House Build

Tuesday pics

Busy day, finishing grout and tile. Started getting doors set before we paint and hang them permanently. Setting toilets and sinks will happen tomorrow, the plumber is a no show so will take care of this ourselves, already fixed the waste line issue for the master bath.

The window folks showed up today and got most of the windows in, still having some issues with their workmanship so we are working that.

Shawn

 

Thursday pics

Did not post pics yesterday as one of the kids turned my camera on and when I was ready to take pics it was dead.

Was really busy yesterday and today. I have some keyless systems for the doors that the guys are not familiar with so I had to install all of those. The doors are going to look pretty good, still have to pull them down and start painting...bought a electric spray gun this time.

Big thanks to Tony for picking me up a few things that I could not find locally.

Shawn

 

Friday pics

Here are a few pics from yesterday. One thing I have not been able to find here are line levels, Tony hooked me up with a couple. I let them lay out their lines for the carport and driveway before I pulled out the line levels, it was amazing how far off they were. None of my guys had ever seen one before.

I kept telling guys I wanted the driveway and carport broom finished so I asked how they planned to do it and they pull out one of the local brooms, I have no clue how they thought that would work. I ran off to Prince and the only thing I could find that was close to a push broom was a scrub brush about a foot wide. I did the broom finish and it turned out pretty decent for what I had to work with. This was a technique they had never seen. The window guys actually stopped working just to watch me...

Shawn

 

Wont be long now Shawn before it's all complete,
Looking good mate regards JB

 

A very hot Saturday

Was able to get the concrete placed for the driveway, all that is left is my storage shed and the area under the exterior stairs where I will put the pump and water filters. Sounds like we will have enough workers to get the last of the concrete done tomorrow. It can be hit or miss on Sundays as Saturday is salary day...so we will see how many hangovers we have.

As a not "ha ha" funny thing from today, I went to the front of the house just before the workers' lunch was finished to find a cow and her calf "hanging out" in my front yard. Not only did I have hoof prints in my fresh concrete but a load of dung dropped along the way...

Now that the driveway is finished we will get materials for the front gate on Monday.

Shawn

 

Thanks JB, things are coming together. I really missed on my prediction on when we could move in, I chalk it up to a steep learning curve on building here.

I think my decision to stay here was really the correct one, the experience for me and Cherry will definitely give us more in sight when we decide to take other projects we are thinking about.

It is really shaping up to be the house I thought it would be.

Shawn

 

Pics from yesterday and today

The last of the concrete was placed yesterday the storage shed and the area under the stairs where the pump and filters will be. I really like the exterior paint color. Even though the doors we bought say they are ready for finishing we have had to use a bit of wood putty and a lot of sanding to get them prepped for paint.

Shawn

 

Tuesday pics

Hello all,

We started priming the doors this afternoon...the electric paint sprayer is OK, just a learning curve for me and the workers on using this one. It was the prime coat so we can handle some sanding and a few areas are going to need a recoat before we apply the final paint.

Some of the interior wall finishes did not look as good as I had hoped once the paint was done so we have the guys doing some spackling and sanding and then another coat of paint...minor stuff but it is keeping them busy.

I'm always impressed with how folks re-use things...we have a bunch of wood that we will not use (some we need to keep for the second floor scaffolding) and a couple workers are pulling and saving nails and getting the wood ready to be sent to the village for family use. I've wanted to send it off for awhile as it is an eyesore to me and I want the site to be as clean as possible.

I will be sending a couple posts out later on sourcing a solar water heater that will work for my needs (the ones I've seen in Dumaguete are larger than what we need) as well as sourcing topsoil and prepared garden soil (figured out the vermicompost from previous replies and have been able to get goat dung).

Thanks always,

Shawn

 

Wednesday pics

We ran out of primer for the doors and it is not available in Tanjay, no worries as paint tends to show cracks and uneven areas (especially where the door manufacturer ran a router). Some additional putty work and primer before we are ready for final paint.

We've started to repaint after the spackling and sanding was completed on interior walls, that electric spray gun is doing a fairly decent job.

My hopes are high thinking we may get our electrical service this week (know I've said it before).

Had the wood delivered for the base kitchen cabinets and cupboards, really raw wood and not what I expected. I wanted to buy the 2X4's and 3/4" boards from Citi Hardware (Canadian Pine) but was talked out of it by the wife and went local. Going to take a bit of work with my limited tools but truly enjoy cabinetry so I have something to do.

Shawn

 

Finally have an electric service...and a few other pics

Really great day for me as we were able to get the transformer installed and finally have power to the house. It has been a very interesting process and was best to have Cherry handle things recently to get things done. The young guys that came out did a good job and were fun to talk with.

I only turned on a few circuits as I still need to finish a few things up once the paint is done. One thing that was really frustrating is that the Nipa hut has only 2 lights and 2 receptacles and only one light works...not sure how the electrician we had could screw that up but I will need to troubleshoot it tomorrow and get it straight. Fortunately I wired the house so it will all work.

The LED fixtures look pretty simple but they put off some great light. LED is the way I've wanted to go and the wife really liked how the hallway and kids entrance to their bedrooms look.

Interior paint is the priority for me so I can finish the lights, receptacles and switches; after that grout sealant and things are all must done.

Shawn