Thread: Pricing - What it Costs to Build a Villa, House, Hut, etc.

Building on Bali: Some Practical Information - Pricing in Paradise

Pricing is probably one of the most important practical reasons why anyone would consider taking on all the harassments of building a house in a developing country (they don't like the term 3rd world). So I've been putting off doing this series of articles (long subject) until I had some more to say on the subject that was backed up by a little practical experience and not just a bunch of theoretical shite.

Oh, and I've also been pretty harassed building a house in a 3rd world country.

I would like to warn you that this will get a little obsessive for the non-builder and if you would rather go train-spotting then go now...

MATERIAL PRICES AS OF OCTOBER 2009 (prices in thousands of Rupiah)

Sand - there are 3 types of sand (at least) and prices are per truckload (9 cubic meters), delivered on site:

1) Pasir Normal - or "chor" is the most widely used normal type of building sand (the name says it all) and is mixed large and small and is used for most building purposes here on Bali. Costs from 700 (Ubud area) to 400 (East Coast) and you will use a "shitload" (SL - technical term). As the most versatile product you can employ a man, a shovel and a sieve to turn this sand into "Sidi Pasir" and "coral" see further down.

2) Sidi Pasir - Sieved sand is much finer grained used primarily for making fine concrete (Duh...) and cement for blockwork and final coverings of walls, swimming pools and houses. Cost are generally 200 more than Pasir Normal to buy or you can have a man do it for you - at labor cost of 40 - 50 a day can a man do the work in 4 days? I, personally, prefer to have my guys doing it whenever possible cause they like to eat occasionally but sometimes you just need too much and too soon so you buy it done.

3) Sidi Super Pasir - As the name suggests this is the really fine sand and I'm told puts another 1 to 2 hundred on top of the prices in (2) although I have yet to use this stuff.

"Coral" freaked me out when I first heard about it but relax it isn't as bad as it sounds and is definitely not coral from the deep blue ocean or any other kind of coral either but as the name implies the Balinese have used a lot of it in the past and my bet is that it did come originally from the ocean, but times have changed and leasons learned, I hope.

What is it? "Coral" is a medium sized gravel of about maximum 3cm. width and will cost the same as Pasir Normal in the various areas of the island - used primarily as a mixer with conrete for foundations or preparing the ground for same - you don't need much and is also a by-product of the "Sidi Pasir" process in (2).

Batako or cement blocks are available pretty much on every corner here on the island and are a very mixed product. In general most architects that I have talked to here recommend that you make your own. Now this opens a whole box of different issues dealing with morality, survival and the undefeatable nature of human endevour, in other words it's a subject ripe for Hollywood but I won't hold my breath waiting for Brad Pitt to star in an epic about cement blocks.

Why all the fuss?

(Deep breath) The Batako that you find on the roadsides are generally the products of a cottage industry and may or may not have been produced using a press machine and may or may not have been made using enough cement to hold them together for long enough to deliver them on site or, for that matter, to build anything with. Having said this, just because they are found for sale on almost every roadside in Bali does not mean that they are not well made or that they are deficient in any way. Also to remember is that your buying them is helping to support the budding capitalistic dreams of some local worthy and his extended family.

Prices for Batako (cement blocks) in Karangasem (east Bali) vary from 1.3 to 1.15 each. The general price on the roadside seems to be set in stone (haha) and amazingly seems to be one of the very few things that is above bargaining here - at least I tried on a number of occasions with my highly honed abilities and was never able to budge any of the budding enterpreneurs even so much as 500 Rupiahs down from his price of 13 each. It's a different story at the building supply stores that are dotted around the towns (stay away - highest prices for everything!) and on the outskirts where I managed to get press-made blocks of reasonable quality (do they crumble easily in your hand?) for 11.5 each.

Making your own blocks requires that you hire someone, generally several someones, and buy some steel Batako molds, cement, sand and various other tools to produce them with and have a flat, level area for them to dry peacefully in the tropical Balinese sunshine.

Batako molds cost between 200 and 250 and amazingly were cheapest at the down town supply shops - this is the only exception to the rule to stay away from these shops! Possibly because they haven't the ground to make the blocks themselves being downtown...

Here's the Do-it-Yourself calculation for those penny(rupiah) pinchers out there (like me):

1)One man/day labor costs about 50
2)One man can produce about 200 Batako a day (mine never managed about 180, but hey it was hot)
3)Cement at an 8 to one mix (less is stronger, down to 6 to 1, but more expensive) or 2 bags a day at the cut-throat price of 49/bag for Tiga Roda cement.
4)Sand - negligible but lets call it an 25/day

Giving a per block price of .... .972 or 972 per thousand.

If you richen the mix your price rises accordingling and if you whip your guys into making more than 180/day - it falls. Morality everywhere you look... I am sure my guys have figured this out exactly, I mean, what else have you got to think about as you spend all day, day after day, making cement blocks in the tropical sunshine?

Cement - to finish of today's lecture I have to mention cement as it kind of goes together with the rest.

There are 3 types of general building cement available here on the island:

Semen Gresik - which is your top line product with the best name and primarily used by stupid foreigners, yes us! Because it costs between 55 and 60 a bag and you will use a Shitload (sl).

Tiga Roda - is what the rest of the world uses and is of no qualitative difference from the Semen Gresik as far as I can find out and costs as of this writing, for your author, 49.5 a bag. I am told that I feature highly in many prayers for being able to achieve this price (low!) and as a minor god I have altars in several building supply shops dedicated to my name.

The Other One - don't remember what this is called but is 2 thousand cheaper than the Tiga Roda and is used primarliy for sticking stamps to letters - stay away or your house will fall down!

Finally, make sure you get the 50 kilo bags for the above prices and not the 40s - they look similar, so check - caveat emptor!

More on the Blog

Next time I'll talk about steel, bet you can hardly wait! :mrgreen: