Building a Home in Davao

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, intrepid said:

We had to go through all that with our permits as well.  However, not once did anyone ever come do in inspection during construction.  The only inspection was after completion two men came to the house and did a walk around and measured the outside walls.  I suppose to make a calculation for property taxes.  So another piece of advise is to as you are doing now, "your own inspections".  Catch mistakes early before they get out of hand.

I was also assured that it was highly unlikely that anyone will come out to inspect here also. I just checked yesterday on my drive out and back and it is 17 kms from the apartment here in Ecoland and another 2 kms or so to city hall and the downtown area where most of the engineers and other bureaucrats work. That can take anywhere from 45 minutes - and up - each way.

Yeah, that's our golden rule. After taking about 9 months haggling through the actual plan, we don't want to let it get away from us now. And the contractors know we are carefully checking things so they seem to be very careful too.

So far, I am very impressed with the work and attitude of them and the workers. What they are doing with minimal "western" tools - bending the rebar by hand on a makeshift table with nails set in the wood, using pieces of pipe for the bending; using just a cement mixer and buckets - no cement truck; all digging by hand (yet straight as an arrow!).

Oh... and their "safety gear?" Hardhats (maybe just relying on hard heads?), gloves (well yes, the rebar guys is wearing some!), steel-toed flip flops?...not!

Here's one of the crew doing that rebar bending...

Edited September 27, 2019 by Tommy T.
Did not see the gloves right away!

[jimeve]

12 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

So far, I am very impressed with the work and attitude of them and the workers. What they are doing with minimal "western" tools - bending the rebar by hand on a makeshift table with nails set in the wood, using pieces of pipe for the bending; using just a cement mixer and buckets - no cement truck; all digging by hand (yet straight as an arrow!).

Here's one of the crew doing that rebar bending...

We never had a cement mixer, cement mixed by spades and no electrical tools except when they were welding the roof

[Tommy T.]

Here is about how it should look when complete.

I say "about" because it will have partial roof deck and partial sloped roof. It will not have any cement "awnings" but rather plastic or metal. I know they won't last as long, but the cement versions just look ugly to us - heavy handed - even though that is standard in the Philippines. If they break or wear out, then we'll replace them. Master's bedroom upstairs on the right - I already envision us enjoying our morning coffee on the small veranda there...

So it isn't really fancy or pretty, but rather functional and contemporary. My architect neighbour (who didn't have anything to do with it, but I showed it to him for his opinion) liked the design and simplicity of it.

[Tommy T.]

12 minutes ago, jimeve said:

We never had a cement mixer, cement mixed by spades and no electrical tools except when they were welding the roof

Wow! Really the hard way, Jim. These guys have a nice power cutter for the rebar and pipes and a small jig saw for wood and, of course many hand saws. I really admire what they can do - imagine a western labourer looking at that lack of equipment and just scratching his head - or worse, turning and walking away...

[RBM]

Another item to put on the list Tom is out side faucets, my engineer never thought about it. Looks good progress to me how ever expect a few bumps along the road.

[Tommy T.]

1 minute ago, RBM said:

Another item to put on the list Tom is out side faucets, my engineer never thought about it. Looks good progress to me how ever expect a few bumps along the road.

Thanks for the reminder RBM!

We already planned for two - one in front and one in back so we can water plants and wash the car!

Also... There is already a small house in the very back for the workers and storage of cement. That will be improved and become permanent with a small CR and kitchen area for a helper. You can see it in one of the earlier photos. Not much of a building, but very cheap and it will do the job.

I hope my springs and shocks will be adequate to manage those bumps!

[intrepid]

59 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

imagine a western labourer looking at that lack of equipment and just scratching his head - or worse, turning and walking away...

When we built I took a lot of pictures like you are doing.  Not only good for showing others the progress but also good to refer back when in the future you may want to add, change, or repair something. 

I sent many pictures to my construction friends in the states of the how labor intensive our build was and the basic tools and hand made tools they used here.  Most laughed and said there would not be enough money to get them to work on a job site here.

RBM mentioned outside faucets and made me think about plumbing in general.  If it is not already decided, consider PPR pipe for all your pressure lines.  Don't remember if I mentioned it before or in another thread but PPR is about the only thing here that will hold up to the very high pressures you will want with your new home.  My water system is set at 40/60.  That blue crap pipe most use is weak and will not be good for much of 30psi for very long.  Maybe others have better luck with it.   Also the PPR is heat fused together and glued like the blue or pvc/cpvc.

[RBM]

4 minutes ago, intrepid said:

When we built I took a lot of pictures like you are doing.  Not only good for showing others the progress but also good to refer back when in the future you may want to add, change, or repair something. 

I sent many pictures to my construction friends in the states of the how labor intensive our build was and the basic tools and hand made tools they used here.  Most laughed and said there would not be enough money to get them to work on a job site here.

RBM mentioned outside faucets and made me think about plumbing in general.  If it is not already decided, consider PPR pipe for all your pressure lines.  Don't remember if I mentioned it before or in another thread but PPR is about the only thing here that will hold up to the very high pressures you will want with your new home.  My water system is set at 40/60.  That blue crap pipe most use is weak and will not be good for much of 30psi for very long.  Maybe others have better luck with it.   Also the PPR is heat fused together and glued like the blue or pvc/cpvc.

Absolutely best advice so far. Currently experiencing serious leakage which so far they are unable to locate and appears we must re do whole house. This was done with the blue pvc and glue.

Recently our water pressure increased due to a new well complementing the original one. This is now a problem for many of us, the house was a quality build with crappy pipes so consider Tom the latters advice.

[Tommy T.]

13 minutes ago, intrepid said:

When we built I took a lot of pictures like you are doing.  Not only good for showing others the progress but also good to refer back when in the future you may want to add, change, or repair something. 

I sent many pictures to my construction friends in the states of the how labor intensive our build was and the basic tools and hand made tools they used here.  Most laughed and said there would not be enough money to get them to work on a job site here.

RBM mentioned outside faucets and made me think about plumbing in general.  If it is not already decided, consider PPR pipe for all your pressure lines.  Don't remember if I mentioned it before or in another thread but PPR is about the only thing here that will hold up to the very high pressures you will want with your new home.  My water system is set at 40/60.  That blue crap pipe most use is weak and will not be good for much of 30psi for very long.  Maybe others have better luck with it.   Also the PPR is heat fused together and glued like the blue or pvc/cpvc.

More great ideas and thoughts, Intrepid. This is getting me more excited about this build too!

When my ex and I had a home built in USA, I did the same - 30+ years ago - and included copies of construction photos to the buyers of it when I eventually sold it. Those photos actually helped me sell the place! They were also good to document the quality of the construction and some of the details that we were careful to include that "stock" homes didn't have.

I am not sure what PPR pipe is, but if it is what I know in USA as Sched 40 PVC, then that's what I would prefer. This I haven't checked on yet so I really appreciate the thought and just now added it to my "Construction Notes" list... Thanks! From re-reading your post, it seems PPR is something different, so I will talk to my old friend (young friend since I am much older than him) Google and see what wisdom he will offer. It may end up being a chargeable upgrade, but it's worth it to me if it prevents hassles and headaches down the road.

Oh... and a side note you might be interested in - I am making sure that all ground floor feed lines will be external - i.e. not embedded in the cement floor. And there will be sectional shut-off valves to isolate different areas so I don't have to shut off the entire house supply to service or repair something in one place.

[Tommy T.]

21 minutes ago, RBM said:

Absolutely best advice so far. Currently experiencing serious leakage which so far they are unable to locate and appears we must re do whole house. This was done with the blue pvc and glue.

Recently our water pressure increased due to a new well complementing the original one. This is now a problem for many of us, the house was a quality build with crappy pipes so consider Tom the latters advice.

Thanks RBM... I just finished a reply to Intrepid. Please refer to that reply and you will see that I already took that close to heart! I appreciate your endorsement but am sad for your predicament. That sounds like a nightmare project you are going to have - yuck!