By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Have you ever done a "do it yourself" remodel on an apartment in Panama City. That's what I'm doing right now. I've got one construction guy who is acting as a foreman, bringing in the particular specialists we need to do things like install air conditioners, gas lines, electrical, cabinets, etc. He and his crew are doing all of the construction and mechanical, stuff like welding, pouring cement, ripping up old floors, knocking down walls - all of the heavy lifting. Once all of the parts and pieces are in their proper place then we shift to the fit and finish - paint, fixtures, lamps and lighting, decoration and details. If you can manage this kind of thing yourself you can save thousands of dollars and still be very involved in the decision making process - things like choosing higher quality "hidden" details like wall sockets. The difference is 100% higher cost - the "good" ones cost about $2.00 per, while the cheap Chinese (crap) ones cost about $1.00, so the total cost of putting quality fixtures in the entire house goes up by exactly one buck, multiplied by the total number of outlets in the entire house (what, maybe 15?). (more)
