measuring tapes dont last long here! never let anyone borrow yours if you want to keep it, they always pull it out completely to the end where it wont wind up again. i am about ready to stop lending tools completely. they always come back dirty or broken or dull blade or rusty or something. even my steel pry bar/crow bar from the US has managed to get damage, i had to grind it down and fix the end twice already. have no idea what it was used for to do that! i figured that would be safe from them being just a steel crowbar LOL of course it's covered in mud and has a layer of rust when it comes back but i expected that.
I am not a big fan of the metal measuring tapes. We found a plastic rollable one at a motorcycle shop in Davao, think the store is called Blaze. But yeah, seeing how they abuse tools here was a bit of a shock to me. Money is tight, tools are typically low quality from China..so leave them out in rain and mud? I don't get the logic. Crew 1 is not coming back and the current guys are both better and still being trained (also on how to not litter). Baby steps 😁
@@ABetterLifePH i'm shocked at the way they abuse everything, even expensive cell phones, being poor you would think they respect what they have and take care of it more. i grew up relatively poor and took very good care of my things because i knew they would not be easy to replace. it just doesnt make any sense to me, i cant understand how it got this way here.
@justaguy-69 Agree. It may be the "ah, it'll be ok" attitude. It's not just items either, as proven recently - life/health isn't valued highly all the time either. Strange, and definitely something worth remembering as a foreigner. I am not planning to lend out tools in the future, without clear instructions that I want them back shortly. I keep doing sweeps before we leave, moving items to shelter and picking up trash. They (second group) have noticed and are much better about respecting how I want things done (they still treat their own house/area as a landfill, with metal tools left in the mud overnight etc).
@@justaguy-69 one of the reasons they have so little is their disrespect for possessions and from my experience food. not all, but general observation. they live day to day and it shows. drove me crazy when i met my wife. a lot of years a lot of grrrrs.
Yeah, the culture is for sure different. I advise people to make sure their potential partner comes from a good family. It will make things much easier. Our neighbors are quite poor, but hard working, genuinely good people and they don't ask for handouts etc. Their kids are brought up well, they have chickens and a small fish pond, work the land etc. Really impressive to see how they live, and they enjoy life A LOT more than at least I did growing up/living in Sweden. Material possessions do not bring happiness.
i would dig the drain about 2 foot away from your retaining wall, it would concern me to have it uncovered right to the hollow block itself. i cant say why but something inside just tells me it wouldnt be a good idea ! LOL🤣
@@ABetterLifePH yeah , that would be good, i'd plaster them with sahara cement, it would help strengthen it also, but be careful the wall does not get bumped or any pressure on it when its opened up, it seems like it would be more fragile exposed. you dont want to have to deal with damage to it on top of everything else.
@justaguy-69 Yeah. We're thinking of following your advice and pouring a concrete beam across the top of the upper wall. I misunderstood the first crew, when they (in my mind) said they'd do that...they apparently meant they would leave a horizontal rebar across.
@@ABetterLifePH looks nice. have heard mindanao is beautiful. was told it's not a safe place for foreigners unless you have your own private bodyguards. then again, have heard davao is great place for foreigners. spent my time in cebu and have a small shanty near kawasin falls. what prices are the asking for land?
Davao is considered the safest city in the Philippines... should be with armed guards even at 7/11! Mindanao is essentially split in half - the east side is as safe or unsafe as the rest of the Philippines, and the west side I'm sure is nice but I'm avoiding it. The land prices up here are quite affordable, but for a reason. This is ancestral domain, so no titles. You can still get paperwork (COLO, certificate of land occupancy) but it's more like renting the area for 15-25 years, and then (for a small cost) extending for another 15-25 (rinse and repeat). Expect somewhere around 0.5-1.5 M per hectare, or 75 k per 500 sqm (if getting a small lot).
👍👍👍
Thank you! 😊
❤😊
Thank you as always, Walter!
measuring tapes dont last long here! never let anyone borrow yours if you want to keep it, they always pull it out completely to the end where it wont wind up again.
i am about ready to stop lending tools completely. they always come back dirty or broken or dull blade or rusty or something. even my steel pry bar/crow bar from the US has managed to get damage, i had to grind it down and fix the end twice already. have no idea what it was used for to do that! i figured that would be safe from them being just a steel crowbar LOL
of course it's covered in mud and has a layer of rust when it comes back but i expected that.
I am not a big fan of the metal measuring tapes. We found a plastic rollable one at a motorcycle shop in Davao, think the store is called Blaze.
But yeah, seeing how they abuse tools here was a bit of a shock to me. Money is tight, tools are typically low quality from China..so leave them out in rain and mud? I don't get the logic. Crew 1 is not coming back and the current guys are both better and still being trained (also on how to not litter).
Baby steps 😁
@@ABetterLifePH i'm shocked at the way they abuse everything, even expensive cell phones, being poor you would think they respect what they have and take care of it more. i grew up relatively poor and took very good care of my things because i knew they would not be easy to replace.
it just doesnt make any sense to me, i cant understand how it got this way here.
@justaguy-69 Agree. It may be the "ah, it'll be ok" attitude. It's not just items either, as proven recently - life/health isn't valued highly all the time either.
Strange, and definitely something worth remembering as a foreigner. I am not planning to lend out tools in the future, without clear instructions that I want them back shortly. I keep doing sweeps before we leave, moving items to shelter and picking up trash. They (second group) have noticed and are much better about respecting how I want things done (they still treat their own house/area as a landfill, with metal tools left in the mud overnight etc).
@@justaguy-69 one of the reasons they have so little is their disrespect for possessions and from my experience food. not all, but general observation. they live day to day and it shows. drove me crazy when i met my wife. a lot of years a lot of grrrrs.
Yeah, the culture is for sure different. I advise people to make sure their potential partner comes from a good family. It will make things much easier.
Our neighbors are quite poor, but hard working, genuinely good people and they don't ask for handouts etc. Their kids are brought up well, they have chickens and a small fish pond, work the land etc. Really impressive to see how they live, and they enjoy life A LOT more than at least I did growing up/living in Sweden. Material possessions do not bring happiness.
i would dig the drain about 2 foot away from your retaining wall, it would concern me to have it uncovered right to the hollow block itself.
i cant say why but something inside just tells me it wouldnt be a good idea !
LOL🤣
I'm thinking of painting the hollow blocks with liquid rubber. I don't like how exposed they are to water right now.
@@ABetterLifePH yeah , that would be good, i'd plaster them with sahara cement, it would help strengthen it also, but be careful the wall does not get bumped or any pressure on it when its opened up, it seems like it would be more fragile exposed. you dont want to have to deal with damage to it on top of everything else.
@justaguy-69 Yeah. We're thinking of following your advice and pouring a concrete beam across the top of the upper wall. I misunderstood the first crew, when they (in my mind) said they'd do that...they apparently meant they would leave a horizontal rebar across.
I've never seen a house without windows before, don't get it.
Oh well. Remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Positive vibes
This is phase one of the build, bedroom and CR. We have a window in the CR and about 15% of the bedroom is glass.
Thank you!
And I think that we have more glass in our bedroom than most houses do. Why have windows when you can have sliding doors?
in what part of philippines are you located?
We're on Mindanao, roughly 2.5 hours north of Davao.
@@ABetterLifePH looks nice. have heard mindanao is beautiful. was told it's not a safe place for foreigners unless you have your own private bodyguards. then again, have heard davao is great place for foreigners. spent my time in cebu and have a small shanty near kawasin falls. what prices are the asking for land?
Davao is considered the safest city in the Philippines... should be with armed guards even at 7/11! Mindanao is essentially split in half - the east side is as safe or unsafe as the rest of the Philippines, and the west side I'm sure is nice but I'm avoiding it.
The land prices up here are quite affordable, but for a reason. This is ancestral domain, so no titles. You can still get paperwork (COLO, certificate of land occupancy) but it's more like renting the area for 15-25 years, and then (for a small cost) extending for another 15-25 (rinse and repeat). Expect somewhere around 0.5-1.5 M per hectare, or 75 k per 500 sqm (if getting a small lot).
You will get more views and make more babies
No babies, we're good with animals. 😁