Tag: Casa Bianca

Casa Bianca is shining brightly in the Costa Rica sun, and our indefatigable crew is working hard to bring this project to completion.

The black tile countertops and pedestals are looking great in the bathroom, showers, and kitchens.

The black accents continue outside, where the front fascia of the building is being inlayed with dark volcanic stone.

This is a time consuming step but the end result is super sharp and helps enhance the curb appeal of Casa Bianca.

This black strap is a unique detail that you won’t find on any other Nosara Paradise Rentals houses.

A big development on the inside is the window installation. Once this is done we can start working inside without fear of the weather; for instance you can see that the A/C units have been installed.

 

Grevan Hernandez is the chief architect of our sprawling gardens, and he is all set to execute another masterpiece with Casa Bianca.

We are looking forward to the great work by Grevan and the rest of the team as this project nears the finish line.

Here are some more finishing touches:

 

We are in the home stretch on the construction of Casa Bianca. The crew has started to install the ceiling lighting. They are also perfecting the wood-to-concrete mating along the ceiling.

They also are framing and installing the windows. A titan of a task for sure!

Here you can see the first course of windows completely installed.

The exterior is looking gorgeous, and on the inside the fixtures are starting to take shape. Here is the pedestal for the bathroom sink:

The kitchen counterspace has been completely formed and cured.

Now is our chance to see the black tile that will serve as the countertop and backsplash.

The white walls, grey tile, and black accents look great together. Trust me that there was  a lot of consternation over this decision, but so far we are pleased with the result.

It’s amazing what this crew has accomplished in five short months. Casa Bianca is a testament to the power of hard work and cooperation.

Off-site, three of the four exterior doors have been completed. Each of these handcarved masterworks with be a perfect ‘Welcome Home’ for our guests.

We’ve been dodging hurricane-level rainstorms for about a week, but the sun finally shined through to give us a great view of the progress on Casa Bianca.

This coat of primer is not exactly the color of the final paint job (which will be pure white), but the primer gives us a nice sneak-peek at the finished product.

The sunshine highlights the immaculate wood work in the ceiling.

The crew is hard at work finishing the tiny details where the wood meets the concrete. Details make the difference.

We are also progressing on the kitchen counters and bathroom sinks. Here is the first glimpse of one of the bathroom sinks:

Here are the kitchen counter areas.

Coming soon in the fixtures, commodes, and tile work. Stay tuned!

This weekend was lost to heavy rain, but the crew of Nosara Paradise Rentals and FishingNosara are back in action, progressing rapidly on the second story of Casa Bianca

Fortunately almost no concrete seeped through the new slab…it takes precision to make sure that the forms are well sealed from below, and you don’t know if they are tight until the concrete is poured.

Satisfied with the quality of the pour, the team soldiered on with stacking the blocks for the second story.

Nine courses of block have been stacked and filled in just three working days. These guys are in a groove and the speed of the work proves it.

Meanwhile, the wood-shop-in-the-boat-shop is sending clouds of sawdust flying into the nature preserve like a steamstack.

The beauty of this wood is revealed in each pass of the sander, and we are excited to see it in place around Casa Bianca.

All systems are go and we are excited to keep going.

The crew hit a huge milestone on May 26 as Casa Bianca is really taking shape.

There is a lot of preparation to make sure the concrete pour goes smoothly. First up is to fit these 10-inch styrofoam blocks into the frame.

Similar to the first floor, we had to run the conduits, plumbing, and rebar for the second floor.

Of course the difficulty level of this process goes way up when you add the endless trips up-and-down the ramp.

Finally on May 26th it was time to put-up or shut-up. The crew started early and logged ten straight hours of tag-teaming up and down the ramp with full wheelbarrows of wet cement.

Then entire pour was completed in the early evening and we are so excited about this great result.

Great work by this team…the hardest working boat crews in the construction business!

The Nosara Paradise Rentals team is progressive at a rapid pace. For instances there are the eaves of Casa Tranquilo, which have been sanded and varnished.

This is difficult and dangerous work, but these guys are up for the challenge.

Of course the main project right now is the construction of Casa Bianca. We framed up the window and door headers.

Soon we will commence the monster pour of the second story slab. These styrofoam blocks will be encased in the slab, which is essential to save weight and improves HVAC efficiency while muffling the footsteps of the upstairs neighbor.

Here you can see the final form fit for the ceiling slab here:

Stay tuned for this amazing feat, as every drop of concrete will be poured from above one wheelbarrow load at a time. Here is what the road to success looks like:

Meanwhile the preparations for Casa Bianca’s roof wood continues.

You gotta love the depth and variety of colors in this lumber.

Look in the sky…it’s a bird? A plane? No…it’s the second story of Casa Bianca.

Now that the window and door headers have cured solid, the team has started to run rebar and frame the second story slab.

Part of building in Costa Rica is to anticipate earthquakes, and we do that by leaving gaps in the block wall and pouring in these concrete support pillars.

Here you can see Captain Alex and Captain Carlos roughing up the finished pour so that later we can add a wet-coat of concrete in a stucco-like fashion.

Meanwhile, the boat garage has been transformed into a wood shop. This raw timber needs to be sanded and cured for a few weeks before it is ready to be shaped into roof trusses, stairways, and trim pieces.

We are stoked with this progress and can’t wait to see what’s next!