Construction Pictures illustrating standards and techniques used at Vista Villa Roatan Condominiums

Buildings that are constructed to established standards determine quality. Sunnyside Vista was built by a US builder following the guidelines of the US National Building Codes for construction, plumbing, and electrical systems. This means that proven construction techniques with sound engineering principles were followed to insure quality and safety. As a result, the villa buildings have an inherent quality that is not found in other buildings constructed without standards. Some of the construction highlights are listed below:

Click to enlarge	Foundation footings: Half inch steel bars are laid horizontally in a special grid pattern in the oversized concrete footings. Vertical steel wall ties are connected to the horizontal grid. Picture shows a partially filled footing with the vertical ties protruding from the foundation footing.
	Foundation walls: Concrete block walls have vertical and horizontal half inch steel reinforcing. Each block is filled with concrete. The vertical steel shown turns into and is connected to a 7 inch thick first floor concrete slab. The slab is supported by the walls and steel reinforced concrete beams. The slab itself has a steel reinforced grid pattern every 6 inches.
	Floor plate bolting: Floor plates are bolted to the 7 inch concrete steel reinforced slab with large "J" bolts. The J bolts are attached to the steel reinforcing in the floor slab. Each octagonal corner post is also double bolted with special hold down connectors (HD2As) to prevent shifting and pulling forces experienced in an earthquake.
	Wall strengthening: Special metal "T" wall bracing straps have been installed in a diagonal pattern in interior and exterior walls to provide additional strength to the walls . Also, note the electrical and fresh water plumbing for the ice maker in the refrigerator. This is the interior wall of the kitchen area.
	Interior Building Straps: Interior metal building straps (MSTs) are connected to the bolted floor plates and bolted octagonal corners. All eight corners are strapped from the first floor slab to the roof joists. The picture shown here has the strap going through the floor and is connected to the post below.
	Exterior Building Straps: Exterior metal building straps (MSTs) are connected to each exterior post supporting the two decks. The post straps extend onto large concrete spiral bound steel footings. Additional straps extend to the roof joists. The deck joists and roof joists are additionally "clipped" with special hurricane clips to reinforce their connection joints.
	Plumbing: US supplied Schedule 40 PVC plumbing materials were used on the interior. Note the wire mesh over the floor area. 2 inches of concrete were laid over the mesh in preparation for tiling the floor. Also, note the black vapor barrier (30 lb. roofing felt) cover on the floor and the plastic on the back wall. This is a picture of the upper unit bath areas.
	"Green Board": Green board is used throughout the building in lieu of regular drywall. Green board has better fire resistance (2 smoke alarms are standard in each unit) and has better moisture resistance than regular drywall. The resistance to moisture will help prevent mildew from growing in or under the paint. Special vinyl primer and three coats of paint are applied to finish the walls. Kitchen area shown.
	Insulation, Cooling, and Noise Reduction: R-19 insulation is used in the ceiling and R-11 is used in the all exterior and some interior walls. R-11 is also used in the ceiling of the lower unit as a partial noise barrier. RC1 Resilient Channel which reduces transmitted noise by 80% is used to support the lower unit ceiling. All plumbing pipes are insulated to reduced noise. Cooling is maintained by the insulation and roof ventilation enhancements. Additional screened vent openings are located in the cupola, soffits, and foundation.

Construction Details at the Roatan Vista Villas

Construction Details
at the Roatan Vista Villas