STA. MARIA, PANGASINAN - Building their dream house was never easy for the couple, Jack and Cheryl. After meeting Architect Glenn, his expertise helped them translate their dream home ideas into reality. Situated in the middle of the rice field, this house harnesses solar energy to power its home.
In this latest episode, couples Jack and Cheryl welcome us into their modern and luxurious home in one of Pangasinan’s agricultural towns.
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#OG #Uniquehomes #IndustrialHouse
In this latest episode, couples Jack and Cheryl welcome us into their modern and luxurious home in one of Pangasinan’s agricultural towns.
Click here to subscribe to OG:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIj3xiW-RIO2cpr5LBvokRg/?sub_confirmation=1
About OG
Using the power of video to tell one good story at a time... ONLY GOOD... OG.
OG is Summit Media's video first brand. And like all Summit Media brands, OG is anchored on top-notch storytelling to delight, inspire, and connect with our audiences.
We are deliberate in creating content that spread positivity, inspiration, and good vibes. Expect only good here at OG. Subscribe and be part of the community!
Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/onlygoodchannel/
https://www.facebook.com/OG-106764802137332/
#OG #Uniquehomes #IndustrialHouse
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, G. I'm Jack. I'm Chet. We are here in Santa Maria, Pangasinan.
00:08Welcome to the Big House Place.
00:10Tara. Pasok tayo.
00:30It started back in 2013 when we just moved back to Kuwait and we lived in a small apartment.
00:42So there were times that we wanted to host parties and stuff like that, but we couldn't.
00:48So we said if one day we're going to build or own a house, it's going to be something that's big and modern.
00:59We actually didn't have the U-shape in mind at that time, but we knew we wanted something modern with clean lines.
01:12We used to like watching Grand Designs Australia, UK, and then some other YouTube channels.
01:22And then I think a few months or a year before the build, that's when we discovered OG as well, through him.
01:38What we came up with is the house is basically divided in three major sections.
01:44We call it the left wing, right wing, and the grand hall.
01:50We call that the grand hall because that's where we have the kitchen, the dining, and the living area.
02:01The right wing actually belongs to our guests and we have like a four bedroom.
02:06And then on the left wing is where our main suite is. There's nothing there but us.
02:20In the guest suite side, each room has its own climate control, but it's all tied in to the same HVAC system.
02:29It's not individual, so each room has their own HVAC, each room has their own ensuite bathroom.
02:35Part of the guest wing side also is we have what's called a flex room.
02:41So it can entertain, but it can also serve as a theater.
02:44It's a little home theater type room, but also if you just want to hang out and other places to sit.
02:49And there's a common toilet that kind of merges you in from there and it transitions you to the outside.
02:55The outdoor space now, we've got a few areas out there.
02:59So underneath canopies is what you'll see is what's called verandas for us.
03:03Where we've got some furniture where you can kind of sit, some quiet space.
03:06What we would commonly be heard to as a dirty kitchen in the Philippines, I refer to it as an outdoor kitchen.
03:12It's pretty robust. You know, it's got a sink and cooktops and beer kegs.
03:21What separates the wings obviously is the pool.
03:24The pool is saltwater. We create our own chlorine from it.
03:29It's pretty deep. It's not a traditional build.
03:31It's basically six feet when you step off from the shallow end, there's no transition.
03:35We did that intentionally because we always wanted anybody who came here with little children
03:40to be encouraged to teach them how to swim and not be paranoid in and around water.
03:47At the front of the pool, you'll see an area called the lanai.
03:51The lanai is really a transition point for us. It takes you from inside to outside.
03:57It's not climate controlled, but it's actually got some screen doors.
04:00So you can kind of sit in there in the morning or in the evening and feel the cool breeze.
04:14The house shell is made of SRC. So in a layman's term, it's styrofoam.
04:20Styrofoam reinforced concrete.
04:23So it's basically you've got little pieces of rebar and some styrofoam
04:28and then you put concrete on both sides of it and it forms a wall.
04:3210 times stronger than hollow block.
04:35So there's a PSI rating in hollow block and SRC is actually 10 times stronger.
04:42Some of the other unique things about the house.
04:45We're totally off grid. So there is 130 panels of 550 watts,
04:52which basically takes you to about 71 kilowatt of solar panel on the roof.
04:57There's a three phase air conditioning system that runs about 35 horsepower.
05:02In the mechanical room, when we harvest from the sun,
05:05we store it inside of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
05:08I've got high voltage batteries and low voltage.
05:10The house is three phase, which isn't common.
05:13Most residences are built single phase. It's three phase.
05:17Because we're off grid, it rains a lot here in the Philippines.
05:20So I had to get a 71 kVA generator supported by a thousand liter diesel tank
05:26for the days where the sun doesn't come out and we don't store enough batteries.
05:31So the other unique characteristic about the house is we're on a well
05:34and the well is basically filtered through water filling station.
05:38And we've run the water filling stations to each tap.
05:41We produce our own water and we harvest our own sun.
05:44There is zero connection from any type of public utility here at the house.
05:49So we're on our own.
05:57The property is 3,500.
06:00And then the floor area, the gross floor area of the house is around 800 square meters.
06:13Some of the challenges we faced before the build,
06:17we had a lot of problems.
06:20Some of the challenges we faced before the build, realistically, since I'm a foreigner,
06:25anybody can sit there and tell you, yes, yes, yes, and they're nodding their head.
06:28But when they're giving you something on paper, it's not exactly what you wanted.
06:32So we knew whoever we finally decided to go with to build,
06:40at the core, would have to understand me.
06:44Because obviously my wife can speak Tagalog to them and that gets translated.
06:48But then I'm just having to use her to go back to them to figure out what was said versus speaking.
06:54And then my thoughts came back to me properly.
06:57And this place was built by our architect collaborating between my wishes,
07:05my wife's wishes, and what he could physically do based off his set of challenges
07:11building in a rice field, you know, having the right amount of people, a timeline.
07:17You know, we gave him a crunch on the timeline.
07:19So there were some challenges before we even started to build, for sure.
07:23Actually, I didn't have much of a problem with them because they were the type of client
07:29that when they gave instructions, they were very detailed.
07:34Actually, they even gave me a long list of what I needed to do.
07:40So they didn't want this, they didn't want that.
07:43They really told me what their preference was.
07:48That's why the design stages were very smooth.
07:54I wasn't really challenged because they were the ones solving the problem, like in space planning.
08:02They really knew what they wanted to happen.
08:06My only job was to interpret the points or requirements that they wanted.
08:16Some of the advice I'd give you if you want to build something big, large-scale,
08:38is take all the time you can to plan it.
08:43Because once you get into the execution, things start to kind of steamroll on you.
08:48So the longer you take, try and plan it out the best you can.
08:51That way, when the things do arise, they're usually not going to be as crazy or as big an emergency.
08:56Because no build is perfect.
08:58Especially when you start spreading property out and merging materials and having different ideas.
09:03And as far as the off-grid portion, it's not for everybody.
09:07If you want to truly be off-grid with a well, you're going to have to be involved with your house.
09:12You've got to work with the house. Don't fight it.
09:15Find a professional. A professional who listens.
09:20Not just with the title of architect, engineer, whatever.
09:26Find someone who understands you and your goal or what you're trying to achieve.
09:31With your project in general, not just the house.
09:38My favorite part of the property is the outdoor space.
09:43We knew we were going to get dogs and they would need space to run.
09:46We've got two Belgian Malinois and they're very active dogs and need a lot of room to run.
09:51I wanted a space to be able to grill.
09:54I wanted to be able to hang out in an outdoor kitchen.
09:57I wanted a place to pour my beer.
09:59Most nights I'll sit there in the gazebo.
10:02Have a beer.
10:04I'll have a beer and just relax with my dogs and watch the sunset go down.
10:08The gazebo wasn't even part of the initial design of the house.
10:13My favorite part of the house is always the grad hall.
10:18Because that's where the fun is, basically.
10:23It's where I get to bake, get to cook, get to host.
10:27Everything at the same time.
10:31And secondly, our bathroom.
10:34I've always wanted a bathroom that's just clean and tidy and definitely with a lot of space for both of us.
10:42Being a man and a woman.
10:45I really like the area here, the grad hall.
10:48Because it's very unique.
10:50It's a typical house.
10:52You have a living area, a dining area, and a kitchen.
10:56Sometimes there's a partition so it looks more tight.
10:59That's why we called it a grad hall because it's a whole space.
11:03It's a space where you can do whatever you want.
11:06You can do whatever you want.
11:08You can do whatever you want.
11:11We put all the feature walls on the client's proposal.
11:23So for materials, actually,
11:26what influenced me the most about this house was the design.
11:31When we designed this house, we were really focused on the design.
11:34As for the materials, the client was the one who influenced me the most.
11:42He said that he wanted an industrial look, a natural concrete look.
11:46That was one of the feature walls that we used.
11:49Then, we used WPC, fluted panels, and a simple paint.
11:55We mixed and matched the brown so that the color would be earthy.
12:00Then, we used a stucco finish and white to blend the three.
12:08During the planning stage, since the client was abroad,
12:12we did the schematics and design development for four months.
12:16We had a schematic phase, a design development phase, and a construction phase.
12:24We did all of that while they were abroad.
12:29What we did was a zoom meeting.
12:41I wanted to promote good people like our architect.
12:47We're not first-time homeowners, but this is our first build for us.
12:52Normally, you just buy and then you live in it, right?
12:56Obviously, you invest seriously, whether it's the money,
13:02whether it's the possible heartache or headache.
13:06That all didn't matter because we found the right guy.
13:12Because he's good to us, I just want to share it to people that
13:17when you're good, everything's going to come back to you in thousand folds.
13:23I'm crying. Why are you making me cry?
13:26Everything will come back to you because if you're sincere, people will feel that.
13:31I think that reflected in our entire house.
13:36Up to now, he comes and visits us at least once a month.
13:41When you're good, it'll be out there effortlessly.
13:46People will just talk about you.
13:48That's what I wanted people to know or wanted to basically expose.
13:53We found a good architect and now we're living our dream, our dream home.
14:00When you build a home, it's really personal, right?
14:02It's a business to him, but he takes his business personal.
14:06Anybody who takes his business personal,
14:10why wouldn't you want to be around somebody like that?
14:14We just want people to know that there might be a lot of bad experiences,
14:20but I sure do hope that they can find a good contractor or anyone to build for them
14:31to take care of their investment, basically.
14:50Email us at stories.onlygood at gmail.com and tell us about your interesting home story.
14:56For more videos like this, subscribe to OG and be part of the community.