Construction quality in Argentina

There are 4 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 1,726 times. The latest Post (August 8, 2024 at 1:00 PM) was by UK Man.

    After a month in Italy, in my mother's home in a 10,000 inhabitants town some 50 km from Milan, I came to appreciate the construction quality in Italy. Oddly enough, most Italian immigrants were employed in construction in Argentina. Still, I find the construction quality lacking overseas. From poor insulation to lack of ventilation. I am sleeping very well here, whereas in Argentina I always get up with backaches, despite having changed mattress, bedframe and countless pillows. I came to the conclusion that it is the poor insulation of our bedroom.

    We are on the last floor and the roof is made of tin (or so it seems to me), there is no space between the roof and the ceiling (I don't mean a whole penthouse, just some space). The windows are barebone metal with just one glass.

    I have been browsing property ads on ZonaProp and I am appalled at the price of properties which are lesser quality than an average apartment in Italy.

    200-300-400k USD for a house where rooms have no windows, doors and windows are the same they were 100+ years ago (definitely provide charm... bur comfort?!), no heating, etc.

    Maybe I should be looking to make upgrade to our current apartment, as other properties seems not worth the splurge of money. Not to mention that my hubby is not keen on spending that much money on a house to live, since it is just the two of us. Thoughts? I think GlasgowJohn has lived both in the city and in new buildings in gated communities and should have a grasp of the construction quality in Argentina.

    The missus always says if you want a quality built house contract a good architect and build one. However it won't come cheap. The old houses were well built however time has caught up with most of them. Ours is a right PITFA to maintain.

    Quote from serafina

    The windows are barebone metal with just one glass.

    They do now have high quality and efficient PVC framed windows with double pane glass. They are common enough from a number of mid size Argentine manufacturers. The colors and texture are simulated to look like wood. Much better latches and secure lock mechanisms. Different than the first phase of plastic/PVC that I remember in USA many years ago, that became brittle and cracked after time. A great replacement to the more common aluminum with single frame glass.

    Quote from aficionado

    They do now have high quality and efficient PVC framed windows with double pane glass. They are common enough from a number of mid size Argentine manufacturers. The colors and texture are simulated to look like wood. Much better latches and secure lock mechanisms. Different than the first phase of plastic/PVC that I remember in USA many years ago, that became brittle and cracked after time. A great replacement to the more common aluminum with single frame glass.

    We're planning on getting our crappy windows replaced but double glazing is still very expensive here.