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  1. #1
    Cool Cat
    Perota's Avatar
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    The Demolition Remolition Thread

    After 16 years a full renovation was overdue. It took us sometime to decide what we wanted to do and then to find the right contractor but then on December 8 the first workers arrived and the work finally started.



    A close-up to show that a fresh coat of pain was more than overdue

    The things we regret most is the things we didn't do

  2. #2
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    Perota's Avatar
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    Phase One : The demolition

    We decided to go for the full monty. All the painting, indoor and outdoor, needed to be refreshed. There was a major roof leak. The plumbing needed a complete check, the pump and the tank needed to be replaced and all the water heaters as well.All the wooden windows on the front will be replaced with aluminium frame windows. And my wife wanted a new kitchen.

    So the work began with the kitchen.












  3. #3
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    Perota's Avatar
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    Here are windows that are going to be replaced by aluminium frame windows



  4. #4
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    Looks like a very big, very interesting project. Keep up the good work.

  5. #5
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    Wow ! what a task ,, all the best with it mate , very interesting to see the before and after

  6. #6
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    I hope that when it's finished that the external appearance is close to how it looked when you started. It was a beautiful looking building.

    Good luck.

  7. #7
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    Don't want to be negative, but have you heard of the term "preventative maintenance"
    Perota?

  8. #8
    Cool Cat
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    Quote Originally Posted by palexxxx View Post
    I hope that when it's finished that the external appearance is close to how it looked when you started. It was a beautiful looking building.

    Good luck.
    We won't make much change on the external appearance. Just a fresh coat of paint. Here we asked the painter to try first on the wall the color we chose. It never actually looks like the color in the catalog so before painting the whole house it's better to check. Better safe than sorry.



    The patch on the left is much lighter than I expected. The one on the right is more conform to the color code of the village.

    _
    Last edited by Perota; 22-12-2014 at 03:43 PM.

  9. #9
    Cool Cat
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    Quote Originally Posted by Necron99 View Post
    Don't want to be negative, but have you heard of the term "preventative maintenance" Perota?
    Agree with you. But we were living in Hong Kong and I had better things to do during our short stay in Bangkok than fixing the house. For years I tried to convince my wife to sell the house to buy a flat downtown, because of the maintenance mainly. Now that I'm living full time in Bangkok I'm happy she didn't agree.

    _
    Last edited by Perota; 22-12-2014 at 04:36 PM.

  10. #10
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    You need to have a SERIOUS conversation with your contractor about workplace safety!...

    He should be wearing flip flops!!!


  11. #11
    Cool Cat
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    One thing I insisted with our contractor was for a real sanding before painting. So far they are doing quite a god job.








  12. #12
    Cool Cat
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    Actually we are so happy with the result that we are considering keeping the doors and windows with their natural color (they were white before), with just some protective varnish. What do you guy think ?


  13. #13
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    I think timber doors and windows look far better than aluminium. Just keep treating them so that the termites don't get em.

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    Looks like an undertaking...
    Good luck on the refurb project, mate!!


  15. #15
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    That's an interesting looking old house, I reckon it will scrub up alright, look forward to further updates

  16. #16
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    To finish with the kitchen for the time being, here is how it should look in couple of month time.







    We bought the kitchen with Boonthavorn ( http://www.boonthavorn.com ). Good selection, reasonable price and efficient service.




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    Quite an undertaking. We used to est. construction costs for renovation/upgrades at three times the cost of new grassroots construction. Very detailed work, time consuming, lots of surprise discoveries and obsolete unusable materials.

    Hat's off to you. Are you or wife on site daily? Did you search for a contractor with renovation experience or just take one you felt confident in?

    If it looks like your renderings in the end It will be justified. Do you have a cost estimate for the build from the contractor and your own assessment?

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by ltnt View Post
    Quite an undertaking. We used to est. construction costs for renovation/upgrades at three times the cost of new grassroots construction. Very detailed work, time consuming, lots of surprise discoveries and obsolete unusable materials.

    Hat's off to you. Are you or wife on site daily? Did you search for a contractor with renovation experience or just take one you felt confident in?

    If it looks like your renderings in the end It will be justified. Do you have a cost estimate for the build from the contractor and your own assessment?
    I'm on site almost on a full time basis. We have moved to a service apartment nearby during the renovation (thanks again AO ) but I keep a temporary office in a store room near the garage.

    I had a few requirements for our contractor. First he had to speak english, not that I don't trust my wife for translation but for important details I want to be able to talk directly to the person in charge. Second he needed to have his team of full time workers, cannot rely of some part time burmese workers that may disappear without notice in the middle of the renovation. And finally he needed to have a good understanding of what we want, especially the level of quality we require.

    At the beginning my wife was a bit scared by my requirements, it seemed to be mission impossible. But luckily through her extended facebook network she was able to find an old schoolmate who has his own construction company and speaks fluent english as he has studied in the US.

    The first contact was good, he was able to provide a lot of advises and a very comprehensive and detailed quotation. Then we met his foreman and some of his workers who have been working for him for 15 years, all very professional. I'm not sure he is the cheapest but I had a couple of previous not so good experiences in Thailand so I prefer to go with a real professional rather than a cheap flight-by-night contractor.

    So far so good.

    _
    Last edited by Perota; 23-12-2014 at 05:16 PM.

  19. #19
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    Perota, did our house just before the floods, but not nearly to the degree you are. Its all looking good. I will be watching how the aluminum windows turn out as we are going to have to go that way due to warping on the teak ones we have now. The windows are not sealed tight so we have too much of the cool air conditioned air escaping.

    Hope the work progresses well and stays on schedule. Looking good and please keep updating.

  20. #20
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    Today the team has moved to the master bathroom. There we have a reminder why it is important to have a trustable contractor. And not to pay before all the defects have been corrected.






    One can see on the mirror a big crack that was made by the previous contractor when he installed the power socket. He promised to come to fix it the next week but we made the mistake to pay him first. It has now been sixteen years and we are still waiting ...


    Last edited by Perota; 23-12-2014 at 05:17 PM.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Perota
    You can see on the mirror a big crack that was made by the contractor when he installed the power socket. He promised to come to fix it the next week but we made the mistake to pay him first. It has now been sixteen years and we are still waiting ...
    Well maybe he was talking in Thai Time?

  22. #22
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    The bathroom is gone








    I used to like this bathroom, it had a "Roman bath" feel. But the wife wants something more modern. Anyway it was falling apart, an upgrade was needed. So be it ...


    _
    Last edited by Perota; 23-12-2014 at 05:12 PM.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by aging one View Post
    Perota, did our house just before the floods, but not nearly to the degree you are. Its all looking good. I will be watching how the aluminum windows turn out as we are going to have to go that way due to warping on the teak ones we have now. The windows are not sealed tight so we have too much of the cool air conditioned air escaping.

    Hope the work progresses well and stays on schedule. Looking good and please keep updating.

    Same reasons why we change the windows. Also for heat control we are going to add window films. I would like something that stops the heat but not the light. Any advise would be very much appreciated.






    _

  24. #24
    CCBW Stumpy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ltnt
    We used to est. construction costs for renovation/upgrades at three times the cost of new grassroots construction. Very detailed work, time consuming, lots of surprise discoveries and obsolete unusable materials.
    Good info to live by ltnt. Its why I did not refurbish the Teakhouse that was on our land. While it was in good shape I saw the costs soaring to more than building something new with some better creature comforts. However I would have love to have done it. Just not in the budget.

    Quote Originally Posted by Perota
    I had a few requirements for our contractor. First he had to speak english, not that I don't trust my wife for translation but for important details I want to be able to talk directly to the person in charge. Second he needed to have his team of full time workers, cannot rely of some part time burmese workers that may disappear without notice in the middle of the renovation. And finally he needed to have a good understanding of what we want, especially the level of quality we require.
    ^Exact route we went. Took us over 4 months to find the contractor we felt comfortable with because we were building a custom home from scratch and I had some specific wants and needs. I liked he had references and was willing to take us to his work and let us talk to his customers. Plus I wanted a professional business type that would accept installment payments based on progress and tiered where the biggest chunk of cash outlay is at the end. I also insisted I did not want any family/friends on the "Payroll" at all. Like here I found if you ask family to help it can end up becoming a very ugly situation and cause a huge rift that sometimes can tear a family apart. Kind of like my rule here in the states "Never loan a family member money, it never ends up working out". My FIL is just overseeing the project and for his effort and commitment he gets a new place to live in with us and he is all smiles.

    Nice project, should be quite rewarding when done. Cheers

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Perota
    So far so good.
    You're on the right path Perota. Some amazing demo going on. Usually if a house is left unattended/unused for long periods you find many problems due to non-use in areas such as plumbing, and electrical. they seem to deteriorate through disuse as well as varmints/rats like to eat wire insulation. Great example of contractor malpractice that unrepaired mirror.

    Quote Originally Posted by aging one
    I will be watching how the aluminum windows turn out as we are going to have to go that way due to warping on the teak ones we have now.
    All my windows as well as doors are tea colored aluminum frames with tea colored glass which blocks prying eyes from outside as well as insulation from heat or loss depending on the season. So far so good. We used both sliding glass doors and pull type.

    Quote Originally Posted by Perota
    I would like something that stops the heat but not the light. Any advise would be very much appreciated.
    As mentioned above tea glass is what we've used. No need to use "film," buy the pre-colored glass. Not really much difference in cost, secure locks and you can see out, but they cannot see in unless right up on the glass. Gives a mirror effect to the outside world without glare. Ask you're contractor as he appears to be current with building trends. Congratulations on standing your ground on your requirements as well.

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