House Design vs Reality - TOP 10 building tips

[Paraweta007]

Aged 58yrs, my wife and I have recently purchased 3Are (20yr + 20yr option lease) land in Bali for personal use. Its NOT intended for a business or AirBnb in future. We probably won't start the build until sometime late 2024.

I'm now in the design phase of the project with the view of using this property as a base to travel from and/or rest up for a few months every year while renting my house out in Australia. Hopefully during our travels I'll meet others and a house swap with our Bali property will be a possibility.

QUESTION: Designers have a habit of prioritising 'design' over practicality. I'm after an insight from those who live in Bali on things they would do differently (or the same) having built before and a TOP 10 (or more) MUST DO features when designing a 2 or 3 brm house e.g. high ceilings to reduce impact of heat etc

Our neighbours in Bali (very good friends) have built 3 Villas to rent over the last 15yrs years (they live in AUS) They are now nearing completion of their Bali home next door - so electricity, water and internet capabilities have been established.

I won't have the answers to assist those who are looking to purchase/lease land but friends in Bali who'd built were extremely helpful AND I surfed these Forums and found great insight prior to taking on this venture. My priorities were as follows;

• Using a local Notaris (my friends/neighbours had used previously)
• Ensure the Seller is who they say they are and has clear ownership of the land with no outstanding debt over it.
• Ensure the Land is zoned correctly (i.e. not agricultural but zoned as residential and could be built on)
• The lease included guaranteed road access to the property - not access that was owned by multiple people or where others used my property for access.
• Think about access to electricity, water & internet
• Think about traffic - though this will depend on when you plan to use it some areas are appealing but :-(
• What will happen to your land if the area floods
• Whats is the surrounding area/people like - we deliberately didn't want to be close to Cafes and 'duff duff music'

cheers

 

[gtrken]

Not sure where you are building but dependent on location then water can be a problem.
If you are using PDAM ( govt water) then the supply may be ok when there are few connected but if it is a new area then as more properties draw from it , the ability to maintain pressure/flow can be a problem.
Also depending on where you are look at sumur bor ( drill a bore well).

 

[Paraweta007]

Thank you - yes gov water is available and several are connected already. There is a bore a few houses down so we are looking at the quality of their water prior to committing to putting a bore in.

 

[gtrken]

Thank you - yes gov water is available and several are connected already. There is a bore a few houses down so we are looking at the quality of their water prior to committing to putting a bore in.

The water be it govt or bore is not for drinking, only washing and showering so unless the bore a few houses down is connected through the septic tank , it should be ok.

 

[Paraweta007]

Thank you, yes drinking water will be imported in the form of a water dispenser/urns . I'm told that Gov water supply can be a trickle so to have a collection tank then pump from tank to insure tap pressure etc. Apparently if Hotels etc need water our supply can end up being near zero - so always best to have a back up. Also the need for a Black Water (sewage) tank that is cleared monthly

 

[AuroraB]

Thank you, yes drinking water will be imported in the form of a water dispenser/urns . I'm told that Gov water supply can be a trickle so to have a collection tank then pump from tank to insure tap pressure etc. Apparently if Hotels etc need water our supply can end up being near zero - so always best to have a back up. Also the need for a Black Water (sewage) tank that is cleared monthly

West Sanur here:

1. PDAM for all water supply inside the house
2. Well water for all water supply outside the house (garden, pool).
3. Buy Aqua gallons for drinking

The villas has a switchover so when PDAM supply is out (as was the case only a couple of days ago). We are then able to supply everything from well. The villa has large water storage tanks on the roof and below the garage floor.

We use around 25-30 cm PDAM/month. Last November PDAM suddenly charged us for 250 cm! No leaks detected. We complained but bill had to be paid. We now take a photo of water meter reading on a daily basis in the event of another crazy usage report by PDAM.

 

[AuroraB]

Some tips

Looking at moving to Bali

Hi All we are looking at moving to Bali any recommendations on good realestate agency ? also trying to work out the Tax that we need to on property websites are all showing different amounts? any information on how to proceed would be greatly appriciated. Cheers

balipod.com

 

[Paraweta007]

West Sanur here:

1. PDAM for all water supply inside the house
2. Well water for all water supply outside the house (garden, pool).
3. Buy Aqua gallons for drinking

The villas has a switchover so when PDAM supply is out (as was the case only a couple of days ago). We are then able to supply everything from well. The villa has large water storage tanks on the roof and below the garage floor.

We use around 25-30 cm PDAM/month. Last November PDAM suddenly charged us for 250 cm! No leaks detected. We complained but bill had to be paid. We now take a photo of water meter reading on a daily basis in the event of another crazy usage report by PDAM.

Cheers AuroraB

 

[britoo]

Thank you, yes drinking water will be imported in the form of a water dispenser/urns . I'm told that Gov water supply can be a trickle so to have a collection tank then pump from tank to insure tap pressure etc. Apparently if Hotels etc need water our supply can end up being near zero - so always best to have a back up. Also the need for a Black Water (sewage) tank that is cleared monthly

Absolutely not an expert but assuming your Black water tank is a septic tank and that its larger than the size of a coke can, I would of thought it needs clearing every year or three rather than monthly.

In fact I (possibly ignorantly) believe things need to be left to "ferment" in order for the settlement and filtering process to work and in any case the liquid finally exits to a soak-away-thingy leaving only sludge and solids to be emptied once the tank is finally full.

Here's what good 'ol Phil has to say on the matter.

Septic Tank Design and Construction

The design of a reinforced concrete septic tank, detailed engineering drawings, strength and size of concrete and steel, input, transfer and output pipes, baffle plate, access manhole, vent pipes and dimensions.

www.mrfixitbali.com

 

[Paraweta007]

Cheers Britoo, yeah I'm not sure of the exact timeframe for clearing however it will be larger than a coke can (which I've always struggled to squat over anyway) Thank you, will research thoroughly prior to the build for sure and take advice from my friend/neighbour who is on his 4th build.

 

[Markit]

Building:
get a 3d modelling program/app (Sketchup) and do a to scale model of your design. It's really easy to learn and allows you (when the drawing is completed) to actually do a to scale walk thru of your new house and see things you can't seen any other way - for instance, can you see into the downstairs open bathroom from the 2nd floor bedroom. Generally gives you a prebuild idea of what your house will be like AND when the finishers try and cheat you on the square meterage you will joyfully tell them to piss up a rope and show them exactly what the meterage is.

Put more and larger rebar into your build and make sure the builders get a cement vibrator - this is the ring of fire and there may be no daily earthquakes now but I've seen it when they had 200 per day. Roof your Bale begong in thatch/alang2 for the same reason - when only supported by 4 posts and the earth shakes they fall over.

Watch the builders like a hawk and never presume that the guy who did good work yesterday will do the same today - they can go mad.

Be cautious when following the ubiquitous advice to put in a damp course and consider the vision of your dream house being 1 meter away from the house foundations - it will be dry as a bone but it wasn't connected to the fundament during the Richter 8 now was it?

build the largest pool you can cause you can't expand them easily.

Leave all the coconut trees you can. They're great for shade and the locals will love you if you donate their friut/nuts.

Get at least half of your build troop from the local village if you can and watch them for who gets to be your future gardener/handyman - if he helped build it he will know how to fix it later.

That's all my fingers will stand for the moment. Good luck and deep pockets

 

[Paraweta007]

Great advice Markit, cheers mate.