Don`t Ever Build a House in Latin America
Posted on April 22, 2009 - Filed Under Guatemala | 7 Comments
It is SO not worth the aggravation.
Our bathroom was “finished” today. Water hooked up, electricity hooked up. I should mention that here it`s normal for the abañil or builder to do all of these things. Ours made a huge mess of it. First of all, he hooked up the heater for the shower, which is basically just a shower head that provides resistance . . . heating the water that comes out instantly. They are also called widow makers, for the lovely exposed wires. I`d take a photo to show you but I`m too pissed off right now.
So, the guy hooked up the showerhead heater and turned it on. The electricity promptly went out. So Irving asked the folks behind us (who are providing electricity) to flip the breaker. Nothing happened. The builder jumped the fence and spent an hour doing who knows what back there to repair the damage. Finally, the power came back on in the house, but not the bathroom. He said there was no way the electrical system and wiring would work with the heater. At this point, I was pretty depressed that I wasn`t going to have hot water showers and headed for a nap. While I slept, they fixed the electricity to the bathroom so we could at least have light. No hot water.
Fine, I got up thinking that maybe I shouldn`t be such a whiner . . . after all, a toilet is a thousand times more important than a shower, right? And I can always haul in boiling water for a bath and I did shower exclusively with cold water in Mexico and survived just fine.
The builder and his helper left. We decided to christen the new toilet. And it didn`t work. I mean, sure the sucker flushes, but it`s like watching a glacier, sloooooooooowly the water drains out and then the toilet burps and . . . well, let`s just say solids don`t go down. Then Irving mentioned that the TUB doesn`t drain well either. The sink does just fine.
I went to look at the tub and realized that despite countless times we`d asked if the tub was going to line up with the drainage pipe, which had been concreted into place before we even bought the tub . . . . it doesn`t. The solution? Just let the tub drain into the floor and hope it makes it`s way into the pipe there. I cannot describe my anger at discovering this. I should have checked, but I`d been asking Irving along the way and he assured me everything was fine and that the drain fit perfectly. And now of course, the whole thing is all set in there and tiled and there is no way to fix it without tearing it all out.
After all that waiting, money and frustration . . . we have a tub that doesn`t drain, a shower that doesn`t heat and a toilet that doesn`t flush. Could it get any better?
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7 Responses to “Don`t Ever Build a House in Latin America”
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OMG. What a day! That ‘widow maker’ is “freakin’ me out” – I think I would just rather have cold showers anyway, rather than risk it!
Sigh, you poor dear. Here’s a long distance hug. I’m thinking that after the frustration is over though, your head will start whirring on how to fix things. You always turn out that way and I’ll be sitting here going, holy crap, she might as well built the house with her own hands! So not to worry, I’m sure you’ll find a way around all those problems.
In the meantime, here’s an imaginary glass of vodka. 
Gloria, I think I`m almost at the end of my rope now.
If they have to tear out all my beautiful tiles and if Irving actually PAYS them to do that . . . I`m looking for somewhere to rent. I`m just too tired to keep going.
I would say, ‘unbelievable’, but after only six months here all I can manage is to roll my eyes. I feel for you.
Hi Genesis,
We know a great architect who designs and builds homes for gringos in Guatemala. She lives in Panajachel. Email me if you’d like her contact info!!
She is from the US btw, if that matters
I have been reading about the issues you have had getting that bathroom built, and I had to say when I saw that gorgeous blue tile I was SO jealous! So sorry to hear that things turned out the way they did-I can only imagine your frustration over the whole thing. I do hope that you can get it resolved with very very minimal repairs-I just can’t believe the builder would do such shoddy work. If my brother in law Mauricio can do anything to help out, please let me know and I will have Jose give him a call or give you his # so Irving can call him-he is building his own home right now in another section of Zona 18 (further away from the City on flat land, not a hillside!)but considering he is an albanil himself he can probably help or give you some ideas.