Being a country located near the equator, the Philippines has a hot a tropical climate, which can go up to as high as 35 to 40 degrees Celsius in the summer. Hence, if you have grown too accustomed to cool climate, but are thinking of buying a house in one of the country’s gorgeous islands like Mactan to relocate, you might consider to make few home improvements before you move in to your new home. When doing some improvement to your tropical home, building a new one or just making an extension, you must carefully consider the factors that affect the interior environment, climate or ambiance of your home.

Usually, concrete houses in the Philippines are built using hollow blocks. Most homeowners as well as architects and contractors prefer to use this building material since it is widely available and cheap. The problem, however, with hollow blocks is that they have high thermal mass, which means that they absorb and store heat during the day and release it back at night time. Hollow blocks are certainly not good to use in a tropical country because they will make your home like an oven. Your smarter choice will be is an insulating lightweight concrete panel. Using this material will give your home a good ambiance, as well as save you money from using air conditioner.Screens are necessary additions if you want to a clear view of your outdoor surroundings without inviting the flies and mosquitoes in. Dirty kitchens are not actually as filthy as the image you might conjure in your head as you hear the word. The dirty kitchen is the second kitchen (usually constructed separately from the main house) where all the heavy cooking actions happen. You might want to add one if you do not like the smell of the fish or water vapour created when cooking stays inside the house.