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Recently I made a trip out of the city to go visit Dexter Witt, Charlie Botts and friends out in Padasi.  Dexter is a builder from California who has made a life here in Panama building custom homes.  Charlie is the President of Panama Blue Investments and they both work together on projects in Pedasi and around Panama.

I chatted back in the beginning of the year with Dex to see if I could go out and visit him and check out his projects.  He was more than open to the idea, agreeing to let me ‘pick his brain’ regarding all things building in panama.  I finally made it out and learned a lot.  Charlie and Dex are both doing great things in Pedasi and are well in tune with the local culture and community.

On the first day I got a great tour of all the projects they had going on in the area.  I visited and later got to help out with on the second day a project he had going outside of town.  The project is a curious one, it is essentially a roofed deck to hold a safari tent.  The construction details on this structure push the envelope for construction technology.  The footings are prefab concrete balls that are made to have steel tube driven in them and filled with concrete to get a good hold on the earth.  On top there is one bolt to attach to a steel bracket that wood posts sit on and the rest of the frame is suppoted with bolts–no direct bearing details.  Although a caprenter may not build his home like this I am curious to see how it turns out.  It will have a great view of the ocean and the tent will look good under its big roof it will soon have.

After that we visited Charlie’s property where he and Dex are building a home up on a hill, again, with a great view.  This is a home built by a carpenter, and there are some great details on it.  For the walls they are using reinforced styrofoam panels that they repeo over to solidify the structure for lateral force; they also give it a nice finish.  Styrofoam is a great insulator and considerably cooler than the local alternative of cinder block concrete walls.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Seth, a young guy who has moved out here and built his own home.  He also framed up his house and used the same styrofoam panels that are finished with cement.  The house along with the other structures he has built on the property so far are all really beautiful and built with the detail oriented eye of an ex-Marine.  The walls and roof are insulated with styrofoam help keep the house really cool.  During the day there is a nice cross breeze through some creative window shudders that help keep the house at a very comfortable temperature during the heat of the day.

All in all I learned a lot in my brief time out in Pedasi, and I look forward to the next trip out there.  Its a beautiful town with great people and I always enjoy myself there.  Until next time!