Ground Breaking At Last!

Finally broke ground and buried a time capsule and blessed coins in all four corners of the lot. It was just a simple ceremony but one meaningful event that marks the first steps towards the construction of our dream home. Thank you Lord for all these blessings! :-)

New Toilet Design Sucks!

Have you ever noticed that the common design of WATER CLOSETs nowadays is the BUTTON-TYPE FLUSHING APPARATUS which is SO INCONVENIENTLY LOCATED (when you're seated) CENTERED BEHIND YOU! What the F@*K?! Don't you guys flush the toilet upon impact?! Or is it a common practice for a lot of people to wait till you're all done before flushing--- to save on water!?

The best design that works for me is the one with the flush lever, when seated,  located on the lower right side of the seat... with a half-flush and full flush functionality and a low profile toilet tank.

Cut the CLUTTER

I started reading a book titled CUT THE CLUTTER this afternoon... I guess part of the preparation of the move from CONDO living to HOUSE is cutting the clutter... I have lots to go through.. my room is full of toga type boxes, which are already sorted out /classified, but needs more sorting through to really get rid of stuffs I wont be needing anymore... I have designed the HOME OFFICE /my personal DEN in the new house to include a stock room to hide all the clutters. What I really need to go through is a box full of CDs.. data CDs which at this point I really haven't gone through to the extent of opening each disc out of fear it will get my Mac's DVD Drive lenses super dirty when I'm done... Hmmm I think it will be a good idea to use the old PC for this purpose.

My wife Bubut, on the other hand, is already ready and all her stuffs had been sorted out in prep for the big move next year. Wow, good for her!

One of my next steps will be to define the functionality of each room and storage so we can figure out the number of outlets and connections, cabinets needed per room. Then next comes the color scheme of each room and interior design. We need to do a complete inventory of furniture and appliances that we currently own (in the condo and our other house in Cavite) and define where each piece will go to in our new home. This will enable us to come-up with a list of furniture or items that we still need to purchase to complete our dream house.

At this point in time I can say that I am really excited re the build and wish that it's already January 2011... but on the other hand, I also would like to make each day count and make the most of it as time well spent.

Building Permit Stage

I just got word that our architect is about to finalize this week all the documents required for the business permit: electrical plans, floor plans, structural analysis report etc...

I can't wait to break ground and start with the construction... prices of cement and construction materials are already increasing by the day! Bummer!

I have yet to sit down with our architect again to talk about our game plan /costs of labor and construction schedule.

Finally!

I decided to create another blog, this time about the house I am building for my family. It's high time that we finally move out of condo living to our own place that we can really call home. The objective of this blog is for me to document the building process and the whole construction experience.

I had several meetings already with my architect as well as the electrical engineer.. we're about to apply for a building permit already this coming week. I have approved the floor plan and I am very happy with what Architect Nards came up based on my wish list.

I have about 400+ square meters of space to work with and the house design is Asian inspired, minimalist.

Part of my wish list includes the following:

1. High ceiling living room area

2. Dining room that opens to a lanai

3. A big kitchen

4. A big master's bedroom with walk-in closet, his and hers bathroom with a partitioned shower area and Jacuzzi.

5. Hi-tech security system

6. Multiple power sources (MERALCO, Genset, Wind Turbine,  and Solar)

7. Provisions for PABX system, wi-fi

8. Multi-media room

9. Aside from the main stairs, there will be an easy access spiral stair case that connects the kitchen to the 2nd floor.

10. rear windows of 2nd floor hallway to enable wind to pass through from rear of house to front balcony /vise versa.

11. home office with enough storage to keep any clutter and equipment out of sight.

12. remote controlled gate

{Tags: Jojo Mariano, A House is Born, AeroEye Asia}