Our House Construction

[Reedster]

Thanks for this post.  I am still ten years from retirement, but I would love to move there some day with my Filipina wife.  You home looks great.

 

[intrepid]

4 hours ago, Reedster said:

Thanks for this post.  I am still ten years from retirement, but I would love to move there some day with my Filipina wife.  You home looks great.

 

Reedster, Ten years from retirement is great.  Although I had been planning for retirement for many more years, the last ten was the stage where moving to the Philippines began for me.  Now is the time to start your early planning.  Most important is to start saving as much as, no save more than you can afford to save.  It will pay off in the end.  Good luck.

[intrepid]

Maybe I should have started another post about one of the "great local people we have met."  But it also fits well as a follow up to our build;

Although our house is still about two months away from completion, I wanted to share this commentary about our architect, and now friend who I had mentioned about before in an earlier post.  We found him through a recommendation of my brother-in-law.  With all the horror stories I have read here and also some others first hand we have met here, we feel so blessed.  

After several meetings with our architect and three designs, we thought we had come up with the closest plan for our new home.  However, the cost he quoted to build was a little over our planned budget.  So I asked him if we could cut a few things to bring the cost down.  First I decided to cut the back yard concrete patio which was 16’ x 14’ and my workshop which was planned at 9’ x 16’.  Next was to place a roof on the garage instead of a concrete deck.  He further suggested the stair railings should be simple design along with other railings.  Also suggested some other small cuts for savings.   We liked the way his suggestions were explained and he seemed very sincere about his work.  He explained that he designs the project and would manage the construction and supply a foreman and workers.  He would visit the site a few times a week because he manages several projects at one time.  He further explained the contract would be for the complete project from start to finish.  No hidden fees.  Other than a few of the major lighting fixtures, and glass doors we may add in the bathrooms, there was to be no further expenses.  After a couple days I asked if it were possible for me to ride with him one day to visit his projects and see first hand some of his work.  He agreed and picked me up the following day.  He is about ten years younger than me very knowledgeable of the building trade in the Philippines.  Because of his age and experience he has made good contacts and knows where to get the deals and also he has experienced work crews.  Not only was I satisfied after seeing several of his projects, I was also excited after talking with his customers who confirmed all I had observed.  Each expressed how happy they were with his decisions and work.  He cut no corners and hid nothing from them.  So after a few more talks we agreed and decided to move forward with our project.  During this time we had a lot of talks and learned how much we have in common.  We soon became very good friends.  His father and a brother are also engineers and live in Washington State.
So after the first week of work and visiting the project site, he told me our house grew ten inches deeper on the back.  He said not to worry, there will be no extra charge for the small extra size.  Because he never said for sure, I suspect the foreman made a mistake and placed the footers 10” back and the concrete had already been poured.  I thought this because after this he replaced the foreman with the foreman who built his house.  After another week or so he mentioned to Sheila and I that he was planning to complete that back patio at his expense because he wanted to give us a gift and has come to really like us.  We recently learned he will also tile the patio.  So, as the construction progressed to where we could see the first floor rooms, Sheila decided the first floor family room was too small.  At this point the only way to enlarge the room was  to eliminate  the half bath and the maids room.  I asked him if he could pour the concrete floor on the back right side of the house for the maids room that I would complete in the future.  He said no problem and also suggested to put the half bath under the stairway.  Problem solved.  A few weeks later I noticed not only had they poured the maids concrete floor, but also had started construction of the walls.  I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t have extra in my budget, and I didn’t want him to stop.  Later without asking about it, he said he decided to complete the room because it was no big deal and the cost not much!  What?  This was too much.  Of course now we are really liking him even more.  Next we asked if we could add an archway between the formal living room and family room and also an archway above the bar between the kitchen and family room.  I offered to pay for the extra expense and again he said not to worry because there was enough left in the budget for this.  Just when we were thinking he was doing enough, he tells us he is planning to add decretive  bricks to the wall behind the stairs and also each wall column of the main archway,..out of his expense side.  These bricks will also be placed on the front porch and garage columns and well as the front fence posts/columns.  At this point we are starting to get embarrassed to ask for anything additional.  However, there are still some small things needed as well as one large request I was yet to ask.  I wanted the footers and concrete floor for my workshop to be done so I could begin building it as soon as possible after we had gotten settled in.  So, after explaining to him what I wanted, now increased to 18’ x 9’ and offering to pay whatever extra charge would be.  He said.” no problem, don’t worry about the cost.  It’s not that much.  Just some extra concrete and rebar.  I’ll take care of it.”  WOW!  This is too much we thought.  We are going to have to give him a bonus.  But it still doesn’t end there.  He told us the other day that in the beginning I want to install simple railings to save some money but he has now decided the house is way too nice not install the much nicer decretive fancy iron stair and balcony railings, so he is going to take care of this also!  We are just speechless and do not know what else to say to him but smile and say thank you thank you.
Also along with all this, since he is a life long resident of the area, he knows who and where to go for most anything.  He has recommended things that have save us money and time on such things as banking, auto insurance, meat markets and other things we may need or want.

Edited July 2, 2017 by intrepid
spell

[Jake]

1 hour ago, intrepid said:

Maybe I should have started another post about one of the "great local people we have met."  But it also fits well as a follow up to our build;

 

Thank you Danny for your detailed testimonial about your new friend.  If the moderators don't mind, could you please post his business contact information?  

Well done sir!

[intrepid]

19 minutes ago, Jake said:

Thank you Danny for your detailed testimonial about your new friend.  If the moderators don't mind, could you please post his business contact information?  

Well done sir!

If it's okay here, I feel I should ask him first before I post his name and contact info. 

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, intrepid said:

If it's okay here, I feel I should ask him first before I post his name and contact info. 

How did you initially find this engineer / contractor?  We plan to do some major work on the house in a few years and I should probably start the search for an engineer / architect now.  We would like to get some design ideas soon.

[Gary D]

My concern is if he is doing all of this for free how much was he overcharging in the first place.

[Jack Peterson]

8 hours ago, Gary D said:

My concern is if he is doing all of this for free how much was he overcharging in the first place.

 Hmmmmmmmmm Good Point that would make me a little suspicious too 

 

Jack

Morning All

[intrepid]

12 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

How did you initially find this engineer / contractor?  We plan to do some major work on the house in a few years and I should probably start the search for an engineer / architect now.  We would like to get some design ideas soon.

Don,

He was recommended to me by my brother-in-law.  He had some friends who hired him in the past and were very satisfied.  Interesting thing is after meeting him, we wanted a second bid.  After asking another friend here for a recommendation of an architect so we could compare.  That recommendation ended up being the same architect.  We did locate a different architect but there was nothing to compare after meeting him.  We had an easy decision.  I will meet him tomorrow morning and will ask if he would have a recommendation for an architect in the Subic area.

[Jack Peterson]

 I have never liked this % of material cost as the cost of labour etc" and would never agree to it. You spend 1 million on goods and they charge you 40 % in building but if you pay 2 million in Goods it is still 40% so come on it don't take Brain surgery to figure we get ripped off. NAH! we Bought and paid our own Team, To get the job done right you gotta be in Control, Paying a Contract price leaves it wide open.

For me getting the best materials and a contract price like this just means, we are paying over the odds for the same job.