Isaan House Repair Rec's Requested

My wife recently bought our "new" home in The Village, from an uncle. I need some advice on how to handle the under-roof/top floor ceiling area.

The house was hit by a small tornado around 2002 and never fully repaired. You can see by the images that two sides of the upper structure need their windows reset. I figure I'll do this to match the other windows (traditional windows with screen insets) and then paint the upper story wood so that it all looks the same color.

But, I don't know enough about construction to figure out what to do with the area below the roof, that gap between the roof and upper story ceiling. It does not appear to be built right, originally. I do not plan to air-condition it, so completely enclosing the ceiling won't be required.

I want to do the repairs as cheaply as possible. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, along with your estimate of the cost.

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/07/1106.jpg

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/07/1107.jpg


https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/07/1108.jpg

My first question to you is, are you going to live there full-time or just a few weeks each year?

If you are going to be living there all the time, then it appears some major work needs to be done. If your time there will be brief each year then I suppose you could do some patchwork that would suffice.

Try to find a local builder to give you a quote. Good luck and let us know how things work out.

Thanks, Hillbilly. That's a good question. My residence in the house will be about 2 months/year... BTW, I've long admired that house you built which is now your avatar. Way to go!

Thanks for your kind words!

Now in regards to your home this is what I would do to make it more liveable and keep costs down. My belief is that by hiring a trusted local builder you should be able to make your house somewhat more comfortable. Right now, I see way to many places for critters to crawl in and make themselves at home.

The cheapest way would be for the workers to use any local obtained hard wood at the nearest lumber supply. This along with sheeting (can not remember what it is called) for eaves and such should work. Windows can also be bought at the lumber/hardware store.

Additionally, you could buy some cheap screens for the windows.

Please keep in mind that I recommend that you are on site while this work is going on. It does not make any difference if you are an expert or not, but you should know what looks good or not.

I will go out on a limb and say the cost for the cheapest option will be about B150,000. Once again, remember that this project is for you to live somewhat comfortably for a couple of months per year.

To totally, redo the home of course, well the sky is limit as far as costs...

Have you got any pics of the ceilings, mate?

This might give you some ideas;


https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...hai-house.html

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Originally Posted by jandajoy

Have you got any pics of the ceilings, mate?

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If I was only to use this home for a short period each year, I personally would forget about the ceilings. A lot of homes that I have seen like this do not even have ceilings.

I should have mentioned that my estimate was for only for enclosing the house to keep the critters out and having a window or two. It does not include any electricity or plumbing needs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hillbilly

I personally would forget about the ceilings. A lot of homes that I have seen like this do not even have ceilings.

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Agreed, but I wasn't clear as to whether he has ceilings in place or not.

Personally I'd probably be looking for another wooden house that I could buy and use to improve this one.

150,000 seems a lot for patching it up. I suppose it depends on where it is.

I'd want to pull off the steel and replace it with wood.

I was assuming that the steel siding was going to be replaced by wood.

Maybe a new shower/toilet down below.

Thanks for the feedback, guys... I haven't seen this house in real time; I'll ask my wife about the ceilings. I'm assuming, based on how they did the eaves (or redid the eaves), that they have ceilings attempted. I guess I'd opt for ceilings for some semblance of mosquito control and the possibility of air-conditioning a room at some later date. How will that affect hot air rising out of the house? ... Yeah, the corrugated patchwork is definitely gonna go, with wood repair and windows to match the rest of the house... Don't even want to think what the bathroom looks like, but, yeah, a shower is a must. No Western toilets (gonna hafta fight my wife about that); Khon Thai just don't understand how to maintain them; low flow better for the septic tank, anyway.

If you had the same building skills as me I would suggest investing in an insurance policy, can of petrol and a match!:)

Is the house owned by you or your wife, whose name is on the title?

The upstairs does not have an enclosed ceiling. You look up and you see the bottom of the corrugated tin roof... All our properties are in my wife's name.

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Originally Posted by OhOh

Is the house owned by you or your wife, whose name is on the title?

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Are you stupid? The first words of the op are as follows.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LegendarySurfer

My wife recently bought our "new" home in The Village

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Or are you just trying to be clever and start spouting, "Farangs can't own houses."
Regardless, this is the construction forum, not the legals forum, if you can't get that into your thick head then stay the fuk out of the construction forum.

I have to agree with JJ and there are lots of older houses with good wood that can be purchased to improve your house. I would probably redo the entire second floor using the purchased house and a toilet can be added on the first floor very easily. It should not take too much money to make the house livable and it only depends on how many creature comforts you want. There is a wide price range for things like fridges, toilet furnishings, kitchens and I would stay toward the mid-range as far as quality goes. Labor is very cheap and most costs come from details like lighting, roofing material, appliances and furniture. If you keep your wits about you the house can be made comfortable for less than you think. I hate to put a price to it since it will depend on your personal taste. I would guess anywhere from 200,000-300,000 baht. Less if you pick the lower end extras.

Thanks again, guys... My wife is looking after ailing parents who are now doing much better under her care, so it may be that my time In Country will be longer than I thought. I'll go back for my 6th trip in 11 years, in early 2012, for about 3 months to try it out. Previous visits were no longer than a month in duration.

Complete the ground floor in cement. Dismantle the upper floor and let the local rice field farmers sand and finish the teak wood. That will help rid you of termites, scorps, and ants. When ground floor is completed, tile your floor in light colors, don't let Dad store His shite there. get rid of the corroded thaitin siding. Looks like your only steel is the rebar supporting the upper floor. The thaitin sheets are there because someone sold the teakwood siding.No worries, looks like a nice piece of property. You can finish the house piece meal. Make a comfortable room for you and your lady. Screens are not effective, your front door will be open all day. Ailing Parents? Just remember nobody will look after your Home when your working. Don't go hog wild and spend your life savings, save some for your own House to share with your Lady a lengthy bus ride away from Mom and Dad
60,000 Baht and build upper floor next trip.

^
Not bad IceSpike except he will need to make sure the ground floor is protected from the rain. Otherwise, all your work will be ruined and you will have to redo it again. Make sure the entire structure is water tight and like IceSpike said, leave the second floor for the next trip.