Building a Home in Davao

[RBM]

3 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Thanks!

Sadly, Viking, this photo is a bit deceiving. There is another home - the closest neighbour - maybe only 12-15 meters away behind and to the left of this home but hidden because of this picture angle. It is a small, dumpy place that we will mostly hide with a 2.5 meter tall fence - mostly hollow block. He built his home less than 1 meter from the property line, so he is not so happy that our house is there. And he will be upset, I think, when the fence goes up and blocks any view or fresh air from almost half his house. Not my problem...

 The home site is actually six lots altogether forming an L shape with the home located right at the corner of the L. The area to the right of the house on one whole lot will be a garden area for veggies and flowers. The back yard is fairly long and will be planted with different trees (right now mostly durian and they have to go). So lime (called lemon here) trees, Maybe avocado, pink lady papayas, bamboo along the fence toward the neighbour's home (to further block sight and sound of his place), some decorative small trees or bushes to cover the fence too - all these to plant after we move in. We will plant some bougainvillea and other spiky, decorative things inside the fence on the other sides to help discourage climbing miscreants. But plans are fluid and always open to change and suggestion. We are still learning but we love to plant and grow things. I think it is Graham's back yard that he showed proud photos of all his veggies? We want that! 

The entire area is platted out as a new subdivision, but the owner/developer is very slow to complete the process. Already, several of L's co-teachers own adjacent lots but it will be a while before any can afford to build anything. So it will develop but who knows how long before that happens? Meanwhile, we intend to enjoy the relative peace and openness before more homes are constructed. I think it should be a few years yet. Even after more development, it will still be a decent sanctuary with more space than affordable closer in to the city.

Tommy do enjoy the peace while you can. Once others start construction peace is over. Especially the grinding.....wow do they love to grind. Or is it just the noise they love....

Been there done that and suffered.

[Tommy T.]

22 minutes ago, RBM said:

Or is it just the noise they love....

Thanks, RBM, we will try.

I think it's the noise. Whenever we show up, they have a radio always playing (they shut it off when we visit). And they are always singing just a small part of various songs they know parts of. I keep thinking of events I have attended and how super loud they always play music, speeches, etc... Grinding is just a tuneless noise, but they love it! But it's better than drunken karaoke!!

Edited November 26, 2019 by Tommy T.

[hk blues]

3 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

But they don't see beyond the immediate cost. So often, many Filipinos don't look beyond today. Sure, today what they buy might be bargain basement price...but wait until a few years or less down the road from age or earthquake? When it comes to replacement or repair time - like some of the horror stories shared in this forum already, it will be a huge hassle and bigger expense. Or they just revert back to buckets from an outside water tap? Their "savings" end up wasted...

Tom, many people here have no choice when it comes to buying materials - they simply don't have the luxury of choosing more expensive. They are not necessarily saving money, just buying what they can afford.  

[Tommy T.]

20 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Tom, many people here have no choice when it comes to buying materials - they simply don't have the luxury of choosing more expensive. They are not necessarily saving money, just buying what they can afford.  

Yes, HK, I understand that too and you make a good point. I forgot to account for that in my post.

It's not all cut and dried decision making. I guess it's just a shame that then homes are constructed with inferior products that may likely fail prematurely. That's one of the biggest reasons we decided to build our own. If it fails, then it's our fault for missing something...

I mentioned before that we looked at some finished homes before and at one, the foreman of the project admitted that they used inferior materials. According to L he was covering his a** by saying it was the contractor's decision. We couldn't run away from that house fast enough!

And I think about that condo here that collapsed. It would appear that it might also have been constructed poorly or with poor materials. I imagine the owner is not too pleased right now...

Edited November 26, 2019 by Tommy T.

[jimeve]

3 hours ago, RBM said:

..wow do they love to grind.

Who doesn't?

[Tommy T.]

On 11/24/2019 at 4:14 PM, Viking said:

Is it not easy with most kind of windows, to see inside at night, when the lights are on??

We met with the window guy yesterday and I asked him the question again about why not reflective glass.

He reiterated that the reflective makes it easier to see in at night when lights are on. So I pressed him on this and he said that the dark tinted glass will actually block the view inside a lit room better than the reflective. Oh? Yes. Apparently the dark tint is actually darker than the reflective so that sure, someone will be able to see in, but more silhouette rather than detailed views. He also said that appearance-wise it just does not look so good on a dwelling as on an office building. I actually prefer the dark tint as it will go better with the design of the house. Of course, we will still pull black-out curtains and blinds at night - at least upstairs - no reason to advertise...

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Tommy T. said:

He also said that appearance-wise it just does not look so good on a dwelling as on an office building.

I agree.  I have seen a few "modern" style houses with the mirror glass and I don't like the look.  Dark tint looks much better.

[Tommy T.]

We made another visit to the house site yesterday. It was good to see the ground floor slab in place.

The boys were busy making hollow blocks there on site.They claim to be Class A but we did not like the look of them. They were a bit crumbly on the outside and just didn't seem as good as machine produced blocks. So we mentioned this to the contractor who claimed they were just as good as machine made but agreed to use these only for the fence and not for the house walls. So they will bring in a machine they have (it was being used at another job site) and make the proper blocks for the house. We will finalize the window plan this week.

Making hollow blocks

Completed hollow blocks on the new concrete slab

Part of the newly dug excavation for the perimeter fence. Unfortunately, several trees will need to be removed because they are either directly on the line of the fence or so close that someone could climb one in order to more easily get over the fence. It was also decided that a sliding gate will be used for the main car entrance since there is not enough space for inward swinging gates.

[Viking]

Did you ever consider to use EVG panels instead of hollow blocks for the walls?

I don´t hear many people using them, maybe for a reason , but to me it sounds like a smart thing.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=5WzjXaScHar2qwG82paQCw&q=evg+panels&oq=evg+panels&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i19j0i22i30i19l3.7639.10356..15556...0.0..0.153.678.10j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0i131j0j0i22i10i30j0i22i30.i29Ud_xPdo8

Edited December 1, 2019 by Viking
spelling

[Tommy T.]

16 minutes ago, Viking said:

Did you ever consider to use EVG panels instead of hollow blocks for the walls?

I don´t hear many people using them, maybe for a reason , but to me it sounds like a smart thing.

Thanks for the thought...

I never heard of that before, but it sounds smart and interesting, if a bit complicated. I honestly am not sure that could be done properly here unless by factory trained technicians or workers with proper equipment. I read some of the tech articles you referred to and it sounds sturdy. Perhaps someone here is familiar with that system?

However, Viking, the die is already cast for the construction and it is already prepared for the hollow block. I asked around a bit and there are basically two standard construction methods that are most common here. Hollow block is one.  And the other is framed homes similar in construction to those in USA and elsewhere using a material called Hardie-Flex that seems to be similar to gypsum board. Wood is expensive and prone to infestation so hollow block seems to be the winner, although some builders use aluminum framing also. The workers are very experienced with the hollow block and, although it is not my favourite, I know they can do a good job and it is so common. It will also make the home possibly more salable in the future if need be?