I was out to sea most of the time while my house was being built so I didn’t see that much of the construction. Plus living here for over 20 years I never took the time to give it much attention until September 2014. That has opened my eyes.
The roosters are gone next door, and then I noticed that the folks were gone next. A crew showed up with a couple of my brother-in-laws on it and started removing the roof. Then five guys with one sledge hammer and four claw hammers commenced to bring the house down by hand. By the end of the second day it was gone, down for the count, a former house. It was now a pile of rubble. The house came down with ease as I noticed that it was built with next to no rebar and that those few were the smallest at 10MM, the way the cement turned to dust told me that the original builder had used more sand to cement then they should have.
Now for the funny stuff, an 18 wheel dump truck arrived and dumped sand directly inside the only gate got stuck in the mud and torn off the gate while trying to leave. It did not hit my adjoining wall so I popped open a beer and relaxed. The gate was fixed within an hour.
Twenty minutes later three elf trucks show up filled with more cinder block, rebar and cement and then a truck full of gravel was idling just down the road. Did I mention the huge pile of sand that was blocking the entrance? One guy with a spade tossing sand out of the way while the rest of the crew had to mule haul all the other supplies up and over the sand mountain. I got so tired watching I had to have another SMB. Hours passed, the crew is worn to the nub and the truck load of gravel wants to unload, but (You guessed it) the sand was still in the way. Mahal KO, would you bring me another beer? Of course the guys found a way to get the gravel in the yard.
The new house was going to be larger than the old house and the next day they were laying the footprint out with bamboo. Wait a cotton pickin’ minute there is the old septic tank which is now within the footprint of the new house, and no, it had not been pumped dry and filled in, it was full of a ten year supply of stuff soon to be part of the foundation of the new house. Who am I to judge? Send out for more beer.
Those of us who live here will fully understand when I say that not one power tool has been used so far, and I’ll be surprised if I ever see one in use during the construction phase of the exterior of the building. The entire rusted galvanized roofing material has been patched and ready to serve as a foundation for a slab ceiling, as they dug down ten feet and added a bedroom underground. What an idea, my first time to ever see that here, and with us being on a hill it won’t flood as the owner waterproofed the floor and walls. All old lumber has had the old nails removed and a young kid is sitting in the backyard with a hammer attempting to straighten them out. Waste not want not, is the job site mantra.
In the rain and wind of the Typhoon of 15 Sept. the crew next door kept on working, they took shelter during hard rain but they kept coming out to work when it let up. We mostly had rain and a little gusty wind as the brunt of the storm hit Northern Luzon the following week, we caught the edge of the typhoon of 18 Sept. and the crew never stopped working. Dear Lord you must respect their work ethic.
The house is being built correctly with the proper amount of rebar, the following week the old septic tank was removed and filled in (I was worried a tad about that). Now the most amazing part to me, an over regulated westerner, was that there are building permits, .but no zoning restrictions and no set of blueprints or plans to build the house. But somehow it’s being erected and built well plus the electric and plumbing with no building inspectors are getting in the way and slowing the job down. Over regulated? Not here in the Philippines, that’s for sure.
Being the Kano neighbor I was invited to hang around with these guys, but they wore me out just watching them work. So on Saturday night I drop off a few bottles of liquid libation (Emparaflu Lite) they slept in on Sunday.
The roof is going up as I submit this to “Fearless Leader Bob” but there is a lot of inside finishing work left to be done, but in four weeks the house is 75% complete and is really starting to look good. I will tip my cap to the foreman and his crew, as they toiled very hard and did a great job, with no electronic measuring devices, power tools or other fancy stuff. Respect is what I have for them, and if needed I would proudly hire each and every one of them to build something for me.
The roosters have been replaced by a few large turkeys and five or six ducks, and the noise is better than the 40 plus roosters. If one of those turkeys hops my wall, well Thanksgiving is next month…
I wish I could have been there when they built my house! Although I am happy with it, I would have made a few changes. I guess I will have to make them upon my retirement there.
Mike;
There is always time to change or adjust something on your house, my wife does it every year.(LOL)
THAT would have driven me certified NUTS! Even with an unlimted supply of SMG I couldn’t sit by and watch the inefficiency. I would have to be in the middle supervising. I couoldn’t just ignore them, and it would scare me to death to just leave and comeback when they are finished.
Don;
The truth is they were not very inefficient, they were just doing it the way it’s always been done here, and who am I to say it’s wrong?
Mr. Paul T. Always enjoy reading your articles..and I salute you for having respect and appreciations for the “townies” you come in contact with. You are a real New Englander..knows how and when to say things right. May you enjoy many more bottles of San Miguel. Saludos!
Jose;
After years of summering on the “Cape” and dealing with the full time townies, in South Yarmouth you can deal with anyone. Here it’s easy as they understand why you have that beer in the middle of the day, damn it is hot out.
Another excellent read, Paul, as usual. Keep up the good work. I particularly like the part about the septic tank. I initially had a flash forward thought that they would cover it over and then later someone in the house would be celebrating and have a few extra people over when the floor would give-way and they would all be waist deep in sludge. You have to give them credit for a job well done.
Richard;
I was wondering when they would get a round to it, It would have been the first thing I would have done, but that’s just me…
I have been in the construction business for 50 years here in the U.S., The construction process in the Philippines is quite different and somewhat scary to say the least.
Carl, I did note that all the crew had on steel toed slippers. It is different but they do get it done.
Hi Don – Trying to jump in and “supervise” will only lead to problems and headaches!
Bob;
You are so right, I just shut up and watch the magic happen, somehow it seems to come out right.
That is exactly my experience, Paul. If you watch, even having your doubts, it always seems to come out perfect… or even better than you had in mind anyway!
I’m sure….but … doubt I could keep my mouth shut. After all, I have the cookie!
If you are unable to be at least a little quiet, Don, you would be in for a tough and stressful life here.
While there, I learned to just let my wife handle things and tell me about them later!
Mike;
You’re a most wise man indeed.
When my wife and I were stuck in Pasay while waiting for her visa we had to walk several blocks to a PhilCom branch to make a LD call. Even though the walk was along a big, metro thoroughfare, the sidewalk was like a trail in the Grand Canyon. It was hazardous. At one point there was a half of a cinder block sticking up in the middle of the sidewalk. It had been cemented there years ago for no purpose other than to make people trip and hurt themselves. I could not sleep all night thinking about, and worrying about that piece of block sticking up. I tossed and turned, and honestly came very close to getting up around 2 am and going back to where it was with a hammer and busting it up! Why in the world had no one done this yet??? … Like I said b4. Maybe I am OCD, but I seriously have a lot of trouble when I realize ‘stupid’ is very near my universe!
Don;
The only sidewalk that I fear are the ones with missing manhole covers that you can’t see because the street is flooded. I walk behind someone and follow like I’m in a mine field.
LOL!
John;
That my friend was the shortest comment I’ve ever had.
That is the only attitude that works, Mike Glesen. It is a hard thing to do, you have to force yourself, but like you said, you have to “learn” or you will be miserable in the Philippines.
Actually, Bob, I am described as a very quiet, easy going guy. I am not loud, or aggressive by nature. But, I tend to be ‘proactive’ when confronted with a problem.
Hi Don – if you stress over a poorly constructed sidewalk, you would be unhappy here, I think. That is just a taste of what is to come. I think about sidewalks every time I walk, which is daily Nearly every sidewalk that I encounter has things like what you describe.
Not saying you are loud or aggressive, Don, not at all. But, when you start telling the construction people how to do their job (even if you are paying) that is when things start not working out well. 🙂
I’ll try to remember. Hopefully, I can find a secluded beach to live on like I have dreamed about. I’ll have to learn to bite my lip in those situations.
http://www.fulcrumgallery.com/product-images/P706841-10/serenity-prayer.jpg
Agree about how they can do such good work with no power tools. I was able to watch a man install a doorknob and lock set in a solid wooden door. He used a hammer and several small chisels to cut all the holes, even the one inch hole in the door edge. When finished the holes were so perfect they appeared to have been drilled. About the lack of blueprints,.I bet you can find them sketched on the back of a napkin.
Mike;
On the back of a cement bag are the full plans, and yes there are some true craftsmen on these islands.
AND! bury the ASSHOLES so deep nobody can find them!
Heinz:
Well I guess so……………………………..
AND! bury the ASSHOLES so deep nobody can find them!
Hi Paul,
One of the things that attracts me to the Philippines is the contrast with almost everything that I encounter; the main exception being the weather here in Davao which, to me, is perfect year around. We are presently in the process of building a house in a developing community on Samal Island. The required engineering and blueprints would fill a small house. Plumbing, Electrical, Sanitary, laid out by a registered engineer on blueprints flat and isometric. Details, specifications, samples, and submittals on hardware, doors, windows and appurtenances. All footers had to be identified, detailed, and specified. All reinforced concrete beams had to be individually identified and both seperately and as a structure had to be computer analyzed for stress, strain, sheer, sesmic events, dead load, live load, gravity load, etc. Just this alone filled a 164 page booklet. This is only a few of the things that were required. They were checked by Landco engineers here in Davao and then had to be sent to Manila for final approval by those engineers. It took many revisions back and forth before total approval. I have only seen this much attention to detail when I provided support services to G.E. in the US.
Dave;
As we also used an engineer we had blueprints with all the specs such as you mentioned when we built our house, but the guy next door doesn’t have the money for all that, so without any plans they are building the house by “EYE” and somehow it will be finished in less than two months. I have no idea if he even has a building permit, but that’s none of my business anyway.
Enjoy your new house and I hope it brings you and your family vast pleasure.
When we demolished the old and built our new house they had 1 portable arc welder, and 1 hand held disk grinder/metal cutter. Drill was a piece of PVC Pipe with a nail in it and a hammer. They had 1 hack saw to cut rebar but just made a bunch more out of rebar. Scaffolding was Coco Lumber, cement was mixed ALL by hand. Tile spacers were different size nails. We had lots of permits, one was that we would insure all safety equipment and clothing would be used. I saw nothing but flip flops, tee shirts and shorts lolol.
All in all after 10 weeks, we have a lovely two story house built to our design. Construction here can best be described as sausage making :).
Scott;
It is a thing to wonder how they can do it in record time and not injure themselves. Plus all those workers and only one small toolbox with handmade tools. As Bob said above, keep out of their way and watch them go…(lol)
Good one Paul !!
I will make sure I have a goodly supply of SMG etc. on hand if I get to build in the Davao area subject to whatever gets thrown at me during the process. I have to find a place first although been offered a number of banana plantations and over-priced rental properties plus meeting many uncalled-for and misguided ’10 percenters’! ‘Yes’ been subject to the “all foreigners are rich’ syndrome, and probably will continue to do so. “You have blue eyes Sir” is wearing a bit thin though so I have taken to replying “Yes, you have two brown ones” and returning to studiously rummaging through a shelf while turning colour (Ok, color).Seriously, I am aware of the cement & rebar issues amongst others… Dare one mention electrics ?
Seen some interesting construction over the past couple of months…. including a near-interior septic tank which I was told had not been cleaned-out for over 20 years….. realized there is no such thing as a ‘true value’ selling price or even close (something along the lines of think of a number, double it and wait!!) or ‘comparative values’ or inspections or…. or… in other words buy the place and live with the outcome !!
Most importantly, and I thoroughly agree with Paul on this – just leave it to your Filipina Partner. Usually much safer, practical and less nerve-wracking (so far) – LOL !!! Now, if Immigration Office could just be efficient… but that is a familiar story I’m sure !
Enjoyable stories for sure and some good pointers can come out of them.
Thanks Paul.
JohnP;
Operating without an adequate supply of SMB’s in never recommended, sitting in the shade of a mango tree with a well stocked cooler and handing copious amounts of cash to your wife as your house gets built is a wonderful way to conduct business.
Just assume that all the work is being done correctly, and be pleasantly surprised when you note that 95% was. The remaining 5% will be worked out prior to the last payment to the job foreman. The main rule is to always owe him some money and he will be back to work tomorrow.
Don: i know where your coming from, the sidewalks here in Manila, even in a lot parts of Makati are nothing but an obstacle course, thats why i tend to walk down the street, much safer. What i really find hilarious they spend the money for wheel chair access, and in most cases there is absolutely no way a person in a wheel chair can actually use the side walk, especially when a tree is taking up 75% of the sidewalk.
Don: i know where your coming from, the sidewalks here in Manila, even in a lot parts of Makati are nothing but an obstacle course, thats why i tend to walk down the street, much safer. What i really find hilarious they spend the money for wheel chair access, and in most cases there is absolutely no way a person in a wheel chair can actually use the side walk, especially when a tree is taking up 75% of the sidewalk.
When they built my very large iceberg I was there for most of the build. I would take 6 weeks off work, come here and buy enough materials to last 6 weeks of building and then when materials ran out I would head back home. A few months later I would take another 6 week vacation and start the process once more. Sounds like Paul and the builder next door hired good seasoned crews to build these houses. I started with the locals in the neighborhood so I had to teach them all how to build a house. I was in the construction crew at FORD so knew about cement buildings. A 36 man crew and about two years of hit and miss building and the shell was up and the roof on. I know if I had not been on site there would have been many mistakes. Now these 36 guys that I trained are working all over the area building houses. They got a good schooling working for me.
Pastor Bud;
It sounds like it worked out well for all concerned; I contracted for the engineer and a crew but we purchased all the materials as need to ensure we got quality stuff. But no matter which way you build it, it belongs to you (Or your wife) mortgage free for life, few people can make that claim.
We did the same thing Paul. The foreman handed me a list of what they needed the next day (or that afternoon) I would walk down to the building supply place. Order the good stuff, then watch them unload it. Bet the Forman was P.O.ed imagine all the chances to skim taken away lololol.
Scott H.
The man cave in the back was built for two reasons, first as a shelter for the workers to sleep, next to store cement which was delivered by the flat bed semi load. The price was half when you buy from the factory in bulk. We did the same for all materials. But either way you’ll not lose money.
I was not a pushy Boss while my house was built but I was known to be the boss. Any problems they had they would come to me first before trying to fix it the Filipino way. It turned out great and all involved were happy with their work and their pay. There are Filipino who take pride in their work but sometimes you just have to nudge them a little for that pride to wake up.
Budick Bias;
Everyone has their own style, if you are pushy the crew might not show up for work the next day. Also my wife pointed out that we should only speak to the foreman concerning the work on the house. But I did kid and joke with the crew during breaks.
I was not a pushy Boss while my house was built but I was known to be the boss. Any problems they had they would come to me first before trying to fix it the Filipino way. It turned out great and all involved were happy with their work and their pay. There are Filipino who take pride in their work but sometimes you just have to nudge them a little for that pride to wake up.
Nice article with some great pics, Paul. Amazing what can be done without OSHA inspectors, EPA inspectors, Zoning inspectors, building inspectors etc. hanging around LOL. Sounds as though you really enjoyed the show from your balcony style observation point while enjoying a few SMB’s.
With so many houses here in the USA now being of the pre-fab delivered on a truck type of construction I wonder if those that will build a house from the ground up, on site is becoming a thing of the past.
Bob New York;
With the average rate of 40 typhoons a year here, (Half as less as Japan) I wonder if the prefab house could ever catch on here. We have the City of Huston in Texas that is the only major-major city in the US with absolutely no zoning laws.
Yes Paul, you described everything perfectly. I also agree that providing some liquid ‘refreshment’ come dusk is a decent gesture and excellent investment; the best section of the brand-new concrete road here is in front of my (rental) house and the pile of free gravel and sand they left behind was appreciated. 🙂
Ed;
When they paved my road a couple of years ago, I provided water to mix the cement, and a five gallon jug of ice water for the crew. When completed they made sure my driveway connected to the new road and paved to my wall so it would look neat. So you’re right, treat them well…
That’s quite a house! Maybe about 10 times what I want there. 🙂
Don Rua;
A Nipa Hut might be what you need if this one is too big. (lol)
Paul,
I just had the third bedroom of the house we are renting tiled. It is the oddest way I have EVER seen anything tiled, but it is finished, and looks nice. I did as some suggested here, and just left and le them work. I think I would have had them do it differently if it was my own house, but the landlord liked these guys, and hired them for other things, so I just let them be.
The job looks great!
Scott;
Many of the Kano’s who have renovated rental property have had their rents raised. Have something in writing.
Paul,
They are building 2 houses down the street from us. The only power equipment they have is the cement mixer. The workers live on site so they can keep an eye on things. They had to cut down this huge 4 foot across palm tree as it was in the way. I can’t wait to see how they dispose of the palm tree as the pieces are huge. There are some real skilled craftsman here that do a good job, but sometimes you wonder how they are able to get the job accomplished. Can you imagine workers in the US trying to build a house w/o any power equipment lol. It Ain’t happening!
PapaDuck;
I saw a job site shut down in Florida because they ran out of gas for the generator. Here I just close my eyes and open them later and the workers have solved any problem that came up. Naps are wonderful.
Good Article Paul
I learned that being too involved in a project of building a house in the Philippines has its good points and bad points, I paid the crew (one carpenter and two helpers, LOL wife’s uncles) for their work for Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday when I showed up to be part-time supervisor and go-for. You know go for this, go for that, to keep the crew busy. The crew wasn’t there. I asked to my wife where is the crew. She told me the helpers, her uncles were across the street under the tree.
Told her well lets get started. They say that their head hurts. That is when my wife said next time let me pay them and we will pay them after the work is done, Saturday! They sleep Sunday.
Lesson learned, but we did get the house up and finished pretty quick though.
Was funny seeing 20 Philippine people standing in the streets watching me work the first day when I personally was demolishing the old house off the lot with a hand held hammer.
I guess they never seen a KANO actually TRY to build a house with his own hands.
James;
We all fall for that “Pay-in-advance” deal once, the trick to any successful job is for you to owe them money, which insures their return the next day.
Paui- I am impressed by the timeline, I was 20 weeks finishing and thought I did very well. From what I see from watching many construction, it is absolutely imperative that you have a good foreman and 4-5 key skilled staff. I was over-budget by 20%, ( but I budgeted for that ).
If the Pinoy house is well built, it is far superior to a Western house built with 2×4 placed 16 inch on center.
Bill;
Budgeting the over budget, you really have gone native. (LOL) After I removed myself from laughing on the flood, I came back to the keyboard. But truer words have no been spoken, “The foreman is the absolute key to any good job”
U really need to be there because it is common to take shortcuts in things there.I supervised so many projects there I can’t count, & U would be surprised the shortcuts that happen even when U go out 4 lunch.
Dogglast;
The truth is I don’t need to be there as I live next-door, the owner is on site and they (The foreman and crew) are all neighbourhood folks building the house. If you deal with strangers you might be right.