Construction in Mexico

We have had good experiences with construction here. Although there have been trying moments and overruns, I imagine they are typical of building in any country. Jim and I had never built anything before we arrived in Mexico so our learning curve was a fairly steep one.

How long does a construction project really take? That is the question we are asked most, and, I think this is mainly where conflict arises when building here. In a way, we are lucky as all of our construction projects are forced into the 6 months that we have for our off season. At the moment we are in the throes of our most ambitious project. The 4 suites, along with the landscaping, many meters of walkways, gray water system and new public bathroom is a lot to do in 6 months! We have set up a detailed spreadsheet with weekly goals and are having the workers work on Sunday.

Technically, this should be the approach of every new home builder. The fact is the longer something takes to build the more it will cost. If you make a point to finish as quickly as possible, with weekly goals and a fixed finish date, you will save money.

There are a few things that are bound to raise the costs of any construction project. Inflation is a killer. It is more than 10% in Mexico. And, construction materials are always the hardest hit. To avoid price hikes we try to make deals with the materials folks in advance and buy everything upfront. The supplier holds the materials on their lot until we use them. Trying to save money by having less workers doesn’t work, even if you have 3 guys working they will take longer than twice as long to do the work of 6 guys. It’s interesting, there is an energy when things go up fast. It somehow inspires the workers to keep up the pace. The best way to save money is no changes! Changes are the ultimate budget killer.

This is one of the many reasons that we love our current Architect/contractor team. They have made the plans on computer so we have had three months to make changes and see, on screen, how they look. Hopefully, by this stage in the game nothing will change!

How is Mexican Labor? Our motto is “You get what you inspect, not what you expect”. We oversee every project personally. If no one is checking, the work will not get done, or the materials won’t be ordered or or or…At the moment, our contractors have a Forman, Ivan, who is at the site every day. It makes a huge difference. The workers on our current project work from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm with two 1 hour breaks in the day for meals. They work in the full sun, in 90 degree heat, and keep going all day. Brutal!

Is a contractor necessary? We have done it both ways. It is way better and totally worth the money to get a contractor. They will come with a team and experience; most contractors down here are aligned with an architect which makes things much easier. Although you can easily get someone to draw up plans at home and shop for bids down here. We have done that too.

That brings us to the last point: cost plus or fixed cost? So far we have always used cost plus as it is the easiest way to work with the locals, contend with the vagaries of inflation and design changes. However, we currently have a contract for fixed costs with Karina & Gustavo. I will have to tell you how it works out. Our completion date is the first of November.

Fingers crossed!