My Philippine Life

Personal perspectives on retirement life in the Philippines

March 22, 2013
by GOIloilo
18 Comments

Earthquake Philippines – design right

Our Philippine house building project. Building to survive a Philippine earthquake. Philippine seismic design. Continue reading

March 3, 2013
by GOIloilo
18 Comments

Our Philippine House Project – Fans in General and Ceiling Fans in Particular

Our Philippine House Project – Ceiling Fans – an expensive disappointment. We find that fans are an essential part of keeping cool in the Philippines without wasting energy. But, don’t assume that ceiling fans are the best choice. Continue reading

May 20, 2012
by GOIloilo
67 Comments

Our Philippine House Project – Roof and Roofing

A very slick, economical and attractive Philippine roofing system which provides a durable roof, able to withstand the monsoons, typhoons, termites and other rigors of life in the Philippines at a moderate cost. We’re impressed. Continue reading

Parthenon

April 19, 2012
by GOIloilo
23 Comments

Our Philippine house project: the structural heart of the house – concrete columns and beams

Our Philippine house building project: concrete roof beams. The roof beams support the large steel roof structure. Our site is especially exposed to typhoons so we want to be be sure things are done properly. Rebar splicing suggestions. Continue reading

December 10, 2011
by GOIloilo
17 Comments

Our Philippine House Project – Security

Security measures built into our Philippine home, window bar, security screen doors, alarms, etc Continue reading

September 1, 2011
by GOIloilo
86 Comments

Our Philippine House Project: Philippine Electrical Wiring

As part of our project to build our Philippine house, we had to learn about Philippine residential electrical systems so we could wire our house. It’s served by a Philippine rural electric cooperative. Here’s what we’ve learned. Continue reading

August 23, 2011
by GOIloilo
44 Comments

Our house project: building a hollow block perimeter wall

Detailed description of building a hollow block (concrete block) perimeter wall in the Philippines – supervision, hiring workers, buying materials, problems and successes. Continue reading

August 18, 2011
by GOIloilo
8 Comments

Our Philippine house project – equipment shopping

Buying construction equipment in Iloilo for our house building project in Tigbauan, Iloilo – cement mixer, concrete vibrator. Continue reading

August 10, 2011
by GOIloilo
19 Comments

Our House Project – Steel and Welding

Building our house in the Philippines. We decided to set up our own “welding shop” on-site.Welders and welding equipment are essential for just about any Philippine construction project. Our welding equipment will be paid for in savings on the roof trusses alone. Continue reading

July 31, 2011
by GOIloilo
50 Comments

Our Philippine house project: shopping for cement hollow blocks

Shopping for cement blocks (called hollow block) in the Philippines is certainly not a top pick adventure story but anyway, perhaps someone will benefit from our experiences.  Really, this is one chapter in the building of our Philippine house in … Continue reading

July 24, 2011
by GOIloilo
50 Comments

Building our Philippine House – Index

An American’s detailed account of building a house in the Philippines. Continue reading

July 8, 2011
by GOIloilo
19 Comments

Our Philippine House Project: Learn from our mistakes

Our biggest Philippine house building blunders. We don’t want to present our project as a paragon of perfection so here we show what went wrong during our Philippine house construction project and why. Continue reading

July 5, 2010
by GOIloilo
14 Comments

Our Philippine House Project – Carpentry

We’re building a house in the Philippines. We discuss carpentry, doors, door casings, lock sets, and hinges. Continue reading

plumbing_outside

May 22, 2010
by GOIloilo
35 Comments

Our Philippine House Project: Plumbing

Plumbing system for our Philippine house. Catch basins, septic system, cold water piping. Continue reading

January 15, 2010
by GOIloilo
14 Comments

Our Philippine house project: layout, footers and columns

After months of planning and many changes we finally have our house plans completed, we have a foreman and crew and are ready to start construction next week. First step buying a cement mixer and concrete vibrator. Continue reading

September 15, 2008
by GOIloilo
5 Comments

Ideas for our new Philippine house

Tropical house photos, tropical house details to help us define the design of our tropical retirement home. They are an unorganized hodgepodge of things we’ve seen, things which caught our eye. Maybe something here will be an inspiration to your Philippine building plans. Continue reading

August 12, 2008
by GOIloilo
9 Comments

We buy real estate in the Philippines

Our new home in Tigbauan, Iloilo where we’ve learned a whole new meaning for “small town” and “rural”. Continue reading