Building our house and garage in the Philippines
Discussion
I like those nice wide doorways, esp the pointy bits. Very Marrakesh.
....... you did install a dumb waiter up to the roof didn't you.
Ding ding ding "send up some cold beers", 'cos you know they'll be warm if they are carried up at pinay speed.
Internal layout.
Do you have room/rooms behind the Kitchen?
Quite nice if you have live in help, or intend to at a later date. Our house has two rooms and a bathroom that is only accessable through the kitchen.
If you intend having no help you could use it as an in-law depository.
....... you did install a dumb waiter up to the roof didn't you.
Ding ding ding "send up some cold beers", 'cos you know they'll be warm if they are carried up at pinay speed.
Internal layout.
Do you have room/rooms behind the Kitchen?
Quite nice if you have live in help, or intend to at a later date. Our house has two rooms and a bathroom that is only accessable through the kitchen.
If you intend having no help you could use it as an in-law depository.
jeff m2 said:
I like those nice wide doorways, esp the pointy bits. Very Marrakesh.
....... you did install a dumb waiter up to the roof didn't you.
The mum in law will be staying occasionally. Job done. ....... you did install a dumb waiter up to the roof didn't you.
Wife wanted the arches as part of her master plan, but I added a little 'Mediterranean' to them to spice them up.
There is a utility room and a downstairs bathroom in front of the kitchen, then another room in front of that. It could be a maids room one day I guess.
That front room was actually planned as the MIL's bedroom originally, when she lived with us, but we have since decided it is too much stress and drama having the crotchety old bag live with us full time, so it may well be a tv room instead.
King Herald said:
el stovey said:
Looks like someone's laid a curly log on your roof garden.
A private detective, you will never be. 
See the lights? See one has the top missing? See that purported turd, well......
Fatboy said:
You're capping your light fittings with turds? Should make them less likely to get pinched I suppose.
I feel like doing it now mate. After mucho arguing and BS promises from the contractor we finally moved into the unfinished house two days before Xmas. great, utter chaos, still got workers inside and out, nowhere for our five dogs to be secured.......We were promised 4th December, but in mid November it became pretty bloody apparent it was never going to happen, though then the clown offered to let us pay overtime to his guys to catch up with his lack of planning. Strong words filled the air, and things soon changed. The guys doing the work were great, but the contractor himself now reminds me of a user car salesman.
We had six months of promises and "don't worry, things are going to be great. I just want you to be happy..." followed by three months of excuses and lies.
Three days ago I lost my rag at him big time, and voiced off longer and louder than I have for many years. Then yesterday he came around acting as if nothing had happened!!! Unbelievable.
I've been busting my balls 18 hours a day for the last four weeks trying to get things moving along, and I've made the wrought iron stair rails myself because the clown contractor didn't seem able to get his head around the job.
This should have been a great Xmas and New year, but the wife and I are now so stressed I wish we'd never started the project. My dream garage is now simply piled up with stuff haphazardly because there was no time to organize anything, and because I was doing welding and fabricating. No nice painted floor, no mural, no special cabinets or shelves.
Anybody else here ever moved house using just a Toyota Corolla? There aren't many trucks or vans for hire two days before Xmas.
One good side to the whole thing is I've lost 15 lbs in weight in the last month!
Well, best of luck for 2012!
I love the Philippines, so bit jealous really. I was in Angeles for the festival at end of October, but I had to go home to the UK, cos I didn't build a house there (yet!).
Just think, in a month or two, you'll be sitting on YOUR terrace, in YOUR house, with your cold San Mig in your hand, and we'll still be paying to fly there for holidays...
It will all be worth it, soon!
I love the Philippines, so bit jealous really. I was in Angeles for the festival at end of October, but I had to go home to the UK, cos I didn't build a house there (yet!).
Just think, in a month or two, you'll be sitting on YOUR terrace, in YOUR house, with your cold San Mig in your hand, and we'll still be paying to fly there for holidays...
It will all be worth it, soon!
King Herald said:
I'm not a great fan of open plan houses. We currently live in one and have lived in several others over the years. I know it is tempting after the small rabbit hutch houses of England, but even if it does give a sense of space it is a bit of a ball ache when someone is watching tv and the whole house has to listen to it.
There is nowhere to go to get any privacy, unless you go into a bedroom. And whatever is cooking in the kitchen can be smelt across the whole house. If you're on the phone everybody can hear.
Ah - finally someone with sense! There is nowhere to go to get any privacy, unless you go into a bedroom. And whatever is cooking in the kitchen can be smelt across the whole house. If you're on the phone everybody can hear.
Open plan living and wooden floors might look great on the brochure but don't lend themselves to comfortable living IME... deeen said:
Just think, in a month or two, you'll be sitting on YOUR terrace, in YOUR house, with your cold San Mig in your hand, and we'll still be paying to fly there for holidays...
It will all be worth it, soon!
Well, it all paid off last night, up on the roof terrace, couple of bottles of vino, music blaring on the radio, fireworks slowly cranking up to WW3 level all around. We really do have the best view of the city from here, three stories up in a single story town. It will all be worth it, soon!
By midnight it was absolutely thundering with fireworks and it all came together and felt like the nine months of faffing about may well have been worth it.
Buffalo said:
Ah - finally someone with sense! Open plan living and wooden floors might look great on the brochure but don't lend themselves to comfortable living IME...
Now we're in it it appears almost open plan, but there is a wide 'doorway' between living room and dining room, which will have some sort of sliding door device affixed and will nicely separate the downstairs in two. Open plan living and wooden floors might look great on the brochure but don't lend themselves to comfortable living IME... We have the tv room up in the roof space room, so it is easy to escape whatever is going on downstairs. It is not a very big house, but has lots of rooms and spaces to hide away in. You could say it has six bedrooms if you count them all.
Here's the wife 'getting it on' at midnight,after a bottle or two.
Note the folding 'England' chairs in the background.
Some other pics:
Front door from the inside, past the (unfinished) stairs.
The bathroom my wife designed, obviously to fit her 5' height. I can barely squeeze my legs in when I got for a dump.
Kitchen, with the plumber doing his thing.
The garage now has doors, only ten months after it was started.....
Stairs to the roof level, unfinished, as is most everything....
Me working at putting in the stair bannisters. A job the contractor seemed to hope would miraculously happen all on its own.
hidetheelephants]I take it you didn't get affected by the [insert preferred tropical revolving storm brandname said:
then? Looks good.
No, that was way darn sarf. mybrainhurts said:
That septic tank...
Do you have to get a Blaster Bates to blow it up when it's full...?
There are lids that can be removed to send small boys in with a shovel. Do you have to get a Blaster Bates to blow it up when it's full...?
pacman1 said:
Gossamer wings..
Nice one KH, looks lovely, deeply envious.
Thanks mate. Nice one KH, looks lovely, deeply envious.
It is a great house, but it has all been bitter sweet this last month, what could have been such a great time was marred by stress and general BS from the contractor.Fer said:
Very interesting build... so when do we see what's going to be in the garage?
This is already in there, but buried under piles of crap and stuff, all shoved in there in a great hurry. I'm not a happy puppy, as I had big plans for a real tidy, organised, sorted start to my dream garage.
Well, we've moved in. It is still not finished, the builder is an a
hole.
My garage has a toilet now.
And doors.
And the house has a front wall and gates to keep all the dogs in control.
Sadly my garage is utter chaos. We moved in so close to Xmas and at such late notice that we had no time for proper organisation.
There is still loads to do, but I'm offshore again now so it will have to wait until I get back.
hole.My garage has a toilet now.
And doors.
And the house has a front wall and gates to keep all the dogs in control.
Sadly my garage is utter chaos. We moved in so close to Xmas and at such late notice that we had no time for proper organisation.
There is still loads to do, but I'm offshore again now so it will have to wait until I get back.
It has more 'knee room' than the bog in the Master Bathroom, due to my wifes inability to understand basic concept of planning.
When I told her to 'check that there is enough room', I meant room for a western-sized guy to move, stand up, turn around, drop ones pants etc, not enough room for a midget to squeeze in like a limbo dancer.
At least one can rest ones fevered brow against the cool tiles of the shower wall when one has a hangover......
When I told her to 'check that there is enough room', I meant room for a western-sized guy to move, stand up, turn around, drop ones pants etc, not enough room for a midget to squeeze in like a limbo dancer.
At least one can rest ones fevered brow against the cool tiles of the shower wall when one has a hangover......
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