Building a Home in Davao

[Tommy T.]

I just made a quick trip to the home site - at least as quick as can be done in Davao traffic...(30 minutes going and 40 minutes returning for a 30 km round trip).

L is working but gave me her instructions and I followed them. First was to verify that the builders were going to securely tie the walls of the re-located CR and laundry rooms to the main house... check! And they already dug out the ground for footings and foundation walls.

Then I was to verify that a previously planned window for the stairway would not happen due to the revised CR and laundry room plans....check!

Lastly I needed to confirm with the foreman and electrician that there would be rough--ins for ceiling fans in living and dining room areas...check, check!

So I did my work. The boys have started plastering the walls and they look really good. I did some sightings and they look very flat and straight. I was impressed to see that they use straight boards moved along the walls to ensure they are straight. I was very impressed with their workmanship and told the foreman to pass that along to the workers. Smiles all around.

L and I are still really pleased with the work so far.

Plastering and one of the workers.

More plastering and another of the workers.

Their work looks very good and neat, straight and flat.

I am happy to make them pleased with their work.

And the excavation for the enlarged CR and laundry room. Thankfully there were no big rocks this time!

Edited January 27, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

There was something wonky going on with my internet connection (not unusual here...)

So I ended up with double post.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

We drove out to the site this morning for a few hours.

The air/con installer met us so we could discuss and decide locations of inside split/type units and the outside compressors, including routing of the copper refrigerant tubing and drain water pipes. Really a good visit as we considered several different suggestions and settled with good ideas that improved the effectiveness and will save a bit on installation costs. Actually, two guys came out from EMCOR and were very professional and thorough. I really enjoy seeing this level of professionalism here and am impressed. Anything longer than 10  feet for the piping results in extra charges for the installation. We also wanted to minimize the visual impact of the compressor units so the place will not look like an office building.

We looked at the revised ground floor CR and made a few decisions regarding locations or lavatory sinks, toilets and water heaters.

The laundry room and outside dirty kitchen also received scrutiny and we fine-tuned the locations  of several things like sinks, water pipes, electric outlets and possible future dryer vent size and location.

The boys were not quite as pleased to see us as usual because we did not bring snacks or Tanduay... I don't want to spoil them into thinking that we will bring those every time. L agrees that it is a good idea.

Tomorrow L and I will return to Wilcon to pick out wall tiles for the CR's and also order or buy shower fittings so the foreman can make sure to accommodate them into his wall plumbing.

Window framing in walls is done. Lots of the plastering is done and looks really good. My supervisor is observing and issuing directives and suggestions...as she does...

Close up of the plastering and window preparation with "back-to-back" electrical outlets in ground floor guest bedroom and outside.

Close up perspective of the front wall plastering. It is a bit difficult to tell since it is a flat finish right now, but it looks very flat and straight to me.

The kitchen area with over-the-stove window deleted, walls plastered and outlets in place.

This is the professional mason. He is very young and always smiling. He does superior work - so far as I can see. He seems to enjoy, especially, the finish work and excels at it. He is doing final touches to the back window in the living room.

Edited February 1, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

The visits must happen more often since more is happening now. It seemed to take forever before, and now the inside walls are all getting plastered and more and more decisions need to be made for locations of electrical items like outlets and lights and for plumbing fixtures.

L and I looked at and picked out wall tiles for two of the CR's. There will be a roughed in third one on the roof deck, but it will be simple and unfinished at this stage as funds are drying up...

I had a panic attack yesterday when I returned to the apartment and looked at the washing machine... Suddenly it looked huge to me and the laundry room area they just finished walling in looked very small...yikes! So I drove out this morning mainly to check that and all is well. The machine takes up about 80 cm but there is 130 cm space. Not huge, but fine considering it's only for laundry. It will have just half-walls since the house and roofing overhangs will protect the machine and laundry from weather.

We keep finding and fixing little details - and sometimes some bigger ones.

We had a discussion about the risers in the stairs that will go from ground floor to second floor and roof deck. The foreman told me that 20 cm is about standard and that equates to almost 8". I don't want them too high (not really any higher than 8", if possible), but I do want them consistent. So I measured several steps leading up to the apartment - four measurements, four different riser heights! One @ 6", one @ 7 ", one @ 8" and one @ 9 1/4". No wonder why I cannot always hit the steps right - it's not just the Tanduay...it's the steps!!!

The foreman illustrating "plenty wide" for the washing machine.

Waste water pipes installed - with cleanout. After reading about these in another thread, I asked and was told the main ones are 4". I hope I never have a poop that will clog that up!!!

Yakal door frames are being prepped and primer coated.

Then they are installed

.

This is the laundry room that was giving me fits. There will be an outdoor "dirty" kitchen right off the end of it.

They are making their own hollow blocks on-site with a proper machine and stacking them up. I never heard of using molasses to make cement before. But I recently read about that out of curiosity and it really works to make it all bind better so they use it in their mix.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Viking]

On 2/1/2020 at 3:09 PM, Tommy T. said:

We drove out to the site this morning for a few hours.

The air/con installer met us so we could discuss and decide locations of inside split/type units and the outside compressors, including routing of the copper refrigerant tubing and drain water pipes. Really a good visit as we considered several different suggestions and settled with good ideas that improved the effectiveness and will save a bit on installation costs. Actually, two guys came out from EMCOR and were very professional and thorough. I really enjoy seeing this level of professionalism here and am impressed. Anything longer than 10  feet for the piping results in extra charges for the installation. We also wanted to minimize the visual impact of the compressor units so the place will not look like an office building.

So what did you choose Tommy? Multi splits, regular splits, window types or maybe even a mix of them? Did you go with Panasonic or did you choose another brand?

[Tommy T.]

10 hours ago, Viking said:

So what did you choose Tommy? Multi splits, regular splits, window types or maybe even a mix of them? Did you go with Panasonic or did you choose another brand?

Good morning, Viking.

We stuck with Panasonic, mainly due to the very positive comments I found in some online reviews. Additionally, they were very close in price to the contenders, Kopel and Kolin. After reading comments about difficulty with service on this forum, we rejected Daikon. And Carrier seems like one is paying a lot for the name - perhaps more than the worth of the actual units. However, if the budget were even tighter than it already is, I would have even considered LG. They seem to make a lot of quality appliances.

They are all regular split type and all inverter. I really don't like the appearance or sound of the window type. So, for us, it was a personal as well as efficiency and cost decision. I think we are getting one 2.5 hp (living/dining/kitchen ground floor), 2.0 hp (master bedroom which is quite large), 1.0 hp for guest bedroom and "man cave."

Edited February 5, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Gary D]

12 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Good morning, Viking.

We stuck with Panasonic, mainly due to the very positive comments I found in some online reviews. Additionally, they were very close in price to the contenders, Kopel and Kolin. After reading comments about difficulty with service on this forum, we rejected Dakon. And Carrier seems like one is paying a lot for the name - perhaps more than the worth of the actual units. However, if the budget were even tighter than it already is, I would have even considered LG. They seem to make a lot of quality appliances.

They are all regular split type and all inverter. I really don't like the appearance or sound of the window type. So, for us, it was a personal as well as efficiency and cost decision. I think we are getting one 2.5 hp (living/dining/kitchen ground floor), 2.0 hp (master bedroom which is quite large), 1.0 hp for guest bedroom and "man cave."

I'm keeping one eye on splits at the moment, was leaning towards Carrier as S&R do a good deal. Do like the look of the LG although the Carrier efficiency looks awesome.

[Mike J]

13 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

The foreman illustrating "plenty wide" for the washing machine.

Maybe that is how he measures everything.  Are you sure he owns a tape measure? 

[Tommy T.]

6 hours ago, Mike J said:

Maybe that is how he measures everything.  Are you sure he owns a tape measure? 

Yeah, Mike... no problem. I took that photo to show L - who was at work - that there was lots of room. We measured twice to be sure... And I had my own tape with me too!

I may buy him a new tape though, because his is getting worn thin from all his checking.

And I just took another closer look at his photo...it's in his left hand!

Edited February 5, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

6 hours ago, Gary D said:

I'm keeping one eye on splits at the moment, was leaning towards Carrier as S&R do a good deal. Do like the look of the LG although the Carrier efficiency looks awesome.

Just a caution for you, Gary...

We decided to buy from EMCOR for two reasons. First, they had the best prices - much cheaper than the SM appliance store here.

The other is that they service what they sell. SM gave me handouts detailing the service centers to go to for the various machines they sell. They service nothing, so once you leave the store with appliance in hand, they are done with you.

I looked at S & R too, but they simply sell and forget. I was also a bit wary because I know they get special deals on various things they sell that are one-off... maybe it is something that has a bad rep, or items that are outdated. Perhaps I am too cautious?

[Ah... so I see I was incorrect about this comment. I will leave it here, but make this note that it is not true. Apparently S & R does have a service center...]

Abensons also services what they sell, but their prices were a fair bit higher. I will still consider them when buying other appliances like refrigerator and oven/stove unit...

I really like the idea of buying things from a company that services what they sell - just so much easier since they have the history with me and the paper trail... no finger pointing...

Edited February 5, 2020 by Tommy T.