Building our house and garage in the Philippines
Discussion
2forCebu said:
What is the size of your house and how much did it end up costing (not including the garage/pool)
Thanks
Our house is 9m wide x 8m deep. The house itself cost 2.6 million, but I beleive we were under charged, as the builder went bankrupt and ripped off the owner of the next house he built. Thanks
spanky9067 said:
Thank you for posting, what a beautiful house and garage. I'm in the early research stage. Toss up between Bamban Tarlac and Angeles city area, what thoughts can you share about the builder and AC in general. I know about fields and want no part of it. Thanks again and be well.
We fell out with our builder eventually, too much BS, but the house came out okay despite the stress involved. You really really need to be there when they are building, and you need to do your research and know as much as you can about the whole process. I really know nothing about Bamban, but it would probably be cheaper than in AC itself.
Pierscoe1 said:
King Herald said:
...a guarded and fenced ‘secure’ subdivision called Timog Park, so we bought 300 square metres
...An 8' wall was built around two sides of the property, as we found the 'secure' subdivision seemed to be lacking perimeter wall right where our land was
Forgive my ignorance (and if it's mentioned somewhere in the 10 pages - still reading through), but why all the security!?...An 8' wall was built around two sides of the property, as we found the 'secure' subdivision seemed to be lacking perimeter wall right where our land was
Are the Philippines like those parts of South Africa where violent crime is such a problem & people live in fortresses?
Thank you gents. 
I must admit, not long before we moved I was in the same frame of mind: there must be something more out there. And there is.
The house and garage are not far off finished really, still lots of tiny little jobs to do, which is probably a never ending thing.
Metalwork, welding etc, has always been a bit of a pastime of mine, I'm actually a mechanic offshore, very little welding required.
This was the last project I did at home:
I must admit, not long before we moved I was in the same frame of mind: there must be something more out there. And there is. The house and garage are not far off finished really, still lots of tiny little jobs to do, which is probably a never ending thing.
Metalwork, welding etc, has always been a bit of a pastime of mine, I'm actually a mechanic offshore, very little welding required.
This was the last project I did at home:
Thanks. 
My wife has often told me that, but where I live, unless I can think of something really innovative and unusual, the local guys would copy it immediately and turn it out for a fraction of the price even I can.
I'd love to have a casual business doing interesting stuff to order, 'exclusive' designs for rich people with more money than sense, but then wouldn't we all.
My wife has often told me that, but where I live, unless I can think of something really innovative and unusual, the local guys would copy it immediately and turn it out for a fraction of the price even I can.
I'd love to have a casual business doing interesting stuff to order, 'exclusive' designs for rich people with more money than sense, but then wouldn't we all.
XJSJohn said:
the internet is your friend here, ir get in with one of the furniture shops in Dempsey hill, Singapore to consignment / build to order pieces. Their customer base is firmly targeted at expat wives with no sense and husbands that can furnish them with more money 
They'll want container loads of the stuff though, to make shipping financially viable, and I'm lucky if I put out one item a month. It is something I need to be motivated to do, or interested in, and once I've made one, tackled the logistics and challenges, I'm usually bored with it.
Next time I get home I have a bathroom shelving unit to make, probably going to use the same type of wood I made the table top with, but thinner, and leave it the same finish. It is just local cheap timber, I have no idea the tree it comes from, but it looks good and is cheap.
Seek said:
Surely if you can design nice innovative stuff and can find a target group willing to pay a good price for it then you can employ the local cheap workforce to good effect?
As long as you own the customer base then you've got a sustainable business.
You could almost run it in parallel with your offshore work.
But getting all the variables together, the employees, the place to operate the business, the transport, export licenses, taxes, moving money, etc would be a major headache. I am too feeble of brain for such things.
And besides, what I build is not really revolutionary, though my wife and friends keep telling me it is wonderful. She says I don't have any confidence in my abilities, but that may be because this stuff is so simple to me to make and design.
XJSJohn said:
Don't forget, cheap local lumber in Philippines, is exotic specially selected and imported for your pleasure timbers!
There are strict regulations on exporting hard woods, especially teak, so a guy I know had a bunch of heavy duty, thick gauge, rough cut, packing cases made, to export some cheap wood carvings. Guess what he had the packing cases made of.
One way to get lots of planks of teak out of the country unnoticed. Thanks guys.
What would I do different? Hmmm, if I could I'd make it a metre wider and a metre longer, as that little bit extra room would make a big difference, but that would have nearly doubled the cost. They charge by the square metre of floor space, on all three floors, when they quote a build over here.
And I'd have put the house near the back and the garage/pool/yard/parking at the front.
What would I do different? Hmmm, if I could I'd make it a metre wider and a metre longer, as that little bit extra room would make a big difference, but that would have nearly doubled the cost. They charge by the square metre of floor space, on all three floors, when they quote a build over here.
And I'd have put the house near the back and the garage/pool/yard/parking at the front.
After three years moaning from the wife, I finally got started on the 'pergola' at the back of the house. Simple steelworks, some planks of wood, and some sweat. Job done.
Mistakes were made, it is higher than planned, but it keeps the sun off. The polycarbonate sheeting we put on top was a real ball ache to work with. The connecting strips could not be fitted, impossible to do on the roof, so i modified them a bit.
Then we started on another bigger roof over the drive, more of a car port, but the same basic design.
We got it finished just in time for the daughters 14th birthday party, which was fortunate because it is monsoon season here and it poured down all day and night.
Mistakes were made, it is higher than planned, but it keeps the sun off. The polycarbonate sheeting we put on top was a real ball ache to work with. The connecting strips could not be fitted, impossible to do on the roof, so i modified them a bit.
Then we started on another bigger roof over the drive, more of a car port, but the same basic design.
We got it finished just in time for the daughters 14th birthday party, which was fortunate because it is monsoon season here and it poured down all day and night.
Edited by King Herald on Monday 13th July 03:47
Edited by King Herald on Monday 13th July 03:54
Nah, the ladder was just there to hold it up while we marked the holes for drilling. It took a lot of planning to work out exactly how strong, how long, the beams and supports should be.
I gave it a good session of 'should be okay', so I reckon we're good.
The annoying thing is, the wife was in charge of alignment, while us two guys held the steel in place and marked the holes, and she decided it had to be on an incline so the water would run off......
It wasn't until I'd drilled it, bolted and welded it all into place that I actually stepped back and eyeballed it all. Yes, she'd got the wall end two inches higher than it was supposed to be, so everything is pretty much on the kilter.
I gave it a good session of 'should be okay', so I reckon we're good.
The annoying thing is, the wife was in charge of alignment, while us two guys held the steel in place and marked the holes, and she decided it had to be on an incline so the water would run off......
It wasn't until I'd drilled it, bolted and welded it all into place that I actually stepped back and eyeballed it all. Yes, she'd got the wall end two inches higher than it was supposed to be, so everything is pretty much on the kilter.
s3fella said:
Nice. What are those rear arches from?
I ordered them from the UK http://www.sgftrikes.com/trike-mudguards~2.htmPretty good quality, and really thin, but strong and light.
XJSJohn said:
Rear diff looks like its from a hilux!!
That is the mighty 9" Ford rear end. Overkill for a car this light, but it might go racing some day.andy43 said:
Teardrops with blue dots and holes drilled in everything. Proper Hot Rod.
And carefully designed to be a impractical and uncomfortable as possible. Next one will have a roof of sorts, this is either baking hot or soaking wet.
Out with my buddy one night...
The bubble has burst, we are thinking of moving back to the UK so the house will be on the market very soon.
Be sad to see it go, but I'm just about done here, daughter has always hated it, wife is bored, no job, nothing to do. I retired last year and it is getting tedious dealing with backwards third world shyte every time I leave the house. Roads are crowded, and rubbish, driving anywhere is a ball ache.
Anybody interested in a house on the farthest perimeters of civilisation, guessing around the 200,000 quid range, valuations guy coming in a few days.
Need to sell the cars too.....
Austin Healey 3000 project...
And the hot rod...
Be sad to see it go, but I'm just about done here, daughter has always hated it, wife is bored, no job, nothing to do. I retired last year and it is getting tedious dealing with backwards third world shyte every time I leave the house. Roads are crowded, and rubbish, driving anywhere is a ball ache.
Anybody interested in a house on the farthest perimeters of civilisation, guessing around the 200,000 quid range, valuations guy coming in a few days.
Need to sell the cars too.....
Austin Healey 3000 project...
And the hot rod...
superlightr said:
Ahh sorry to hear that. I'm sure you will bounce back in the UK quickly.
I hope so mate. I'm back in sunny England now, hot rod and Healey sold, house is up for sale.....The wife is still over there trying to sell the place.
Container is due to be filled tomorrow, so all our worldly goods should hopefully arrive here late February. Until then I dont even have a screwdriver to my name here. I feel naked.
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