Building a Home in Davao

[Viking]

20 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Is it not common to adjust the ceiling / wall height so that you still have the desired final ceiling height?

The guy across the street built full on drop ceiling like you would have in an office building.  2-3 feet of cavity, and the ceiling is the aluminum frames with acoustical tiles.  I know another guy who did the same but I think his cavity is only about 18 inches but the house is 4 stories including the roof deck.

This is what I been thinking of when we are going to repair our house next year. The ceiling is now plywood thats not looking very good after 15 years. Roof is metal.

Any thoughts about if that could be a good idea? We are also planning to isolate the attic and that could get more difficult, I suppose, with a ceiling like that?

[hk blues]

35 minutes ago, Viking said:

This is what I been thinking of when we are going to repair our house next year. The ceiling is now plywood thats not looking very good after 15 years. Roof is metal.

Any thoughts about if that could be a good idea? We are also planning to isolate the attic and that could get more difficult, I suppose, with a ceiling like that?

If you have the height then I'd say why not.  You probably need at least 12 inches for a reasonable cavity and framing etc. 

I'm not sure what you mean by isolate the attic?

[Viking]

27 minutes ago, hk blues said:

If you have the height then I'd say why not.  You probably need at least 12 inches for a reasonable cavity and framing etc. 

I'm not sure what you mean by isolate the attic?

My bad, I mean insulate!

[hk blues]

12 minutes ago, Viking said:

My bad, I mean insulate!

Got it!

You can still insulate the attic area with a drop ceiling as long as you have access hatches in strategic places. If the current plywood ceiling is the floor for the attic you will probably want to retain it and the insulation can simply sit on it.  

Again, check you have sufficient space for a drop ceiling without losing too much height in the rooms.

[Viking]

1 hour ago, hk blues said:

Got it!

You can still insulate the attic area with a drop ceiling as long as you have access hatches in strategic places. If the current plywood ceiling is the floor for the attic you will probably want to retain it and the insulation can simply sit on it.  

Again, check you have sufficient space for a drop ceiling without losing too much height in the rooms.

Yes, it would be nice to put the insulation on top of the plywood ceiling.

Why is it necessary to have such a large cavity (12 inches)? Height is now around 260-270 cm, and I dont want to decrease that more than I have to.

[hk blues]

46 minutes ago, Viking said:

Yes, it would be nice to put the insulation on top of the plywood ceiling.

Why is it necessary to have such a large cavity (12 inches)? Height is now around 260-270 cm, and I dont want to decrease that more than I have to.

Ours is that depth to allow for plumbing etc.  If you are not going to run plumbing or suchlike in the cavity then you can reduce the depth to a minimum i.e. the total height of the framing and the ceiling material.  However, If you are not going to have a usable cavity I wonder what the point would be of having a drop ceiling?  

Edit to add - you seem to have around 8.5 feet ceiling height - that doesn't leave much to play with. 

Edited October 8, 2019 by hk blues

[Tommy T.]

I visited the work site yesterday again. They seem to be making good progress still.

The columns are getting taller and they are preparing for the second floor slab.

I also visited the glass and window company (we are independently dealing with them) and also another company who will do the kitchen cabinetry. This whole project is exciting and scary too because it has been a long time since I had a home built and now, in another country, things are done differently, of course...

[Tommy T.]

Another visit to the house site yesterday. They were going to pour the second floor slab and we said no....we want to take another look at preparation. Plus, Eagle Eye L noticed a few voids (air pockets) in some of the columns and beams and instructed them to chip out those areas and re-fill them with proper cement. They will also be more careful to either vibrate out or agitate the pours to minimize or stop any future voids. Eyes on is always a good idea.

We discussed a few other main points about plumbing installation and electricity. Sometimes I get a bit frustrated because I will bring up some point as a reminder about something we discussed before - and for which I printed out reminders too - and it's as if it's the first time they have heard of it - mainly the contractor and foreman. I know they are good workers and smart, but maybe there are too many things going on at once, and those things very quickly. (There were 12-15 guys working there yesterday - quite a crowd). So we advised and asked them to slow down a little. I know that if something goes sideways they will fix it, but repairs or rework is never as good as the original work in my opinion. We are just trying to save future hassles - plus their cost... We will be making more frequent visits to the job site now also...

But the truly fascinating thing for me was something they rigged up - and apparently have done before...

They have a frame that will support a motorcycle. Then they brace the foreman's bike into this frame, remove the back wheel then remove the tire and inner tube and replace the wheel on the bike. They rigged a fairly stout cable to the wheel and then use it to haul the cement-filled bucket up to the second floor - amazing! I tried to photograph the parts but they don't show very well. They just leave the bike engine running while doing the work and they run that bucket up and down very quickly. They use the bike horn to signal when going up so guys are alerted, just in case.

The weather looks a bit dodgy today so don't know if the slab will be poured or not.

We couldn't stay long yesterday because it was the end of a local festival and the next door neighour had horrible, drunken karaoke blasting loudly - I had to leave.

[Marvin Boggs]

Interesting trick with the motorcycle bucket hoist!   I'm empathizing with your struggles to communicate what you want to happen, and then ensure it happens.  Whenever I've encountered this problem, I have discovered my wife is 50% to blame for the misunderstanding.  She explains things in a vague way, and then latches on to whatever meager acknowledgement she gets from the foreman, then gets angry at me for pecking and pressing with more questions.  IDK if its her personality, or just something about pinays.  Whenever there is an expert involved -- i.e. a foreman, or electrician, mechanic, plumber, etc. -- its like she is compelled to accept whatever they say, even if she herself doesn't have 100% confidence in the answer.  Its odd.  Fortunately, after I get through to her what we are really trying to achieve, she can anticipate the various shortcuts and cheats. 

[intrepid]

56 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Whenever I've encountered this problem, I have discovered my wife is 50% to blame for the misunderstanding.  She explains things in a vague way, and then latches on to whatever meager acknowledgement she gets from the foreman, then gets angry at me for pecking and pressing with more questions.

Had that happen also when building and still yet today on other projects.  She thinks she knows and tries to explain and tells me later what she said to the workers.  When I tell her that is close but not really what SHE wanted it becomes my fault because I did not explain and translate for her.  Oh well, it all works out in the end.