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  1. #351
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    A great Job and nice finish in the end. Can be frustrating I know but you end up with a great home at a good price. Congrats

  2. #352
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    So, the team turned up to put in the electricity poles and cable running from the gateway to the house, which the runs under the ground to the house. Wires all connected up and looking OK. I wanted to run everything subterranean from the gate, but finances wouldn't allow it at this stage. I might revisit at a later date and have everything moved underground, but I'm guessing after the trees grow for another year or so, not much will be visible, so probably won't bother. Never underestimate the power of 'can't-be-arsed'.

    Upshot of this now is that we have to wait for PEA to come and inspect and then switch on the power, which means in the meantime the house doesn't have any power and work that was underway has now stopped!

    Some carpentry for example... fitting a gate and rails to the entrance way to stop the dogs from making a home on the veranda:
    Baanpong House Build-baanpong131-jpgBaanpong House Build-baanpong132-jpg

    And before power was cut, the kitchen team turned up to do a bit of snagging. One of the attaching points for the carcass wan't robust enough and had sprung away from the wall, so was replaced by larger bracket. One has to wonder how many people it takes to do this job, 4 apparently:
    Baanpong House Build-baanpong130-jpg

    Dog was there to make sure everything is in order.

    Floors have all been sanded and re-sealed, bathrooms have had a hose-down ready for a final clean. Need to box-in the vent pipe for the extractor unit in kitchen, plus put up a shelf as mentioned previously, but everything now on hold due to no leccy ... c'mon PEA!
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Baanpong House Build-baanpong131-jpg   Baanpong House Build-baanpong132-jpg   Baanpong House Build-baanpong130-jpg  

  3. #353
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    Looking great. That tile floor looks nice too I bet it will feel nice to walk on also.

  4. #354
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    Going back to the loungeroom and those cantilevered doors - what will you do for security on those? I know it would stuff up the view, but Thai people seem to love their security gates / window bars etc. Got to assume there's a reason for that.

    Is it even possible to have external security gates with that type of door?

  5. #355
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    ^ Cantilevered bars for the bars are available. I'm sure you can find some nice looking ones.

    Never seen them on a house but a few businesses around Chiang Mai have them on the storefront.

  6. #356
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    Quote Originally Posted by naptownmike View Post
    Looking great. That tile floor looks nice too I bet it will feel nice to walk on also.
    Cheers.

    I just didn't want to go with the usual, large shiny, McMansion, up-skirt reflection floor tiles. Apparently, these terracotta tiles were are pain to lay, as they were quite uneven, plus their small size made for extra work.

    I have lived in a house out in the countryside of Chiang Mai that had these tiles, and thought they were great. Easy to maintain, warm to walk on, and a bit more natural looking.

    I did however intend for these tiles to be sealed outside, and waxed inside, but this part of my requested design has been conveniently overlooked. No worries, I'll just let the shine wear off and then wax them with liquid floor polish and a man/woman for hire for a day!

  7. #357
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    Quote Originally Posted by bindog View Post
    Going back to the loungeroom and those cantilevered doors - what will you do for security on those? I know it would stuff up the view, but Thai people seem to love their security gates / window bars etc. Got to assume there's a reason for that.

    Is it even possible to have external security gates with that type of door?
    Bindog casing the joint already!

    I'm not putting up bars on these doors. To break in, you'd have to pretty much have to destroy 80% of the doors, as you can't just open one or two and they are bolted top and bottom, plus the glass is too narrow to get through. Having bars attached to them won't make much of a difference really, I guess that concertina security gates like this:
    Baanpong House Build-security_gates-jpg

    They could be put on the outside of the door frame, working independently from the actual doors. I have 3 dogs, an assortment of snakes, chest-high weeds, plus there are other security measures in place (having not much worth stealing also is a factor).

    I hate living in a house that looks like a fortress, had that for years in Koh Samui, trying to get away from all that crap.

    By the way Bindog, I owe you an apology, the dimensions of the lounge is 5m wide, not 4 m that I stated earlier! No idea were my logic went. The dividing wall is centred on the 10m width... adding on the veranda width and open ceiling and wide doors makes it look much wider. The original plans were for 4+4m room width, but this was binned when the missus wanted 200m2, which was then whittled down to a more manageable size.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Baanpong House Build-security_gates-jpg  

  8. #358
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    Quote Originally Posted by jonnyenglish View Post
    I just didn't want to go with the usual, large shiny, McMansion, up-skirt reflection floor tiles. Apparently, these terracotta tiles were are pain to lay, as they were quite uneven, plus their small size made for extra work.

    I have lived in a house out in the countryside of Chiang Mai that had these tiles, and thought they were great. Easy to maintain, warm to walk on, and a bit more natural looking.
    Nice tiles. looks GREAT!!!!

    My wife and I had a huge debate on the tiles. I was leaning to the Terracotta style that you have put down. Wife did not like them claiming they collect more dirt and dust. We ended up with the "McMansion" style tiles you mentioned. Honestly they both look nice. we have numerous Asian style rugs around the house.

    You are almost there. Soon you can relax and enjoy the fruits of your efforts.

  9. #359
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    Entrance way gates now installed.. keep those pesky hounds from mucking up the veranda:

    Baanpong House Build-baanpong133-jpg Baanpong House Build-baanpong134-jpg Baanpong House Build-baanpong135-jpg

    Now just need to put up the shelf in the kitchen above the sink, install 2 LED strip lights and box-in the extractor hood vent pipe (have decided to get it made up in stainless steel to match the extractor hood). Additionally, we will put in a white tile splash-back in the kitchen, running from the back door round above the sink and all the way down from the corner to the fridge... All that is left then is to get internet connected and bob's your uncle.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Baanpong House Build-baanpong133-jpg   Baanpong House Build-baanpong134-jpg   Baanpong House Build-baanpong135-jpg  

  10. #360
    Days Work Done! Norton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jonnyenglish View Post
    Additionally, we will put in a white tile splash-back in the kitchen, running from the back door round above the sink and all the way down from the corner to the fridge
    Suggestion for what it's worth. Maybe splashback would be better if same as counter top. Appears to be grey granite. Height just below the 3 electrical outlets.

    All looks great. Well done. Sure to be enjoyable place to live.

  11. #361
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    Maybe 'splashback' is the wrong term.. I'm just going to tile the wall at a height up to the underneath edge of the extractor hood, following the line of the granite worktop (which, I remember, needs sealing!). This will mean having to take off all the electric wall sockets above the worktop and re-install them after tiling, but hey, one of them doesn't work so needed fixing anyway!

  12. #362
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    Just a quick reply to something you have already done , but the best way to remove stickers is with WD40. I owned a photocopier business and they were always covered with stickers WD 40 works and does not attack plastic or s/steel

  13. #363
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    You are right Gnasher, I forgot about spray oil, I did know once upon a time! I'll try that on the shower units where the 'squirrel fingers' technique didn't work as well and left paper and glue stuck on.

    Popped down to the house today to cut some of the 9ft high weeds and also to see if any work was going on, and a bloody good job I did too... The tiling has been started in the kitchen, but instead of removing the electric sockets on the wall first, yer man was cutting the tiles to fit flush around the sockets FFS!

    I mean who the hell recesses electric wall sockets so they are flush with the tiles? How would you access the electrics behind the socket? (which has to be done any day now on one of them as it doesn't work for some reason!) you'd have to chisel the tiles around it first... sigh, I have no words ... really.

  14. #364
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    Finally moved in to the new place a few days ago and have been climbing over piles of stuff accumulated over the past year, when I get everything in the right place(ish) I'll upload a bunch of photos.

    Progress:

    Final fixes and snagging are still on-going, these past few days included;

    Installing a gas pipe from outside, running through conduit (for added protection) under the house and up through the kitchen floor into back of cupboard. I also remembered to seal around the hole with sealant, all done by myself (I'll give myself a pat on the back).

    Yesterday brought me many hours of grubbing about under the house, apart from removing hazardous builder's junk (metal, glass, wire, etc) and installing the gas pipe, I also moved approximately 1 ton of rubble (not glazed tiles) for filling in the monstrous potholes in the track leading down to the land. The rains have pretty much now finished, but so have my finances, so gravelling of the road will have to wait.

    Both bathroom sinks have now had U-bends installed, after discovering that the plumber had decided to experiment on a new system not using any, which resulted in a lovely fragrance wafting up from the plugholes. Fixed now though.

    Had to call in The Lone Ranger to fix 5 wall sockets and a light that weren't working at all (which involved cutting holes in new ceilings and completely rewiring that ring). Plus two sockets in master bedroom had their earth's and neutrals mixed, which tripped out the main switch every time something was plugged in (at least I guessed that's what the issue was). It's safe to assume that his system of colour coding for wiring black with white, black with red, white with red, black with black (but one with a bit of tape on it) wasn't so clear after all... That's a 25% failure rate on wiring that was supposedly checked after installing! Not a bad effort

    I reinstalled wiring and conduit for cooker extractor hood, The Lone Ranger had made a right pig's ear of the job, but looks OK now I had a rethink and took some care to get it right.

    3BB fibre-optic internet installed... lovely and fast, wifi works a treat too.

    Still waiting on delivery of 4 poster bed for master bedroom, bit of a delay as the carpenter had to fit this in around making a load of other stuff for a hotel. Should be here next week sometime.

    Also waiting on manufacture and delivery of Venetian window blinds, coming from Bangkok... bit of a delay as the saleswoman neglected to ask for a deposit to seal the deal on the order. This results in me waking up with sunrise, which isn't actually a bad thing, I get more done in the day. Should be here next week sometime.

    Next update will have pics.

    Cheers for now.

  15. #365
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    Hey Jonny...

    Congrats on finishing (lol almost!) a really great build and a great read too.

    You are just finishing, I'm about to start, so you can watch my build efforts from the comfort of yours.

    Relax... you have earned it!

  16. #366
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thai Dhupp View Post
    Hey Jonny...

    Congrats on finishing (lol almost!) a really great build and a great read too.

    You are just finishing, I'm about to start, so you can watch my build efforts from the comfort of yours.

    Relax... you have earned it!
    Cheers TD,

    Still progressing with the 'snagging', had the floor tiles in the master bathroom replaced today, as the first set weren't laid properly and any water on the floor just pooled in the middle rather than draining away on a nice flat slope... got bored of getting wet feet every time I walked into the bathroom..

    Next up is putting gravel and plants around the house, and possibly a new gate (the current (temporary) bamboo one is looking a bit worse for wear, the missus thinks it gives the wrong impression. I'll have to come up with a design for a new double gate, as I hate the stainless steel and gold affairs.

    As to 'relaxing', I have to earn some more beans to buy furniture and other bits, but I'll try and squeeze beers and G&T's in as well

  17. #367
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    Finally got the window blinds installed, went for matt aluminium in the kitchen:

    Baanpong House Build-baanpong136-jpg

    Cherry wood in the other rooms:

    Baanpong House Build-baanpong137-jpg

    Started tidying things up, scraping windows (where varnish had been slopped on the glass), bit of filling and paint here and there around wall sockets.

    I still need to buy a whole heap of furniture and furnishings, but my bank balance won't allow for it just now, but have started with a few bits and bobs so we aren't sitting on the floor!

    Baanpong House Build-baanpong140-jpg

    Baanpong House Build-baanpong139-jpg

    Apologies for the terrible picture quality, my phone died and this is a cheap charlie back-up phone.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Baanpong House Build-baanpong136-jpg   Baanpong House Build-baanpong137-jpg   Baanpong House Build-baanpong140-jpg   Baanpong House Build-baanpong139-jpg  

  18. #368
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    Nice and simple, looks great.

  19. #369
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    It does look great. Love the lounge room especially - the ceiling, the external doors, and the recessed timber internal door. I'm keeping all three in mind for my future build.

    It looks cool too - in both senses of the word.

    How did you go with the ceiling? Was it a struggle getting the concept across, or is 'cathedral ceiling' something Thai builders / architects are familiar with?

  20. #370
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    The ceiling concept was understood pretty quickly, but I wanted to use materials that had features, rather than just a vast expanse of smooth white plasterboard, so this complicated the actual build somewhat. The fake tongue and groove Sheraboard (supposed to be used outside as weatherboard for eaves and soffits) is relatively heavy and not so cheap, so extra care had to be made when cutting and fitting, plus the steelwork has to be pretty accurate as well, because the board is fitted directly to it, wheres if it was a suspended ceiling, all manner of crude welding and angles can be hidden.

    Let's put it this way, everyone who sees the ceilings in the open area and the master bedroom all think it looks great, this includes Noarng the builder and his foreman, but the building team have stated that they will never build a house with a ceiling like that again, it was a bunch of hassle for them and slowed the build by weeks

    I guess other materials could be used that might make it easier to install, but I wanted to make sure that everything I did was insect, damp and mold-proof.

    The only real headache I had was trying to figure out how to divide up the space, sectioning off the master bedroom, walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom, plus office and guest bedroom and bathroom, whilst allowing the flow of air through eaves vents and keeping look of the open living area. Noarng and I managed to figure it out together, but actually he had an idea already, so the concept was definitely understood.

  21. #371
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    I'm very impressed with that floor tiling, particularly since if I remember correctly you went for a cheap option.

    We've had to get our living room redone because the cement under the tiling contracted, resulting in an ear shattering noise at about 5am and a floor that had become smaller than the tiled area.

  22. #372
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    Actually Cyrille, they ballsed-up the tiles in the main living area. What they didn't do is remove all the wash of grouting from the tile surface properly when it was damp, they just smeared it with a dirty rag. When this grouting then hardened, it proved really tricky to remove. I caught the team trying to scrape and sand the grouting off, which was destroying the tile surface too, so made them stop that as soon as I saw them. I instructed them to use dilute solutions of HCL or similar and soft wirewool to remove the excess grout skim.

    When I came back the next day, they had just sealed the whole floor, grout and all.

    The result of which was also uneven and patchy, as the areas of tile surface without the 'grout wash' absorbed the sealant, so they put another coat of sealant on it.

    The finish now is far from ideal, as some areas are clear tiles and some have a milky yellow-ocre wash sealed in. At first glace it all looks very rustic and part of the nature of the tiles, but on closer inspection it is apparent that something's not quite right;

    Here's what a good tile looks like:
    Baanpong House Build-good_tile-jpg

    Here's what a bad tile looks like:

    Baanpong House Build-bad_tile-jpg

    A close up of a crappy tile (using equally crappy phone camera):

    Baanpong House Build-bad_tile_cu-jpg


    Of course I had stipulated on multiple occasions that the interior floors should all be waxed not varnished, but this was ignored as it was perceived I would prefer this treatment!

    It goes without saying that the areas that are not seen, ie., guest bedroom, office and master bedroom are all perfect!

    I can live with the tiles for now, as no doubt they will wear over time and the imperfect finish won't be as apparent. The alternative is to strip off the sealant using solvent, wash the tiles with soapy water, remove the excess 'grout wash' with fine wirewool and a weak HCL solution (taking care not to abrade the tile surface), clean thoroughly and then wax finish as originally intended.

    I'd have to do this myself though, as I couldn't risk someone else having a go and screwing the pooch all over again! It wouldn't have to be done all in one go however, I could do it in sections, put some music on, tins of beer, slowly getting it right.

    Don't have time right now though, so as I say it will have to do for now.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Baanpong House Build-good_tile-jpg   Baanpong House Build-bad_tile-jpg   Baanpong House Build-bad_tile_cu-jpg  
    Last edited by jonnyenglish; 22-11-2017 at 12:10 PM.

  23. #373
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    It seems to be a problematic area in this country...along with plumbing and a few others. Thanks for that detailed info.

    All this confirms our previously held belief: don't even think about a build unless you do it yourself or will be able to pay very close attention to it.

  24. #374
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    One problem I do have with my new house is that the en-suite bathroom has a stink problem... the nice new bathroom smells like an ancient shitty sewer.

    At first I thought it was down to the fact that the plumber hadn't put in U-bends in the hand basins, so these were added below the house, but this has made no difference at all.

    If the bathroom isn't used for a while, the room fills up with a methane smell, and despite sticking my nose over the wash basin plug hole and shower drain, I can't detect exactly where this is coming from.

    I suspect that it's the toilet seal, but again, I can't detect any specific location where the smell is coming from, which is odd.

    Noarng and the team have been back 3 times already, but nothing they have done has fixed the issue.

    The other strange thing is that the guest bathroom is absolutely fine, despite being used more frequently than the en-suite. There are differences in the two bathrooms however, the toilets themselves are different models, the waste pipes differ in length and location too (the en-suite waste pipe has further to travel). So perhaps a combination of things is the cause.

    I have no idea, and I don't think the builder knows either, which is a worry.

    The saga continues!

  25. #375
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Right...we have stinky bathrooms too, except that we know where the smell emanates from: the shower drain. It also allows for the entrance of mosquitoes.

    Thus one of those scourers with a plastic handle on top is placed over the plug hole when the shower is not in use. Not an ideal solution, but hey ho...it works pretty well.

    Oh and there's a really effective eucalyptus air spray available at Rimping.

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