Insulated concrete forms and blast proof micro rebars

ICF cross viewInsulated concrete forms (ICF) have been used in Canada and the US for the past 15-20 years due to its good thermal insulating properties, and now it’s trying to reach the Philippines.

ICFs are high quality hollow styrofoam blocks/panels that are meant to be filled with concrete at the center and becomes your wall replacing replacing the traditional hollow blocks.

The main advantage of ICFs is it’s excellent thermal blocking effects since your concrete wall is now sandwiched with two thick layers of styro. Your new ICF house is expected to save you a lot of electricity since you no longer have to use aircon during the day. It will also save you a lot of construction time since the panels are piled like lego blocks.

If you add steel micro rebars into your solid concrete wall, then you will have a blast proof and earthquake proof wall since your micro steel rebars will act as metal fibers that holds your concrete in every centimeter of space. The micro rebars technology – replacing the standard rebars is developed by the US Military. These steel micro rebars are stainless and not connected together, thus will not corrode and will add to the life span of your walls.

developed by US military twisted steel micro rebars makes walls blast proof

This is the new construction method that Fine Finish Cebu will be promoting henceforth as it is the future of construction and we want to be where the future is. Though it will cost more than traditional methods, but the end user of the house will reap big savings on aircon use and his structure will be very very tough…

GVEA Korean School behind City Hall of Lapu-lapu City: Facade Make Over

You can always use a total face make over, or in the case of a school, a total facade make over. After learning that the government officials want to visit their school, GVEA Korean school in Lapu-lapu decided to give their school a total new look by closing their open corridors thus adding more space forward…

The new windows and side and ceiling screens also ward off buzzards so their students can enjoy their now enclosed corridors freely without having to suffer mosquito bites and the likes…

The additional polycarbonate canopies also prevent strong rains from seeping thru the corridors.

Aldana House in Pagsabungan Mandaue City

Oliver Aldana’s low cost rentable house project is located in Pagsabungan at the entrance of Holy Spirit village. 

The project is low cost budgeted at only p700k meant to be rented out for those looking for affordable abode in the city.

Even the original plan was not followed – just to further cut the cost…

Alipin Project Site Blessing of Foundations

While I was visiting my mother’s barrio in Lanao, Pilar, Camotes Cebu, I overheard the conversation between the parish priest and his friend talking about the proper way to bless a house as they’re waiting for the people in the church to settle down from the afternoon procession a day before the barrio fiesta.

The parish priest clearly advised his friend who happens to be building a house that time, that we Catholics should ask a priest to bless our new house three times as we are Trinitarians or believers of the Holy Trinity.

The first blessing should be done during the laying down of the foundations, the second blessing in the middle of the construction, and the final blessing during the turn over of the project when it is fully finished.

It so happens that we are currently doing preparation works for the laying of foundations for the Alipin residential project in Ibabao Mandaue City. so I asked the priest why it is necessary to bless the construction three times. He explained the evil spirits should be ward off three times in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit to invoke the Holy Trinity to protect the construction and the house. 

The construction blessing will also protect the workers and keep them safe as they work. And the final blessing is meant to protect the occupants of the house.

Blessing the foundations of Alipin-Boc Residence is Franciscan Friar Fr Bonfilius of the Franciscan Church in Talamban.

The parapet option

The parapet design gives a more modern look of your house since the roof edge is hidden and your house gets the cube look. If you go for this option, just make sure that you’ve designed your inside gutter well. A concrete gutter is the best option for this, and you do have to waterproof your concrete gutter so that water won’t seep in to your inner walls…

Low cost sky rise in the woods in S.B, Cabahug interior Mandaue City

Alipin’s residence behind the Great Wall motors in front of Mitsubishi in Mandaue can be considered a sky rise in their area considering that their neighbors houses are only mostly one storey shacks. 

The building is only 3 storey and the lot is really small at only 84.54 sqm yet we managed to squeeze in the owners requirements vis a vis the city engineer’s restrictions. 

This building when finished will really stand out at the neighborhood considering the neighbors are just shacks and a bigger part of the area are vacant with trees…

Noel Igao Golden Meadows Cordova Residence

Noel Igao’s residence is a very simple yet classy design. The design is so simple, but the gray color and the large front glass enclosed media center which used to be a terrace made the house look so modern and so high end. This is a perfect example of how a simple design change from a front terrace to a boxed media center with large glass front can certainly level up the over all house look and certainly raise the selling price as this house is currently for sale.

F Moncada Cogon Compostela Residence

Fausto Moncada’s residence in Compostela near CEBECO II is a middle end house with two options – one for roof deck and the other option is for a hidden roofing design with cantilever. The hidden roof option will be for a metal roof but hidden with concrete a railing. It will all depend now on the costing estimates whichever will be favored by the customer’s budget during construction. If the customer goes for a roof deck, which will cost way higher than metal roof, then the design perspective is ready for it – either the metal roof or the concrete roof deck. Both roof deck or hidden roof is so designed to create a neat accent for the house. No exposed gutters or sharp roof edges. This article will be updated accordingly how the finished product will be decided…

Setting up a Mall shop at Ayala Center Cebu

Setting up a mall shop can be a daunting experience but if the planning is done well then the whole set up process can be done in just one night, so that what used to be an empty space in your favorite mall becomes an exciting shop by 6:00 am.

The planning starts with your layout. In the layout planning, seasoned interior designers from abroad are involved so that every little space is a function that will lead to a buy.

Shop implements of modules can be manufactured locally using usually acrylic materials which is popular today and each module can have embedded lights so that every module is a mechanism that inducing people to buy.

Your workers for a mall shop should also be highly skilled, highly paid, seasoned workers with great attention to detail since your mall shop will need to very enticing for passers by so that they would stop, come in, and buy. Since workers are working just over night to set up the whole shop then you need a supervisor who can give them the right rhythm to work as one team – fast and reliable…

Specialty houses for various needs

This house with sawali (amakan) walls is especially designed to produce a cooling effect at the interior. The design and materials also gives the house an earth-friendly and native feel as it will be built in San Francisco Camotes. There’s a good supply of sawali in the area. The framing, beams, and columns will still be concrete but all of the walls will be sawali also known as amakan in the locality. The flooring will be ceramic tiles. The asphalt shingles roofing will give it extra thermal shielding from the hot tropical sun and soundproofing effect during heavy rains. Asphalt shingles is also best for small island locations as it it resists corrosion coming from the sea water breeze. The house is designed is a concept of Celestino Tinao – the owner himself – who intends to use it as a rest house.

San Francisco in Camotes is an idyllic beautiful beach island paradise, but it is a really very humid place. So I can see why the owner prefers natural walling his rest house. Always turning your air conditioner “ON” is not only damaging to the environment, but also damaging to your budget. A lot of this design is not modern like the center firewall that seem to divide the house is a typical 1960s design that is meant as a safety feature hoping to save half the house in case of fire. It also acts as an additional sound barrier when the other half is having a noisy party. The kiln dry wood is meant to assure the wood will not deform over time as it doesn’t have any moisture to release since it is already dried industrially at the factory using a speed drying chamber called a “kiln”. Kiln drying also makes the wood product receptive to the use of wood glues in carpentry since it is already dried. The concrete framing gives the house added strength and lessens the cost since using bigger wood parts for framing is not only costly but also not as sturdy and long lasting compared to concrete. The popularity of concrete houses today is not only a fad, but is a real effect to the governments total log ban – to help the environment.

One thing I like about this design is the multi purpose area that is covered in gravel. This also a throwback feature where in contrast to the modern designs – people use the roof deck as a party area, but the rain or strong wind can potential ruin your party, this covered party area offers shelter from the rain and storm so you can party all night long. Another good feature of this covered multi purpose party area is that you can start your party even if the sun is still up. Well the best thing that the roof deck party offers is the view.

Another feature I like very much of Celestino’s design is the preference for a raised bedroom area. It not only creates more space by adding the mezzanine, but the concept also adds additional safety from snakes and other crawling things since it is always psychologically assured by the higher elevation.

Another specialty design that is in our incoming project list is this hut proposed by Reylisa Perochio who intends to build it in their newly bought lot in the mountains of Balamban. Though the design is more of a beach hut than a mountain villa, who can prevent you from doing otherwise? The design includes a real flat hammock bed and spine saving reclined chairs as you enjoy that sweet mountain air. The glass sliding doors give it a little modern appeal and additional free interior lighting. The crawler space at the bottom is meant to separate the house from the creepy crawlers of the mountains. 

The house is designed to be a small living zen dedicated to the owner’s child who has special needs due to an inborn illness that demands fresh atmosphere and natural living surroundings. This is only their second house. Their first house is in a subdivision in the city. This house is also meant to be some form of a rest house for the child. The doctor advised to give the child natural surroundings. The natural wooden flooring and walls gives the natural feel that the child needs.