Q&A with John Browning
Today’s guest blogger is John Browning. John is a design professional who has over 28 years of experience in the building trade. John’s business in the States is involved with Basement Design, but as John is moving toward permanent resettlement in Davao City, he is getting more involved in the design of houses that fit the needs of foreigners who want to live in the Philippines. John’s goal is to help foreigners design homes that are practical for conditions in the Philippines, yet still offer the amenities that a foreigner would be looking for. You can visit John’s website to get an idea of the work that he does.
Let’s get a question from Reader Bruce:
With the earthquakes in the Philippines I would think building with wood would be better than masonry construction. Yes, I know, there is a termite problem there. But there are products that can stop termite infultration. You just need to build the slab enough above grade because termites cannot be exposed to sunlight. There is also products to stop them comming in through the holes with the plumbing. I am looking at some of the products and requested information about importing them to Davao.
What does John have to say? Let’s see:
Concrete is cheaper to build with in the Philippines and works well in this climate. Wood construction is limited by the low production of harvested forest. Much is protected in the Philippines as steel is. If they used poured walls not blocks with more steel in them it does many things as a benefit. No termites, shorter construction time and it has an adobe affect to help keep the home cooler. With enough steel, earthquakes would not harm them but they need to build larger spread footings first.
3 products I do see a need for is insulated glass and seals. expansion foam to seal with and at least ceiling insulation with better attic vents. Even high heat exhaust fans would work better. My house in Davao had this high heat issue and I put in 2 exhaust fans but in the ceilings in 2 bedrooms to push the hot air out of the attic to the outside. It has made a big difference in comfort so far and lower AC bills. Also, recessed lights are nice in the ceiling’s but their brands are open above the unit allowing heat from the attic to come back inside. I may test another exhaust fan inside the main roof Gable vent but this time to suck the air from the attic to the outside which would draw the room air up to the attic with the exhaust fans I already put in. Faster cooling is what may happen. Another product would be a dehumidifier. I feel this would help cool things down as well.
John,
It is true, poured walls will work better. I did not know wood is in such short supply there.
For cooling look at the following:
There is an old roofing trick and I saw it in a house accross from Elena’s. First use a good pitch roof. I would guess 8:12 min. Then at the high point build a cupula with vents. This way the natural convection will cause the heat to rise and the breeze will clear the hot air out through the vents causing cooler air to be pulled in from below. You can do a similar use of natural convection by using lower windows on one side of the house and high windows on the opposite side.
Hi Bruce - Yeah, John is right, lumber is extremely difficult to source here. The forests were overlogged in the past, and now logging is illegal in most parts of the Philippines. The most available type of lumber is coco lumber (coconut trees) which is a rather low quality type of lumber, not suitable for home construction of the type we are discussing.
Hi John- Having already built a house albeit in Bukidnon I’m not convinced that lumber is a good material for building with in the Philippines for the longer term.
Unlike hollow blocks re-enforced with rod and concrete lumber requires constant maintenance to keep termite infestation at bay.
Also if you use lumber to construct your roof it also is subject to infestation and is more difficult to trat due to access etc.
I personally have only used wood for doors and door frames and internal kitchen and bedroom furniture even my windows are steel framed.
Perhaps different areas of the Philippines have conditions more conducive to using lumber as a building material but my architect who has considerable experiance in our particular area advises against its use as a major componant in construction.
Bruce, you are right about the roof venting design. I first saw this on some older homes in Pasadena California and it does work. Any double layered roof keeping the heat from baking it with venting does the job as with my exhaust fans I installed in the Davao house trying to work in the same capacity pushing and or pulling the heat out of the attic. Also, using a white color on the roof works best as well since it reflects heat more so.
Thanks Bob for the reply and I’m glad you agree with me too. With termites, you just can’t use lumber. This is the same issue in Texas and the reason the homes in Texas are made of steel for the most part.
Jim, you seem to have the experience of building in the Philippines and you are right about the issue of using lumber for the roof trusses. I had evidence in my house in Davao that the termites will eat that too along with wood window frames and doorways. If someone can help me out here, there’s a hard wood that is local to these lands and I am told that the termites just can’t eat away at it. Anything made with coco wood will be infested for sure. In short, poured concrete walls on engineered footers with steel are needed as a building code for the Philippines. The second most have is a still roof truss but using good ventilation. What I don’t see in the Philippines is thermo windows and most window leak air and has no screens if you wanted to leave the windows open at night to let cool air in. Air-con if used works harder with single pane glass. Does anyone know of thermo windows being used in the Philippines? Look for my next blog on water lines and drains. I wish to thank all that respond here. John Browning.
John,
I am building a house in Davao: do you have any contacts for insulated glass in Davao?
Many thanks.
Winston
Hi Winston - Insulated windows are something I’ve been looking for too. So far, I’ve never seen them in the Philippines! If anybody can help, I’d be very interested in that too.
Bob, High end construction in Manilla and elsewhere has double pane windows (often with insect screens). You can buy slider units and in Davao or shipped to Davao. What is lacking is a factory that will make custon size double pane glazing.
see—-
http://www.pvcsds.com/
http://www.sibonga.com/philippines_windows_doors.htm
Hi Winston - Thanks for providing that info! That is good information to have!