Building a Home in Davao

[hk blues]

15 hours ago, Viking said:

Do you plan to use only that window for letting out the heat/smoke/smell from the stove or will you also have a range hood? 

That's a very good question.

I decided not to install a hood because we have a window right at the cooker AND the exhaust would have been venting into our neighbours area - I felt this was selfish.  However, seeing how selfish most people here are I shouldn't have worried! 

[Viking]

5 hours ago, hk blues said:

That's a very good question.

I decided not to install a hood because we have a window right at the cooker AND the exhaust would have been venting into our neighbours area - I felt this was selfish.  However, seeing how selfish most people here are I shouldn't have worried! 

Do you feel that the window do the job, as good as a hood would do it?

Don´t you have problems with the smoke and smell, sometimes go into the room instead of going out?

[Tommy T.]

On 1/18/2020 at 8:17 PM, Viking said:

Do you plan to use only that window for letting out the heat/smoke/smell from the stove or will you also have a range hood? 

No... There will be an exhaust range hood venting outside above the window. The window is there so we can look out when we cook and also to get a bit of ventilation when cooking or not cooking. The entire house has windows around so we should be able to catch any cross breezes...

[Tommy T.]

On 1/18/2020 at 4:50 PM, stevewool said:

Looking good, so how long before you will be in do you think.

Thanks for the good words!

Not sure, exactly, but late March to mid April seems to be about right. We are not rushing things and prefer to see quality rather than quantity in the build...

[gery0x]

19 hours ago, hk blues said:

However, seeing how selfish most people here are I shouldn't have worried!

You can still burn your trash in front of the house for the sake of integration...

 

10 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Not sure, exactly, but late March to mid April seems to be about right. We are not rushing things and prefer to see quality rather than quantity

Referring to your photos, March/April seems a little bit... sporty.

You are very right, don't rush things! If they do it wrong, insist on doing it one more time and this time right. It will pay you off 1000-fold when you're actually living there!!

[Tommy T.]

4 minutes ago, gery0x said:

Referring to your photos, March/April seems a little bit... sporty.

You are very right, don't rush things! If they do it wrong, insist on doing it one more time and this time right. It will pay you off 1000-fold when you're actually living there!!

You may be right about the calendar... I hate to pay any more rent here than necessary these days, but that's the way it goes... We try to keep ahead of the work with buying some of the things that we are taking care of before they might contact us and say, oh...we need that this afternoon!

And we have made a few changes and requested re-work in just a few cases and there are ongoing small changes and adjustments. We know they are accustomed to building more "standard" structures, but they also listen to us and do what we ask. We think we have impressed them with our eyes for details. L thinks they may utilize perhaps 50% of our suggestions in future builds and likely forget the rest. But they are learning and always seem eager to please.

[gery0x]

6 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

but they also listen to us and do what we ask.

That's the least you can expect and - very sadly to say - you are very lucky to have staff who do that!

I've had workers around my house who gave me gray hair all along... I could tell stories that'd cause horrible flashbacks to me...

 

8 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

L thinks they may utilize perhaps 50% of our suggestions in future builds and likely forget the rest.

That's very likely the case - but not your problem in the end...

[hk blues]

18 hours ago, Viking said:

Do you feel that the window do the job, as good as a hood would do it?

Don´t you have problems with the smoke and smell, sometimes go into the room instead of going out?

The hood would do a better job but the window is just a few inches from the cooker so it's sufficient - just about.  As for smoke and smells - not really a big issue due to the proximity of the window.  

[Tommy T.]

We paid a visit to the home site again today because we had a number of questions and suggestions...

They guys are making quick progress now and the walls are materializing as if out of thin air. Some of the hollow block setting looks better than others, but they seem to be making an effort to not do this the totally Filipino way.

We finalized the locations and sizes of some more windows - mainly on the second floor for the master bedroom and extra room. We also revised the drainage system from the roof deck to make it more efficient and less intrusive into our bedroom.

L was there with me for the entire time and gave much valuable input into design and function. We had a couple of "argumentative discussions," but were always able to reach positive conclusions. As for any home building project, there must be compromises and each of us did exactly that. We worked out which way doors should open to cause least problems - where will the cables for TV and internet go, how about electrical outlets? I am very pleased that there will be many electrical outlets throughout the home - inside and outside, probably more than we may need. But I believe it is better to have too many than too few.

We left the foreman with a number of printouts showing things like wire-nuts for the electrician to use instead of twisted wires with tape and I instructed him about how they should be correctly used (there really is a proper technique). We also want one light switch at every location where there will be lighted switches - so much easier to find the one when it is dark. We also specified which adhesive and grout to use (ABC) when they start tiling soon.

We changed the configuration of a deck on the second floor to make it a bit larger so we can sit to drink our morning coffee or evening cocktails with more space to enjoy. And we set the location and size of some shade/rain awnings for maximum effect with minimum intrusion to living spaces.

After that, I went shopping and bought all the door locks. I also bought the kitchen sink so that the foreman and cabinet maker could take measurements so that everything will fit correctly and neatly...

I am exhausted after all of this today... so many decisions, a few arguments, and so much thought energy to make our home just right!

A view out one of our master bedroom windows.

The view out another master bedroom window.

The master bedroom CR with bedroom to the right and stairs to the left. Of course, no walls yet...

Looking up at the downstairs and upstairs CR shower windows. I insisted that we have an opening window in each shower so we can have free air flow and also a bit of a view while showering. There will also be powered vents in the CR's to expel odours and moisture.

 

The kitchen sink! Not with this faucet. It was a real hassle to find one of the proper size and configuration to fit in the rather limited space available on our small counters.

[Tommy T.]

A new development... L was pissed because the ground floor CR door was just opposite of the ground floor guest bedroom.. She wanted nothing of it! So now the ground floor CR will be an extension rather than part of the interior of the ground floor. She somehow negotiated with the contractor to give us a really good deal to make this change at very little extra cost... I love this girl more and more every day! I would never want to be on the opposite side trying to negotiate with her!

So the ground floor will be much more open than before with the living room area being rather huge by Filipino standards. I am fine with this. The wood slab stairs will now be the centerpiece of the ground floor, rather than an adjunct. L will be able to watch me cook while she is messing with her FaceBook in the living room... no hiding in the kitchen to drink!