Searching for anyone who has had experience with construction using the COVINTEC products. Please share any good or bad experiences with this system of construction. Gracias

Some replies on other threads have asked to desribe the Covintec system or provide websites with info. I am reseraching this product because the Covintec system sounds great and makes sense on paper but here in CR all the input I have received from contractors who have used the system over the last 10 years has been negative. I am looking for some positive input as this product makes a lot of sense with the advent of "Green Home Building".
This construction system from Mexico has been used for years and is a totally different method than typical concrete block and column construction. Because of the Covintec extruded polystyrene (EPS) panels energy efficiency there is now new interest as related to "Green Home Building". EPS foam products whether used for insulation or packaging are lightweight, versatile, sanitary, energy efficient, and most of all cost effective. The manufacture of EPS foam uses less energy than that used in the manufacture of paper based alternatives. According to The Midwest Research Institute study on special packaging applications, the total energy requirements to make plastic containers (including both processing and materials energy) were lower than or equal to the energy consumed to make competing materials. Covintec is a building system that replaces traditional block, column, and beam construction.

Covintec comes in 4-foot-by-8-foot panels of steel wire mesh that surrounds expanded polystyrene, which is then covered with traditional plaster. Benefits include structural resistance to hurricane-force winds and earthquake activity; quick installation; great versatility (the panels can be used in a wide array of architectural styles); transportation cost savings because it weighs less than block; improved insulation that reduces noise from outside and between rooms; and protection from humidity damage. Plus, Covintec is relatively seismic-proof, and with eight times the thermal insulation of traditional block systems, tests have shown that it provides electric energy savings for homeowners of 23 percent to 27 percent. And because there's no wood and the panels are embedded with steel, bugs and critters can't eat it or chew through it to live inside.

When they first started out, there was problems, a lot of cracks. Now there is new plaster and it works pretty well. I'm from California and always liked plaster. In Costa Rica it works well from our experiece. My business partner has been building homes here for over 10 years.

We built our vacation home in Paraiso, Guanacaste with Covintec walls. It was completed last February and is holding up quite well. The house is basically a steel frame with teak floors and ceilings - all the walls (where we have walls) are covintec. I was amazed at how easily it went up.

If you're ever in the area, feel free to stop by and check it out.

Michael

Our Covintec Vacation home