禁漫天堂

Architect Vir wrote:

Congratulations Moon Dog!!! your house looks good.
Base from my experienced it is more cheaper to build a house compare to buying new house.

Thank you. We have been living in the house for a little over 2 months now and have made some changes, mainly replacing the sliding glass door in the living room with a mahogany door, see photo. We now have furniture, appliances and I've installed 3 split aircons.聽 Starting to feel like home.

We are also building a 7.5 x 11 bungalow on the back of the property for the parents using the foreman and most of the crew that built the big house, see photo. Wife and I selected a design we liked on YouTube, see photo. We made a few changes, mostly in the windows, made a sketch or two and the foreman said "I got this" and away he went. Took them 3 days to demolish the old house.

We actually got busted for no permit but P25K later that is all taken care of.聽 The house has 12 posts with meter square deep footings connected with footer trenches, upper and lower tie beams and a smaller tie beam on top of the center wall. All pretty standard stuff for a well built house. The foreman added a heavy beam connecting the bottom tie beams at the center of the long walls he calls the "earthquake beam" to stabilize the long walls when the earth is quaking. The house is 3 BR, 2 bath with a laundry room and we are trying to do it for as close to a million as we can. We buy materials and pay the crew every Saturday.

[img align=Stone work finished and sliding door replaced with mahogany door][/img]

[img align=Tatay and Nanay's new house][/img]

[img align=Bungalow we selected for the dimensions and layout][/img]

Moondog, that is a fantastic home you built.聽 I apparently missed this thread as I was on vacation the week it was originally posted. Lot's of great info and pics! The footers and tie beams sound great, and critical in the PI. Fortunate that you found such an excellent foreman. Congrats!

pnwcyclist wrote:

Moondog, that is a fantastic home you built.聽 I apparently missed this thread as I was on vacation the week it was originally posted. Lot's of great info and pics! The footers and tie beams sound great, and critical in the PI. Fortunate that you found such an excellent foreman. Congrats!

Thanks, I can't say enough about Lido, he is an excellent foreman. The crew looks up to him and he saves us money wherever he can. We had the option of renting a welding machine, cutoff saw etc. but he suggested I buy all the tools we need except for the cement mixer. Everything was around $500 and now I own tools I would have bought anyway. The mixer stays on the property and we are on our honor to pay P750 each day it is used. The mixer costs P60K new so better to rent that one for the 20 days or so it will be used. We order material in bulk from Brodeth in Naval but we can buy some things like coco wood, sand, gravel and windows locally. It is going to be a nice bungalow, something the in laws never dreamed of before I came along.

Sad he is to far away聽 聽

I hope using DRIED wood. Many dont in the Philippines "because it cost less".聽 Of course it does, there is a reason for that...聽 聽
Because of that a foreigner ended up with a house with wide gaps in the inner walls so dont need to stand close to see moves in next room!!!聽 聽聽 聽 聽(Around an inch wide gaps!!!)聽 聽Perfect located with fantastic view from a hilltop, but he didnt want it anymore I suppouse because of that聽 聽 and put it up for sale some years ago for I suppouse less than the costs he had spent.. I dont know if its sold.

If you're talking about the wood in the photo I posted it is only used for forms and scaffolding, there will be no wood in the聽 construction of that house. Coco wood must taste like candy to termites, they seem to love it. There was a house made largely of coco wood and plywood on that site a little over a month ago. It was easy to demolish, termites had hollowed out most of the coco wood. They even ate the bottoms of cardboard boxes and the kitchen table. There are ways of dealing with the termites chemically I'm told but then there are typhoons and earthquakes so better to build with reinforced hollow blocks or poured concrete if you can afford it.

I agree, built your own, dont buy. We have completed our 3 bedroom house last year, I applied a Western contract conditions with payment milestones and a 12 month retention fee. Worked out well for us, this includes all fittings, AC, ceiling fans, Borehole and automated water system with filter, water heater, automated garage door, back up 9MVA generator etc. We also furnished the house recently, bought all furniture here in Dubai and shipped them across, no duties or taxes were applied. The house cost came to approx 6.4 MPHP which I think is very reasonable as the quality is what we wanted. It was a challenge in the beginning with the contractor as they would like to install different size windows and doors, Filipino style is to make the outside look good and forget the inside, where our approach is you live inside that should be to your requirements. Anyway we are very happy with the outcome, still i have the retention in place to ensure that if anything fails or leak etc they will come and fix and I will pay the last amount after 12 months from taking over.

aklokow ~

Do you think this can be built in the Philippines with the same budget as yours?

No that will not be possible, the link shows 4 bedrooms and swimming pool which we do not have and also appears to be bigger than our house. I would guess you lookin at approx 9 to 10 MPHP to built.

aklokow wrote:

No that will not be possible, the link shows 4 bedrooms and swimming pool which we do not have and also appears to be bigger than our house. I would guess you lookin at approx 9 to 10 MPHP to built.

Yes, the designer estimates 8 to 8.6 million pesos.

I鈥檝e had built 3 houses, 3 stories, 2 stories, a very basic Philippine family home and a store in rural Philippines. The only one that got the estimate right was a very basic home for a relitive family that lost their husband and father and that one was done with mostly volunteer labor. My experience is that estimates are usually 1/3 or more off and it鈥檚 usually in the cost of materials as you up grade to the nicer choices. Be ready for surprises.

Moon Dog wrote:

ingkongjure wrote:

May I know your location?Your house cost is in my neighborhood budget.I have a lot in Tagaytay w/c I plan to build a house next year 2022.Thank you.

We are on Biliran Island which is also Biliran province near Cabucgayan. I will try to link and image or two, if it works there is a mock up of the house we selected and a recent picture of finishing the driveway.

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MD, congrats on the house!聽 Looks great!

One thing I have noticed here even in the province is the use of solid concrete instead of blocks, two homes close to my area are built that way, and I have a neighbor who added a second story solid cement, by the time you build with blocks, fill the blocks plaster inside and out you have enough to build solid walls you only need the forms, I use to rent steel forms for beams and post used over and over I sold them years ago they are still in use

Gardo Fuentes wrote:

Moon Dog wrote:

ingkongjure wrote:

May I know your location?Your house cost is in my neighborhood budget.I have a lot in Tagaytay w/c I plan to build a house next year 2022.Thank you.

We are on Biliran Island which is also Biliran province near Cabucgayan. I will try to link and image or two, if it works there is a mock up of the house we selected and a recent picture of finishing the driveway.

[url][/url][url][/url]

[url][/url]

MD, congrats on the house!聽 Looks great!

Thanks, been here 4 months now and pretty much settled in. We have another month of work and then we will take it easy for a while. Already taking every Sunday off and finding a beach. The east side of the island has amazing beaches, water is as clear as drinking water. Since I posted the photos we have finished upgrading our dirty kitchen and coming along on the 75 sq. meter. bungalow for nanay and tatay we are building at the back of the property. They are currently living in the makeshift cottage on the left behind the trees.

The dirty kitchen we enclosed and designed it with the help of a photo the wife liked. Cabinets are made out of 3/4" marine plywood and spray painted with automotive paint. One of the guys working on the bungalow is good with granite so we borrowed him from the crew for a couple days and he did a great job installing the counter tops.

The bungalow I sketched from a YouTube video, made a few changes. I showed the sketches to the foreman who built the big house and he said "no problem". It is 3 bedroom, 2 bath bungalow measuring 7.5 x 11. It is supported by 12 posts setting on meter square deep footings. The outside walls are 6" block so there is no visible posts. We tried to do it without a permit since we are in the province but got busted when it was half done and had to pay P25K for permits and an engineer to bless it and make some official drawings. The inside walls and ceiling are finished and being painted and the windows will be here next week. The plan was to demolish the old shack and have the new unit finished by Christmas and we should make it. That will be 3 months start to finish and about 2 million pesos.

Photos of finished dirty kitchen. Couldn't get it all in the photo, there is a pantry on the left and another meter of so of counter on the right. Also a photo of current progress on the bungalow.

[img] by , on Flickr[/img]

by , on Flickr

Great job on all that MoonDog.聽 I like the bungalow.

Just FYI those last pics open up your Flickr album and have your name.

Thanks, there is nothing personal in the album. I usually use Imgur but that one seems to be down. I'll try to figure out Flickr.

Moon Dog wrote:

We tried to do it without a permit since we are in the province but got busted when it was half done and had to pay P25K for permits and an engineer to bless it and make some official drawings.

Permit need or not depend of classification of the land. They can be "Residental" rural too = Need permit, but "Agricultural" dont need permit.聽
(Although "in general" some officials make up things to get paid or say higher fees than correct. But it seem you got away with normal cost聽 聽 inspite of you tried to cheat聽 聽

coach53 wrote:

Moon Dog wrote:

We tried to do it without a permit since we are in the province but got busted when it was half done and had to pay P25K for permits and an engineer to bless it and make some official drawings.

Permit need or not depend of classification of the land. They can be "Residental" rural too = Need permit, but "Agricultural" dont need permit.聽
(Although "in general" some officials make up things to get paid or say higher fees than correct. But it seem you got away with normal cost聽 聽 inspite of you tried to cheat聽 聽

I'm sure we paid "normal cost" since the engineer works at the municipality where tatay's sister also works and the mayor and barangay captain are both his first cousins.

Moon Dog wrote:

I'm sure we paid "normal cost" since the engineer works at the municipality where tatay's sister also works and the mayor and barangay captain are both his first cousins.

Its good to have a Filipina with cousins/uncles/aunts in such places聽 聽

I鈥檓 a Canadian retired architect and plan on building with my Filipina wife. I have investigated and it seems the cost of construction in the Philippines is anywhere between 20,000 to 25,000. /m2. This will give you a pretty good idea..

I am going to do the concept drawings and an architect I worked with in Hong Kong will do the dd1 and dd2 drawings as well as all specifications and contract admin. I will project manage. I know I will need to keep my cool!

If you need an architect I can put you onto my architect friend. She is in papanga ( sp?)聽 but you can do things through zoom, etc.. She is very good and honest.

If you plan on doing it yourself by showing photos or explaining. Good luck to you! 馃榿

Cheers!

gonta wrote:

I鈥檓 a Canadian retired architect and plan on building with my Filipina wife. I have investigated and it seems the cost of construction in the Philippines is anywhere between 20,000 to 25,000. /m2. This will give you a pretty good idea..

I am going to do the concept drawings and an architect I worked with in Hong Kong will do the dd1 and dd2 drawings as well as all specifications and contract admin. I will project manage. I know I will need to keep my cool!

If you need an architect I can put you onto my architect friend. She is in papanga ( sp?)聽 but you can do things through zoom, etc.. She is very good and honest.

If you plan on doing it yourself by showing photos or explaining. Good luck to you! 馃榿

Cheers!

Awesome.聽 Are you going to聽 also share pics of the design?聽 With you being an architect, I can imagine it would be interesting.聽 Wish you the best on your project.

Haha thanks. But I haven鈥檛 really designed it yet. But it鈥檚 going to be small, minimalistic and easy to build. And easy to close up as I don鈥檛 want too many hassles and we shall only be living in it for 5 or 6 months a year. Remainder in Canada.

When I actually get around to finishing the design perhaps I鈥檒l share it. Right now with all this Covid crap travel is not exactly easy.

Best to you.

I just realized you were the one asking about purchasing a condo from the us. Be very very careful. And do not buy sight unseen unless it is a top quality developer like Ayala. But you are looking at top dollar as all your fellow residents will be the crime de la creme of Filipino society.

And they have ways鈥�.

I have experience in the Philippine condo market and it wasn鈥檛 good.

When I was working and living in Hong Kong I bought a condo from a small ( and crooked) developer. My get away tropical retreat.聽 It was in alabang metro Manila so I thought all would be ok. It wasn鈥檛.

But the worst was yet to come. The board of directors were in cohoots聽 聽with the management company who stole millions that should have gone into the maintenance of the building. Things started to fall apart quick.

But there is no recourse - no one to take these issues to. We tried hiring a lawyer who dragged things on and on - requested additional fees, etc. I was lucky and sold it - at a lose but at least I was rid of it.

The only good thing about this was I met my wife while there. 馃榿

So be diligent. Ask to see last three years of board of directors meetings and yearly resident meetings. Check financial audits to see if they add up. Get an auditor in us to check if you are like me - number deficient.

And never ever buy pre sale. Unless it鈥檚 Ayala- or someone of the like who only do high end development.

So buy already constructed and do a tour and check ( pay an engineer or architect to accompany you) to check to see if there is any water damage, etc. Tour parking structure to see the level of care in construction. Check with the local barangay or city hall to see if there are any law suits as to illegal construction, etc.

The Philippines is the last place you want to walk into and say 鈥� hi I鈥檓 from the us. Please sell me a condo.鈥� You won鈥檛 see the knives coming out. Lol!

Good luck.

gonta wrote:

So buy already constructed and do a tour and check

Sometimes thats not enough. A construction scam
hurried to finnish building and sell during the dry period - because it was built at a kind of swamp -
and they didnt even own the land!

Yup.

This is how nanay and tatay's bungalow became reality, with images, for anyone that is interested.

1. Wife and I browsed the internet and found the a bungalow of the correct dimensions and the right amount of bedrooms and baths.

[img][/img]

2. I made some drawings using MS Paint and made changes until everyone was satisfied.

[img][/img]
[img][/img]

3. I printed everything on legal size paper and presented the sketches to Lido, the foreman who built my house. We penciled in dimensions and Lido calculated the amount and position of posts and tie beams and gave me a material list. I basically showed him some pictures and explained what I wanted and now we have a bungalow that if anything is overdesigned.

[img][/img]

4. Borrowing a phase from Dirty Harry, "a聽 man's got to know his limitations". I built the first house I owned, by myself, start to finish, and it was paid for the day it was finished. That was 30 years ago but it gave me a great start to get where I am today. There is no way I would have any part of the design and construction of my main house. That required an engineer and architect and most of all the skill and knowledge of the foreman, Lido. I knew all I had to do was show him pictures and explain what I wanted and he would build a simple one story bungalow. View of the back of my house from the new bungalow.

[img][/img]

I would want a bathroom in the master bedroom as well as one other.

Fred wrote:

I would want a bathroom in the master bedroom as well as one other.

That was a requirement for me also and the largest bathroom (CR) in my house is the master bath. The houses I owned in the US typically had a smaller master bath but it only makes sense to give the master the best CR.

Moon Dog wrote:

This is how nanay and tatay's bungalow became reality, with images, for anyone that is interested.
[url]https://imgpile.com/images/UEotSj.jpg[/url]

You are fortunate to have a great foreman in Lido for your dream house.聽 聽Thanks for sharing the pics of the bungalow MD!聽 It's looking really nice.聽 聽

Here in Davao we had an earthquake a few years ago two condos had so much damage the city would not let residents stay there, and from what I hear they received no money back, and lucky they didn't have to pay for demolition

Okieboy wrote:

Here in Davao we had an earthquake a few years ago two condos had so much damage the city would not let residents stay there, and from what I hear they received no money back, and lucky they didn't have to pay for demolition

So I guess they just lost everything, that would be a nightmare situation to deal with.

Foreman Lido installed a heavy beam in the new bungalow connecting the lower tie beams of the long walls, red arrow in photo showing beam, sorry it's a little blurry. I asked him聽 about the beam and he said it was an "earthquake beam". The main purpose of the beam is to tie the two long walls together and stabilize them if the ground starts shaking. Also, if the ground settles it will support the floor and prevent cracking much like a suspended slab. Sounded like a good idea to me

.[img][/img]

I made a 2 storeys house, 250 m2 floor area, out of steel and styropor-hardyflex sandwich.
No aircon and no heater! Very good insulation. thermic and phonic.
I already had several earthquake and many typhoo without any problems

My friend built a house in Cebu. I like the design and simplicity and would visit first chance I get so I could somewhat replicate with some of my own tweaks.



[img][/img]

We have subdivision in Davao that have a number of two story house made of steel beams, metal studs with hardboard very nice, the one I looked at had blown foam in the studs, very smart way to do construction

test again

[img][link under review]

A somewhat similar condo of mine in Legazpi Village, Makati.

[img][/img]

great info here.聽 i'm planning to retire early and build at some point (on Siargao Island) so i'm bookmarking this!

Buying land and building a house will always be a better option especially if you are in the provinces. You can source building materials for quite cheap nowadays and the labor here in the Philippines is dirt cheap. Just make sure that you are there to supervise the builders so the work gets completed. Also make sure to make a good reliable attorney so everything is legalized.

One thing to remember, even you and your wife buy property and build a house, if she dies her part is covered by Filipino law, your are going to have a partner, unless she has no children聽 mother or father

@Okieboy

Recall back to one of your earlier posts in this thread:

the cheapest way for a rival to get ahead is to eliminate the competition

I hope that the moderators will allow this link. A reality check. If it can happen to Filipino's it can happen to you.

I would look at it on a case by case basis. If you could find a good house and property that fits your needs I would go for it. Ten years ago we were all set to buy a 2-story hollow block house that was near completion in a Leyte barangay. The guy needed the money so he was selling everything for half a million pesos. We sent a small down payment and was arranging to pay the balance when Yolanda hit.

My wife's parents, brothers, sister, nieces and nephews lived right on the beach. This house was a couple hundred meters back. The house was used for shelter from the storm and suffered severe damage. The storm surge reached the 2nd floor. The roof, windows and doors were blown off. There were cracks in the walls and it appeared to be leaning a bit after the storm. Needless to say we walked away from that one but it probably saved the lives of some of the 30 people that weathered it out on the 2nd floor.

We ended up buying property and building a house but that would have been a sweetheart deal if it weren't for the storm of the century.