Building a House in the Philippines

@PalawOne VERY NICE. I will be building a very simple, much smaller concrete block house for my GF in her Family Barrio Cluster. I am hoping to stay below 500,000 Pesos. No Lot Costs. No AC. Not an Investment for future resale - Just a place to stay.

Fully agree with your plan.

A nice finish is around 25k per sqm right now……pay a lot of attention with electrical wiring and install a proper panel switch…. Not the rubbish locally promoted

Good luck with the project

- @Tdionnet

And IF building for a foreigner, check if a foreigner can get in, some "bedrooms" are so small so no floor space beside the bed and a normal NorthEuropean CANT lay straight.

An appartment was so small inspite of having two rooms, so - A BIT joking - foreigner would need to lay with head in "bedroom", body in sala and feet in CR... 

Coach writes,

NOTE. When thinking house sizes, they include OUTDOOR space as e g veranda, so it can be much smaller than we foreigners think and expect when just reading descriptions.

And IF building for a foreigner, check if a foreigner can get in, some "bedrooms" are so small so no floor space beside the bed and a normal NorthEuropean CANT lay straight. An appartment was so small inspite of having two rooms, so - A BIT joking - foreigner would need to lay with head in "bedroom", body in sala and feet in CR... 

Concerning costs I happened to see the blogger Philippina Pea told about her recent built 150sqmeter house for 1,5 mill pesos.  Posh front and inside, not posh but ok looking backside part with outdoor kitchen (under roof). But costs - beside choice of material and size - depend much on constructor anyway.    I didn't listen any details so I don't know how she counted, what's included in which sum.

((We will be building too, but a small factory. Concrete (and stone) in coming end of rain period, finishing after rain period. Later we will add a big simple building of wood except all at concrete plate, more like a barn, to make process more convenient indoor and for storage of material.))  - @coach53

Copy on that and make sure the goddamned shower head (faucet to our American friends) is above 6 feet.  - @Lotus Eater

Ah, all sounds good Coach. Good luck with building your concrete factory and the wooden warehouse after the current rainy season. 

Sounds like things are progressing well for you Coach.

- @PalawOne

BUT we will build at "Agricultural" classified land so NO NEED OF BUILDING PERMIT

(But we will need at least one more permit for the business, some unclear yet if we partly can include this second business type in the permits we have for the first business type  (run in same business registration name). I think so, but it isnt sure officials will think same

@PalawOne Thats an amazing project and property. Price seems ok,  my retirement in the future in a home like this.. Best of luck and best wishes to you and family.

@coach53 wow yes, just have to convince wife. she wants the security and amenities of a subdivision. I also dont want to be close to chicken farm etc but like the idea. If she was in Ilocos she would be open to it, but I dont want to live too close to relatives plus its also very hot

Thats an amazing project and property. Price seems ok,  my retirement in the future in a home like this.. Best of luck and best wishes to you and family .. forgot to ask, ive seen a lot of adverts for new build properties with a price, but been advised that the land price is extra! Why do they not include the whole price with the breakdown, also @PalawOnw are you having to pay for the land seperate? Thanks again.  - @bimprasad

Excellent post and thanks! I've been thinking of building also. since we want a decent garden and so many houses built in subdivisions have tiny or non-existent gardens, we were looking at building. Great website, didn't know they also provide building services too. I wonder if those designs are set or can be customized ie bigger rooms. Let us all know how your home building goes. Watched a lot of My PI dream which was quite informative. - @Filamretire

And also we will make sure to update this excellent Expat.com Forum with news regarding this project longer term. We will also catch up with My PI Dream .. thanks

@coach53 wow yes, just have to convince wife. she wants the security and amenities of a subdivision. I also dont want to be close to chicken farm etc but like the idea. If she was in Ilocos she would be open to it, but I dont want to live too close to relatives plus its also very hot

- @Filamretire

Many BELIEVE subdivisions are safe just by being a subdivision!   

While in "my" municipaly at south Palawan an American living rural in south part close to NPA say its the safest place he has ever lived...   

At the north half of "his" municipaly (=where my businesses are rural) I have only heared of some drunk needed some "guidance" at a fiesta and some hostility but no physical fights about two land disputes, all between Filipinos. At one of the land disputes the failing acted some hostile holding a bolo (=similar to machete) but he run and hide  and havent been hostile since after the other told the village "poiliceman".

we do own the land for this project already, and are now planning to value-add to the asset by offering potential buyers a complete package of house and land. We don't know why others as you say apparently don't often offer such a house and land package as this- @PalawOne

Oh I missunderstood earlier - I didnt read proper when I thought you were "just" building for yourself -  I believe you have a good idea prioviding such packages

We're building a small home in the province right now - 64sm not incl balcony. On a down sloping view lot. One level, roughly 6 x 10m with a kickout for the master CR, and a modern but simple roof. Two bedrooms, one on each side, separated by kitchen and living area in the middle. The long side faces a canyon, with 180 deg views from the ocean to the mountains, including from each bedroom. I have always appreciated a good view.

I drew up the plans and the builder/engineer revised slightly and put them into drafting form for the permits.  It is a moderately steep lot, required digging into the hill, and a large rip-rap retaining wall, and the main columns go deep.  We check on it weekly and they are doing a good job. Local builder with good reputation and two other homes nearby, both survived Odette with nary a problem. Finished cost will be about 1.2m.

There is some gorgeous land available in the mountains.   - @pnwcyclist

1. Build with outdoors in mind - as an Aussie you'd appreciate this I think. Some of our province neighbors have lovely homes that would be suitable for northern Europe - with small windows, compartmented rooms, nice plaster freezing etc, even karaoke lights in the ceiling, very colourful walls - but with few outdoor living spaces they're sitting inside hot-boxes watching large TVs, and powering through the electricity with aircon on.

2. Build with passive cooling in mind - our roof is high and well insulated. We put a storage space in the roof -  the weight-bearing hardboard above ceiling adds to the insulation. The roof also has heat release vents.

Large, dark-tinted jalousie windows can open and let the breeze through the house,  and close sufficiently to block the afternoon sunlight. (we don't have insect screens yet although need them one day when we move permanently).

3. Build for typhoons and extreme weather. Apparently Philippines has a history of more natural disasters than any other country. Large overhanging awnings can catch the wind in a typhoon and blow away, so avoid them. The house should be built on a firm foundation or rock base, elevated above flood level, and flat slab (as opposed to on-stilts) .You don't want typhoon under the house.

Use double the screws (not nails) for roof sheeting. Thick-gauge colorbond. Windows ideally designed so can be easily covered with boards, and I've seen a neat design where security grills can double as a wind-board brackets. We don't have those yet.

Yes. When we are building soon, we are thinking of perhaps trying to make window shutters (of wood) openable at different levels UPWARDS, only openable from inside, so they would become expensive/ugly    If so they can both function as:

4. Build for large numbers of relatives - if you have a Filipina wife she's likely to have a lot of lovely relatives and friends. Again. big verandas are great! We've had dozens visit for meals and they happily sat around the on the concrete post railing top (if i've explained that right). The only thing is, I wish I'd incorporated into the design another toilet on the veranda. Then no one needs to enter the house.

5. Build for longevity. I know that's obvious. This means possibly more cost, unfortunately in an increasingly expensive materials market. When our first place was built we didn't track things like lights and bathroom fittings, so some of the fittings fell apart or weren't functional, and one of the builders skimped on the concrete mixture. Use "river sand" in the concrete, keep check of the cement ratios, and use thick-as-possible rebar. This time around we sourced and trucked these materials ourselves. (I understand you have a detailed list of specs, so you're likely covered by the contract with a quality builder).  International sockets on every wall, that fit whatever appliance you've got without mucking around with adaptors.

and the common is building with NOT dried wood, so they will shrink. A house built for a foreigner was built with such so it became big gaps in the walls when they dried, so he didnt want it anymore inspite of a fantastic view, and tried to sell it, I suppouse with loss 

Just reading through this... wasn't succinct at all. Hopefully something in here is useful. Watching to see how you get on. Regards.

- @gsturdee

Why???

I find your post very good written

while some stupids think subjects needing long answers need to be max a few lines anyway!!!

Along with the other really good suggestions, here's my 2 cents worth. I've built 3 houses in the Philippines over time, with just my rather simple designs, and an on-site engineer for construction guidance, and a trusted relative sourcing the building materials. We're very happy with this last place, having just spent a month there on vacation (so that's why I've been off-line)....

Build with outdoors in mind - Some of our province neighbors have lovely homes .. but with few outdoor living spaces they're sitting inside hot-boxes watching large TVs, and powering through the electricity with aircon on.

We have a farm and want to see it, so have two huge verandas, one side and front so can move depending on sunshine and breeze. Inside the house we designed open-plan living, with cool tiles on floor throughout. Even though we have an inside kitchen, we prefer to cook and entertain on the verandas .. Even when it's pouring rain, it's dry and comfortable, and really nice to watch from a deck chair with a beer.

- @gsturdee

@gsturdee Excellent advice! Sounds like paradise, I have the same thoughts about outdoor space, the importance of drainage and good materials

@coach53 Good points about having a false sense of security in a subdivision. The more I think, the more I want to be less confined by living in one, but in a Barangay somewhere with good views of mountains etc

Looks very liveable!  The ensuite is a must, and I'm presuming the main living area will be facing that awesome view.  - @gsturdee

Cheers always fella

`An amazing post as usual, old mate gsturdee!  The information you provide here I'm quite sure will be absolute gold for every house-builder member for years to come. All one can say is many many thanks mate.

As for us, I will just say we agree with all of your ideas completely. As just one example of how closely our respective thoughts align 100% here is the floor plan of the house we exampled at the start of this thread.

Am sure you will like this floor plan. It seems to agree 98% with all you say above, except we agree it really needs much larger covered verandas .. instead of the porch and terrace :-)

- @PalawOne

Same as I have thought all the time too        making all other reached from kitchen or sala.  I have made so in all my drafts, including some DOME house floor plan brainstorming for myself customiced to what I would want to have in a house if building such. ((Except in one of the biger "dream house"  drafts I made a short hallway to reach a CR and one more room, because kitchen and sala got short of space for more doors        Including work from home office space reached like that too,, although since a bunch of years I have had "summer office" outdoor at veranda, when its nice weather including a shelf there with things I need often as paper, pen, stationary phone line extension, something to drink and some "to do things" not in a hurry. But laptop and icecream I bring each time I move there!     My veranda dont have long view but its nice nature and often come wild animals visiting, sometimes just a few meters from my feet even  normalt scared "meat animals"!  I suppouse they feel no hunting allowed at my land - except such as mice and mosquitos   

while I have deals with spiders and ants    I let them be and I even feed ants outside if they are short of food, and they keep flies respectivly snakes away and they follow the deal not being to close to where I lay or sit -except when my mother visit and clear still in use spiderwebs, then the spiders protests some to me by walking closer 

@coach53 Good points about having a false sense of security in a subdivision. The more I think, the more I want to be less confined by living in one, but in a Barangay somewhere with good views of mountains etc

- @Filamretire

A problem can be finding calm places WITH good road and electricity grid access, but there are such too. Some very cheap e g 150k pesos per hectare lands in nice nature and far between neighbours in Aborlan, Palawan, Perhaps sold now but some have hard to sell such perfect places!!! It was my favorite before I chosed an other good place suiting better for my businesses.  This in Aborlan is between mountain and along a concreete road leading to "nowhere" and the electric line ends without even a customer where it ends!!!   

I GUESS it depend of interupted plans to connect to a now closed mine. it seem Aborlan have changed policy to being against mines of environment reasons.  OR perhaps someone with power wanted to raise value to his own land there  by adding electricity and good road