Building a House in The Philippines

Sorry all. I have another topic that I cannot place in an appropriate place.
Sorry to be a pain.

Anyways, the guy who created the website I'm showing here is an Ex-Pat Brit called Colin. He has designed and specified the whole project himself. Where needed he taken advice and changed his specification.
He has a massive amount of very detailed data and good info about design, materials, specifications and approvals/permits. (although you may need to contact him as he posts on another forum) His build is rather interesting and does not follow the 'usual' Philippine build specification.
I think it will prove to be a huge succcess for him, and I do wish him a great life in his new home. He has done an extensive amount of interest, especially in areas of insulation and cooling, and has received an extensive amount of input and advice.

For anyone who is interested in undertaking their own home build I think you'll like this.
If you do need the detail contact to Colin. You'll get the detail.

http://thephilippinejournal.wetpaint.com/page/Where+we+live

I doubt the processes and useful hints and tips he has will ever be outdated.
He really learnt such a lot. Plenty of people advised him, some advice he heeded and some he did not.
Just for example, he was convinced he would not be plagued by scammers, cheats, stealing etc. He was proved to be very wrong.

I noticed he just did a little update and revamp.

Thats some useful information thanks Micawber, good points in the article regarding the insulation and how it varies from the typical Phill building which just acts like a huge storage heater heating up during the day and then cooling off during the night.
I have only had a quick skim though but would be intrested on how he dealt with Electics in the house. The typical wiring of a Phill house has been left amazed more care is not taken considering how many house fires in Phill i have knowledge of seem to be blamed on the Electics!!

Hi globe, very nice to hear from you.
You are totally spot on, the electrics in Phils can be such a nightmare and a real danger. If you are building your own house you can control the installation, (if you know some electrics).
If you are renting. or if buying extisting build you need to take some actions to avoid the possibility of shorts and of fires.
I'm not any kind of electrical engineer, only mechanical.
Electrics cannot be seen. So here in UK I tend to leave to the experts. When I eventally move to Phils I will take plenty of adapters and devices etc to keep me safe.

For me it would make sense to bulid to British Standards which are known Internationally as OTT. As you say adaptors can be used.

I could not belive that sockets were cemented in place with no way of removing to update few have on off switches there is no earth!!

But if the heat in the Summer fans, Fridges and AC running 24/7 the huge increse in Electical devices and gadgets entering the typical Phill house hold.

I always compared Phill to say the 50 60's possibly earlier in the Uk where electrical gadgets are minimal. As many know in the Uk if Wiring is of a certain age even if the insulation still ok it often needed replacing simply due to the loads being used!!

Also I have noticed the thin bell wire seems to heat up meaning Electical power is being wasted and of course generating more heat which is the last thing you need in Phill!!

Its all about "cheap" thin wire is cheap better to be short and splice to length than a bit over and waste wire lol

If I was going to do this and im not I would ship over uk sockets and buy supervise the wire instalation in fact if your not prepared to be there every hour of the build you will find a lot of retro work being done BanaBana is the local way and they arnt going to change without constant supervision most "trades men dont have tools beyond a rusty saw and trowel if you supply tools they may well get abused drainage having to flow uphill is another interesting obstacle to be aware of no window /door lintels and loose fill lol

On the other hand the house im renting could be built for about 400k piso 90 sq mts and should outlast most of us lol and you will never be short of little jobs to do

electrical materail and importation of them

the importation of wiring and other plastic material from a northern country is not advisable.
mainly due to the fact, that the insulating parts are of a different consistence.
in a tropical country temperatures and humidity are higher and frost is not to be expected.
the same applies to switches and other stuff like sockets.
of course there are multigrade materials available, but they are expensive.
it really is better and much cheaper to buy cable and sockets/switches here. they are also imported, but suitable for the tropics. (Mine are Australian for example, which has extreme climates also)
mostly stuff is from china, as in our countries also, it depends on the supplier whether they are good or not.
now good electricians use good wires and they can last a good 30 years too. Since they run in plastic tubes in the wall, replacing them isn't really a problem either. or upgrading if needed !
its in the building code, so anybody facing cemented wires, has build illegal. now this wires should be protected by circuit breakers, also standard building code. whats on the end of those wires, isn't really important by the way...one can choose between a multitude of sockets, i have US/American hybrid ones, which eat almost any plug.
sockets and switches are easily replaced by an amateur in minutes, i have done that a few times due to the problem with ANTS causing shortages. somehow those critters love electrics and try to settle in the switches and my microwave too ! Not in the heating chamber, but in the magnetron which leads to a festival of sparks every tie you switch it on. Till it perishes after a few years. But its a cheap one, 30 quid.
ground for high power electrical appliances ? I got a full stainless commercial dishwasher and simply ran a wire from the chassis to the steel pipes under the sink. On my amplifier ran a cable to a nail in the floor. (because it was making this humming sound all the time) worked great.
anyway, most appliances today have plastic houses, And the ground is merely to protect the consumer from getting a shock.
What i would suggest strongly are those overload protected extension cords for your PC and other electronics, as the power after a blackout usually returns with a bit higher voltage and that is actually what kills the machines.
Now one could build something like an overload protector inside the main fuse box,(As they have in generators) but its fairly expensive and also can break.
Filipinos switch off the main breaker when having a blackout and turn it on when the power returns.
I never bothered with anything except those overload fused extension cords and to be honest, in 13 years i only had to push in the fuse buttons twice. I work since 5 years without an overload protector or any voltage regulator or UPS with my PC's, and the damages were nil.
Sometimes people are just too dramatic...and the experts are usually trying to sell something.

electrics are just like plumbing, not a big deal, they just make a mystery out of it. However, a good advise is to buy higher grade cable then suggested, they have the US standards here, so it may be a bit confusing with the numbering at first. Buy thick wires, the money is well invested. Sockets and other stuff oud be brought from the UK, but then you cant fit any of your new appliances in them.
i had this problem before i bought a house and ended up cutting all off and install those flimsy US types on each. funny also, that when you buy appliances here, they often come with an European plug. indicating that they slowly changing, as can be seen on most sockets sold, they are US/Europe hybrids. but don't be overly concerned about fires and all that. It mainly happens in low grade nippahut buildings or squatter areas and you do not want to see what they install there. Anyhow, if you build, the electricians is certified by the town or electric company and knows his job. And don't want to loose it either. it is not as bad as people think it is. Different in finished subdivison housing sometimes, where corruption and other profit oriented problems play a role. but individual housing ? I never seen real bad ones. But you have to have a trusted contractor or foreman to overview the building process. just lie back home..

it will be. i build my house 6 years ago for about 10.000 UK, now it would cost double at least, mainly for the materials. Labor hasn't risen much. (I considered the exchange rate now and then already)