i like this topic. although i might have read different pointers on the same topic here somewhere, we could definitely discuss it exclusively here.
I believe we're very traditional, Concrete Hollow Blocks (CHB) are still used since its time tested, durable.. but incurs in a lot of man hours to pile, plaster and finish. Had a small project where in a did CHB on the lower half of the exterior walls, and Drywall for the upper half. So far so good, definitely saved on labor time, but i dont have the numbers to compute if i had good savings versus going 100% CHB. (i hope i did)

Also CHB walls are not just common in most homes... even in our high rises and buildings, everyone is still using it 🙂

Because of location of the Philippines, earthquake, and typhoon zone.

CHB is time and labor intensive to install, but it the long run its cost effective because once its done, it will last for a long time. drywall on the otherhand is faster to install but more expensive - if you use wood as frames, you can't use just coco lumber, you need to use treated hardwood ; if you use metal frames, you need to use a lot to make it stronger ; in both cases, you still have to put insulation in-between the drywall for sound proofing it. lastly, between CHB and drywall, in the long run CHB will last longer in every aspect. add to this what bmac mentioned about the PH environment for typhoon and earthquakes, i would also add fire hazzard as something to consider 🙂 ... the common pinoy owner will still prefer to use CHB compared to drywall ... cheers

Boo!

For non-residential applications (factories, offices, etc) dry walls are more suitable. In these environments the internal walls are not permanent and can (or must?) be reconfigured whenever the business environment requires it.

Dry walls can easily be torn down. And the materials are reuseable. Imagine the dust generated and labor required when tearing down a CHB wall.

Here in the Philippines the internal walls are more or less regarded as "permanent" features of the house. Hence the suitability of CHB.

Thanks for the responses!

I also noticed most concrete homes don't have phone signal if you're inside, also wifi connections don't go too far in concrete walls, as compared to plywood. I think drywall would be similar to plywood in these situations.

So I'm thinking of building our home in concrete hollow blocks - exterior and then drywall - interior. 🙂

nunu, that's what i'm doing right in my house that we are constructing now ... except for the toilet partitions, all the internal walls will be drywall using metal frames ... in case my wife decides to renovate the internal partitions of the house in the future 🙂 he he he ... my way of making our house adaptable to the changing scenario 🙂 ... cheers

Boo!

is drywall using metal studs more expensive or cheaper? thanks

@boo - sounds awesome! thanks for the feedback. 🙂

mig21, i think metal studs or frames are cheaper compared to wood. here in marbel, at citi hardware, the price is about 120 per unit (2.5m lenght). the reason why i don't want to use wood for drywall is because most of the wood sold in lumber shops here in marbel are untreated, which means i may have problems with infestation in the future which will be a big problem in the future. even if i treated the wood before installing it, i think the treatment will only be good for a few years. so for me, using metal frames is a lot safer in the long run ... cheers

Boo!

mig21, i think metal studs or frames are cheaper compared to wood. here in marbel, at citi hardware, the price is about 120 per unit (2.5m lenght). the reason why i don't want to use wood for drywall is because most of the wood sold in lumber shops here in marbel are untreated, which means i may have problems with infestation in the future which will be a big problem in the future. even if i treated the wood before installing it, i think the treatment will only be good for a few years. so for me, using metal frames is a lot safer in the long run ... cheers

Boo!

thanks boo... how bout drywall material costs versus CHB? (assuming using quality metal stud framing)

thanks

mig21, i don't have any detailed material cost for drywall as i only have 2 internal wall partitions in the house we are constructing, not worth the effort of a detaled costing for my part. i do have a detailed cost analysis of CHB based on actual prices here in tampakan and marbel. i'll look for excel sheet i prepared and share it with the group ... cheers

Boo!

That would be interesting boo! would appreciate it if you can share it with us.. if your details can give us a close to accurate estimate of the CHB cost per surface area, that would be great!

For interior partition drywall partition is much cheaper.

Drywall (using studs, track & 12mm gypsum board) - P450-P500/ sq.m
CHB wall Partition (CHB 4") - P700-750/sq.m

thanks sir bryant! does your CHB costing include finishing? (plastering, paints, etc)