Building a Home in Davao

[Tommy T.]

13 minutes ago, jimeve said:

It's skimcoat, applied for a smooth finish.

Okay... got it... Thanks! This is all new to me...

[Mike J]

17 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

So I have a question brought up by L. She is quite knowledgeable about construction here. She and I are looking ahead quite a ways to future parts of the work. She tells me that the best masa (plaster) that she is aware of is called Wallright Cement Plaster. Do any of you have experience with this or other recommendations? According to her, this is not a strong cement, but rather a cement designed to not crack as much as maybe some others. I would appreciate, as always, any comments... 

I know you are a "research" type guy.  Google "masonry putty vs skim coat" for some good info.  Most hollow block walls are finished with a mixture of portland cement and fine washed sand.  For interior walls they will often use masonry putty for a final very thin skim coat.  Exterior walls are sometimes left slightly rough (think sandpaper) so it will better hold paint.  There is also a gypsum powder product that is mixed with water for inside walls as a final coat that will create an incredibly smooth finish if properly applied.  It also works well for filling/hiding hairline cracks.  I can't recall what the Philippine name for it is.

Question.  I see the vertical rebar in the block and assume they are also using horizontal rebar.  Is the horizontal rebar being tied into the column in some way, or does it stop at the end of the last block?

[Tommy T.]

1 minute ago, Mike J said:

I know you are a "research" type guy.  Google "masonry putty vs skim coat" for some good info.  Most hollow block walls are finished with a mixture of portland cement and fine washed sand.  For interior walls they will often use masonry putty for a final very thin skim coat.  Exterior walls are sometimes left slightly rough (think sandpaper) so it will better hold paint.  There is also a gypsum powder product that is mixed with water for inside walls as a final coat that will create an incredibly smooth finish if properly applied.  It also works well for filling/hiding hairline cracks.  I can't recall what the Philippine name for it is.

Question.  I see the vertical rebar in the block and assume they are also using horizontal rebar.  Is the horizontal rebar being tied into the column in some way, or does it stop at the end of the last block?

Thanks for your help and information, Mike!

Yeah... I will check that out today... A lot of what we are doing is following L's past experience and knowledge about local construction. And that brand and term was from her. So I will research some more... That Wallright finish she told me about was something that was applied at her home a few years ago. I think it must be good stuff because her home does not show any cracks after all these earthquakes, the extreme temperatures and humidity...

There is horizontal rebar at intervals coming out from the columns to support the walls. In most places it was bent into the columns during the cement pouring and had been bent back out for wall reinforcement in some places already. I think my photos did not show that. I have seen some hollow blocks that have a notch in the bottoms so assume that is for rebar to go... However, I do not know about rebar that may be embedded along the walls for horizontal support. I will be seeing the contractor tomorrow and will add that as a question to him. Thanks for the thought!

[jimeve]

6 hours ago, Mike J said:

There is also a gypsum powder product that is mixed with water for inside walls as a final coat that will create an incredibly smooth finish if properly applied.  It also works well for filling/hiding hairline cracks.  I can't recall what the Philippine name for it is.

It's called "SKIMCOAT" 

[Hobbit112]

On 10/26/2019 at 12:58 PM, Tommy T. said:

She tells me that the best masa (plaster) that she is aware of is called Wallright Cement Plaster.

Easy Google search:

https://www.holcim.ph/productadvisor/products/cement/wallright

 

Product description

Holcim WallRight is a masonry cement conforming to PNS ASTM C91 Type S specifications.

Applications
Holcim WallRight is used for hollow block laying and filling, plastering, and finishing. It has superior bond strength, increased water retention, and smoother texture compared to ordinary cement applied as a finish.

Benefits
Holcim WallRight is specially developed to have superior bond stength and high workability.
* Superior bond stength makes plastering application easier and faster
* Extendable mixture ~ 1:4 (cement:sand)
* Allows easy placement and better bonding for hollow block laying
* Improves quality of surface finish compared to ordinary cement
 

For more information, call our Customer Care Center at 581-1588

 

On further note, gypsum powder is also called Plaster of Paris or just plaster for short which can be used as a skimcoat because it can give a very smooth finish.  It's not durable by itself but adheres well and can fill hairline cracks.

Edited October 27, 2019 by Hobbit112
Add info on plaster

[Mike J]

15 minutes ago, Hobbit112 said:

Holcim WallRight is a masonry cement conforming to PNS ASTM C91 Type S specifications.

I was curious so I did a google search on PNS ASTM C91 Type S specifications.

It is a LONG read, but kind of interesting.   I always wondered about the multiple kinds of cements being advertised and sold at the hardware store. 

https://www.cement.org/docs/default-source/fc_mat-app_pdfs/masonry/is275-selecting-and-specifying-mortar-and-grout-for-unit-masonry.pdf?sfvrsn=4&sfvrsn=4

is275-selecting-and-specifying-mortar-and-grout-for-unit-masonry.pdf

Edited October 27, 2019 by Mike J
Forgot the URL :o)

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, Hobbit112 said:

Holcim WallRight is used for hollow block laying and filling, plastering, and finishing. It has superior bond strength, increased water retention, and smoother texture compared to ordinary cement applied as a finish.

 

53 minutes ago, Mike J said:

I was curious so I did a google search on PNS ASTM C91 Type S specifications.

 

Thanks to both of you for your research. I followed that up and read the descriptions too. You were right, Mike, that was a long read but I learned more about mortar and plastering than I ever really wanted to know! Just from observation, I can see that the work is not being done exactly according to the instructions I read, but generally it is proceeding in a way that will produce a solid structure. It is just the way things are done here. So we are keeping an eye on it and making sure it is done the best way possible.

So L was spot on by specifying to use the Holcim WallRight... She is a very smart girl and remembers many things from her own home build that apply now to our new home construction.... For that - and many other reasons - I really want to keep her around. So far, she wants to keep me around too... Life is good.

[hk blues]

14 hours ago, Hobbit112 said:

On further note, gypsum powder is also called Plaster of Paris or just plaster for short which can be used as a skimcoat because it can give a very smooth finish.  It's not durable by itself but adheres well and can fill hairline cracks.

I always use it for my projects - it's great for filling in the tiniest of cracks and sands to a smooth finish - sometimes too smooth as it is a different texture to the original covering but hey ho.  Another problem is it is so fine it's easy to completely sand out so you end up having to redo.  

[Tommy T.]

On 10/28/2019 at 6:10 AM, Hobbit112 said:

Easy Google search:

https://www.holcim.ph/productadvisor/products/cement/wallright

 

Product description

Holcim WallRight is a masonry cement conforming to PNS ASTM C91 Type S specifications.

Applications
Holcim WallRight is used for hollow block laying and filling, plastering, and finishing. It has superior bond strength, increased water retention, and smoother texture compared to ordinary cement applied as a finish.

Benefits
Holcim WallRight is specially developed to have superior bond stength and high workability.
* Superior bond stength makes plastering application easier and faster
* Extendable mixture ~ 1:4 (cement:sand)
* Allows easy placement and better bonding for hollow block laying
* Improves quality of surface finish compared to ordinary cement
 

For more information, call our Customer Care Center at 581-1588

 

On further note, gypsum powder is also called Plaster of Paris or just plaster for short which can be used as a skimcoat because it can give a very smooth finish.  It's not durable by itself but adheres well and can fill hairline cracks.

Thanks for your input, Hobbit - great information! We have been on contact with the contractors and they assured us that they will use the WallRight for the plastering. I will see if I can nudge them toward using it also for the actual block laying...

[Tommy T.]

We visited the home site on Thursday, right before and during the latest large Mindanao earthquake on Thursday...

Fortunately, we were done inspecting the work maybe 20 minutes before the quake. I say fortunately only because it would have been scary to be inside and below the newly poured second floor slab (about 10 days ago). But everything looks sound and solid. To me, it was very unsettling, but it did not really feel that bad as far as violence of shaking. However I still didn't like it, of course.

The boys have extended the columns toward the second floor ceiling. They also plastered the inside of the foundation blocks in preparation for filling, and soon, pouring the ground floor slab. They dug out the hole for one of the three septic tanks - on Thursday it would have made a great muddy swimming pool! There was a very heavy rainstorm on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, it was a skeleton crew since most workers were gone for the holiday weekend, including the foreman. So the remaining boys were assembling the scaffolding for the second floor and terrace roof top.

The contractors already brought in a few loads of gravel to improve the very muddy and nasty access road but, after the latest rain downpour, there were still some slippery, muddy places that need more filling. We almost got stuck on our way in and out. We asked the boys to take some gravel and fill in the worst spots while we were there and they quickly took care of that. At L's suggestion, we gave them 300 pesos for "snacks" (read Tanduay! and others) and the five boys were grateful. They seem eager to please and we always recognize and thank them for their work for us.

So now we are about seven weeks into the build and so far, so good.