Sep 24, 2013

Building a House Vietnam Part 2

Construction started yesterday on our 98m2 house in Cu Chi province, an auspicious date provided by the monks in District 7. Chi is managing the entire process and fairly nervous about getting the whole thing right. Here in Vietnam you only pay the builder for construction per m2, absolutely no materials are included in his costs right down to the bricks and cement. Luckily out in Cu Chi, with many of the 12 aunts/uncles still around, Chi has plenty of contacts including a materials supplier who will do everything apart from roof tiles for us. This guys has his own factory which manufactures outside tiles (you know those terracotta ones ubiquitous in this country). After the deal, we get a stone table and chairs (you also know the type) for the garden.

The construction crew are tied to a contract which denotes when payments are made and dependent on certain stages of the house being finished. One of Chi's Uncles will be observing the crew (2 main builders and 4 labourers) everyday, filling out an observation form on their progress. It's due to be finished by Christmas. Let's see about that.