House Build

I've driven on both sides and honestly don't see advantages of one over the other. It did take a bit to get used to shifting with my left hand, took awhile for it to feel natural.

Shawn

 

So the question remains.....should we build on the left or the right?
...........thanks for all the photos of the build so far interesting topic.

 

All these years I thought we drove on the left so that we could stop and talk to the driver coming the other way
(Seems to be a macho thing here in UK,at the moment.) stop the traffic challenge anyone to say anythink!

 

Some pictures from today

I had really thought the nipa guest house would have been done by now, but the wife keeps tweaking the design; no complaints as it does look pretty cool.

It should take most of the week to get the beams done, there is a lot of rebar, especially stirrups. After those first few days they seem to have figured it out and the rebar is going in as per rebar plan.


Shawn

 

Its very easy here, just drive anywhere on the road like everyone.....haa haa. Just hammer with both hands.... Shawn it looks like your house is coming up very good.

 

yes when I first started driving here I always grabbed a handful of door handle instead of gear lever hehe, and washers and not indicators, bloody European configuration haha

 

That is a tough one as I would stand on one side of the road saying it is left and you'd be standing on the other side saying it was right :dnr:

But as long as we can meet in the middle over a beer, I think it is all good.

Shawn

 

Just one picture today

As a builder, this picture is at the point where I can see things coming together and can envision my house; obviously it hits folks at different points during a build.

Shawn

 

Shawn , the pictures you have shared with us are sheer testament to your ability to design and build , the steel layout is flawless , and the pics display a complete story , to date , on professional sound building methodology , which takes a d*mn good skillset to achieve if you are onsite everyday , let alone supervising from another country , congrats .

Tony

 

Thanks for your kind words Tony. Like many, I read all the info about building in the Philippines on the various sites and blogs and took various experiences into consideration, but was/am very confident that we can pull off this build. Obviously it would be easier if I was on-site but my confidence is really due to my wife.

She is on the site every day, tons of pictures and will run back to take more when something is not exactly clear to me. She'll sit down with her copy of the drawings while I explain what is wrong until she understands enough to explain to the workers or we will go over things that need to be done, especially tasks coming up that I think are especially important.

She is also the one to order material, coordinating delivery to keep everyone working. As we are looking at doing rough in for the electrical and plumbing, she will run to Dumaguete to get materials that are not available in Tanjay. She spent a good portion of her day yesterday trying to figure out how to get a truck to Cebu so we can get the EVG panels.

She manages the workers, from hiring/firing or finding specific trades to dealing with the day to day drama. She is my eyes on the ground and makes everything happen.

I'm also fortunate to have her families help, her dad is now using our trike to get the workers from the village to the site each day, running around getting materials needed and pitching in here and there. My mother-in-law is there most days to make lunch for the guys as well as ensuring they have cola and snacks for their afternoon break.

Our workers are mostly her family, to include husbands of cousins, or people that are family friends or known by one person or the other; but they have been working construction for many years throughout Negros and quite a few in Cebu or Manila. My wife is cheap, these guys are not going to be making big money working for her, she has decided what is a fair wage and I don't question her on that. The workers are happy to work for her because they are treated with respect. #1 they know they are going to get paid each week, if someone needs an advance on their salary it is taken care of but not abused, they have lunch provided and an afternoon snack. A few bottles of rum seem to show up at least once a week. She'll BBQ every once in awhile, some pork or seafood. If you want to work on Sunday you make an extra 50 peso for the day.

How we are doing things may not work for everyone, but it is working out pretty well for us so far and I've not dealt with theft or some of the things that other people have talked about. We did do some work in the village a few years ago with some different people and had a guy stealing everything from nails to tools, so we also have negative experiences.

Shawn