Security measures built into our Philippine home, window bar, security screen doors, alarms, etc Continue reading
December 10, 2011
by GOIloilo
13 Comments
Category Archives: Our Philippine House Project
December 1, 2011
by GOIloilo
10 Comments
Earthquake Philippines – design right
Our Philippine house building project. Building to survive a Philippine earthquake. Philippine seismic design. Continue reading
November 8, 2011
by GOIloilo
9 Comments
Concrete roofs and roof patios in the Philippines?
A flat concrete roof for your Philippine house? Here are a few things you should consider. Continue reading
November 6, 2011
by GOIloilo
27 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Roof and Roofing
A very slick, economical and attractive Philippine roofing system which provides a durable roof, able to withstand the monsoons, typhoons, termites and other rigors of life in the Philippines at a moderate cost. We’re impressed. Continue reading
November 2, 2011
by GOIloilo
6 Comments
Operating costs for split air conditioning unit.
How much power our 1.5HP Samsung inverter split air conditioner consumes and how much it costs to run in the Philippines. Continue reading
September 1, 2011
by GOIloilo
47 Comments
Our Philippine House Project: Philippine Electrical Wiring
As part of our project to build our Philippine house, we had to learn about Philippine residential electrical systems so we could wire our house. It’s served by a Philippine rural electric cooperative. Here’s what we’ve learned. Continue reading
August 23, 2011
by GOIloilo
40 Comments
Our house project: building a hollow block perimeter wall
Detailed description of building a hollow block (concrete block) perimeter wall in the Philippines – supervision, hiring workers, buying materials, problems and successes. Continue reading
August 21, 2011
by GOIloilo
8 Comments
Our Philippine house project: filling our lot
Our Philippine house building project, filling our lot. Continue reading
August 21, 2011
by GOIloilo
12 Comments
Our Philippine House Project: Architects and Builders
All about choosing an architect and builder for you Philippine house — our experiences and recommendations. Continue reading
August 18, 2011
by GOIloilo
4 Comments
Our Philippine house project – equipment shopping
Buying construction equipment in Iloilo for our house building project in Tigbauan, Iloilo – cement mixer, concrete vibrator. Continue reading
August 18, 2011
by GOIloilo
3 Comments
Haiti Earthquake – lessons for the Philippines?
Lesson for construction in the Philippines from the Haiti earthquake Continue reading
August 16, 2011
by GOIloilo
10 Comments
Our Philippine House Project: Rebar Splicing
What we learned about reinforcing bar splicing while building our Philippine house. Continue reading
August 14, 2011
by GOIloilo
17 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Ceiling Fans
Our Philippine House Project – Ceiling Fans. We find that ceiling fans are an essential part of keeping cool in the Philippines without wasting energy. Continue reading
August 12, 2011
by GOIloilo
6 Comments
Our Philippine house project: walls and wall footers.
Our Philippine house building project. Building strong hollow block walls. Continue reading
August 11, 2011
by GOIloilo
11 Comments
Our Philippine House Building Project – Final House Construction Cost Report
Final cost report for building our home in the Philippines. Cost for materials. Cost for Labor. Cost per square meter. Continue reading
August 10, 2011
by GOIloilo
6 Comments
Our House Project – Steel and Welding
Building our house in the Philippines. We decided to set up our own “welding shop” on-site.Welders and welding equipment are essential for just about any Philippine construction project. Our welding equipment will be paid for in savings on the roof trusses alone. Continue reading
August 5, 2011
by GOIloilo
6 Comments
Our Philippine House Project: Concrete Quality, Concrete Vibration
Building our house in the Philippines. Some thoughts on ensuring concrete quality. Continue reading
July 31, 2011
by GOIloilo
38 Comments
Our Philippine house project: shopping for cement hollow blocks
Shopping for cement blocks (called hollow block) in the Philippines is certainly not a top pick adventure story but anyway, perhaps someone will benefit from our experiences. Really, this is one chapter in the building of our Philippine house in … Continue reading
July 28, 2011
by GOIloilo
11 Comments
Our Philippine house project: the structural heart of the house – concrete columns and beams
Our Philippine house building project: concrete roof beams. The roof beams support the large steel roof structure. Our site is especially exposed to typhoons so we want to be be sure things are done properly. Rebar splicing suggestions. Continue reading
July 24, 2011
by GOIloilo
39 Comments
Building our Philippine House – Index
An American’s detailed account of building a house in the Philippines. Continue reading
July 19, 2011
by GOIloilo
7 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Philippine Real Estate Taxes
Real Estate Taxes in the Philippines. Continue reading
July 15, 2011
by GOIloilo
12 Comments
Being your own contractor in the Philippines
Being your own contractor in the Philippines. Our experiences in building our Philippine house. Continue reading
July 11, 2011
by GOIloilo
9 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Septic and Drainage Systems
Our Philippine House project – septic system and drainage. Catch basins, downspouts. Continue reading
July 10, 2011
by GOIloilo
15 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Window Screens
Our Philippine House Project – Window Screens, kulambo Continue reading
July 10, 2011
by GOIloilo
19 Comments
Our Philippine House Project: Windows
Windows – a key part of our Philippine house building project. We decide to build our own steel casement windows. Here’s how. Continue reading
July 8, 2011
by GOIloilo
14 Comments
Our Philippine House Project: Learn from our mistakes
Our biggest Philippine house building blunders. We don’t want to present our project as a paragon of perfection so here we show what went wrong during our Philippine house construction project and why. Continue reading
June 30, 2011
by GOIloilo
3 Comments
Updated – Architects and Builders at Our Philippine House Project
We’ve updated our post giving our recommendations about Philippine architects and builders. Benefit from our experiences, not all happy ones! Continue reading
June 28, 2011
by GOIloilo
1 Comment
Cool Roofs and Cool Buildings for the Tropics
We’ve updated our post on measures to take to make a cooler house and save electricity. Continue reading
June 27, 2011
by GOIloilo
1 Comment
Updated – Ceiling Support System and Ceilings
Describes our over built ceiling support system and our ceilings in our Philippine house. Continue reading
June 27, 2011
by GOIloilo
0 comments
Updated – Concrete Floors in Our Philippine House
All about the concrete floors in our Philippine house, including concrete mixes, rebar and rebar supports.
Continue reading
June 26, 2011
by GOIloilo
1 Comment
Updated – Our Philippine House Project – Paint and Painting
We’ve updated the section of Our Philippine House Project on paint and painting at http://myphilippinelife.com/our-philippine-house-project-painting/
June 25, 2011
by GOIloilo
2 Comments
Update – Our Philippine House – Kitchen Cabinets
Building kitchen cabinets for our Philippine house Continue reading
June 25, 2011
by GOIloilo
0 comments
Update – Laundry and Storage Area
How we managed to make a laundry room, and storage/water pump/generator structure by utilizing wasted space in the garage/carport area of our Philippine house. Continue reading
June 22, 2011
by GOIloilo
0 comments
Building a Perimeter Fence – Updated
We have repaired and revised our photo essay on building our perimeter fence. See http://myphilippinelife.com/building-a-hollow-block-perimeter-wall/
June 21, 2011
by GOIloilo
0 comments
Roof and Roofing Post Updated
Our roof and roofing post has been updated. See http://myphilippinelife.com/our-philippine-house-project-roof-and-roofing/
May 12, 2011
by GOIloilo
3 Comments
Creston Stainless Steel Hinges – Philippines
We splurged on Creston brand stainless steel, ball bearing hinges for all our doors, inside and out. The hinges seem good. They came with screws. They were expensive. We guess the package did not say the screws were stainless steel. … Continue reading
May 12, 2011
by GOIloilo
18 Comments
Using Stranded Wire in Philippine Residential Electrical Wiring – Updated
Solid v. solid electrical wire in Philippine residential construction Continue reading
March 12, 2011
by GOIloilo
23 Comments
Weima 3200 Generator (GenSet)
We try out a Weima WM3200 generator set Continue reading
March 6, 2011
by GOIloilo
27 Comments
Wiring in a 240v backup generator in a SWER area
Installing a two load wire gasoline powered generator (genset) to power a home using only one load wire SWER. Continue reading
February 7, 2011
by GOIloilo
30 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Air Conditioning
Our Philippine House Project – Air Conditioning. Choosing the right size. Inverter versus conventional units. Samsung. Continue reading
January 18, 2011
by GOIloilo
15 Comments
Our Philippine house project – design devolution
Philippine house design.How the design for our Philippine retirement home evolved. Continue reading
November 20, 2010
by GOIloilo
16 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Building, Zoning, Fire Protection Permits
Our experiences with obtaining our Philippine building permit and certificate of occupancy Continue reading
November 13, 2010
by GOIloilo
15 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – we move in!
We moved into our new house in Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines Continue reading
November 5, 2010
by GOIloilo
9 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Tiling
In our new Philippine house we ceramic tiled just about everything Continue reading
October 28, 2010
by GOIloilo
11 Comments
We buy a Bompani cook stove (range or cooker)
We had to buy a cook stove for our new Philippine house. Here’s our experience buying an Italian BOMPANI range. Continue reading
September 30, 2010
by GOIloilo
4 Comments
The accidental bodega and laundry
Our Philippine House building project. We build a storeroom and laundry. Continue reading
September 18, 2010
by GOIloilo
14 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Granite Countertops
Our trials and tribulations with finding and installing granite on our Philippines kitchen and bathroom counters. Continue reading
September 4, 2010
by GOIloilo
16 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Kitchen Cabinets
Our Philippine house building project, kitchen cabinets. Installing granite countertops. Continue reading
August 20, 2010
by GOIloilo
18 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Paint and Painting
We’re building a house in the Philippines. Here’s what we’ve learned about paint and painting. Continue reading
August 5, 2010
by GOIloilo
12 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Iloilo Glass Service
Iloilo Glass Service, 439 Iznart Street, phone 033-335-0768, gave truly superior service for our window glass. Continue reading
July 5, 2010
by GOIloilo
14 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Carpentry
We’re building a house in the Philippines. We discuss carpentry, door, door casings, baseboards, cabinets and closets. Continue reading
June 13, 2010
by GOIloilo
21 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Floors
We are building a house in the Philippines. This post shows how we’ve constructed our floors; filling, compacting, reinforcing bars, pouring concrete and tiling. Edited 3-20-11 Continue reading
June 8, 2010
by GOIloilo
30 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Ceiling Support System and Ceilings
We’re building a house in the Philippines. Here’s how we’ll be installing our ceilings. Continue reading
June 6, 2010
by GOIloilo
9 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Finishing (Plastering)
Building a house in the Philippines – finishing (plastering, stuccoing) the walls Continue reading
May 24, 2010
by GOIloilo
38 Comments
Cool Roof Philippines – metal roofs and cool buildings in the tropics
Hot tips for building a cool house in the Philippines. Continue reading
May 22, 2010
by GOIloilo
25 Comments
Our Philippine House Project: Plumbing
Plumbing system for our Philippine house. Catch basins, septic system, cold water piping. Updated 7-6-11 Continue reading
April 13, 2010
by GOIloilo
2 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Roof Design
We’re building our dream home in the Philippines and want it to have a Filipino flavor. Our roof design seeks to capture a bit of the design aesthetic of the classic Philippine native house – the “bahay kubo”. Continue reading
April 1, 2010
by GOIloilo
8 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Carport
As part of our Philippine house building project, we build a carport/garage. Here’s the details. Continue reading
January 15, 2010
by GOIloilo
10 Comments
Our Philippine house project: layout, footers and columns
After months of planning and many changes we finally have our house plans completed, we have a foreman and crew and are ready to start construction next week. First step buying a cement mixer and concrete vibrator. Continue reading
November 6, 2009
by GOIloilo
24 Comments
We build a “bahay kubo” bamboo guest house
We build a “bahay kubo” bamboo native-style guest house in Tigbauan, Iloilo Philippines Continue reading
July 16, 2009
by GOIloilo
21 Comments
Our Philippine House Project – Digging our water well
How to dig a water well in the Philippines – problems, digging techniques, digging tools, depth, well tiles, cost of digging a water well. Continue reading
January 9, 2009
by GOIloilo
9 Comments
Internet Service in Tigbauan, Iloilo
All about Internet service options in Tigbauan, Iloio and on the “SmartBro” wireless Internet available from Smart Telecom and WiMax from Globe.
Continue reading
September 15, 2008
by GOIloilo
4 Comments
Ideas for our new Philippine house
Tropical house photos, tropical house details to help us define the design of our tropical retirement home. They are an unorganized hodgepodge of things we’ve seen, things which caught our eye. Maybe something here will be an inspiration to your Philippine building plans. Continue reading
September 9, 2008
by GOIloilo
1 Comment
Sewerage/Septic/Drainage Systems in the Philippines
Philippine sewer and drainage systems — public and private. Continue reading
August 12, 2008
by GOIloilo
20 Comments
We buy real estate in the Philippines
Our new home in Tigbauan, Iloilo where we’ve learned a whole new meaning for “small town” and “rural”. Continue reading