Building a Home in Davao

[hk blues]

18 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Actually, no. The wood tiles are already finished with some sort of coating. They aren't really slippery either, even when wet. They are tongue and groove so trying to add a finish might not work so well. We will just wait a while and see how they wear. I guess we can always apply another covering if necessary in the future?

I am impressed with the look and feel of the compressed bamboo tiles, just not with the initial installation.

I hate myself for saying this, Tom, but we did warn you about the installation based on the pics you posted.  Anyway, what's done is done and the remedy is not so difficult.  

For sure you can varnish the bamboo floor but how many times depends on the thickness of the planks, so I'd advise against doing it too soon unless it really needs it - which it shouldn't for a while.  We have "wood" flooring which is not of the quality of yours and it's been down 4-5 years with no issues in terms of needing recovered.  

[Tommy T.]

29 minutes ago, hk blues said:

I hate myself for saying this, Tom, but we did warn you about the installation based on the pics you posted.  Anyway, what's done is done and the remedy is not so difficult.  

For sure you can varnish the bamboo floor but how many times depends on the thickness of the planks, so I'd advise against doing it too soon unless it really needs it - which it shouldn't for a while.  We have "wood" flooring which is not of the quality of yours and it's been down 4-5 years with no issues in terms of needing recovered.  

I hate you too HK.... I don't like "I told you so's..." Kidding you...

Yeah... it was already down in that odd configuration, but that was not the cause of the problem...there was not enough gap left at the edges and we were not here to see that... mea culpa.

Fortunately, these wood tiles are surprisingly thick - I think 1/2 inch or so. And they weren't cheap - I think about 6 inches wide and 5 feet long with six in a box for something over $60/box...and many boxes...

And agreed.... we will only re-coat if there is a big need. We will cover heavily trafficked areas with small rugs.

And now I am a bit shocked... upon looking at the last room with the wood tiles just now, we can see that the contractor workers actually glued in a strip of wood planking to apparently fill in the gap between the the wall and the tiles! Obviously no clue about how to install wood tiles!

Edited January 26, 2021 by Tommy T.

[hk blues]

13 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

I hate you too HK.... I don't like "I told you so's..." Kidding you...

Yeah... it was already down in that odd configuration, but that was not the cause of the problem...there was not enough gap left at the edges and we were not here to see that... mea culpa.

Fortunately, these wood tiles are surprisingly thick - I think 1/2 inch or so. And they weren't cheap - I think about 6 inches wide and 5 feet long with six in a box for something over $60/box...and many boxes...

And agreed.... we will only re-coat if there is a big need. We will cover heavily trafficked areas with small rugs.

And now I am a bit shocked... upon looking at the last room with the wood tiles just now, we can see that the contractor workers actually glued in a strip of wood planking to apparently fill in the gap between the the wall and the tiles! Obviously no clue about how to install wood tiles!

Yep...the issue we raised was not about the gap (we couldn't see it) but the pattern - I suppose my concern was that if they laid the planks in such an unorthodox pattern then how experienced were they in that type of work?  Anyway, no need to labour the point and you've got it fixed with no harm done.  

As I said, our planks were not quite as expensive as yours (upstairs almost the same but downstairs only about half your cost) based on how yours look in the pics but have held up very well so I'm sure they will do you proud.

[RBM]

22 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Another positive story about our home build...with a couple negatives too...

We complained to the contractor about the wood tiles in the bedrooms lifting. I mean REALLY lifting - up to two inches high in one place! L visited Trust Hardware where we bought the wood tiles and they gave her the name and phone number of the professional installer they recommend. We told our contractor that they should have hired him at the beginning in order to do a good job with the flooring.

Anyway, a team of four boys showed up today and started fixing the problem. The foreman had assured us he had allowed lots of extra space between the tiles and the walls. Well... after removing the wood trim between wall and floor, it was readily apparent that there was very little space allowed between tiles and walls. So the pros are fixing that now. I was just glad that there was no moisture causing wood swelling.

The boys have to chisel along the edges to make more space.

The negative is that, after fixing (maybe) two roof leaks a few days ago, there seem to be two new ones... They must be related somewhere. So the roofer will need to return again. As common, two steps forward and one step back as we finish our home...

Tommy this is interesting, I installed similar tiles I purchased in Citi Hardware. The only lifting of these  after 2 years was around the water dispenser, they were installed tight together. No issues, looks similar to yours, they came in lengths of about 3 meters.

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, RBM said:

Tommy this is interesting, I installed similar tiles I purchased in Citi Hardware. The only lifting of these  after 2 years was around the water dispenser, they were installed tight together. No issues, looks similar to yours, they came in lengths of about 3 meters.

Hey RBM... perhaps you did not follow my description or I was not clear...? Or perhaps your installation is a bit different?

Anyway... the issue with our tiles is that the contractor workers installed them without leaving gaps between the walls and the tiles. Over some time, the tiles swelled a little - I guess from heat and humidity (it is quite humid here often in this fruit orchard environment)? They had nowhere to swell to and so they just lifted.

I read about the wood tiles online and what I read stated that most problems with wood planking is caused by moisture. Well... ours were bone dry, so that was not the problem. So the pros removed several planks in each room and cut them down. They also chiseled one or two sides of planks on the edges of each room. The lifting subsided immediately.

But to also explain...the planks, themselves, were - and still are - tight together in the floor areas themselves. Just the outside edges were trimmed. And this is the way it is supposed to be, according to what I read online... I hope this helps you see what we were dealing with here?

Edited January 27, 2021 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

Finally, more than six months after informing the glass outfit that we were ready for window and screen installations, (that was promised to be done in two weeks or less) they are finishing with the screens for the sliding doors....  The only thing left will be for them is to apply tint to the shower walls and door (which are freebees, supposedly, after all our complaints to them).

Then I will wait for them to ask for any more payments. If so, I intend to make them wait a while...maybe six months? Actually, they are not really finished because they need to come out, inspect their work and clean the windows and excess silicone goop from the walls. L and I are very tired from acting like the contractors should...

Goodness... and the company that will provide and fit the blinds just arrived a few minutes ago... When it rains, it pours! I am happy to see a lot of progress in one day!

Edited January 27, 2021 by Tommy T.

[RBM]

On 1/27/2021 at 9:01 AM, Tommy T. said:

Hey RBM... perhaps you did not follow my description or I was not clear...? Or perhaps your installation is a bit different?

 

Tommy I understood 100% your description of your situation.

I was trying to convey that the wood tiles I installed were absolutely without gaps. flush to the walls. No issue ever with lifting, except for around the water dispenser due to spilt water i guess.

Cannot be sure ours were the same as yours, perhaps the change of temps effected your tiles more than ours....

Your patience and fortitude continues to impress Tommy, yes we also had so many teething issues lasting well over 6 month, eventually it comes together.  

The discussion of garbage everywhere from workers brought back unpleasant memories....Remember having them build several garbage bins that were never used....I hated this part of the construction.......NEVER AGAIN

[RBM]

18 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Finally, more than six months after informing the glass outfit that we were ready for window and screen installations, (that was promised to be done in two weeks or less) they are finishing with the screens for the sliding doors....  The only thing left will be for them is to apply tint to the shower walls and door (which are freebees, supposedly, after all our complaints to them).

Then I will wait for them to ask for any more payments. If so, I intend to make them wait a while...maybe six months? Actually, they are not really finished because they need to come out, inspect their work and clean the windows and excess silicone goop from the walls. L and I are very tired from acting like the contractors should...

Goodness... and the company that will provide and fit the blinds just arrived a few minutes ago... When it rains, it pours! I am happy to see a lot of progress in one day!

Also like to make a comment here Tommy.....Problem we had the guys whom fitted the screens often forgot to fit the little strip of felt like material which keeps the frame firm. Hence the all day and night rattle......Took many calls, visits and I recall threats to have them return for a short job.....Would of done it myself how ever they would not sell it.

[Tommy T.]

20 minutes ago, RBM said:

The discussion of garbage everywhere from workers brought back unpleasant memories....Remember having them build several garbage bins that were never used....I hated this part of the construction.......NEVER AGAIN

Yeah, RBM... there are still a fair amount of rubbish scraps - bits of metal, plastic, wood, cement scattered around... Either one of us or some hired help pick it up bit by bit... It is very irritating.

I am glad you didn't have the floor tile issues we did, but they seem to be fixed now. And the installer said to just call him if there is any repeat, but he thought it was permanently fixed now. We'll see...

The latest issue just surfaced a couple days ago. A next door neighbour who has not yet constructed a home visited and gave me a gentle complaint about a wire conduit outside our fence, so on her property. WTF? We had not seen this before, but she showed me a section of the orange conduit poking out of the ground on her side.

It appears that the contractor laid at least part of the cable to power lights on the fence posts outside our fence. It should have been either inside the property boundary or - better yet - imbedded in the fence itself. Now they likely will have to dig below the fence or bore some holes in it to relocate the cables properly. Plus, they still have to imbed the cables in the posts that have the lights on top. It appears to be another time when nobody was planning ahead...

They sent a kid out here yesterday to imbed the vertical cables inside the posts and he had no clue what he was doing. He chipped out some cement, sort of jammed the conduit into the sloppy grooves, then slopped some cement over the top. There were many places where the conduit wasn't even covered because it was not laid in deeply enough... The places where the cement did cover the tube were just blobs of cement - no smoothing, not even an attempt to make it look neat.

I also noticed that at around 2 pm, he was sleeping in a hammock he brought with him - two hours after his lunch time began. So I woke him up and suggested he return to what he considered "work." There was no one here to supervise him so he was just on his own...what a waste...

I had him remove the cement to return another day. He also was digging up sand that was mixed with dirt on the access road to mix with the cement he applied - this was leftovers from the construction. It's good that I can still buy Tanduay.

Ce la guerre...

[Snowy79]

1 hour ago, Tommy T. said:

Yeah, RBM... there are still a fair amount of rubbish scraps - bits of metal, plastic, wood, cement scattered around... Either one of us or some hired help pick it up bit by bit... It is very irritating.

I am glad you didn't have the floor tile issues we did, but they seem to be fixed now. And the installer said to just call him if there is any repeat, but he thought it was permanently fixed now. We'll see...

The latest issue just surfaced a couple days ago. A next door neighbour who has not yet constructed a home visited and gave me a gentle complaint about a wire conduit outside our fence, so on her property. WTF? We had not seen this before, but she showed me a section of the orange conduit poking out of the ground on her side.

It appears that the contractor laid at least part of the cable to power lights on the fence posts outside our fence. It should have been either inside the property boundary or - better yet - imbedded in the fence itself. Now they likely will have to dig below the fence or bore some holes in it to relocate the cables properly. Plus, they still have to imbed the cables in the posts that have the lights on top. It appears to be another time when nobody was planning ahead...

They sent a kid out here yesterday to imbed the vertical cables inside the posts and he had no clue what he was doing. He chipped out some cement, sort of jammed the conduit into the sloppy grooves, then slopped some cement over the top. There were many places where the conduit wasn't even covered because it was not laid in deeply enough... The places where the cement did cover the tube were just blobs of cement - no smoothing, not even an attempt to make it look neat.

I also noticed that at around 2 pm, he was sleeping in a hammock he brought with him - two hours after his lunch time began. So I woke him up and suggested he return to what he considered "work." There was no one here to supervise him so he was just on his own...what a waste...

I had him remove the cement to return another day. He also was digging up sand that was mixed with dirt on the access road to mix with the cement he applied - this was leftovers from the construction. It's good that I can still buy Tanduay.

Ce la guerre...

I feel your pain Tommy but you'll be bored once it's all fixed.   I'm now pretty much resigned to the standards I'm going to get and just accepting it rather than stress myself out.  Just yesterday I went to remind the manager of the resort that my ceiling is still awaiting a repair that's been outstanding for over a year.  I've personally had him in my apartment a few times to show him the damage, had his maintenance team in a good half dozen times and also had my care taker speak to him.  His exact words yesterday was " Oh what's wrong with it Sir?