ᐅ Tips for Building a House in South America?

Hello dear construction experts,

I am planning to build a house in Paraguay. Everything there works very differently compared to Germany.

There are hardly any building regulations, rules, or legal requirements for constructing a house.

You can build almost anything you want. Total freedom to build. However, this also has some major downsides. There are hardly any people or public authorities you can call for inspections. And if someone claims to be a construction expert, they often turn out to be frauds because they have no real knowledge.

That’s how it works daily in PY. The builder has to take care of absolutely everything themselves and check everything ten times. If they don’t, they will either be completely cheated or the workers, site manager, and architect do their jobs carefully but poorly. No, worse than poor.

If you don’t make it very clear that you want the windows installed straight, the site manager will say: “You never told me that.” And folks, this is NOT a joke. The building process there is like this — and even worse!

I am a total construction novice and have absolutely no knowledge. That’s why I wanted to ask you what I should pay special attention to. I don’t want my house to mold, flood, collapse, or suffer from any other terrible issues after just 5 years...

Also, what are the most common cheating tricks I should watch out for? The word “cheating” takes on a whole new meaning down there. For example, they mix lime into the concrete because it’s cheaper than sand.

Here are some photos to give you an approximate idea of how building is done in Paraguay. The workers, I was told, were very good, and the house turned out top-notch for PY conditions. I also have a video of a chaotic construction site, but it’s barely worth watching — it will just make your toes curl *g*. My house would only be built from bricks because they are simply unbeatable in price there.

I look forward to basic tips on what I absolutely need to watch out for.

Regards Jens

Foundation

Filled foundation

Slab being poured

Walls going up

This is what a typical scaffold looks like in Paraguay

I think it looks great at first glance. A natural stone foundation is excellent. The walls are thin, which is very important because thicker walls retain heat longer overnight! The construction site is tidy.
The scaffolding regulations, of course, don’t follow DIN standards. But if the result is good, that shouldn’t be an issue.

PS: We have built both in Brazil and in Germany. If possible, it’s always best to have a highly trusted person on site every day. Ideally, the homeowner should take on this role. This applies just as much in Germany!

As I said, they were very skilled workers and a great site manager, but unfortunately, it wasn’t my house.

When I build and end up with poor workmanship, I would like to know what I should definitely watch out for.

Yes, I will be the one on the construction site every day, but without any knowledge, I can look at the work all day without noticing any mistakes or poor quality :-/

I would still appreciate general tips on what a layperson should pay attention to.

Thank you very much!

Hello,

Off the top of my head, my recommendations would be: air conditioning, bulletproof glass, alarm system, especially burglar-resistant doors and windows, a wall around the house, barbed wire on top... – and don’t forget a monthly payment to the local police chief…

Humorous greetings…

What you're describing mainly applies to urban areas. However, I live in the countryside where everyone knows each other in this region. Of course, you can still get robbed there. Bulletproof glass is almost unaffordable, especially in PY.

Most people have bars on their windows, but to me that looks too much like a prison. Besides the only door, which will be a disguised armored door, I plan to use solid steel plates on the windows. These will simply roll on iron tracks mounted on the walls inside the house. Painted white, they will barely be visible against the white walls.

To prevent them from being seen from the outside, there will also be metal roller shutters on the windows, which can be locked invisibly. Additionally, two very alert shepherd dogs will sleep outside at all times, and that should be enough.

But actually, this is all a bit off-topic now. Does nobody have any real tips on house construction for a housebuilding beginner? :-( There must be many things that could be done poorly!?

Is this question too general?