Building wish list

[coleman2347]

Art, and anybody else that knows....Where here can you get insulation similar to what you can get in the states?  I have never seen anything here except the thin (1/4 to 3/8) foam with the silver backing...would love to insulate the new place in the province.  In the house I had in the states I framed it with 2x6 just so I could add more insulation. Here I'm at a loss..Lee

[Morocho]

Hi Coleman2347,

These people offer a wide variety of insulating materials, including cellulose fiber and fiberglass:

http://ifi.com.ph/

You could also look for insulation on Ayosdito.ph or olx.ph (formerly Sulit). I just looked and found these:

http://www.ayosdito.ph/Glass+wool+Insulation-7708265-1.htm

http://www.olx.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/47606653/Glasswool+for+Roofing+Insulation?referralKeywords=glasswool+insulation&event=Search+Ranking,Position,1-4,4


Morocho

[coleman2347]

Morocho, thanks, Ill check it out...btw..love your signature
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[Art, just a re(tired) Fil-Am]

Art, and anybody else that knows....Where here can you get insulation similar to what you can get in the states?  I have never seen anything here except the thin (1/4 to 3/8) foam with the silver backing...would love to insulate the new place in the province.  In the house I had in the states I framed it with 2x6 just so I could add more insulation. Here I'm at a loss..Lee

Yeah Lee,
Haven't really looked into it yet, but I do know what you're talking about the 1/4" to 3/8" foam sheets with the silver backing! Just have to do some research what to use here in the Philippines and where to buy it! Our spare room's interior walls and ceiling are made from gypsum boards, so it won't be a problem to tear down and put in insulation. We'll see when I get around to it or when the guy I hire doing the work will get to it!

P.S. Morocho,

I bookmarked your links of the different insulation for future use!
Thanks for the research!

[BingColin]

Art, and anybody else that knows....Where here can you get insulation similar to what you can get in the states?  I have never seen anything here except the thin (1/4 to 3/8) foam with the silver backing...would love to insulate the new place in the province.  In the house I had in the states I framed it with 2x6 just so I could add more insulation. Here I'm at a loss..Lee

We bought all our insulation from Citi Hardware, there should be a branch somewhere not too far from you. http://www.citihardware.com/branches.php

[Morocho]

We live in Tagaytay and our bedroom is on the second floor, I use my AC every night except for the months of Jan, Feb, and March (started using in March), others may be able to do without but it does get warm, especially on the second floor.
When we finally do move, I will be certain the master bedroom is on the first floor.

jjcabgou has a great idea: put the master bedroom on the ground floor! I would put the guest bedroom(s), storage and a gym or rec room, if I had one, on the second floor. In addition to being cooler on the ground floor, mobility may become an issue as the years pass, so having the master bedroom and bath on the ground floor with the living room, dining room and kitchen makes perfect sense.

[trev.]

Hi, Have not post here for awhile, long story. First i hope it work well for you Mr. Splooge. Would like to add my little piece after reading all the post and good comments. We built our second home and moved in about six months ago. Fairly large house of about 350 sqm. including front and rear lanai. For insulation we used the the sheets with the silver backing installed just over the roof struts. Plywood ceiling. Have good roof ventilation as the eave sections has the small holes. On the side of the house facing the sunrise not a problem. But the side facing the afternoon  sun the wall gets fairly hot during that time of day. Wish i had used some wall insulation on that side. Concrete block construction. We have the PVC frame for our windows with heat deflecting tinted glass on the side exposed to the afternoon sun. That is a big help to cut down on the heat. For the three bedrooms including the master bedroom we have the split type air conn. units which works very well. For hot water we have a central hot water heater.  All the bathrooms have a separate section with doors where the toilet bowls are located and also ceiling fans. Ceiling fans also in each shower ceiling. All the filipino style CR. i have seen here the bowls are out in the open with not much privacy. We have the American style kitchen inside the house and also a dirty kitchen  set up at one corner of the back lanai where most of the cooking is done for now. Where we live is in the province up North Luzon. We have a 3100. sqm. lot. With one house on one side. Always a good breeze passing through. We installed screen doors with the ventilated mesh and insect screen. For additional ventilation we use electric fans. A few years ago when we were looking for lots we went to a sub division in Quezon City, Manila. This was supposed to be a upscaled area with a list of rules posted for home owners dos and donts. One of the rules was "No dog cages on the side walks" Well driving around the the area i counted about six dog cages outside the gates on the side walk.  It can be a up scale area but will it be that way for long? Drive around the area and observe.

[BingColin]

We live in Tagaytay and our bedroom is on the second floor, I use my AC every night except for the months of Jan, Feb, and March (started using in March), others may be able to do without but it does get warm, especially on the second floor.
When we finally do move, I will be certain the master bedroom is on the first floor.

jjcabgou has a great idea: put the master bedroom on the ground floor! I would put the guest bedroom(s), storage and a gym or rec room, if I had one, on the second floor. In addition to being cooler on the ground floor, mobility may become an issue as the years pass, so having the master bedroom and bath on the ground floor with the living room, dining room and kitchen makes perfect sense.

It does depend very much on location, but air does move faster above the ground away from the friction. If I were to build another house, which I won't, the main living area could be up on pylons with the master bedroom above that. I would use the ground floor space for a dirty kitchen, maids quarters and car parking.

Also, take a look at some of the very old traditional Philippine bungalows that have a single open bedroom above them, or sometimes a single row of bedrooms with an outside balcony.

My thinking has changed over the years and parhaps an alterative would be a compact bungalow, Australian outback ranch style, with very high insulation and double glazed windows.

Ever thought of feeding the hot air from the house through pipes buries well under the house to cool it. You could use computer fans powered by a solar panel to move the air.

Lots of ideas

[Morocho]

It does depend very much on location, but air does move faster above the ground away from the friction. If I were to build another house, which I won't, the main living area could be up on pylons with the master bedroom above that. I would use the ground floor space for a dirty kitchen, maids quarters and car parking.

Also, take a look at some of the very old traditional Philippine bungalows that have a single open bedroom above them, or sometimes a single row of bedrooms with an outside balcony.

My thinking has changed over the years and parhaps an alterative would be a compact bungalow, Australian outback ranch style, with very high insulation and double glazed windows.

Ever thought of feeding the hot air from the house through pipes buries well under the house to cool it. You could use computer fans powered by a solar panel to move the air.

Lots of ideas

I agree that air moves faster above ground level, away from obstacles like trees, fences and nearby buildings. To achieve this, I built a three story house where we would only occupy the second and third floors. We considered using the ground floor as a garage, but in the end built a nice two bedroom apartment. Even in the apartment, there is a good breeze as we are on a steep hillside with no trees or other houses near us.
 
Our contractor did use Styrofoam in some of the walls and eight-inch thick insulation in the ceiling of the third floor. We installed 84” ceiling fans and a “whole house fan” that blows air into the attic, which has gables to get rid of the hot air. All the fans use inverter-driven direct current motors, so they consume less than 30 Watts at full speed. We use awning windows where the view is not so important and sliding windows and doors for the views across the bay. Awning windows can be left open even when it rains, while three panel sliding windows and doors allow through 33% more air than two panel units.

We don’t use any air conditioning on the second floor. However, we find it too humid to sleep in our third floor bedroom, so we do use air conditioning there every night.