Dumaguete Info Search


Architect/Home Builder

Discussion in 'Dumaguete City' started by Blueberry, Sep 29, 2022.

  1. DAVE1952

    DAVE1952 DI Senior Member Showcase Reviewer

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    In a Bahay Kubo from what I have seen, they all have one thing in common and that is a raised slatted Bamboo floor, more than anything this is the reason along with their insulated grass roof that keeps them fairly cool or at least no hotter than the ambient temperature when in the shade, however although this is great for a small Garden Kubo I'm not so sure this type of floor works all that well in a larger structure, I guess it may not support moveable furnishings all that well with most of this having to be built into the structure, I believe the locals just sleep on the floor with some sort of bedroll? going completely native then this will never be a problem, however I do believe most Foreigners would not adapt to this all that well, most if not all of us need some of the trappings of our former western lifestyle.

    This got me thinking of a way to resolve this issue, considering in these present times the huge increases in the price of building materials, to build a CHB house must be somewhere in the region of P25K per M2 or more? where a Kubo is more likely to be closer to P5K per M2, spend that little extra and produce a floor fit for purpose and have it Termite proof at the same time, build the raised platform using a welded steel frame add GI roof purling's for floor supports and to then lay plastic decking over this to form the finished floor leaving a small gap in these to maintain the airflow. perhaps this method is not ideal on a large structure of 100M2 and above, this would require much heavier grade steel and perhaps become much less cost effective? If you were to ask most Foreigners where they spend most of their days at home many will say they are outside and that includes times when they are eating likely in the small garden Kubo and yet it is common for many to have houses of 200M2 plus? In my Opinion for a Glamping style of living something around the size of 45M2 is more than adequate. Bamboo and Steel have the ability to flex and pair well together, this has them both highly resistant to damage during a Quake.
     
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  2. Stefan_Negros

    Stefan_Negros DI Member

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    Well, you made some points and certainly it might be charming to live in a 45 sq bamboo house. Maybe for a few weeks during a hunting or fishing trip.

    For me, and it's only my personal opinion, it is not desirable to live permanently in a home like that.

    One reason for me to move to the Philippines and establish a home was clearly that land and building costs compared to Europe were relatively cheap. Hence I was able to find a placs that would cost me in Europe maybe 1,5 Mio Euros.

    Space is luxury and gives me a particularly quality of life I don't want to miss. Actually I could manage to have a huge garden, parking area, terraces, BBQ area, spa, master bedroom, living room and guest rooms in a dimension that would be hard to find in Europe and would cost you a fortune.

    Actually prices are dropping cause many foreigners are leaving the country. Facebook market place and other pages are full of tempting offers. Asked prices are still pretty high. In reality you can get it for much less. If you look around you will find nice places for a reasonable amount of money.

    Anyhow, everybody should live according to his preferences. There is nothing wrong with living in a bamboo house. It's just not my dream.
     
  3. Edward K

    Edward K DI Senior Member Veteran Navy

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    Haven't seen it stated directly, just indirectly and maybe i missed it, but for good ventilation. especially in a chb structure, you need to ensure that CROSS-ventilation is provided for, hopefully in two directions, at least in one.
     
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  4. Stefan_Negros

    Stefan_Negros DI Member

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    Fully agree.
    Good ventilation is very important.

    Overstanding roof construction important as well on order to give shadow to the building and avoid direct sun. Shadow from trees or big plants are also very helpful to reduce inside temperature.

    Friends of mine are living in the mountains close to Amlan. Both manage to live without AC in their CHB structures.

    Since my arrival in the Philippines I learned a lot and certainly made some mistakes.

    I cannot, and I don't want, to live without AC as well as I don't want to live too much countryside far away from the city.

    Anyhow, some adjustments made on house and garden reduced our monthly bill for electricity significantly and still there is room for optimization.

    In terms of solar power I am still undecided.
    Basically I would like to do something, but in my opinion government as well as Noreco are not ready yet and I am just not willing to take all the hazzle at this moment just to save 3.000 Peso in a month. I'll expect they will change their mind and it will be easier for home owners to operate solar system in the future. But it might take a couple of years.
     
  5. DAVE1952

    DAVE1952 DI Senior Member Showcase Reviewer

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    Stefan, again I wish to say I do not want to single you out or go head to head with you on this topic and as you have said it is your preference to live in a large spacious House, this being the way You Want to live, however there are others on DI that may want to consider my views on the subject, perhaps even a few Newbies considering to buy or build in PH.
    Having lived in a number of rentals with my SO we started out in a small Studio apartment of around 25M2, we enjoyed our time in this, but not with the area we were living in, so we did decided to move to a better location in a high end Sub-division, we rented a small 2 Bed 44M2 detached Bungalow this was just perfect for our needs, we were happy there, that was until WE become pregnant, (this is the new modern parlance for this situation) at this time we were living in Mactan Cebu, this has a major problem with high traffic congestion and the air being heavily polluted, standing water would be there for days after it rained and Dengue was quite prevalent there, so a decision was made to move somewhere and to raise our child where the air was much cleaner this being the main reason we chose Valencia, we managed to rent a very attractive 3 bed 80M2 detached house, but all three of these CHB houses had one major problem for me, they were all too hot inside and had AC units that were working overtime for much of the day and all through the night, with this last one in Valencia being the very worst for this, this had the roof space with no ventilation and I can only guess there was no insulation either as the upstairs was hotter than hell. During much of this time in was a consideration to buy land and to build our own house, I was spending hundreds of hours on the internet in my research either looking at existing properties to buy or to build from scratch, actually the penny dropped and ended up a no brainer for me, (to build a house and no matter where it is situated in the world insulation must be of prime consideration) so I had not other option but to build my own house, I will admit to being confused for a time and thinking to go down the CHB road, after all everyone else builds this way?????? However being Scottish has given me an added advantage over most others (many great inventions and discoveries come from the Scots) we are blessed with clear thinking heads stubborn Feckers with our feet firmly planted on the ground and not heavily influenced by others, added to that we are the least prejudiced nation in the world having a dislike for everyone, in fact we do not care for other Scotsmen all that much.

    Another consideration of mine was to build a house for my SO and Child that would be easily managed and affordable for them to live in after I am gone, being insulated and not needing AC is a large contributory factor to this, I'm sure a situation can arise where the Pinay Widow of a Foreigner cannot afford to maintain and live in these larger houses often having to sell in desperation at well under market value, I have noticed there in PH large houses of P7M plus are on the market for a very long time, with ones at half that price selling more readily. For myself I see many disadvantages to having a large house of 200M2 or above, perhaps even in cost to build initially per M2, a large house with extended roof trusses covering long spans between the load bearing walls, assuming a large house will have large rooms, this requires heavy gauge steel, the same goes for the pillars and beams, even then I expect them not to do all that well in a serious Quake, then there is the tiling to the floors another expensive commodity, to keep a house of this size in a clean and orderly fashion often requires the help of a maid, another added expense, I just do not get this need to have a large house, is there any practical advantage that I am missing, please enlighten me if that may be the case?

    One other thing about these large palatial homes in PH, many if not most will have a large gas Guzzling car in the drive, another useless added expense that gives no improvement to quality of life there as I see it?
     
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  6. Pedro

    Pedro DI Senior Member Showcase Reviewer Veteran Navy

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    Really excellent considerations Dave. I think my asawa recognizes these factors and is trying to prevent us from making those mistakes. When we first met she and four brothers and sister were all living in a maybe 80 sqm wood house. It was cramped and had no ac but I do not remember it being hotter than the outside and in truth a lot of us really can not afford the larger houses even if we want them.
     
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  7. God Bless Texas

    God Bless Texas DI Member

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    Our 1st house was 44 sqm and was great. Close the door to the bedroom to keep the heat from cooking out and the bedroom stayed cool even without aircon (most of the time). If we did turn on the window unit it was for 1 or 2 hours and the bedroom stayed cool for a good amount of time. It did help that we had a canopy from a few Acacia trees, and we kept them pruned to avoid being crushed by the possible branches.

    Then we built the Texas size house because - well- we had our standard of living, wanted something that resembled what we had, even central hot/cold water lines. Tnis was to spend days watching sunsets over the ocean, enjoy the cool ocean breeze, and drinking coconut water.

    Real life- the house was hot, the ocean breeze stops at 5pm (if it ever came), and I was constantly seeing flaws in the work. I did drink lots of coconut water to avoid dehydration.
    Also after this was built, I found myself still spending most of the days outside in the shade to avoid daytime use of the aircon or simply stay around the smaller house. It stayed cooler, quieter, and darker for naps. In the smaller house I rarely used the aircon even on the warm days.

    Looking back the large house was a dream expecting friends and family to come regularly, and then came Covid, time kept going, and all the extra room turned into upkeep.
    If I were to travel back in time I would probably build 2 more houses at 45sq meter and connect them with a large covered walkway. Guest would have privacy, building time would have been cut in half, cost would have been a fraction (maybe 80% to 85% less).

    Now, on house 3, converting a 40ft refer van. So far we've only added a 2nd roof with the typical 4 inch gap and slanted for water to run off. Airflow all around and keeps the heat off the living area. Next week- God willing- flooring.

    Regarding everybody should live according to his preferences.....
    100% agree, but sometimes my preferences are not the same as the wife's hahaha.
     
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  8. Stefan_Negros

    Stefan_Negros DI Member

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    All good, Dave !!!

    Thanks for your post and sharing your considerations.

    You are absolutely right. Nothing wrong with what you are describing.

    After travelling around we finally decided for Dumaguete and in 2015 I guess we rented a house in Dauin, close to the beach. Was ok, but not more. Spacious house and garden, but lot of disadvantages and headache as well.

    Starting 2017 we were looking to buy our own place. We, that are 4 adults and a hell of lot of dogs.

    After searching and searching and searching we found a place that fit let's say 80% of our needs and wishes. Remain 20% still need to be developed and improved. That's why I am grateful to learn from other members and experienced people like you how to do it and in order to avoid more mistakes.

    As previously said if I would start from scratch again I would do things differently. Not everything but certain decisions taken a few years ago turned out to be not perfect.

    Basically I am happy with our place but I need to improve and correct some mistakes made in the past.

    I do appreciate that you are sharing your experience and certainly I do learn from it. Maybe I cannot realize everything you are describing but definitely some ideas I will try to realize.
     
  9. Stefan_Negros

    Stefan_Negros DI Member

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    Thanks for your post.

    We have similar experiences.
    First house we did rent in Dauin close to the beach. Nice house, huge garden, nice views, but a lot of disadvantages came up the longer we lived in.

    After 3 years we moved on and things improved. Not perfect yet, but much better.

    We are fine but certain things still need to be improved. Before changing things I need to collect information about this and that.
     
  10. Pedro

    Pedro DI Senior Member Showcase Reviewer Veteran Navy

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    I would love to see some pics of that project and roof. Are you cutting out windows too?
     
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