My Completely Reasonable Philippines House Want List

[fototek1]

 

(After 15 Years of “Character-Building” Stays)

We’ve been going to the Philippines yearly for 15 years.
We have a place in Bulacan.
We’re building a new home or two in Bagac, Bataan.
I’ve reached a point in life where I no longer want my housing to be an adventure.

So here is my want list:

Let’s start with the obvious theme… toilets.

• Toilet seats. Actual seats. Permanently attached.

• Toilet paper. Not a mystery roll hidden somewhere else.

• A toilet with a dry floor. The floor should not participate.

• A toilet installed with a wax ring, bolts, and a real flange — not bedded in concrete

• If its not asking too much I would like a toilet that actually flushes and does run and use all my water.

At this point, I realize I am no longer focused on luxury…
I am focused on the toilet experience.

Moving on.

• No cockroaches. I don’t want roommates I didn’t invite.

• Split-type air conditioning, not the screaming window units from 1994.

• American-style kitchen cabinets and counters — drawers that slide, doors that align, miracles happen.

• Electrical outlets, lights, and switches located where logic suggests

  • Not behind doors

  • Not across the room

  • Not “somewhere over there”

• Doors that actually close and stay closed without negotiation.

• Windows with screens that truly keep out bugs, rain, and airborne wildlife 😂

• A roof that does not leak. This feels like a bold ask, but I stand by it.

So…
Am I too picky?

Or have I simply reached the age where I believe:

Comfort is not a luxury. It’s earned.

I hope you got a laugh out of my list. We learned from our past few building projects in the Philippines we need to be there everyday checking everything. My wife has threatened to build two houses. One for me where I can have things my way and one for her and the mess, dried fish wet floor in front of the toilet and food on the counter for days. 

 

Happy New year folks. 

[Tommy T.]

You really are asking for a lot... Good luck! If you build two houses, build them far apart so you don't smell the dried fish (or any fish cooked) and don't share the unwanted guests.

[Mike J]

20 minutes ago, fototek1 said:

 

(After 15 Years of “Character-Building” Stays)

We’ve been going to the Philippines yearly for 15 years.
We have a place in Bulacan.
We’re building a new home or two in Bagac, Bataan.
I’ve reached a point in life where I no longer want my housing to be an adventure.

So here is my want list:

Let’s start with the obvious theme… toilets.

• Toilet seats. Actual seats. Permanently attached.

• Toilet paper. Not a mystery roll hidden somewhere else.

• A toilet with a dry floor. The floor should not participate.

• A toilet installed with a wax ring, bolts, and a real flange — not bedded in concrete

• If its not asking too much I would like a toilet that actually flushes and does run and use all my water.

At this point, I realize I am no longer focused on luxury…
I am focused on the toilet experience.

Moving on.

• No cockroaches. I don’t want roommates I didn’t invite.

• Split-type air conditioning, not the screaming window units from 1994.

• American-style kitchen cabinets and counters — drawers that slide, doors that align, miracles happen.

• Electrical outlets, lights, and switches located where logic suggests

  • Not behind doors

  • Not across the room

  • Not “somewhere over there”

• Doors that actually close and stay closed without negotiation.

• Windows with screens that truly keep out bugs, rain, and airborne wildlife 😂

• A roof that does not leak. This feels like a bold ask, but I stand by it.

So…
Am I too picky?

Or have I simply reached the age where I believe:

Comfort is not a luxury. It’s earned.

I hope you got a laugh out of my list. We learned from our past few building projects in the Philippines we need to be there everyday checking everything. My wife has threatened to build two houses. One for me where I can have things my way and one for her and the mess, dried fish wet floor in front of the toilet and food on the counter for days. 

 

Happy New year folks. 

Our house meets all of your expectations.   We bought the house about 7-8 years ago it did not.  Since then . . . 

Complete remodel of both CRs to include showers with curb so the floors stay dry.  Toilets has seats and roll holders within easy reach.

Complete remodel of dirty kitchen

Complete remodel of inside kitchen 

Remodel deck - remove wood decking replace with tile, replace railings, replace ceiling, jack up sagging roof beam and add concrete columns

Cut down dangerous and/or overhanging trees.

Tile the plunge pool, new pump and filter

Complete new roof (long span) to include replace wood rafters with steel.

Replace all electric from pole forward.  New wire, new breaker panel, new outlets, new switches, etc.

Install 5.5KW solar system with battery backup

Replace all security fence with 2  meter concrete walls

Replace ceiling in 75% of the house

Replace all plumbing during remodels of CRs and kitchens

I would estimate that we have spent 60-70 percent of the purchase price on improvements.  No regrets, love the location and the view.  Peaceful and quiet with good neighbors.   The wife and I are in discussion of building a small staff house.  I am 75, still in good shape, but we need to make plans for assisted living in the not too distant future.  I want to spend my last 'golden years' right here if possible.

 

 

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

6 minutes ago, Mike J said:

Complete remodel of both CRs to include showers with curb so the floors stay dry. 

Newsflash.  The water on the floor does not come from the shower.  Tabo tabo . . . splash on butt and run on floor.

[Tommy T.]

9 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Newsflash.  The water on the floor does not come from the shower.  Tabo tabo . . . splash on butt and run on floor.

We installed bidets on each toilet in our house... no more tabos!!! Some of the ladies seem to enjoy them more than might appear...appropriate?

Edited January 8 by Tommy T.

[Mike J]

10 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Newsflash.  The water on the floor does not come from the shower.  Tabo tabo . . . splash on butt and run on floor.

Not in our house! 

[Mike J]

1 minute ago, Tommy T. said:

We installed bidets on each toilet in our house... no more tabos!!! Some of the ladies seem to enjoy them more than might appear...appropriate?

Same here. 

[Old55]

Makes me smile thank you all. Keep em coming. 

Our family's house has three modern clean comfort rooms with raised showers. At no time during our many visits did all three function. 

[Tommy T.]

For the past month or more, DCWD (Davao City Waterless District) has provided maybe half the water pressure we enjoyed soon after moving in several years ago. Then, they gave us two wonderful gifts for Christmas and New Years... Super low water pressure interspersed with no water at all periodically. No website postings or notifications... Then for our best gift from them, we received a water bill for 7k... that translated to about 800 gallons of water use daily for a month? Not possible. We turned everything off and checked the meter and it didn't move. So THEY have a problem with the meter or their system. If we had a leak that big, our house would float away!!!

However, perhaps they made a New Year's resolution? Now we have great water pressure again, like I said, for the first time in months! But it stopped yesterday morning sometime before 6am. It returned by 8am.

[Possum]

We built our own house and it has all the requirements listed. No wet floors in baths as all have bum guns. We used to have an occasional wet toilet seat left down after a bum gun blasting but that doesn't happen any more. My wife gently explains that if the seat is left down with water on it and her husband rushes into the toilet without turning the light on and sits. Well, he doesn't say nice words. 

One good thing we did was put spring loaded hinges on all outside doors as closed doors are not part of the culture but complaining about insects and mice and ways to combat them is part of the culture. Being observant we determined 10 years ago that most of the insects were coming in thru the 3 foot by 7 foot holes in the walls. We got tired of sharing this information hence the spring loaded hinges.