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globin

Hi Kaviar:

Looks like 3 contracts to me:

1. house extension - standard modern masonry building ( many losers in Rayong, take your pick)
2. Thai style wooden - traditional carpentry, can be bought complete on the highway to Ban Pai, (drag it to site on heavy lift low loader)
3. Swimming pool (some good guys in Rayong) suggest Concordia yachts maybe they will build you an in ground fiber glass number (drag it to site on low loader)

all different expertise

All the best with this

__________________
~Glennerd~

Kaviar

Thanks! globin.
I,m back in Thailand in a couple of weeks, so I'm going to (interview) some more hopefulls. I think it will come down to which one will rip me off the least.
I heard about these fibreglass pools but don't know anybody who has one and I don't know much about them. So I think I'll go for the traditional concrete and tile.
I've not finalised the design of the thai house yet, I may also build it in concrete and block and then clad it.

Kaviar

I have a question, I hope you experts out there can answer!

The building contractor want to fit piles under the house extention and the swimming pool.
The original house doesnt have piles and after three years there is no subsidence or any settlement cracks.

I had a wall built by the same contractor, which he finish last month. He used piles on some parts of the wall because it was near the pond. Even then he said the ground was so hard he couldn't get the piles all the way in.

So! my question is do I really need the foundations for the house extention and the swimming pool piling?. Or is he creating more work.
Cheers.

johpam

I am no expert but under a concrete swimmingpool depending of it`s depth you might need pilling. You defently don`t want a swimmingpool to crack and there is a lot weight in them. Under the extention of the house, only after testing the soil you will know if it`s needed.

Cheers johpam

carlbraun

How deep will be your pool ?
Lot of water in the ground ? how deep is the water ? composition of the ground ?

Lest year I build one pool two meters deep for a customer with a lot of in ground water, so nearly impossible to have normal foundation. Instead of pilling we choose to make a very heavy 35 cm slab larger than the pool and build the wall on the slab.

There is not one solution, but many different one. The problem is to find which one is the best for you. Meet 2 or 3 pool contractor/builder and choose the solution that seems logical. You can also ask some assistance from the local city hall to know how people are building in the area. In bangkok : many small pillings, in pattaya : standard foundation or big pilling if lot of water...

Kaviar

Thanks! That makes sense, you get so used to being ripped off, you start to question everything they want to do.