Ever been in a situation when you were suddenly caught dumbfounded while talking with your foreman, mason, or contractor? When they utter the words masilya, balbon or kapak you are suddenly lost in translation. Here are some Filipino construction vernacular terms to help you understand them.
Or putty. Used for filling holes. Usually applied to walls or ceilings prior to painting. Skimming walls is now a popular method of painting system in achieving flawless and smoothing wall facades, ceilings, and walls. Make sure when you send your mason to buy pang-masilya or skimcoat, choose a brand that will make your wall smooth finish, and ready to apply your chosen paint.
Eurotiles SkimCoat Superfine White is an innovative thin plastering mortar that covers pinholes and other finishing imperfections of concrete walls, columns, beams, and ceilings. It can be applied on interior walls and ceilings, precast concrete panels, and fiber cement boards.
Or plaster. One of the final steps of finishing an interior or exterior wall. Usually you will hear your mason say "kailangan habulin sa palitada". Plaster is a mixture of cement and water for spreading on walls and other structures to form a smooth hard surface when dried. Wall plasters are generally applied 10-12mm thickness.
No, not "mabuhok". It is a wall defect due to improper or uneven plastering. This defect occurs when the plastering process was done by an inexperienced mason. Balbons or uneven walls should be repaired immediately to avoid further damage to your walls.
For patching of walls, you may use Eurotiles Plaster Patch - a fine rendering mortar with 2mm to 10mm thickness used for repairing surface defects on traditional renders or on the concrete panels of walls and ceilings. It has high bonding strength, is compatible with decorative wall coverings, is easy to use, and is applicable for interior and exterior concrete surfaces.
The frame surrounding the door or window. Usually made of wood or metal.
Or gutter on the roof. The passageway of rainwater on your roof.
Or galvanized iron (G.I.) sheet. A lightweight roofing material to protect the house from sunlight or rainwater.
G.I. sheets are highly prone to rust which causes some roofs to have holes, making it very hassle for homeowners. You can repair or seal holes on your yero or G.I roof sheet with Eurotiles Seal & Flex - a single component flexible cementitious waterproofing mortar engineered to provide excellent protection and waterproofing to rendered concretes and masonry. It can protect/repair and seal holes on your G.I. sheet roof.
Not the musical instrument. It is a covering made out of putty to hide unsightly pipes that appear in areas like the underside of a bathroom or corner of a kitchen sink. So the next time you hear your mason tells you "tambulan lang natin yan" it means you will cover an unsightly pipe, not play some drums.
Honeycomb air pockets that form on the concrete if it isn't applied correctly. This happens when tiles are laid incorrectly. Kapak refers to the hollow sound of or defects itself in a surface where the plaster has not bonded well. That means if there's a hollow sound, there are air pockets between the tile and the concrete surface. This will cause your tile to get loose or crack.
It is impractical nowadays not to use tile adhesives in installing tiles. Eurotiles Superior tile adhesive is a tile bonding material engineered for fixing ceramic tiles to rendered concrete walls and floors. Gone are the days of laying tiles with a mixture of cement, sand, and water, so go tell your mason to use tile adhesive so your tile installation will not have Kapak.
Tiktik - removing existing tiles to clean out its concrete surface for installation of new tiles. Sounds like a difficult job, right? Don't hassle yourself and your mason, some tile adhesives are specialized for tile over tile applications. Eurotiles Heavy Duty is a high-quality cement-based tile adhesive ideal for fixing various kinds of tiles.
Tibag - to demolish.
So next time if you feel tired of complaining to your mason of sloppy work, be articulate and speak in their tongues by saying "Ang dami nama'ng kapak, ang dami dingding na balbon at kailangan tambulin".
And if you've really exhausted yourself, just say "tibagin mo na lang lahat!"
Previously published on: www.eurotiles.ph
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