DrAndys Wooden Cottage in the ricefields

[friscofrankie]

All My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...
You got my internet hooked up yet?

[DrAndy]

not even electricity in the g/hs yet FF

or toilets

or anything

hope you will be comfortable

[AntRobertson]

^Apologies as you've no doubt already answered this in the thread somewhere, but what's the purpose of all this? Are you going to run it as a business (g/h)?

[Lily]

^I think he has just got too much money

[DrAndy]

I used to have Lily, but that is solved now

well Ant, there is no purpose other than we want a house in the ricefields. We may consider letting a couple of the houses on long term leases, but that has not yet been thought through

the three small houses just happened to turn up at an opportune moment and we loved them so....

[aging one]

Great thread and a beautiful compound Andy. Its a dream of mine, and the views you have are just spectacular. I really like the way you fronted the house over the water.

[AntRobertson]

well Ant, there is no purpose other than we want a house in the ricefields. We may consider letting a couple of the houses on long term leases, but that has not yet been thought through the three small houses just happened to turn up at an opportune moment and we loved them so....

Ok gotcha, cheers. I must say it all looks very nice, just the kind of thing I'd like to get invovled with at some point in the future.

[Dalton]

Very nice thread, and great pictures. Well done Andy.

[DrAndy]

thanks guys

anyway, if you ever want to build your own house in the CM region, my wife can help with design and project management. She has a lot of good contacts, from architects and builders to suppliers, so she would probably save you money in the end. We have seen a couple of acquaintances spend well over their budget due to their reliance on their architect, and also not get the quality they expected.

ad over....

[Marmite the Dog]

if you ever want to build your own house in the CM region, my wife can help with design and project management.

What a coincidence.

[DrAndy]

no Marmite, no coincidence

she has presided over renovating our city house, which included a lot of building work, and in the design and construction of this house. I have been very suprised by her talents and her input to the original design.

[Marmite the Dog]

^ Sorry. Drunk post.

I'll bring my plans up next month for your missus to peruse.

[madjbs]

The house looks fantastic, I'm very jealous. I’m sorry if it has been answered already but how much land do you have and how much did you pay for it? I have a plan for the future which is similar to what you have done. I just hope your wife is around to help because I wouldn’t know where to start!

[DrAndy]

we bought several plots of land at different times, so I may be remembering wrongly. I think we have around 6 rai

The original plot, already built up with earth, with the old farmhouse and ponds, with fairly mature trees etc was around B600,000 per rai. This also had road access, which puts the price up. My neighbour is selling a piece that he wants B1million a rai, but that is a stupid price, so he won't be able to sell that.

We then were offered a couple of rai next to our land, just low lying rice fields; we paid about B370,000 per rai for those. Then we were offered another plot on another side, and they were B320,000 per rai. neither of those had any access except from our own land. They were just ricefields

We are now building up some of that land (where the three guesthouses are) and will be planting it too. The earth works out quite expensive as you need a lot to make the land floodproof.

so madjbs, the first thing you will want to do is find a nice plot of land somewhere. You will have to decide if you want it in a town or village or by itself. There is always the balance between convenience and neighbours, and quiet and some way away from shops etc.

My wife could help you find something if your own wife (I presume you have a Thai wife)) is from a different area.

[madjbs]

Its going to be a fair few years yet

[DrAndy]

Its going to be a fair few years yet

oh, you haven't even found a wife yet?

[DrAndy]

An update on the g/houses progress

First, here is the road bridge leading to them, very high tech

It spans the irrigation canal, and has taken the weight of the fully laden earth trucks




One of the small houses. The new wood additions will blend in after a season of rain



The little bulldozer could not get the earth underneath, so it had to be done by hand.




This shows the exterior cladding; we used the cut-offs from the teak trunks after making planks for the floors etc. Rustic look!



This is an interior showing the original shutters; they are not square, and are the same shape as the doors. They are made of one piece of wood.

The floors will need a bit of sanding down and polyU, then the interior will need fitting out - kitchen and bathroom especially



We have had a lot of feedback from friends and others on these houses, everyone wants to rent one!! mind you, we haven't decided whether to do that, as they are close to the main house and we value the noise-free environment. And they haven't heard any price! maybe it will depend on the people involved.

[DrAndy]

Here is a latest view of the main house




a close-up look; you can see the rounded pillars now. The front and sides at the base still need rendering, should be fun doing the bit over the pond.
The whole downstairs area is tiled, so now needs cleaning up and we can move some of our furniture in. Table and benches, etc, put the hammock back in the best position, get out the Brasilian cotton hammock too



We still have not had a solar water heater built, so will have to chase the guy to do that. The problem with the ones for sale is that the tanks cannot take the varying pressure from a pump, so they need a pump after the tank rather than before. I want to use the same pump for hot and cold water, direct from our storage tank.

[DrAndy]

just an aside, we have decided to infill the small pond as it is not much use anymore. We pumped it out and now the trucks are filling it up

There were a few fish, one over a kilo, but not as many as expected



a lot of fun; this area will make a nice courtyard eventually





and so to bed

[DrAndy]

in case you haven't noticed, it has rained recently and when you put new earth down it tends to be sticky



never mind, over the dry season it will settle down and rough grass will keep it happy

[DrAndy]

next, we have had the floorboards sanded down







as you can see, the wood is beautiful; I am not sure of the type though. Some of the boards are approx., 18" / 45cm wide

we also had the verandah done








there was no time to polyU it so we went home

[Marmite the Dog]

You nail varnish is rather funky, Doc.

[astasinim]

^
Well spotted

[DrAndy]

thanks Marmite, it took me ages to get the correct shade

[DrAndy]

We found some more wildlife, this time a nest of rice-rats

they are good eating when they get bigger



these are too young too drink milk though, they need their mummy

no ratties, that is not your mummy



I am afraid they got thrown in the pond and eaten by the fishies

boo hoo