New garage in the Philippines

Morrisman · May 18, 2011

We moved back to the Philippines in May 2010, leaving behind my old garage in England, so a new project has been started:

300square meters of land was bought. which is small by US standards, average by UK standards, fairly big by Philippines standards.

Here's the mum in law casting her expert eye over things:

A plan was drawn up on Sketchup for my new garage:

Ground was cleared:

Footings were dug:

Re-bar fixed:

Concrete mixed and poured:

Block laid:

There is only one window, as I'm a noisy person and I want to keep the neighbours happy: :bounce:

But there's two doors on the front:

Floor going in after the walls were skimmed:

And this is the current state of play:

There is a small bathroom in there too.

We're actually having a house built at the same time too, so priority has now shifted to getting the house done, but the brunt of the work on my garage is finished now. The house will be about 1500 square feet, but also has a roof garden to make up for the small size of our lot.

neonnblack · May 18, 2011

Thats very nice looking set up you have, cant wait to see the house also, keep us updated. I have friends at work the are philipino great people normally.

MajorLeeGassole · May 18, 2011

Looks great! Am I correct in assuming they are doing all the concrete by hand? I saw someone dumping a wheel barrow and don't know if that's from the truck or mixer or just by the wheel barrow load.

AndrewBigA · May 18, 2011

wow! interesting looking build, the house & the garage!
props to the guys wearing flip flops!
post more pics when you can.

Morrisman · May 18, 2011

They have a small petrol engined concrete mixer, that tips into a wood tray, so they can continue mixing and wheel-barrowing without a break.

These Filipinos are real hard workers, and they endure all day in the heat, often well over 100f in the shade.

These are the footings pad for the columns in the house itself. Each one is a yard square by a half yard deep. The column itself is about 10" x 14" and goes all the way up to the roof. Between these pads will be joined together by a beam about 8" x 12" upon which the walls will be built.

The garage was done much the same way, with re-bar going in all directions for strength. The pads on the garage were nowhere near as big though as it is basically four walls. The floors on both buildings are tied into the walls with re-bar all the way round.

Here are a couple of shots inside the house as the walls go up. I have yet to see any of the house in the flesh as I've been away the last three weeks, and won't get home for two more to come.

misaelmelchor · May 18, 2011

hell yes... you moved to angeles city philippines? i was born and raised there.... where in angeles city are you building your house and garage? pm me if you need someone.. i have a friend who is an architect and i have plenty of connections there...good luck buddy!!!

Layspeed · May 18, 2011

Cool project. I lived in the Philippines for 2 years. My wife is Filipino. My in-laws had a house built there but no garage. I agree, most of laborers are very hard workers! I tried to help out as much as I could during the construction and man it's tough in that climate and I'm fairly healthy and fit 31 year old. Subscribed.

Morrisman · May 18, 2011

misaelmelchor said:
hell yes... you moved to angeles city philippines? i was born and raised there.... where in angeles city are you building your house and garage? pm me if you need someone.. i have a friend who is an architect and i have plenty of connections there...good luck buddy!!!

We're in Timog park. We've got an architect and all that good stuff already, but thanks for the offer. :thumbup:

Layspeed said:
Cool project. I lived in the Philippines for 2 years. My wife is Filipino. My in-laws had a house built there but no garage. I agree, most of laborers are very hard workers! I tried to help out as much as I could during the construction and man it's tough in that climate and I'm fairly healthy and fit 31 year old. Subscribed.

I find I can physically lift or push more than most of those small Filipino guys, but they can do the same thing all day, day after day, in 110f heat.

Morrisman · May 18, 2011

This is my current garage, a small car port that I added a door to the front of, barely 8' x 12', so you can probably understand my frustrations waiting for the new one to be finished :drool:

abstamaria · May 18, 2011

Fantastic, Morrisman. I just saw your post in "Modern Garage" and was going to suggest you start a thread, as your post was quite interesting. Are those drawings yours? I like them very much.

Yes, we are practically neighbors. I thought you might be into English cars, but your project is just as interesting. I am at heart a hot rodder too.

I will visit you one of these days. Let me know when when you get back. Welcome, and best wishes on your relocation and the construction.

Andres

Morrisman · May 18, 2011

abstamaria said:
Fantastic, Morrisman. I just saw your post in "Modern Garage" and was going to suggest you start a thread, as your post was quite interesting. Are those drawings yours? I like them very much.

Yes, we are practically neighbors. I thought you might be into English cars, but your project is just as interesting. I am at heart a hot rodder too.

I will visit you one of these days. Let me know when when you get back. Welcome, and best wishes on your relocation and the construction.

Andres

Thanks for the welcome Andres. I did start to tack my new garage onto the end of an old build thread I had here, but decided it deserved it's own fresh start as well.

When I first started building the yellow hot rod I posted in your thread I very nearly went for a 'glass replica Austin Healey bodyshell, but I was in too much of a rush to wait for it. That is a decision regretted later.

However, a friend of mine in Angeles currently has a road legal Healey replica that is just lacking an engine. I am making tentative inquiries about obtaining it myself as we speak.....

You are more than welcome to visit us up in Angeles, but I shan't be home for two more weeks or so.

Our life is somewhat chaotic with so many constructions going on, car, house, garage, but we are still open for coffee and pandesal. :beer:

Morrisman · May 18, 2011

Here's another few Sketchup models I made the other day. I have done so many 3D models, sketches, pictures etc that I lost track of what the house is supposed to look like, so I made one 'master' see-through that I can refer to if any questions are asked by the builder, or my wife.

www.sketchup.com (Free download, easy to learn, nothing to do with me, I just use it)

The see-through house:

'Artists rendition' of the house:

The roof garden details:

Yet another garage model with cupboards mounted high up on the wall, access by sliding ladder. Daft idea, but kept me entertained for a couple of hours.
:lol_hitti

Jack Olsen · May 18, 2011

You'd be surprised how useful high-up and out-of-the-way storage can be. There are things you might need once a year that can go up there and be accessed with a ladder. Decorations for holidays come to mind. You can also keep the extra paint for the house up there, as well as spare tiles, extra electrical and lighting fictures, all of that sort of thing.

Thanks for posting this. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful house (the garden area up top is the kind of idea I'm surprised that I don't see more of where I live).

I'll admit that I'm scared of learning Sketch-Up. The irrational fear is that I'll leanr it, and then won't actually build anything any more. I'd love just constantly designing and re-designing on the computer.

It's also very interesting to see the slight differences in other regions' construction methods. The end result will be a house -- just like you'd see be built anywhere -- but there's a kind of 'local dialect' to every region's construction.

DanCo · May 19, 2011

Gud lak sa 'yo.
My girl/soon to be fiance' is from that province(I believe) looks like a nice build. We are planing a trip out there this year. I know I'll be in Cebu and a couple of other places.
Dan

Bib Overalls · May 19, 2011

Small world. We lived in Timog Park in 1988. A very nice, and very secure subdivision. The only down side was the electric service. Lots of disruptions.

oeyniman · May 19, 2011

Hi,

nice set up, perfect car-space to work-space ratio.
From the safety point of view, shivers are running down my spine, when I see the running around in flip-flops on a work site - yikes!

Good luck
oeyniman

mikeesracing · May 19, 2011

oeyniman said:
Hi,

nice set up, perfect car-space to work-space ratio.
From the safety point of view, shivers are running down my spine, when I see the running around in flip-flops on a work site - yikes!

Good luck
oeyniman

Flip flops are the safety shoe of the Philippines. I have never seen anyone wear safety shoe there. I have been to a lot of different countries and the third world doesn't wear safety shoes. :wtf:

neonnblack · May 19, 2011

to work hard and fast they have to be comfortable... oh and they dont have to.

Morrisman · May 19, 2011

oeyniman said:
Hi,

nice set up, perfect car-space to work-space ratio.
From the safety point of view, shivers are running down my spine, when I see the running around in flip-flops on a work site - yikes!

Good luck
oeyniman

You wait until you see them welding in sunglasses. :shocking:

Jack Olsen said:
You'd be surprised how useful high-up and out-of-the-way storage can be. ........ Thanks for posting this. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful house (the garden area up top is the kind of idea I'm surprised that I don't see more of where I live)...........I'll admit that I'm scared of learning Sketch-Up. The irrational fear is that I'll leanr it, and then won't actually build anything any more. I'd love just constantly designing and re-designing on the computer. ........ but there's a kind of 'local dialect' to every region's construction.

I am planning a sort of mezzanine deck across half the garage, which should be tall enough to stand up in at the deep end, and that'll be my junk store. But I still may go for the high cupboards as well, as there is going to be a lot of unused real estate high up on that back wall.

I do tend to spend hours on Sketchup when I am bored at work, but not so much when I'm home. It is very useful for getting a message across to people who aren't too good at reading engineering type blueprints or drawings. My wife likes it, as it gives a far better perspective of her dream kitchen than any of my flat drawings did......

We're actually straying away from what is the real local new-build style around these parts, which seems to be to cram as many hips and valleys and ornate gutters and trims, columns and balconies into the house as possible. We (my wife) decided to go for a sort of Spanish style, simple and basic, no frills, no spires and columns etc. The roof garden idea is a result of me stealing all the back yard for my garage.

What they build is down to us, but like you say, how they build it is definitly interesting.

We are using an American contractor, which adds yet another perspective to the build. His quality of work and attention to details is streets above the other local projects I am observing.

Bib Overalls said:
Small world. We lived in Timog Park in 1988. A very nice, and very secure subdivision. The only down side was the electric service. Lots of disruptions.

When we moved back there last year, day one we had four powercuts in 24 hours, and I seriously thought we had made a bad move. :wtf:

It turned out to be some local hiccup and we probably get less than one blackout a month nowadays. We have a couple of 220 volt rechargeable power-pack type fan/lights, so it is not too bad. Timog is one of the better subdivisions we've seen here, as we also lived in Timog from 1998-2002

mikeesracing · May 20, 2011

It really is a small world, The wife and I have a house just up the road from the Death March shrine (Capas). I don't know if I will ever live there but It sure is nice the hang out and unwind for a couple of weeks.

I keep thinking about building a garage with a studio apartment above it but so far its been too far down the list of things to do.

It looks like your garage and house are gonna be really nice. :thumbup:

Morrisman · May 21, 2011

Is that the monument in Bataan Mike, the tall cross? I was down there about ten years ago with an ex USAF friend of mine. Quite a moving place.

I originally planned the garage as part of the house, with a huge master bedroom/studio over it, 5 x 10 metres, but decided it was safer having it separate, for smells, noise, fire risks etc.

mikeesracing · May 21, 2011

Morrisman said:
Is that the monument in Bataan Mike, the tall cross? I was down there about ten years ago with an ex USAF friend of mine. Quite a moving place.

The Shrine I am talking about is Odonnell Capas Tarlac, Its where the Death March ended. Its probably about 10 miles from Angeles City heading up McAuther Hwy toward Tarlac. Camp Odonnell used to be a US Navy base. Now its a Philippines Army base. Its a really nice shrine dedicated to the American and Philipino POW's who died during the march and while in the camp. If you go to the shrine tell them you used to be in the military and they will let you in for free.

illmatyk · May 24, 2011

Very awesome place you got going on there! I saw the car pics you posted in the other thread and all i can say is wow! I really want to check out Clark raceway now!

DanCo said:
Gud lak sa 'yo.
My girl/soon to be fiance' is from that province(I believe) looks like a nice build. We are planing a trip out there this year. I know I'll be in Cebu and a couple of other places.
Dan

I used to live in Cebu. Last time I went there was in 2009. You'll enjoy it! :thumbup:

Morrisman · May 24, 2011

mikeesracing said:
The Shrine I am talking about is Odonnell Capas Tarlac, Its where the Death March ended. Its probably about 10 miles from Angeles City heading up McAuther Hwy toward Tarlac.

I might check it out next time I'm home. My nine year old daughter is off school still, three months summer vacation, so I'm scratting around for stuff to do with her, keep her occupied. Dad and daughter time. :thumbup:

BUGTHUG · Jun 7, 2011

mikeesracing said:
Morrisman said:

Is that the monument in Bataan Mike, the tall cross? I was down there about ten years ago with an ex USAF friend of mine. Quite a moving place.

The Shrine I am talking about is Odonnell Capas Tarlac, Its where the Death March ended. Its probably about 10 miles from Angeles City heading up McAuther Hwy toward Tarlac. Camp Odonnell used to be a US Navy base. Now its a Philippines Army base. Its a really nice shrine dedicated to the American and Philipino POW's who died during the march and while in the camp. If you go to the shrine tell them you used to be in the military and they will let you in for free.

Click to expand...

I've never figured out why we Americans make a big deal out of Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec, when there was triple the loss of lives at Bataan death march. Don't take it the wrong way , lots of places people died, and they should all be remembered.
Also the site at Corrigidor has turned into a recreation camp site, alot of the old guns and anything metal has been salvaged. They cut up all the metal they could get away with. Its a shame these sites aren't better preserved.JMO

jimmie jam · Jun 7, 2011

this is an interesting build, i'm in.......................

cdncowboy · Jun 27, 2011

Any updated pics on this build?

Dyt · Jun 27, 2011

I was stationed there from '88 thru '92. Lived in and around Subic. Wonderful people. Best time of my life. Til Pinatubo blew and killed the party. I was just starting shore duty too.

Morrisman said:
You wait until you see them welding in sunglasses.

Had to get my front gate welded when I lived in what was then called Gordon Heights. Homemade arc welder. Power supply: Climb the utility pole and hook on. All in flip-flops of course. Everyone gives up on shoes eventually. Just can't keep them dry.

Morrisman said:
coffee and pandesal.

with that sweet Dairy Cream Butter.

BUGTHUG · Jun 27, 2011

Hey Dyt,
Sell me that license plate! I was there in 76, but didn't collect plates back then.
I just had a old vet that was there in the late 50's, and he had a motorcycle. I was talking with him online and he said he brought the plate back with him and had it stored in some boxes with all his old Navy stuff, anyway he sent it to me a few days ago, and I couldn't be happier

Anyway I want 2 more. O the one he had was a 59. P.M. me please

Morrisman · Jun 29, 2011

Sorry to say there has been no progress on the garage, as the main labor force and priority has been working on the house.

The hot rod has moved along though:

I'm working on the bodyshell now, up to my ears in glass fibre and itchiness.

shermanland · Aug 2, 2011

mikeesracing said:
Flip flops are the safety shoe of the Philippines. I have never seen anyone wear safety shoe there. I have been to a lot of different countries and the third world doesn't wear safety shoes.

Come on people! How can they afford to buy a safety shoes is they just earning a 350 pesos on a daily compensation. Would you sacrifice your 2 or 3 day salary for a safety shoes??? These hard workers are not employed on a big construction company in the Philippines were safety rules are tightly implemented. They are self employed. Trying to make for a living for survival. Think about what can you do to help!

shermanland · Aug 2, 2011

Hi Mr. Morris,

It looks nice, you remind me of my garage project back at home. I think the shape of the garage is similar but the walling are not alike. Is that a 1 car garage or 2?

sscustom · Aug 2, 2011

sweet set up man .im digging the saftley on the site .thongs insted of steel cap boots lol

MrPolarZero · Aug 2, 2011

Great set up dude! I've been in the Philippines for a few times, I have many friends there. I must agree the laborers are very hardworking. I'm so excited to see the finished garage. Good luck!

Bib Overalls · Aug 3, 2011

In the Philippines the extended family is a single economic unit. Everyone works and everyone contributes but only a few actually work for wages. So that 350 pesos has to go much further than you would think. Our house girl worked for a pittance. But we provided every thing to her. Her money went to her family. Shoes of any kind are a luxury.

cdncowboy · Aug 14, 2011

What's the latest on this build, really interested to see it coming along.

oeyniman · Oct 1, 2011

mikeesracing said:
Flip flops are the safety shoe of the Philippines. I have never seen anyone wear safety shoe there. I have been to a lot of different countries and the third world doesn't wear safety shoes.

... yeah, I know, sad but true. I lived in Singapore for 3 years in the 90's, and toured Asia for almost 20 years. But Singapore wasn't 3rd world then and things are changing fast in Asia, and faster by every day. King shoe in Malaysia is one of the biggest safety shoe producers in the region. German shoe blow molding units sell like sliced bread to the region, most of the final product exported - of course.

Morrisman · Oct 5, 2011

After a long spell working on the house, interest has moved back to the garage and a little progress has finally been made.

There was a stumbling block when a bunch of utter cretins threw the roof on, and dented and scratched it with their incompetence and macho bravado, but they have been fired and a lot of the world done again.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/Pburgess68
/New%20House%20in%20the%20Philippines/9f2d0ba4.jpg

Of course, I now have the age old garage-heads problem of what colour scheme to use.... :thumbup:

Morrisman · Oct 5, 2011

Oh, the house is coming along too, forgot about that.

abstamaria · Oct 5, 2011

I vote for white walls and a tile floor, morrisman. It's looking good (the house too). Will you be putting a tile roof on the garage, too? You will need insulation from the heat, as you know.

Regards,

Andy

New garage in the Philippines

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Super Moderator

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member