Home construction

Hi fellow loopers,

My wife and I are contemplating on a project, our dream house. We already have a building Plan, a residential for a 2 storey house with roof deck. This is our first time to engage in such a project. We research on the web, talked to some contractors too to get another point of view. Pa share naman ng ideas on the following subjects if you have:

1. We are getting "Labor Only" from the contractor on the structural part of the construction. 45% of Bill-of-Material is the labor cost. This includes only the concrete structure of the house.

2. Electrical, Plumbing, Painting, Roofing and trusses are sub-contracted, therefore hindi kasama sa 45% na labor above.

3. The lot, which is 150sqm, may existing bahay na, so our contractor will be billing us another 25K for the demolition.

4. On finishing, labor will be paid on a "daily" basis. This I find fair, since some finishing materials are horrifically expensive, hindi pwede mag porsyento ang contractor. This I think is a good deal. (maybe).

So all materials from start to finish eh kami ang mag manage at makikipag deal sa mga hardwares.

I would greatly appreciate your inputs or if you could share your experience.


Thank you in advance

@yoogix:

Good timing sir. Mababa ang presyo ng construction materials paglampas ng summer.
I suggest na kumuha ng at least 3 quotations from different suppliers to get the lowest price. Then, maghabulan sila ng pinaka mababang presyo which should include delivery. Just be a little more meticulous with the brands being quoted. Example, may mga quick drying cement na medyo mahal ng konti (Holcim, for example) pero quick drying naman.
Retain the materials from the demolished house. Pwedeng gamitin as filling materials ang concrete and frame sa buhos ng columns ang kahoy.
Payment of labor on daily basis is okay kung may taga bantay ka. Kung wala, haggle ka na lang sa percentage. Hindi na kasi masyadong labor intensive ang finishing. Kung may tiles, mag "per piece" ka na rin lang kung walang taga bantay.
Sa roofdeck, may I suggest na ipa water proof. Madalas kasi ang ground movement dito sa Pinas. Earthquakes happen without us noticing. These may affect the integrity of the roofdeck and may result to water seeping into the concrete.
Kung kaya ng budget, go for hardiflex, not plywood, for ceilings. More durable and fireproof.

sir yung sa demolition part, there r contractors who would demolish your old house for you and you'll be the one who will be paid for. Yes sir! you read it right, Para dun sa materiyales na makukuha nila sa old house, just tell them the items that you want to keep for sentimental and for other uses like yung mga yero na pwedeng gawing bakod during construction, yung mga magagandand wood like narra, mahogany that can be use in ur garden etc. After mo makuha yun sir, they'll even pay for at least P20k to P30k for ur old materials base po yun dun sa size ng property wh is 150sq mtr. Na experience ko po yan and I was surprised. Pag natapos po nila yun demolition, dapat clean and ready for construction na.

Sir be prepared for the long ordeal na gagawin nyo, mahirap po talaga yan lalu na pag kayo ang magdeadeal sa purchasing ng materials, sana sa mga finishing materials na lang wag na yun mga technical materials kasi minsan mas may discount yun mga contractor sa mga supplier ng mga materials,and may experience /knowledge sa mga materyales na yun, basta kailangan lagi lang may resibo. Another thing sir eh yung mga technical specs ng mga materials unless na may full knowledge or engineer po kayo on most of fields. Pag nagkamali ng bile sa materiales added cost po yon on labor and materials. Masakit po sa ulo talaga yan dahil kakatapos ko lang din po mag pa construct. Every small revision will entail delay and added cost, kaya sa plano pa lang detalyado na po dapat lahat. Good luck po sir and congrats in advance.

yung sa roofdeck sir, madalas na problema ang waterproofing dahil sa weather natin laging tag ulan kaya napaka importante na magaling at maayos yung gagawa nito. Every 5 years dapat I check/strenghten. Suggestion ko lang sir na lagyan ng bubong yun some portion ng deck like yun sa amin 3/4 ng roofdeck ay may bubong yung 1/4 na open may trellis naman for our small garden sa deck, enclose yun 3 side pero open pa din yun isang side meron lang akong rollup door na sinasara pag umuulan para may protection yung roofdeck and mas ma uutilize po nyo.

Sir nag PM po ako sa inyo.

@chualie, nice info yan sir ha....

@yoogix, from our experience (although expansion lang) mas maganda kung tutok kayo ni misis sa construction. do not depend sa mga foreman and contractors. madalas me palpak or hocus pocus sa materyales..

sir contribute ko lang that window grills are commonly recycled from your old house. not just to save cost but old steel are definitely better (masmakapal) than what your contractor can give you. look for solid wood as well and ask your carpintero to convert it to a nice furniture. goodluck!

Since sa inyo materyales, ingat din sa bantay salakay. Baka maglakad mga construction materials lumipat sa kabilang lote he he.

Good day sir. We (wife and I) built our house last 2009 and lipat kami january 2010. May I suggest sir that before any construction is undertaken, arrange for the soil to be treated against termites. The money you will spend for termite protection would be worth it in the long run. We failed to consider termite-proofing the soil before we had the house built. We are paying for it now since nakapasok na mga anay sa ground floor through the main door and the wooden cabinets sa kitchen.

As to the labor cost sir, it was 40% of the total contract price, as explained by our engineer. Hope this helps.

Friend better to get an architect or civil engineer to watch over the construction. Remember bahay mo yan and better safe than blame urself later.

Sir,

I also have the same experience in building our house.. base on the total expenses, the labor cost is around 25 - 30% of the total material cost.. also, we have an open roof deck and as other loopers said, pina water proofing namin, but now am planning to have a roofing on some portion as i started to notice some cracks on some portion na for sure will results sa seeping ng ulan sooner.. the problem is due to exposure sa araw, then biglang uulan, and also due to mild earthquake na nangyari last few months.. earthquake prone area kasi ang manila..

in our case, kami lahat nag purchase ng mga materials which based on the specs as provided by the architect naman. Labor cost and manpower is on a daily basis, just we hired some one who managed the construction and the architects pays a visit to ensure that construction is accordance to the design and materials are properly accounted and scheduled. In preparing the plan, We a hire the services of an architect and a structural engineer, for the electrical i just do it my self. Maybe it sound overkill to hire an structural engr but i think it is important para medyo ma ensure natin yung integrity ng structure ng house natin..earthquake prone area tayo sa manila kasi..and sa amin malapit kami sa marikina fault line ( 4 - 5 km). and the structural engr will design the house based on soil condition at proximity ng structure sa mga faultline dito sa atin. with his design, we can avoid an over kill foundation or sobra or kulang sa sukat na mga steel materials and volume ng concrete or foundation slabs size.


sa materials, we able to managed to get good discount as we asked some hardware/construction suppliers to give us their best price as we told them the volume of materials na kukunin namin sa kanila in case na sa magbigay sila ng best price..we did try to ask around 4 -5 hardwares sa area namin.. medyo matrabaho lang talaga, but it wort narin kasi you experience huggling discount with different suppliers and matutuwa ka pag binigyan ka na nila special price base on volumes.. important also is the scheduling ng pag purchased ng mga materials..this will avoid work stoppage and material spoilage or missing materials..

so far, natapos yun house namin in just 7 months ( march - sep 2009) and then finishing of interior/exterior another 2 mos.. for the total duration ng construction we maintained around 10 - 15 workers,, maximum of 30 during concrete pouring..we just hired some tambay para tumulong sa concrete pouring ng second flr and roof deck.


just make sure yung important part ng house nyo, structural soundness.. yung soil treatment, water pressure test ng mga embedded water pipe before concrete pouring, water proofing ng wall and roof top, CR flooring, electrical wiring n circuiting.. better to ensure those thing na maayus na nagawa kesa later on mag ka problema, mas malaki ang gastos and perwisyo.

Start with a well prepared plans ( it will also be required sa permitting sa city hall), then accurate bill of materials with specifications and cost , then hire a good foreman, or ask the service of an architect or engr, to check and supervise the project. when it comes to worker, be fair in trearting them, but also be firm and strong..pag sa tingin mo na di maganda performance, pwde sya ilipat muna sa ibang trabaho or pag di parin uubra worse is palitan mo na..yung presence nyo at site is important din..

Hope maging very succesful din and dream house project nyo sir.. theres a different feeling and sentimental values pag ikaw mismo ang nagpalakad ng pag tatayo ng dream house mo.. Good luck sir..

Mga sirs, thank you very much sa mga inputs. I appreciate it. Very informative. So far nagpapa bid kami sa iba pang contractors and will compare. Plus we will be hiring (kamag-anak) na ang trabaho lang is magbantay everyday sa construction para maiwasan ang hocus-focus sa materials and maiwasan ang petiks