Anyone - Design, Build, Contruction Experience

[JJReyes]

After my retirement next year, I am considering the possibility of constructing a Philippine home to be located in a rural area near Manila. It will be two bedrooms, single level, concrete structure with a Spanish tiled roof surrounded by a tall fence and an inner garden. No swimming pool. The garage would be detached for a single vehicle with a room above it as a maids' quarter.

Someone suggested I contact a design/build/construction company. Based on a pre-agreed budget, they will manage the entire project. Anyone in the forum who has experience? The alternative is to buy a vacant lot inside a gated community and the developer will manage the construction, but everything on the exterior has to conform to their architectural specifications.

For a concrete structure, what would be the estimated per square meter budget? Is it P20,000? P25,000? or P30,000?

[joeatmanila]

After my retirement next year, I am considering the possibility of constructing a Philippine home to be located in a rural area near Manila. It will be two bedrooms, single level, concrete structure with a Spanish tiled roof surrounded by a tall fence and an inner garden. No swimming pool. The garage would be detached for a single vehicle with a room above it as a maids' quarter.

Someone suggested I contact a design/build/construction company. Based on a pre-agreed budget, they will manage the entire project. Anyone in the forum who has experience? The alternative is to buy a vacant lot inside a gated community and the developer will manage the construction, but everything on the exterior has to conform to their architectural specifications.

For a concrete structure, what would be the estimated per square meter budget? Is it P20,000? P25,000? or P30,000?

Building my house on my own, no engineer no architect, and after 8 years of renovation to renovation...with a LOT OF HASSLES gave me quite some experiences.

From the few you have written i can comment you some.

A) Detached garage with maids room on top. It all depends to the location of your lot and design of the house, you do not want to get wet walking from your car to the house and this is Philippines, during rainy season it rains a lot.

B) spanish tiles roof. Perhaps you want to reconsider this option. Too heavy and extremely expensive. Try the KAWARA roofs, i used it at my house, a bit more pricey than the normal roofs but worths it due to the heat isolation properties of the stone sand they are covered. plus a 15 years guarantee. http://kawara.redpages.ph/company.html

Thermal isolation under it, the thickest the better.

C) Contracting with any company or contractor...very risky!!! If you have resources, get the blue print plans from an civil engineer, get a good forman with his team, pay them by the day and get your self involved if you can and have some knowledge. if you still need to hire someone, better a company than a contractor. very important is GET A LAWYER to make the agreement for the construction instead of accepting the one they will give you. Get a lawyer who knows about these things. be ready to pay at least 20-30% more than the agreed price of the entire project.

D) Rural area at manila, I live at one, have not regreted the location, nice clean air and scenic views of the mountains. If you want frequenting makati or the nitch areas...be ready for long drives of 1-2 hours in terrible traffick. I would suggest you Taytay, Rizal (taytay not tagaytay...) or Angono, Rizal, it combines a lot of advantages and still affordable prices of lots in decent subdivisions. Oh yes, you must stay in a subdivision for reasons of security and safety mostly.

E) High concrete fences. The rule here is as such, the fence should be cement up to 80cm from the ground and the rest iron bars of any design but not higher than 1.80cm total fence height including the cement portion. Ok, you can use corruption and make it as you plan but expect the neighbors to stop you. I did the back yard fence as such of 2.40cm height but no way they would allow me the front, for the back i claimed reasons of security since i was foreigner and accepted plus the houses facing my back side had no owner yet...

F) No pool. If you can better place one, it is you who will be in there soaking wet and cool out of the usual heat...

G) price per sq meter...25k is the normal for today. Irons keep going up on the price. Also the other materials you will use might raise the price too. Look at the options of the house to be full of granite tiles (keep it cooler to the point you do not need airconditioners), aluminum windows with flies/mosquitos screens, mahogany doors (that is expensive but i love to see and feel them), standard bathroom equipment no need for expensive Kohler materials etc makes no difference to see a nice label when you pipi :)

H) Elctrical wiring plan it and plan it again and again. Put sockets and outlets everywhere better having them than using extensions etc etc. Plus the size and quality of the cables, pay it and get the best, no overheating no fire!!!

I) ok it's 04:30 and typhoon GENRE outside...i only woke up because electricity just came back and all my equipment in bedroom did their restarting sounds...going back to bed, hug asawa and cuddle in a weather requiring to do so LOL!!! :)

[FlyAway]

In another topic on the forum, someone posted a link to this blog site. I book marked it and still keep reading through different sections all the time. Lots of good information there about building your own house in Philippines.

http://myphilippinel...ne-house-index/

[cebu rocks]

Ah the dream of building your own house many share this dream . In many threads on many forums you can see the dream become a nightmare .

A few things to consider before building vs buying , Do you have any experience in construction ? because if you do not forget it your going to get screwed on pricing and quality maybe over designed (expensive) or under designed and unsafe (won,t last long) Along with the battles your going to have with permits ,sourcing material ,finding employees,and just building a home brings many challenges like you have to be there all the time .

I think unless you have a good understanding of construction or a TRUSTED advisor is a folly at best . You will pay way more for your home and it takes about 2 years to build here to get a home done to feel like a home IE:landscaped ,fenced,all the lose ends finished .

On the other hand look at buying some expats dream home just about every house i have seen builkt by a expat sells for far below what they have invested (lol) and most times comes furnished I have found a wicked place on a sand beach the foreigner spent 10 million building 6 years ago built right to western standards . His asking price is now down to 5 million and still not one serious offer after 3 years .

There are smoking deals to be had and you just move in no headaches no permits no hiring family to work for you . It may not be your dream home but you can renovate at a way cheaper cost to fill in what you feel is missing .

Although I do understand wanting to build your dream just don,t let it drag you down . Talk to people here that have done it and realize just because you spend 5 million to build it does NOT mean its worth 5 million here . Good luck and build it yourself if you have the skill set

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[JJReyes]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all the comments about building in the Philippines, especially from joeatmanila. The analysis was very detailed. Perhaps the best option is to just rent for now. My wife would also like to spend time in La Jolla, California with our granddaughter. Hawaii is great for independent living retirement, but it is unaffordable for assisted care and skilled nursing. Should we ever need a caregiver(s), the Philippines is our only option.

Aloha - JJR