The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:48 am**

Here are the pictures of the house I am about to build in Luanda.

To start with I had to buy all finishes in the UK as the choice in Luanda, Angola's capital, is poor and anything high quality out there is stupidly expensive; so I bought a container and parked it at my UK home and loaded it full of tiles, sanitaryware, doors, ironmongery, electrical goods etc.

Stupidly I positioned it poorly on my plot as I anticipated a sideloader would collect it. I thought all sideloaders picked up from the left, but in the UK they pick up from the right as we drive on the other side. But then I found out that a sideloader couldn't collect it as a sideloader can't carry a full 40' container on UK roads as it would be overweight.

So I hired cranes and a skeletal trailer to collect the container. It was pretty muddy so it was a bit of a worry that the truck might get stuck or refuse to enter my property. Fortunately I found a crane company in Wrexham who reckoned they could lift the container on to the truck using two small cranes for GBP1400. All the other firms I asked, wanted to send one 200+ tonne crane, bog mats, ballast by separate lorry etc and were quoting in the region of GBP6000. The Wrexham crew also said they would pull the lorry out if it got stuck!

They lifted it on but then the lorry got stuck but after an hour or so of messing around chucking ballast and stones under the tractor we got it out.

Unfortunately the driver went over a bit of grass belonging to my neighbour opposite. She went mad. Can't really understand it when you can see tyre marks all over her lawn where she parks her car! Anyway, I said I would repair it for her.

Now it is off to Luanda once the new visa arrives to start building the structure...

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:56 am**

Look forward to seeing the next installment Ted. Whats it like getting a visa in Angola?

I had to get one for China recently, it was a piece of cake, took just two days. Would imagine that Angola is slightly less efficient ?

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:49 am**

It is not easy! You need to be invited - which while not a problem for me now makes it very difficult for most to visit. The process could not really be described as quick either. Also, the slightest imperfection in your application will normally be spotted meaning your application will be refused, meaning you have to reapply.

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:56 pm**

Wishing you all the best for the venture Ted - (you've got some serious bottle) - maybe you should start a dedicated blog on Mr McC's pages - ?

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:37 pm**

Brilliant idea Suggers.

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:16 pm**

Well I'm guessing this thread will be his blog as it progresses

Looking forward to it progressing,

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:26 pm**

Ted wrote:Also, the slightest imperfection in your application will normally be spotted meaning your application will be refused, meaning you have to reapply.

I made a mistake on my Chinese visa and they just crossed it out and changed it for me. What a refreshing change. They must be keen to get people over there

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:35 pm**

My dad has a mate who imports/sells exact copies of yale forklifts. Tip take the local party chairman out ???

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:40 pm**

fair play to you ted kick on

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:12 pm**

hi ted, how heavy is the container. it might have been cheaper to rent the trailor that fetched the container aswell. just a thought. where abouts are you, i seem to reconsise the countryside.

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:32 pm**

digerjones wrote:hi ted, how heavy is the container. it might have been cheaper to rent the trailor that fetched the container aswell. just a thought. where abouts are you, i seem to reconsise the countryside.

We didn't know the exact gross weight of the container when laden. In the end, the crane crew estimated it at around 25 tonnes. It might have been good to have rented the trailer too (I hadn't thought of that).

I loaded that container at my home as I put lots of my tools, old building materials, furniture in etc (ie, stuff I had lying around at home).

Next time I send a container, it will only contain new building materials. So I will buy the materials and have them delivered to a company in the UK who will then professionally load and then dispatch the container.

Means I can be busy building the next house's structure in Angola rather than hanging around in the UK waiting for materials.

Howdens took ages to get all the doors in and the guttering we are using is aluminium (uPVC isn't great in Angola's climate) so had to be made to order which took a while. So buying and then waiting to load the container wastes a lot of time; I found this very frustrating as I am a builder not a container packer!

An added advantage of using a professional packing firm is that it cuts down insurance costs.

I am just outside Market Drayton -Shrops/Staffs/Cheshire border.

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:38 pm**

The aluminium gutter extruders, set up in a trailer are about 10k second hand, might be a handy machine to have and offer the service to others as well. Guess depends on getting the flat rolls of aluminium though

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:59 pm**

small world ted, about 4-5 mile away. i have sent PM you.

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:07 pm**

Guttering is far from common out there... High-end houses tend to either have flat roofs with spitters (which one can precast from concrete) or pantiles like you see on villas in Spain and Portugal. Of those with pantiles, I'd say only 1% or 2% have gutters. And it is only high-end houses that have pantiled roofs or gutters, so the market for guttering out there is miniscule at the moment.

I got the guttering from Guttercrest:

http://www.guttercrest.co.uk/hoppers-decorative.htm

Guttercrest do decorative hoppers. Angolans are like the Swiss - they love their flag and fly it or wear t-shirts with it all the time. I would like to get the Angolan flag embossed on some hoppers the next time I export some guttering there. I think Angolans would love that if Guttercrest can do that. Guttercrest were quite good value so it will be interesting to see how their system goes together...

Posted: **Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:13 pm**

where did you get the windows in the end ted?
LLL

The Brew Cabin

Building a house in luanda - Diary of an angolan property developer