Building a Home in Davao

[Tommy T.]

I am very pleased to report that the construction continues with hardly a hiccup. I really am surprised considering that everything is supposedly locked down. But the home site is in a rather rural area and the workers simply stay onsite 24/7 now. The foreman goes out at times and the contractor somehow brings in supplies - I have no idea the source (what's open?) - but they keep on keepin' on...

Hmmm... Well, there are a some hiccups... There have been a few since we have not been willing or able to leave home to go out and inspect. We just want to stay safe. However, the foreman sent us a bunch of photos yesterday showing progress including some important details. So we have  been able to see and understand what's going on at an early stage and things can be corrected before they go to far to fix.

The stairs are apparently a bit wobbly. We are working at getting to the bottom of this. Just looking at the underneath step horizontal supports from below, the angle bars seem to not be long enough. We are discussing having them experiment with longer and thicker angle bars there and possibly adding thick steel plates that may cover more area underneath. There will be a fix, since welding and steel are so available here.

There is a large awning beginning to take shape over the master bedroom terrace (upper left). The other two photos show the skeleton for the roof over the ground floor CR, laundry area and dirty kitchen (dirty kitchen shown lower left).

The dirty kitchen as seen from the back door.

The master bedroom door to the left and entrance to en suite to the right, in the left photo. In the right hand photo, the en suite on the left and window with air/con overhead in master bedroom. Note, too, the ceiling is done and ready for ceiling fan....some day...

The small wet bar (still not quite done) is located outside the "library" and adjacent to the door to the small back-facing terrace.

The living room showing where the sliding glass door will be on the left and the outlets for cable, internet (when available) and power for the TV and stereo.

Plumbing is prepared for the kitchen sink.

The front door on the left. The front doorway on the right. Another glitch is that the window was supposed to be even with the top of the door. The contractor was using dimensions from the bottom (which we had raised up from near floor level) and forgot to level the top with the door... ooops. This configuration just doesn't look right. Plus, we decided the window is too wide so we will have them reduce it to be perhaps 1/3 the width of the door. A bit of a hassle, but relatively easy fix.

They just started to install the angle steel on the fence. Fortunately, L noticed right away that they have it in contact with the cement on the wall - no, no ,no! It will not drain, would encourage rust, would be impossible to paint and difficult to clean. Easy to fix this first part and then continue the remainder properly. Good catch L!!!

And, finally, every good fence post needs a hat to keep off the rain and sun...

Edited April 15, 2020 by Tommy T.

[GeoffH]

The staircase in our house has the metal reinforcement bars welded to the hand rail frame and running all the way across the wooden tread to the other side where they're welded to the vertical support bar.  Even with that the top one has always had a tiny bit of movement (I think the metal bar might be a small amount out of line).

I agree with your suggestion to extend the bars underneath because if people step on the outer edges of the board the way it is then there will be a levering force upwards on the fastenings on the other side of the center bar. 

[Tommy T.]

1 minute ago, GeoffH said:

I agree with your suggestion to extend the bars underneath because if people step on the outer edges of the board the way it is then there will be a levering force upwards on the fastenings on the other side of the center bar. 

And I am always open to any suggestions offered by you or anyone on the forum. I have learned a lot about construction in general and Filipino construction in particular.

The foreman's idea of a "fix" was to attach two flat bars on each side of each step, front and back. No, no, no! I did not even want to show it here because it is soooo ugly. It's the first and only time he did something we really hated - but I give him credit for trying to address the problem. We still aren't sure which way the steps wobble - left to right, front to back or both? So that is our first, ahem, step to finding a cure - pun intended.

Ah... so then let me ask you this since you are quite knowledgeable... If we were to have them affix a steel plate to the vertical support and the angle steel already there and extend it to within, say 5 cm of each edge, with the goal of eliminating wobble in all directions, how thick do you think that would need to be? I am thinking 3/16" minimum (we're not talking a huge area or lever stress) but maybe 1/4". Any ideas? We will experiment and even the thicker one will hardly be noticeable if painted black or dark brown. But I would prefer to try what is likely the best solution first...

[GeoffH]

33 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Ah... so then let me ask you this since you are quite knowledgeable... If we were to have them affix a steel plate to the vertical support and the angle steel already there and extend it to within, say 5 cm of each edge, with the goal of eliminating wobble in all directions, how thick do you think that would need to be? I am thinking 3/16" minimum (we're not talking a huge area or lever stress) but maybe 1/4". Any ideas? 

I would not say I'm knowledgeable about building, far from it I think and I honestly don''t know how thick it should be.

FYI our steps use painted 1/2 inch (about that?) square bar at the front and back of the step rather than a plate and  solid hardwood steps.

I think the intent was to stop both forward/backwards and sideways movement and it seems to work (except for that mildly annoying slightly out of square top step).

Plate would work also I'd guess that 3/6th" would be ok but I'm more comfortable with 1/4' would for what that's worth if you're not going to cover the majority of the underneath of the steps.  Steel is strong in extension and compression but less so in bending.

Edited April 15, 2020 by GeoffH

[Tommy T.]

8 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

FYI our steps use painted 1/2 inch (about that?) square bar at the front and back of the step rather than a plate and  solid hardwood steps.

 

If it is not too inconvenient, Geoff, could you show me a photo or two of that, if you have any, and post it here or PM? I am having a bit of difficulty visualizing how your steps are installed and supported. I understand the square bar, but how is that attached to the framework? I would really like to see what your solution looks like. Our steps are nara as are two of the doors. As you can see in our photos, ours are supported mainly by the heavy beam with U shaped steel for the vertical support...

[GeoffH]

I will ask SWMBO to take a photo from underneath the steps and will message you but I'm not sure how much help it will be to you because our staircase is a spiral and yours uses straight flights.  

[Tommy T.]

16 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

I will ask SWMBO to take a photo from underneath the steps and will message you but I'm not sure how much help it will be to you because our staircase is a spiral and yours uses straight flights.  

I see... Well, it may still give me an idea. I'll owe you a six pack of San Mig Light if you ever visit...

Edited April 15, 2020 by Tommy T.

[hk blues]

Not sure Tom, but it looks like there is a handrail at one side only on only one section.  Is it the plan to have handrails both sides?  If so, surely that will provide stability?

[Tommy T.]

48 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Not sure Tom, but it looks like there is a handrail at one side only on only one section.  Is it the plan to have handrails both sides?  If so, surely that will provide stability?

Yes. there will be handrails on both sides. We don't know the full story about any wobbles since we have not been out to the site for several weeks. L will be talking with the foreman on the phone at length tomorrow to learn more. But just looking at the photos and my remembrance from the last visit tell me the supports need more support. Also, the handrail you see in those photos is just temporary, I believe. I am sure you are correct, that no matter what we do, the proper rails on both sides should help steady everything up even better.

Thanks for your input!

Edited April 15, 2020 by Tommy T.

[RBM]

13 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Yes. there will be handrails on both sides. We don't know the full story about any wobbles since we have not been out to the site for several weeks. L will be talking with the foreman on the phone at length tomorrow to learn more. But just looking at the photos and my remembrance from the last visit tell me the supports need more support. Also, the handrail you see in those photos is just temporary, I believe. I am sure you are correct, that no matter what we do, the proper rails on both sides should help steady everything up even better.

Thanks for your input!

What ever you decide Tommy please ensure the plates are well cleaned and for me i would use epoxy paint on them, spend a little more at onset so no repeats.