Building our home

[Frank Woolf]

At last after many months of delays we have started building our house on two and a half hectares of land 550 meters above sea level where it is much cooler and I hope I will be able to grow all the plants that I really want and that have failed in the tropical heat lower down.

We started buying the land four months ago in August but few things move quickly or efficiently here so we are still ironing out some problems with the paperwork.

The land is mostly filled with mature Durian, Coconut and Lanzones with some Rambutan, Coffee, Marang, Jack Fruit, Santol, Camansi, Chestnut, etc. We even have one small Macadamia bearing a few fruit.

The biggest problem with the land is a horrible weed that does not belong in the Philippines and that covers hundreds, possibly thousands of hectares of land in the area. This weed even smothers and wipes out Carabao Grass so nothing shorter than about three feet will survive with this weed around it. At ground level there is a two inch thick layer of runners going in every direction. Getting rid of it without damaging other plants is going to be very difficult.

[Frank Woolf]

Eventually I felt secure enough in the land sale to go ahead and start work on the lot.

My priorities were to create access for trucks, get water and get electricity connected.

The last three hundred meters of barangay road are a mess and I have to create an entry ramp and a driveway about one hundred meters into the lot.

The position of the house was decided by taking into account a number of things like the nice view over the city and Samal Island, being alongside the best area for the kitchen garden, being close to a very attractive valley, keeping the number of trees to be cut down to an absolute minimum, ensuring we get the best airflow through the house on hot days, the slope of the land, etc.

We had had heavy rain for months so the road and the driveway were and still are a problem. I am entering this post about three months later and although we have made a lot of progress with the road and driveway we are still seriously hampered by continued heavy rain.

In the pictures attached you can see us struggling with heavy culverts for the drainage gully alongside the road, creating the ramp into the lot, pulling a truck out of the mud, clearing the area for the house and compacting and leveling the driveway.

[Frank Woolf]

We need electricity to build the house but the rules here say you must have a complete house with bedroom, lounge, kitchen, bathroom etc before they will connect the electricity. Also it must be within 35 meters of the nearest electricity pole/transformer.

The solution was to build a little guardhouse at the entrance. It had to be small enough to not need a building permit or it would be months before it could be completed and it had to have all the rooms mentioned above.

We built it complete with septic tank in about 3 or 4 weeks and got the electricity connected. Then I ran heavy duty cables down the lot to the building site.

Another priority for me was to build a workshop where I can build boats and make furniture for the house. By getting this built first I can be working in the workshop doing something useful while keeping an eye on the building of the house.

The pictures show the almost complete guard house and the start of the workshop building that consists of a 20 feet by 20 feet workshop, a 25 feet x 20 feet covered area for parking, a 20 feet by 10 feet store room and an 8 feet by 8 feet bathroom for myself while working in the workshop and for workers working outside.

[Frank Woolf]

The photos attached show the almost completed workshop building, the view from where the house will be and the start of the foundations of the house.

At this point I was getting really tired of trying to improve the road and driveway so trucks could deliver to the building area. We spent weeks getting the beginning of the driveway good only to have it destroyed by truck drivers who insisted on spinning the truck wheels creating huge channels in the surface. The channels filled with water which soaked into the driveway causing it to become a plowed swamp.

I eventually got the workers not to allow trucks to use the driveway until it is ready and after weeks of frustrating work while heavy rains made it near impossible we now (December 2011) have a driveway that maybe can support heavy trucks. We have also been working on improving the barangay road and while it is far better than it was it still needs a lot of work.

[Frank Woolf]

As can be seen in the first picture attached we had a problem with the entrance ramp. It was prepared for a 5 inch layer of concrete but for some reason nobody can explain the concrete was made 18 inches thick on one side at the road so it was impossible for any vehicle to use it. We had to break up a large part and redo it. Now we have an ugly ramp but its usable.

We applied to Eden for barangay water and they agreed on condition we build a reservoir. The second picture shows the reservoir almost completed. We have not yet bought the 470 meters of pipe we need to connect to it.

The third picture is my first vermiculture bin ready for the worms to go in. Since I took this picture it has been moved to under the trees, filled with worms and worm food and seems to be working well.

The fourth picture shows the beginnings of the veggie garden. There is a weed growing over most of the lot that is very difficult to eradicate so clearing land for growing veggies is a bigger than usual job.

The last picture is of my raised seed bed. It is 20 feet x 8 feet and high enough for me to work on it without too much bending. Since this picture was taken the frame has been covered in shade cloth to keep out bugs and snails.

[Frank Woolf]

The inner house walls are now going up as you can see in the attached pictures. In a couple more weeks the walls will be up and they will start on the roof.

We have to move fast moving tons of fill into the house before the floors can be done.

[Frank Woolf]

I just a few recent snapshots so I can keep a good record progress. Whenever I build or make something I find the progress pictures very valuable if there are problems later or to see where details are that may later be hidden.

The first picture is a view of the workshop building and house taken from the carabao path alongside the driveway.

The second is taken from the corner of the parking area of the workshop building.

The next shows the front inner wall of the house.

The fourth is another view of the workshop building.

The last is the veggie patch so far. You can see to huge piles of uprooted weeds in the background behind the two guys and on the left. Its going to be a long job clearing the weeds.

[Frank Woolf]

Today we almost finished the first 20 foot long built in workbench for the workshop. I will add 3/4" block board underneath for a large shelf. We will make one more workbench then I can start setting up tools and do more useful work. We used the coco lumber from the trees we cut so the benches are very heavy duty.

The first picture is of Tata and Dan Dan who did most of the work with me.

The second is most of my local helpers carrying it into the workshop.

The third is the workbench in place.

I just edited and added a picture of the bench with the shelf fitted (and the dog testing it)

[Frank Woolf]

The back of the house is starting to take shape while I have workers clearing the recreation area and planting grass. An area a little wider than the house will extend from the back of the house down past a swimming pool (maybe a fish pond if I can't afford the tiles). The center of this area down to and past the pool will be grass only while the sides and back will be fruit trees like oranges, pomelo, santol, dalandan, lemon, dwarf sweet coconut, etc

[Frank Woolf]

The workshop is almost complete. We have started fitting shelves, etc and the doors are ready to be varnished. The attached storeroom is also complete and thanks to nephew Russel is now all neat and tidy.

The ceiling and walls need another coat of paint but that can wait for a while. Its time to start using the workshop.

[Frank Woolf]

The house is coming along quite well while we work on other things. They are now starting on the roof while my guys are moving tons of earth fill inside.

The first picture shows the roof framing being assembled and welded.

The first tomatoes are forming. I have lost a lot of plants to fungi and need to find a solution but most are doing OK.

While waiting for earth fill to arrive my guys are transplanting grass into the recreation area.

The weather has mostly improved so the view from the back of the house is getting clearer on most days.

In the last picture you see the well being drilled. A dowser friend found a spot and said there is water from 20 to 40 feet. Within a few hours the drillers hit water at 20 feet but there was not enough to pump. They continued on to 40 feet finding water all the way but still not enough to pump so we have to start again.

[Frank Woolf]

We just finished our first coconut harvest. We had about 5,600 coconuts so that's not bad. The truck in the first picture had to come twice to get them all.

Meanwhile some of the durian trees are quite heavily loaded so we need to see what we can harvest soon.

The third picture is just a view of the house from the driveway.

I love working in a well organized and tidy workshop. I do far more work and do it better than in a messy workshop so I made a wall cabinet for some of the most used hand tools. The fourth picture shows it closed and the fifth shows it open.

[Frank Woolf]

At last the driveway is usable by heavy trucks even after heavy rain so we no longer have to keep moving deliveries from the front gate to the building site.

I have been having huge problems with fungi and bugs attacking plants and seeds but I am making progress by experimenting in my raised seed bed. This week we will add a nipa roof so I can control the water. The continued heavy rains are causing most seeds to rot in the soil.

I will be very happy when we can move into the house in maybe two or three months. We moved out of Insular Village before or house is ready because of the problems of toilets that don't flush without a bucket of water to help, leaking roofs making our things wet, a water supply that stinks like it came from a sewer and burns your skin, a neighbor with a yapping dog who complains to the landlord if I am doing a little sanding when he comes home for a nap, etc. We were going to a public standpipe to get water for cooking and bathing and the problems were getting worse while the landlord kept making promises but did almost nothing about these problems for two years. It was like living in a squatter shack.

The truck in the first picture is a World War II army truck still working hard.

The second picture is my raised seed bed. So far without a roof.

[Frank Woolf]

Humidity is often a problem here in the Philippines but I think you will agree that what you see in the first four pictures is a little extreme. The clouds came down until we were in mist as thick as fog.

One of the things I planned to make for the workshop was a router table which I will need when I start making furniture but when I made the work bench I fitted removable panels that can be replaced with 12" wide panels of just about any length. While thinking about making the router table I thought about fitting the router into a removable panel for the work bench. About an hour later its was done. The result is a bit primitive but works very well and cost almost nothing.

[Frank Woolf]

Not much to report on the house building. They are still building the roof framing while finishing walls and my guys are moving earth fill into the last of the rooms and the porches. (see front and back pictures below)

My two best friends are happy to explore and just sit and watch while I work in the garden.

[Frank Woolf]

I bought more curry tree plants recently (3rd picture) but I could not detect any spicy aroma or taste anything spicy so I have been wondering if they really are curry trees as used in Indian cooking. Two of my helpers said they could detect a spicy aroma but if it is that weak I guess they are not much use for flavoring.

I have been making up what I hope will be a good seed raising and planting mix to get around the problems of fungi, slow draining soil and pests.

I made an oven out of a 50 gallon drum and cook soil to kill of any fungi and pests. Then I mix 2 parts cooked soil, 2 parts rice hulls, 2 parts coconut coir, 1 part vermicast, 1 part course sand and a liberal sprinkling of Mykovam. The result looks and feels great. I have just used it to pot up 16 hibiscus cuttings and will use it in the herb spiral in a day or two when the rock piling is finished.

[Frank Woolf]

I bought a large number of herbs from various vendors a few days ago. When we got to planting them there was a plant I can't identify. I don't know if it was put in by mistake or what.

Can anyone identify this?

[shawmike]

I bought more curry tree plants recently (3rd picture) but I could not detect any spicy aroma or taste anything spicy so I have been wondering if they really are curry trees as used in Indian cooking. Two of my helpers said they could detect a spicy aroma but if it is that weak I guess they are not much use for flavoring.

I have been making up what I hope will be a good seed raising and planting mix to get around the problems of fungi, slow draining soil and pests.

I made an oven out of a 50 gallon drum and cook soil to kill of any fungi and pests. Then I mix 2 parts cooked soil, 2 parts rice hulls, 2 parts coconut coir, 1 part vermicast, 1 part course sand and a liberal sprinkling of Mykovam. The result looks and feels great. I have just used it to pot up 16 hibiscus cuttings and will use it in the herb spiral in a day or two when the rock piling is finished.

Wow - they are kind of amazing! Where did you get the curry tree plants from? I would love to have one of these for my own garden but I wonder to which climate conditions do these grow properly and correctly? I usually order my plants with serenata plants delivery (http://www.serenataplants.com) and I definitely have to take a look if they have curry tree plants even available - if not you definitely have to tell me your source. My wifey would love that specialty in her garden! :)

[Frank Woolf]

I have been getting mine from the plant stalls that are at SM Davao every six months. There are there now and will be there for about another week.

My main reason for growing curry trees is because chewing a few fresh leaves every day is supposed to help control blood sugar for diabetics like me.

[Frank Woolf]

I have been making up what I hope will be a good seed raising and planting mix to get around the problems of fungi, slow draining soil and pests.

I made an oven out of a 50 gallon drum and cooked soil to kill of any fungi and pests. Then I mix 2 parts cooked soil, 2 parts rice hulls, 2 parts coconut coir, 1 part vermicast, 1 part course sand and a liberal sprinkling of Mykovam. The result looks and feels great. I have just used it to pot up 16 hibiscus cuttings and will use it in the herb spiral in a day or two when the rock piling is finished.

Initial results are excellent with the mix. Three days ago I took a chance and used it to plant corn in newspaper pots, two types of tomatoes, sunflowers, cucumber, cabbage, peas, beans, hollyhocks, and other seeds in about 20 home made seed trays. Today about half the trays and all the corn in pots are showing very healthy shoots and seedlings. It looks like I may be on the right track.

I also discovered that the mystery plant is Vietnamese Coriander.

[Frank Woolf]

The house is beginning to look like a house and the recreation area at the back is taking shape.

The pictures below show the front of the house so far, the back of the house seen from the pool area and beginning of the recreation area seen from the house.


I may have to go back to Hong Kong for a while. Hong Kong has been my home for 40 years while I have traveled extensively working in a variety of countries, especially the Philippines. Add the family responsibilities of buying land and building our retirement home and I naturally spend a lot of time out of Hong Kong.

This has never been a problem with the Hong Kong authorities but a couple of days ago I got a big shock. The immigration dept. told my wife that my visa is no longer valid because I have been out of Hong Kong for more than a year. I feel like I have been deported from my home country.

I would have returned a few months after I was there last time but my diabetes foot was bad for 6 months so I couldn't travel. Then when I did try to go Philippines Immigration changed the rules without informing me (during two visits to the Immigration dept.) and decided my ID card with no expiry had suddenly expired so when I reached Manila they refused to let me leave.

Then of course it took months for them to produce a new ID card. When I got the card my Diabetes foot was really bad again and I had to be hospitalized for a few weeks then spend a long period avoiding walking or standing followed by a period on crutches, again unable to travel.

I am now waiting for my wife's next interview for her visa renewal before I decide if I should go to Hong Kong or just give up. Right now I am in a state of shock.

[Frank Woolf]

Beng (my wife) was here for a few days and had a rare opportunity to visit the lot see the building progress and get some fresh air playing with the dogs.

We are fortunate in that after recent flash floods almost washed away our road the Barangay sent in the heavy machinery to work on it. The back hoe has finished clearing the drainage gullies and in a few days the grader, trucks of gravel and compacter will follow so we will at last have a good road.

Today we started laying down newspaper over ground where we have cut the weeds down to the ground. Then we put 2 to 4 inches of rice hulls and coconut coir on top. We will plant water melons in the patch in the picture below when its ready. The newspaper will block the light from the weeds so they should die off then the newspaper, coir and hulls rot down and feed the soil making it fertile. The coir and hulls dry out very fast so weed seeds landing on it are likely to get cooked in the sun and any weeds that do start growing are very easy to pull out.

The last two pictures are of the house today. The roof is close to complete as are the porch arches. My guys are now digging out the porches at the front and then need to lower the ground level of the ground in front of the house, all around the roundabout and part way up the driveway by about 14 to 24 inches because the house is about 12 inches lower than I specified. :(