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You are doing it all wrong!
Building in Mauritius was a brand new experience for us. We had built in the UK but houses and building techniques and regulations are very different here. Family and friends had all issued many warnings about all the dangers involved. There were horror stories about the quality of work we could expect and the stress we would encounter. We could expect to age ten years before the house was built. There seemed to be an assumption that builders would cheat and steal. Everything would go over budget and it would flood and fall down in the first cyclone. These warnings were so strong that we started to consider buying an established property and spent some time looking around with the help of Estate Agents. This, in itself was an odd experience, particularly when we asked the simple question – How much does this property cost? The answer was never straightforward – i.e. ‘x’ number of rupees – but it was usually the subject of negotiation within very wide limits. The real answer seemed to be – well, it depends how much you are prepared to pay for it or ‘How much have you got?’ Here in Mauritius where the agent is working on behalf of both the buyer and the seller, it is a game that it is very easy to loose. It was true however that when we were finally able to establish the price of a property it seemed to be expensive when compared with the potential cost of building.
We were lucky enough to be able to buy a piece of land in the area that we wanted with a view to building in the future. It was soon clear however, that the cost of keeping the land clean plus the steadily increasing cost of building materials meant that the sensible approach was to get on with the building straightaway.
Before the first block was laid, we were the lucky listeners of free advice. In Mauritius, everybody wants to be very helpful – and they start with the assumption that you need a lot of help. When we started working on the land, people would stop to welcome us to the area and give friendly direction and helpful hints. The advice would come after stating that –We were ‘doing it all wrong’.
Who supervises the supervisors? </B>
Before any building started we cleared the land, put up fencing, walls and started to plant around the site. When the stone wall was just being started we were given expert predictions that it would very soon crack and then fall down. The expert in this case, was so concerned that he spent time and effort making drawings of how the foundation should be and what the materials should consist of. He was so worried about this wall that he even offered to supervise the rebuilding of it himself so that it would be done properly - and he wouldn’t charge much money.
When we were trying to identify a builder, with whom we could contract we had some very strange conversations. Making an accurate estimation of the cost seemed to be the biggest difficulty. Several builders imagined that we would allow them to start the project and then we would review how much it was costing - as we went along!! One builder gave us a very high estimate for the total - no stage payments. He then explained that builders in Mauritius were sometimes untrustworthy and we should appoint somebody to supervise him and to check that he used the right materials. He was even kind enough to recommend a friend of his who could be appointed as an independent engineering supervisor, for only 15% of the build cost. He didn’t get the contract. Another ambitious character wanted us to give him the contract although he had no company, no builders license, no equipment, no real experience and no idea of how long it would take. He had worked on a building site and could mend his own bicycle, so he would know exactly how to do everything. He didn’t get the job but had full marks for unfounded confidence.
Anyway, a dream builder of Beau Bassin with a golden touch did give us an estimate that made sense. There were seven staged payments for completion and they were very easy to talk to. When you are building a house - things go wrong and there are unexpected problems. We did have to make some compromises and the builders were prepared to change things and even break concrete when the change came too late. This was the most positive experience of building in Mauritius. Our experience of building workers in the UK was that they were only any good when everything was going well. When they have to redo things there is extra expense, extra swearing and a general breakdown in relationships. We managed to do most of our own supervising by being available every day for checking and doing many of the jobs ourselves. On some days there were 20 or 30 people here (not Mondays!) and there must have been over 100 people that had some involvement in all the various stages.
Stress – what stress? The truth is that the experience has been a very positive one. Nearly all of the people involved were really helpful and friendly. There was a lot of satisfaction and pleasure in seeing the house fall into shape. The total cost came in very close to budget and we are still very pleased with the end result. So, building in Mauritius has even been good fun and we can look forward to the first cyclone with – some concern.
<B>Jules JERRET</B>
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