I want to build my own house

[slamonito]

well not exactly in that sense. I only have limited budget and I'm planning to use as much money saving technique as possible.

According to some people, I can build a 2-storey house (90 squaremeter up and 90 down) that can fit within 1-million pesos as long as i don't hire a contractor but instead hire a good foreman to do it.

Anybody has any idea?

I'm looking at alternative building materials like prefab.

i want a neat looking house that is strong and durable.

Any inputs will be welcome

[trackers888]

well not exactly in that sense. I only have limited budget and I'm planning to use as much money saving technique as possible.

According to some people, I can build a 2-storey house (90 squaremeter up and 90 down) that can fit within 1-million pesos as long as i don't hire a contractor but instead hire a good foreman to do it.

Anybody has any idea?

I'm looking at alternative building materials like prefab.

i want a neat looking house that is strong and durable.

Any inputs will be welcome


Share ko lang experience ko, My house is in finishing stage na and ang tingin ko more expensive than structural. You can built your house with the budget you have right now depende lang sa material na gagamitin. I save a lot coz I did the design and my wife is the site supervisor ;D

Tip ko lang, mag base ka lagi sa plan at huwag mag pa bago bago. Dyan lumalaki ang gastos mo or na o-overshoot ka sa budget ;)

[2diy4]

Some tips:

Start with a good plan, one that doesn't waste too much space and is of a simple design.

Make sure that you do not overbuild. Many contractors deliberately overbuild, particularly if they are paid as a percentage of total cost. Many houses built here in the country are several times stronger than actually required. A good engineer will be able to specify materials that are just right for their use.

While newer building systems can save money, they may not be cost efficient if the workers are not familiar with the system. Supervision costs will eat up any savings in materials. But if you are familiar with the system, go for it.

Build during good weather. If you will start in January, you are too late to take advantage of good weather.

Let me reiterate what has been said, start with a good plan and don't change it. Changing design while under construction will waste you money two ways, for the initial build and to dismantle the initial build.

[adamsapple]

Para may idea ka tungkol sa pag budget ng project mo suggestion ko bili ka ng building & construction estimate book sa national bookstore.May mga computations doon sa book.Tapos mag inquire ka sa www.vazbuilt.com may mga pre fabricated silang mga materials pwede morin dalhin ang house plan mo or punta ka sa office nila para ma estimate ang project mo.mas mabilis matapos ang project kapag pre fab & less labor. nag inquire na ako dati kasi balak kong pagawa ng apartment pero nandito pa ako sa middle east kapag for good na ako palagay ko sakanila ko pagawa ang project ko.Marami din silang mga house designs.Kung pagawa mo naman ng hindi pre fabricated ikaw nalang ang bibili ng materials & tama ka kuha ka ng magaling na foreman kasi kapag pina contractor mo sayang ang mga 10-20% ng total budget mo mapunta lang sa contractor.goodluck sa project mo

[slamonito]

Thanks alot guys, your advice really help. any more suggestions will be very welcome.

[bbn]

A contractor friend of mine said you can save as much as 40% if you build it yourself. This makes sense since 30% is not an unreasonable profit for contractors. The 10% can come from supervision costs.

Some designs are overdesigned. I had fence built and the workers I hired said the footings specified would support a 2 story house!

[koykoy]

i have just started construction last week and let me share to you my budget.

the house is a split two storey totalling 140 sqm with a roofdeck on a front sloping land. my initial calculation for the materials for masonry and concrete works is around 400k incl. excavation and bunkhouse, etc. Labor is around 100k.

my budget is only 700k so the remaining 200k would be for tiles, painting, plumbing and electrical which I think is more than enough.

just start small but dont skimp on the foundations. anyway, you can change the finishings when we will get rich in the future. hehe

[2diy4]

Good luck on your construction.

[slamonito]

with your feedback, I'm now more confident to go through with my plan.

Problem now is that the brokers are still trying to mess things up. I can't believe this, they are so greedy and unprofessional that it borders on being scam artists!

My original plan was start by March the latest (I was hoping by January or feb), have the basic structure built then do the others bit by bit that even when rainy season comes, they'll be inside the house finishing it but its seems like I won't make it. I've planned to move the family to the new house for Christmas holiday 2008. aarrggh!!!

by the way, got the estimation book and my design ehheheheh

[VtEC]

pasingit nalang dito ;D,

gaano ba katagal curing sa slab bago tanggalin mga support ???

[zook]

Pasingit din ... ;D

slamonito,

Have you considered Vazbuilt? I'm also saving up to build my dreamhouse and among the developers out there, Vazbuilt seems to provide the best bang for the buck. I spoke to one of their sales people and she told me that if one really wants to save, one can just buy the pre-fab materials from them and they'll provide the instructions via CD-ROM. They'll also provide an engineer on-site if needed at P1,500 per visit.

Check out their website at www.vazbuilt.com.

Disclaimer: I'm in no way connected with the company. Hopefully, I'll be a client in the near future.

[zook]

Oops, may related post na pala. Sorry about that ...

[2diy4]

Vtec, sorry for the delay. I couldn't find my copy of the engineer's handbook.

It says that forms can be removed 6 days after pour, starting with columns then slabs and beams.

[koykoy]

For columns, two days wouldnt be bad. Just make sure you hydrate the structure so it can reach its maximum strength.

For beams and suspended slabs, the rule usually is to wait for its designed strength (usually after 28 days). I tried to remove though after 14 days and there seems to be no problem. Again, continued hydration is key because if you remove the forms, water will rapidly evaporate.

[opzuk4x4]

i have just started construction last week and let me share to you my budget.

the house is a split two storey totalling 140 sqm with a roofdeck on a front sloping land. my initial calculation for the materials for masonry and concrete works is around 400k incl. excavation and bunkhouse, etc. Labor is around 100k.

my budget is only 700k so the remaining 200k would be for tiles, painting, plumbing and electrical which I think is more than enough.

just start small but dont skimp on the foundations. anyway, you can change the finishings when we will get rich in the future. hehe

WOW!! 700k for a 140sqm house? thats roughly 5,000/sqm. That's the building cost of low cost housing units. Can I sub-con my projects to you? Dunno how you do it but with today's prices its a miracle.

[opzuk4x4]

A contractor friend of mine said you can save as much as 40% if you build it yourself. This makes sense since 30% is not an unreasonable profit for contractors. The 10% can come from supervision costs.

Some designs are overdesigned. I had fence built and the workers I hired said the footings specified would support a 2 story house!

You can never and will never save 40% if an unexperienced fellow will build his own house. If you are lucky and adept in supervising I'll say 10-15%max. It takes experience to know if the foreman or the workers are doing the right thing. You should at least be aware of the accomplishment per man-day of each and every manpower you have. Also, never rely on a foreman alone......their skill is mainly due to experience only, sad to say if what he saw or did in his previous works are wrong or not prescribed in the building code or the national structural code of the Philippines then most likely he will apply that wrong principle in your house. Always have a civil engineer or an architect to at least supervise the project once in a while. Contractors nowadays only make 15-20% profit, and that includes overhead and contingencies due mainly to competition. 40% profit is almost non existent as it is "taga" na. The new vazbuilt system is good and cheap. 10-12k/sqm AFAIK. The only drawback is the limited design options. Just my 2 cents.

[Kenji211]

ABout vazbuilt okay yung do it your self, pero madaming charges (freight and inspection) plus installation (you will have to look for accredited contractor). Aabot din ng 500K yung tyler model nila na 30 sqm.

Sa mga magpapagawa, wag niyo akong tularan, naglakas ng loob to do it on my own and inspect on my own.

Get a contractor. A reputable one. Ask around. Visit his former clients. Ask for a breakdown. I canvas ng malaman ang mark up. Ikaw ang bumili ng materyales pero labor lang siya. Ask for a contract sa number of day na paggawa. Pag lumampas di ka magbabayad.

Halos masira ang ulo ko sa pagbabantay. Magtingin kayo sa buy and sell na labor lang ang contract.

Pero mas okay pa din ang magpagawa kaysa ang bumili ng gawa na.

[juanluna001]

Usually max concrete strength is gain on the 21st-28th day after the pour.

Any update on this project?

[koykoy]

WOW!! 700k for a 140sqm house? thats roughly 5,000/sqm. That's the building cost of low cost housing units. Can I sub-con my projects to you? Dunno how you do it but with today's prices its a miracle.

hi. hehe. i just chanced by this post now. turned out that the 700k was for the shell only. still, i think the total house cost was around 1.1 only including the finishing. now, i am in the tailend of the fencing construction and hardscaping. prices of steel are unbelievably low. imagine, when i started (12/2007) 16mm bar was 330, then during the height of inflation (9/2008) it was around 700 and last month (5/2009) it came down to 240. i heard it's even lower last week. tsk tsk

well, my tip for those diy'ing their own house is get a trusted foreman and do a one day job at the site. that way, you will be aware on what a one day's work is like and you'll have the basis on evaluating their performance. it's what i did.