Cassie and I have been brainstorming for what we’d like to do with the house. We’ve told how we go back and forth on either tearing it down and building a concrete place from scratch or working with what we’ve got.
Lately we have been leaning towards working with what we’ve got. It would move us quicker to our goal of moving to Rincón to keep what we have and simply remodel it. There are a few things we would like to achieve.
- A main floor bathroom.
- A better bathroom in the master bedroom
- More space / Separate living space
- More light / brighten it up
We are pretty much certain that we’d take the bathroom that was built on the deck down. It seems like too much of an add-on and doesn’t really fit. So what we’d do is just move it to the side of the house and integrate it into the main house structure. We can make an entrance to it from the inside of the house and from the deck.
The bathroom in the upstairs bedroom is only a toilet and a sink. We can extend the room and reconfigure that bathroom to take up more space. We can put in a shower or bath so that the master bedroom upstairs is a bit more complete. We are thinking about also adding an upper deck off the master bedroom.
We can pour a concrete floor under the house, then close in the lower area and frame rooms and a bathroom. This would provide more living space and/or a separate living area which could be used for visitors when they stay with us.
As far as more light, we will take out some of the shutter windows and put in more traditional glass windows on the ocean side. We are thinking about also putting in a glass sliding door to let more light in. I’ve seen some of them that are rated for hurricane force impacts. I’d have to do more research on the windows available and how they hold up in high winds, but adding slots for storm shutters /plywood would be part of the plan.
Here is a rough sketch of what we were thinking.
Bathroom on side and deck off upstairs master
Hi I’ve been reading you blog for a while and if you want to move down here ASAP and enjoy the island, remodeling is the way to go. It will definitely cost less then rebuilding in concrete. Sheet rock the interior and add glass windows (like you where thinking of doing), those two things would add a lot of light.
Check out these sites for some ideas:
http://www.casasmiestilo.net/modelos.html
http://www.lascasasprefabricadas.com/casas-masso/fotos-modelos-de-casas-masso-de-madera.html
http://www.masso.net/
Hope you guys make make it out here soon!
Saludos desde Puerto Rico.
¿Cómo va ese invierno?
Ok, lets get to it:
1. Main bathroom. We’ve been through this, I applaud that you are sticking with wood. That said, I strongly suggest you do “hormigón” aka cement. Its just way easier to maintain with all the humidity. Plus its could be a good “panic room” for the house.
2. too personal so won’t give my opinion.
3. On good thing about balloon construction (your current house) its that it doesn’t need to much structure in the inside. Eventually you’ll like to able to entertain a big room (I think, not?)
4. On bad thing about balloon construction its that all the column structure happens in the perimeter. Good to encase a winter home, no much good in the tropics. Yet, do some research..it is possible.
5 Unless you really need more livable space, I think you will come to regret enclosing the underside of the house. This area is a great cover area to what is now your home: An open tropical home. You might be thinking basement, stop it. ;).
6. If you are going to do glass doors and windows. I will strongly suggest finding out security and surveillance providers in Rincón. Specially if you plan to be away periodically. Again, venture out and do some research. there are great windows and doors providers in the island.
not expensive: Lausell
truly expensive: Vamcor Samcor
Good luck!!
Well I do tend to panic alot…lol.
Thanks for the feedback Anonimo!
Anonimo,
What do you mean by balloon construction?
For the main bathroom, would hormigon work if it is “inside” a wood house? Would that be weird? I can see putting tile in the bathroom to keep it easy to maintain, but building the whole thing out of cement? Has that been done before?
Next time we are down there, we should invite you over to come look at the house! You have a lot of really helpful suggestions! 🙂
-Cassie
Check around your immediate area for wooden houses. If there aren’t any there may be a reason! It would be soo disappointing to spend money and more importantly invest time and thought into wood and have it all go away in an instant. Georges was 1998? We are overdue for a big one I think. Wood invites termites and ants, it swells and rots (wind blows the rain horizontal and comes fast and furious, it warps, it is expensive (the good stuff anyway) and needs maintenance. It also smells and molds and if you have animals or animal visitors that spray or poop (chickens) in the open house it is hard to get the smell to go away (cement you just hose it out). Think of energy consumption. High lights and ceilings won’t provide light and breeze if they are way up there and will consume a lot of energy which is expensive. Wood will also absorb any light you do have making it darker. Just thinking out loud…
In balloon framing the sides (exterior walls) are built then the second floor is built by fastening it to the walls. You’ve probably seen an version of this in movies where people build the walls horizontally and then raise them. Which is the the easier way to do it IF you have a large crew. But sometimes are built by holding the frame vertically with angular sticks.
In platform framing, the way most wood houses are done know a days in the “western world” The second floor is built onto the first floor stick frame. the the second floor walls are attached to the second floor platform.
And yes, looking more closely to the fourth pic in your 90’s photos, it does seem to be platform framing and not balloon.. I apologize.
For the main bathroom, would hormigon work if it is “inside” a wood house?
YES!
Would that be weird?
NO!
I can see putting tile in the bathroom to keep it easy to maintain, but building the whole thing out of cement?
Sure you may do that. Get someone who does excellent tiling work AND has done it onto wood siding. Get reference and pictures of precious work taken after a few years.
Has that been done before? Absolutely.
Next time. I will be more than happy to offer references and suggestions as an acquaintance and not in a professional manner.
Anónimo.
Sunset,
Yes we are getting more and more anxious to get down there for good. We figure it would save us about $100-120,000 if we just remodel as opposed to tearing it down and rebuilding from scratch. Plus we are familiar with wood which is nice when everything else is unfamiliar.
Anonymous, there are a lot of wood houses in the Puntas ward of Rincón, so that’s a good sign. We drove around not even 1/4 or 1/2 mile away and there are whole rows of wood houses that appear to have been there for a long time. If our house was built in 1990 it has survived Georges and many other tropical storms already too! There are definitley pros and cons to every type of construction. I could probably list an equal length of reasons I don’t like concrete either.
In the end, I think we would be fine with either. Plus, we DO have both. We have a concrete studio house AND this wood one to boot. And 4 cuerdas if we ever want to build more (I still think a tree house in with the royal palms would be cool).
Anónimo, thanks again for your insights. I have a feeling you know a lot about this subject and we might want to pick your brain a little more 🙂