Thread: Building a house in Nakon Ratchasima province(Isaan)

Originally Posted by showupman

....well time will tell...it looks as they used kind of bitumen-silicon stuff....to plug the hole for the pipes......

ive got a back up in every shower for an electrical heater....an empty conduit to the electrical board......
...i hope i dont have have to post anything about it......it was a sub contractor...not PD....which is a big plus already....

Sounds good. I have yet to find a sealant in these parts that doesn't deteriorate rather fast. Clearly its climate related and of course UV degradation if out in the sun.

I am big into solar and this country is the perfect place for it. I have all solar lights outside coupled with motion activated solar security lights as well. we even have a solar doorbell LOL! I plan on adding a big bank on my car park shop area to run my fans, power tools, chargers etc. Albeit power is cheap up north, having a viable sustainable source of free power is a nice option.

Cheers

I investigated the solar option. It proved to be unreliable and uneconomical.

Originally Posted by John Lennon

At least 50% of the parties are organized (555).

well,2days late and it gives me a slab of LEO beer......nothing wrong about it

Originally Posted by terry57

PD House is a huge business who builds very large house that cost a shit load of money.

They have been at it a long time.

The mind boggles how they can be so utterly unreliable and incompetent at times.

The only reason i can work out is that companies like this have no regulator watching over them so in turn they don't give much of a fuk.

Good luck with it anyway mate Eh.

Friggin Gong show I recon.

yes i expected a bit more too,honestly....even the engineer is unreliable,he lost it with us too...sweet talk and thats it...plus he tries to cover up the foremans f%#$-ups...
well lucky for us,i have a fairly good eye and a bit of knowledge up my sleeves...

they still havent finished inside...not able to.....

thanks mate...gonna be back in LOS by mid May.....

Originally Posted by JPPR2

Originally Posted by showupman

....well time will tell...it looks as they used kind of bitumen-silicon stuff....to plug the hole for the pipes......

ive got a back up in every shower for an electrical heater....an empty conduit to the electrical board......
...i hope i dont have have to post anything about it......it was a sub contractor...not PD....which is a big plus already....

Sounds good. I have yet to find a sealant in these parts that doesn't deteriorate rather fast. Clearly its climate related and of course UV degradation if out in the sun.

I am big into solar and this country is the perfect place for it. I have all solar lights outside coupled with motion activated solar security lights as well. we even have a solar doorbell LOL! I plan on adding a big bank on my car park shop area to run my fans, power tools, chargers etc. Albeit power is cheap up north, having a viable sustainable source of free power is a nice option.

Cheers

in AUS we used a bitumen tape around entries in the ceilings for the conduits-cables......it seemed to be ok......
the sun and UV radiation is a big thing yes.....

i mean there is nothing wrong about free hot water from the sun...i love it...
and it was no additional,it was in the contract....we added more hot water points in the house...

one good thing from PD House...i have to admit....and a good thing that a sub-contracor installed it....and not them...

Originally Posted by John Lennon

I investigated the solar option. It proved to be unreliable and uneconomical.

the solar water heater or solar panels for electricity???

2 years ago - forgotten.

.....so we are back since about 3weeks by now.....
we had a wonderful time in Australia.......away from this nightmare here....lol...

but we soon recognized that nothing happened at our house while we were away..... surprised??? no not at all.....

PD HOUSE said "we gonna be there 2 weeks before you'll be back and it will be nearly finished".

what a rubbish.....as usual.....

so we rung up BKK office,2 days later some people came,done something,and left again for a couple of days.......
it is so frustrating with them......apparently they went on strike ,because they didnt get payed from KORAT BRANCH OF PD HOUSE --is kind of independent from PD-bought out,what i heard.

i keep you updated and some more picture will follow.....

im staying now 1000% behind this statement...

DO NOT BUILD WITH PD HOUSE

IT IS AN ABSOLUTE DISASTER BY ALL MEANS.IM NOT EVEN STATE THE FEW GOOD THINGS ABOUT THEM ANYMORE....

OVERALL,YOU BUILD AT YOUR OWN RISK AND I WARNED YOU

Damn bro thats fucked up. Sorry to hear it.

DO NOT HAVE A HOUSE BUILT IN THAILAND AND NOT BE ON SITE DURING THE BUILD.

Originally Posted by Slick

Damn bro thats fucked up. Sorry to hear it.

no worries mate...well we are fighting back as good as we can.....keep u guys updated.....

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

DO NOT HAVE A HOUSE BUILT IN THAILAND AND NOT BE ON SITE DURING THE BUILD.

you are 100% right...but we wanted to go to AUS, and we knew it that nothing would happen while we were away

would have been a big surprise.....anyway...

iv been on site most of the time.......and done as much damage control as i could...

Originally Posted by terry57

PD House is a huge business who builds very large house that cost a shit load of money.

They have been at it a long time.

The mind boggles how they can be so utterly unreliable and incompetent at times.

The only reason i can work out is that companies like this have no regulator watching over them so in turn they don't give much of a fuk.

Good luck with it anyway mate Eh.

Friggin Gong show I recon.

i really have to post this again.....so true .....what a gem i found from Terry....
im going over the past few pages to see where i left.......
about 4 months away from teak door......worry free from PD.....

Originally Posted by showupman

we are fighting back as good as we can

Good. Stay on them. Be persistent. A friend here in Roiet had all sorts of problems with PD House. Took months but got most of the problems fixed. Problems were with workmanship and failure to deliver quality material as per contract.

I'm just curious but what on earth does Teary57 know about house building in Thailand?

Originally Posted by crackerjack101

I'm just curious but what on earth does Teary57 know about house building in Thailand?

i think you have to ask himself.......

Originally Posted by showupman

Originally Posted by crackerjack101

I'm just curious but what on earth does Teary57 know about house building in Thailand?

i think you have to ask himself.......

Fair point. If he shows up I will. In the meantime good luck to you and yours.

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by showupman

we are fighting back as good as we can

Good. Stay on them. Be persistent. A friend here in Roiet had all sorts of problems with PD House. Took months but got most of the problems fixed. Problems were with workmanship and failure to deliver quality material as per contract.

we will,and we gonna contract little jobs out and take them off from the last payment.we get penalty rates since last week,gonna take it off too,every day 520Baht.....not much but hey....

we treated them always fairly,paid always on time....bla bla bla....


Problems are with workmanship as you said......and im pretty good at finding them...even stuff which the Engineer tried to cover up....

there will be another phone call to HQ in BKK 2mrow,then with Korat branch.....

Originally Posted by crackerjack101

Originally Posted by showupman

Originally Posted by crackerjack101

I'm just curious but what on earth does Teary57 know about house building in Thailand?

i think you have to ask himself.......

Fair point. If he shows up I will. In the meantime good luck to you and yours.

thank you we need a lot of good luck......

i couldnt believe what happened yesterday.....
PD HOUSE Korat rung up and asked us if we want to hire another contractor to finish the house off?? WTF

my wife answered first she has to ask her husband.....

we talked about it,my wife rung up PD HOUSE and she said:you started it and now you want that someone else gonna clean up your bum.....no you can clean up your bum by yourself...

a tactical play from PD Korat,because its gonna cost them a lot all this fuck ups......paying the fine,the petrol everyday,the pay for the workers etc etc etc
there is only a small amount left,we have to pay after the deduction,say about 100'000 to 150'000 Baht.....

we then rung HQ in BKK....they were quite shocked hearing that....
looks as they had a board meeting and we told them too if they are not finished by end of June we gonna go social media.....

so lets see,whats happening.....


attached are a few pics.....





















its only a summary of pictures....there is more....and i havent started with the outside(apart from septic tank)

That's one hell of a god awful hole directly outside that door ffs.

The hell is going on with all that?

Originally Posted by Slick

That's one hell of a god awful hole directly outside that door ffs.

The hell is going on with all that?

the hole is for the septic tank....they have to dig it out because they put it the wrong way around......i saw it and mention it to them......
didnt believe me first and said the small one on the other side is wrong.....by the ENGINEER

would have been less work,of course....but hey.......i may be a bit stupid,but not that much.....

HFS!!!!!!!.

And this is built by the "Famed PD". Man you are quite calm. Let me tell ya something my wife would be standing outside there door ready to go to battle..

Sorry man.

Wow, looks like a whole load of stress right there, enough to put anyone off building in LOS.

Stating the obvious here, and repeating what others have said and what's already known, but to the benefit of others who are viewing this forum with plans to build their own place:

1: Using a large company with an HQ based elsewhere can be problematic for single bespoke builds, these companies often base their business models on moo baan developments, which have different logistics to single builds.

2: Large companies may seem to offer a range of benefits such as a proven track record of existing builds and qualified teams, however it seems that these companies hide behind layers of departments, where lack of accountability and poor communication become obvious when issues occur with the build. It's easier to pressure a single person than a company when you want things done.

3: If you can't visit the site every day, then employ a full time site manager, or don't construct anything for the duration of being absent. Or don't build, just buy an existing house.

4: If possible, employ very local small teams, as the potential 'loss of face' if things go wrong is a great motivator to get things right in LOS. Loss of face and accountability on a local level should never be underestimated here.

5: Turn up to the site or offices with other people you know on tow.. accompanying children also help, as then you cease to be just a single person, or walking ATM machine, but a person who has contacts and are waiting for the job to be finished and done well. In Japan, people who want a pay rise or a change in their job in some way take along one of their kids, it implies that there are consequences and it's not just about the individual. It's a passive/aggressive approach which is unfamiliar to us in the West. The concept of 'consequences' here in LOS isn't easily absorbed, it has to be pointed out constantly (look at the state of the driving!).

OK, enough with the negativity and hindsight, not much use to you right now showupman... on a positive note, you seem to be striking a nerve at HQ, at least they are now aware of the issue and who you are. The issues you are facing can all be fixed. To save your sanity though, I'd suggest not taking a snapshot of everything in one go. By dumping all the problems in one big pile, even the small fixable things will seem insurmountable. I'd suggest making a file for each of the issues, dated with description, photo, and if possible solution, as each problem is given attention, update the file with info and sign off when fixed, this way you'll see progress (even if it's slow and small!).

Stay strong, controlled and level-headed... it's understandable that emotions creep in, but this doesn't help solve issues over in this part of the world much I'm afraid.

Almost there, keep going!