Building a Home in Davao

[carbpow]

12 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Okay... today my patience with this construction finally snapped.

I called and yelled at the glass contractor on the phone.

I called and yelled at the cabinet contractor on the phone also.

I cannot ever reach the home construction contractor on the phone... or I would have yelled at her also - and I am sure she would know that

As a former president of the US used to say, "I feel your pain." During the building of my house I tried to be patient with cultural differences. My wife also had explained to me that even though you are a ship engineer and former building contractor when you were in the USA you cannot expect the people here to have the same standards. So I took all that to heart but eventually her patience ran out before mine and I also got a bit angry. She refused to make any more payments, allowances etc and politely told them that if they did not finish the job to our satisfaction there would be no more payment at all. She told them it was disrespectful and dishonest not to honor their word. They could leave and get nothing but an estafa case filed,we had a contract, or stay and complete the job. They had 24 hour to start to perform or get out [she put that in writing]. Some stayed the rest left. The house got finished but I am in no hurry to build the apartments I had planned to build. Since then we found two people that take pride in their craftsmanship and have hired them to build some tables and cabinets. So far so good but as my wife explained, "They will be good until some of their family starts telling them they are not charging us enough or the family suddenly wants more money because they think they are holding out on them."  Having lived in other developing countries before I know that's true and just roll with the flow. 

The last part of building the house is always the hardest. Hang in there !

[Tommy T.]

9 hours ago, carbpow said:

Since then we found two people that take pride in their craftsmanship and have hired them to build some tables and cabinets. So far so good but as my wife explained, "They will be good until some of their family starts telling them they are not charging us enough or the family suddenly wants more money because they think they are holding out on them."

I hear you... L has hired various guys to build some nice cabinetry and also just utility cabinetry. Her mileage with them was varied. Some just not show up nor answer their phone, some did okay work for a few days, then disappeared for a while. There does not seem to be rhyme nor reason. She is as baffled - or more so - than I am about the lack of "work ethics." She and her daughter work hard and apply themselves and try to advance themselves. So, in total, we just don't "get it."

The sparky and the foreman, mason and a welder all seem to work fairly hard and diligently. The rest...not so much. Maybe it is due to the low wages, we also hear comments about the contractors being cheap and not paying on time... I cannot argue with anyone if they are expected to work with little or delayed pay...

[RBM]

27 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

I hear you... L has hired various guys to build some nice cabinetry and also just utility cabinetry. Her mileage with them was varied. Some just not show up nor answer their phone, some did okay work for a few days, then disappeared for a while. There does not seem to be rhyme nor reason. She is as baffled - or more so - than I am about the lack of "work ethics." She and her daughter work hard and apply themselves and try to advance themselves. So, in total, we just don't "get it."

The sparky and the foreman, mason and a welder all seem to work fairly hard and diligently. The rest...not so much. Maybe it is due to the low wages, we also hear comments about the contractors being cheap and not paying on time... I cannot argue with anyone if they are expected to work with little or delayed pay...

As per previous posters Tommy hang in there. Your 95% done from what I can see, sure its frustrating, like many been there done that.  Take 10..... try not to loose it as does not in anyway help.  Before you know it your be feet up on that lovely patio with a cold one wondering about the next problem........

[hk blues]

10 hours ago, Viking said:

You are probably right even if I don´t understand what you are  trying to explain. If cold air get out from the freezer it must be very badly insulated, or do you mean that the freeze and ref compartment is connected in some way? 

I guess it is up to every individual to decide what is most important to them, saving some money on electricity or have to bend down every time you want something in the fridge. I know what I will choose 

 

Just to answer the 1st question - "Freezer is that part of the refrigerator which is at the lowest temperature, it is kept at the top so that internal circulation of air happens readily. The cooler air which surrounds the freezer becomes dense and goes downwards. The warmer air at the bottom then moves upwards and the cycle continues".

I agree with you that it's a personal choice - Like you, I'd prefer to pay the extra few pesos a month for the convenience of having the most used items more easily accessible. When we were buying ours, there were no models with freezer at the bottom so no choice. 

[Tommy T.]

53 minutes ago, RBM said:

As per previous posters Tommy hang in there. Your 95% done from what I can see, sure its frustrating, like many been there done that.  Take 10..... try not to loose it as does not in anyway help.  Before you know it your be feet up on that lovely patio with a cold one wondering about the next problem........

Yeah... I know you are 100% correct. Losing temper never helps anything...but it does feel good to vent a bit now and then.

It's good that the alcohol ban has been lifted... or maybe that's bad?

Anyway, we will get this all sorted out eventually. But, it's like when I was sailing... It's like reading a book that you cannot skip to the last page to see what happened. (I used to do that)

[carbpow]

1 hour ago, Tommy T. said:

Maybe it is due to the low wages, we also hear comments about the contractors being cheap and not paying on time... I cannot argue with anyone if they are expected to work with little or delayed pay...

There may be some truth to that. We discovered the original "architect" we hired had only paid his guys full pay for one week. The rest of the time they got an allowance sometimes which was basically for subsistence. This is fairly common. The workers may or may not get their full pay when the job is finished. Much of the time  the contractor tells his workers the owner hasn't paid or not paid enough. Since most contractors are not licensed by PCAB there is little recourse for the workers unless they can afford an attorney which of course they cannot.

[hk blues]

30 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Yeah... I know you are 100% correct. Losing temper never helps anything...but it does feel good to vent a bit now and then.

It's good that the alcohol ban has been lifted... or maybe that's bad?

Anyway, we will get this all sorted out eventually. But, it's like when I was sailing... It's like reading a book that you cannot skip to the last page to see what happened. (I used to do that)

Sometimes losing our temper can let people know we are serious and enough is enough - hopefully your contractors now know they need to get their fingers out!  

As others have said, the finishing line is in sight - it's the finishing touches which often let them down.

[hk blues]

2 minutes ago, carbpow said:

There may be some truth to that. We discovered the original "architect" we hired had only paid his guys full pay for one week. The rest of the time they got an allowance sometimes which was basically for subsistence. This is fairly common. The workers may or may not get their full pay when the job is finished. Much of the time  the contractor tells his workers the owner hasn't paid or not paid enough. Since most contractors are not licensed by PCAB there is little recourse for the workers unless they can afford an attorney which of course they cannot.

I prefer to get one-man bands to do projects whenever possible as it avoids the issues you mention.  

The unit next door to mine is being renovated and I can well understand why they might not get full pay - for me, a full day's pay is for a full day's work.  A full day's work doesn't mean starting at 10am and finishing at 4pm with at least 1 hour for lunch.  And that's on a busy day!  The project manager is under lockdown so it's hard for him to monitor them.  

 

[Tommy T.]

10 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Sometimes losing our temper can let people know we are serious and enough is enough - hopefully your contractors now know they need to get their fingers out!  

 

I can agree with all arguments presented here...

And they (the contractors) have seen my double bitted axe in the back of my car. They would be wisest to keep their fingers in their pockets!

I know it will all work out eventually... but the current hassles for me and L are very irritating... We have a strong relationship, but sometimes we strain a bit due to this ridiculous bulls*** stress...

Edited September 29, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

When the project is complete, I will divulge more details regarding the construction... Now is not the time when my temper is hot and L is equally or more irritated...