Cost to Build a House

[Jack Peterson]

2 minutes ago, Mike In Canada said:

The builder wants 40% of material cost for the structure (walls roof).

 Well Mike we have been here before some liked the Idea many did not, We did our own Buying and it worked well, Of course the Interior Finish will be an additional cost and I reckon that when done you may well end up with 20 or 25k per sq mtr which in real terms is pretty good at this time considering builders will quote you 26 to 28 k

One thing that never seems to be Discussed is the Septic and grey Water Tanks, these too can add a fair Bit to the overall costings. If you had to raise the House I guess you have a Low level and a high Water table (As we do) so you will need to think about Waste tanks and rainwater Drainage. If the water table is High the rain can sit for days. I have I very Large Sceptic and 4 additional Drain Tanks in addition to the House Grey water tank That Roof (Depending on the House Size) will release a lot of Water and it has to go somewhere

Always thoughts that some may have not taken into consideration, My neighbours now complain that the Barangay road Floods their Road. Well, with containing Walls it no longer goes into our land so I win BUT with contained Walls what is on my land is a problem, we were not allowed by the City engineers to have seep holes  in our Walls so the water could drain out onto the roads (we are are on a Corner). The neighbours even had the City do an inspection to make sure we did not. Anyway that is my input for this Topic. Building your own on your own lot is not as Simple as ABC sometimes.  Photos are of a bad days rain that took 3 days to clear, as with you we raised a Full metre so the House is fine but the garden can be a lake at times.

[Mike In Canada]

19 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Well Mike we have been here before some liked the Idea many did not, We did our own Buying and it worked well, Of course the Interior Finish will be an additional cost and I reckon that when done you may well end up with 20 or 25k per sq mtr which in real terms is pretty good at this time considering builders will quote you 26 to 28 k

One thing that never seems to be Discussed is the Septic and grey Water Tanks, these too can add a fair Bit to the overall costings. If you had to raise the House I guess you have a Low level and a high Water table (As we do) so you will need to think about Waste tanks and rainwater Drainage. If the water table is High the rain can sit for days. I have I very Large Sceptic and 4 additional Drain Tanks in addition to the House Grey water tank That Roof (Depending on the House Size) will release a lot of Water and it has to go somewhere

Always thoughts that some may have not taken into consideration, My neighbours now complain that the Barangay road Floods their Road. Well, with containing Walls it no longer goes into our land so I win BUT with contained Walls what is on my land is a problem, we were not allowed by the City engineers to have seep holes  in our Walls so the water could drain out onto the roads (we are are on a Corner). The neighbours even had the City do an inspection to make sure we did not. Anyway that is my input for this Topic. Building your own on your own lot is not as Simple as ABC sometimes.  Photos are of a bad days rain that took 3 days to clear, as with you we raised a Full metre so the House is fine but the garden can be a lake at times.

I built my lot higher because it is 30 meters to the Sea. I am about 6 to 8 feet higher than both neighbours now so I wont flood. the photos show the front sea wall, the exterior walls about 13 to 14 feet high on the exterior and 6 feet high on the interior of the lot. I dumped a lot of mountain soil

building lot 1.pdf

building lot 2.pdf

building lot 3.pdf

[Jack Peterson]

3 minutes ago, Mike In Canada said:

I built my lot higher because it is 30 meters to the Sea. I am about 6 to 8 feet higher than both neighbours now so I wont flood. the photos show the front sea wall, the exterior walls about 13 to 14 feet high on the exterior and 6 feet high on the interior of the lot. I dumped a lot of mountain soil

 Impressive Mike but can I ask, is the cost of this wall (And it looks expensive) coming out of your 16.000 per sq mtr or and  an add on

[Mike In Canada]

1 minute ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Impressive Mike but can I ask, is the cost of this wall (And it looks expensive) coming out of your 16.000 per sq mtr or and  an add on

No the wall is paid for lol, I am budgeting 16,000,000 for the house then more for a pool and landscaping. 

 

 

[Mr-T]

On July 3, 2017 at 6:32 PM, Steve GCC said:

40% is the asking price.........

I wouldnt do it, negotiate down as your materials will be much higher spec and substantially more costly also.

Better to do as others said, manage labour yourself and the entire build process, perhaps get a good Foreman.  Much cheaper in long run if know what you are doing

Would not go that route of paying 40%. Will cost too much. When we build here we searched for house plans on the internet. Showed the basic plan to the architect, he drew the plan which we payed P50,000.00 for.

Hired a experienced foreman and his crew and payed daily. Sometimes up to 20 workers on site. He finished the shell and did most of the rendering on the inside and outside concrete walls. Could see they were not good at finishing so we stopped the work. We had the architect used his finishing crew to do all the finishing. During the early construction  period if there was any problem we consulted the architect which we payed him P500.00 per visit.  We managed the whole project, my wife and i. bought all materials. We also fed the crew, lunch and snack. 

That worked out okay for us. We built at our own pace as there was no time table. Took about 15 months to build as we stopped construction a few times. We were on site every day. I would not recommend building here if you are not present to see what is going on on a daily basic. 

We bought wood and hired a good cabinet maker to make all the doors and kitchen cabinets which he made on site. Hired a really good painter who was a expert on staining wood. So far it all came out good and we are happy. 

Wish you the best in your building process.

[Snowy79]

I've just bought a lot in Oriental Mindoro. Its about 560 sqm on a hill with a great access road, water, electricity and even a septic tank. The area is pretty much all ex pats with big houses all built by the same engineer. He quoted me approx 16,000 php per sqm. This was middle of the road quality. 

I'm sure prices change depending on availability of builders etc and distance to supplies. 

I'm aiming for a liveable house that's not too big for the extended families to move in and a size that's hopefully easy to off load further down the line. There's ample large houses that I see for sale that have been on the market for years and has been highlighted plenty of ex pats that are now no longer able to get upstairs to enjoy the higher floors on their mansions. 

[virginprune]

My house is 85sqm with a wraparound verandah, with a width of 2m front and both sides and 3m at the rear. Built in clay blocks, pics on another thread somewhere, inclusive of all interior carpentry (good) plus the septic and well came in at P1,400,000 plus P300,000 labour. We bought all materials and paid workers, usually 6, day rate. The house is good, solid and to a high standard, I'm an ex brickie and took a lot of interest in the build.

[allancomeau]

On 7/6/2017 at 10:15 AM, Dave Hounddriver said:

I was in Robinson's Building Supplies and wanted to buy a Jigsaw.

 

I noticed a few times folks buying tools at the major outlets (ACE is a popular choice) BUT if you will be in Manila, then the Raon/Quiapo/Binondo area is cheaper with a wide choice. Sales staff are more knowledgeable as well. The down-side is that you have to walk around in the heat.

Now 'every' pinoy will tell you is not safe there which is nonsense - I have been there dozens of times and never a problem, and never heard of an actual incident (unlike in Makati/Pasig)

[allancomeau]

On 7/3/2017 at 10:42 PM, sonjack2847 said:

I agree with this.I spent nearly 40 years in construction,I have witnessed and put right many bodge jobs by diy people.

Sometimes it`s best left to those who know what they are doing

 

While I agree it is with the observation(s) that very often the locals have no freaking idea. To wit;

- using nails to hang a door rather than screws because (I quote) it is easier

- using far too much water in a concrete mix

- not letting concrete cure

- continuing to lay plastic pipe before the joints are cured

- Bizarre and just plain wrong electrical wiring

- using an interior door as an outside door

- cutting up ceiling board into 2' x 2' pieces because it was 'easier' to mount

 

Just yesterday a handyman mounted a VHF TV antenna pointing up rather than pointing out - maybe he thought he was aiming at a satellite.

[mj5410]

i hired all the people to build our house and still employ them when doing more work. contractors tend to be too costly. one that we talked with wanted 750k peso to get started. that was more than my total budget. we fortunately got a bunch of good guys. our house and perimeter fence was up and done in 3 months time. so far in going on 3 years living in the house we have changed a few items and made structural changes to compensate for volcano, typhoons and the constant wetness. we should be about complete this year. total cost = possibly $ 30k USD