Journeyman Jack Ecuador – Page 21

“T.I.E. This. is. Ecuador.” I find myself often telling my brother (from the USA) who is currently visiting Ecuador for the first time.

The things he initially notices crack me up when I’m just used to it being here a few years now.

Here were a few things he noticed first in Ecuador, and found strange…

1. Grass growing on power lines in Ecuador. Unexplainable.

2. Ghetto glass. Or broken bottles cemented into the tops of property walls to prevent break ins. Interesting idea.

3. Whole extended families on motorcycles. Slightly illegal in the USA, he found it strange the sight of a father, mother and two kids and the family dog on one motorcycle in Ecuador.

4. Street dogs humping in the street. A common part of any Ecuador landscape. This one he found particularly hilarious.

5. Random cars with police-colored strobe lights. Not exactly legal in USA.

6. Pissing in Public. The ease with which male Ecuadorians pull up in public was impressive to him.

7. Cars parked on sidewalks making the pedestrians walk in the street. A common sight in Ecuador.

8. How close the buses whiz by you when biking on the road in Ecuador, literally they pass just inches away. This one made him flinch.

9. Cars pulling other broken-down cars with a rope. Not precisely legal in the USA yet a common sight in Ecuador.

10. No windows (or TP) or any ventilation of any kind in many gas station bathrooms in Ecuador. The hot, humid stench of one particularly on the coast will make you want to shower right then and there.

T.I.E.

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“I’m starting to think this is hopeless.” I thought as I visited the fifth store dedicated to selling cell phone protective cases in Quito (Ecuador’s capitol city).

You see, in Ecuador, just like the cars on the road, due to the import restrictions there is a very limited variety of cell phones available locally.

And the cell phone case stores cater to only the most popular brands and models of phones in Ecuador.

Yet, there are many people like me who brought their phone from somewhere else. And my poor-little Motorola smart phone is not a common make and model here.

And it’s da-n near impossible to find a case for it.

But I’m not the only one, there are A LOT of people who bring a phone to Ecuador.

Good luck finding a case for it!

Searching online I had slightly better luck, but the one store I found across country said they were sold out of my case, but could order it and it would be here in a month!

I can only imagine what it’s like in the smaller towns of Ecuador to find a case for their phone.

I think this is an opportunity for someone.

You don’t even need a store front. Selling online in Ecuador would be enough.

This is one example of an under-filled niche in Ecuador. There are many similar ones.

I’d focus on what you know…

Why do I share this idea?

Because I already have a business at the current time and I need a case for my phone before I break it!

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“You did what?” I asked surprised at my new American friend who told me he just agreed to sell his car to an Ecuadorian girl.

He’s turning down dozens of people calling on his car every day (a car in high demand in Ecuador) because he already agreed with a handshake to sell and was planning on meeting her in a few days. No money exchanged.

“Naw! Man.” I responded.

Maybe that’s how you do business in North America, but that doesn’t work down here.

The first person to pay you in full for the car, get’s the car, that simple. Don’t be holding it for people!

Down here, if there isn’t at least a deposit paid, you got nothing, man!

Words are just hot air.

Handshakes are worse.

Checks are the equivalent of toilet paper, (seriously!) at least, when you don’t know the buyer in a deal like this one.

Particularly, when selling something in high demand down here like a car, if someone asks if they can pay in installments or whatever, tell ’em to f— off, you’re not a bank.

Cash in hand or deposited in bank account… then goods released.

That’s how you do business down here.

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Hi {!firstname_fix},

And on goes the roof!

I wanted to do a house in the typical Spanish style with the red clay shingles. Plus, I wanted to do a lighter-weight roof with “flex”, like the ones offered by Bradenton Roofer as they would be better for earthquakes than the typical cement roof (losa) common in Ecuador, which is why I’d to contact TheRoofClinic.com to ensure the safety of the house.

Also, I thought it would be nice in the case of a big quake the thought of gypsum and shingles above me appeals to me much more than blocks of concrete.

Plus, i decided to do a four-sided sloping roof with multi-colored clay shingles in a typical-Japanese style. Rare in Ecuador. Commerical roofing contractors faced this issue professionally. The primary item on a roof replacement estimate is the actual roofing material. The estimate will list the manufacturer and type of shingles the contractor intends to use. It will also show the style of shingle. Architectural or dimensional shingles are the most popular. They create more interest and often mimic the look of other roofing materials such as slate or tile. Well you can approch the firms having manufacturing facilities in mexico because they provide very high quality material. It may include color choice or options if design was part of the initial discussion. The estimate will also indicate the length of the manufacturer’s warranty for that type. You can check this site out for commercial and industrial roofing services.

But first came the metal frame…

Labor cost for installation of metal framework for the conservatory roof (3 days)= $500

anti-corrosive paint $82.50
metal beams for roof $1326
tape $9

Then came the plywood on which goes the shingles are held in place by a little bit of cement. The costs highlighted below are for the roof, the roof installation cost $580 and took about 2 weeks. Find further information or get a quote now.

Then came the shingles…

In Ecuador to lay roof shingles costs around $3.50 per m2, whereas most commercial roofing companies in Aurora Colorado take far less. When installing make sure there is a decent slope or you will have big leak problems later! Trust me, I know from a different property! The moral of your friend’s story and its lesson was clear, it is better to invest time and energy to find a qualified metal roofing contractor to install your roof in the first place than, it is to hire the wrong crew that has never installed a metal roof before, and will treat it as another asphalt shingle “get it done in one day” project. Now, that there were no questions remaining as to the importance of hiring a roofing company that specializes in metal roofing, your friend advised you to use a residential roofers Contractors directory broken down into categories by specialties; metal roofing contractor companies organized by location in the U.S, and by specialty categories such as standing seam and metal shingle installers.

According to Commercial Roofing Calgary, the roof on your home or business is the first line of defense when it comes to protecting your real estate property investment! Roofs are generally the most expensive single item that property owners will replace. When it’s time to have a new roofing system installed, it is often difficult to know which roofer to hire for the job! Homeowners should be skeptical of hiring their roofer based on price alone. When hiring a roofer, you generally will get exactly what you pay for! Hiring a roofer solely because they provided the lowest bid may result in a poor quality roof that may leak and diminish the curb appeal of your home.

Total roof install= 2 weeks.

The total spent on the roof for a three bedroom two bath house was $3,788.09.

See full costs below of weeks 5-10 of build project…

28.73 chimney
1239.41 plywood for roof
18.84 screws for roof
11.45 electric tubes
6 telephone
7.50 screws for roof
248.86 ceramics for balcony $7.60 per m2
9.22 latex paint
97.30 cable
15.73 bondex roof
11.28 disc for electric saw
8.00 grapa metalica
1492.90 shingles roof (165m2) for 145m2 house
3.00 electric outlet
3.00 gyprocks misc.
1.20 placa plastica
11.54 fachaleta
$580 manual labor for roof. $3 per m2
219.15 More shingles
$7.75 sack of cement
940 maestro Jimmy for foundation work (out of $9500)
150 metal door and install for water tank
3.00 teflon
13.20 tubes (codo)
17 breaker

81.95 tank for water
73.18 supplies for tank
62.18 cement
210 gas
1810 of 2260 Gypsum drop off installation included materials. $15 per m2
$4.75 cable
17.50 screws for gypsum
160 last payment for electritian
17.65 outlet
30 transport for tiles
1598.25 porcelen for bedrooms at $15.98 per m2 (100m2)
1175.25 porcelen for bathrooms
1200 last payment maestro for laying foundation (out of $9500)
79.11 ceramic tiles
3.25 brush
13.50 screws
23 telephone calls
8.35 tubes varios
31.40 siicone
$103 bondex for roof
$105.69 electric cable
14.58 roof supplies
140 payment electritian
10.79 polimex
40 uplift metal framing for roof
63 stucco for walls
298.58 bondex for flooringWEEKS 5-10- TOTAL SPENT INCLUDING ROOF for 190m2 HOUSE: $12,207.

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The basics are cheap in Ecuador: food, water, utilities, gasoline, natural gas, shelter.

Consumer goods are expensive in Ecuador (much more so than North America): Clothes, shoes, electronics, perfumes and liquor to name a few things.

The reason is the protectionist import policies the current government has imposed with strict regulations and high tariffs.

But this has created an opportunity for the casual traveler to Ecuador that I think VERY few are taking advantage of.

You see, if you bring just one or two units of any one item the customs officials will deem the items as for personal use only.

No problem. Wave you on through.

And at the same time there is a BUNCH of people in Ecuador (Ecuadorians and foreigners) running businesses that I’m sure would be willing to exchange their services for an item they want/need brought from the USA.

Pay your trip with barter, basically.

Instead of exchanging cash for a service you are offering a service for a service.

First, you could plan your trip and decide what you want to do and where you want to stay.

Then, you could email the travel providers you plan to work with (hotels, car rentals, tour providers, AirBnb hosts, etc.) and see if they would like something brought from the USA, they could pay you back just what you paid for the item based on your receipt and give you their service (like a hotel night) free in exchange for you bringing the item (s) down to them.

Some would accept, some may not. As a hotel owner in Ecuador, I’d know I’d listen to someone offering me this.

Author: Journeyman Jack Ecuador

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1 Cell Phone-Related Biz-Opp In Ecuador

The Wrong Way To Close A Sale In Ecuador

Roof install costs on the coast of Ecuador- Ecuador house build weeks 5-10

How to pay for your trip to Ecuador with barter