# Building materials



## Cebu Citizen

I have several questions regarding the repairs and additional building onto a house I am intending on living in after moving to the Philippines.

First of all, (AVAILABILITY), are most typical building materials readily available in the Philippines, concrete, concrete blocks, lumber, and hardware items? I am a little spoiled here in the US with all the Lowe's and Home Depot stores. Home Improvement Warehouses are everywhere! Are there similar places in the Philippines where a private citizen or foreigner, (not a professional licensed building contractor), can just go in and purchase these types of building material supplies at a decent price?

Also, (PRICING), I know that there are two different pricing structures in most foreign countries...one price for the local and another price for foreigners. Is it best to have a Filipino buy your supplies for you or can a foreigner actually get a decent price if shopping by themselves?

Thirdly, (QUALITY), what is the quality of the materials in the Philippines? When visiting Leyte and helping there after the Super Typhoon, (Yolanda), we had some bad experiences with twisting the heads off of some cheap bolts. I do not wish to purchase some cheap hardware made of cheap pot metal...are good quality supplies readily available as well?

Fourth item, (DIMENSIONS)...are the materials that are available made in typical sizes or do I need to acclimate myself to new dimensions? Such as lumber...are there 2x4's in the Philippines or is the available lumber found in different sized cuts than what I am used to here in the US? Also, the concrete blocks...are they like ours? 8 inches by 16 inches? Is lumber readily available? Are there many different sizes available? Small lumber all the way up to heavy wooden beams?

And lastly...the availability and practicality of Power Tools in the Philippines. I know there are issues with the electrical grid and US power tools but how easy and how pricey are Philippine power tools. I know that many Filipino's use hand tools because of the cost of power tools but I have built several houses myself here in the US and I can work alone and get so much more done with the use of power tools. I was wondering if anyone in this forum know if good quality Philippine Power Tools are readily available and how expensive are they to both own and operate? Items like drills and saws, etc...

I love to build and I find it quite relaxing to get out and work with my hands and add a new room onto an existing house or make improvements to a home or remodel an older home and I am hoping to do this for myself when I move to the Philippines. Typically an experienced builder can build a nice house for one quarter to one third the cost of buying the exact same house on the real estate market.

This is my hope after moving to the Philippines...find a decent house in a nice location and then remodel it or add to it and create my own retirement villa...


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## billygoat993

Hardware are everywhere in the Philippines. I am not sure if in Cebu they have the home depot or Wilcons or the big hardware that you can walk in line in North America and in Makati. 
I just finished building my house , a tip i can give you is that the GI bar and wood are all undersize so tell them to give you the right size since you are paying for it. Better have a caliper and pay cod not upfront or they will not replace it. But if you order in bulk go straight manufacturer like what i did, and they give more discount.
With Chb there are 3 types the jack built, semi (white sand and cement) do not break easily and the ones the ordinary with mud i think that makes its brownish a bit and breaks easy. The last is common the second is what we used. Price is not that high but of course most have skin tax here so canvass so they know you have gone around. 
Tools there are a lot here cause if its 110 it can't be used here unless you buy transformer. But have your house wires for 110 got mine wired lol.
If you need suppliers i can look up to my receipts and give you contact numbers I am in Sta Rosa Laguna but since they are the main distributor/manufacturer for sure they have distributors in any location.


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## billygoat993

Chb is size 4,5,6 lumber the same but you can get hardwood and cut it yourself or ask supplier to cut in on size u want but the hardwood is not in hardware or depot only specific supplier.


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## Maxx62

I have noticed that there are two fairly decent hardware stores in the Cebu area: Cebu Home and Builders Centre, and Saver Home Depot. Both of these stores are a descent place to buy toilets, sinks, electrical fixtures, and so on. 

However, when it came time to buy our lumber, I went to a company called Manduae Central Lumber. I only needed to buy 2x2s and 1/4 plywood to make our concrete forms, and there really wasn't any wood used in the completed structure of our house, due to the terrible termite problem in our area. 

We purchased most of our blocks, cement, rebar (what they call deformed bar) from a company called Federal Hardware in Cebu. Federal Hardware is more like a commercial warehouse than a hardware store, and their prices are reasonable if purchasing in bulk. I think that they also delivered for orders over 5,000 Peso, but you may want to check on that. (Our roof was done by a private contractor.)

The biggest problem I had was with the quality of the hollow blocks. The blocks from Federal Hardware were not too bad, but at one point I ran low on blocks, and I couldn't place a big enough order for Federal Hardware to deliver to my sight, so I had to go someone local in Lapu Lapu City. Here in Lapu Lapu City we have plenty of very small family owned businesses which make hollow blocks in front of their house and sell them to the public. I purchased several hundred blocks from such a company, and approximately 30% of the blocks they sent me were complete garbage. I went to another small supplier near me and talked to the owner, he said that they usually get about 90 hollow blocks from one bag of cement! I paid him a little bit extra, and he agreed add more cement to the hollow blocks to give them more strength. That particular batch probably had a defect rate of around 5%

Also, many companies here sell a grade of cement that is less than Portland Cement. Do not buy it, it is a total waste of money and you will be sorry for the few pesos you saved.

Another problem I had was with the mixing sand I purchased to mix with the cement. One of the orders I received was approximately 20% ordinary soil, and my workers used some of it to mix concrete to fill my hollow blocks. I took a handful of the sand and threw it into a bucket of water in front of the foreman's eyes. The stuff dissolved into mud, and and I told him not to use it for making concrete, or I'd fire everyone. I took a bath on that load of sand, about 8,000 peso, but I learned my lesson. Next load I visited the storage yard and paid the foreman to make sure I got good sand. 

If you take the prices found at a retail store such as Cebu Home and Builders Centre, and Saver Home Depot, they are really not that different from what you would find in the US. Maybe a little cheaper, but not much. When you go to a big commercial supplier like Mandaue Lumber, or Federal Hardware, it pays to bring a local with you. These places don't have any prices listed for the public to see, and the salesperson might be tempted to jack up the prices, simply because you are a foreigner. The same is true for the small family business selling hollow blocks. If a local wants to buy a block they are only 8 peso each, but if you walk in by yourself, they might try to charge you double that.


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## billygoat993

Maxx62 asked them to get vibro sand it has no rovks and no need to use that screen to remove rocks and other things its good for plastering and in the long run its cheaper. At times its better to buy truckload than have it deliver by cubic meter a 10 wheeler usually have 19cubic and your foreman should know how to measure it. Its good and less waste. The chb its common to have garbage since no quality control. But better ask for class a or the semi jack built. Have you finished your house?


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## northwoods

*Great topic ! building materials .*

very interested in everyone's input / advice .
im a general contractor , in northern wisconsin , considering building a small home in phil . 
please , can you also place prices on any materials you've purchased , in your posts .
il happily ad our local menards - home depot, prices for comparison .
should anyone ask....
looks like it may reach -13f tonight , more than you want you know ? haaa
great site . :yo:


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## Maxx62

northwoods said:


> very interested in everyone's input / advice .
> im a general contractor , in northern wisconsin , considering building a small home in phil .
> please , can you also place prices on any materials you've purchased , in your posts .
> il happily ad our local menards - home depot, prices for comparison .
> should anyone ask....
> looks like it may reach -13f tonight , more than you want you know ? haaa
> great site . :yo:


I kept a pretty accurate record of our expenses, during the first two months of construction, but then I had to return home to US for a while to attend to family business, So I missed out ont he final two months, and my wife didn't keep completely accurate records during that time. However, I think that the total cost was approx $50,000. I tried to attach a sheet showing our expenses during the first two months, but not sure if I was successful in adding it to this message? The sheet contains a list of the materials, suppliers, and costs, and how much we spent on labor for those two months.


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## Maxx62

billygoat993 said:


> Maxx62 asked them to get vibro sand it has no rovks and no need to use that screen to remove rocks and other things its good for plastering and in the long run its cheaper. At times its better to buy truckload than have it deliver by cubic meter a 10 wheeler usually have 19cubic and your foreman should know how to measure it. Its good and less waste. The chb its common to have garbage since no quality control. But better ask for class a or the semi jack built. Have you finished your house?


I purchased a truckload of what they called finishing sand, but it wasn't quite as fine or as clean as the first load that I purchased.


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## northwoods

Maxx62 said:


> I kept a pretty accurate record of our expenses, during the first two months of construction, but then I had to return home to US for a while to attend to family business, So I missed out ont he final two months, and my wife didn't keep completely accurate records during that time. However, I think that the total cost was approx $50,000. I tried to attach a sheet showing our expenses during the first two months, but not sure if I was successful in adding it to this message? The sheet contains a list of the materials, suppliers, and costs, and how much we spent on labor for those two months.


great thanks .....will look it over after work tonight ,,thanks .


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## oklahoma joe

After building my house here in the province, i think if i were to build again i would pour solid concrete ,if you use hallow block you use cement to pile the blocks you fill the blocks and you plaster inside and out, by the time your finished you have enough cement to have formed up and poured solid walls finished, you would have the expense of plywood but could use it some other place or rent the forms out, there are some new subdivisions in Davao, that use steel , only cement is in the floor, the walls are Cement board inside and out, and our two stories, another builder is using precast cement walls also, something to think about


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## Cebu Citizen

I hear a lot about building with concrete in the Philippines...is it not appropriate to build with good solid lumber...like hardwood, or are there problems with using lumber there?

I have heard rumors about terrible termite problems but that is the case in every country around the world...the soil is filled with many varieties of termites but there are simple ways to avoid damage from these pests. Is this not the case in the Philippines? And why do so many people build using only concrete or concrete products?


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## billygoat993

Concrete is cheaper and solid hardwood expensive. We used both but solid hardwood is our flooring Nd cabinet. Termites is common problem when we built they spray several times and we have the perforated pipes for easy maintenance .
There is also a building code here that needs to be followed. Like in any country but given houses are closed together they opt to build cement for sound proof and less combustible .


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## jamckinnon

Maxx62 said:


> I kept a pretty accurate record of our expenses, during the first two months of construction, but then I had to return home to US for a while to attend to family business, So I missed out ont he final two months, and my wife didn't keep completely accurate records during that time. However, I think that the total cost was approx $50,000. I tried to attach a sheet showing our expenses during the first two months, but not sure if I was successful in adding it to this message? The sheet contains a list of the materials, suppliers, and costs, and how much we spent on labor for those two months.


Good day. I did not notice if you had stated the size of your home. Knowing that would help me make an apples-to-apples comparison. I'm looking at options for building a home in Dumaguete. Jack


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## Maxx62

jamckinnon said:


> Good day. I did not notice if you had stated the size of your home. Knowing that would help me make an apples-to-apples comparison. I'm looking at options for building a home in Dumaguete. Jack


Our house is single story, two bedroom, approximately 1,200 square feet.
View attachment 15745


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## jamckinnon

Thank you. That's about the size I'm considering.


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## Maxx62

jamckinnon said:


> Thank you. That's about the size I'm considering.


I don't know how useful this is, but here is a rough drawing of our floor plan. I put the kitchen sink and bathroom drains along the same wall, to save the hassle of running the sewer line to different areas of the house, and I tried to keep everything else pretty simple.

View attachment house_b2.pdf


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## jamckinnon

It's useful, and also appears to be an efficient use of the available space. All ideas are appreciated.


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## andi.coleman

Maxx62 said:


> I have noticed that there are two fairly decent hardware stores in the Cebu area: Cebu Home and Builders Centre, and Saver Home Depot. Both of these stores are a descent place to buy toilets, sinks, electrical fixtures, and so on.
> 
> However, when it came time to buy our lumber, I went to a company called Manduae Central Lumber. I only needed to buy 2x2s and 1/4 plywood to make our concrete forms, and there really wasn't any wood used in the completed structure of our house, due to the terrible termite problem in our area.
> 
> We purchased most of our blocks, cement, rebar (what they call deformed bar) from a company called Federal Hardware in Cebu. Federal Hardware is more like a commercial warehouse than a hardware store, and their prices are reasonable if purchasing in bulk. I think that they also delivered for orders over 5,000 Peso, but you may want to check on that. (Our roof was done by a private contractor.)
> 
> The biggest problem I had was with the quality of the hollow blocks. The blocks from Federal Hardware were not too bad, but at one point I ran low on blocks, and I couldn't place a big enough order for Federal Hardware to deliver to my sight, so I had to go someone local in Lapu Lapu City. Here in Lapu Lapu City we have plenty of very small family owned businesses which make hollow blocks in front of their house and sell them to the public. I purchased several hundred blocks from such a company, and approximately 30% of the blocks they sent me were complete garbage. I went to another small supplier near me and talked to the owner, he said that they usually get about 90 hollow blocks from one bag of cement! I paid him a little bit extra, and he agreed add more cement to the hollow blocks to give them more strength. That particular batch probably had a defect rate of around 5%
> 
> Also, many companies here sell a grade of cement that is less than Portland Cement. Do not buy it, it is a total waste of money and you will be sorry for the few pesos you saved.
> 
> Another problem I had was with the mixing sand I purchased to mix with the cement. One of the orders I received was approximately 20% ordinary soil, and my workers used some of it to mix concrete to fill my hollow blocks. I took a handful of the sand and threw it into a bucket of water in front of the foreman's eyes. The stuff dissolved into mud, and and I told him not to use it for making concrete, or I'd fire everyone. I took a bath on that load of sand, about 8,000 peso, but I learned my lesson. Next load I visited the storage yard and paid the foreman to make sure I got good sand.
> 
> If you take the prices found at a retail store such as Cebu Home and Builders Centre, and Saver Home Depot, they are really not that different from what you would find in the US. Maybe a little cheaper, but not much. When you go to a big commercial supplier like Mandaue Lumber, or Federal Hardware, it pays to bring a local with you. These places don't have any prices listed for the public to see, and the salesperson might be tempted to jack up the prices, simply because you are a foreigner. The same is true for the small family business selling hollow blocks. If a local wants to buy a block they are only 8 peso each, but if you walk in by yourself, they might try to charge you double that.


Hi Max,

Thanks for the information, are you a builder there or was that info fomr building your own place?

REgards


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## oklahoma joe

I don't know if this will help anyone but i noticed when in Immigration a fellow was getting his work visa for a company called American Concrete Block company it is in Manila, but i have not looked for the site


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## Maxx62

andi.coleman said:


> Hi Max,
> 
> Thanks for the information, are you a builder there or was that info fomr building your own place?
> 
> REgards


No, I'm not a real builder, and I only worked in construction, as a laborer, for a very short period of time when I was just out of high school. Back at home I used to do things like put up a fence, replace fascia boards, or put a new door inside house, with usually passable results. However, a professional tradesmen would probably laugh at the amount of time it takes me to get anything done. 

My father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law have all built houses here within the past few years, and I kinda observed what was going when they built their houses. Since I was the last person to build my house within this compound, I got to learn a little from their mistakes. 

One of the biggest problem I had was that the foreman I hired wasn't a very good foreman, and instead of supervising the other ten people working under him, he spent most of his time working like a regular worker. I once asked him how many people were working on the project that day, and he said he didn't know. (Spent more on labor than I anticipated, due to people not working.)

At one point no one was paying attention, and they didn't include the doorway leading into our spare bedroom, and they had made a waist high wall before I realized the mistake. We triked to chisel an opening into the wall where the door was supposed to be, but I didn't like the damage that was spreading to the rest of the wall, so I told them to knock it down and start again. 

I realized after that that I would have to look around the project at least once or twice everyday, so that they would think I was watching them. (If not, they make a lot of mistakes and goof off.) I took a level and would walk around them while they were working, and I would check to make sure that walls, door frame, windows, were all straight. After that the foreman suddenly learned how to read the drawings.

The other big problem I has was theft of materials. I retrospect I probably should have done a closer inventory, and maybe I should have built a temporary locking storage area to keep certain supplies (such as electrical wiring) until it is needed. I think that I lost approximately $800 - $1,000 due to theft. 

Also, I think that someone else mentioned a place called Wilcon. I noticed that there is a very big Wilcon store on United Nations Ave in Cebu. I've never been inside this particular store, but I've been told that it's a very good place to buy fixtures for your house.


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## oklahoma joe

oklahoma joe said:


> I don't know if this will help anyone but i noticed when in Immigration a fellow was getting his work visa for a company called American Concrete Block company it is in Manila, but i have not looked for the site


 i found one company that makes concrete blocks, been around they make American quality block shttp://jackbilt.com.ph/index.php


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## billygoat993

For those who want to see how house is built here in Philippinrs my wife was able to put up all pictures and some video from groundbreaking to finishing stage. But we use I Bean method. She also have compilation of receipts and expenses , suppliers, manufacturers or importer. We are in Luzon though.


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## northwoods

*building pic's*



billygoat993 said:


> For those who want to see how house is built here in Philippinrs my wife was able to put up all pictures and some video from groundbreaking to finishing stage. But we use I Bean method. She also have compilation of receipts and expenses , suppliers, manufacturers or importer. We are in Luzon though.


id love to see your pic's .
thanks


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## billygoat993

Here is the link of the pictures when we were building the house. If the link don't work you can try to search for Ruby Atacador in Google plus https://plus.google.com/111877990812604318221/photos


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## northwoods

billygoat993 said:


> Here is the link of the pictures when we were building the house. If the link don't work you can try to search for Ruby Atacador in Google plus https://plus.google.com/111877990812604318221/photos


link works ; 
'very ' nice place you have there !
..apx $ 50,000 ?
looks like alot of house for the money , im impressed .
really like the tower feature , im considering something a bit like a new england light house .
thanks for sharing .


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## jamckinnon

I'm considering something more modest, maybe 120-140 square meter floor plan. Has anyone got a ballpark estimate of costs for something that size?


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## Asian Spirit

billygoat993 said:


> Here is the link of the pictures when we were building the house. If the link don't work you can try to search for Ruby Atacador in Google plus https://plus.google.com/111877990812604318221/photos


Fantastic house and great photos of the construction!!


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## billygoat993

Thanks... the house cost us $700,000 680sqm floor area/7319sqft. 6 washrooms, 4 bedroom, library, office, maids quarter, family room, living room, courtyard, dining room, kitchen, mudroom and 3 car garage. Its not common here to build using I beams connonly done in buildings here. We used ppr pipes, have built in pipes for termite maintenance, solid wood planks(narra) for flooring and doors, natural stones and we used stucco . The roof is Cpac concrete tiles underneath is the long span roofing which is double expense but its a requirement here in the Village. 
I must say we enjoy building it but not the Architect who ran away with our money. Compared to the quotations that was given to us by several Contractors we end up cheaper. Sone quited us 40-45k per sqm given the requirements we have given. I am pretty sure those contractors will not install faucet that would cost php 70-65k or other expensive fixtures.
I do not recommend solid wood floor because of the hunidity here. It looks good but its a NO. I would also recommend dehumidifier to be installed unless you want to see molds in your clothes inside your closet. 
For a modest house based on our experience should only cost 12-15k per sqm. Tiles, ordinary fixtures, and long span roofing. My wife has some blue prints with structural computation if I am not mistake. From houses with 105sqm and uo. It was from her old houses that she had built. If anybody needs it I will ask her to upload it so you can take a look and maybe save 30k for blue print. She still have list of suppliers and all receipts so if you guys need to check materials maybe it can help. She should be a bookeeper lol than a businesswoman/nurse.


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## billygoat993

jamckinnon said:


> I'm considering something more modest, maybe 120-140 square meter floor plan. Has anyone got a ballpark estimate of costs for something that size?


You may want to check this link to have an idea. Its a house and lot. Laguna Bel Air - EMPIRE EAST LAND HOLDINGS, INC.MEGAWORLD CENTRAL PROPERTIES, INC. the Daphne model when we bought it back then was only 3.5m php in Laguna bel air 3. The house in laguna bel air 1 cost us almost 1m we bought it foreclosed. The roof they used here is shingles.


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## cvgtpc1

*homes*



billygoat993 said:


> You may want to check this link to have an idea. Its a house and lot. Laguna Bel Air - EMPIRE EAST LAND HOLDINGS, INC.MEGAWORLD CENTRAL PROPERTIES, INC. the Daphne model when we bought it back then was only 3.5m php in Laguna bel air 3. The house in laguna bel air 1 cost us almost 1m we bought it foreclosed. The roof they used here is shingles.


We looked at similar places a couple weeks ago around Angeles City. Only way to do it is to be able to pay cash imo, the interest rate is outrageous. Also saw some communities that had been open a couple years, half empty, and were looking like a squatter area. Also nobody can guarantee your neighbor won't open a piggery in the backyard and gave me blank stares when asked.

I'm leaning towards getting a fixer upper now. Labor is so cheap, just fix a little at a time. Plus a "used" home already has the wall and gate that you have to add on in those subdivisions.


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## billygoat993

If you buy property inside gated subdivision there is a Deed of Restriction and it is annotated at the back of land title:TCT. Usually piggery are not allowed. In laguna we are surprised that Laguna Bel Air had sold almost all and had opened new phase. Well maybe bec they are one of the affordable compared to other developers. We find it cheaper to build as long as there is an Engineer to check 2x a week or during important structural phase. No more contractors for us.


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## cvgtpc1

*Deed*



billygoat993 said:


> If you buy property inside gated subdivision there is a Deed of Restriction and it is annotated at the back of land title:TCT.


Thanks. Good to know. The sales agent could've said that and I would've been fine. They weren't too swift. Also the models didn't match the finished product which had alot more features after touring homes in progress. Told them their model should match what you're getting as it be a better selling point, they didn't get it lol


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## yakc130

WOW!! Lot's of great info in here. 

The wife is still trying to figure out what she wants, and where. She likes a condo because of the security factor, and being able to rent it out to other OFW's when we aren't there. But she also likes the idea of getting out of the city and into the province.

Thanks for posting all of this stuff. The photos are especially nice.


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## bbazor

Maxx62 said:


> I don't know how useful this is, but here is a rough drawing of our floor plan. I put the kitchen sink and bathroom drains along the same wall, to save the hassle of running the sewer line to different areas of the house, and I tried to keep everything else pretty simple.
> 
> View attachment 15753


I am curious about the total cost (land, materials, contractor, appliances, furniture, etc..... basically total out of pocket). I hope thie is not to personal of a question. I just want to get some ideas.
Thanks!


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## Maxx62

bbazor said:


> I am curious about the total cost (land, materials, contractor, appliances, furniture, etc..... basically total out of pocket). I hope thie is not to personal of a question. I just want to get some ideas.
> Thanks!


My wife inherited the land, so we really didn't have any major expenses as far as acquiring the land itself. The cost of materials and labor wasn't much more than $55,000, or so. We came over here with a savings of approximately $75,000 (US) and by the time we were done we still had approximately $8,000 - $10,000 left in our savings. 

Of course we also rented another house while our own was being built, I purchased an old Kia to drive around when we first arrived, and we had some other daily living expenses which also ate into our budget a little. 

I was surprised by the amount of hassle I had getting my electricity connected, and I had to hire a second architect too draw an electrical plan of our house (his drawing was based upon BS). I think that the total cost of getting my power was close to $2,000. Another unexpected expense was building a water storage tank to hold water during periods of time that the local municipal supply isn't working. That was probably another $2,000, including the cost of water pump used to pump water from tank into house. I paid a local carpenter, who used to work for my father-in-law to make my furniture. The total expense of the furniture was probably around $2,000 or so, and I'm happy with the results. There were some other minor expenses, here and there, but I would say that we spent under $63,000 (purchased used refrigerator) from the time we first turned the first shovel of dirt, until we spent our first night in the house.

I probably could have saved a little bit of money if I kept a closer eye on the labor costs, as I feel that I lost a bit due too people goofing off, and also to theft.

I


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## billygoat993

Max did Meralco also asked you to pay for the deposit based on the load computationof your blueprint? I find that ridiculous since they base it on that but of no one will use everything all at the same time. To transfer our meter from temporary to permanent since we would need ST5 we were asked to pay 52k pesos bec it is based from the Certificate of Electrical inspection load and the load computation from the Blue print. Wife stood firm and contested it so she presented billing statements from Meralco that we do not consume that high so she paid 18k pesos including the meter base.


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## billygoat993

bbazor said:


> I am curious about the total cost (land, materials, contractor, appliances, furniture, etc..... basically total out of pocket). I hope thie is not to personal of a question. I just want to get some ideas.
> Thanks!


Land cost will depend on the location, village or developer. In Sta Rosa La Residencia is 7-12k price is low if no agent and direct owner, if the lot is prime lot meaning near clubhouse this Village sells lot only although all sold out but some resale be ause they bought it for investment and now its peak time. Georgia 20k/sam same developer. Britanny and near each other. Sme place would sell 2,000 / sq or even less .
When we bought the lot 2010 its only 6,000 now its 12,000, furnitures depends on how big and since wife has that already I didnt buy much.


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## Maxx62

billygoat993 said:


> Max did Meralco also asked you to pay for the deposit based on the load computationof your blueprint? I find that ridiculous since they base it on that but of no one will use everything all at the same time. To transfer our meter from temporary to permanent since we would need ST5 we were asked to pay 52k pesos bec it is based from the Certificate of Electrical inspection load and the load computation from the Blue print. Wife stood firm and contested it so she presented billing statements from Meralco that we do not consume that high so she paid 18k pesos including the meter base.


I honestly can't remember, billygoat, if they charged a deposit based upon my blue print or not. I know that every time my wife and I would go down there, they would put a new obstacle in our path, and it really seemed to me that they were just making things up as they were going along. I think that they asked for the blueprint on our second or third visit, then after that they wanted to see our title to the land, and other misc documents. I knew that they were giving me the special treatment, because when you drive around our area, you can see a lot of squatter shacks with power connected to them. I'm sure that these people didn't have blue prints for their little shacks. I finally let my wife and her brother handle it, because I felt that I was getting special treatment, if you know what I mean.


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## bigpearl

How does some fool think they can reopen a 7 year old topic hoping to sell something? Loser, and btw I am reporting you.

Steve.


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## M.C.A.

bigpearl said:


> How does some fool think they can reopen a 7 year old topic hoping to sell something? Loser, and btw I am reporting you.
> 
> Steve.


It's a constant battle with spammers and they have multiple accounts at times. I've tried giving them a chance previously to advertise with the forum but they are like bots they never reply and now I no longer waste any time with them. 

This is still a relevant and important topic, when it comes to building materials.


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