Anybody try SmileHomes ??

[Mandodog]

I see a lot of nice house plans on the SmileHomes.com website. But given some of the experiences here with builders, (my oh my that PD House thread sends shivers down my spine....), I was hoping to find some people that have used SmileHomes before.

Anybody build one of their plans?
Anybody use them for the build?

[stevefarang]

I suspect, much like PD House, they will use local labor for the construction and that is where the crap shoot is. The designs may look nice and good, but if the people building it only know one way to build something, then they will fit the design to match what they build.

I've been relatively lucky with PD House, compared to Richard Shane. I've had some issues, but nothing like what they did to him. I do like the pre-fab concrete beams and columns and the mechanically joined truss-roofing system that they used in our house. Wiring runs look good as well.

If you get serious with them, be sure they have people who speak English and can talk to you about your concerns. So far as I can tell, PD House has only 1 guy, so all my real communication goes through him. That slows things down.

Keep us posted.

Edit to add: I just saw their website. It's all in Thai, no English. That does not bode well for you, unless you can read Thai. I'd be cautious.

[Koetjeka]

^

I totally agree, they might have nice house plans but that doesn't say anything about building quality. An architect can design well but he isn't specialized in actually building his design.

Especially with a website in Thai I wouldn't expect too much of it.

[terry57]

The thing is with these building companies is the quality of the people they use to do the actual build.

Take PD house for example. On one house they seem to have done a reasonable job but on the other they have completely fuked it up.

This is simply because of the people they employed to do the Build.

You simply cannot trust any off these companies to do a top notch build and the worse part is there are no legal come backs as there are in the real world.

Oh yes, you can go to court but good luck with that.

I simply would not do it because of these issues.

I'd buy second hand and do a renovation, this way all the stress of the build is done and you know what you have.

If you do build its 50-50 chance they will do a good job. You Know the risks involved.

[Noosa]

Where in Thailand are you planning to build?

If it's out in some village, 150km from Nowhere, Esan, then expect that it will be contracted to semi-local people. Probably not good. If it's just outside a city like say, Chiang Mai, you will likely be in for a better build with more experienced 'proper' builders.

[terry57]

^

Seems to make sense that.

[Mandodog]

Location is on the outskirts of Mahasarakham city (about 5 km out).

Anybody build a house near Mahasarakham with good or bad experience they can share?

[Norton]

Anybody build a house near Mahasarakham with good or bad experience they can share?

Yep. Not built by me but know of 6 in Roiet province. All came up to or exceeded customer expectations. Look around Sarakham. When you see something suits your needs, find out who the builder was and contact for a quote.

No matter where you build it's all about what you see in your locale. Large companies such as PB and SmileHomes may do great stuff in one locale and crap in another.

[nigelandjan]

Good advice from Norts ,, a bit of local info goes a long way

[Mandodog]

That is good advice, will do that. Definitely a few around.