Apartment Build in PH - Katie

Hi all,

It's time for Katie's house build! I started asking about construction methods and materials (steel deck, fiber cement board, AAC blocks, etc) in 2023, I think. Due to life, budget & circumstances (including my mom's hip accident & hospitalization late last year), I wasn't able to start with my house/ apartment build.

Finally this year, the universe aligned with my wishes and I was able to start the process - consult with an engineer, design of plans, apply for the build permit, etc. The build permit was approved in May. I looked for a contractor - my mom and I had different ideas but I gave in to her wishes and chose the one that she liked.

The builder that she chose was the one used by a neighbor; he constructed an apartment building near my parents' house. He was older & had years of experience. (My mom is contributing to the build, so I gave in to her wish.) The builder and I settled on a price and construction date-start. As luck would have it, he was due to finish a project by the end of May, so he could take in my project this June.

So we went to a lawyer, had our construction contract signed and notarized. (I was the one who drafted, typed & printed the contract & we just went to a lawyer for notarization.) I paid him an amount for the downpayment and we started the build.

Note: it's not required to have a notarized contract with the builder/ contractor but I wanted one for my own protection. The contract stated the agreed-upon "scope of work" . There are many horror stories about contractors in PH, so I wanted to be on the safe side.

Pics to follow.

The building will be a 2-storey structure, almost square (8.5 x 8m). There will be two 2BR flats on the ground floor and 4 studio flats on the upper floor (2nd floor for me, since in PH we use the US system & not the UK/ EU system; the grd flr = 1st flr). The lot is 170 sqm (around 10 x 17 m). There's small space at the back (for laundry) and some space in front (around 5m) for parking. The lot is in a subdivision (mooban) and the 1st thing that the HOA officer asked me (way back in 2023 when I presented some drawings to her) was parking space for tenants.

The design for the apartments went through several iterations over the years (from having a 2-storey townhouse for myself + 1BR flats for tenants) but my mom and I finally settled on this design. I also had to make some changes last year due to her accident and had to make sure that the design for our unit (where she & I will live too) is wheelchair-friendly.

Pics of house plans

Ground floor: two 2BR units, 4*8.5 m (34 sqm) each.
Attachment 135500

Upper floor: 4 studio units, 4*4.25m (17 sqm) each
Attachment 135501

These will be budget flats, not posh. The target sudience/ renters are young workers or couples/ families (for the 2BR unit downstairs). The lot is near the entrance of the subdivision (mooban) and it's roughly a 5-min walk to the highway. Along the highway, there's a nearby supermarket, water refilling station, grilled chicken store, home goods store, eateries (carinderia) and various mom & pop (sari2x) stores.

More pics:

House footprint on the lot
Attachment 135502

What the building will look like in future:
Attachment 135503

The lot it sits on is 170 sqm. It isn't a perfect rectangle, more like a trapezoid. It's ~16.3m on one side (L) and 17.3m on R side.

The front part of the building faces east, so it gets the morning sun. The R part of building faces north. The R neighbor lot is also my lot and is empty. As of now, it's where the "barracks" and some building materials are located. The L adjacent lot has a house already and we're in good relations with that neighbor. The dad of the L neighbor lot was an ex-colleague of my dad. They're both deceased now. I've known the owners of the L neighbor for many years now.

Front elevation
Attachment 135505

Rear elevation
Attachment 135506

Left & right elevation
Attachment 135507

Attachment 135508

The flats (the 2BR ones & the studios) are on the smaller size (if you compare it to TH builds) but flats/ apartments in PH (esp nowadays) are generally smaller. We have a bigger population than TH and smaller land area. I've stayed in condo units (Airbnb) and hotel rooms which are ~24 sqm (4*6m). Apartments can be 4*7 or 4*8 if 2BR flats, and 12 to 25 sqm for studio flats. For 2-storey townhouses, they're usually 4*7 or 4*8m (and rent is higher).

At this time, the build contract that I have with the contractor involves building only unit 1 of the BR flats downstairs (due to budget constraints). He will make it livable, so that my mom & I can transfer there in a few months. We will continue with the build if/ when there's more budget.

Also, since I'll be living there, when the rest of the units will be done I'll supervise it and be the owner-builder, so I won't get a contractor anymore (probably - things can change).

My parents' house is old. It needs a lot of $$$ and renovations to make it more livable & suitable for a wheelchair user. So instead of spending money on reno, my mom & I agreed to build a new structure instead.

Also, I prefer the neighborhood of the new build. It's in a mooban and is quieter. Yes, there's an HOA and there are rules, but I think it's generally safer. There's a guard house & security guards. The area of my parents' house is noisier, exposed to more people and there's more theft in the area. (There are squatters nearby.)

On with the pics...

The lots were like a forest/ jungle, since they haven't been maintained for several years.

Included in the contractor's scope of work was clearing of the land.

These were taken after 1 day of clearing. The mohon/ marker for the lot boundary of Lot1 is at the middle of that electric post.

Attachment 135511

Attachment 135513

After 2 days of clearing: (3 workers)
Attachment 135514

Attachment 135516

On the 1st Saturday, I went to the site to help in the cleanup. The lots were unfenced and people had dumped their trash there for several years. Lots of plastic food packaging, broken tiles & glass, bottles (plastic & glass), just general rubbish. The trash truck (from town hall) comes regularly to collect rubbish bags, but ppl are ppl and if there's an empty lot (lots, in this case), they'll throw trash there if unchecked.

Attachment 135519

Attachment 135520
^note that I wore my PPE: that's my rain jacket & my bucket hat (w/ hole for ponytail) which I also use for my hikes. :)

The rubbish that I gathered:

Food wrappers
Attachment 135521

Cans of WD40 & paint
Attachment 135522

Attachment 135523

Attachment 135524
^I was able to collect 2 large bags of trash + a pile of broken tiles & glass for my morning efforts.

More pics later. Week 3 of the build has finished & they've poured the footers for the columns. (I'm behind on posting pics.)

Stop right there Katie. You haven't cleared you plans with members on here.

^ she gets my approval, how about yours?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katie23

Note: it's not required to have a notarized contract with the builder/ contractor but I wanted one for my own protection. The contract stated the agreed-upon "scope of work" . There are many horror stories about contractors in PH, so I wanted to be on the safe side.

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i hope you stipulated the agreed stage payments, and a retention pending all snagging completed.

Top work Katie. :tumbs:

A great plan. Will be fantastic for both you, your life, and your mother. :yup:


Is there a general idea of the finish date?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katie23

What the building will look like in future:
Attachment 135503

.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by katie23

These were taken after 1 day of clearing. The mohon/ marker for the lot boundary of Lot1 is at the middle of that electric post.

Attachment 135511

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i was confused by the completed pic but i assume the wall on the left is the neighbours appartment wall and your roof won't be touching it.

Katie,

my advice on gound works is the waste plumbing. Make sure it is tested before the they start concreting over and building up. Check the joints are properly glued, take care of 90 degree bends and there are appropriate drops on the outflows. Think about access points (screw on caps) for rodding should you get a blockage. Make sure they have included U bends or P traps.

Run the inlet water to each Apt outside if you can.

Putting any of that right after is a nightnmare

And check their setting out of the foundations, you can do some simple checks to ensure the corners are 90 degrees using pythagoras. Its worth making sure, and check overall lengths.

I advise posting up photos daily in real time and listening to Tooty McDrunky.



And Molly if doing solar.


They know their shiz.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by katie23

The flats (the 2BR ones & the studios) are on the smaller size (if you compare it to TH builds) but flats/ apartments in PH (esp nowadays) are generally smaller. We have a bigger population than TH and smaller land area. I've stayed in condo units (Airbnb) and hotel rooms which are ~24 sqm (4*6m). Apartments can be 4*7 or 4*8 if 2BR flats, and 12 to 25 sqm for studio flats. For 2-storey townhouses, they're usually 4*7 or 4*8m (and rent is higher).

At this time, the build contract that I have with the contractor involves building only unit 1 of the BR flats downstairs (due to budget constraints). He will make it livable, so that my mom & I can transfer there in a few months. We will continue with the build if/ when there's more budget.

Also, since I'll be living there, when the rest of the units will be done I'll supervise it and be the owner-builder, so I won't get a contractor anymore (probably - things can change).

My parents' house is old. It needs a lot of $$$ and renovations to make it more livable & suitable for a wheelchair user. So instead of spending money on reno, my mom & I agreed to build a new structure instead.

Also, I prefer the neighborhood of the new build. It's in a mooban and is quieter. Yes, there's an HOA and there are rules, but I think it's generally safer. There's a guard house & security guards. The area of my parents' house is noisier, exposed to more people and there's more theft in the area. (There are squatters nearby.)

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Great stuff. I noticed in the Philippines it was fairly common for people to start the bulk of the construction to a livable stage then finish the rest as the funds permit. Makes sense to me.. they won't let us do thst in Oz. Congrats on going ahead with the project. Keep.the pics coming

Manila?

@BLD - yes, it's common among Filipinos to construct the house partially until it's "livable", move in, then continue the build while living there so that they won't need to rent a place. "Livable" is subjective. For some, it's just having a structure with 4 walls (no bedrooms yet), as long as there's a kitchen & bathroom. For some, they construct an outdoor kitchen & bathroom, etc. I've seen a vid of a lady who bought a container home (8×20 ft). She had it delivered to her land. Prior to that, she made a concrete floor/ pad for the container home to sit on. It was a container home w/ toilet but no kitchen. She said that she'll make an outdoor kitchen. Different strokes for diff folks.

Filipinos are used to making do. We have a saying which translates to: if the blanket is short, then learn to sleep curled up. (Pag maiksi ang kumot, matutong mamaluktot)

The build is in the Calabarzon region, which is south of Metro Manila.

@eddy Luigi - yes, it's tailored to my & my mom's needs. I thought of using the whole ground floor as our residence/ quarters, but I thought nah - I'd rather have added rental income than more space. The 2BR-flat I'm renting (in my work-town) is ~30 sqm (3.5*8.6 m), so my new home will be slightly bigger than that at 34 sqm. I'm used to living in small spaces. My parents' house is ~8x9 m and I had a small room there which I used to share w/ my sis (until she moved out after uni). So it's about double the area of my future home. However, not all of the space was usable because it had loads of my parents' crap. (Both are/ were hoarders.) Having a smaller home will prevent us from accumulating more crap.

I've watched vids about tiny houses/ tiny living (Tiny House Giant Journey, Tiny House Expedition, etc) and I quite fancy the tiny homes. However, I opted for a bigger building to have rental income in the future. If ever I'll need more space in the future, then I could occupy the other flat - break down the wall & renovate, etc. As of now, I'm OK with the thought of living in 34 sqm.

Yes, I'll try to catch up with the pic posting so that the pics are posted almost in real time. I visit the site almost every 1 or 2 days. I told the workers & the contractor to expect me always - that I'll just show up. The contractor is called Boss/ Foreman. I told the workers to call me Boss-Ma'am or Ma'am. I try to know their names, since they're a small crew (6 to 7 workers, plus the contractor).

Edit: our contract was for 3 months and we started on 2 June. It should be finished by end of August or 1st week of Sept (max). My mom's birthday is late Sept, so I hope we have transferred to our new digs by then.

@molle - thanks for the approval. I would've gone through with the build, even if you withheld it. :)

@toots - yeah, in the contract there's a schedule of payment and guarantee/ warranty period. Re: the underground pipes, they haven't laid them yet. The last time I visited, some workers were digging for the septic tank.

Some were preparing the forms/ moulds for the columns. That was Saturday (yesterday), before lunch break. I don't know if they started pouring the columns by Sat afternoon or if they'll do it on Monday morning. (tomorrow) I'll keep an eye out for the underground pipes.

well done on taking the plunge into the construction world katie !
I'm guessing you would have to be quite the minimalist to live in tiny houses....my wife would never manage it !

Has anyone inspected her bricks yet or do we only do that for the male members?