Lolo’s Nipa Hut in the Philippines is Completed [Flashback* 01.23.2015]

Lolo’s nipa hut in the Philippines is completed. It took my brother-in-law Joery and his two man crew eight weeks to complete the project at a cost of 4,000 US Dollars. I’ll have a breakdown of the construction costs in a future post.  While the building took longer than I thought it would, it occurred during Christmas week and New Year’s Day. Delays can be expected during those two major holidays in the archipelago, but we’re not on any specific time table so time is not really of any concern to me; we have a lease on our current residence, “The Farm,” until the end of October of this year.

That’s my lovely asawa checking out Lolo’s new digs. Plywood paneling, painted green, can be seen above the bamboo lattice work. After some research on Alzheimer’s, which my father-in-law is afflicted with, I determined that green is a soothing color that might possibly help relax him.

My wife is in the sala, living room area. That’s Joery in the next picture putting the finishing touches on the CR, Comfort Room. It comes complete with toilet, sink and shower. Note the bathroom door in the right, the classic Comfort Room door in our region, which goes by the brand name of “Pretty Door.”

Here’s a view of Lolo’s new bedroom. Again, note the green wall color. We are going to place a plastic window screen over the windows to keep out lizards and mosquitoes. Our caretaker, Gerry, is currently staying in the nipa hut during the evening, acting as security for our construction site.

The outside and inside bamboo work has had several coats of a durable varnish stain applied. The varnish gives the bamboo a nice sheen and helps protect the wood.

This is the new water tank my asawa purchased in nearby Iloilo City. The tank, pvc pipes, which go to our neighbor’s well next door, and the pump cost a total of 60,000 pesos, approximately 1,350 US Dollars. My spouse wanted a tank that lays on its sides since it is easier to clean than an upright one.

We cannot drink the water from this tank. Our caretaker gets the drinking water for our crew from a friendly neighbor. That’s my asawa washing out a new dish drainer she purchased for my father-in-law’s new digs.

That’s  Joery and Jon working on the permanent water tank tower. The tank will sit raised above the ground in order to provide better water pressure. We will also use this tank for our new home. A well will be dug in March to supplement our water supply.

Joery built a cage to keep the new water pump safe from thieves. It is an absolute security feature in our area. Before we moved to our present location at “The Farm” one of the well pumps was stolen. Last year Gerry noticed that another pump at a well at our location had been tampered with and that pump, which does not supply water to our home, was removed.

While at our new location my happy wife posed for this picture. She was planting pineapples, watermelon, mahogany and  trees and calamansi trees. Now that we have our new Ford Ranger XLT it makes traveling to the construction site much more convenient and my asawa brings some new plants over every time she makes the trip. She loves to plant and with 1.25 hectares of land, she has plenty of work to keep her busy for a long time. Me? I’ll keep doing my usual nothing.