Building Materials

I remember passing this place a few times, it's in Loma Pyta.
They have some small pre-contructed houses in their lot.
Not sure about the plywood.

keter.com.py/index.html

It would be nice if you can keep us updated here, I (and I'm sure others as well) am very interested in what constructing a house will cost, if you found some reliable construction workers, etc. Good luck!

Hi Brandon,

Where do you want to build this house? Do you (or your uncle) speak Spanish?  If not, do you know anyone who can accompany you? Or else I think you'll have problems getting fair prices...

We built (renovated + enlarged) our house over a year ago.
We also built a small house at our farm.  An architect made the plans from our draft and we hired some construction workers to do the job.  No big company...

My husband worked very closely with the construction workers.  He did most of the electrical wiring himself.

Normally, you have to go around and find the best price/quality ratio.  You do not normally buy ALL construction material from one place.

For example, we initially bought a lot of cement and steel from Hierropar, since we needed large quantities.

Doors + windows (wood), we bought from carpenters.  Normally you give them the dimensions you want, it can range from 60 - 90 cm wide and normally up to 2 m high for doors, for example.

Here you can find plywood = I guess here it's something called "madera terciada":
Bricopar.com.py

Prices and design (size) of doors:
arquitectos.com.py/pypeco-puertas-de-madera-muebles-oficina-diseno-de-muebles-equipamiento-interiores/

Construction:  average market prices:
costos.com.py/pdf/precios_enero_2011.pdf


These are just a few examples...there are a lot of places to buy a lot of stuff!

Just keep asking, maybe someone else has ideas?

Julie (lacanadiense)

Hi Julie,

Thanks for much for the information. Yes, my uncle does speak a little Spanish. Perhaps I'll visit these warehouses and also look for some construction workers to work closely with. Its impressive that your husband did the wiring himself. We are still under some discussions with the architect for because it would also depend on whether the materials we want to be included are available or not.

Anyway, thank you so much. The websites you provided were quite detailed. I will study them.

Regards,
Brandon

No problem Brandon, that's what we're here for, to help one another!

My husband is an electrician, well that's what he studied at the technical college here in PY when he was young, but he never really worked as one.  So for our houses, he had the help of a professional electrician who would give him some tips, help him out from time to time, etc.  But I must say that he did 80% of the work himself.

I noticed you didn't answer my question regarding the location of your house project.  I'm just asking, because some friends of ours were terribly disappointed with an architect...who took much more money from them than he should have...  I'm not giving any names online...

Good luck!
Julie

Hello Brandon,
All depends, from the quality you want to buy. You can buy good bricks, you can buy 'dust'. Yes you can get doors, but don't expect a lot from the std doorframes, while yes, you can find real good jobs. It's all getting your way around.

At least in the area around San Bernardino (Sanber) I can recommend a supplier.  We are in the process of some renovation work on our home in Sanber.   We were recommended by the builder to buy materials locally at a business called 'San Ramon" on Ruta 2 just outside of Sanber so we visited them and got a quote for all the materials materials (sand/dirt/cement, bricks, roofing tiles, timber for vigas and roof support, floor tile, and rock for the foundation).  We then compared their prices at various other building supply stores between Sanber and Asuncion.  The prices at San Ramon were generally cheaper or at least not more expensive than places closer to the capital.  We did not have to worry about pricing doors or windows as the "old" ones are being recycled.  So if your building is around Sanber, then I'd recommend San Ramon.  Don't forget to ask for delivery price, as this is always extra.  Oh, and do check the quality of the materials when you visit the supply business, as Steve pointed out you can bricks or you can buy "dust" that is temporarily in the shape of them!

heey! if your still looking, my boyfriend works in construction and is constantly buying materials for the construction workers... he's in charge of the materials and he also speaks english if you want to hire him to help you buy and move these materials, or if you just want to ask some questions then you can email me and I'll give you his number or I could arrange a meeting for you two. stefieharder [at] gmail.com

ps. He works for the company Prosecons S.A.

im planning to move there..my wifes uncles does construction, ill ask him

hello im interested that your boyfriend buys construction material in Paraguay..give me his contact...im ivan by the way

Yes Please!!

I would appreciate the info and updates. I may be building or renovating a little cottage next year so updates will be very helpful