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wanna

hi

as it is, i'm sort of overbudget for the house plan with the part about the engineer's material specs still not done.

i'm trying to find a cheap or free solution to this problem.

some posts i read suggest that the builder would not be able to come up with the material specs and advise to hire a structural engineer.

i would like to ask if the material specs are much more than about the type and quantity of rebar used in the column and beams, and if not, would any members here be able to offer some advice based on their own or professional construction experience

thanks

dirtydog

You can't build till you have plans to submit for planning permission, these plans have the basic specs on them.

wanna

hi DD

the land does not have chanote title so it does not require submission for approval

dirtydog

I can't imagine many builders taking on a job without plans, it takes about an hour to get a rough guesstimate of materials needed using a rough plan.

lom

AFAIK you need to have an architectural and structural plan approved by your Tessaban in order to register the house.
No post address, no house book, no electricity (except for construction power/meter)
if the house in not registered.

Humbert

If you proceed with building using only the services of a Thai contractor you open your self up to big problems down the road. You should have a proper set of plans and a BOQ drawn up. If you just verbally give the contractor a vision of what you want and negotiate a price, he will cut corners everyplace he can to squeeze you.

wanna

hi lom

yes i have that part sorted out already

thanks

wanna

hi DD

i will contract with the builder for labour only. after agreement on the labour costs, then i will ask him for calculations on material based on his experience

possible to be done this way?

dirtydog

So you will be at your builders beck and call to order everything and pick up odds and ends that are forgotten everyday, hope you don't expect to have a lot of spare time over that period

wanna

yup i will be onsite 24 hours

if the builder calculates correctly, then the number of runs can be minimised

maybe 1st phase is the cement, rebar, pipes to be buried....

splitlid

hahahahahah comedy classic.

how far is the builders merchants?

dirtydog

If only life was that simple, half the time not all your order will come or they will forget something, could just be a kilo of nails or something, someone has to go and get them

Loombucket

Wanna, it is possible to do it that way, but I strongly advise against it. You will be stressed up to the eyeballs in a very short while. If you intend to be there 24/7, you will need a runner. Apart from which, if you know the precise quantities, you can buy in bulk, which is much cheaper than bit by bit.

Just my four pence worth.

tsicar

i know that i am going to collect some flak for this, but:

depending on where in thailand you are building, i would say that this is the way to go, or you could end up paying "farang prices " for materials, paying for more materials than were actually used, etc.
if you have any construction experience, you can kick their arses when you see them adding too much water to the concrete mix, etc.
i would strongly advise doing progress payments, too. (pay only after certain predetermined milestones have been reached)
never pay the buggers in advance for labour and materials, or they will blow the money and you will wait for them to get the next deposit from the next sucker who pays in advance before you get any work done.
they will probably use enough rebar, but they WILL fuck up the concrete mix.
better to be there ALL THE TIME

wanna

20km to the mom and pop's shop

wanna

yes so there has to be a balance. something expensive i'll order 5% more. for nails, i'll buy 1 kg extra

wanna

hi loombucket,

i am very stressed as it is already so i'm trying to test where my breaking point is

yes i intend to buy in bulk. so if i have 1 supplier selling both water and drain pipes, i buy it together early on rather than split the purchase till i have to use it

wanna

hi tsicar

i think you have hit the nail on the head with this one.

never make advance payment.

but it seems to be the norm to pay something before the commencement of foundation works, something like a resettlement fees for the workers to come onsite.

i dont really fancy doing that, but how to go about not paying when everyone is paying is quite a problem.

tsicar

everyone else is NOT paying up front.
if the guy can't run his business well enough to finance the start of his next project, and he builds your house the way he runs his business, i think you are in shit before you even started.
you will find that these guys will start a project on your deposit, go quite well for a week or so, then slow down, probably not pitch up for a week or two. at that stage he is spending your money keeping the previous customer happy, by doing a few days' work, at your expense, cos he partied the first guy's money away. soon he will start another project, and do the same to that guy, occasionlly pitching up at your site to try keep you placated.
the whole thing is just a great big pyramid scheme.

ask him what materials he needs for the first stage, compare and negotiate prices, pay for the materials and have them delivered to site. let the builder pay his own labour, perhaps letting him have a little money,but always in arrears against his first scheduled "progress payment" according to progress made, to pay his staff from time to time until the first stage is reached, after which he must finance his own operation.

wanna

[quote=tsicar;1088005]yes this is what i had in mind. thanks for the advice and affirmation