Do You Need Electricity To Build?

[Dave Hounddriver]

The topic heading is mainly a rhetorical question.  Where I am buying a home the entire subdivision was built without electricity available and it will still be 3 weeks minimum before I can get electric hooked up.

 

So today I went to the house with a contractor/worker (takes on jobs by himself and hires helpers as needed) and showed him where I needed some plumbing, wiring and tiling done.  He said he will be thrilled to do it but he cannot take on the job until I have electricity available as he needs to drill holes in the concrete and that requires an electric drill.

 

Face palm moment!  I have done a lot of work on houses here and hired a lot of workers to do the same.  It is amazing what they can do with a concrete nail and a hammer, I've even learned to do it myself.  So much so that I don't even own an electric drill.  I asked my guy why he did not have a cordless, battery operated drill and he said it was not strong enough.  I suggested a couple of other things but I think his electric drill is his 'toy' and he does not want to work without it.

 

Anyway, he has worked for me before so I shall humor him and wait until the electric is available.  Starting to be just like Canada where construction workers cannot hammer a nail without an electric (or air powered) nailer.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Dave Hounddriver

[scott h]

Thought you were serious for a sec Dave. :mocking: I was going to say "very little". We tore down an old house, and built brand new, and I swear they used only a hand held grinder (which they just changed attachments and cut metal, wood, tile, sanded things, and think even lite their smokes) and a small portable welder. Other than maybe some specialty work, that was it. lol

[OnMyWay]

I asked my guy why he did not have a cordless, battery operated drill and he said it was not strong enough.  

 

I would have to agree with him on that.  I have 2 good cordless drills and both will not cut the mustard when it comes to concrete.  I have a 110 volt corded Craftsman hammer drill (from the US) that I break out for concrete.

 

If you are ever interested in a hammer drill, a handyman I know has a Bosch, bought here, and it is far better than my Craftsman.

 

Dave, buy him that big emergency generator you were going to get anyway and he can get started!

[fred]

Normally,they just ask a labourer to "Tik Tik" the holes out with a concrete nail ,nailed through the end of a bit of plastic pipe..

Not sure why your guy didn't get his labour to do that?

[robert k]

One of those small 2stroke generators will run a drill at 900 watts. I don't know if you could rent a bigger generator. Dave, have you still got your 1kw 12v inverter, you can tell him you will supply the power, or you can wait like you say.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Dave, buy him that big emergency generator you were going to get anyway and he can get started!

 

I suggested this and I could actually see the wheels in his brain spinning around as he said that was very expensive and better to wait (by this I mean I could imagine him already padding the bill if he thinks I am rich enough to buy a generator and the gas for it).  So I agreed with him that we could not afford that and we would wait.

 

Dave, have you still got your 1kw 12v inverter

 Yes and I suggested it may work off a motorcycle battery as I do not have another vehicle.  I doubt he has any experience with inverters but he said it would not work and again, I am not going to rush him.  This is Philippines, I do it their way, provided it costs me very little.

[jkeenan213]

Just my 2 cents.  Being a custom Harley guy for many years and having been through all the HO batteries out there (you need huge battery and huge starter to crank a 12:1 compression 120 ci engine pushed to the max) and a Bosch hammer drill I swear by and being dual voltage will go into a Balikbayan box...there isn't a motorcycle battery/converter combo out there at any cost even here in the US that's going to run a good hammer drill through anything other than beach sand for more than 2 seconds.  You need AC out of a decent supply.  The good news I suppose is at 220V it won't cost squat.  Hammers are up there in power needed, down stroke, up stroke and a turn at both ends.  If it's holding up the job, go with tik-tik.  I was in Mexico once and watched had to be 50 guys tik-tik a "natural" surface on a poured concrete resort pool apron...huge, probably 1000 sqm...in a day.  I was fascinated (and they woke me up starting at dawn) and approached the foreman.  "Jeez man, you know you you could have had the concrete poured with a stamped "natural" surface".  He said 50 guys, 10 hours each...cost him USD $300, about the cost there of a single 1m square concrete stamp. He supplied the mallets and chisels, and I was supplied with an education in "real" foreign economics.  We became and are good friends, I ate the best adobo I've ever had at his home in the hills outside Cancun and we've had his family here in the US.  His world is as different to me as mine is to him.

 

Thanks.  Been a while since I heard the phrase "tik-tik" and it brings a great memory back.  Good stuff.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Thought it was time to update the thread,  I talked to the subdivision management and they will help me with temporary water and power so my contractor can do his job.  But one more interesting thing here.  This guy is the first contractor I have worked with in Philippines who will give me a labor cost as a percentage of materials.  His quote for labor is 40% of material cost and that is really good compared to Canada.  In addition, I like the way I can control costs by controlling the materials I put into it.

 

This seems a very rare way (in Philippines) to calculate labor costs.  Anyone else run into that here?

[Jack Peterson]

This seems a very rare way (in Philippines) to calculate labor costs.  Anyone else run into that here?

 

 

Actually Dave this is the normal way, my Welder nearly caught a cold by suggesting it then when he saw the plans of the work, he reverted to a day rate.

 

Normally builders work on the 40% of materials as labour but many are getting caught out due to this very thing, We in fact do control the Situation in this. As westerners we are a Little more exact and won't pay for re-do's, ie, make a mistake, you put it right in your own Budget. So some rethinking is maybe being done

 

I reduced my Labour Bill by some 15%+ on the build. We supplied the materials and paid the Labour. The Engineer was not too happy as he lost his cut. The engineer would take the excess from the 40% Not Spent as his Bonus.

We just paid for his professional service

 

JP