Not another building project

[stevewool]

Since there are a couple of competitors, ‘ sorry building projects I mean’ , I thought I shall start my own thread on our finishing off of the house.

Well you have seen the pictures and what we have done so far but as it’s a on going project the cost and the materials that are needed just keeps getting bigger and that’s before Ems has got her designer hat on .

I am keeping the books and receipts for everything that has been brought for the build and going through them today it seems with the budget we have in hard cash we have gone through 2 fifths , yes a shock at first in such a short time but seeing what we have brought it’s ok.

The biggest budget was the tiles and mortar but that’s for everywhere except the stairs, then there was the bathroom/showroom  fitments  and then there are 3 solid wooden doors , the metal work and ceiling for 2 rooms plus cement and sand which is on going , labour too which is 700 peso per day 6 days a week per person.

Sunday I had a good look around as the builders was not there and while they are good at the job and I am pleased with both of them they are messy , splats of concrete on the floors which has set and looks a mess where if it was me I would clean up, but as they have to put another layer of concrete on top of the floors to hide the cables why am I complaining .

The flat roof terrace is leaking but they say don’t worry it will be sorted by more concrete it seems , plus the drainage from up there works great but fir one thing, leaves block up the tiny holes so the water takes a little longer to go through, once the leaves are removed it flows very quickly of the roof, any tips for this??.

The next big purchase will be window bars and  2 door bars with fly screens, plus the car port the length of the house if the budget goes That far that is.

So all in all it’s coming on and yes we are both pleased .

[Mike J]

9 minutes ago, stevewool said:

The next big purchase will be window bars and  2 door bars with fly screens, plus the car port the length of the house i

Make sure they can be opened from the inside in case of fire.

[hk blues]

26 minutes ago, stevewool said:

The flat roof terrace is leaking but they say don’t worry it will be sorted by more concrete it seems , plus the drainage from up there works great but fir one thing, leaves block up the tiny holes so the water takes a little longer to go through, once the leaves are removed it flows very quickly of the roof, any tips for this??.

 

I'm not sure what covers you have but our drains have two covers, an outside one which catches the big stuff and an inner which catches the smaller.  I'm not sure what can be done to stop leaves gathering at the drain - maybe a larger cover?

 

[stevewool]

Any advice on light fitments and what bulbs are the best , plus switches and sockets  are they all the same but just different prices, someone has mentioned a better  lightbulb before but cannot seem to find it now

[stevewool]

1 minute ago, hk blues said:

I'm not sure what covers you have but our drains have two covers, an outside one which catches the big stuff and an inner which catches the smaller.  I'm not sure what can be done to stop leaves gathering at the drain - maybe a larger cover?

 

Yes that is what we have the inner one is around  5 cm with around 8 holes and the outer is around 10 cm with more holes , I have mentioned taking the tree down, but if looks could kill ,I would not be writing  this now.

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, stevewool said:

Any advice on light fitments and what bulbs are the best , plus switches and sockets  are they all the same but just different prices, someone has mentioned a better  lightbulb before but cannot seem to find it now

You get what you pay for in most things, Steve.  I tend to buy just above average price.  For example, yesterday I needed an  11W LED bulb - I could have gone for a Philips at 210php but went for a Firefly at 145php - could have got a cheaper brand in SM City for about 110php.  

[Mike J]

1 hour ago, hk blues said:

You get what you pay for in most things, Steve.  I tend to buy just above average price.  For example, yesterday I needed an  11W LED bulb - I could have gone for a Philips at 210php but went for a Firefly at 145php - could have got a cheaper brand in SM City for about 110php.  

I have also had good luck with Firefly. 

[stevewool]

Today I have offered my services to the workers and it seems we have to get  a good few 40 kilo bags of cement onto the roof deck plus a few tonnes of sand and yesterday we was going around trying to locate a pulley system but as of last night there was no joy, I don’t fancy carrying up two flights of stairs then a ladder to the roof but if that’s the case what else can we do.

We did manage to find a old cycle frame and a wheel so if all else fails this may come in handy, I shall take a few pictures to see how we got on .

Started putting the fine coat of plaster onto some of the walls yesterday plus they finished putting the false ceilings up in the bedroom and bathroom, we have yet to decide what we are wanting in the lounge/ sitting room, I would like the full ceiling hight but the concrete is not the best looking ,there are bits of ply stuck up there and it’s a little odd shape where the weight of the slab has bowed the wooden supports , but we shall see .

A few more sockets was brought which can take our plugs and also a few more switches too.

Not to sure about the stuff they put on the walls before the fine plaster, they said it does something to the concrete ,it’s like a watered down latex paint, plus putting this fine coat onto the walls with a 4 inch length on metal was interesting , anyway onwards and upwards.

ps, there’s my new ladder

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by stevewool
Added

[Gary D]

When they where filling the beams along the tops of the walls they just mixed it on the ground then carried it up in buckets. They had made the buckets by cutting down some blue cans, a bit like the blue cans the water comes in but thicker. Handles made by bending rebar into shape.

[jimeve]

We built our 3 story house using rope and pulley. They mixed the sand,gravel and cement on the ground then put the mixture in small buckets made for such an exercise.

No problems buying pulleys and rope here