Our Philippine House Project: Architects and

Builders

All about choosing an architect and builder for your Philippine

house — our experiences and recommendations from someone
who has done it.

PERSPECTIVE DRAWING FOR OUR TIGBAUAN HOUSE

We spoke with many architects about our Tigbauan, Iloilo house

project.  It seems to be the norm for the architect to either have his
own construction crew or to have favored construction out ts they
work with.  Most Philippine architects will just do the plans for you if
you insist, but since most of the pro t is in the construction, they
are more eager to be involved in both design and construction.
 Here are some of the options for the foreigner wishing to build his
Philippine dream home.

1. Pay for design services and hire your own crew to do the
construction work.   This approach can have major advantages if
you have the time, skills, patience and con dence to use this
approach.  If you don’t have experience with contracting and
construction don’t try this.  Running your project will be a full time
job with considerable frustration.

Educate yourself.  Read the book “Peace of Mind in Earthquake

Country”.  Shop for materials in advance so that when your crew
needs materials, you will know where to get the materials you want
to go into your house.  Otherwise you’ll be forced into buying
whatever is available at the time you need it.  Often, only the most
basic materials are available in the provinces.  If you live in the
provinces, consider spending a week or two in Manila getting to
know prices and availability.  You may nd it advantageous to shop
for and ship materials from Manila to the provinces.

The advantages. You cut out the substantial pro ts which would go
to the architect/general contractor.  You buy your own materials.  If
things go well, you get the quality you want and avoid the cut the
architect/contractor would have almost certainly arranged for
himself — perhaps 20 or 30%.  As construction progresses, you are
free to make changes without dealing with a contractor trying to get
extra pay for change orders.  You are paying your crew by the day
so you are in control of any modi cations or added expense. Since
the architect has no business relationship with the construction
crew, the architect can be on you side, looking out for your interests.

Agree in advance that the architect is to make regular site visits,

especially at times when there are problems you don’t feel
competent to assess or resolve.   This has been a problem for us.
 Once she was paid for her work, the engineer who did our plans
was not especially interested in continued involvement with the
project.

The key person in this approach is the construction foreman.  An

honest and competent foreman is essential.

The plans were provided by our engineer were lacking in detail.

 Evidently, some architects and  engineers assume that many of the
construction standards and details will be worked out by the
construction crew, or that the project will be overseen by an
engineer.  If you are going to have your own crew, it’s essential that
the plans be detailed, that you can read and understand the plans
and that the architect and engineer make regular visits to the job
site.

2. Hire an architect to do the design work and put the project

out for bid. Shop your project to several contractors.  As in the U.S.
this approach invites contrators to low ball their bid and then to cut
every corner and seek additional pay for the smallest change or
ambiguity in the plans and speci cations.   There is little possibility
that this approach will work unless the plans and speci cations are
very detailed. Establish strict mile posts and a corresponding
payment schedule.  Be very careful about requests for a large
“mobilization” initial payment.  Do not let payments to
your contractor get ahead of work actually completed.  This will be a
constant struggle.

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3. Hire an architect to design and build your house. This is not

the least expensive option, but may be the best for property owners
unwilling, unable or unavailable to hire a crew of workers and
supervise the house construction project.  Here, everything depends
on the integrity and competence of the architect-builder.  You must
do a comprehensive background check.  Find out what he’s built and
not just from him. Look at the houses he’s built.  Talk to owners.
 Usually they’ll be glad to show o their houses, or share
complaints.  We used this option to hire a talented and personable
young Iloilo architect to design and build our perimeter fence.  I did
everything wrong.  I only looked at one of his projects.  He drew up
the contract and I did not review it critically enough.  I advanced too
much mobilization money. The money must have been spent for
other purposes because work slowed to a crawl.  I had to take over
the project.  It went well after that, but we lost a lot of money which
we were never able to recover. You can read all about it in
a separate account here.

With the usual trepidation,  can suggest an Iloilo design-build out t.

Joemarie Yao is a talented designer and an experienced builder.
We’ve seen a number of his buildings and spoken to satis ed
clients. As with many sucessful architects, he’s a bright, articulate
and charming salesman for his rm.  Once your contract has been
signed, your project will probably be turned over to his sta .  The
only complaint that we’ve heard is that things do not progress
quickly enough for some clients.  If we were going to hire a design-
build rm, it would be that of Joemarie Yao, mostly because we
appreciate his design talent which tends toward simplicity rather
than ostentation. We have no business association of any kind with
him.

Joemarie Yao

JV Landmark Inc.

email: jv_landmark@yahoo.com.ph

0918-908-8838

63-33-337-3624

63-33-336-6052

J.V. Building, J.V. Locson St

Dulonan, Arevalo, Iloilo City

4. Buying a lot and house package in a subdivision. Many buy

their homes as a lot-house- nancing package from
a subdivision developer.  There are many such heavily
promoted subdivisions in Iloilo City, some run by large
Philippines development companies.  They buy large tracts of land
cheaply, make improvements (especially lavish gate houses), and
make money multiple ways;  selling the lots, building the houses
and interest from installment payments.  You’ll be shown a prettily
furnished model home.  The base price can seem reasonable, but
often not much is included — maybe not even kitchen counters.  By
the time you add in all that’s needed to make a livable home you
may nd that you’re paying a high per square meter price for a
house of mediocre quality.  I have heard so many complaints about
the quality of such houses and the unwillingness of developers to
correct after sale problems.

Buying a house and lot package is an easy option, but we believe it

is better to buy a lot and build your own house on it.  Most of the
high-end subdivsions only sell lots and leave it to the purchasers to
build their own houses. The house lot packages are mostly sold in
the lower and mid-range subdivisions.

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Read all about our Philippine House building Project at /building-

our-philippine-house-index/

Related

Being your own contractor in the Building a Philippine House -

Philippines Index
July 15, 2011 July 24, 2011
In "Architecture, Design, In "About Building a Philippine
Builders, Permits" House"

Our Philippine house project:

shopping for cement hollow
blocks
July 31, 2011
In "Construction Quality and
Materials"

AUGUST 21, 2011 · COMMENTS 30

Filed under: Architecture, Design, Builders, Permits
Tagged: Building a house Philippines, Iloilo Subdivision, Share
Philippine Architecture, Selecting a Builder, Selecting an
Architect

Comments (30)

Pablo
Bob,

I would like to include my own experiences in this section. You

have covered the options very well, but like you experienced
yourself, the practical side sometimes blows you sideways.
We build our house 25 years ago, construction was a di erent
challenge then, but the house served us well while we were
working abroad. Now we are retired, we wanted to refurbish and
upgrade the house. My wife and I made some nice drawings how
we would like the place to look like.
A friend in Bohol went succesfully for a lump sum contract, but I
could not nd a contractor willing to do that here for my project,
only people where you could smell that they were after pro ts
but never could carry the responsibility for delivering quality
work. Or one company who quoted outrageous prices and even
then, I had no con dence they would deliver.

An ideal situation for a beginning engineer, we thought. The

owner on-site to provide support so the engineer does not have
to carry any risks, but the engineer can include a succesfull
project in his CV.
I worked 30 years with Filipino engineers abroad with great fun
and good results, so I had con dence we could work out a good
deal.

But there is a huge di erence with the engineers/architects

working abroad and the bunch we experienced here.

First, I wanted a design in a 3D program like Re t so my wife

could see the drawings in a format she can recognise. 2D at
Autocad drawings are for engineers, but my wife cannot
translate sizes and drawings into a mental picture of a 3D house.
A reasonable request, I thought because in my country, any civil
engineer works from month 3 in his studies with these programs.
Not here in Philippines, it seems. Architects work with sketchup
and translate that into Autocad. As I feared, later this translation
resulted in huge errors and would have sunk the project. A
contactor from Manila started on the project, but it was not
deemed acceptable by my Boss that I would pay for travel etc as
it was thought that there is local skills here. This has proven a
huge mistake. Now there is some teaching on one local
university, but it hardly covers the basics… So, after a long
search, we ended up in the sketchup-Autocad combination with
disastrous results.

After that, let me list a summary of the experience with di erent

engineers/companies.

1. The rst engineer was a nice guy but refused to work with me
to make a plan, he stated that we could make plans, but he
would follow his ideas later anyway. He also did not want to carry
any responsibility for the quality of the concrete work (that was
the responsibility of the static engineer in his opinion).
2. The second guy knew the basics of Revit, but kept making
basic mistakes and soon was out of his depth when the roofplan
was discussed. As the roo ng is the most complicated in my case,
he just did not answer.my phone calls anymore… Another 6
months lost.
3. The 3rd group of engineers looked as if they could handle the
project. Some of them returned from work abroad. They visited
my place twice. For them, they enjoyed resort-style environment,
emptied my fridge. And then they never showed interest
afterwards.
4. The next engineer looked promising, he at least had some kind
of references. Anyway, he took my master drawings which I have
never seen again. A huge setback. Stupid from me, but I did not
have any copying facilities and I kind of trusted him. Mistake.
5. A small group of young engineers showed interest. By now, I
knew not to expect too much. I had to tell them how to insulate a
roof, how to support and anchor rafters and..And.. And… But the
deadlines were not made (Ok, I kind of expect that), but then
they kept messing up the sizes on the drawings and the
construction deadline was approaching rapidly without proper
drawings, no plan and the long-lead items committed. Now it
was emergency-stations and no space anymore for tinkerers.

So, I stopped the architect/engineer attempts.

I am just back from 6 weeks abroad, where I supported my
daughter with the refurbishment of her 1926 house. A skilled
carpenter there had much more knowledge than any engineer I
found here, had more ideas about planning and certainly
committed to his project. So, exit engineers here.

I got my foreman, gave him a rise, took pen and paper to site,
made sketches with key sizes. Went together to the woodshops
and got the materials and are now working with his people.
Much more fun.
Due to the lack of planning, I will inevitably incur extra costs
(losses), but as the ordered items are arriving, I have no options
anymore. Better cut my losses.

In short: My experience might be valid for the Iloilo area only. I

saw in Bohol that there are some contractors who are now used
to working with foreigners used to demand quality and planning.
In Manila, a friend build a beautiful house in Alabang with a tiger
of an architect who had a project plan nailed to the inside of her
shed and a verbal Kalashnikov for every sub-contractor who
messed up. But here:
(1) Get yourself a reasonable architect/draughtsman/engineer
from Manila or anywhere. Spend time making good drawings,
especially foundations. Go for drawings only. KEEP IT AS SIMPLE
AS POSSIBLE, especially on the electrical and plumbing aspects.
No kidding here, almost any house I saw here has earthleak
problems. So, keep it simple.
Find a local static engineer to check the columns and
reinforcement AND THEN INCREASE EVERYTHING BY AT LEAST
ONE SIZE. And like Bob said: think of earthquakes. And accept
that local concrete quality and reinforcement is not optimum.
Consider solid walls instead of those silly hollowblocks. I know it
is not done, even in Shoemart. But a Shoemart architect told me
that they should, but won’t, because they are used to working
with hollow blocks. I wish I had insistent on solid walls in my
original construction. Get the book Bob recommended!
(2) Find yourself a good foreman with a reasonable team and
facilitate the work yourself. Spend the Friday afternoon with your
foreman planning for the next week and the Saturday for buying
materials. You might get frustrated that many supplies will still
be forgotten and you have to return for another load or
postpone that part of the job.
I have a good report with the foreman and don’t get upset when
we again are missing supplies. I experienced the same in Europe,
but there you go to the Hornbach next door and can get anything
soon. Here, things just take time and you better enjoy the ride
and stay positive.

It might seem that I am negative about the Filipino civil

engineers, but I found that the good ones apparently work
abroad and the tinkerers are left. Maybe you can nd a reliable
local one willing to do your project. But living remotely from
Iloilo, I enjoy my surrounding immensely, but construction
certainly is “unconventional” to say the least. But don’t let that
stop you. I am sure Bob (by now) would be a brilliant
construction engineer and I am learning everyday, and paying for
my mistakes 🙂 But that is all in the game of living remotely.
Otherwise, get one of those condo’s in Manila which are build
under the supervision of Japanese, they even have proper
safetysystems in their electrical and gas systems (often imported
straight from Japan).

There is an option for everyone, just accept the local limitation

And:
Have fun

Reply

Bob and Carol

Many thanks for sharing your experiences and comments and
for your kind words. Professionals did our plans but it was our
foremen and crew which really made the project a success. They
did use the plans, understood them and were guided by them. It
was they who realized that the professionals had left out
columns and beams needed to support our porch. Bless them.

Reply

karen
Hi Bob,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience in building your

beautiful home. I have a plan too of building a home, hopefully
next year in a countryside of passi city iloilo. I always prefer to
live in a farm.To grow some vegetables and owers. Actually I
planned building a house like 2015 or 2016 but when the yolanda
hit central panay and destroyed our house(my parent’s house),it
is built with light materials like bamboo,wood ect. Im thankful
that my family are all safe and I decided to take on my plan next
year,I want to build a house for my parents,that later on will be
our(me and my husband)’s retirement house in the philippines.
Me and my husband both working here in upstate NY,Im in the
healthcare and he’s at the apartment business,we just cant bear
that almost every year taxes here are rising,property tax,school
tax,ect, so i told my husband my plan. Im just so happy to found
your blog and I learned alot.

Reply

Patrick
The comment from Tim to Jim:

“I would not try to compare the culture and construction of

building here and in the USA though. The culture is very di erent
and construction methodology is even farther apart.”

That is by far the most insightful comment that should be

communicated to ALL expats! Don’t expect the standards here
that you would in the states. And that is not saying you won’t get
a safe, secure, well built home. It is just at Philippine standards
through mostly manual labor. Be smart, be patient, ask
questions, and you should come out with a very nice home.
Patrick

Reply

Bob and Carol

From: Tim Wong
ftimothywong@gmail.com
Submitted on 2013/08/01 at 11:14 am | In reply to Myra.

Hi Myra,

I’m sorry to hear about your bad experience. For people who
read this in the future. It is best to ask your General Contractor
for the following:

1. Portfolio. Any decent contractor should have a printed copy of

his portfolio to present.
2. A visit to his nished site. and a visit to his current
construction. These two would help you reference how he works.
3. Visit their o ce. Construction is a good business. How is it
possible not to a ord an o ce? Plus you know where to nd
them.

These two will be a good references to weed out those who can
waste your money. Hope this helps.

I am sure that you have reasearched well before constructing

your house. A good tip is to also look at a house you like, then
ask the owner who if they can refer their architect and contractor
to you.

Please also check if the professionals your dealing with have ties
with organizations. I can only speak for architects:

United Architects of the Philippines

http://www.united-architects.org/

Philippines Institue of Architects

http://philippineinstituteofarchitects.blogspot.com/

I hope this helps.

Tim

Reply

JimBoy
Timothy,

Thank you for your insightful posting. We have selected an

architect for a house we will be building on Camotes Island. We
reviewed his projects and spoke with his current and past clients.
He has worked with Americans. He understands and speaks
English well, and he has already demonstrated an understanding
of punctuality and honoring commitments. Also, he is a member
of the United Architects organization. We are con dent in our
selection.

In the future, though, we will be looking for and qualifying

building contractors. Do you have any advice for nding
respectable builders? Simply nding them appears to be much
more of a challenge. Often, houses of comparable building
quality are sheltered in gated subdivisions; thus, limiting our
ability to knock on doors to ask for referrals. There’s no such
thing as the American “Yellow Pages” from which to nd potential
builders. Also, the Cebu builders tend not to have much of an
Internet presence. Our architect has referred a builder to us thus
far, but I’m naturally skeptical. We haven’t quali ed that company
yet. Besides, we will eventually want a larger pool of builders for
bid solicitation. Are there any professional builders associations
that would include Cebu-based contractors? Note that we wish to
perform the “man on the ground” routine to inspect the on-going
work and materials; however, we do not want to source our own
materials and labor. Thanks for any recommendations you can
provide.

Jim

Reply

Bob and Carol

Jim,

We wish we could be of more help. What you have is somewhat

like the problem one has in nding real estate for sale. The best
way is to have some inside information and the next best is
driving around and looking for little for sale signs.

Often you can get into gated subdivisions. Sometimes they will
just let foreigners in. Another possible way is to express an
interest in buying a lot. Talk to everyone you can but be skeptical
of what you hear. If you are somewhat knowledgeable about
construction, looking at projects under construction is
worthwhile. Locals building in an upscale subdivision may have a
better grasp on who to hire. Once you see houses, or even
smaller commercial buildings under construction, stop and talk
to whomever is there. You’ll probably be able to nd out who the
owner and architect is and can ask them about the contractor.
There is a good chance you’ll get to meet the contractor. One
nice thing about visiting construction site is that you can see
details before they get covered up. It’s also good to look at the
nished projects of the builder and speak to the homeowners.
This is all a nuisance, but nothing compared to the pain of a bad
builder. I don’t know if bidding is a good idea. It will exclude
smaller contractors who may be good but don’t have the skills or
inclination to bid. In my experience (in USA), many good builders
don’t bid. They don’t need to. Good luck!

Bob and Carol

Reply

JimBoy
Thanks Bob and Carol. Your point regarding good builders not
participating in bids because they are already busy is well taken.

Jim

Reply

George B
Hi Jim, with regards to your concerns, the best way is to nd an
architect who can really help you professionally. Make sound
recommendations and advice. You will know when the right one
will come. Never be tempted with cheap cost of services. you will
never get good service. And at the end of the day the cheaper
professional you will get there is a tendency the more it will cost
you at the end of the day. There is no such thing as design and
build services whereby they give design for free. There is no such
thing as free services. Would you give your services or work for a
company for free or give them 50-70% discount? At the end of
the day, you thought you had free service but they gained 20-
30% pro t compared to hiring the right professional who charge
the right professional fees accordingly. They will protect your
interest as the client.

Reply

Tim Wong
Hi Jim,

I’m glad you feel that way for your architect. I think Bob has put it
nicely when it comes to going inside gated communities. With
concerns in Cebu’s associations, I honestly do not have any idea
about Cebu, I am based here in Metro Manila. Most buildings
under construction usually have a big banner where they detail
the people behind the projects.

However, here is another point of view I can o er with regards to

bidding:

In my previous o ce (and now that we have our own), we would

have contractors bid for a project, UNLESS, a client already has a
contractor in mind, OR they are ne with the contractor that we
are very accustomed to work with (which is what I think is your
situation right now, it’s natural to be skeptical).

For the bidding, we would recommend at least 2 contractors,

then the client can try and recommend at least 1. I personally
think 3 choices are good enough for bidding a residential project.
Anything more is very confusing, and in the end you’d end up
with the “what if” feeling.

I would not try to compare the culture and construction of

building here and in the USA though. The culture is very di erent
and construction methodology is even farther apart. I do believe
that good builders here also bid on projects, that’s based on my
experience because that’s how we’ve met the builders we still
work with. You would be able to judge from the estimates they
will produce and you would feel a connection once you’ve met
them.

I’m sure you may already know this, but I’ll just put it out for
other readers: The lowest bid is not necessarily the best.

We have some sort of a directory called arkispecs:

http://www.arkispecs.com/v2/ hope it can help. Also try to look
for BluPrint Magazine. They have been featuring works in Cebu,
they always include the design team behind a project.

One tip I can give you, since you are building for the rst time
here is to not build your dream house…YET. It is best to build a
simple house at where you can gauge the capacity of your design
team. From here you can also gauge if you and the team you
have hired are a good t. It’s faster and a more cost e ective way
to learn.

Reply

Bob and Carol

Tim Wong
ftimothywong@gmail.com

A follow up tip to future home-builders. Please, please, please do

not rush. hiring an Architect and a team is customizing the
environment to suite your needs. It will take some time.

This would be comparable to having someone customize your

wedding gown or having a yacht built. Take your time to review
your choices. The money spent in building is no joke.

Should anyone promise to have a house built within a year,

without outlining carefully the methodologies should make you
cautious. Besides any house from scratch built within a year is
considered instant grati cation in the building industry. and,
instant grati cation is not always a good thing.

I hope these helps people in the future. There are plenty of

decent architects and general contractors here in the Philippines.
It’s just that there is a lack and a need for a database for clients
to nd the right one.

Tim

Reply

GOIloilo
From: Greg Brawley
brawleybury@yahoo.com
125.212.39.35
Submitted on 2013/06/17 at 5:07 pm

Hi…I’m an American ex-pat living in Manila with my Filipina wife.

I’ve been living and working here for 8 years. During that time I
have made the decision to make this our retirement home. We
recently renovated a large condo unit in Ortigas (165 sq/m) as a
“retirement base”. That renovation project taught us a number of
very useful lessons.
We found it very important to work with design and construction
professionals. Perhaps there are more reliable sources in “the
big City” but careful personal interviews and direct references for
projects previously completed are very important. We made it a
point to interview at least 3 designers. With modern computer
modeling tools, we saw 3 di erent proposals from the 5
designers we interviewed. We also were quite careful when we
came to contractor selection. We rst had to do demolition to gut
the interior of our unit. That was one contract and during that
phase we were able to experience how the contractor conducted
business. It was so important when it came time to start the new
work, that we had a complete and thorough idea of what we
wanted to do. Also, in the bid stage, we de ned carefully which
materials we wanted to buy ourselves and which materials we
expected the contractor to provide. Hardware, plumbing xtures,
appliances, electrical outlets and switches, light xtures, specialty
tiles and nishes and similar items, we elected to purchase
ourselves. We contracted for the kitchen cabinets and
countertops seperately as well. The basic building materials need
only be subject to “acceptance” by the owner. This means we did
a lot of footwork….and zero physical labor. We also found it
worthwhile working with a professional designer, because they
provided supervision and “resourcing” as part of their contract.
For a six-month complete renovation project, the designer’s fee
for design, supervision and coordination of purchasing was less
than $5000 US. That alone was like insurance, as the designer
directly supervised the execution of the design. It was a great
outcome, and although we spent what would be considered a
“princely” sum in PI, it amounted to little more than a mid-range
kitchen remodel in the US! We now enjoy a luxury condo unit
that will be our operating base for whatever retirement years we
have ahead of us! Love the Philippines!!!

Greg,

Thanks for sharing your valuable experiences. Your disciplined

approach is the right one and I agree that it can save money if
you are able to nd and work with an experienced and honest
designer. Shopping for and buying all the key materials is
essential. Otherwise you might end up with the cheapest junk
construction materials, and heaven knows there is lots of that.
We envy you being able to shop for materials in Manila. The
selection can be quite limited in the provinces. Also, I have seen
some top- ight work done in Manila. It would be a challenge for
a newcomer to the Philippines to manage things the way you
have. That’s the big plus of taking your time. We hope you enjoy
your condo for the years that come.

Bob and Carol

Reply

GOIloilo
An exchange about down payments to and problems with
contractors and engineers from Myra and Jan:

Submitted on 2013/04/27 at 11:55 am

Hi, I just read this blog and I’m sorry to say that We are the victim
of a bad contractor, it’s a big project,a two storey home with the
area of 554sqm for the house alone…we invested almost all of
our hard earned money,..it’s an 8 month construction project.
We hired a contractor in a package deal, as the months went by,
we were on the project site every day looking at the workers
doing their job and we are amazed with them working hard..but
as the days pass by, we rarely saw our engineer onsite. Instead,
he hired an apprentice engineer to supervise on behalf of him.
Time came that we confronted this engineer we engaged our
contract with about his supervision and he said, with modern
technology nowadays I can supervise through my phone!! What??
Are you serious? You can supervise the big project with your
phone anywhere you are? And that triggers our trust in him, lots
of left over cement outside as everybody rushes to go home,
using 1 week old hollow blocks in our expensive project plus lack
of supervision of our engineer… nally 5 months of contsruction
we decided to stop the construction by sending our engineer an
email ordering him to stop the work and vacate the place..last
day of their work he paid his people and move some of his stu
out of our property but left his two workmen inside our property,
claiming that the project site is under his full responsibility..we
went to the police asking them to get those two trespassers he
left on our site but the police did not do anything..right now the
construction is on hold and we got our attorney to le a case
against our engineer for the lack of supervision, fraud, poor
workmanship..the moral lesson here is that, please be careful
with whom you are going to trust your project here in the
Philippines, know your contractor well, gather information about
him and his background, do not be easily carried away with his
kind words about the project.. Be wise and don’t just leave the
project without leaving somebody else whom you trusted to
oversee it..take it from me, we are the victim of a greedy
contractor!!
But we will ght for our right and give this contractor a lesson. It’s
a good thing we took pictures from day 1 of the construction
started until the last day they leave..
Sincerely,
Mymy79

Hi Myra,
What you are mentioning is my main concern when we will be
building our home in Bulacan. It’s modest comparing to your
project, but I am still concerned about engineer’s abilities and
work oversight. If we were to sign a full contract he asked for
30% upfront funds, but I refused, as I can’t see he making a 30%
progress in building the house in the schedule he presented. The
total cost is about 5M, and there is no way that he can spend
1.5M in 6o days, for material and labor. We are at the point to
pay him on daily rate, as if he was our employee. After all he will
engage a master carpenter who is supervising the daily work.
Engineer should be on the site for quality control. As it looks we
will contract with him for labor only and buy the material
ourselves. Hope you resolve the issue you have, and let us know
the outcome. It might interest other people.
Jan

Reply

Patrick
A suggestion by reader Pat Lawler

Another good Engineer/Architect to consider if you are looking.

http://www.nebitandassociates.com/

Reply

Peter Clark
We found in San Pablo that there are Engineers with their own
crew that build houses as “packet deals”. It is easy to inspect their
work by visiting their houses.
We approached 2 companies here for a quotation on Architecs
plans. the richest company quoted 50,000 and the other one was
20,000, the former was an in ated price because I am a
foreigner.
Our rough plans were converted into what the local municipal
required for building permit. (Mila only) applied for the permit
which was ready in about 10 days for 4,000 pesos.
Signatures are reguired on each plan ie plumbing, electric, and so
on, despite obvious mistakes that I could see, nothing was
questioned.
No one visited the site to check on foundations or inspect the
quality of the build.
your building can be what you want to do, anything goes
provided that you don’t o end the neighbours.
Our architecs company provided a foreman, carpenters and
labourers that we paid at our rates. Carpenters are valuable
workers and will amaze you how they knock up coco lumber to
suit any sca olding situation, most can do a good job as masons
also.
Being on site all the time pays dividends both in speed of work
and quality.

Reply

Peter
We made the error of arriving and getting straight into a new
house with an architect giving us what we wanted. Living in the
tropics and in the Philippines is a di erent way of life than what
we are used to back home. We had ideas of our dream home but
years later realized that we had made some design errors.
ie sunlight is very strong here and large windows are not
necessary to light up a room, you end up covering them with
blinds.
Bedroom must not face south or west because they become too
hot. East facing is great plus the bathroom, gets you up in the
morning and you can sing in the shower.
Large covered reception porches are wonderful places to meet
visitors or socialize from, forget entrance halls.
Ensure that typhoon rain doesn’t get to wooden doors because
in 2 years they will soak up the water and rot away, or swell and
make opening di cult.

Reply

Pingback: Updated – Architects and Builders at Our Philippine House

Project | My Philippine Life

GOIloilo
Email questions from Theodore and my answers:

Architect : Did you draw and develop your own oor plan with
elevations, electrical and plumbing system, roof system and just
let the architect develop footer, column and beam rebar
dimensions, develop roof trusses and change all measurements
to metric?

I SKETCHED OUT A BASIC FLOOR PLAN AND THE ENGINEER DID A

COMPLETE SET OF PLANS.  I THINK THESE ARE NEEDED FOR
YOUR BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION. FILIPINO BUREAUCRATS
LIKE LOTS OF PAPERS BUT DON’T SEEM TO CARE AS MUCH
ABOUT ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION.

I’m wondering just how much I should do on my house plans?

Are detailed drawings necessary to get your ideas across, for
example drawing elevations to show positions of wall openings,
side views of house showing conduit beam penetration for
electric, DWV positions, positions of toilet, shower and Lav in CR’s
(bathrooms), etc. or are they a waste of my time?

NO, I DON’T THINK IT’S A WASTE OF TIME, IF THE PLANS ARE

WELL THOUGHT OUT, DETAILED AND TO YOUR LIKING.  BETTER
THAT THE WORKERS ARE TOLD IN DETAIL (FOR EXAMPLE REBAR
SPLICING PLANS) THAN TO LEAVE THEM TO THEIR OWN DEVICES.

Should I prepare “elevation plans” (minimum)  for kitchen and CR

cabinets noting materials to be used?

I WOULD.  THEN YOU CAN TAKE THEM TO A CABINET MAKER(S)

AND THEY’LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT.  ARCHITECTS
ARE CHEAP HERE — SAY P1,000 PER PAGE.

How much “leeway” were you allowed for non-structural on-site

changes (since the architect never saw the completed house?

I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR MY OWN EXPERIENCE.  THERE WAS NO

INSPECTION BEFORE, DURING OR AFTER CONSTRUCTION  —
EXCEPT FIRE WHICH GLANCED AT ELECTRICAL AND FIRE EXITS IN
THE BEDROOMS.  THERE WERE CHANGES TO THE ELECTRICAL
SETUP AND THEY TRIED TO MAKE A FUSS ABOUT IT.  I SUSPECT
THERE ARE MANY RULES ABOUT SUCH CHANGES., PROBABLY
NOT ENFORCED, BUT I CAN’T SPEAK FOR HOW THINGS MAY BE
DONE IN YOUR AREA.  IT CERTAINLY OPENS UP POSSIBILITIES
FOR “ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS”.

Reply

dale apura
Goiloilo,

for your information, not all lipino architects are cheap. if you
have the money why settle for 1000 per sheet architect? cheap
architects=cheap architecture, remember that.

Reply

GOIloilo
I agree. We hired a “plans only” architect but I wish we had hired
an architect who could be a real contributor throughout the
project. It would have saved us money and saved us from some
missteps.

Reply

Tim Wong
May I add to dale’s comment. Anyone who charges you
PhP.1,000 on a sheet basis does not charge an architect rate. You
may seem to get a bargain. No decent architect will charge a
client per sheet.This is not a very good way to measure the
quality of your future home.

Also for future reference. It is in the UAP (United Architects ofthe

Philippines) that professional fees for residential projects are at
least 10% f the construction cost. This should cover for all the
operational expenses. However, it is really not followed here. I
would suggest that should anyone charge lower than 5% of your
estimated project cost, be very cautious.

I am not sure if Anyone has posted these yet. Here are a few sites
for future house builders as additional resource:

United Architects of the Philippines – divided into areas and

chapters, so you can nd architects closest to you
http://www.united-architects.org/

Philippine Institue of Architects – also divided into chapters.

http://philippineinstituteofarchitects.blogspot.com/

Arkitektura.ph
http://arkitektura.ph/

Worldbex – materials, technology, there are architects and

interior designers who have booths here too.
http://www.worldbex.com/

Also, in the Philippines, house owners would recommend their

architects and designers. So should you fancy a really nice house,
just ring the bell and ask the owner. Architects aren’t allowed to
post ads here (it’s in the code of ethics), so referals are really a
good way for you guys to nd good designers too.

I hope these help!

Tim

Reply

GOIloilo
Email from Theodore and my response:

I have found nothing on the Internet by a Filipino author

(architect or structural engineer – if I say civil engineer it could be
a surveyor) – probably because there are so many di erent
“typical practices” and there are no enforced building codes.
“Typical building construction practices” in the Philippines are
probably as numerous as the di erent colored boxer shorts I
own.

NOT SURE IF I AGREE.  MOST HOUSES ARE BUILT JUST THE SAME
WAY — FOOTERS, COLUMNS, TIE BEAMS, MOSTLY THE SAME
DIMENSIONS, SPACING.  THE BIGGER DIFFERENCES ARE IN
MATERIALS SUCH AS SIZE/QUANTITY OF REBAR, QUALITY OF
CONCRETE.

Reply

GOIloilo
Glen, we paid P25,000. Government permit fees were additional.
We’re writing a new post detailing those.

Reply

glen
Could you please post how much did you pay the architect for his
design? Thank you.

Reply

Marco Lopo
Living in the farm seems like a nice idea being away from the city,
pollution and all. However, have you considered the fact that you
are advertising your residence location, your picture, etc. You
even put down builders and contractors who may be angry with
you for loosing business. You advertise an architect who has not
passed the board exam and say you have no business interests
with him? Give us a break, you may fool old foreigners like your
self but obviously pro t is your motive too.

Who would be the no. 1 target of kidnap for ransom gangs in

Tigbauan, Iloilo or Panay Island? Isn’t it normally the white guy,
the foreigner with US$ or Euros? They are internet savvy and use
satelite phones and GPS too and probably have you on their list.

I suggest you buy a lot of assault ri es, grenade launchers,

ammunition and bullet proof vests. Also tell all your readers who
to buy guns from and where to have your private army trained.

My best advice to you is to watch your back and go home to the

US where it’s safe. There you can write about living in Oklahoma
or Montana and write against every home builder and contractor
who makes pro t.

Wisdom goes with old age, don’t you agree, from your own
experience?

Reply

Pingback: Building our Philippine House – Index at goILOILO.com

Marcelito V. Enriquez
Sir,

Thank you for the information. I just want to ask, approximately

how much it cost? I have my property already. Only materials
and labour. Can you please send me estimated amount? and
how long it takes?
One thing more, since we are in Barrio, do i need to get a
building permit from municipality? about the house shown
above?

Sincerely,
Mhar

Marcelito V. Enriquez

Reply

jim monreal
Don Roberto,

The rendering looks like a smaller version of an old Spanish

mansion – functional and space e cient layout, naturally(green)
lighted and ventilated, and very charming. luv it!

Is the master’s bedroom located in the front next to the veranda,

or at the rear with it’s own veranda overlooking the mountains of
Antique?

Regards.

Reply

GOIloilo
Hi Ron,

Thanks for you appreciative comments about the house design.

We had been working on it for three years, ever since we saw a
similar design in historic Lucban, Quezon but we have to break
the news that at the last minute we have abandoned this design
and have decided to build a one-story house. I suppose our
decision is really a triumph of practicality over aesthetics.

We had lots of good reasons for wanting a two story house. We

wanted a perch where we could have an unimpeded view of the
mountains and surrounding rice elds. We wanted to reach up to
the cool night time breezes. We wanted to have a second oor
refuge from any ooding, especially after experiencing Typhoon
Frank in Iloilo City. I wanted an upstairs refuge from the family
hubbub downstairs. An upstairs bedroom seemed more secure
from robbers. Those were the advantages we saw, on top of the
instinctive aesthetic appeal of the two story house.
Psychologically, it was perching above rather than crouching
below. My mother-in-law says there are two types of homes and
home owners, “perchers” and “nesters”.

The building of our bahay kubo helped change our mind. As is

traditional, the oor of the bahay kubo is about one meter above
grade. This makes a standing adult above the level of the top of
our eight foot fence. We are surrounded by land which either has
already been subdivided or in in the process of subdivision. The
pace of development in the Philippines is such that land around
us will be developed, sooner or later. Our lot is only twenty-three
meters wide. Our second oor would give us a ring side seat to
whatever was going on a few feet away, karaoke, TV, crowing
roosters and all the other aspects of exuberant Filipino life. If we
built a single story house, our eight foot high concrete wall will
provide a considerable bu er from whatever noisy chaos
eventually surrounds us. I’m a little embarrassed to show how
shallow or thinking was, but there you have it!

There are other advantages to the single story design. This is

earthquake country. Panay had an 8.5 earthquake in 1948 which
destroyed many buildings. Proper engineering for a two story
concrete house (most are NOT properly engineered) calls for lots
of very expensive 25mm rebar and steel decking to support the
second story oor. A one story house is simpler, more or less like
our fence with a roof. Our property is unusually exposed to
typhoons. We are one kilometer from the sea on a at, exposed,
treeless plain. That gives us good breezes when it’s hot, but the
typhoons will really blast us.

We came to realize that our experience with ooding in Iloilo City

was not very relevant to our Tigbauan property which is about
fty feet above sea level and did not ood during Frank. Certainly
the two story house would survive, but maybe we’d be a bit more
comfortable hunkered down in a one story house.

More importantly, we are enjoying having Carol’s niece in

Tigbauan, sending her to school here and generally trying to give
her a better future. Carol’s sister has also been staying with us.
The only story house is less elegant, but gives us another
bedroom for another niece or two. Eliminating the stairway and
second oor complexity allows us to have a four bedroom house
for less money than the three bedroom two story house.

So what is our substitute design. Some months ago we visited

SOS Children’s Village in Zarraga, Iloilo. This is a residential
community for children. The residence buildings are said to have
been designed by a Cebu City architect. I really liked the design
because it incorporated the feel of a Filipino traditional house,
especially the roof structure. See http:///sos-childrens-village-
iloilo/ So, after years of re ning our two story design we switched
gears and came up with a new oor plan in a matter of hours.
We are in a rush because we’d like to start construction in
January. After an initial gulp and a payment for work already
done, our engineer has been very cooperative. We expect to
have conceptual plans by the end of this week. We’ll post the
plans once we get them.

Bob

Reply

Bjorn
Thanks for all the information. I am excited that the project
continues, and hope to hear all the details, both good and bad. I
think the building of the “bahay kubo” is a good idea, and
pleased that you build it in local style.
I wish you a lot of strenght in the coming period 🙂

Reply

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