Cost Estimation of House Construction

Suppose that you are going to have your new house built by a home construction company, and you have just received from an architect or a house designer a number of drawings of your new house. These drawings are floor plan, general arrangement of the house with front and side views, detail drawings of foundation, windows and doors, ceiling and roof.

The next step is consulting the cost of construction with the architect or a home builder. If you appoint an architect to do the design, the cost estimation and the construction of the new house, you don't have to find a home construction company by yourself. All you have to do is pay the cost and receive the keys of your newly built house.

If you want to minimize the cost, after receiving the design drawings of your house, you will consult them with a home builder. He will make the cost estimation for the construction of your house. In general the cost estimation is devided into two main subjects. The cost of materials and the cost of building the house.

You might probably be confused with all these terms. To help you understand them, I will give you the scope and sequence of calculating the house construction. The followings are types of works which have to be performed for building a conventional house.

1. Preparation works

2. Foundation and concrete works

3. Wall works

4. Floor and ceramic works

5. Roof works

6. Roof of the garage works

7. Ceiling works

8. Windows and door works

9. Sanitair works

10. Clean water and dirty water works

11. Electrical installation works

12. Painting works

13. Cleaning works

There are many points which a cost estimator needs to calculate for each number or type of works. For instance, for preparatory works, the works which a home builder has to perform are the clearing of land, the measurement and installation of marking or profile boards, the excavation for foundation works, earth removing.

After calculating the volumes of each of the works of the above list, they have to be multiplied with the unit cost of material to obtain the cost of material. Then the amount of cost for each type of work have to be summed to obtain the total sum of the cost of the material of the new house.

Similarly, the volume of works for each type of works of the above list have to be multiplied with the man-hour factors to obtain the labor cost for the construction of the house.

The price of house material is different from one place or country to another. This also applies to the labor cost.

If you are serious about building your own house the cheaper way, I suggest that you read some books related to this subject. One of the titles which I recommend is
Fundamental Building Technology
written by Andrew Charlett. Also read: How to add column and beam to a house using Archicad and Wooden house of Minahasa an earthquake resistant construction

by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua Indonesia

Marine Diesel Engine the most preferred propelling machinery

Marine diesel engine is now the most used prime mover of modern ships. In the past, steam reciprocating engine was widely used with coal as the fuel. Steam reciprocating engine actually is a flexible engine in terms of the type of fuel it uses. When there is no coal around, ship crews could cut trees as fuel. This happened in the past, when a ship sailed to remote islands, ship crews would use wood as fuel if they ran out of coal.

Now most shipbuilders and ship designer choose marine diesel engine as the prime mover of ships that they build or design. Diesel engine is smaller, and compact compared to steam reciprocating engine. In addition, marine diesel engine does not need large room for storing coal. Fuel oil is stored in tanks usually at the double bottom of a ship and a smaller daily tank above the engine.

The improvements in engine design has made the operation of marine diesel engine both in small and large ships fully automatic. Unlike the steam engine which needs constant manning from ship crews to feed coal into the combustion room that heats up the boiler, the marine diesel engine is controlled by ship crews only by several touching buttons or moving levers.

In the future, marine diesel engine will continue to be used with expectation that the engine will be more efficient, and emit less CO2 gas and with lower vibration. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua - Indonesia. Also read: Design constraints of propeller diameter and Propeller and ship's hull

Traveling around the farmland of Minahasa

My travel story today is about going around the farmland of Minahasa. After arriving at Sam Ratulangie international airport and staying for one day in one of the hotels in Manado city, the next day, you will want to begin your tour around Minahasa highland. What place will you visit first? I will suggest that you go to Tomohon. It is not far from Manado, the capital of the Province of North Sulawesi.

Tomohon municipality is a small town located around 45 minutes drive from Manado. It is also called as Kota Pelajar or Town of Students. There are a lot of schools in this town. Here, tourists can enjoy the fresh cool air of the town and visit the traditional gardens the local farmers are working on. They grow vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, onion, cauliflower, and read beans. Many farmers also grow flowers. After taking pictures and talking with the farmers, you might become hungry. There are many restaurants along the Jalan Raya Tomohon serving local, Chinese and Western cuisines. Or you might want to go to all you can eat restaurants in Kasuang. It is not far from Tomohon. If you take bendi, you need around fifteen to twenty minutes to reach Kasuang. The price of food per one package of lunch is around 25,000 rupiahs. While you eat, local singers will sing songs. Sometimes they ask you to sing with together. For the drinks, there is a palm sap called saguer. When drunk cool, you will not only need one glass but at least three glasses.

Farmland in the slope of Mount Mahawu

After having lunch in Kasuang, you will have many options of places to visit. You can continue your trip to Tondano or travel to Sonder. In Tondano, you will be welcomed with vast area of paddy field scattered along the bank of Tondano lake. If you go to Sonder, you will be able to visit fish ponds along the river heading to Tincep village. Sonder is famous for its Terapung restaurant. The local farmers there grow clove, the raw material for Indonesian kretek cigarette. The clove blooms every one or two years depending on the occurrence of long dry season. Different from Tondano which is mostly of flat plain, Sonder lies on hilly region. There is a small inn in Sonder which you can stay for one or two nights before continuing your travel to other villages of Minahasa.

My recommendation to you will be Kawangkoan. It is located further south of Minahasa. Farmers here grow peanuts, corn and coffee. At the entrance gate of the village, you will be welcomed with a large statue of peanut.

If you continue your trip to Langowan, you will see farmers plowing their farmland with cow or buffalo. Many Langowanese migrate to the US. So, don't be surprised if you see American flag decorating many big houses there. Well, I think I should stop my story right now. I will continue it next time. 

Also read: North Sulawesi Tour Package

My travel story about Minahasa

by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua - Indonesia

Minahasa is one of the most potential tourist destinations in Indonesia. It is one of the regencies in the province of North Sulawesi - Indonesia. People from around the world like to travel to this region to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountainous region as well as the pristine coral reef of Bunaken national park. There are many travel deals offered by travel agencies in Europe, North America and some countries in Asia.

You can fly to Manado the capital province of North Sulawesi from major cities in Indonesia. There is a direct flight from Singapore too. Contact your airline company to check whether they have flight heading to Manado city.

During high season, hotels and inns in Minahasa offer special package to tour groups who book or order rooms several weeks in advance. The hotel fare per room can range from 10 US/night to 100 US/night. In addition, for scuba divers who are interested in traveling around the waters of North Sulawesi, diving operators provide diving boats and full accommodation in affordable price.

Minahasan cuisine is full of spice. Tourists can try all you can eat package along the restaurants in Kasuang or Tinoor. While enjoying the delicious food, travelers can see the beautiful view of Manado city or the panoramic view of Minahasan highland.

When traveling to Bukit Kasih (love hill) in Kanonang, tourists can ride bendi, a traditional horse driven cart which is able to bring you through the farmlands of Minahasa. My recommendation for you is that after enjoying the beautiful coral of Bunaken, you should carry on your trip to towns in the highland of Minahasa to meet the people and experience the unique their culture.

There is one thing that I have to remind you through this writing. If you are offered to drink Cap Tikus, an alcoholic drink, don't drink too much or you will not be able to control yourself. Cap tikus contains high percentage of alcohol. Tourists like to drink it at their hotel rooms to prevent having problems with the locals in case if they get drunk.

Minahasan are friendly people. They always welcome people from foreign countries with smiles.

I personally like to visit the waterfalls of Tincep and enjoy food in Sonder village. These places are so romantic and rich of natural environment. Here, the air is fresh. People like Tincep because it is the center of flower market. Although you don't go there to buy flowers, you can still visit that village to take pictures of the beautiful flowers there.

Traveling during this dry season is good because you will not have to cancel many of your trips in the interior region just because of the rain. The word interior here does not mean that the area is underdeveloped. Interior in this term means that the area is a further from the sea. Actually, there are still a lot of things which I should write here about the beauty of Minahasa region but it will not be enough to cover them all in one piece of article. It is better for you to travel by yourself to this region to experience it. Also read: Travelling with Passenger Ships; Travelling with Passenger Ships; Traveling around the traditional market of Manokwari

Traveling across the tropical region

If you plan to travel across the tropical region this year, this is the best time for you. Why travelers should go now? Many travel agencies now offer various travel deals to South East Asia and the Pacific islands where the economical development is growing rapidly. Hotels, air and sea fares are affordable to any tourists who are interested to come.

Tropical region is located along the equator. It stretches from the islands of Indonesia, the beautiful coral reef of the Pacific islands, the exotic tropical rainforest of Amazon in Brazil, to Congo - a rich country in Africa. Tropical region is now entering dry season offering full sun shine, and richness of biodiversity.

Travelers from Europe and the USA will be interested in enjoying the beautiful nature of rainforest in Papua and Brazil as well as the pristine the underwater coral reef of the Palau islands.

If you have decided that you want to travel this season, you'll need to make some preparations. What you should bring when you want to travel around the coastal region. After you have arrived at your hotel, you might want to take sun-bathing. During the dry season, the temperature is very high. Tourists or travelers are recommended to apply lotion to protect their skin from burning. This is important because it can prevent you from suffering from skin cancer. The lotion is also needed to protect your skin from insects' bites that mostly thrive along the beach.

If you plan to dive around the coral reef, be sure that you bring diving equipment. Check it from any damages or defects before diving. Don't forget to fill out forms provided by the diving operator in case of any accidents happened to you so that they will be able to contact your relatives or close friends.

Traveling without recording the happy moment will be one the most stupid decision you've ever made. So, don't miss the precious moment when you are visiting certain places. Most tourists bring digital camera or video recorder. But don't forget to also bring rechargeable batteries and their charging equipment. Sometimes, when you take a vacation in remote region you will not find shops that sell them.

Suppose that you like hiking and traveling through the forest of Papua to enjoy bird watching and orchid observation will be your choice this season. If that's your travel plan then don't forget to bring portable tent for camping. In addition, you will need some medicine such as mosquito repellent lotion and anti-malaria pills.

Tourists or travelers who want to explore the tropical rainforest of West Papua and Amazon in Brazil must be accompanied with local guides with them. Also it is recommended that tourists or travelers do not bring flammable material such as kerosene, or matches with them into the forest. This is good to avoid forest fires. Bring canned food or biscuits so you don't have to cook in the forest. If your stay inside the forest is long and you'll have to cook, then you have to water the wood ember to completely extinguish it.

These are some of my suggestions to you if you plan to travel to tropical region this season. If you have finished traveling, don't forget to write me and tell some of your travel stories. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua - Indonesia Also read: Travelling with Passenger Ships;