Health & Wellness Hut builder/contractor

My house don't have any air conditioning units, I planned my house that it uses natural ventilation (airflow)

 

Actually I did research it and that was what was suggested, it does not affect the R value that much and and stays in its semi compressed state and at the same height unlike Cellulose (fireproofed shredded paper) that drops in the cavity as much as 20% over time, the hulls must be poured into the tops of the frames and vibrated, it takes a special kind of blower to blow it not the usual type used for other materials like cellulose, anyway thanks for you advice, you are pretty good sometimes? haha

 

Be careful when you are leaving windows and doors open at night to suck out the hot air that has built up in the CHB walls all during the day, some invader may quietly gain access, I'll say sorry in advance for my warped sense of humour

 

No problems.

 

I needed time to think on this question of the Borax and Boric acid and the Cocowood studs, if you are able to get the hardest part of the Coconut tree, which I believe is the bottom third of the tree they are termite resistant in their own right, they are just so hard, termites normally go for the easier softer parts on the tree, I have experience of this and worked quite a few times with this wood being a DIY carpenter, anyway I am building at this time and used lots of Cocowood, within just 4 months some of it is has been badly damaged by Termites and yet other pieces always the hardest parts are left untouched by them, it is easy to select the hard ones they are twice even three times as heavy and a deep Red/Maroon colour with deep brown veins running through them, also they tend to be very stable, the straight ones stay that way, you cannot screw into them without first drilling a pilot hole, they look good in a piece of furniture when first made especially when oiled but; after time they fade to a dirty brown colour and don't look as good, also it does not behave like most woods when being worked . for example when put through a Planer you do not get shaving but only dust, much like a particle board, I cannot see how being in contact with borax treated Rice Hulls would give any real protection any more than them being resistant in their own right, but for sure they would be stronger than any steel stud and much less flexible, just maybe when they really dry out they may be more tender and just right for the termite palate?

 

Hi, Rabbit91, I'm a native of Dumaguete. On retiring years ago, I needed a contractor to handle a small project and I learned, in the course of searching, about how building construction goes in Dumaguete nowadays along with the building law and rules mentioned in my January 10, 2018 post, in the old thread HOUSE BUILDING.

In Dumaguete, when you ask for bonded contractor referrals, people would assume you are asking for those in the List of Contractors With Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) license who customarily put up surety bonds as performance guarantee in the ordinary course of business. These especially-licensed contractors, however, are mostly businessmen occupied with lucrative government infrastructure works most of the time but who would do home construction if it happens to be a multi-million project. I'm in no position to recommend for I haven't done business with but a possible exception recently learned from church friends might be worth mentioning - that Dumaguete First Baptist Church at EJ Blanco Road, Piapi has a project to be handled by one Engineer Cesar Patrick of PCAB licensee Gorme Construction & Supplies (+63 9171428691/+63 35 420-5093).

For building a house, people will refer you to a person practising his profession, usually an architect who is a member of the United Architect of the Philippines (UAP) Area C Dumaguete Chapter, since a civil engineer’s professional practice under Republic Act No. 544, series 1950 is now lawfully differentiated from an architect’s professional practice by Republic Act 9266, series 2004. Again, I have not done business with but UAP Dumaguete’s Director (past President), Architect Zorich Guia (+63 9175167201/ +63 9156509691), may prove a good source of architect or construction service referrals in Manjuyod. In practice, surety bond to guarantee performance in home construction is not customary but it can always be negotiated as an inclusion in the contract if you assert it.

Now for building an indigenous dwelling, people would likely refer you to independent foremen with own skilled worker outfit, legally operating under a DTI registration and a Mayor’s Business Permit but who might find having to put up a bond guaranteeing performance for the construction of a native family dwelling a strange requirement, such a structure being low cost and exempt from technical plans with professional certifications needed to obtain a building permit, according to the building law and rule below:

1. Buildings and structures in the Philippines have been and are being regulated by Presidential Decree No. 1096 or the “National Building Code of the Philippines” since 1977 by the Department of Public Works & Highway (DPWH) thru each Local Government Unit (LGU)'s Building Official.

"Section 103. Scope and Application thereof declares, and I quote: ”(a) The provisions of this Code shall apply to the design, location, siting, construction, alteration, repair, conversion, use, occupancy, maintenance, moving, demolition of, and addition to public and private buildings and structures, except traditional indigenous family dwellings as defined herein.” (highlight, mine)

"Section 209. Exemption thereof provides and defines, and I quote: “...Traditional indigenous family dwellings shall be exempt from payment of building permit fees. As used in this Code, the term “traditional indigenous family dwelling” means a dwelling intended for the use and occupancy by the family of the owner only and constructed of native materials such as bamboo, nipa, logs, or lumber, the total cost of which does not exceed fifteen thousand pesos." (highlight, mine)​

2. The Implementing Rules & Regulations of PD 1096 was revised by the Congress of the Philippines in 2005, and it repeats the above with additional provisions, in this manner:

“SECTION 103. Scope and Application​

"1. The scope of this IRR shall cover the following disciplines: architectural, civil/structural, electrical, mechanical, sanitary, plumbing, and electronics. This shall also apply to the design, location, siting, construction, alteration, repair, conversion, use, occupancy, maintenance, moving, demolition of, and addition to public and private buildings and structures, except traditional indigenous family dwellings, and those covered by Batas Pambansa Bilang 220 otherwise known as the “Economic and Socialized Housing Projects.”​

“SECTION 209. Exemption

Public buildings and traditional indigenous family dwellings shall be exempt from payment of building permit fees.​

As used in the Code, the term “traditional indigenous family dwelling” means a dwelling intended for the use and occupancy by the family of the owner only and constructed of native materials such as bamboo, nipa, logs, or lumber, the total cost of which does not exceed fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00).” (highlight, mine)​

“SECTION 507. Designation of Fire Zones

The legislative body of the LGU may enact ordinances for the purpose of designating fire zones based on the parameters and guidelines set forth in this Section.

1. Designation of Fire Zones is purposely for management, prevention, control and suppression of conflagration that may occur in population centers. The designation of fire zones is as follows:​

a. Non-Fire Restricted Zones: These are areas where siting of buildings/structures are permitted without fire-resistivity measures, often located in the country sides or rural areas where commercial and industrial and other buildings are sparsely constructed, or may be clustered in small groups like farm lands wherein dwellings are built of indigenous materials such as bamboo, sawali, nipa, cogon, palm leaves and wood up to Types I and II Construction as classified in Section 401 of the Code.” (highlighting, mine)​

The point is that, a PCAB licensee, an architect or civil engineer, or a registered foreman's outfit may find it unreasonable to have to put up surety guaranteeing performance for the construction of a small and indigenous family dwelling; and/or an insurance company may find it too minimal to undertake assurance guaranteeing performance for the construction of a low-cost native family dwelling.

Yet since surety bond is a Western concept, a Western mind might be receptive to it and will find ways of doing business in the way you want. I am neither acquainted nor have had business deal with but it is verified there is a Canadian named Gordon Mckissock who resides in Bacong and who locally conducts business as managing partner of Dumaguete PhilX Condev Corporation (DPX). A number of his clients have given testimonials about the work of his firm.

Hope the above helps find a reputable & bonded contractor.

 

It's Rabbit91 the OP, not me, who needs a bonded contractor to build a bamboo house and I am not off my head nor is my head in the clouds for taking him seriously. Don't worry, I take no offense or I forgive you, seeing as how you are obviously blind to the idea of green living in a bamboo house.

I recall how a family member lived off-base in hybrid bamboo abode along Ewa Beach in Honolulu while serving at Tripler Army Medical Center over 10 years ago. Natural components like bamboo proved safer than artificial components because these do not shed off microscopic fibers like silica or asbestos that cause lung cancer. Living in a well-ventilated natural structure instead of in a concretized one did not require an ACU that leaks poisonous freon into home air. Constructed by the sea, toxic gas was not only evaded but therapeutic sea air was enjoyed without having to worry over steel or iron housing parts rusting faster.

Bamboo has always been typical home construction material in the Philippines and in other tropical countries. Filipino traditional nipa huts used to be custom-built but these can now come ready-made or made-to-order from Batangas City, Calamba City, Carcar in Cebu, Coron in Palawan, Davao City, Iloilo City, Mandaluyong City in NCR, Pangasinan, San Carlos City and who knows where else. Nipa huts are now also a prefab export of Minglanilla in Cebu, along with elegant bamboo houses from China, India and Hawaii, to Europe and worldwide. In today's architecture, bamboo is no longer housing material but also sustainable infrastructure material, like in Thailand.

In Negros Oriental, there is Kawayan Collective, a bamboo treatment enterprise with facility at National Road Km 21, Maayongtubig Street, Dauin town that supplies treated bamboo construction materials to home owners, contractors, and craft entrepreneurs but preferably to Base Bahay Foundation, an international NGO that builds affordable social housing, using cement bamboo frame technology, for Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity.

​

The couple Ray and Amy Villanueva own Kawayan Collective. Ray is an architect who had worked for Katerra in CA while Amy is a social entrepreneur who had worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in WA. When they first moved to Dumaguete in 2011, the two helped Architect Victor Vicente "Dean" Sinco from HI, scion to family-owned Foundation University and now serving as its President, organize PH's first design-build studio, Estudio Damgo.

Mr. & Mrs. Ray Villanueva should be able to lead you to a reputable bonded contractor who knows how to construct an elegant bamboo-nipa-saksak house in accordance with PD 1096 and its Implementing Rules & Regulations, since your project could probably cost over PHP15,000 when modernly styled.

Should your Building Permit application incur an issue with Manjuyod's Building Official, I recommend you consult former Vice Governor now Provincial Board Member Jose "Petit" Baldado for a second opinion because he is a native of Manjuyod and a lawyer known to be anti-corrupt in affiliation, character, and reputation.

Cheers!