Building Starts Today

If all goes to plan then building to your own spec would be cheaper and more satisfying, but I\'ve seen/heard so many disaster stories about this sort of thing I really can see the benefits of buying somewhere ready built.

If you find a place you really like, and it looks good and solid, built up to a standard, not down to a price, then it must be a lot less stress than orchestrating a build of your own.

on the other hand.....

Our perimeter wall build starts today, and hopefully the slab for the house will be started/laid by the time I get home again in April.

 My fingers are so far crossed that I\'m in agony.  

Our proposed plan, arrived after several dozen complete Sketchup models....

If all goes to plan then building to your own spec would be cheaper and more satisfying, but I\'ve seen/heard so many disaster stories about this sort of thing I really can see the benefits of buying somewhere ready built.

If you find a place you really like, and it looks good and solid, built up to a standard, not down to a price, then it must be a lot less stress than orchestrating a build of your own.

I agree 100%. We have had a lot of problems and lost a lot of money, but I would not buy a ready built house. Yes, it can be very stressful but very rewarding when you see your ideas start to take shape. The better ready-builts tend to be in the gated communities around the few large cities and you are living amongst very similar houses on very small lots. Fine, if that is what you want, but it would not suit me, typical suburbia found in most cities around the world.

Colin

[Ricky A]

hey nice job there king....dig the yellow too..

you might want to shift the garage over a bit though to get both vehicles in  ;>

ra

QUOTE: \"I really can see the benefits of buying somewhere ready built.\"

The ~~MAJOR~~ problem with that King is................not knowing HOW it was built and with ~~WHAT~~ that YOUR paying for!!!

Case in point, building columns , center bars are seen before the concrete frames are build around. Then just before the concrete pour, the center bars are removed and STUBS are placed at the top, giving the impression that EVERYTHING is cool as should be!!!

If even that, among other factors is how to get screwed is figured as uncommon............. GET YOUR %$^#& HEAD OUT OF THE #&$^* SAND!!!!

Experience, self and others has some VALUE in building using Pinoy Contractors!

It\'s ~~YOUR~~ money............. no skin off my.......you know what........................ what you do!!!!

I have said.............I will NEVER use a Pinoy Contractor again...............PERIOD!!!

But, with buying 5 more lot in this subdivision that we have developed our business\'s in............well, I\'ll be on location DAILY all day, if we do use a contractor! again!!

That depends ~~IF~~ a contractor can cost LESS then what I have found with  Pinoy  workers I have found over the years.

IMO, developing 5 lots as rental units is BIG MONEY regardless of size...............wanted conditions will be there!!
B-Ray

[graham]

KH,

I\'m proud of you son, you got that damned workshop configured in after all!! LOL

Graham

[graham]

Ricky,

Love your \"laid back\" attitude to your project. Good onya\'
It\'s obvious your having fun. Hang in there.

Graham

[c_a_p_t_a_i_n_r_o_n]

Like the additional of the roof terrace

Personally I\'d integrate the workshop (and house) as part of the boundary wall....it\'s such a small lot, that the space between the wall and building seems wasted.....

KH,

I\'m proud of you son, you got that damned workshop configured in after all!! LOL

Graham

Hell yeah. There\'d be no point us building a house at all if I couldn\'t have a workshop of at least a reasonable proportions.

Sitting watching tv, walking the dog, and doing crossword puzzles to pass away the long days, would soon drive me back to drink. 

QUOTE: \"I really can see the benefits of buying somewhere ready built.\"

The ~~MAJOR~~ problem with that King is................not knowing HOW it was built and with ~~WHAT~~ that YOUR paying for!!!

Case in point, building columns , center bars are seen before the concrete frames are build around. Then just before the concrete pour, the center bars are removed and STUBS are placed at the top, giving the impression that EVERYTHING is cool as should be!!!

If even that, among other factors is how to get screwed is figured as uncommon............. GET YOUR %$^#& HEAD OUT OF THE #&$^* SAND!!!!

Experience, self and others has some VALUE in building using Pinoy Contractors!

But if it is a few years old and still looks solid and tidy, then you have a clue. If it was built last week, and has not been through even a single monsoon season, I\'d have serious doubts.

So, you build it yourself, and you to stand there all day, every day, just to make sure you\'re not being stiffed with the re-bar?   

At some stage you have to trust somebody, or you do indeed need to be there 24/7, and if you plan to do that you also need to know exactly what is going on, construction rules, sizes required, concrete mix ratios, engineering regulations and design principles. Because if you don\'t have a firm grasp of all those principles, you may as well not bother watching anyway. You have to trust somebody to do it for you.

Trust. That is what the whole thing revolves around.

QUOTE: \"I really can see the benefits of buying somewhere ready built.\"

The ~~MAJOR~~ problem with that King is................not knowing HOW it was built and with ~~WHAT~~ that YOUR paying for!!!

Case in point, building columns , center bars are seen before the concrete frames are build around. Then just before the concrete pour, the center bars are removed and STUBS are placed at the top, giving the impression that EVERYTHING is cool as should be!!!

If even that, among other factors is how to get screwed is figured as uncommon............. GET YOUR %$^#& HEAD OUT OF THE #&$^* SAND!!!!

Experience, self and others has some VALUE in building using Pinoy Contractors!

But if it is a few years old and still looks solid and tidy, then you have a clue. If it was built last week, and has not been through even a single monsoon season, I\'d have serious doubts.

So, you build it yourself, and you to stand there all day, every day, just to make sure you\'re not being stiffed with the re-bar?   

At some stage you have to trust somebody, or you do indeed need to be there 24/7, and if you plan to do that you also need to know exactly what is going on, construction rules, sizes required, concrete mix ratios, engineering regulations and design principles. Because if you don\'t have a firm grasp of all those principles, you may as well not bother watching anyway. You have to trust somebody to do it for you.

Trust. That is what the whole thing revolves around.

I agree, at some point you do have to trust people, but unfortunately it is very difficult to find builders that you can trust. We trusted the two previous contractors and a recommended adviser, they all screwed us. Not on deliberate changes to the construction, but on using cheap unskilled labour and charging us way over the top for materials. We do have a very good and highly recommended foreman now, and the only criticism I could make is that he is a perfectionist and it is costing us a lot more money to correct and improve the poor workmanship of the previous contractor. We buy all our own materials now and have got to know the best and cheapest places for them.

Colin

[Ricky A]

Ricky,

Love your \"laid back\" attitude to your project. Good onya\'
It\'s obvious your having fun. Hang in there.

Graham

hi Graham

thanks...i am indeed a fly on the wall on this one....\"laid back\" are two words that no one has ever used to describe my demeanor on anything...ever..
so this is a first and im liking it.   i suspect that if i knew the first thing about construction and was in the republic during construction i would go into my typical alpha male role and light a fire under everyones a$$ and just let the chips fall where they may....needless to say....the BEST thing that could ever have happed is for this CANO to be far away on another continent while the locals do their thing.  my father in law is a former barangay captain of 17 yrs and nobody\'s fool and at age 82 has allegedly never lost his temper...something i do on a daily basis... so i cant imagine a better person to over-see the show than he...    Also..i wouldnt want to be there during construction for another important reason.....wouldnt want to steal his and my mother in laws thunder.   it\'s been his domain for over 50 yrs now and this is his crowning glory.....this is all getting done without the locals suspecting that the Cano is paying for it and thats the way i want it.    one of my nieces has posted 100 or so shots of the work in progress on facebook so i get to enjoy it that way...and through the daily updates after my wife gets off the phone with her sister...who gives the money to her father who then pays the workers.  when i see all those workers and all that material i truly marvel at how far 30 grand can go..

thanks for the words of encouragement.....i can get use to being laid back...it seems to be good for my heart.

regards
ricky a

[coutts00]

Can we have the Facebook picture link so we can see what\'s happening there?

QUOTE: \"i truly marvel at how far 30 grand can go..\"

What currency are you taking about Ricky?

I take it with the word ~~grand~~ in your statement as $$$$

P1,3M ± can build a nice house in the Philippines as a do-it-yourself! No question about that!

But, pictures just allows you to see what they want you to see from abroad!!  Rebar shown may be nothing more then a short piece at the top. Concrete mix may not be Class A.  And the Pinoy way of workmenship list goes on and on!!!

An an aging Pinoy as an over seeing and not as an on-site contractor in the past, doesn\'t mean much...........period!!!  A \"barangay captain\" is nothing more then an elective Joe blow in the area! No CLOUT IMO!

I\'ve been around Pinoy workers for more then a day or two with 7 houses involved! ~~IF~~ \"I\" wasn\'t around daily, I would have ended up with Pinoy junk by my standards.....PERIOD!!!

BTW, over the last almost 7 years, I\'ve sent Pinoy workers down the road kicking rocks because they COULDN\'T do what they said they could!!

We have 5 properties with 7 houses. We just bought 8 more properties in this same subdivision.

Even today with building materials higher in our area then a lot of places, a P1.3M ± house for a do-it-yourself should be GRAND-DE-O-SO with at least 300X300 tiled floors and granite counter tops!, windows you can see out and not so easy to see in and not using the WEAK hollow block normally available at retail +++!!!

A contractor would charge 2 to 2.5 + more then a do-it-yourself can build a house. That can be counted on, rule of thumb, (as the saying goes)!

Best of luck guy.............time will tell the true story with what you expected, for the money spent.

Personally, I NEED to see where and how my limited money is spent!!!!!!

Ya\'ll have a grrrrreat day, ya hear!!!

I\'m off looking yet so more........................ for online house plans, with Chalet types in mind, since there not in this area. Kinda like a 24\'X40\" 2br with a 12/12 pitch roof giving maybe a loft for two more brs and a CR with a dommer? That could give a 4 br on a foot print of a 2br house and not building a 2 story house. Cost less???    
B-Ray
 

[Gray Wolf]

Can we have the Facebook picture link so we can see what\'s happening there?

Yes, please!  Or at least download some of the better pics and post them for us all to see.  It helps all of us who are thinking about or who are involved in building a house.

Thanks!   

[Ricky A]

Can we have the Facebook picture link so we can see what\'s happening there?

hi wayne

sure...will do...

rick a