Building a Home in Davao

[Tommy T.]

24 minutes ago, RBM said:

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.

 

That sounds like a good suggestion, RBM. L will be talking with the foreman soon this morning. I will add that thought to her conversation list. Thanks!

Edit: I just now passed that idea on to L and she made a note to discuss that with the foreman shortly.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

On 4/15/2020 at 2:43 PM, GeoffH said:

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. 

Well... after a long conversation with the foreman yesterday, L learned some things and shared them with me.

Apparently, the flexing is totally the wood only. The centers of the steps are solid as are the vertical and horizontal supports, but the outer edges of the wood flexes and feels a bit bouncy when tread upon. So the probable fix will be to attach extra, robust, angle bar out to near the edges and also from the edges toward the front of the steps. He will, at least try that on a step to see how it goes. He will also consult with one of the contractors who is a civil engineer. It's up to them to decide and work it out in the end so we don't end up on the hook for "suggesting" any ideas that don't work and that might require further fixing... But we have a good relationship with them and they will float their ideas past us - mainly for aesthetics - before doing something questionable.

On 4/15/2020 at 7:17 PM, 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?

The handrails will only be attached to maybe two or three steps on each side rather than to each step, so your idea will at least help on those steps. Also, when thinking about the wood flexing along the sides? Well generally we don't walk along the sides anyway however, we still want that fixed so there is little or no flexing.

23 hours ago, RBM said:

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.

 

L passed this on to the foreman who told her - oh...it is expensive. To which she replied - yes, we know, but we want this done right. She also insisted they clean the steel before coating and learned that they do have wire wheels to use in their side cutter machines. We reckon maybe a couple of gallons more or less to coat railings and stair supports, including the main support rails - or "backbones" as somebody called them. I don't mind paying for that and a lot of piece of mind and long term savings in cost and hassle.

Thanks again, Boys, for your suggestions and ideas. Any time any of you visits, the SML and Tanduay are on me and I'll cook you my killer bacon cheeseburgers. I call them killers because of all the fats and cholesterol as well as they taste good!!!!

[hk blues]

Whilst it's true that flexing along the edges is not such a big deal in the short term, in time this flexing will likely begin to spread and weaken joints, fixings etc etc.  I'd certainly suggest you do continue to work on getting it fixed now. 

[intrepid]

I think I would be inclined to weld a piece of 1/4" plate steel about 3" smaller than the steps.  Using a construction adhesive to avoid squeaking sounds and small lags from the underside.  If the railings are in need of an extra support, one of the plates could extend enough past the wood tread for that extra support.

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, intrepid said:

I think I would be inclined to weld a piece of 1/4" plate steel about 3" smaller than the steps.  Using a construction adhesive to avoid squeaking sounds and small lags from the underside.  If the railings are in need of an extra support, one of the plates could extend enough past the wood tread for that extra support.

Sounds like a good idea - and similar to one I had before about using the steel plate. Thanks!

We suggested something like that (without the construction adhesive part) as a possible fix. As I posted earlier, we have to let the contractor decide what to do otherwise, if we tell them to do the fix in a particular way and it doesn't quite do it, then we will likely get nicked for further repairs. L also advises me that this would be a very expensive fix.

Even if we go along with the angle bar route, however, I really like the idea of construction adhesive. And I would go one step further even and will suggest it as an "idea"... I thing the lag screws or whatever fasteners they use should also be epoxied in place to minimize or prevent backing out over time - sort of like using LocTite on machine screws and nuts and bolts...

And I agree that whether angle bar or plate, the railing posts should be connected to whichever is used. Another great idea, Intrepid!

Edited April 17, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

Well... the construction, thankfully, continues. The contractors are reaching a bit to keep the boys busy since materials are either not currently available, or are difficult to obtain. So there is a lot physical labour going on.

They have been digging ditches for the sewer line. They also constructed the septic tank mostly underground. We will want to top it off with a thick layer of soil for landscape planting of decorative plants and maybe some vegetables.

They have also been working on the awnings over windows and car park area.

We are still pleased with the work, but do miss making our weekly or bi-weekly trips to personally check on progress. Photos are nice, but not quite the same.

Septic tank finishing the top.

Septic tank with another of those annoying big rocks that had to be removed from the excavation.

Part of the sewer line ditching underway.

Front door and revised window. They still do not align at the top exactly so another chat with the foreman should be able to resolve this, but much better than before. Note the awning "bones" over the dining area window on the left.

Awning frames construction. By golly... it's starting to look like a home!!!

Fencing along the back of the property. Several of the lowest branches of that beautiful, old mango tree will be removed.

Inside view of the fence along the south side and right-of-way. Bunkhouse in background.

Inside of the fence on the east/front side of the house. Note the new posts being constructed for either side of the human gate and one side of the car gate (foreground).

This shows the right-of-way along the east/front side of the house and the new fence post on the "left" side (going in) .

 

[GeoffH]

Looking good Tommy T!

[Mike J]

Nice, also refreshing to read a post that is not about corona! 

[Tommy T.]

Finally!!!! We ventured out to the house site yesterday. No problems whatsoever. We went through two checkpoints along the way and they passed us through with hardly a glance. L showed her teacher's id along with the pass with both our names and it was like a "get out of jail free" card. According to her, teachers are among those given special privileges as essential employees. But I still don't know what that had to do with me?

We went through the house and made a full page list of - mostly - small changes. Because they ran out of supplies, the 11 or so boys were just lounging around and relaxing. A re-supply was scheduled for the afternoon. The contractor is paying them so we don't really care except that the construction slowed down as a result.

This is the dining area showing the front door on the left, the guest bedroom and downstairs CR door at the back. Note the new cove lighting ceiling with electrics for ceiling fan and light and the view out the window on the right showing the part of the fence that is done (except cleaning and painting).

The back of the house showing our bedroom window on the left, 2nd floor, the stair well on the right and CR windows in the center.  We like the design because the CR and stair well blocks the view from a neighbour - our view from the bedroom window is straight to the back of the property.

The dirty kitchen. We directed the foreman to round off the edges and corners so they were not so sharp causing possible future injury. It's one of those small things we look at closely. Note the bumpkin checking out the kitchen space and the completed fence.

Doorway to the "library" or second guest bedroom on the left, wet bar, doorway to small back terrace.

The foreman and engineer found that the "wiggle" of the stair steps was actually coming from a weakness in the vertical support. So they opened up the supports from the front and welded in diagonal bars to add strength. I also suggested to the foreman to clean and paint the steel with epoxy primer, use epoxy to bed the attachment screws to the steps and to bed the steps with adhesive to prevent movement. Thanks for the suggestion, @intrepid!

View from the roof deck.

Roof deck CR doorway and a view. No mountains can be seen due to the height of the surrounding huge mango trees. But that's okay... it is green!!!

Another view from the roof deck.

Roof deck view over master bedroom terrace future awning and doorway to stairs. A small, regular roof will be beyond the wall past the doorway.

Roof trusses in place. I didn't know they would include a wall to conceal it - fine with me.

The home when approaching along the right-of-way road.

House and fence running to the back of the property.

From the northeast corner of the fence looking back toward the access road on the right-of-way. The lancones trees are actually growing in the middle of the right-of-way.

We were shocked last time we were here - maybe a month ago? - because there was a truck attending a property maybe 150 meters away? They were clear-cutting old mangos and we were afraid someone was about to construct another home. But it turns out, after talking with a neighbour, L discovered that the owners were going to re-plant with lancones. We love the area because of the fruit orchard. But, realistically, we know that won't last forever. So we will enjoy it like it is for as long as we can.

Oh.... and I forgot to mention...best part of our visit for me... We were talking about the wiring and the foreman was proud to show me that they actually bought wire nuts from Wilcon! I thought they had long ago forgotten them, but my insistence at the time must have made an impression. He could easily see my gratitude and happiness that he remembered.

I then described to him how they were to be used, to make sure to wrap each one clockwise (from the end) with electrical tape to prevent loosening and to leave each connection with the wire nut upwards so as not to collect any moisture that might develop - especially in the outside fixtures and sockets.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Tommy T.

[RBM]

well done Tommy place looks amazing. Good your a realist, we also had vacant land all around us for 2 years, slowly houses went up. Ended up buying additional land beside us as a buffer......The noise of construction (especially the grinders) drove me crazy.