paranoid a moving van of plants and supplies is fucking scary.
ok didnt inspector say he wont approve i t if he cant see it?
if so yes take down sheetrock
if u taped it and mudded it sand where screw holes are so u can remove them and where each sheet is taped together use razor knife to cut
price went up on SR so save it if u can


basically whatever inspector says needs to be changed needs to be the r last word unless u appeal and forget that u will lose it is good ole boy network
 

F A B

New Member
for a grow room it has to be called a walk in closet
and treated as such per code
known people who did work on house and didnt do it right and never can anyone legally live there till corrected
 
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