Finished! . . . What's Next?

It's been finished since mid-December but there was one last correction I had to make.  I couldn't bear posting the pictures without the correction because oddly enough, even if there were a dozen mistakes before this, this particular one got on my nerves in a way that I couldn't even blog about it.  The shower head fixture was placed too high and I had to send a worker to rectify it.  But now that the project is finished, what's next?

The above pictures show how the house would be when the user, my mom won't be there -- completely sealed and secured.  On the other hand, when she's visiting the beach, it'll open up to the elements.

The client is very particular about the bathroom so I hope this one passes.

So by the year end of 2011, my team of hardworking people and I completed six renovation and construction projects.  Who knows what 2012 would bring.

Moving Along

Getting the local "arawan" to finish the bathroom was really the right and wise move.  He's easy to work with, "madaling kausapin" and the job got done on time without excuses unlike the local contractor who milked the project without giving back quality on-time work.  I'm still berating myself for choosing wrongly but it seems I have a weakness where I get immediately impressed by somebody, get satisfied with just one discussion with the person and don't shop around anymore for alternatives.  This practice has got to stop.  This bad habit has got to be fixed.

The lamp foot is courtesy of Elsor who is based in Manila.  I tried it with a heavy piece of metal first but that didn't work out.  This one's a nice piece of molave from Mom's workshop.

The headboard is almost finished except for the box where the cellphones and other gadgets can be plugged in.

Locked up and secured, the house looks like this:

What I like about the picture below is that it shows how small the structures are in the landscape.  I'm afraid of the three story house my Mom would like to eventually build on this site.  I don't like buildings overwhelming natural beauty if the structure is insensitively proportioned or supersized.

Besides not seeing the mini-beach home through the finish line, the other hard thing about not being able to personally visit Calatagan now is missing my beach outings with Joshua.  At least we enjoyed a good holiday in Matabungkay the last time we went together and Jason takes pictures that make me feel I've relished the day with them.

Good and Bad

Lots of good things happening with the Calatagan project that I'm happy with but there are mistakes that should have been averted but were not, so I'd just have to take the bad with the good and the good with the bad.

The electrician didn't follow or remember or understand my instructions about this part of the house where I want the lamp to be coming out from the wall so there shouldn't have been any outlets.  But since the outlet was placed there already, I'd have to make do but this design obviously doesn't work so I'm still finding a way to solve this.  I had a thick piece of metal curved to receive the lamp but it doesn't seem like a good solution either.

The L-shaped headboard is taking form.

The ongoing debacle, dilemma, conundrum with the local contractor has finally been resolved.  Both my foreman and I lost faith in the local contractor who was doing the electrical, plumbing and tiling works of the bathroom.  He was saying that he was capable of accomplishing the tasks but he wasn't.  His people seldom went to work and didn't seem like they were serious about the whole job.  I want to berate myself for having chosen him but I can't because it was again an "innocent mistake" for thinking the best of people.

I made this mistake before when I chose a subcontractor for the spiral staircase in the clinic project and I thought I'd better exercise extra caution when outsourcing jobs.  However, it happened again.  I'm grateful though that we were able to terminate the contract before the tiling and laying of the granite sink began.  Now, we got a daily-wage worker who seems a far, far, far better option and who's also from the area.  Hmmm.  Does that mean it's really hard to trust subcons?

What I wanted to avoid also was the stress of going between my foreman and the subcon who would be saying different things and it would be one person's word against the other.  I have not been able to visit the project site in two weeks so it's stressful having to deal with it by phone, although I am quite sure whom to believe when it comes to quality of work because I've seen the stark difference between the two.

Our own team of workers headed by Foreman Raul had to correct the faulty plumbing left by the nightmare subcontractor.  The water is stronger now.

Two tries with the sandblasted glass sticker: the one on the left is correct and the one on the right was the first try that still has to be repeated.

Glad Even If I'm Not There

Even if I don't see for myself how the Calatagan beach house turns out in the last few days of construction, I'm quite happy to see it realized through the photos taken by Jess.  I've accepted the fact that I can't drive up to Calatagan for a while but I can still monitor the work by delegation.  Today, I met with the foreman in the hospital so we can discuss the final materials that need to be bought.

I'm glad with the pictures taken by Jess that show his unique perspective.  The only thing I'm worried about is the bathroom.  The local contractor has not been able to deliver on time and with the quality I expected.  Take for example the strength of the water coming out of the shower.  In fairness, they will continue to work on it but it seems one excuse after another and my staff taking attendance reports that only a few workers come from their team and there are days when no one shows up at all.  The tiling was supposed to have started days ago but now they're just welding the steel bar supports for the granite sink counter.  Despite these minor anxieties, I believe everything will turn out well because foreman Raul will be there to monitor everything.

 The bedroom's looking more and more livable, ready for use.

I'll also have to discuss with Nady, the carpenter about the desk, beds and headboard.  These were the ones crafted in Manila while there are parts that need to be constructed on site.

I don't think I would've taken a picture like this so Jess really captured beautifully a certain dynamic spirit of the light, wood, glass and bamboo.