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WATCH: How to save money when building a house, according to engineer Slater Young

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/10/05/20201005-slater-young-yt.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Slater Young. <em>Screengrab from YouTube</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- Engineer and former &quot;Pinoy Big Brother&quot; winner Slater Young hopes to make the process of building a house &quot;more approachable&quot; through his vlog.</p><p>In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Young shared tips on how to save money in home building and renovation projects.</p><p>Comparing the process to buying a mobile phone, he stressed the importance of carefully looking at specifications and comparing different suppliers, among others.</p><p>&quot;Iyong dream ko talaga for the channel is to make engineering and building more approachable, especially for students, for the new homeowners, existing homeowners, and fans of engineering and architecture,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Marami naman talagang ways [to save money] whether it&#x27;s technical, changing the architectural design, or changing the structure a bit, or just how the house looks,&quot; he added.</p><p>Here are his tips: </p><div><strong>1. LOOK FOR DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS</strong></div><p>Using his mobile phone analogy, Young said one can save a lot of money by getting the best deal from a list of suppliers, as opposed to picking just one right off the bat.</p><p>He said he and his wife, fellow vlogger Kryz Uy, were able to save 10% to 20% just by following this tip. </p><p>&quot;Sobrang hassle, ang dami mong kailangang i-coordinate, meron pa tayong mga suppliers na unresponsive or take too long to get a quote. But I feel like it&#x27;s worth the effort,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;And if the supplier is unresponsive, &#x27;di tayo binigyan ng importansiya, that is a good sign that you should probably not be working with them,&quot; he added.</p><div><strong>2. GO THROUGH EVERY LINE OF THEIR QUOTATION</strong></div><p>Young said some suppliers tend to &quot;hide things in their quote or try to eliminate stuff and then charge you after,&quot; citing their own experience.</p><p>Learning things the hard way, he recalled: &quot;With our pool, nagpa-quote kami ng two suppliers. The other one was more expensive so we didn&#x27;t get them. The problem is... the supplier did not put in lights for the pool, &#x27;yung mga steps sa gilid he did not include that in his quote and medyo mas maliit pa &#x27;yung mga pumps na ginamit. That was my mistake because I didn&#x27;t check his quote and I trusted his word when he said &#x27;kasama na &#x27;yan.&#x27;&quot;</p><p>&quot;He ended up being more expensive than the other guy,&quot; he admitted. &quot;That was a sad story, medyo stressful, but something you can avoid if you do it line by line. And if you have questions, feel free to ask your supplier.&quot; </p><div><strong>3. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING IN WRITING</strong></div><p>Along those lines, Young advised his viewers to not trust verbal agreements or handshake deals and put everything in writing before starting a project with suppliers. </p><p>&quot;Kasi even with us, when I discovered &#x27;yung pool namin hindi kasama &#x27;yung lights, sabi niya, &#x27;O ganito lang &#x27;yung quotes niyan, don&#x27;t worry about it.&#x27; And pagdating ng actual cost, it was actually 50% more than what he said. Sabi niya, &#x27;O nag-change na &#x27;yung price,&#x27; so ang hirap talaga &#x27;pag ganyan. Make sure everything is in writing and everything is pirmado,&quot; he stressed.</p><div><strong>4. THE DESIGN WILL INFLUENCE THE OVERALL COST OF YOUR HOUSE</strong></div><p>Young said the design of the home to be constructed or renovated can easily determine the level of spending for the project, so this should also be taken into consideration.</p><p>&quot;For example, a glass house will be a little bit more expensive, siyempre mahal ang glass. A house with a lot of moldings, a lot of designs, will also be more expensive. And modern houses without a lot of partitions, a lot of walls, and [with a] minimalist design will be cheaper,&quot; he said.</p><p>The engineer also cited how they invested in quality items such as LED lights and roof insulation to save on electric bills in the long run. </p><p>&quot;LED lights last a lot, lot, lot longer and save you electricity. So although it&#x27;s more expensive sa first spend mo, it&#x27;s a lot cheaper in the long run,&quot; he said.</p><p>That said, Young also reminded his viewers that it&#x27;s okay to &quot;splurge on what you feel is important,&quot; then make up for it and &quot;budget on what you don&#x27;t need.&quot; </p><div><strong>5. MAKE SURE TO HIRE PROFESSIONALS</strong></div><p>Lastly, Young reiterated the need to hire professionals for home projects as these will help save more money in the long run, and also give peace of mind.</p><p>&quot;Hire architects, engineers, plumbers, and electricians, and make sure they are professional and trustworthy,&quot; he said. &quot;Ang dami kong nakikita na mga people that are just building their home or extending using a foreman or pakyawan. The problem with that is these people will not come back because you have a problem with your home in the future.&quot; </p><p>He went on: &quot;For example, I don&#x27;t hire an architect. Mali-mali &#x27;yung mga location ng windows, mali &#x27;yung height ng windows, height ng shelves, height ng counters. That alone is reason enough to hire an architect.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Or even structural engineers,&quot; he added. &quot;Siyempre &#x27;pag mga foreman, siyempre sasabihin lang nila, &#x27;Ah ganyan lang &#x27;yun, ganito lang kalaki &#x27;yung column, ganito lang kalaki &#x27;yung beam.&#x27; Guys, hindi kayo guaranteed when there&#x27;s a calamity like an earthquake or typhoon that happens. Make sure you&#x27;re hiring the right structural engineers, or even electricians, because you don&#x27;t want your place to be a fire hazard.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Huwag niyong tipirin ang professionals like me,&quot; he ended. </p><p>Watch Young&#x27;s vlog below: </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F8MEdIfQxc4?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Engineer and former "Pinoy Big Brother" winner Slater Young hopes to make the process of building a house "more approachable" through his vlog. </p>

Engineer and former "Pinoy Big Brother" winner Slater Young hopes to make the process of building a house "more approachable" through his vlog.