We've Made the Window Decision

After getting quotes for all the windows and doors in the house, except for the 8 ft French doors in the living room, we have decided to go ahead and get the windows and screens from the company, WinDor, in LA. It will add about 40% to the total cost of the windows verses buying locally, but we feel it is a good investment and a quality product. Plus, we get a $1500 tax credit if we buy the windows in the States, which will offset most of the duties and taxes. Our other local options were from Spanish Lookout, Belize City and Mexico, but in the end, the quality of the work cannot match the quality of the US product. The actual price of the windows is about the same, but it's the duties and taxes that add to the extra expense. The equipment and state of the art technology that the US company provides just can't be matched for the price in either Belize or Mexico. The quarter million dollar vinyl fusion machine alone is way beyond what any company in Belize could afford to spend with such a limited clientele base. The WinDor facility manufactures hundreds of windows a month, each custom made to order. All the windows will be low-E, double pane, argon filled and tempered. It may be more than we need, but we can get a Cadillac window for a Chevy price.


We are going to wait to order the windows until we return this November, but that shouldn't be a problem. The house will be plastered to a finish and it will also give me a chance to physically look over all the windows before they are ordered and installed.


We are also looking into buying and shipping appliances but will probably wait until the big sales happen over the Thanksgiving weekend. Again, with the big discounts that are available during the holidays, it should offset the duties and taxes in Belize.

A Kid in a Candy Store

This week, my contractor, John Harris, came to LA to check out windows, security systems and electronics for his new house and others he is building. He spent a good part of last week in Mexico, searching for a quality vinyl window manufacturer. What he found was that most of them have them manufactured in the US and then shipped to Mexico. So not only are you going to pay for shipping and duties in Belize, but you will have paid for the shipping and duties, plus a middleman markup, to get the windows into Mexico. And the windows that were made in Mexico were not the quality the John was looking for.




So, while John was here, we went to a couple of window manufacturers, a couple of window distributors and a home improvement store.





At the home improvement store, John was blown away at the prices of the windows and granite counters. The windows were one third the cost of Belize, with US standards. Same with the glass sliding doors. Two by ten foot granite counters, with bull nosed edging, for between $150-$250 each. John estimates that same granite counter would be a thousand dollars or more, in Belize. Same with the bathroom counters. John has estimated that with shipping and duties, he can still bring the windows and granite into Belize cheaper than he can buy it there, with much better quality.





Next, we went to a electronics wholesaler, where John was able to pick up all his security equipment in one stop, also at a huge discount. Unlike Belize, you can do one stop shopping here in the States. John figured that the money he has saved, on just the items he needed to buy, has paid for his whole trip.





The next stop was the window manufacturing plant. WinDor (www.windor.com) custom makes every window, so there are no extra charges for odd sizes. The quality was far superior to anything we have seen so far and the prices were the same as the windows he was getting from Spanish Lookout. And, they can make the 8 ft French doors that I am looking to install in the living room. I was very impressed with their displays and they even gave us a tour of the manufacturing facilities behind the showroom. A very clean, modern, well run manufacturing plant. John is planning to order all the windows for his house to see how much the shipping and duties will add to the final price of the windows, and if it is a reasonable alternative to offer his clients. He seems to think that with the quality and price, even with the duties, it would be worth it to purchase them here, in LA.





From there it was off for a liquid lunch at a local sports bar. John got to enjoy a cold Guinness, on tap. I enjoyed a real nice lager from the tap. Something you can't get in Belize. We discussed what we had seen and where we going to go next. This is where a kid in a candy store begins.





Our next stop was Pacific Sales, a wholesale seller of kitchen, bath, TV's and appliances.

John and Mischelle at Pacific Sales

John was drooling soon after entering the store. Of course, the first things you see as you enter the store is the TV's. Plasma's, LCD's, large and small. Prices were also pretty unbelieveable. The prices for TV's has dropped so much, it's almost worth it to pick up a spare TV. After prying John out of the TV area, we entered the kitchen appliance area. Again, so much to choose from. Stovetops were the main items we looked at, with over 50 different types on the showroom floor. The prices varied widely but there were some excellent bargains, especially with the holiday so close. Some of the items were up to 70% off. Mischelle and I are thinking of going back this weekend to purchase some things for our home, even if we do end up paying shipping and duties, because the prices are so good.

After spending an hour at Pacific Sales, it was back to seal the deal on John's electronic equipment, then off to dinner. We went to a nice steak place, figuring John doesn't get to have a good steak very often. We had a wonderful dinner, then dropped John off at the Bicycle Club casino so he and his friend could play cards.


It had been a long day, but we got a lot accomplished. We found a window and door supplier, picked out our kitchen appliances and had a good conversation with our contractor about the status of our home.

Is It Friday, Yet?

Here in Belize, Is It Friday, Yet?, takes on a whole new meaning. Nothing. Nada. Nyet. You don't count the days here in Belize, you live them. Friday is just another day here in paradise. Yes, you might want to hit the market for fresh veggies and fruit, or maybe the butcher, for fresh pork chops. But, then again, maybe not. Do I feel like driving to town? Do I need to?

Oh, I remember now. Friday is the day we go to Chetumal, to look at a new window supplier. I was up early, to be at John's house at Four Mile lagoon, by 7AM. The traffic was tolerable. I saw one other car on Consejo Road. It took me 20 minutes to go the 15 miles to John's house. I had to pass 3 farm tractors and a car or two. And that's a busy day on the Corozal roads around the outside of town.

After arriving at John's home, I parked my truck and John, Gusto, Donna and Jeanne were all waiting for me. I was two minutes late and blamed it on Belizian time. Jeanne said it was Jamaican time. I was just glad I was there around the right time. I haven't set an alarm since December 26th. So we all piled into John's truck, with Gusto at the wheel, and away we went to the border crossing.

The border crossing is fairly easy once you know the routine. On the Belize side, you pay the $36BZ or $18US for the environmental fee then take your receipt to the immigration desk, where they will stamp you out of Belize and send you on your way. On the Mexican side, you go into the immigration office and fill out a visa, they look at your passport, stamp it and send you on your way. It's that easy...if there are no lines

So away we went to Chetumal. We stopped off for coffee at the large mall that has a 13 movie Cinema, McDonald's, Liverpool department store and a large grocery store. Just like home. After coffee we made our first stop at what was to be the window manufacturer. Turns out they are just a distributor and only can get powder coated metal windows. Not what we were looking for, so it was off to try and find another window manufacturer.

But after a couple of attempts to locate a manufacturer in town, we found a supplier that was in Tampico. John is going to contact them to see what they may have to offer but he's not giving up on finding one in Chetumal.

John had Gusto drive us around town so we could see what Chetumal had to offer and then it was off to lunch in Bacalar. After a short drive, we ended up at a restaurant at the Cenote Azul, which borders the Bacalar lagoon. This was a beautiful restaurant location overlooking the cenote. The water looked so cool, clear and refreshing. There was a high diving platform that we were dared to go off. I told Jeanne it was she and I that were going to make the first jump. She didn't like that idea so much, but Donna said she might be willing to make the jump. John said he had made the jump before and gave a lame excuse as to why he wouldn't jump this time.

So we went into the restaurant for a wonderful seafood lunch. John and I split a seafood platter that said it was for 2 people. It probably could have fed everyone at the table We had lobster, shrimp, and 3 or 4 different kinds of fish. All of that fish and shellfish cost 400 pesos, or about $31US. Quite a deal. And for a nice change of pace from just Belikin beer in Belize, I had a few Negra Modelos, which went down nice and smooth. It was nice to have a selection of just more than three beers, like it is in Belize.

After lunch it was time for a swim and maybe a jump from the platform. I was up for it and after a little coaxing, Donna was up for it too. Maybe John would jump if Donna and I did. But no. Same lame excuse. So Donna and I both made the 18 foot jump and John showed us his world famous back flip off a 2 foot high dive platform. (See John, you should have jumped with the big kids, just so you wouldn't get sh*t in my blog.)

The Platform Jump

Me after my jump.

Donna getting congrats after her jump.

John getting ready to wow the crowd.

Too much splash on entry, John. The judges only give it a 6.0

Jeanne enjoying the cool refreshing cenote waters.


After the swim in the cenote, we dried off and enjoyed music from some of the local musicians. We did a little dancing and singing, another cold Mexican beer and then it was time to get to our next destination, the Las Vegas Casino, in the free zone.

That was my idea, but I was just planning to have them drop me off and I would catch a cab back to John's house a little later. But I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to visit the casino. Donna had wanted to see what the casino was like, but I don't think she mentioned it to John, so when I brought it up, John was nice enough to show us around. Nice little casino, but it was kind of quiet when we were there in the early afternoon. So I bellied up to the nearly empty tables and proceeded to gamble away all my left over money from lunch. But I did have a good time while I was losing.

After leaving the casino and doing the border thing, we headed back to Johns' to pick up our trucks and to head over to Donna's place to see the clearing and the filling of her lot. They did quite a bit of work cutting down all that jungle and now they are doing the job of filling it all in. George Greenwood of Taribo Industries, is the man to see for that (tariboind@yahoo.com , local no. 501-621-3244). He and his crew worked on our lot and they sure know how to handle that equiptment and move that dirt around.

They have done a good job of filling Donna's lot and it should be ready to build on when she and Jacques are ready. Now comes the fun part of the house design. Good luck.

P.S. Thanks Donna for the extra restaurant pics.

Careful what you wish for

Another night of pouring rain has decended on to Consejo. It rained again last night, sometimes hard enough to wake me up. We need the rain, just not in torrents. The work site was a sloppy mess, with lots of water, but work continued.

I am finally seeing progress on the main structure of the house, and not just the stuff behind the scenes. The rebar for the support beams has been assembled and put in place. Now the job is to tie the support beams all together and form the support for the whole house. After that, they will make forms for the cement beams and probably pour them on Saturday or Monday. My time is running short, and as much as I am looking forward to returning to my Mischelle and the dogs, I still want to track the progress on my own. You just need to have faith in your contractor and discuss all the options ahead of time so there are no surprises for both you and the contractor. John, I'm sure, will take care of everything, and if he does have questions, I will know far enough ahead, as not to disrupt the construction schedule.

I see a couple of problems in the cistern, but nothing that can't be readily fixed. John and I are scheduled to go to Chetumal on Friday, instead of Thursday. I am looking forward to that visit, although I'm not really sure what I will be looking at or what I will be looking for. I am looking for a quality product, that will hold up over time. I think Mischelle and I have decided on French doors rather than sliding doors, just because they offer double the area open to the breeze. I don't think screens will be that much of a problem, but if we don't get the doors right the first time, it will be something we will have to live with. So, I think we are right in choosing the French doors and we will deal with the screens later. I think the same may apply to the other windows, but I need to see what they offer.