Overbudget & Underestimated

 Building in a tiny town in Batangas brings a lot of challenges especially to the uninitiated.  I think I made some mistakes because I didn't know where to get the good materials at a good price and most importantly, that could be delivered to the site at a reasonable rate.  But it's all part of the learning process and mainly why I took on this project so that I can absorb as much as I can about construction by actually diving into it head on.  

Every time I went to Calatagan, I passed by Tagaytay and I kept seeing these wood furniture shops along the road.  I finally mustered the time to  go through these shops and found great bargains for second hand lumber, some of which are good quality hard wood better than the new ones ordinarily sold in hardware stores. 

 I'm officially over the budget and I've again grossly underestimated a project.  The operational costs of bringing workers from Manila is weighing in heavily.  My mom also asked me to make the bathroom bigger and it is frustratingly out of proportion with the house and the change costs more of course.  But I have to make the most out of the situation and have figured out a way to make the bathroom roof less massive.  We're trying to re-adjust the height so it doesn't overpower the main bedroom.  However, the problem is the water tank that needs to fit in the roof.  When I go back there this coming Monday, we'll find out if the re-adjustment works.

So instead of panicking and worrying about the budget, I should relax and breathe in the beauty at the beach -- these starfish engraved shells and my wonderful, wonderful gift of joy, Joshua.

Tooey Stopover

I was telling my childhood friend, Mintoy that it was hard to find a decent and affordable place to eat in Calatagan and he told me about the option found in the neighboring town of Balayan.  The place's name is Tuy but it's pronounced Tooowee and after googling about Hacienda Zabarte, I was so eager to go there the next day.  The sugarcane farm boasts of a vegetable farm within and a quaint restaurant specializing in salads, pasta and sandwiches using their own organically produced lettuce.

After the visit, I was even more determined to find that model farm I've been searching for.  This has lofty ideas and ideals such as making vegetables more affordable but I'd also like to see more examples out there.

GI Misadventure

We've been going to Calatagan three times a week and though the three hour ride one way and six hours two way is taxing and exhausting, it's a pleasure to witness the progress.  I also like coordinating everything so things move along without a hitch.  At the end of each day, I enter all expenses into excel and am a bit calmed down that the project is still within the budget.  

 In this last trip, we had to carry GI corrugated and flat sheets from Manila to Batangas atop Jason's pick-up truck.  It's not allowed on the expressway but we made it to the tollgate undetected.  At the tollgate, they tell us off.   In Tagaytay, a dog crosses the road, Jason steps on the brakes and the GI fly off landing on the road, damaging six of the flat sheets.  It was very fortunate nobody was hurt and the dog escaped alive.  So it's really good that they ban this sort of thing on the expressway because it's really, really not safe.   However, we had to do it because the hardware store in Calatagan couldn't get it for us and it would take a week for the Balayan hardware to order it.  The roof had to be set in place first but we just miscalculated the requirement by two sheets.  

Steel Love

The welder and two assistants went back to the site two days ahead of the carpenters.  It was difficult to predict when the rains would stop and the project can just get delayed but we decided to go ahead with a third of the crew first.  The cost of doing the work during the rainy season shoots up because labor is not maximized so I was hemming and hawing about the whole thing and was compelled to continue since the most important thing is to finish.

This is third welding machine we brought to the site.  We made two trips just to get the right machine that would work with the generator.

The carpenters arrived and it's easier for them to do their part because the main steel structure is up.  Watching this going up, I thought about the teacher I had when I was studying architecture - Neil Jackson who was so enamored with steel construction that he's written several books about it.  I thought steel structures are wonderful but they weren't a popular or common method of construction here in the Philippines.  But seeing this one go up using my design, I understood what made Neil Jackson fall in love with steel.  I thought what a neat and quick method and wouldn't it be wonderful if we studied and explored other forms of constructions and materials aside from the laboriously slow "buhos" and "CHB" type we normally use here -- something that would be faster to put up saving costs in the process.

 My hubby is the king of the off-road!  He's mastered the tricky, muddy terrain of Calatagan.

When I was canvassing for the steel materials for the project, I was shocked at how expensive some pieces were especially if you required extra thick bars or tubes.  Sometimes, the thickness we wanted wasn't available.  So when I had to look for another specific thickness, I wanted to see for myself the actual source.  We were led to several huge warehouses owned by the brother of the hardware owner and the stacks upon stacks of metal were quite beautiful.  

Part of the Plan

It was a delight to see the fluorescent lamps working when we got the electricity finally connected but that euphoria was short-lived when we realized it wasn't enough to power the welding machine.  The 1,900 meter traverse of the electrical wire caused a voltage drop while the machine's requirement is much higher.  So the truck chassis had to be brought back all the way to where it was sitting originally where the electrical post was in the property so that the base could be welded onto it. 

We also figured if we bought a new welding machine with a built-in transformer, perhaps it could be powered by reduced electricity.  Meanwhile work had to go on in the part of the property where the electricity originated. The plan was my husband and I would go back to Manila to get a new welding machine while the workers welded the floor structure onto the chassis.  When we came back to the farm, the platform was done and we pulled it back to the beach area.  If we welded the complete structure in its original location far away from the beach, it would be too hard to bring it back to the beach because of its height and bulk.  The roads are simply non-existent and treacherous for this kind of operation so we have to figure out a way to make majority of the structure by the beach.

The hero of the day was Junie, the laborer-turned-stunt-driver who was Lito Lapid slash Jet Li in disguise maneuvering the truck chassis balanced on two pieces of angle bars.

My husband first pulled the chassis and then when they had to go down a long slope, he had to be positioned behind it to control the descent.  My husband enjoyed all this since it put his off-roading skills to the test and to best use.

Back on the beach where it belongs, the whole thing was leveled to make sure we won't have a wonky house.

Now this is the crux of the problem -- the quality of welding.  We need to fully weld the steel bars.  The old welding machine can't be powered by the electricity by the beach.  The newly bought portable welding machine could only do spot welding and could only be powered by the generator we brought in.  So . . . . . . I had to get another welding machine from Manila which today they are trying out only to have the capacitor of the generator give way.  Sigh.  As Agent Osso from Disney Junior would say, "It's all part of the plan -- more or less."

Bayanihan Logistics

 The truck chassis was transferred to the beach  after the engine was removed and it was much lighter to pull.  This is where we hope to build the house upon -- but that's not as easy as it sounds as one challenge swooped down after another.   On Saturday, July 23, we drove to Calatagan from Manila with all the workers and construction materials gathered from three hardware stores and my Mom's store room. 

 The 16ft elf truck that was rented couldn't traverse the usually tricky part of a curving bumpy slope so my husband pulled it with his pick-up. 

 While one group handled the transfer and unloading of construction materials, one group had to connect 1,900 meters of wires to bring electricity to the beach area. 

 While all this was going on, Joshua enjoyed himself playing in the sand and making a playground out of the older house on the hill.  

 After unloading the materials, the carpenters set out to build their barracks which will be their sleeping and living area while the space under the floor hosted all the wood to be used for construction, protecting it from the rains -- which is additional challenge building in July - August.  

At the end of the day, scenes like this make it all worthwhile.

Va Va Va Bene!

Because it's more than good.....it's very, very to the nth power good.....it's the best!  

I got a text dinner invitation and since Icee always introduces us to the best restaurants, I immediately replied yes.  The location was a bit intriguing: the second floor of a Petron station along EDSA corner Pasay Road.  Usually, eateries found in a gas station are of the Chow King-Jollibee variety but this one takes fine dining to a truly unexpected spot but never mind, so less people go there and I can have  all the pasta to myself.  Haha!  No such luck, though.  The place seems always full and reservations are necessary.

We ordered almost everything on Va Bene's menu and each bite gave the cliche "bursting with flavor" new meaning and dimension, lifting it to whole new levels.  I've never felt like this in a restaurant before where I want to hug the chef so tightly and bang my head on his shoulder telling him, thank you, thank you for creating this.

I was only able to take pictures of the pasta, lamb and dessert but missed the salads because we gobbled them up before unleashing my camera.  However, the salads should not, I repeat, should not be missed.  I also did not include here other pictures because they didn't do justice to the photo subject.  These barely do either but they'll have to suffice.

Here are the va, va, va happy to the max eaters.  If happiness is eating a perfect plate of pasta what do you call eating multiple perfect plates from antipasto (appetizer) to dolce (dessert)?