Looking back---small bahay-kubo and the CR

Before we could start the project, I wanted to have a small bahay-kubo for temporary lodging, tool and materials storage and a place to rest or just hang around. My original thinking was to buy one of those ready to install bahay-kubo one can buy for for about forty thousand pesos delivered and installed ready for occupancy. I then asked our local guys if they can build one for the same price. They told me that for that amount, they can build a bigger and better bahay-kubo. I told them that I wanted two roofing style on the small bahay-kubo that would serve as the model for the abong’s roofing.

In addition, we also need an outdoor bathroom, referred to as “CR” (for comfort room I guess). I provided a sketch design of what the CR could look like and then left for Calif. Below are pictures of the bahay-kubo in various stages of construction.

I was impressed and totally satisfied with the bahay-kubo and the CR. This bahay-kubo even have a private room inside as well as a small balcon. 

The completed bathroom also looks impressive and almost to the specs.

After the construction was over, we moved the small bahay-kubo to the northern end by the water pump house and renaned it 'honeymoon suite'.

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Looking back---Crews and breaks

My construction crew consists of the 5 guys I brought in from Olongapo as my primary construction crew specializing in wood carpentry and the rest are locals from around the area. My project manager does the hiring, firing and act as paymaster as well. At the peak of the project, we have as many as 26 crews simultaneously working on various tasks including, carpentry, roofing materials preparation, bamboo flooring preparations, fish pond riprap and Pina as full-time cook. My deal with the 5 construction crew is that I provide lodging and lunch during workdays except Sundays. They provide their own breakfast and supper. They can go home after work every Saturday and start Monday morning. They have to provide their own breakfast and dinner just as the locals do.

Right after the crew’s bahay-kubo and the CR was completed, we immediately worked on the temporary outdoor kitchen or “batalan”.

It only took two days to complete the batalan. It has two burner gas stove, a water faucet, place to hang up coffee cups, drinking glasses, plates and everything we need to cook and serve food for the crew. This batalan serves as our kitchen for almost five months.

our batalan

The pictures below shows the crew preparing and celebrating of a major milestone.

Sundays are mandatory break and free time for everybody. A local barber usually comes in to  gave haircut to those who want it. The crew also use this time to do some fishing at the pond.

here a local barber does a housecall

the crew trying to hook some fish for dinner

Some go around gathering vegetables growing around the property,

kohol

The crew even brought their own TV set to watch their favorite basketball game.

Besides fishing, the next favorite past time is watching and feeding those free range chickens and probably discussing which one would be next for arroz-caldo or tinola. There were about 30 or so 

assorted chickens when they started and maybe less than 10 when the project ended.

My personal favorite is having coffee early in the morning and warming my hands against the warm of fire from scrap materials.

 ...and of course a celebratory drink with my cousin Bert Fortaleza.

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Looking back---The bossman

the Bossman


This is me taking a breather and my sleeping bag under the mango tree. This is where I sleep before the structure is up. Notice the mosquito repellent lamp hanging on the mango tree limb. I was surprised that there were hardly any mosquitos in the area at night

bossman taking a breather

this is where I sleep during the construction.

early morning bonfire and coffee

 And after the structure was up, I laid out some planks for temporary flooring to set up my sleeping bag. The picture below is me and my project manager discussing project issues.

this is my upgraded accommodation after the structure was up.

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Looking back---the Fishpond

The palisda-an (fishpond)

The picture below shows a small body of water trapped in a low lying area instead of a”palisda-an”.

the palisda-an before the upgrade

When I was a young boy, my grandfather used to hold their annual family get together every 'Sabado Gloria' (Saturday after Good Friday) here at the property and the main event is the catching the contents of this palisda-an. It certainly does not look like this back then. It is way much larger, well stocked and well maintained. Back then they don’t drain the water in the pond. The water level is low enough to drive all the fish into a corner and trap them using a “tarik” (a portable fence-like contraption made of tall and thin round strips of bamboo weaved together). The most exciting part is watching the guys scoop the jumping “dalags”, “paltats’, ar-aros’, “guramis”, “cap-pys” and “lagdaws” (freshwater fishes, crab and shrimp). Yes those were the days.

I wanted the palisda-an close to the abong so I could throw my fishing pole from the balcon. The palisda-an will be enlarged to 20ft x 60ft, the riprap materials will use large stone and the design will be free-form style meaning no corners and no straight lines.

The slide show below shows the palisdaan construction phases. Click on the picture to start the slideshow.

Looking back---the bamboo flooring

Bamboo Flooring

There are about 10 or so bamboo clusters spread throughout the property. I wanted to preserve those bamboos so I insisted that only the mature ones are to be harvested for use at the abong.

Here are two of the mature bamboo clusters on the property

The original plan for the abong was to have a small ‘balcon’ (veranda) made of bamboo flooring at the back looking over the “palisdaan” (fishpond).

The abong design was not yet finalized at this point. I did not want to waste those prepared bamboo slats and beside we have so much lumber lying around, so I decided to have a wrap-around balcon design instead. This decision created a new issue--we need more bamboos and we don’t have enough to cover the wrap-around balcon. My resourceful project manager informed me that she knows somebody in near-by Kabuwa-an willing to sell some bamboos at the right price of course. And so the basar (local term for bamboo flooring) production line keeps going.

Some interesting facts on the balcon construction. There are over one thousand 1.5" individual bamboo slats used throughout the wrap-around balcon.  Each slat is secured by bamboo peg instead of nails. We burned two electric drills during the construction process. We needed a lot of bamboo pegs, so we employed three local housewives around the abong to make those bamboo pegs. I created a steel template that when a small piece of bamboo stick is hammered into its  3/8” diameter hole, a finished and uniformed “chop-stick” comes out. I offered to pay them one peso for each stick they make and they average 250 to 300 sticks per day.  It only took them only four days to produce over one thousand of those chopsticks.

Using a 3/8” drill bit, we drilled a 1.5” hole on the bamboo slat then use portion of the chopstick to secure (i.e., “nail”?) the bamboo slat to the floor. The workers estimated that if we have nailed those slats, we would need over 100 kilos of 1” nails. Below are some of the pictures of the basar production.

prepping the 'chopstick' peg

more slats in progress

drying those slats

sun drying the slats

preparing the chopstick peg

sun drying the slats

sun drying the slats
       

and here is a section of the balcon

notice that there are no nail heads showing.

sun drying the slats

sun-drying those bamboo slats.

Looking back---building materials: the lumbers

(after all these years--yes its still work in progress!!!)

I took a lot of pictures during the development and construction of the abong. My original plan was to chronicle our daily activities. I created the blog but never found the time to do the daily updates.
So several years later, I decided to update the abong blog in a 'slow and retired mode'. As for the blog topic organization, I decided to group them as point of interests.

The building materials: the lumbers

Most visitors at the abong often asked me this ubiquitous question--where did we got these lumbers?. It is common knowledge that these oversized lumbers are not available at any hardware/lumber stores.  Luckily for us, there are still a few very old “aro-o” (local pine tree) left-over around the property. My project manager also happens to know this guy Elorde, a logger from Botolan, an Aeta and also a DENR certified logger. He did all the chopping and cutting of those aro-o trees into logs and ultimately into usable lumbers. Below are some of the pictures of the 'logging' event.

Elorde checking out the downed trees.

These aro-o tree are almost or even over a hundred years old!

The rotten core indicates that this tree has been 'dead' for some time but still yields some good lumbers.

This is one of the main post.

These will turn into lumbers soon.

These guys are almost there!

Elorde suggested to cut these crooked timbers into small pieces for charcoal
but I said no as I have some plan for these.

Here are two of the posts being applied with preservatives.

The rest of the lumbers use are sourced locally. and just like everything else in the Philippines, these are delivered in a tricycle!

...and even sacks of cement! Beat that Home Depot!

Yes those are 10 bags of cement!

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