Building a Home in Davao

[Tommy T.]

1 minute ago, hk blues said:

Understood.  It does seem unconventional not to do the roof now but, as you say they are experienced and professional builders so they should know what they are doing.  They may be factoring in the fact we are still in dry season.  

Yeah... I just hope so. they seem to know what they are doing...mostly. We still see that we need to steer them along the way now and then...

[Tommy T.]

Has anyone looked for and found electrical wire nuts? If so, where?

Edited March 14, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

For those of you who were following the discussions about the air/con installation here. I found a leftover piece of the insulation the installers used when insulating the copper tubes. So I took a photo. It is quite thick and feels very robust. After covering the tubing with this, they wrapped it all up in some sort of white tape that was also heavier than just electrical tape.

Note how it has texture for greater pleasure...

Edited March 14, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

So, our weekly visit to the property today.

The house is coming along nicely.

We are excited to see the ceilings taking shape. The boys are using the Spandrel mesh tape on the Hardiflex as requested by us and suggested by one of the members here - sorry, I forget who's suggestion that was...

The electrician was there today and we discussed more things - wiring for doorbell/intercom, electrical locking gate switch, CCTV camera rough-in wiring, lighting for the steps and stairway area.

The wooden steps are on site and being test-fitted and installed. They look way cool to us and we are very pleased. We had some issues to figure out regarding the handrails. With the configuration of the home, it is a bit odd to fit them, but we figured out a way. This was new to the foreman and also to us. But we put our heads together and made a plan that will work out neatly.

Like said a few times before, it is a Filipino home but with a lot of Western influence. The locals all say what a huge home it is. To me, it feels okay at about 2/3's the size of my home back in USA - which I considered small at the time - about 1,700 sq ft then. But I am older now and there will only be two of us, so we don't want or need a McMansion.

The boys keep on also finishing the fence plastering. Soon they will be painting that and installing the steel part.

This is fun but tiring... We will need to shop for and select plumbing fixtures and electrical fixtures too. Then there will be appliances and furniture. Then I will buy a lot of SanMig Light and more Tanduay.

The standard first photo for every visit. Note the new neat facade for under the roof.

The laundry room and dirty kitchen being finessed.

Straight front-on view showing also the enclosure for the roof deck stairs and CR.

My favourite, the stairs... They are looking a lot like in the sample photos I gave the foreman to mimic. He did a fantastic job!

The living room ceiling with cove lighting construction and center ceiling fan/light rough in. Note the mesh tape on the joints.

I don't know why they waited so long, but today they were plastering the air/con tubing and wiring into the wall. I am glad I have taken so many photos, because they will become priceless for if/when service or repair is needed on any system.

I know I would never have been able to have a home built without L's incredible knowledge and help. And I tell her that every day. I think she gets it!

The visit cheered me out of my virus worry funk. So maybe I should do this daily? (And fight Davao traffic???? Probably not. Even on the best of days, the traffic and nitwit driving makes me nervous.

[John Chamberlain]

All the very best with your construction Tommy T, it's takes me a bit of getting used to the job all being done by hand but quite amazing how it comes together, my building is for a business so its quite large 20 metres x 10 metres, my only real problem is getting materials & labour with every where in lock down, so I bought 300 bags of cement & while the lock down is on the boys can make hollow blocks for the perimeter walls , the actual build has stopped for a bit, I just hope the exchange rate improves asap. Good luck to you & your project.

[Tommy T.]

17 hours ago, John Chamberlain said:

All the very best with your construction Tommy T, it's takes me a bit of getting used to the job all being done by hand but quite amazing how it comes together, my building is for a business so its quite large 20 metres x 10 metres, my only real problem is getting materials & labour with every where in lock down, so I bought 300 bags of cement & while the lock down is on the boys can make hollow blocks for the perimeter walls , the actual build has stopped for a bit, I just hope the exchange rate improves asap. Good luck to you & your project.

Thanks for your thoughts, John. I wish the best for you on your project also.

Right now I really don't know how things are going out there. We did not go last Saturday because there aren't a lot of new things happening and we have already mostly self-quarantined just out of an abundance of caution. Davao City goes into serious lockdown tomorrow so today I must venture out for some last minute errands before this takes effect. Apparently the hardware stores will be closed. The workers will keep on, from what we have been told as there are still many things to do, but we will not be able to select lighting or plumbing equipment for a while. And we will not be able to visit the site for maybe 3-4 weeks or longer. This is quite depressing for me especially....

L goes out and does the shopping and most errands. She is very careful, but who knows what's lurking in the grocery store? So far Davao seems to be generally free of the virus, but then who was infected two weeks ago and has wandered around infecting people?

Stay safe.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Tommy T.

[intrepid]

On 3/14/2020 at 2:26 PM, Tommy T. said:

Has anyone looked for and found electrical wire nuts? If so, where?

Tommy, I see they are available on Lazada .  However, with the virus Lazada is no longer making deliveries.  I shipped plenty and have some leftovers from our build that should last me with any projects that come up.  I haven't seen them in any of the hardware stores but seem to remember seeing them at Wilcon.  Even if Lazada was shipping I think it would take over a month because they are from China.  In Laguna here everything is closed on lock down and no construction allowed in most all places.  Good luck,  danny

 

[Huggybearman]

I feel for you Tom, and anyone else who is in the middle of a construction project now. It must be really frustrating!

On a lighter note, you could use the slowdown in progress to make any modifications you feel might be appropriate in the light of this experience. An example might be.....

 

 

[JDDavao II]

On 3/14/2020 at 2:26 PM, Tommy T. said:

Has anyone looked for and found electrical wire nuts? If so, where?

Tommy, Madam General of the Fort tells me that we bought them at Wilcon. 

[Tommy T.]

Some good news today... The foreman is still at the home site and continuing with the work. We know this because he has asked us some questions about the construction.... We will inquire about whether two of us can travel to the site in a few days to view progress...

So I am heartened about the build... At this time, I just want to see it done so we can move in. I don't care about furniture, appliances... - just want water, power and a proper bed to sleep in... all the rest can wait.... oh... and a decent toilet to use so we aren't doing like @Jake with his tabo and other toilet issues....

Edited March 28, 2020 by Tommy T.