Trades & Labor Best Posts in Thread: Master Builder (Qualified)

I forgot to add a Picture of this wall I had taken some months ago, I predicted then it would not last, the wall is 4.2mtrs high and the bottom 1.9mtrs on the other side is retaining soil which became waterlogged during the recent rainstorms.

 

I don't know if it is possible to even get an indication if a house has been well built here, everything here is mostly rendered and all the mistakes/faults are hidden, is the foundation even at the correct depth to support the structure? many are not, if it is a Pillar and Beam structure which most are and has no visible Pillars, the seller will likely tell you it has Cosmetic pillars that are hidden, this is rubbish a proper build in the Philippines has to be earthquake proof and these skinny pillars just do not make the cut. If there is no visible Pillars walk away from it.

 

Actually the GI studs are just placed in position on the top and bottom rails and given a light crimp with a hole punch, later when the cladding was added they had a Hardidrive screws through the sheet and into the joins of the studs, done on both sides.

To join the studs before cladding is always a problem so it seems, if you do not use the exact material designed for the job with the recess for the fixing such as the prefab builds? on ordinary steel studs and mine are actually roof purling's fixings will always be raised and show on the face of the cladding boards, I did make an exception for the doors and windows, they had a pop rivet to hold them in place, but later had the screw fixing also.

 

Also house No3 you will do it faster and cheaper, the variation in prices of materials here can vary so much, I will attach a picture of two PPR fittings both are elbows one male which was bought in Uy Mataio P90 and the other female bought in Polaris P333, it would appear that the male fitting has more metal on it than the female, one builder told me the difference in price and how they justify it is; the Polaris fitting works up to 300PSI and the other a mere 150PSI any domestic system it unlikely to be higher than 60PSI, they really are a rip off company, however I did find find a place who were much more reasonable price wise and had everything I needed, One Line Direct they are actually a Hardware store behind Zenith at their rear entrance, they also have electrical fittings and perhaps more I never did ask all the stock is at the back where you are not allowed to go. if you really plan for a house build and have a place to store materials great savings can be made on line, some stuff you have to buy there anyway, for example if you wanted Silicone sealant in anything other than white or clear about the only place to get this is online and also get the choice of the type of cure you want.

 

I had the "Boys" build a hollow block wall on my property line to keep the neighbors out.. The boys would lay on layer of hollow blocks and then mix concrete and fill the blocks.. I said enough of this crap build the wall and then fill the blocks. Anyway when we got around 5 ft high i said lets fill them up now.. Blew the @ss out of the hollow blocks on the bottom rows and down she all came.

 

Vapour barriers never seem to be used here and very difficult to find, I did find one place that stocked a clear plastic sold under the name of vapour barrier and that was what I used but it was worse than useless,, in fact I fail to see how it is possible to lay down a barrier and lay steel over the top of it and not cause damage even with high quality material? mind you there is a Blue/Orange plastic Tarp you can buy here that does have some resilience, still the Pinoy workers will find a way to damage that?

The idea of the Gravel without fines under the slab acts as a capillary break, here in the Philippines your average Pinoy builder does not consider any of this and a very common problem here is Tiles starting to lift after a few years, I would guess this is caused by dampness wicking up through the thin floor slabs, normally they plan for 4inches, but the clever Pinoys lay down 2.5 inch and make up the final level with 1.5inch of Tile Adhesive this gives them plenty of scope for adjustment to the final level.

Your average CHB house here, (especially a Pinoy build) have so many faults such as this, that is never seen by the home owner, but once that cake has been iced over all that sh*t is hidden, BTW in my opinion many of the Foreign builders here are not much better and are doing the same sh*t to increase profit margins.

 

Hey there,
How thick did you make the slab? I am still drafting my plans and I see options for different footings, none that I trust, and when I look for info on slab thickness it said 4 feet.
That can't be right for a "light" single storey house.
So in short, how thick is the foundation you poured?

Thanks again[/QUOTE]
Lets call this by its correct name; Monolithic Slab; overall the slab was laid on grade and it is 6 inches thick overall with a 12inch C to C grid of 10mm rebar in the middle of the slab, under the slab is a 5inch bed of compacted gravel without fines, but all around the perimeter is a 12x14 inch beam with a 7inch steel cage running through that, also a similar beam running lengthwise in the middle, the slab and beams all done in one pour with a cement truck, the grade of the concrete was 4000PSI although the supplier suggested 2500 was adequate, the difference in price between the two was only around P400 per cube, so I opted for the 4000 to be sure to get at least 3000, this being the Philippines. as a guide it is recommended to use around 80kg of steel per cube of concrete for a slab, a Beam should contain around 120kg and a Pillar the strongest of all 140kg, this is a slight overkill on my part?

The slab was cured under plastic with some water scooted under this every day and it cured with just a couple of minor fissures that never did get any worse than that.

If I had been laying a slab for a light structured single Garage of 6x3mtrs a 4inch slab would be adequate without beams and perhaps some steel mesh to prevent serious cracks.

 

Also you could check behind Gas & Go on the Valencia-DGT main road and see Ray, he is an Aussie, has a mechanics shop directly behind the servo on the right hand side small road/track. He may hire gensets, he has a few units that have welding outputs they may come in handy.

 

I forgot to say there is a good company called Omega they may be able to help with a Genny, two Chinese brothers I think? and good at their jobs, coming down the Valencia highway you turn left at the crossroads near Robinsons into the Bacong road but going in the opposite direction and they are just 50mtrs along that road easy to miss as they are set back a little.

 

To get a temp service from Noreco you need a site Hut or Barracks as they call them here, the Electrics must have a roof cover, any old sh*t building will do as long as it has a roof, If I remember correctly you need two 60amp breakers and a ground rod this you supply yourself along with the meter.