As I plan to migrate back to my home country, eventually, one of the idea that came into planning for retirement was to have an income generating property. This is my journey in trying to accomplish this overall process of getting there.
I have no fixed date on any of this and will work until I achieve my goals.
As a people who started out with little it's good for us to be happy for each other in our constructive efforts no matter which country we're from. Love to see this, coming from a Jamaican.
I’m not a Jamaican but I totally understand what you are saying in regards to building up yourself from nothing. The one person I wished was around to see this today, is my mother who has been gone 10 years this year. I could hear her saying now, “That’s my boy!!”. I owe her not only life but the mindset to be successful; I have always reflected on her advice over the years. But, the sad thing about this journey, not everyone around you may feel the same way even though you have worked hard to get to this stage. They know you came from nothing and you have worked and worked and knew your struggles. Now, they might not actually come out and say it but their behavior around you can’t hide it anymore. Surprisingly, it might be the closes people around you who think you shouldn’t have more than they have. Now, keep in mind these same people have more than you for years and you always either was impressed by their achievements or tried to help them add more to what they have. Unfortunately, they start to treat you differently and always seemed angry at you for no reason. I personally have experienced this over the last year and decided whether it’s my friends, siblings or in-laws, I don’t want any of them to be around me who isn’t happy for me. It’s too much going on to be having to deal with crap like this and it’s not helpful or healthy. Some of the songs I choose in my videos are not by accident. I appreciate your comment and it struck home on a personal level.
If you only how xenophobic some BVIslanders are towards Caribbean immigrants😂😂😂 ….I grew up there spent almost 20yrs and life only happened for me when I left the BVI. Notwithstanding, there are some awesome BVI people. I am happy for the owner of this project.
If you are interested in a top unit, which is really 2 floors in each one, let me know (you go up inside that unit to the top floor). They have bigger bathrooms, kitchen island, extra half bath on the main floor, private balconies off the top bedrooms and even an office on the lower floor. They not going to be cheap though :) You get gas or electric option for your cooking. All units will have an all in one ventless Washer & Dryer, will throw in a 70 inch TV in the living rooms, will setup a WIFI tower for all tenants for free internet down the road. Some of the perks I'm working on if the budget allows but they will be implemented at one point before anyone takes a unit.
Be sure to make all your changes for doors and windows on your plan also, so that when you have to do your doors and window schedule, none would be ordered the wrong size.
What I have learned in the last few months of watching how professionals in Ghana build homes, that we don't seem to do here on island, at least when I was building. They lay down this DPM - Damp Proof Membrane in the footing and foundation slab and DPC - Damp Proof Course for where the blocks are initially laid. They also use this black chemical they paint around the foundation blocks or concrete, so that the dampness in the future, do not start to climb up your walls. I think you can still do this with your foundation by digging back around it, because you will have problems in the future because you are in water logged area. The also put this waterproofing powder in the plaster, when plastering the walls to seal rain from eventually beating on the exterior walls and soaking into the inside..... it does happens. I hope this helps and you are able to finds out what we do here to damp proof our buildings.
Please watch some of the earlier videos and it will show that all these points you mentioned were performed on this project. There are 49 videos in this series as of right now.
@@thejourney-buildinginthebv4981 Awesome... I saw the videos when you discovered the spring, but I have not see the others yet and decided I would go forward until I have time to go back..
Suggestion..... title your videos "Building in Tortola" or "Building in the Virgin Islands" then put your what your are doing in the video. Try it, you may get more traction for search views.
Good idea but can't do that. It's not the title of my channel but to ease your mind, any search on "Tortola" should pull up my videos. It's not the name of the tittle that determines most of the traction. It's the RU-vid algorithm and the number of "Likes" each video gets. The platform also gives you a feature to promote your videos for a fee but I'm not a hard core RU-vidr. This is just a hobby. As you can see, the British Virgin Islands is mentioned on all my video (intro and at the end) and to suggest just Tortola is limiting the scope.
@@thejourney-buildinginthebv4981 Your channel name is different. I am not a RU-vidr, however, I am a youtube watcher and researcher and putting the world Building in the BVI or spelt out, in your video title, helps a whole lot too.... but it was only a suggestion.
Rebars were inspected one day I was onsite and there weren't any issues. I actually signed off on the paperwork since the contractor was off site at the time. You can get your inspection done the same day or you can call the day before and make a fixed appointment. At this stage, there hasn't been issues to address. Your inspections are paid for upfront when the drawings are sent in for final approval as well.
Once the blocks are completely filled in with concrete, building isn't going anywhere. Hurricane was a curve ball and showed up prior to any of that being done. Was glad only the front walls had been impacted.
Thank you for posting your progress videos. I am just about to begin and it is nice to see what to expect during my progress. If you are open to it I wouldn't mind picking your brain for some construction/building advice.
Advice is one of the few things, if you get the right kind, it could save you a whole lot of trouble in the long run or save you a ton of money too. I’m not sure where you are building or what kind of structure you’re working on but I’ll leave you with a few key pointers I learnt through-out the process and which have saved me a lot of money and time. 1) Don’t start without doing some kind of prep work yourself. If you have it in your means to hire people to do work for you, sure, you can go that route but they are not going to take into account what you really need at the end of the day. Have a list of stuff you sure you want onsite before you start if there is space there you can place it. You will waste a lot of time going to get or looking for stuff once the process starts; in some case, there may not be any available at that time so, plan ahead. Time is MONEY!! 2) If you are building on a hill, don’t remove any dirt off the site. You will need this dirt later so pile it up somewhere out of the way for later. You will need it. If your builder is insisting that you get rid of it, it will cost you money later buying some back if you don’t have anymore for backfilling later. 3) Don’t be afraid to fire someone if they are not meeting up to your expectation. I had to fire 2 persons at this stage after trying to find ways not to do it but in the long run, it was best for the project to move along without them. Follow your instinct but every situation is a little different. 4) Buy in bulk if you can at places like Home Depot (Puerto Rico have stores) or Lowe’s Pro Desk areas as they will give you the best prices. If you are exporting the items, there are no sales taxes and they will pack and deliver the items to your shipper. Focus on the large items like electrical conduits, plumbing pipes, lumber, plywood, nails, etc. Look at the local prices if you are in the Caribbean and then compare buying and shipping and see if the savings is there. Just as an example for myself, for my 1st set of buying 29 bundles of steel rebars, I saved $16k from not buying them locally. So, the extra efforts do work in your favor if you put the time into it. Another $14K was saved on buying electrical conduits and pluming pipes. Numbers do not lie!!! 5) Always be sure of what you want even if you have heard a convincing conversation that it should be different. Remember, this is your project and your money is being spent to have these folks build your dream. As long as you’re not making an unrealistic request, push on. 6) Renting verse buying. Here is an example: Initially I had rented some shore props to help with the cistern build after buying 60 of my own. I think there was another 120 or more rented on top of what I had. Now, they will tell you it just like $4 or $7 a day for each but you will have to do the math cause you need to keep these things at least 10 days to support the structure. Long story short, I went ahead and bought another 100 shore props to do my casting for the initial roof and I will save $3K for each floor just owning my own. With a total saving of over $12k by the time I hit the roof. It might be an upfront cost to spend $3K but the saving outperforms the cost and once you are done you could sell or rent them yourself. These items are always in demand used, or people trying to buy. 7) I got myself a bending machine (also with cutter) and also a separate rebar cutting machine. This saves a lot of time and effort cutting and shaping the steel rebar and the team is experiencing no physical effort other then moving the rebar. In fact, this is machine they praise all the time for having and what it will do is reduce have a workman on site just doing this kind of work. These devices paid for themselves on the 1st day and you can also sell or rent once you’re done with your project but again, there is an upfront cost. Renting will cost your more in the long run instead of owning it. Doing things the old school way bending by hand is going to slow things down and you will need a bigger crew. 8) Always be 4 steps ahead of your builder and keep in contact with this person to know what’s going on. Especially if they are having trouble finding stuff needed to continue the work. Remember, Time is MONEY!!
@@thejourney-buildinginthebv4981 These are invaluable pieces of advice that I will surely take. I appreciate you taking the time to do this. I am actually building on Tortola, two hills over from you. Spring Ghut, but towards the tail end of it over Parry side. My project is smaller than yours but the principles still apply. The tip about the dirt is so true I already had to do some backfilling and thank God I had enough material onsite. Once again thank you. PS. I wouldn't mind linking up and I can show you my project if you want to see the work site.
Glad I could help. I'm not on Tola full time but should be arriving shortly. When I'm there it's usually to do a walkthrough or that some stuff coming in that I want to make sure clears on time through customs properly or to handle myself. One of nephew is my person on the ground most of the time. As for my next arrival, still working out the logistics for my next onsite visit. The earliest is probably within the next month but I manage this whole project from Florida.
@@thejourney-buildinginthebv4981 OK cool. That must be a monumental task managing your project from Florida. I am willing to give you some drone footage for your videos the next you are back on island on the house for your great advice.
Project is not as hard to manage as you think from here but I do point out mistakes they make from looking from all the way up here. Already found 2 mistakes in the last big pour last week but they can be easily corrected. 30 pallets of blocks should be there this week; my source can't seem to confirm the exact date but they already have my $$. Anyway, another 22 pallets set to arrive 2 weeks after. Placing that order on Monday morning. Site can't hold everything so you have to delay when those should arrive. This is me being 4 steps ahead of the builder as they usually only tell you the very minute they need something. I have a drone here still in the box and will be walking with it on the next trip. This RU-vid thing is just a hobby when one of my nephew had dared me to do it. If you see a vehicle there on site on a weekend, it's most likely that is me (rental) there or my electrician doing some work.
Pour went good but saw 2 rookie mistakes that are easily to correct before moving to the next stage (block work). Blocks should be arriving this week ; so my source keeps telling me but yet to hear they arrived yet . The guys have 2 weeks off to rest up and come back hard.
Cocoa worked for Best....he just wrapped up yesterday the last piece with the small machine but he always busy. it got slowed some cause Cocoa no longer around so if you booking him, contact him early. He's not going to kill you on the price either. Everything is casting next week..
Thanks... Here trying to grab a large volume of concrete blocks but not many on the island. Puerto Rico is backed up on orders. The few local places that has, price is jacked up.
Team taking a 2 weeks break in early July but concrete blocks are en route. Casting the roof / floor next week and expecting these floors to go up fast as there is already the materials onsite to keep it moving. Bringing on 1 or 2 extra guys to help lay blocks and full speed ahead. I need a floor up every month starting July. Weather slowed things down a lot this past month with the heavy rains.
Because it's still an active construction zone, the most I can tell you it's on the Island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The area is pretty secluded from any main roads.
Yes. 98 % of the building walls are 8 inch. Only maybe 1 or 2 walls for the bedroom closets are used with 6 inches. A building this high and heavy, will not support 6 inch blocks to carry the load; will not pass building code approval.
I’m watching the video and it looks exactly like how my project will go. I have an extensive retaining and structural wall that forms a part of the basement level. I’m getting ready to pour it shortly. You can see the videos of the project so far on my channel. Congrats on your progress so far.
Thanks for watching. My retaining wall is part of the building structural wall as well. The ground floor is a level up on the hillside and weight is carried on this wall. Check out video #40 where we cutting away the hillside.
Well, this is one of those situation where preservation will loose as it's on my lot. : ) I was also told that whole area there are a number of those underground channels but I just happened to come up on one by accident. Water was always on the foundation pad but we never knew why until seen it for ourselves. This is an area they called Spring Ghut as there was always water running down from the hillside somewhere. Growing up I never really knew why until we found that underground channel.
The wall has multiple functions. It's a retaining wall to keep back the dirt behind the wall and also serves as a structural wall for the 3 floors that are going on top the basement level. Most of the weight of the building is on that wall which why it had to be poured all at once with 4000 PSI concrete and a lot of steel rebar. The wall is also 8 inches thick concrete which is mandatory in the building code.
Thanks for watching. Even though I'm not local there at this very moment, I'm very much involved in what the guys are doing on a day to day basis to address any issues or make a correction that needs my feedback. It works well when you have a good crew looking out for your best interest.
Every week is a bit excessive...I don't have that kind of money.....My trips are based on priority or if I need to be onsite to check things out before next steps but my builder sends me what I need most of the time.
House coming on nicely. Need to add some Heinekens to the Water and Lucazade. It's proven in the Caribbean that some hard drinks boos motivation and momentum on a construction site.
No alcohol allowed on job site and that only opens up more problems or risks for some one falling on the job due to being intoxicated. Power tools and alcohol, don't mix either.
Save your money....Keep away from that excessive shopping buying stuff you don't need. Stay focus on your goal and don't listen to anyone when they try to deter you from achieving that goal.
So in this stage of the game do you think it is better to ship your building materials from the US as opposed to buying them local being that shipping cost is crazy? Also I contacted sunleaf construction for bill of quantities just waiting for quote another place quote me over 1500 smh
Yes, if you can get your material from Puerto Rico or USA, get them. Puerto Rico didn't had them when I tried at the time so I got from Florida which was more expensive in shipping. Tropical doesn't let you know the cost until you actually deliver the items and they are enroute to the destination, thus, you can't change your mind. Bill of Quantity process in the BVI is a rip off but yes, some folks start at $1500. Most of them just copy and paste the stuff and don't do any calculations.
I do not travel to Puerto Rico. I have my contacts in Puerto Rico for items if I need like lumber, steel rebar, plywood etc. and I do everything over the phone or with just a text. I usually get a quote in less than a hour of what I need and then decide if I want to buy then or later. Once you establishment a good payment history with them, the rest goes easy. Also since exporting , there is also no sales tax like the mainland USA. You can not buy anything without a credit card, copy of your license or ID the 1st time you make a purchase.
As far as getting proper documentation to receive you imported items where do you apply for that.. and can you apply online or do you have to go to the shipment place where you receive your shipment and apply
I had bought all the steel rebar at once from Puerto Rico for the building and forgot there was a 2 % wharfage fee on all imported item based on the invoice totals. The fee is normal but forgot how large a purchase I had made. There were 29 bundles of steel rebar which was quite a large sum but at the end of the day, savings buying them was in excess of over $16K saved.
There is a wharfage fee even though I have a tax exemption; based on the amount I brought in at once, there was a 2 % fee on this total. I had forgotten this was part of the process and this was a $14K shipment of steel rebar.
That water back there is going to be a problem for your foundation if not handled properly. It should have been identified during the site ground testing in the preliminary stage. Well, that's if site testing is required in the BVI.
Nice Tom. Glad to be here on this journey with you. It’s good to see the work in progress. Did they pump the water from the foundation before they cast?
There is a pump on site but most of the water was dried out before casting the footers with concrete. The water problem is being addressed and the plumber started part of the remediation with running pipes to have the water flow under the building and come out in the front. Other drainage is being added with gravel and pipes behind the wall once the foundation wall is completed to remove any extra water. Knowing the water is there, we can't leave things as is and it have to be addressed.
If items shipped on or by Wednesday, they arrive on Sunday. If they shipped on Friday, they arrive on Wednesday. So, just a few days once they clear at the dock. BVI has 2 weekly departure dates.
Great!.Tks!! .I thought it would be 2 or 3 weeks!! I can order through Lowes and/or Home Depot and they can deliver to the company, right? @@thejourney-buildinginthebv4981
They will deliver but each have a fee. Delivery is usually $79 (truck) and special packing with crates etc. is like $100 on top of your bill. I found Lowe's to be more cheaper though. Home Depot, the discounts don't kick in until you spend $2,500 or more.
