Thread: Future Construction in Isaan

Hello Bluecat,

That's indeed something we considered but finding a good piece of land in "center" of the village is not so easy and the prices have sored recently.

Just to explain a bit more, the in-laws acquired/will acquire the remaining 25% of the land from the uncle and he's only allowed to stay on the land because he's so poor that he has no other choice but in the books the in-laws are fully owner of the land.

I should also mention that I don't wish to use that land or the house for my own use in the future as it's too far from everything anyway.
The goal is really to give those people a better home and somewhere decent for my own family to stay when they visit them.

Not having full control on it is not really an issue although I think the house will be build under my wife's name (I think it's possible) just to be on the safe side.



R.

Johan

Originally Posted by joeedbkk

and as my wife and our little boy will go there
2/3 times a year for some holidays until we have our own house, I'd like something a bit more comfortable for them

wouldn't bother.

your wife is more than used to those living conditions and it will be like a camping holiday for the little one.

Originally Posted by joeedbkk

Not having full control on it is not really an issue although I think the house will be build under my wife's name (I think it's possible) just to be on the safe side.

You can not own a house, you own the land on which the house is.
And I agree with CMN, I would not bother much if I was going there only a few times a year.
Now, if you want to improve their living conditions, you can always "upgrade" their houses.
For more than 1 million you're considering spending, you'll make their houses a very nice place to stay in.
Won't be your own, but well, same for the one you intend to build...

Well I stayed in their current house for one week and trust me the best way to upgrade it is to pull it down and build a new one

Moreover my wife _really_ wants to build a new house for her parents so the decision to build or not is irrevocable :-)


Anyway buying a new piece of land might be a better alternative in the end but it seems difficult to find a nice piece of land in the 200 000 THB range (so they say...).

Originally Posted by joeedbkk

Well I stayed in their current house for one week and trust me the best way to upgrade it is to pull it down and build a new one

Moreover my wife _really_ wants to build a new house for her parents so the decision to build or not is irrevocable :-)

In that case, I'll comment only on the prices.
With 200,000 baht, a friend of mine bought a few rais 40 kms from Khon Kaen and build a very big house on it for about 1 million Baht last year.
But building prices are escalating fast with the steel price having doubled the past few months...

How old are the parents and the uncle? Are they currently working? I would look to involve them in the building. Their expectations might not be too great when they have to work also. My dad is pushing 70 and is still fine with manual labor.

They are probably not too fussed about western style bathrooms etc. So it's important to decide if you're building it for them or for yourself (who will only be there a few days a year.

We fixed up the place below for less than 40K in materials. This includes a bit of electrical work, nice bedroom, septic tank and 'bathroom' (non-flush toilet and large bucket for shower). We spoke to local builders who clearly wanted to rip us off. The place is no palace, but we only want it for a couple of years while we save for a nicer place on a different part of the block.

It was also a learning experience where we could make mistakes without it costing us heaps.
BEFORE


AFTER

I would suggest trying to reuse some timber and use the old slab, this will save you a fair bit.

^ Fack thats in the Jungle alright.
As with others have said would not bother. My inlaws live in a house ok by their standards. I just check in to the Sofitel Khon Kaen. And drive to the village. Works out way better. I mean who want to sleep with the inlaws. Not me.

I already done it. No harm done. It safe Ant. Please proceed. Let us know how fast you managed to run......

Just one last piece of advice. Whatever you decide to build, make sure there's a good outside/undercover area. Thais usually spend most daylight hours outside and with most modern Thai houses the only shaded area is the carport. You'll also save by not having to put so many walls. Good idea to separate the kitchen from the house a little, keeps things cooler and less smelly.

Yep that's what I noticed in all the house plans I could find so far that there's no outside covered area although people living in the village are spending most of their freetime outside their house.

I'll ask the builder a quotation for that too, thanks for the idea.

Concerning the outdoor kitchen that's a good idea too but this would require changing the plans a bit more; this has to be discussed with the builder...

In the meantime I received some more details. So the new piece of land will be 20m (width) x 40m and we could get it for 185 000 THB. It's located along the main road and water/electricty is already available to neighbors.

There will be about 30 trucks of dirt added for 400 THB each.

One thing we'd like to do is to build a perimeter wall but I dont know yet how high or how much it will cost. If anyone has some experience on that, feedback is welcome.
My guess is that a 1-meter perimeter wall would be enough.


I'll post the link to the house plans in my next post.

Here are the links to the detailed plans and perspectives:

http://www.dpt.go.th/workinfo/house_...del/no09md.zip
http://www.dpt.go.th/workinfo/house_...ctive/no09.zip
http://www.dpt.go.th/workinfo/house_.../sub/sub09.zip

Originally Posted by joeedbkk

Here are the links to the detailed plans and perspectives:

http://www.dpt.go.th/workinfo/house_...del/no09md.zip
http://www.dpt.go.th/workinfo/house_...ctive/no09.zip
http://www.dpt.go.th/workinfo/house_.../sub/sub09.zip

The sportscar in the driveway shows why these houses are so popular in Thailand. It's all about status, a house like this is much more suited to Europe than the tropics. Those window on the stairs will create a 'green house effect', making upstairs unbearable thru the day. The concrete will absorb heat, releasing it at night.

The place will be an oven. If they aren't installing air con, they will want it later. They will have huge elec bills for ever.

Sorry to be critical, but chances are you will pay for an expensive house and your in laws still won't have a shaded place to sit under.

I have no problem with the criticism as it's the reason why I'm posting here.

I'm just a bit surprised because those house plans coming from the Thai government I was expecting that they were designed in a way that is suitable for the thai weather and conditions.

We are still in a very early stage of the building process and nothing has been signed so it's not too late to go for an alternative house provided that I can find something better.

Would anyone happen to have some alternative house plans for a 3-bedroom house that I could give a look at?

Feedback on the cost of building the perimeter wall is still welcome

Originally Posted by joeedbkk

I have no problem with the criticism as it's the reason why I'm posting here.

I'm just a bit surprised because those house plans coming from the Thai government I was expecting that they were designed in a way that is suitable for the thai weather and conditions.

We are still in a very early stage of the building process and nothing has been signed so it's not too late to go for an alternative house provided that I can find something better.

Would anyone happen to have some alternative house plans for a 3-bedroom house that I could give a look at?

Do you have the link to the page with those plans? I've seen it before but don't have it. I think there are better plans on the page, but a house should be designed to fit the block, with consideration to where the sun rises and sets, prevailing wind etc.

Originally Posted by joeedbkk

Feedback on the cost of building the perimeter wall is still welcome

I don't know how much, but it's not cheap. A 1 meter high wall isn't going to keep much out, so I would wonder whether it's worthwhile. What about a decent wire fence?

You can find all the plans on a thai website but it's only in thai (just click any number for the details):

Untitled Document

I also found them on this website:

Living in Asia

I'm waiting for the land purchase to be finalized so we'll have the title and a thai government employee is supposed to come onsite for a survey so we'll know exactly how is the land. Based on that we'll start thinking on how to position the house and looking at some alternatives as long as the budget doesnt go beyond 1 million all included (except land).


It also seems that a wall will be too expensive so we'll probably go for a wire fence as you mentioned.

If I may add a few of my thoughts on this. Shade is important. If you have room, get some trees in. If you get them in now, they will grow like hell in the rainy season. Prevailing wind is also important. You really want the wind to blow in at one end of the house, and blow out of the other. A good choice of paint, on the outside wall, will also help with keeping some of the heat out.

We looked at dozens of designs for a Thai house, but didn't really find a decent one. We went with an Architect, mainly, for that reason.

Originally Posted by joeedbkk

I'm just a bit surprised because those house plans coming from the Thai government I was expecting that they were designed in a way that is suitable for the thai weather and conditions.

Well.....

My suggestion? Better check out the land on which you want to build. Believe me this is a key factor.

Good luck, but at this stage I am a bit concerned.

Originally Posted by Loombucket

If I may add a few of my thoughts on this. Shade is important. If you have room, get some trees in. If you get them in now, they will grow like hell in the rainy season. Prevailing wind is also important. You really want the wind to blow in at one end of the house, and blow out of the other. A good choice of paint, on the outside wall, will also help with keeping some of the heat out.We looked at dozens of designs for a Thai house, but didn't really find a decent one. We went with an Architect, mainly, for that reason.

Good advice, there are plenty of fast growing trees and now is a good time to plant. Also consider bamboo, unless it's the running type it won't be invasive. Bamboo grows to it's full height in one year and if it falls down it won't destroy your house.

Wind is also important, but your in laws will probably want the front of the house facing the street. This is why taking a generic design can be a problem. I would consider a an architect.

Looking at the designs on those page the ones I feel would be most livable are those elevated of the ground. Numbers 27, 28, 29 and 30 would be great, but probably expensive. Number 5 is OK, but there's no shaded area outside the house.

Number two is extremely basic, but if you used your imagination you could build two houses like this and join them somehow. This would give you a large shaded balcony and plenty of area under the house, which I'm sure would be well used, especially if there was a bit of a kitchen/bbq.With a few windows and extras it could look similar to an old style Thai house, which are suited to the climate.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Originally Posted by Smithson

Also consider bamboo, unless it's the running type it won't be invasive. Bamboo grows to it's full height in one year and if it falls down it won't destroy your house.

Having lived here in Thailand for a year or two, I would not suggest bamboo.

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Originally Posted by Smithson

Also consider bamboo, unless it's the running type it won't be invasive. Bamboo grows to it's full height in one year and if it falls down it won't destroy your house.

Having lived here in Thailand for a year or two, I would not suggest bamboo.

Why not? We have a heap growing, it looks nice and comes in handy for all sorts of things. It's the worlds fastest growing plant and consumes more carbon dioxide than anything else.