What are the construction standards in Placencia, Belize?

 
A mixed build using both wood and concrete would cost around US $75 per square foot.  A full concrete house with basic finishing would be around $100 per square foot. A full concrete house with hurricane windows would be about $125 per square foot.
 
The price of a house really depends on your taste. Belize is a very small country, so there is no economy of scale. We have 300,000 or so people, and of that, 70% are people who are younger than 22 years old. 100,000 people work in only five big industries, which are oil, tourism, sugarcane, citrus and bananas, and that together, generate about 80% of the country’s revenue. Oil doesn’t generate a lot of income, while tourism, sugarcane, citrus, and bananas are all seasonal and use low paid labor. All this means that the 1/3 or so of the population works at seasonal, low paid industries.
 
As a result, there is not a lot of big buying power in Belize, and of course, in Placencia, that justifies the availability of materials. If you are an investor, how many hardware shops and how many building supply yards can you build in this country for that population with that buying power?

 

That means that, as a consumer, you will still find a hardware store, but you will have to choose between the three toilet models that they have available, and that's it. You can go to one of the three tile stores that we have in the whole country, and they will have 10 or 15 tiles in stock. So if you like one of them, you’re lucky. Anything that you want out of the basic range that they carry here in Belize will cost you much more because, in order to buy it, you have to hire a driver, hire a truck, go get what you want in Mexico, and pay big import duties to bring what you just brought back into Belize. As a result, if you want your special tiles, they will be much more expensive than if you picked one of those 15 they have available in the tile store here in Belize.
 
If you come to Belize to build, your cost can be anything within a very wide range.  You can build a very affordable house, since we have a poor population who can build a nice house in an affordable way.  Alternatively, if you bring your US attitude and you're picky, then you will end up paying much more. 

The construction standards in Placencia have become better although I do not recommend that you just let somebody build your house without any guidance because there are no inspectors. It is not like somebody pours a slab and somebody inspects it or that the plumbing is put in and plumbing inspector comes to check. There is nothing like that here so you really have to monitor the job.

 

My husband and I have been in the construction industry so they hired my...

The construction standards in Placencia have become better although I do not recommend that you just let somebody build your house without any guidance because there are no inspectors. It is not like somebody pours a slab and somebody inspects it or that the plumbing is put in and plumbing inspector comes to check. There is nothing like that here so you really have to monitor the job.

 

My husband and I have been in the construction industry so they hired my husband to oversee some of the jobs and other things that they did. My friend who built a house here did the same thing. They were not here but we went over to take a look at the job.

 

We bought our house that was already built - Captain Jak’s, which is about half an acre in the village on the lagoon side. We have a main house that we live in and it has a big garage underneath and an apartment. We have two cabanas and 2-story cottages on the property and they all face the lagoon. We are right on the water, we have a huge deck, and we have a couple of fishing boats. We have a really lush garden in front of our property that not a lot of people have in the village. Right next door, we have a little golf cart operation. We have about fifteen golf carts and we do service and sales.

 

Just from that standpoint, Placencia didn’t have people that knew much how about construction as little as ten years ago. But now, we have certified electricians and we just had a new American plumber that moved in. We are starting to just get some qualified people here. If you were to buy an older house, you better have someone who knows what they are doing and take a look at it. You might also get a cheaper house because you know that you have to rewire the whole house.

The buildings in Placencia are mostly single story or two-story homes. We do not have zoning laws here, so you can build whatever you want. There has been a huge war over that issue because anyone can do whatever he or she wants in Placencia. There are some people who are happy about it and there are some who get mad about it.

 

We were originally not allowed to have a fence, but everyone has a fence nowadays. The fence shouldn’t be more than the...

The buildings in Placencia are mostly single story or two-story homes. We do not have zoning laws here, so you can build whatever you want. There has been a huge war over that issue because anyone can do whatever he or she wants in Placencia. There are some people who are happy about it and there are some who get mad about it.

 

We were originally not allowed to have a fence, but everyone has a fence nowadays. The fence shouldn’t be more than the certain number of feet, but not everyone follows that rule. Unless your neighbors complain, you can do whatever you want.

 

Placencia is a melting pot of different cultures so the homeowners are from everywhere and therefore, they have different styles. Placencia has several huge and gorgeous houses and some cute little cabins. Overall, the buildings in Placencia are still pretty.

 

If you go to Punta Gorda (off the Peninsula), you will not be allowed to build more than three levels. In Placencia, you don’t build up to three levels because your neighbors will get mad, but by law, you can do that. This is why there are a lot of groups who are fighting over that issue.  Everyone wants to insist on what they want.

 

The construction quality is high, but that could also depends on the owners. A Belizean who does not have a lot of money might have a contractor who does not built up to hurricane proof standards. If you want to, you are able to find some contractors in Placencia who are able to build with good standards. For the ones who have more funds, then they will surely get a contractor and they will have some very nice buildings. To me, as long as the job is done properly, it is not a problem. Often times the problem is that Belize is so Americanized. They all think that we can be in America, even though that we are still a Third World Country.

 

There are some people who complain about a house not having the right nail and stuff like that. Those things do not bother me. I have gone through hurricanes and I’ve seen these houses stand. I’ve seen resorts that were still standing after the huge Hurricane Iris in 2001. The buildings that were affected were the ones that are made of wood, but the ones that are made of concrete where not moved.

 

In Placencia, we have Mennonite communities. We don’t talk much about them in Belize, but they are our kin. We get rice from them. We get beans, vegetables, dairy, and they are ahead on construction. There are many Mennonites who are contractors. There are contractors in Belize who have built hotels that are of high quality and often the contractors are Mennonites.

 

(Charming rental home in the village of Placencia, Belize, pictured.)

Being in a country like Belize, the construction standards in Placencia can vary substantially. At the better end of construction, the project we are developing right now is very high end. We build up to Miami Broward Code. Broward is a county in Miami with the toughest building code in the country. Miami Broward buildings are very strong constructions that could withstand a Category 5 hurricane (not that you want to be around for a Category 5).  All the procedures required to...

Being in a country like Belize, the construction standards in Placencia can vary substantially. At the better end of construction, the project we are developing right now is very high end. We build up to Miami Broward Code. Broward is a county in Miami with the toughest building code in the country. Miami Broward buildings are very strong constructions that could withstand a Category 5 hurricane (not that you want to be around for a Category 5).  All the procedures required to build to Miami Broward code are of the highest construction standards in terms of quality and strength.

 

All the homes and condos we build are constructed of concrete and rebar. We use hurricane windows and doors. In contrast, there are other areas of Placencia where they build using wood. They use spruce. In Placencia, you have a wide spectrum of construction standards. Overall it is good construction and it is getting better with each new project.  Speaking for our company, we are the third largest employer in the country of Belize and we are the largest builder in the country, of course, including Placencia. 

 

Even other builders in Placencia have to get permits because when you are building in Placencia, you have to follow building codes. Inspectors do come out to inspect once you do start construction and they do inspect periodically. The code level that they inspect to and demand will not be as high as our projects but all builders still need to pull permits with code enforcement per project on new construction.

 

Some of the old construction in Placencia was not up to the code requirements today.  Whether what you are considering buying is grandfathered in or perhaps was built when the code wasn’t as stringent, the quality of construction cannot be guaranteed, so you must be careful.

 

There are a lot of homes that one will see in a vacation rental section of Belize that was grandfathering years ago under a different set of construction rules, so you have to be diligent in doing your own homework and understand that if something is too good to be true, then perhaps you should ask questions just to be on the safe side.  

 

(Ocean front villas at The Placencia, Placencia, Belize, pictured.)