#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Construction in Thailand >  >  Photo reporting the build of the house we bought in a walled village complex

## neilandmeechai

It's always great to follow the individual house building threads here on TeakDoor and to learn from all the different experiences. 
We however didn't build our house from scratch and to our own personal design, we bought a "Ready Built" ..... except it wasn't built when we bought it ... so, we were able to watch both our house and the village itself developing from an open field to a beautiful place to live. 

*Anyone Interested in sharing our experience?*

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## The Fresh Prince

Yep. We did the same thing last year and I was going to do a thread but I didn't really get any good pics.

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## neilandmeechai

> Yep. We did the same thing last year and I was going to do a thread but I didn't really get any good pics.


Hi ... Thanks for the vote of confidence! ... Don't know if our photo's are 100% especially in the beginning but as the build went on we also bought a far better camera.

Here are the basic house plans ...

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## neilandmeechai

It all looked a bit empty and we had to try and visualise it from the builders plans and brochures ...

This is not the new house ...


This turned out to be eventually the boundary wall just opposite the front of our house

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## neilandmeechai

Again the boundary wall just outside the front of our plot ...


Another view of part of the plot for the 110 houses ...

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## neilandmeechai

The village is just a few kilometres outside of Chonburi city which was one of the prime reasons that we wanted to live there. Chonburi was the birth place and still is the family home of Meechai. 
At the moment we are not permanently resident so it is very handy for us that both his brother and sister are able to look after the house for us in our absence.

Meechai's mum performing part of the ground blessing ceremony ...

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## natalie8

> the family home of Meechai.


Your wife's name is No?  :Smile:  Sorry, I'm not being facetious, some Thai names crack me up.

Thanks for starting this thread. I know you're a new poster, and sometimes these forums can be a bit overwhelming.

That looks like a great spot and the house design is really nice. Keep 'em coming. Green on its way.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

*The Red Fire Hydrant* in the top right of this photo features in many photo's and is a good point of orientation as it ends up being just outside our front gate.

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## The Fresh Prince

So did they have a show home that you could view before buying this or was it from a model?

The site I'm living on is only 50% complete. There was one complete street when we viewed it and now there are about four. It's a pain in the ass with all the dust but there are always guys around to complete the snag list when something new pops up.

Actually I could just go to a house they've just started and take some pics to show how mine started.

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## Tickiteboo

Nice to see all the pics NandM . This is going to be an interesting thread I'm sure . Actually wish I had taken a lot more pictures during my own housebuild 3 years ago . Keep them coming please !

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## neilandmeechai

Now with some of the first foundations sunk ...

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## neilandmeechai

> Nice to see all the pics NandM . This is going to be an interesting thread I'm sure . Actually wish I had taken a lot more pictures during my own housebuild 3 years ago . Keep them coming please !


Thanks for the comments ... I also took quite a lot in the village itself, building the other amenities, swimming pool, gym etc.

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## blue

so   meechai 
what happened to the poor Thai people living here ,after the ground was cleared for your Berlin wall estate ?

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## neilandmeechai

> so meechai 
> what happened to the poor Thai people living here ,after the ground was cleared for your Berlin wall estate ?


I also thought they might have been the previous residents of the ground but it turned out to be the builders village that they had just built a few weeks earlier.

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## neilandmeechai

Don't forget to checkout the position of the Red Fire Hydrant ...

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## The Fresh Prince

> what happened to the poor Thai people living here ,after the ground was cleared for your Berlin wall estate ?


They move where ever the building site is. It's much like pikey's in the u.k. When we built our bar in the center of Bangkok we had had 3 separate crews of family's living on each floor.

The brickies were on the ground floor, the sparkies were on the second floor and the chippies were on the 3rd floor. They all stayed and brought their families and then moved on to the next job once ours was completed.

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## neilandmeechai

> Originally Posted by blue
> 
>  what happened to the poor Thai people living here ,after the ground was cleared for your Berlin wall estate ?
> 
> 
> They move where ever the building site is. It's much like pikey's in the u.k. When we built our bar in the center of Bangkok we had had 3 separate crews of family's living on each floor.
> 
> The brickies were on the ground floor, the sparkies were on the second floor and the chippies were on the 3rd floor. They all stayed and brought their families and then moved on to the next job once ours was completed.


Certainly beats the drama of "Commuting" that we all seem to have in Europe. Walk to the public transport to get to the train station, to wait for the train (that might not come!), to sit the journey out for an hour or more and then to do the same at the other end before arriving at the office ....... *and then to do it all again to get home!*

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## neilandmeechai

It would have been easy to loose your bearings if it wasn't for the Fire Hydrant

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## DrAndy

> Your wife's name is No?


you are funny, natalie

Meechai is a bloke, not a wife as such

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

It might be difficult to see from these photo's but we hope all will become clearer as the build continues ...
*We decided to choose the "Last House in the Village" for a very special reason.* 
Firstly we would have no traffic passing our house, although there are very few cars most of the day after everyone leaves for work. 

Our house is also one of the few free standing houses with no neighbours opposite. 
Every house in the complex is different in it's size, style, design, colour of roof tiles and layout of the grounds surrounding it.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

This view is from inside (what will be the front of the lounge) looking towards the village boundary wall opposite the front of our house.

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## neilandmeechai

The Red Fire Hydrant is back again and stands at the front right of the house ...

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## Norton

Looks good. Big advantage building a house builder has built before. Far less chance of "first time" lessons learned and rework.

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## neilandmeechai

> Looks good. Big advantage building a house builder has built before. Far less chance of "first time" lessons learned and rework.


Thanks ... Not knowing the builder (or at least the contracter) at the time of the build, we just kept our eyes on most stages of the build. Not too long after moving into the house we met our builder when he was walking arrond the village doing what he called a check up. At that time we were also looking for a builder to do some extension work (an after thought of ours!), and we have known him and his workers ever since and have always been 100% satisfied with the work that he delivered.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

Complicated Jigsaw of Roof Struts ...


What will be eventually one of the bathrooms on the first floor ...

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## neilandmeechai

This photo is the front of the house and the bay window will eventually be our master bedroom ...

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## neilandmeechai

From one of the upstairs bathrooms ...

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

Downstairs Shower and Toilet ...

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## Airportwo

Just a comment mate, see that the kitchen window is low, most Thai builders do this, very difficult to put units in afterwards, would consider putting above where kitchen units will be?

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## neilandmeechai

> Just a comment mate, see that the kitchen window is low, most Thai builders do this, very difficult to put units in afterwards, would consider putting above where kitchen units will be?


Hi, and thanks for your very constructive comment. In the completed kitchen we didn't have too much problem with the window but since moving in, the kitchen is on our "remodel and rebuild" list .... We will keep everyone informed when we get started.

Thanks again ... neil

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## neilandmeechai

The narrow slit window upstairs is the En-Suite Bathroom from the master bedroom at the front.

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## neilandmeechai

Shortly after moving in we realised that the front porch and the corresponding small balcony that leads off the master bedroom were both too small and we have since had quite a large extension built onto the front of the house.

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## neilandmeechai

This is the Bay Window in the lounge that looks out on our garden, that took a while to get going but is now a lovely tranquil shaded spot were we can relax.

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## escaped

> Downstairs Shower and Toilet ...


Stairs look pretty straight :mid:

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## neilandmeechai

> Stairs look pretty straight


You also !!! ... I also thought that they looked as if they had slipped out of alignment, but only when I saw them on the photo. Next day we went back to the house and it must just have been the strong sunlight because I tried duplicating the photo again and they were quite strait ..... 
You will see the finished wood surfaced stairs further in this photo report and I think you will see that they are quite strait ..
Thanks for taking the time to say hello ....

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

I love Thai scaffolding, I admire how they make it, although I would not have the courage to climb it ...

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## neilandmeechai

Our Inside / Outside Shower which looked nice on the plans but really we have never used it and it may end up as a laundry room very shortly.


Under the stairs looking out on the carport.

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## sunsetter

its a forum here, right, so i wouldve rather seen this before you posted the add on thread, any reason why? for me its no big deal but can i ask why? its kind of ruined it all for me :Smile:

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## neilandmeechai

I was very pleased to have taken so many photo's during the house build as they have been very useful when we have needed to drill through somewhere or knock through somewhere (Without cutting through the power supply!).

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## neilandmeechai

> its a forum here, right, so i wouldve rather seen this before you posted the add on thread, any reason why? for me its no big deal but can i ask why? its kind of ruined it all for me


Sorry about my following order of posting, and I do agree with you that it's like reading the last paragraph in an Agatha Christie (Although this is really not as exciting as her books!) ...
I purposely have not mentioned the other posting that I have done here on TeakDoor, but there are always some cleaver guys out there! ha, ha! 

My actual reason is that I did not know how my postings would be received here on TeakDoor and I had posted the "Extension" first ..

Sorry again ..... Neil

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## sunsetter

> My actual reason is that I did not know how my postings would be received here on TeakDoor and I had posted the "Extension" first ..


your insane mate
thanks great pics, but dont say sorry  :Smile:  no need

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## neilandmeechai



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## chitown

What province are you in Neil?

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## neilandmeechai

About 5 meters above the half landing on the staircase the builder placed a very nice light fitting with five lamps in it. The only problem is that when a lamp goes we have to hire a helicopter to change it !

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

> So did they have a show home that you could view before buying this or was it from a model?
> 
> The site I'm living on is only 50% complete. There was one complete street when we viewed it and now there are about four. It's a pain in the ass with all the dust but there are always guys around to complete the snag list when something new pops up.
> 
> Actually I could just go to a house they've just started and take some pics to show how mine started.


Yes there was a Show House (3 I think?), and some very glossy brochures. We had already been looking for something near to Meechai's family (but not too close!), near the city, (but again not too close!) and not too far to the beach (about 15 minute walk).
We missed out on a lot of the dust as we were not always in Thailand during the building process, and when we were there they seemed to have nearly finished. 

You should take your camera when you are wandering in your complex, take a snap here and there ... The photo's are always interesting to look back on in years to come.

Thanks for your comments ... Neil

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## Aguda

Thanks for taking the time to post. I plan to build in the next few years and always read the building threads and hope to learn from your experiences.
Great photos, keep them coming.

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## neilandmeechai

> Thanks for taking the time to post. I plan to build in the next few years and always read the building threads and hope to learn from your experiences.
> Great photos, keep them coming.


Our "Experiences" have been very good, and very positive but I agree it is always interesting to follow the In's and Out's of others.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

> What province are you in Neil?


Sorry I nearly missed your question ... We are in Chonburi, just outside the main city area and only a short walking distance from Bang Saen Beach.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

*This is our house now Anno 2011* and the building of the large extension terrace and balcony on the front of the house can be followed in our other thread : -
https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...d-balcony.html



*This is not the end of this thread as there are lots more details still to come, like building the swimming pool, gym, etc ......*

_Please post any questions or comments that you may have and I will try to answer them asap ..._

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## blue

i'm a bit confused with thai law 
if you don't mind me asking ,
who owns the house / land  ?

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## The Fresh Prince

Have you got a finished pic of the kitchen. I wasn't keen on the small tiles but will reserve judgment for a final pic. :Smile: 

Reason i say that is because we used small tiles in a room at work, they looked great until the grout darkened.

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## neilandmeechai

> i'm a bit confused with thai law 
> if you don't mind me asking ,
> who owns the house / land  ?


The house is in Meechai's name together with the land plot, The amenities, services and security are paid accumulatively, annually by every resident of the complex to a management company.
The first three years all services were provided by the developer, thereafter we the residents appoint a management company.

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## Aguda

Beautiful house, it looks like you found a skilled builder. I was a bit confused by the instant landscaping that appeared in the latest post as I thought this was a work in process. Then I realized the build was a few years old. At times I am a little slow on the uptake. Congratulations on your home!

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## neilandmeechai

> Beautiful house, it looks like you found a skilled builder. I was a bit confused by the instant landscaping that appeared in the latest post as I thought this was a work in process. Then I realized the build was a few years old. At times I am a little slow on the uptake. Congratulations on your home!


Hi again ... Thanks for your nice comments. I don't think we actually found a skilled builder, because we really didn't know our personal builder at the time we bought the house. We had done quite a bit of investigation into other projects from the same developer, all the way down to talking to residents of houses that they had built in other projects. Of course there were a few less complimentary comments but I think about 90% of the questions asked were very favourably answered. 

Sorry about being a bit misleading but here is everything explained in an earlier posting .....




> Sorry about my following order of posting, and I do agree with you that it's like reading the last paragraph in an Agatha Christie (Although this is really not as exciting as her books!) ...
> I purposely have not mentioned the other posting that I have done here on TeakDoor, but there are always some cleaver guys out there! ha, ha! 
> 
> My actual reason is that I did not know how my postings would be received here on TeakDoor and I had posted the "Extension" first ..
> 
> Sorry again ..... Neil


At the moment I have two other threads that I have started :-

*Extending our Existing Terrace and Balcony*
https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...d-balcony.html

*Gardening in a secure village just outside of Chonburi city*
https://teakdoor.com/farming-and-gard...-chonburi.html (Gardening in a secure village just outside of Chonburi city)

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## neilandmeechai

I will now try to show a few close up photo's of various points in and around the house and at the same time try to explain more about the photo.

Some of the photo's were taken on a less resolution digital camera than we have now so I am only able to show quite small photo's in some cases.

*As always it is nice to hear your comments, feedback or indeed any questions you may have ...*

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## neilandmeechai

Left back corner showing the stone facing on the outside part of the shower.


The glass block outside wall of the shower area.

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## neilandmeechai

*The downstairs Shower and Toilet is split into two areas with a glass sliding door towards the back half of the room.* 

Beyond the glass sliding door the area is open to the elements above with no roof and only some decorative form of wood framing.
Since day one we have never used this outside part of the shower room but we will be shortly making it into a laundry room by placing a glass roof on it.




As you can see from the photo's there is also another shower on the interior side of the glass door.

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## neilandmeechai

*This was also an idea that we had but after a while it seemed better to use it for the washing machine.*

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

It looked so nice in the Show House and we even took photo's of it during the walk around. Later when we moved into our new house we were suddenly faced with the very difficult problem ....  

*How to switch the water off when you have soap on your hands?* 

The problem was that they tap part of the construction was so smooth and so (100%) round that try what you did it was impossible to switch off until you had dried your hands ... (We eventually bought another design!) ...

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## neilandmeechai

*On the day that we received the house keys ...*


This Bath we have never used and prefer the space for a new Power Shower that we have seen so it will bight the dust in September 2011.

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## neilandmeechai

We have since installed a plate glass partition between the toilet and the shower area as the whole room was soaked after a shower (inclusive the toilet roll !) ...

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## neilandmeechai

Although I still have quite a lot more photo's of our house build I will now try to show you a journey through different parts of the village. 

The basic layout starts at the only entrance to the village which is in it'self quite impressive. The entrance is manned 24/7 by two uniformed gaurds that control everything and everyone who is going in and out of the complex. All residents are greeted with a Thai wai and all residents cars have a special sticker on their front windshield that can be read by the CCTV system.

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## neilandmeechai

*Once through the impressive entrance there is a small roundabout* with four elephants looking in all directions. Immediatley to the left at this point is also the swimming pool and sports complex. 

The two streets that lead off from here lead through the village and are intersected halfway through their length and at the very end.

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## neilandmeechai

Before venturing into the village itself I will show you the build (and later the completed) Swimming Pool and Sports Complex. 

During the first year these facilities were not yet ready but we all were informed of the dates that various things would be completed during the purchase of our house.

*Here they have made a start on the foundations of the Swimming Pool and Sports Complex*

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## good2bhappy

look a fair size
what area?

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## neilandmeechai

> look a fair size
> what area?


Hi and thanks for saying hello ... I just wondered if you were referring to the size of the Pool and Sports Complex or to the village itself? 
There are either 98 or 111 individual (I need to count them, ha, ha!) houses within the boundaries of the complex.
Let me know exactly what you mean ..

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## neilandmeechai

*The following photo's we took a little while later after being out of the country for a while* but you can now see the larger building to the left behind the pool area which will be the Gym area and the smaller building to the back-right are toilets and showers.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

*The Gym Facilities in-front with the Pool to the right ...*

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## neilandmeechai

*Pool with the filter overflow at the front ...*

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## neilandmeechai

*Back centre is the Toilet and Shower building ...*

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

*The children's pool area ...*

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## Butterfly

nice,

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## neilandmeechai

> nice,


It certainly is and we, and many of the residents make good use of it every day. Also for social events within the village it is a fantastic area with lots of facilities ...

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

*Everything within the Gym and Pool complex is cleaned twice daily and we reularly see the gardeners that look after all the public areas in the village.*

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

One thing that attracted us to this particular complex was that no two houses were the same. There were smaller 2 bedroom houses, larger 4 and 5 bedrrom houses and many of the size we had bought with 3 bedrroms.

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## neilandmeechai

Even after only one year there is so much greenery everywhere from the well tended gardens.

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## neilandmeechai

There was a choice of 7 different shades of roof tiles, 4 different styles of fronts, 3 different plot sizes and many other choices that gives the relaxed atmosphere that is everywhere in the village.
Other than cars out and in before and after work there is no through traffic of any sort as there is only one way in and out of the complex.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## Loy Toy

Terrific thread Neil and congrats on your beautiful house.

You certainly seem happy and content with your life.  :Smile:

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## neilandmeechai



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## smeden

nice pics and a wery nice house   :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:

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## neilandmeechai

> Terrific thread Neil and congrats on your beautiful house.
> 
> You certainly seem happy and content with your life.


Yes, we are very happy and very content with our life. 
Buying the house here in this village was the best thing we ever did.
Just another couple of years and we can enjoy my retirement together in LOS.
Thanks for taking the time to say something as it can seem that sometimes nobody is interested, but then I look at the its and am quite amazed. 
Have a good day ....

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## neilandmeechai

> nice pics and a wery nice house


Thanks for taking the time to say hello ... and so many smilies!  ... 
Have a great day ...

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## Loy Toy

> as it can seem that sometimes nobody is interested


Your thread has been viewed over 1,700 times so don't be disheartened if people do not post a comment. I am sure a lot of people have learned a lot from this very informative, interesting thread.
The mere fact you have obviously enjoyed sharing your experience with so many others is more then worth your effort.  :Smile:

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## neilandmeechai

> Originally Posted by neilandmeechai
> 
> as it can seem that sometimes nobody is interested
> 
> 
> Your thread has been viewed over 1,700 times so don't be disheartened if people do not post a comment. I am sure a lot of people have learned a lot from this very informative, interesting thread.
> The mere fact you have obviously enjoyed sharing your experience with so many others is more then worth your effort.


Thanks .. I am also having a great time here on TeakDoor, learning all kinds of things! Water harvesting, Growing tomatoes, and I am following many other threads.

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## ferretface

thanks for the thread,very nice house.

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## neilandmeechai

> thanks for the thread,very nice house.


and thank you for taking the time to say hello ... We really are very pleased with the house and buying a plot and a house in a village complex does have it's advantages.
Have a great day ....

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## neilandmeechai

We were able to choose from various floor surfaces during the build and also different tiles for the bathrooms and kitchen. 
In the following few postings you can see what we did choose and although most of the choices were very good, we would have chosen other tiles for the kitchen if we had thought more about it. 
As the kitchen will be having a re-style during 2011 we will be able to discard the tiles and start again.

*Here in the Lounge and Dining area we chose the Polished White Marble for the floor.*

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## neilandmeechai

*The Staircase is polished hardwood faced (I don't know which sort?) and looks very nice when the lighting is on.*

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## neilandmeechai

*Second and Third Bedrooms (Both at the back of the house).*

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## neilandmeechai

*Again all Laminated Wooden Floors upstairs.*

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## Mathos

Excellent thread from the start .

The village and amenities look superb. All the homes are a credit to the designers and builders.

Your own is outstanding.

A real credit to you Neil, and Meechai.

Well done, the sharing is much appreciated.

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## Top Cat

Thanks for the thread and all the work N&M. Liked the bit about the taps. Soapy hands and circular taps dont work well together!! 

Looks good but is not practical. "Function versus Form" is what I believe Architects call it.

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## DrAndy

> "Function versus Form" is what I believe Architects call it.


bad design, that means

I dn't like laminated flooring, makes me cringe

In Thailand there is so much nice wood flooring to be had; teak parquet, for instance, can be around B450 a sq m, or less

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## Mamasun

> Originally Posted by Top Cat
> 
>  "Function versus Form" is what I believe Architects call it.
> 
> 
> bad design, that means
> 
> I dn't like laminated flooring, makes me cringe
> 
> In Thailand there is so much nice wood flooring to be had; teak parquet, for instance, can be around B450 a sq m, or less


You mean wood floor already make or need to buy the wood and after let it make by a carpenter ?

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## DrAndy

already made and sold in 1 sq m packs, like tiles

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## Davis Knowlton

Nice thread. It's a very attractive complex. I have a couple of questions. I just finished building a house here in the Philippines about two years ago. My lot area is 612 square meters; the house living area is about 250 downstairs, and about 270 upstairs. Six bedroom; six and one-half baths. What is your lot area and living area? I would guess that from the quality of the compound and the construction that houses range from $150,000 - $250,000; is that in the ball park? At those prices, who lives there? Are most of the residents mixed couples; Thai and foreign? Just wondering as I have rarely seen a compound this upscale in Thailand. Not probing for price, just wondering about a ball park figure given the different house sizes available.

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## neilandmeechai

> Excellent thread from the start .
> 
> The village and amenities look superb. All the homes are a credit to the designers and builders.
> 
> Your own is outstanding.
> 
> A real credit to you Neil, and Meechai.
> 
> Well done, the sharing is much appreciated.


Thanks Mathos for your comments ...

Certainly in the begining for us it was very important to have access to such amenities  (Swimming Pool and Gym), but we were not "full time" permanent residents in the country. 

*Having a swimming pool is not just for Christmas as the famous saying goes! (about wanting a dog for Christmas).* 

We have seen some expats who *"must have a pool"* and end up forcing and squeezing one into what could have been a very nice garden. 
They then try to force some kind of tropical greenery arround the squeezed in pool .... (_we saw this by a friend of ours and really wanted to take some photo's but didn't get the chance!_).

*What happens next is that (at the time of squeezed planting!) it looks great, fantastic! .... untill it's time to shed the leaves, into the squeezed in pool of course!*

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## neilandmeechai

> Thanks for the thread and all the work N&M. Liked the bit about the taps. Soapy hands and circular taps dont work well together!! 
> 
> Looks good but is not practical. "Function versus Form" is what I believe Architects call it.


Hi Top Cat and thanks for the comments ...

Staying on the topic of "Looks good but is not practical. "Function versus Form" I would also have prefered the upstairs windows to have been "swing and clean" (for lack of another name!) ... if I was building again.

*The problem is when it comes to cleaning the upstairs windows (No, we don't have an acrobatic maid, ha, ha!), although I am sure they must exist in Thailand!* 

All the windows seem to slide over the other one which is quite a problem when it comes to cleaning them.
Certainly worth thinking about for others wanting to build in Thailand, but for us we have solved the problem with a long hose pipe extension (the famous Blue Thai Water Pipe!) with a soft brush on it ... and our upstairs windows would now pass the "Mrs. Bucket" test (pronounced Bouquet!).

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## neilandmeechai

> Originally Posted by Top Cat
> 
>  "Function versus Form" is what I believe Architects call it.
> 
> 
> bad design, that means
> 
> I dn't like laminated flooring, makes me cringe
> 
> In Thailand there is so much nice wood flooring to be had; teak parquet, for instance, can be around B450 a sq m, or less


In the begining I could have agreed with this, although it didn't exactly "make me cringe". 

I remember when we were in the sales office looking at each other when they mentioned "wood laminate" floors upstairs and we made a point of checking it out when we were shown the "Show House".

Eventually we decided to "let sleeping laminate lie" as it was inclusive in the quoted house price and we could always have it re-laid at a later date. 

Also, as we are not  "full time" permanent residents yet, we decided to leave it for the moment although we have seen some beautiful "Teak Parquet" in a friends house, and we will eventually replace it.

Thanks for the imput ...

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## DrAndy

here is a small example, so yes, change it when you can!

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## Mamasun

I know this kind from Switzerland but I have never seen that here in Thailand... !

Do you know where we can buy it ?

Thanck's

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## neilandmeechai

> here is a small example, so yes, change it when you can!


It certainly adds "Class" doesn't it !! .. (Love the gloss) ...

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## neilandmeechai

> Nice thread. It's a very attractive complex. I have a couple of questions. I just finished building a house here in the Philippines about two years ago. My lot area is 612 square meters; the house living area is about 250 downstairs, and about 270 upstairs. Six bedroom; six and one-half baths. What is your lot area and living area? I would guess that from the quality of the compound and the construction that houses range from $150,000 - $250,000; is that in the ball park? At those prices, who lives there? Are most of the residents mixed couples; Thai and foreign? Just wondering as I have rarely seen a compound this upscale in Thailand. Not probing for price, just wondering about a ball park figure given the different house sizes available.


Hi Davis and thanks for your contribution ... 

*WoW! That's Big! (As the Actress said to the Bischop!) ....* You certainly seem to have a lot more ground (lot area) than us, and as you may have noticed from some of the photo's I have posted the houses in the village don't have huge ground plots.

I would imagine that the logic behind this was for the develloper to be able to build as many units on a limited amount of ground area? ... and then to provide public spaces, and public facilities (Pool, Gym, Playground etc...). 

As to trying to compare prices with space and facilities you quote "$150,000 - $250,000" (Other currency, Other country 'Phillipines'), so you did achieve to confuse me *(I am easily confused!)*  ... 

We paid THB 3.400.000 and I seem to remember included the first three years service costs, which I think worked out at about THB 1.500 per month, which is not bad for Swimming Pool, Gym, street cleaning, street lighting, 24 hour security and servicing of all public ammenities.

You also asked " Are most of the residents mixed couples; Thai and foreign? " .... Quite a lot of Chinese Thai families, our next door neighbour is Uk National married to a Thai, but as you mentioned, quite a lot of Thai and Foreign.

Thanks again .. Always great to read your posts ..

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## Mamasun

[quote=neilandmeechai;1670089]


> Nice thread. It's a very attractive complex..


Included the first three years service costs, which I think worked out at about THB 1.500 per month, which is not bad for Swimming Pool, Gym, street cleaning, street lighting, 24 hour security and servicing of all public ammenities.

...........

1500B the month is very reasonable !
Neilandmeechai..your house is beautiful ! and your small village is "suay mak mak "
Wish you the best

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## Davis Knowlton

^^Prices I quoted were in US dollars. My compound has a very nice, Olympic-size pool and a good clubhouse; no gym, however that's not a problem as I have a good-sized one in the house. The compound I live in is also much less homogeneous than yours, as people buy a lot, and then are free to put up just about anything they want. There are one story bungaloes, mostly two story houses, and even a few three story. The land area of the lots is normally about 125 square meters, but I bought the land five years before I started building (I was at that time renting a house in the same complex), so was able to buy four adjoining lots. I disagree with several other posters on the teak parquet tiles versus the laminated wood you have. I also have the laminated wood flooring in the upstairs of the house (marble downstairs); and find that it holds up better, and looks better longer, than the teak parquet (which I have in my other house here). What makes me cringe is the cost you must be incurring changing things around. If it cost $100 to build it; it usually costs $300 to change it. My wife or I was on the building site 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, for the entire nine months it took to complete our house. That way, we could adjust as we went along, and prior to actually doing the building in final form. I also have a lot of very old antique oriental carpets from my years in Southwest Asia and the Middle East, and find that the laminated wood flooring sets them off much better than the teak parquet glossy finish. The compound area of my compound is also very large, thus houses tend to be further apart and there are a lot of vacant lots which will probably be built on one day, but I hope not for a while.

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## neilandmeechai

[QUOTE=Mamasun;1670110]


> Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
> 
> 
> Nice thread. It's a very attractive complex..
> 
> 
> Included the first three years service costs, which I think worked out at about THB 1.500 per month, which is not bad for Swimming Pool, Gym, street cleaning, street lighting, 24 hour security and servicing of all public ammenities.
> 
> ...........
> ...


Hi Mamasun,
Very nice to read your reply and thanks for your compliments and lovely words. 
I believe that our monthly "Service Costs" will be increasing this year in March/April as the developer has now completed the project and signed everything over to our own management company that we (the residents) have elected and employed. 

Although we haven't received the full statement yet we are of the understanding that it will be about THB 2.000 per month which we still find very reasonable. 

Thank you again ....

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## Thetyim

> our next door neighbour is Uk National married to a Thai


Oh dear, there goes the neighbourhood.
Hope he is a decent one

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## neilandmeechai

> ^^Prices I quoted were in US dollars. My compound has a very nice, Olympic-size pool and a good clubhouse; no gym, however that's not a problem as I have a good-sized one in the house. The compound I live in is also much less homogeneous than yours, as people buy a lot, and then are free to put up just about anything they want. There are one story bungaloes, mostly two story houses, and even a few three story. The land area of the lots is normally about 125 square meters, but I bought the land five years before I started building (I was at that time renting a house in the same complex), so was able to buy four adjoining lots. I disagree with several other posters on the teak parquet tiles versus the laminated wood you have. I also have the laminated wood flooring in the upstairs of the house (marble downstairs); and find that it holds up better, and looks better longer, than the teak parquet (which I have in my other house here). What makes me cringe is the cost you must be incurring changing things around. If it cost $100 to build it; it usually costs $300 to change it. My wife or I was on the building site 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, for the entire nine months it took to complete our house. That way, we could adjust as we went along, and prior to actually doing the building in final form. I also have a lot of very old antique oriental carpets from my years in Southwest Asia and the Middle East, and find that the laminated wood flooring sets them off much better than the teak parquet glossy finish. The compound area of my compound is also very large, thus houses tend to be further apart and there are a lot of vacant lots which will probably be built on one day, but I hope not for a while.


Hi again Davis ...
*I did warn you I was easily confused! ... Ha, ha ...* 
So, you are also in a "Compound" (as you call it), but I thought you were on your own land with a huge house somewhere "Not" in a village complex.
It sounds great that you were able to buy the four adjoining lots! (Being in the right place at the right time!) ... 

We were at the time of building (and still are!) "part time expats" and were only able to be on site for part of a four week period. We were however very lucky having Meechai's familly close by and they followed the build (and took photo's) for us. You on the other hand were able to follow every brick as it was laid which I would have loved.

From your description of your house it sounds very nice but I agree when you mention about vacant lots that "probably will be built on some day"  ... I wondered at this point if the extra plots that you bought were adjoining your own plot, or if you have built on all five of them?

Have a nice day ....

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## neilandmeechai

> Originally Posted by neilandmeechai
> 
> our next door neighbour is Uk National married to a Thai
> 
> 
> Oh dear, there goes the neighbourhood.
> Hope he is a decent one


Hoi Thetyim ....

Normally I would agree with you (We watch a lot of BBC!), and I follow Eastenders but they couldn't be nicer neighbours!

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## aging one

The price of land here is just crazy. Is it as high in the Philippines davis?  I know just the 105 Sq wah we have is worth right at 2 million baht itself.

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## Thetyim

> Hoi Thetyim ....


I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you don't speak thai  :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

^^^ and ^^: Neil: All four of my lots adjoin and I had them resurveyed and re-registered into one, 612 square meter, lot. I have corner lots, so I have roads on three sides of me, and one house next to me (separated from my house by a 25 foot high firewall). I have a house behind me, and a vacant lot in front of me which is also about 600 square meters and owned by a Filipino Air Force Colonel. Once he builds on it, I expect I will lose some of my view of the surrounding mountains but, then again, that's exactly what happened to the people who live behind me when I built. 

AO: I paid $50,000 for the 612 square meter lot about six years ago. I expect it would cost more today, if you could find four adjoining lots.

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## aging one

Wow davis what a deal. A steal compared to here.

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## Mamasun

> Wow davis what a deal. A steal compared to here.


Do you mean a good deal for 612m2 land ? 50000 $ is about 1 600 000 Bahts 
or 3 200 000 for one rai ! if I am right ?

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## Davis Knowlton

^^AO: Actually, that's really steep for the area I'm in, however I live in the only place that could be described as an upscale compound in the province. As far as price goes, you have to remember that I am about 90 minutes south of Manila, and about an hour south of Alabang, which is the only big suburb to the south of Manila. So, city prices haven't gotten down here yet. Manila is spreading south, and within a few years, I expect more folks will be trying to escape the ridiculous prices of Manila and Alabang and be heading south. Development has been very slow over the past five years due to road construction between here and Manila. Now that the roads are finally finished, and it is now a 90-minute run, this area is much more attractive. If you could find a 612 square meter lot in Manila or Alabang, which you can't, the price would be ten times higher than what I paid. My Filipino partner just bought a lot near Alabang, but not in the city, and paid almost what I paid for less than half of the area.

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## aging one

Thanks for clarifying just where you are davis. Makes sense. And Mamasun, yup thats the price of land in BKK.

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## neilandmeechai

Continuing on my theme of Floor coverings, Tiles, Laminates etc. I will now show you our new exterior doors wich we replaced (front and back) after learning from the guy that came to service the alarm system that they were the weakest point of entry to the house.
Apparantly it is a quite widely used practice in Thailands Condo builds to use composite doors (Cardboard filled laminated hardboard faced) according to the security guy (?) who has to fit sensors into the tops of the doors. 

Whilst these type of doors are widely used (also in Europe) they do not have the deterrent strength if anyone wants to kick a hole through them.

*These are our original double doors on what was our small front porch before we built our extension* https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...d-balcony.html

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai

The new hardwood doors needed to be filled, sanded, varnished and glazed but we were very pleased with the end result.

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## neilandmeechai



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## neilandmeechai



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## Davis Knowlton

^Hardwood is certainly the only way to go for exterior doors. Since you are out of the country for long periods of time, and gated community or not, you need to make sure that the glass panes in the door are located high enough in the door that a thief cannot simply break a pane of glass and reach in and unlock the door. One way to beat this is to install door locks which require a key to unlock the door, from either the inside or outside, rather than just reaching in through a broken pane and flipping a tumbler lock. When you are in residence, you just leave the key in the lock inside the door. When you are gone for long periods, take out the interior lock key, and key lock the door from the outside. These locks may not be available in Thailand; I bought mine in the US on a trip and brought them back with me.

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## david555

> ^Hardwood is certainly the only way to go for exterior doors. Since you are out of the country for long periods of time, and gated community or not, you need to make sure that the glass panes in the door are located high enough in the door that a thief cannot simply break a pane of glass and reach in and unlock the door. One way to beat this is to install door locks which require a key to unlock the door, from either the inside or outside, rather than just reaching in through a broken pane and flipping a tumbler lock. When you are in residence, you just leave the key in the lock inside the door. When you are gone for long periods, take out the interior lock key, and key lock the door from the outside. These locks may not be available in Thailand; I bought mine in the US on a trip and brought them back with me.


those locks with both sides key are for sale at home pro and home works ,  i see them there as i need them as i travel home for 3 months , those hotel knob doors are a joke for a peace of plastic.......

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## TizMe

> you have to remember that I am about 90 minutes south of Manila


 So about 5 klm then? I know what the traffic can be like.  :Smile:

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## Davis Knowlton

^Actually about 60 km. Traffic isn't too bad once you clear Manila and get on the Skyway. If in the center of Manila, you're about right. When I worked in Manila, it would take me about 90 minutes in the morning and evening to go about 7 km.

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## Traxster

Goodness gracious Neil,I dips me lid to you Sir,you and Meechai have a beautiful home.
I'm sure you are the envy of all who read your thread.
Congratulations !!.

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## neilandmeechai

> Goodness gracious Neil,I dips me lid to you Sir,you and Meechai have a beautiful home.
> I'm sure you are the envy of all who read your thread.
> Congratulations !!.


Hi Traxster,
Thanks for saying hello! It is always great to hear from someone who has checked out our thread. We certainly are very happy with our house and I will be even more pleased when we are there full time (I still have to work for a couple more years!) ...  (I think you must be living there full time in Thailand?) ..

Thanks again .. Neil

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## neilandmeechai

> Thanks for clarifying just where you are davis. Makes sense. And Mamasun, yup thats the price of land in BKK.





> Do you mean a good deal for 612m2 land ? 50000 $ is about 1 600 000 Bahts 
> or 3 200 000 for one rai ! if I am right ?


*Recession? .. What Recession? ...*

Seems to be quite a bit of "Financial" banter here in my thread about building our house, so I thought I should also join in with this news item that amazed me!

Here in the village a friend of ours who was going to be away for 9 months put his house up for rent for THB 42.000 per month, which I already thought was quite a heavy rent (?) ... but then he also asked 9 months up front ! 
Not only did he manage to rent it even before it went on the net but he also received his 9 months cash up front! .. plus one months deposit ... amazing!.

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## Davis Knowlton

^Most rentals in Manila demand one year upfront, as well as two months security deposit.

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## neilandmeechai

> ^Most rentals in Manila demand one year upfront, as well as two months security deposit.


I think if I was paying any large ammount "Up front" nowadays I would want to do it with a lawyer present. I can just imagine someone offering "their" house for rent for a year .... 
Pay Cash! ... Here is the key! .... 
*Bye, bye .... 
*
*Quick! Run!* ... before they find out it wasn't our house to rent ...

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## Davis Knowlton

^Most rental contracts are very comprehensive, reviewed by a lawyer, and notarized. The problem in Manila is that there are relatively few houses. Filipinos tend to live in the houses they own, and rentals are in huge demand by Embassies and big corporations. Thus, it's a renters market and they can ask (and get) very high rents and impose pretty much any conditions they want. If they are renting to an Embassy, they will often ask (and get) two to three years in advance. An older, medium quality, three-bedroom house in Manila will rent for $1500 (US) a month and up if in city center.

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## Bilbobaggins

Neil, that's a fantastic house, I like it a lot, you and Meechai have done very well there, and some very nice changes to the place too.

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## neilandmeechai

> Neil, that's a fantastic house, I like it a lot, you and Meechai have done very well there, and some very nice changes to the place too.


Hi ... and thanks for the compliments. I wondered if you had seen my other thread about the building of the extension? https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...d-balcony.html

We have been so pleased with the house and the village complex which is certainly living up to our expectations.

Thanks again ....

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## kelantan

Nice   house...hope you will be  happy  in it..

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## neilandmeechai

> Nice   house...hope you will be  happy  in it..


Thank you ... We are not "Full time" in Thailand at the moment although we will be arriving on Sunday for a stay of about a month again ... Luckily we can visit quite a few times a year but it will be nice when we eventually can settle down.

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## jumbo

Great thread, great house hope you have many years of enjoyment in your new home.

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## drk411

A nice house. Congrats.

But like you said, all the houses look different, but the fences look all the same. How come ?

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## bec101

Absolutely beautiful!!!  You have a great home there, and location. What is the floor space? sq. meter/ft? If you posted it I missed it. Have a good day.

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## mcc66

Neil,
just spent the afternoon reading this and your other thread about renovation.
As everyone else has said- fantastic looking house and village complex.
Thanks for taking the time and effort to share this with us.
mcc66
Michael

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## Norton

> Any clues on how to see the pictures


You use Firefox?

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## neturba

I have 3 computers in the house all running Windows 7 with IE 9, cant see pictures on any. Cant see on ipad either using Safari. Have tried Firefox and Opera but still no joy. Teakdoor advised to use non-beta but as I say Firefox and Opera dont show. 
Strangely enought have office computer running Window 7 but IE 8, I can see pictures? Not sure how to sort it out at home. Maybe revert to IE 8??

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## Norton

Check to make sure browsers haven't somehow set block on pics from Teakdoor. Only thing I can think to do.

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## neturba

Will try to look for this thanks

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