Building a house in Isaan, for Dummies.

[sabang]

Good luck then Musty- seems a well fair price too.

[MUSTY]

Thanks Sabang,

Negotiations complete, third bedroom to where you initially suggested at the rear of the building leaving air flow straight through from the car port via the western kitchen. We have the 'L' shape.
The building site blessing occurred on the 24/7/08. Thirty free loaders turned up for the blessing and a feed.
ORR will be taken photos each day and I will post them on this site in due course. We are calling it the 'Sabang II'.

We are on the Sunshine coast (Eumundi) in Queensland at present. Yee has finished some courses here and working as a check out chick presently, at
a supermarket. So next year we will visit your MIL and share a meal with her and co.
Thanks again,

MUSTY

[sabang]

Eumundi- still got that nice old pub there? Yep, here it is, still brewing it's own beer then-




I stayed for a couple of weeks about 8km from Eumundi, inland towards the mountains- sugar cane country. Nice part of the world.

It will be interesting to see how 'sabang 2' goes. I may decide to move up to Ubon for a while, in which case I'll prolly get the third bedroom done too to use as a study. Keep us posted.

p.s:- 8/8/08 To the Chinese, thats a very lucky number.

[Loy Toy]

Nice job Sabang and a good deal IMO.

Your home away from home

[sabang]

Bump. Well, I wonder how 'sabang 2' is going?

We'll be heading up to Ubon for a couple of weeks around the 20th October, so will see if anything has fallen off yet and update this thread. The word from MIL is all positive though.

[DrAndy]

good luck Sabang

make sure they move the buffalo out of your bedroom before you get there

[keda]

Bit belated but just stumbled on this thread...tx and gl.

[Fabian]

Do you let the MIL out of the cage while you are not there?

[MUSTY]

The Sabang mk 2 is going well. Few changes such as a third bedroom which led to the lose of the island bench. Just about to make fourth installment as per contract. They have started gyprocking inside. I have some photos that I will try to post. I haven't been able to load up at the minute. Enjoy your visit back at the eagles nest. (sounds better than aviary). Hope all is well for all your family.

[MUSTY]

Thanks Sabang for your help on this one. The 'Sabang Two' commenced on the 8/8/08 ( a good luck day for everyone )

Cost - 1.15 million baht to completion

Describtion - Three bedroom, two bathroom, 2 kitchen (1 Thai x 1 western).
Garage, brick rendered home, insulted, earthed wiring. Split level, Approximately 150 Sq.M.

Property is a small 8 Rai farm, near bang meng village, 40 minutes north east of
Khon Kaen.

Firstly the mother in law. For some of us, great admiration for a hard working woman who's dream has now come true. She still hasn't got the smile off of her face.


Photo of the MIL inside their humble timber village home.
Not hard to see why they call it the LOS. This hard nut, works like a horse and doen't stop unless she faints from the loss of too much blood . 5 foot nothing of bull terrier. Everyone is up at 5am as jobs have to be done. Real boot camp.
No yack yack for this one. Lao girl who originally jumped the fence, spent her youth in rice paddies and looking after her young brothers and sisters. The house is over 120 years old. Great hand me down. Although the farm house is finished, no one touches this old house. A reflection of her proud past.

[sabang]

Originally Posted by sabang

We'll be heading up to Ubon for a couple of weeks around the 20th October

We ended up going about a month later. I'll add some stuff in due course, but I reckon lets look at Mustys newly completed house first.

Bring it on Musty.

[MUSTY]

Here is the original house in the village. Please do not adjust your television screens. This is the Thai version of the leaning tour of pizza (joking here)
The beams are designed for pigmie's. I can't tell you how many times I have smacked my head on the ceiling beams.



Front entrance to the cave. The timber is so old it has turned to rock, but I think
that one day with the lean on it, the in laws would have woken up one morning will some roof sheeting permanently stappled to their faces. Wouldn't try this steps if you have had a few to drink. It really didn't take long to get the dirt off my face. This house and floor is attended two twice a day by the drill sergeant.


Drill sergeant MIL standing to attention outside the kitchen. This woman is
very dangerous with an axe, every morning chopping up timber for the fire.
I think she is so good with an axe, it really is a tooth pick factory inside.
Every pick hand crafted. Five minutes in a room with her chopping timber with an axe and opening cans with a sharp knife has made me paranoid. Just think of it, wheeling knifes and axes and smiling looking at me and saying, 'what do you want with my daughter? I have a dry mouth right about now and need to cough.....

[MUSTY]

Recognise this one Sabang. Card board cut out of the original.



In the background is a small shed where the in laws attended to the small farm.
Bananas, vegetables, rice, turkeys, chickens etc. They would sleep just off the dirt floor in hammocks.


The contrete and steel skeleton.

[MUSTY]

The red brick lives on....

Sabang, their is so much concrete/formwork over this garage, looks like you could build on top of it. Like the upstairs retreat?

Some days there would be 20 people working on the project. The builder was doing two houses at once. When they were not working on the second project they would all come over and give it a good hit.


To be continued...

[MUSTY]

Now for a shot of two around the farm. Good year for the rice, plenty of rain.

4 Rai of rice planted, mostly sticky rice. Sweet tooths......



One of the small dams, mostly all the dams surround the farm so everyone has plenty of water. Extra rain this year.

The chicken and turkey run. If only the in laws would stop making soup out of these guys. Bring on the 'roast'.

[sabang]

Originally Posted by MUSTY

Sabang, their is so much concrete/formwork over this garage, looks like you could build on top of it. Like the upstairs retreat?

It's a thought- put a nice study and elevated verandah there, but I'd need to know more about the foundations- if they are the rafting type, the uneven weight distribution might cause ploblems.

I'm tending towards building a seperate carport, with a storeroom, bogs and showers (the locals are uncomfortable with using our nice indoor facilities), possibly even a study for myself that can double as a spare B/R, and plenty of room for lounging around- which the locals do well.

I'll be speaking to the builders in the New year, and see what it all might cost. I'd like a fish pond, sala and to get the front lawn done too- but I'm not about to throw silly money at it.

[MUSTY]

Front entrance to the house, the silver sheets in front are the insulation.

Kitchen corner, love the welder -hugh coil inside that sucker. No island bench Sabang. Balancing up after adding the third bedroom.

Time to rock with the Gyprock.

One of the small rooms, built ins on all bedrooms

The masters of render, main bedroom.

Rear of the house. On your right the outside platform for the Thai kitchen

The main bedroom and wet areas as well as 3rd bedroom in the right hand pocket.

Front of house, starting to take shape. Back tomorrow for some more pics.

[MUSTY]

Thanks for that Sabang. Nothing worse than a heap of red crosses in a white
box. They were all there at some stage. I'll try a few and then test again.

[Deck Ape]

"Sabang 2" looking like a winner Musty! Can't wait to see the next round of pics.

[MUSTY]

Enjoying your project, Deck Ape. Many thanks.

Just a few finishing photos....
















Thanks again Sabang and cheers.