Another talented craftsman here in the province

[Queenie O.]

This week Elizardo, a local carpenter, fashioned us a new bench of his own design out of a heavy duty locally grown bamboo that grows wild nearby. Great craftsmanship and very comfortable too!  It's always amazing to me what a talented person here can sometimes make with their hands and simple tools.  We;ll get it out into the garden soon.

Edited July 28, 2018 by Queenie O.

[marine6357]

Wow Queenie that looks very nice. A woman who I have been chatting with from near CDO sent me a picture of some bamboo furniture she recently had made. Looks similar to that. 

It is amazing what some of these craftsmen can do with limited tools and natural products. She told me it cost a little under 5000 pesos for the whole set. labor and materials. 

Edited July 28, 2018 by marine6357

[GeoffH]

Very nice, we've been looking for bamboo seats for the 2nd floor balcony but nothing we've seen has been as well finished as either of those.

[Jake]

5 hours ago, Queenie O. said:

This week Elizardo, a local carpenter, fashioned us a new bench of his own design out of a heavy duty locally grown bamboo that grows wild nearby. 

Hello Miss Queenie,

Awesome craftsmanship!  I always prefer bamboo/rattan furniture.  It's much lighter to move around when the boss wants to re-arrange the living room again.....he, he.

As you may know, the local termites can have a feast on some juicy bamboo.  What is your advice to prevent complete collapse of a critical load bearing furniture, like a bamboo toilet......he, he.  

[Queenie O.]

2 hours ago, marine6357 said:

Wow Queenie that looks very nice. A woman who I have been chatting with from near CDO sent me a picture of some bamboo furniture she recently had made. Looks similar to that. 

It is amazing what some of these craftsmen can do with limited tools and natural products. She told me it cost a little under 5000 pesos for the whole set. labor and materials. 

Nice set Marine!  That furniture looks really nice and comfortable too. The carpenter said that this heavy duty bamboo is solid in some places, so it should last outside quite a long time.  For this one pictured in my post,  Elizardo charged us  2,300 pesos, or a little over 40 US  dollars, including materials. 

Not to say that all carpenters are talented. We've experienced through trial and error who does the best work, and listening to word of mouth of other folks who recommend certain craftsmen who have done great work in the past. I think we'll have him make another one to place in another part of the yard.

We have to have it mounted on a small support of cement, because on this rocky limestone land, it's hard to find a level piece of ground to set it down on.

[Queenie O.]

26 minutes ago, Jake said:

Hello Miss Queenie,

Awesome craftsmanship!  I always prefer bamboo/rattan furniture.  It's much lighter to move around when the boss wants to re-arrange the living room again.....he, he.

As you may know, the local termites can have a feast on some juicy bamboo.  What is your advice to prevent complete collapse of a critical load bearing furniture, like a bamboo toilet......he, he.  

Thanks! It's true Jake--not all bamboo is equal and even with Solignum  to treat against termite ants, it can break down and powder up and even collapse over time!. We had originally planned to have him build a bench out of some old purchased tugas/molave wood that had been stacked under a neighbors house for a long time. Our carpenter said that in our seaside environment, the bench would break down quickly even with this quality and durable wood.  We have a bahay kubo/cottage built out of coco lumber and bamboo with a cogon grass roof down below by the water. My husband coats it every 4 months or so with plastic varnish and so far it has preserved it well.

Alas,  as we all know, in the tropics nothing out in the elements will last forever.

[TequilaSunset]

My GF has a cousin who is in Dumaguete and makes beautiful resin wicker furniture. True it might not be as pretty as the real stuff or bamboo, but no termite has ever choked down a resin meal 

[Mike J]

15 hours ago, Queenie O. said:

My husband coats it every 4 months or so with plastic varnish and so far it has preserved it well.

We also live by the ocean and have found a  product that lasts a lot longer than plastic varnish.  It is called "Hudson Top Coat" made by Boysen.  It is a two part polyurethane that is used primarily for wood floors.  The fumes are REALLY strong so use lots of ventilation if you decide to try it.  This is what I use when I build cabinets, furniture, etc after first treating them with solignum.  Has a very smooth and shiny finish, but you can turn it satin by using 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper keeping the surface and the paper wet while sanding.

[Queenie O.]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

We also live by the ocean and have found a  product that lasts a lot longer than plastic varnish.  It is called "Hudson Top Coat" made by Boysen.  It is a two part polyurethane that is used primarily for wood floors.  The fumes are REALLY strong so use lots of ventilation if you decide to try it.  This is what I use when I build cabinets, furniture, etc after first treating them with solignum.  Has a very smooth and shiny finish, but you can turn it satin by using 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper keeping the surface and the paper wet while sanding.

Gee thanks Mike--I'll let my husband know about it. Good for the cottage and the new bench too!

[GeoffH]

We found a locally made bamboo furniture set, I’m not sure it’s as nice as the ones earlier in the topic but it’s solid enough to hold my weight without flexing and it fits on our L shaped 2nd floor balcony ok which is the main thing.

 

Thank you for the idea Queenie O. :)