#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Construction in Thailand >  >  Building a house in Nakhom Pathom

## stevefarang

We are building a "small" place in Nakhom Pathom, just outside of Bangkok. Over the past 2-3 years, we've purchased 3 adjoining lots, all former rice paddy, from a lady who was hurting for cash.
The first lot is closest to the road and we filled it in and let settle for about a year. Then last year, we added another meter of fill in the general footprint for the house. Needless to say, it stayed high and dry throughout the flood. I give my wife all the credit for that idea. it was brilliant !!
The second lot has been a test of raising chicken, ducks, geese and fish. We dug a U-shaped channel around the lot and have about 500 catfish in there. They should be ready by the end of the year. We also tried a small garden, bt the ducks decimated it. We had some success in raising ducks and selling duck eggs. This lot did flood though, so we are going to add more fill sometime next year. We might plant a bunch of mango trees, as they seem to gve us a bumper crop from the other trees previously planted. 
The third lot is still used as a rice paddy. The farmer pays us in rice for use of the land. We haven't decided what we will do with it. I'm happy, for now, to leave it as rice paddy.
Late last year, we decided to go with PD House as builders. We spent some time with them reviewing different designs as well as visiting several finished, or near finished, houses in the Bangkok area. One was identical to the model I was leaning towards. After seeing that one, I was sold on the design.
One of the things I like about their design is that the concrete pieces fit together with interlocking pieces. It's all pre-fab'd elsewhere and is then delivered to the site numbered. They they pretty much build it like an Erector set. There is some concrete poured on site, but that was mostly for the pilings and the ground floor.
Anyway, now that I'm past the 5 post minimum, I'll try to post some pics of the project.

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## stevefarang

This is a pic of the model house from the PD House website.

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## stevefarang

Ground floor plan. We've tweaked the layout. Bedroom 4 will be converted to my office and the adjoining bathroom is gone. The wall between the kitchen and the dining area is gone. We both like a big western kitchen. A thai style kitchen wil be located outisde the kitchen. We've also tweaked the maid living area as well.

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## stevefarang

First floor plan. We are cutting the "Buddha room" in half and enlarging bedroom 3. We've also reversed the master bath and closet area. There will also be a jacuzzi in the corner of the master bath.

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## Loy Toy

I look forward to seeing your thread and home develop.

How much per square metre is it costing you to build? (labour and materials)

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## palexxxx

Wow,  I thought you said it was a 'small' place.  What is the area to the left of the dining room,  is it a bar?
I'm sure it's gonna look great,  I'll be looking forward to the thread as well.

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## seattlesbest

hi steve wow wonderful looking house.look forward to meeting you ,i live in seattle as well with my thai gf.she owns a thai restuaurant on queen anne hill . keep us posted......gary

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## stevefarang

> Wow, I thought you said it was a 'small' place. What is the area to the left of the dining room, is it a bar?
> I'm sure it's gonna look great, I'll be looking forward to the thread as well.


Yeah, I was being a bit of a wiseass there. However, I think I deserve it finally.

If you mean the L-shaped area, yes I think that was originally intended to be something like a breakfast bar. We've modified the kitchen and have extended it out into that area.. We both like a big western style kitchen. There will be a half-wall separating the kitchen from the Dining area.

Sorry, have been busy with work stuff and haven't been able to get some construction photos posted yet. Hopefully this weekend. Roofing tiles arrived the other day.

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## stevefarang

> hi steve wow wonderful looking house.look forward to meeting you ,i live in seattle as well with my thai gf.she owns a thai restuaurant on queen anne hill . keep us posted......gary


Sa-was dee krap Gary. The plan is to alternate 6 months here and 6 months over there. Of course, her family will keep an eye on the house while we are away. Still trying to get visa for her, you know how much a PITA it is for a Thai woman to get a US visa. Hopefully, with the hosue built, it will be easier for her. Hell, earlier this year, we got her an unlimted visit visa to Australia, good for one year, with no problem.

But yes, once she's here, we'll have to make the journey "up the hill" and visit your gf restaurant.

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## OneSureThing

[QUOTE=stevefarang;1936409]


> Of course, her family will keep an eye on the house while we are away.


 :mid:

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## jizzybloke

great looking place Steve!

another person looking forward to the pics and thread

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## stevefarang

OK, got some pics uploaded to photobucket, so let's see how this works.

This first pic is the finished house we toured back when we considering several different designs. I was sold on this after seeing this house. It was not a model house, but an actual project that they had recently completed. 
Ours will look very similar, except I don't think we will do the wood trim on the front entrance. I think with the sun and heat, it will need re-varnishing every 2-3 years. It really looks spectacular though and I'm still very tempted to splurge on the wood trim. But for now, we will stick with a vinyl like trim.

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## stevefarang

These are some shots of the first lot, where the house is being built. It was a rice paddy that we filled in (about 1 meter) and let season for ~6-7 months. We've started planting some trees and stuff.



This is looking back at the road and what will be the main entrance to the property.



Of course, camera angle can be important when taking pics of someone watering a newly planted tree...

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## stevefarang

This is the first hosue we put on the property. We needed somewhere to sit and get out of the sun, while at the property. We picked this up for about 5,000 baht. My wife did a good job when we purchased it. As usual, the vendor tried jacking up the price, but I told her no more than 5,000 baht and she had to go talk to the vendor to ask him to discount. Actually, we may have paid 4,500 baht. I forget now, except our teamwork was exceptional. Since taking these pics, we have moved House 1.0 to a different spot on the opposite side of the lot. We set up some duck, geese and chicken pens in our adjoining 2nd lot and dug a U-shaped channel for catfish raising, so it's easier to keep an eye on the animals.



A front view of House 1.0



And finally me and the missus sitting in House 1.0. The lot behind us is rice paddy. Maybe one day we might buy it.

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## stevefarang

Once we settled on a design and placement on the lot, my wife wanted to raise the footprint of the house by another meter. So we had our friendly dirt delivery drivers deposit some nice quality soil and raise the level even higher. I guess it really paid off and I'm very proud of my wife's decision. With all the flooding in the area, the house (under construction) stayed dry. 

I guess our neighbors across the road are happier too. I understand when the lot was a rice paddy, it would flood and overflow across the road into their property. So they stay dryer now too. Everyone is happy, which makes me happy. 

You can see the house for the ducks, geese and chickens in the background located on our second lot. Unfortunately that lot flooded so we will have to fill it in, or at least riase the area around the duck pen so they have a dry place to go to.

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## stevefarang

Here are some shots taken from the first piling ceremony back in March 2011. Unfortunately, I was stuck in the US at the time, but my wife made sure everything went smoothly. If I recall, the pilings were driven down about 8 meters.

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## stevefarang

My wife knows I like dogs, but with my job & the extensive travel, I cannot keep one here in the US. So she surprised me and got me a dog over in Thailand. She picked him partly because he has a chocolate colored heart shape on his rear right flank. you can see it, sort of, in this pic. Anyway, I think he's a pretty cool dog and look forward to spending more time with him when the house is finished next year.

This is a pic my wife sent me from a few months ago. She told me would try to get all 4 legs in, but can't do it. 



This is a pic I took back in July 2011. You might be able to see the heart shape on his flank.



That same day, they gave him a bowl with water and ice cubes and he promptly puts one paw in the water. A couple of times, we would try to get both paws in the bowl.

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## stevefarang

Pilings are in. You can see the raised area for the house. Taken in July 2011.



Some of the preformed concrete beams and columns that will form the frame of the house.



And some more of the preformed concrete pieces. You'll notice the rustproofed (galvanzied?) metal pieces on the end that are slotted and keyed to fit together, much like a giant erector set. Everything is numbered.

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## palexxxx

Very good.  Nice to see some pictures.  Hope it all goes well.

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## OneSureThing

You say, you are using PD house as your builders. I checked their site. They have some very nice designs on there. Have you checked how they compare with other companies, price wise?

I might drop them a line about a price for a 3 bedroom.

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## stevefarang

> You say, you are using PD house as your builders. I checked their site. They have some very nice designs on there. Have you checked how they compare with other companies, price wise?
> 
> I might drop them a line about a price for a 3 bedroom.


Yes, we are using PD House. We briefly checked some other house designs, but I really liked this one, especially after we saw the finished house as well as some other designs. Their houses seem pretty solid and PD House has been relatively easy to work with, although not many people in their Nakhon Pathom office speak much english.

They have quite a few designs on their website. I think many of them are concepts and not ever built. But they have a good choice of 3 bedroom houses. I also like thier more modular build concept, instead of having guys hammer different boards together on site, just to pour concrete. I think the roof is better built, well at least the trusses don't look like someone just welded different pieces laying around. Definitely some thought put into it and looks well engineered.

I think their pricing was competitive. Yes, we could have found someone who could have built it for probably half the price. But I feel comfortable with their quality processes and their well thought out approach.

If you want a contact at PD House, send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll put you in touch with the people I'm dealing with. Then they can get in touch with the office closest to your location.

I'll try and post some more pics soon. The roof is due to go up soon and then the exterior walls. I have to get over there to talk with them about the ceiling fans I want in each room to help with air circulation. Plus I want to see the wife and my dog.

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## stevefarang

With all those preformed and marked concrete pieces sitting around, it's time to start putting this big puzzle together.

First, with all the rain, we had to get a couple of loads of gravel delivered so they can get the crane in position. Fortunately, we can reuse the stone for the driveway, which will be in the same general area.

This is the view coming from the "second" entrance. I want to put a small pool in this area.



The crane now in position...



The concrete trees...
You can see some of the orange rust proofed metal tabs that the horizontal pieces will fit into (interlocking).



House stuff



First floor work

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## stevefarang

These are some brief videos my wife made. back in September 2011.

The first is just the crane lifting the concrete sub-flooring slabs up to the second floor.





The second is where my wife does a brief survey around the first floor than bravely goes up the stairs to the second floor for a look around. At about the 58 second mark she points the camera over to our two adjoining lots. We go back to the tree line that you see in the distance. She then pans around the back side of the house which is all rice paddy, which we don't own...yet.

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## stevefarang

These pics are from October 2011.

The basic concrete frame of the house looks finished here:



And another angle:



Our geese are not too happy about the flooding. We will have to raise their area next year.



Another shot of the flooded area around the ducks/geese/chicken pen. We are raising fish as well, so they had to put in this blue netting to keep from losing the fish. The water in the foreground is a "channel" used to flood the surrounding rice paddies. 
We have a temporary bridge for getting across this channel. It's to the left of this picture. I'm hoping to do something a little nicer looking when the house is done. As well as put in one or two of those paddle wheel things I see in many places around the country. I think they help keep the water agitated to cut down on mosquitoes ? I'd also like to have a grassy flat spot leading down to the channel. We've already had 2 instances of dogs falling into the channel and it was a bit of a challenge getting them back out with the steep walls.



Already, my wife's family is using the new house as a refuge from flooding elsewhere. We are high and dry thanks to wife's foresight.



This is looking at what will be the master bedroom. Our property extends straight back to the tree line (I don't know the area, sorry. But it is substantial, seems about the size of a football field). Our property line on the left is about where you see the netting. From the blue netting e line is till a rice paddy. The farmer is going to pay us a couple bags of rice for the usage of the land. I'm fine with that, as long as it's being used for something productive. We haven't decided what we will do with it. We did get it pretty damn cheap though.
You can also see the area where the ducks/geese/chickens have been wandering around. You also might make a U-shaped channel that we dug for the fish we are raising. I believe that they should be ready in a month or so.



This is a view from the top of the staircase. You can make out the thatched roof of House 1.0 (we moved it from it's original loaction on the other end of the 1st property, as well as the duck/geese/chicken house in the background. The duck house is just bolted together and looks like it can be easily moved if we want. I don't remember how much the wife paid for it (10K baht ??), but I might put up a second one for my own little Thai style man-cave. I have several family members that make beer and I'd like to give it a go myself. I'm sure the locals will be happy to taste test (for free) whatever I make, as I experiment.

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## stevefarang

And now the roof trusses go up. Looks like they fabricate them on the ground (or even in a factory??) and then lift the finished pieces up for positioning. Irregardless, they look very clean, well thought out and very nicely done.



A view of the front of the house with the trusses going up.



A view looking towards the master bedroom.



And then a view looking towards the family room and the second bedroom located on the 1st floor. Hard to see it, but the staircase comes up where the edge curves to the right and then straightens out.



Here's a different angle where you can see the stairs coming up.

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## nigelandjan

Well done Steve !!  and thanyou sooooooo much for taking all the trouble to post the pics mate , I know it aint easy ,, you have one hell of a place out there mate.
    I hope you and your wife will be very happy there for a long time. :Smile:

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## stevefarang

These are some pics taken by the builder, PD House. The first 2 are taken from the left side of the house. The plan is to have a covered thai-style kitchen just outside. I also want to have a small shallow swimming pool in this area. We also will make this area a garden area with flowering trees, grass, flowers, etc.











I guess we will have the highest view in the neighbourhood.

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## stevefarang

My lovely missus sent me this pic the other day. Roofing tiles are on site and ready to go up. I guess it's too late for me to change my mind and go with the pricier ceramic ones. I s'pose we can always do that sometime down the road.

In the background is the area where we want to do the garden. We've alreayd started a little bit. You can also see where House 1.0 was sitting originally. Of course, we will have to build a security wall around the lot.

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## stevefarang

> Well done Steve !! and thanyou sooooooo much for taking all the trouble to post the pics mate , I know it aint easy ,, you have one hell of a place out there mate.
> I hope you and your wife will be very happy there for a long time.


No worries Nigel and thank you. I am pretty excited about this house. It's been a while since I've had anything this nice. Having a loving & thoughtful partner really helps as well. She is extremely focused on this house. I've tried tempting her with different opportunities and all she thinks about is saving money for the house build. And even though I can't own property or a house in Thailand, she is always very careful to call it "your property" or "your house".

I'm also interested in the contrast of building techniques in Thailand. I've looked at other threads here and noticed the differences. I'm very comfortable in PD House's approach and it seems they have worked out a process that ensures high quality and consistency. Little is left to chance. Am I paying a little more than what others have done. I'm sure I am, but I think it will pay off in the long run. 

These are all the pics that i have for now. I'm hoping to get over there in time for Happy New Year. Will post some more then.

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## jizzybloke

Nice looking place and it's coming on well, thanks Steve.




> your house


Shouldn't it be our home!?

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## nigelandjan

> And even though I can't own property or a house in Thailand, she is always very careful to call it "your property" or "your house".


        Well same for most of us on here Steve , I would think the majority here veiwing are in the same boat mate.

         I am lucky to have a bloody good wife , she works here in the UK on the minimum wage in a care home has saved nearly £10.000 and has just bought agricultural land in Issan and insists on calling it " our land " bless her.

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## OneSureThing

> Originally Posted by OneSureThing
> 
> 
> You say, you are using PD house as your builders. I checked their site. They have some very nice designs on there. Have you checked how they compare with other companies, price wise?
> 
> I might drop them a line about a price for a 3 bedroom.
> 
> 
> Yes, we are using PD House. We briefly checked some other house designs, but I really liked this one, especially after we saw the finished house as well as some other designs. Their houses seem pretty solid and PD House has been relatively easy to work with, although not many people in their Nakhon Pathom office speak much english.
> ...


Thank you for the response Steve. I am not at the stage right now of thinking to build. I will probably build in about 3 years, when I can live in Thailand full time.
I do like the way they are doing the roof. Seems that it speeds up the build considerably.

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## stevefarang

> Nice looking place and it's coming on well, thanks Steve.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> ...


Yes, it is very much so. But, I just have always enjoyed hearing her say "your house" or "your property". She never tries to act like it's hers and hers alone (I've certainly read horror stories of that happening and I was a little apprehensive when we bought the first lot). She is extremely thoughtful that way, which is something I truly admire in her. Plus I like being king of the hill!!  :Smile: 




> I do like the way they are doing the roof. Seems that it speeds up the build considerably.


Yes so do I. I like the whole modular concept they use, including the interlocking concrete beams and columns. It makes for less on-site errors and a higher quality build.

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## laymond

looking good steve,i also love the way you talk about your misses,sounds like you got a good one,and she has probably done alright as well.theres lots of good ones out there.good luck.

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## stevefarang

Reading some of the other threads, I see alot of comments against using precast concrete beams & stuff. The consensus seems is to prefer to using poured on-site stuff. 
Our house is using alot of pre-poured concrete pieces, as you can see in some of the previous pictures. These pieces come with interlocking steel, rustproofed  keys & stuff.
Should I be concerned ?

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## Loy Toy

> Should I be concerned ?


If the builder knows what is doing (and he seems to) no problems at all.

By the way great thread, thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us and I hope you and your wife have many happy years together enjoying your lovely home.

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## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> Should I be concerned ?
> 
> 
> If the builder knows what is doing (and he seems to) no problems at all.
> 
> By the way great thread, thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us and I hope you and your wife have many happy years together enjoying your lovely home.


Thanks Loy Toy. I was very impressed by the finished houses we toured, before signing the contract. And we've been fairly happy with the way they communicate and do things. And, given the volume of business they do and the fact they have offices throughout the country, they are no fly by night business. They seme to a well thought out process. I just started wondering when I saw all the negative comments, in other threads, about prepoured concrete pieces.

And thanks for the compliments on my wife. I am extremely fortunate to have her. There are a lot of horror stories of Thai women (and I know a few myself) but she's a real keeper. We truly look forward to building many happy memories together in the house and having a few kick-ass parties !!!

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## kiwinev

Great thread and superb pictures. Keep it up, I will be following this build with interest.

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## stevefarang

Thanks kiwiney.

I'm still debating if I want to do the wood trim, for the front entrance, like the house we visited. You can see it in the first few pics of this thread. I was thinking that the wood trim is going to have to be redone probably every couple of years, depending upon the strength of the sun. That could be an expense that will add up. But it really enhances the look of the house.

The standard is to go with the white plastic like (polyurethane ??) trim, much like you see with the windows trim. Will probably be easier, but less attractve/dramatic.

Decisions..decisions...I love it !!!  :Very Happy:

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## nigelandjan

I'd go with the wood mate , I even quite like to give it a coat every now and again its quite a satisfying job when its finished. If you do go the wood route ( I am sure you know ) but make sure you use a good stain that will go IN the grain as opposed to sittin on top of it for the sun to peel it all off again ,, ie Sadolin's.

               I would imagine with a lot of plastic in one place there will be a lot of movement in the heat

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## Fabian

> I'd go with the wood mate


 Second that. Everytime you come back and see the plastic you will regret the choice.

Recoating should not be too expensive with the cheap labour in Thailand.

May I ask how much a house like this costs? I really like that.

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## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by nigelandjan
> 
> 
> I'd go with the wood mate
> 
> 
>  Second that. Everytime you come back and see the plastic you will regret the choice.
> 
> Recoating should not be too expensive with the cheap labour in Thailand.
> ...


 
Thanks y'all. I am rethinking the wood. It looked so damn good on the finished house we toured last year. Maybe we should go back now and see how it's holding up.

The price is about 6 million baht. It was quoted as % point something but we added some things (underground wiring, doubling the insulation in ceiling from 3" to 6" - may ask them to add another 3"), etc. Yes, it's costing more than many of the houses I see people are building. However, I've been denying myself certain pleasures over the years and I think it's time I have an awesome place of my own. I wanted to be sure I had someplace that, as I get older, I can still use and not feel crowded in.

If all the stars align properly, I will be going back over for a few weeks in January and will post some new pics, although not much progress has happened as we are trying to get the current balance due paid up, which should happen soon. I wanted to go back for Happy New Year, but airfare was more than double what it normally is. To hell with that. Instead I'll be there for my lovely bride's birthday.

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## justincase 13

Looks like its coming together great. Sounds like using this company might have been the best way to go if your not around for the build...Looks like there doing a great job so far, Best of luck with the finish work and keep us up dated!!

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## justincase 13

Might be a good time to think about built in wardrobes if there not on the plans already! And extra elc. Sockets at proper places.. And maybe Ethernet cables run to the office and  pre wiring for proper ceiling fans, these will help a lot in that tall house of yours..

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## Bettyboo

These preformed concrete structure poles, and the dirt dumped and built straight away; is the this the way to go for a substantial two storey property?

You're clearly not skimping on cost, but is the builder?

Another comment, if I may - please don't take this the wrong way; the house seems totally out of character with the environment, properties around, it's as if you're trying to make a small piece of America in NP... Do you think this will cause problems/resentment from the local community which you'll be living amongst?

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## gusG

> *These preformed concrete structure poles, and the dirt dumped and built straight away; is the this the way to go for a substantial two storey property?
> 
> You're clearly not skimping on cost, but is the builder?* 
> 
> Another comment, if I may - please don't take this the wrong way; the house seems totally out of character with the environment, properties around, it's as if you're trying to make a small piece of America in NP... Do you think this will cause problems/resentment from the local community which you'll be living amongst?


I think he has this covered. v
*
Pile party*     Here  are some shots taken from the first piling ceremony back in March 2011.  Unfortunately, I was stuck in the US at the time, but my wife made sure  everything went smoothly. If I recall, the pilings were driven down  about 8 meters.

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## Bettyboo

^ I'm not talking about the depth; that's dependant on local conditions and the specific construction.

The pilings might be a 'special' strong type, but I was told by a few folks that the preformed concrete pilings were cheaper and easier to deal with, but weaker and could be a problem with 2 storey properties - better to make on site; I'm no expert, just wondering. I'm gonna use preformed concrete pillings as a cost reduction, but I'm taking into account that I have a single storey structure with vert little load carrying requirement, amongst other issues.

Also, the dirt fill; again, especially for a 2 storey property, I was told that giving it plenty of time to settle would help prevent movement and later concrete cracking/weakness.

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## stevefarang

> ^ I'm not talking about the depth; that's dependant on local conditions and the specific construction.
> 
> The pilings might be a 'special' strong type, but I was told by a few folks that the preformed concrete pilings were cheaper and easier to deal with, but weaker and could be a problem with 2 storey properties - better to make on site; I'm no expert, just wondering. I'm gonna use preformed concrete pillings as a cost reduction, but I'm taking into account that I have a single storey structure with vert little load carrying requirement, amongst other issues.
> 
> Also, the dirt fill; again, especially for a 2 storey property, I was told that giving it plenty of time to settle would help prevent movement and later concrete cracking/weakness.


Thanks Betty, the initial fill had about a year+ to "season" and settle. The additional meter of fill had about 6-7 months, if not a little more, before pilings were driven.

I'm no expert, hence that was why I made the iquiry about the prefabbed concrete pieces. I was seeing a lot of negative comments about them. However, in this case, this company seems to have a process that they use for all of their designs. They must be doing something right, since they have been opening additional offices throughout the LOS. Certainly not the impression of a fly by night crew. As I recall there's at least 10 pilings, about 8+ meters down for each.

Does the house fit the smaller houses surrounding it. No. But I didn't want a simple shack with an indoor loo. For a multiple of reasons, I've been denying myself certain pleasures. I think I finally deserve a really nice house to call my own (yeak ok, in Thaialnd lol). The neighbors all seem like nice people (including the village chief who lives across the road).

Justincase, when I go over next month, we'll be talking with the builder about the celiing fans for each room. This was something I wanted since the start. They've also asked to start thinking wardrobe designs. Obviously, they have someone who can handle the work, but we might lok around elsewhere. Same for the western kitchen. My wife liked the Ikea stores (and their kitchens) in Australia, so we might pay a visit to the new one that just opened up in BKK.

The ethernet cable is a good idea. Although I thought the easiset way to get internet is by one of the usb powered transmitter/receiver deals linked with 1-2-Call, DTAC or similar phone companies in Thaialnd)

Thanks again all !!

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## Bettyboo

^ thanks for the answers.




> The additional meter of fill had about 6-7 months, if not a little more, before pilings were driven.


Good stuff.




> However, in this case, this company seems to have a process that they use for all of their designs.


I can see how it's hard to get around this. Many 'successful' Thai companies cut corners for the sake of profit with little regard for their long term image - I hope everything is okay for you here; I'd be worried about the company myself, I don't trust Thais - the bigger and more powerful they are the more they cheat and cut corners, imo...

Good luck with the build, please take care - even though you're paying lots of money and the building company are large/established, they will not be trustworthy, so you'll need to be ontop of everything; it's unlikely the wife will be able to manage this situation because the company will be owned by some Pu Yai who will just outrank her...  :Sad:

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## Maxion

> Reading some of the other threads, I see alot of comments against using precast concrete beams & stuff. 
> Should I be concerned ?



From PD House no. The system is well engineered and bound together by the pre-stressed floor slabs.





> These preformed concrete structure poles, and the dirt dumped and built straight away; is the this the way to go for a substantial two storey property?


The fill dirt in this case plays no part in supporting the structure or its ground floor slab. All loads are transferred to the piles which are driven well beyond the fill dirt.





> The pilings might be a 'special' strong type, but I was told by a few folks that the preformed concrete pilings were cheaper and easier to deal with, but weaker and could be a problem with 2 storey properties - better to make on site; I'm no expert, just wondering. I'm gonna use preformed concrete pillings as a cost reduction, but I'm taking into account that I have a single storey structure with vert little load carrying requirement, amongst other issues.Also, the dirt fill; again, especially for a 2 storey property, I was told that giving it plenty of time to settle would help prevent movement and later concrete cracking/weakness.



Driven piles are rarely formed on site.They are manufactured under controlled conditions to ensure consistent strength and quality.
Again, this construction method does not care if the fill dirt was installed yesterday or ten years ago. Everything sits on the piles. 

  The only time where fill dirt might be an issue is when exterior paths and concrete sitting areas are constructed. Adequate compacting and steel size will overcome any problems here.



This is looking like a real quality build. The PD Home system forms a clean and accurate skeleton with the CPAC galvanised roof system providing maximum strength for minimum weight.
Hope all goes this well at the next stages.

----------


## Gerbil

> OK, got some pics uploaded to photobucket, so let's see how this works.
> 
> This first pic is the finished house we toured back when we considering several different designs. I was sold on this after seeing this house. It was not a model house, but an actual project that they had recently completed. 
> Ours will look very similar, except I don't think we will do the wood trim on the front entrance. I think with the sun and heat, it will need re-varnishing every 2-3 years. It really looks spectacular though and I'm still very tempted to splurge on the wood trim. But for now, we will stick with a vinyl like trim.


Sorry, that entrance door and the windows above it are just hideous  :Sad:  Rest looks ok though.

----------


## stevefarang

Once again, thanks all for your comments, constructive criticism and support.

There was a comment about how the house looks a little too much, as compared to the surrounding houses. I was thinking, overnight, that up the road and around a bend there is a similarly large, 2-story house. I'm guessing it's about 10 years old. So we won't be the only one in the neighborhood.

If all goes well for me work-wise & cash flow picks up, construction will resume in January. I'm guessing the house should be done by August-Sept 2012, if not sooner. We'll soon have to start choosing alot of the finish interior details. I also need to talk with them about changing the front ddor trim to all wood.

We will also have to give some thought to the drive way. PD House does not include that in the design. Fortunately, the crushed stone we put down for the crane can be re-used for the drive. I'm thinking of using inlaid brick/stone (not sure the correct term here), similarly to the house we visited. I don't want a simple black tarmac drive.

We will also be building a security wall, but I am told you do that AFTER the house is finiehed or you will have bad luck.

Once again, thanks to all !! I'll keep you updated as we continue this adventure.

----------


## Maxion

If you take away the wood entrance feature you will make the house look clinical. This feature may not be to everyones taste but it does provide a Thai style focal point.

----------


## nigelandjan

> I'm thinking of using inlaid brick/stone (not sure the correct term here), similarly to the house we visited. I don't want a simple black tarmac drive.


         Too right you dont want tarmac in that heat mate poxy shit anyway ,,believe me I done 10 years of it.  I think the term your looking for is " block paving "  best laid on hardcore ,, then dryleyne mix screeded off with sharp sand infilled with very fine silica sand .



> We will also be building a security wall, but I am told you do that AFTER the house is finiehed or you will have bad luck.


         Too right you will 555 as someone who shall remain nameless up in Chiang Mai can confirm  :Smile:  Happy Xmas up there mate!



> If you take away the wood entrance feature you will make the house look clinical. This feature may not be to everyone’s taste but it does provide a Thai style focal point.


      Good point made , you like it and I like it and if the guy paying the wonga likes it then so be it

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> I'm thinking of using inlaid brick/stone (not sure the correct term here), similarly to the house we visited. I don't want a simple black tarmac drive.
> 
> 
> Too right you dont want tarmac in that heat mate poxy shit anyway ,,believe me I done 10 years of it. I think the term your looking for is " block paving " best laid on hardcore ,, then dryleyne mix screeded off with sharp sand infilled with very fine silica sand .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Block paving or block pavers !! That's the term I was trying to remember. And definitely a lighter color to reflect the heat. Thanks Nigel ! Damn, I s'pose I owe you a beer or three !!! Now how do you say or spell it in Thai ??  :Smile: 

The security wall is a given. No way do I want to leave this place exposed. We also will have a small swimming pool next to the house, so that's another safety concern. There will be times when my wife will be staying there alone (OK maybe her Mom will be there as well - I know/accept how it works in Thailand!!) Our dog, who already has demonstrated the willingness to defend my wife/property, will have free reign inside the property. Hopefully he still remembers me!! LOL

We've also been rasing ducks and geese (and chickens & fish) on our adjoining second lot. I never knew Thai people like to eat goose. I understand geese make an excellent alert system and will raise a ruckus whene ever someone enters the area. They can also be cranky buggers and go on the attack as well (ask me how we know this). So I may try to integrate them somehow into areas around the wall in our main lot. Maybe have several small bodies of water for them to hang out in?? I don't think the geese & the dog will get along together. 

One of the other things I will doing at this house is integrating a solar/wind power setup to supply power, especially when I am there. I got to have my air-con and I know we'll be paying through the nose for power. So I've been kicking around the idea of using several wind generators & multiple solar cells, along with a small shed full of car batteries and an inverter system (along with the transfer switch so we are off the grid when system is in use). We have the 3 large lots. My wide alwasy comments on the amount if wind there, plus the obvious sun. So I think we can have several pole mounted wind generators (if 1 fails, I still get power from the others while it's fixed/replaced) and a large area (not sure how large) of solar cells. My son is about to graduate as a BSEE so i have already told him he has to help design this system for me. However, I told him we can't be using lots of fancy new widgets for storing energy. Car batteries are cheap and easy to find in Thailand. So I'll just have a shed of them, stacked up, to store/provide the energy for the system. I might start a separate thread on this isea,as I will be curious to read what others have done and see their set-up.

Once again, thanks to all. And Merry Christmas !!

----------


## Maxion

> One of the other things I will doing at this house is integrating a solar/wind power setup to supply power, especially when I am there. I got to have my air-con and I know we'll be paying through the nose for power. So I've been kicking around the idea of using several wind generators & multiple solar cells, along with a small shed full of car batteries and an inverter system (along with the transfer switch so we are off the grid when system is in use).


 I have a 30 watt solar panel charging a 100 ampere hour car battery. Its provides back up power to the house water pump should anyone be caught needing a show when the power goes off.
  If I was using the backup supply every day then a car battery would be useless because they dont cycle from charged to discharge well. For this application I would need a deep cycle battery and they are expensive.
  To supply a whole house including A/C with solar power for 5 hours requires a huge amount of storage, lots of solar panel area and big inverters. Be prepared to spend many thousands of dollars for a system like this. The same applies to wind power.

  Solar hot water is a good idea and now would be a good time to start planning a system.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> One of the other things I will doing at this house is integrating a solar/wind power setup to supply power, especially when I am there. I got to have my air-con and I know we'll be paying through the nose for power. So I've been kicking around the idea of using several wind generators & multiple solar cells, along with a small shed full of car batteries and an inverter system (along with the transfer switch so we are off the grid when system is in use).
> 
> 
> I have a 30 watt solar panel charging a 100 ampere hour car battery. Its provides back up power to the house water pump should anyone be caught needing a show when the power goes off.
> If I was using the backup supply every day then a car battery would be useless because they dont cycle from charged to discharge well. For this application I would need a deep cycle battery and they are expensive.
> To supply a whole house including A/C with solar power for 5 hours requires a huge amount of storage, lots of solar panel area and big inverters. Be prepared to spend many thousands of dollars for a system like this. The same applies to wind power.
> 
> Solar hot water is a good idea and now would be a good time to start planning a system.


Thanks Maxion for the info. I know it will be an investment of some money. I'm hoping my son can help me come up with some workable design that combines winf and solar. 

We do have plenty of room to work with though. The wind generators I am looking at source from eBay (about 2.5 kW each via China). I figure if I use 8+ of them, if one fails (because it comes from China) I'll have the others still available until I can replace the bad one. Also, we may not need all the air con units in service during the day. Just at least one for my office. So that might help in determing how much we need.

Sounds like marine batteries are the way to go ? I believe they are deep cycle design. My son and I were discussing whether we should use maintenance-free or gel type batteries or stick with basic batteries that can be topped off with distilled water as needed. They will be kept in a covered/vented shed.

We're still brainstorming here. I think I may split this off into it's own thread. Keep this one to strictly the house build.

Yes, supposedly we are getting a free solar hot water system. I'm not sure how effective it will be or how reliably it will last. I really like the on-demand electric units I usually see everywhere in Thailland.

----------


## nigelandjan

> We're still brainstorming here. I think I may split this off into it's own thread. Keep this one to strictly the house build.


 Well I did toss the idea up in the air in a previous about somehow using solar / aircon and soon got put in me place ( it was only an idea ) anyway good luck with it all

----------


## palexxxx

Several of my neighbours have solar panels on the roof for power production.  (There popping up on roofs everywhere in Australia now),  a friend has one with 16 panels generating over 5 kW.  
There are no batteries involved.  They are producing 240 volts (voltage in Australia) and any unused power is sent back out to the grid and he gets credit for anything that he produces.
Here's some links to solar power companies that might give you some ideas (I realize that they are in Australia,  but as I said,  just to give you some ideas)

this first one is the set up my friend has
Exel Power | Home | Innovative Energy Solution | | Solar Power, Sun Power, Electricity

Solar Shop Australia Home: Solar Shop Australia Solar Shop Australia

Solar power - grid connect, off grid and hot water systems, solar panels, batteries, wind turbines - Energy Matters

Solar Power Brisbane Sydney | Quality Products Expert Advice | Australia Wide

----------


## stevefarang

> Several of my neighbours have solar panels on the roof for power production. (There popping up on roofs everywhere in Australia now), a friend has one with 16 panels generating over 5 kW. 
> There are no batteries involved. They are producing 240 volts (voltage in Australia) and any unused power is sent back out to the grid and he gets credit for anything that he produces.
> Here's some links to solar power companies that might give you some ideas (I realize that they are in Australia, but as I said, just to give you some ideas)
> 
> this first one is the set up my friend has
> Exel Power | Home | Innovative Energy Solution | | Solar Power, Sun Power, Electricity
> 
> Solar Shop Australia Home: Solar Shop Australia Solar Shop Australia
> 
> ...


 
Thanks very much! I figure the batteries would be required at night or on cloudy days. I don't know if it's possible to sell power back to the grid in Thailand (like one can in other countries). But good food for thought!!

Plus, the intent is NOT to put solar cells on the house itself. I figure we have enough land, we can use something closer to ground, cheap and easy to acess if need be.

----------


## stevefarang

Ok, this is cool. I was actually able to find our lots on Google Maps:

Nakhon Pathom Thailand - Google Maps

We own three lots. The first is where you see the fill (brown-tan area) and extends to the right all the way to the road. Interesting enough, the area where you see the fill is roughly where the house is located. The fill extends to the bottom of the first lot.
We also own the two lots to the left (with the tree borders). The second lot, just to the left, is where we are raising the standard ducks, geese, chicken, fish (we dug a U-shaped trench), etc. The third lot is still rice paddy. Haven't decided what we will do with it.

Looking down on the lots like this gives me a better idea of what/who is arround us. I also am looking at the skinny rectangular lot just below where the house goes. For now, the plan is to put a small pool to the right of the house. I think it would be better to have the pool behind the house, which would mean we'd have to buy that skinny lot from whomever. Then leave the space to the right of the house as a garden area with a covered spot to enjoy the great outdoors.

If I can figure out how to outline our lots, house footprint, etc. I will try to include it.

----------


## palexxxx

> If I can figure out how to outline our lots, house footprint, etc. I will try to include it.



If you go to Google earth and bring up the same picture,  then with the measuring tool (the ruler icon at the top) you draw a line along a boundary,  then in the measuring tool click on 'save',  you'll have to give this line a name (something like "steves west boundary") then do the same for all the boundary lines.

----------


## kiwinev

Wood on the entrance will look a bit better than too much concrete. 
Alternative power supply will be very useful as well. Interesting to see what is going to be needed to make it worthwhile.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> If I can figure out how to outline our lots, house footprint, etc. I will try to include it.
> 
> 
>  
> If you go to Google earth and bring up the same picture, then with the measuring tool (the ruler icon at the top) you draw a line along a boundary, then in the measuring tool click on 'save', you'll have to give this line a name (something like "steves west boundary") then do the same for all the boundary lines.


Thanks palexxxx,
I'll give that a try, if I can find our property again !!! LOL




> Wood on the entrance will look a bit better than too much concrete. 
> Alternative power supply will be very useful as well. Interesting to see what is going to be needed to make it worthwhile.


You won't see the concrete on the finished house. The standard is to have a white plastic trim, much like what you see around the windows. But I'm really liking the wood trim and have already talked with my wife about it.

Reading some other threads on solar/wind power, I get the impression that I won't be able to sell power back to the grid. 
It's still something I am kicking around with my son. I will need to get specifics, such as house loads, esp the air-con, before we figure out how many solar cells & wind generators to use. I am just trying to keep it as simple as possible.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, I found it and outlined the 3 lots. Obviously, it's a static image, so you can't really look around the area.

----------


## stevefarang

Finally got to visit the site on January 18, 2012. Not much has changed from the pics that were posted earlier, but I thought I would show some details features.

First of all, an overall shot with the late afternoon sun.





This will be my home office area and the nice, quiet view I will have.





A view of what will be the ground floor guest suite with the future driveway area in the background.





The area where the bathroom for the guest suite will be. I'm not exactly sure why it's not finished. I noticed the same for the bathroom on the other end of the house. One person was telling me about something going in the ground. I can't imagine they would put the septic tank underneath. How do you pump it out then ? I need to check the plans on this.





Some of the roof truss work.





The future western style kitchen area, facing east.





The view from the back of the house, ground floor. THe more I think about it, I really want to buy that rice paddy, fill it in and put the pooli back there.





Stairs from ground floor to first floor.





A close-up of the roof trusses.





More roof truss detail





ANd more roof truss details. There are no welds, like I've seen on other threads. Looks like sheet metal screws with a plastic locking piece. It seemed very solid, I was tempted to climb on it. I think this is good for two reasons. 1. Tack welds aren't the strongest weld. 2. The welding would damge the galvanized coating. I did not spot any corrosion.





Looking towards what will be the master bedroom. In the foreground will be an upstairs family room.





A slightly different angle of the same area, showing the outdoor patio that will extend out from the upstairs family room.





What will be the view from the west end of the master bedroom. You can see lot 2 (with the water canal we dug for the fish) and lot 3 way in the back, going to the tree line. ANd yes, we get our own private patio as well.





A view of the east end of lot 1 with the roofing tiles ready to go on. This whole area will be landscaped. The plan is to put the pool in there as well, but I think it needs to go in the back (if I can buy that lot behind us).



That's about all for now. Until I get some work in, the job is on hold. Hopefully things will change next month, if not sooner. I'm keen on getting the house finished and stop staying in hotels all the time.

----------


## nigelandjan

Well done Steve thanks for the update,, all the best

----------


## stevefarang

Finally, the cash flow has picked up and construction resumes.
The main roof is up now. Concrete blocks go up next month while I'm in Qatar. It should be looking very different when we get back at the end of June.
Plus, now with the roof on, I get better sense of size. Before, I was thinking it didn't feel that big. Now, these pics make it looks big.

A front, sligtly angled view of the house. We've got that nice curve, which will make for a good entrance. And I think we'll put a small fountain down in front where they dug out some of the dirt.


A nice side view (from the east). On this side, next to the house, we'll have a Thai-style kitchen under an overhang. The plan is to put a small pool here as well. This area will also be landscaped and I anticipate this to be an area to hang out in, later in the day with some kind of veranda. We've started some plantings already.



Some roofing details, if anyone is interested.





And upstairs, looking towards the master bedroom (west). We own the property going back to the tree line.

----------


## nigelandjan

Thanks for the update Steve ,, my God some of you lads certainly do it BIG style ,, Rick has got a big one in Udon Thani ,, I'm gonna have quite a complex when I put my / sorry the wifes littlun on here one day  :Smile:

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## kiwinev

Progress, looking to be a good solid house. Lots of room. Nice, keep posting the pics.

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## DrAndy

> my God some of you lads certainly do it BIG style


monster houses, big enough for all the wife's family and the Mia Noi's too

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## nigelandjan

> and the Mia Noi's too


  Yes I've heard about them ,, Iv'e been married over 3 years now , do I qualify yet ?

----------


## DrAndy

depends on what your wife thinks

as for the roof, Steve, I haven't seem that type of construction before, using galvanised H and T beams, put together with bolts

we have used the normal welded stuff, which works well

It will be interesting to see how each goes over a few years

----------


## stevefarang

> depends on what your wife thinks
> 
> as for the roof, Steve, I haven't seem that type of construction before, using galvanised H and T beams, put together with bolts
> 
> we have used the normal welded stuff, which works well
> 
> It will be interesting to see how each goes over a few years


 
Andy & Nigel,
Thanks!
It's the standard they use on all their roofs. I think it's better than some old guy, with an even older welding machine, making little tacks all over the place. For one thing, I believe those tacks will ruin the galvanic coating. And I never considered weld tacks as good as a full penetration weld. I checked the structure out, before the roofing tiles went on and it seemed very solid.

And yes, the house is big. I've been denying myself a nice place for years and figure I deserve this. Also, I didn't want a small place. I like to have room to wander around in. And I wanted to be sure I had a place where I could stay downstairs if I have trouble with stairs when I get a little older.

As far as the Thai family moving in, the wife has mentioned it (as I anticipated), but she has also mentioned that she doesn't want them to live permanently. We've got enough land that we will be sellling her mom's house and then build a small place (traditional thai construction, not what we are doing) for her mom to live. The wife does not want her mom living with her, surprisingly!!

At least with the roof up, I can get a better feel for the size.  When I saw the frame, with no roof back in January, I was thinking the house was looking smaller than I expected.

If all goes well, we'll be ringing in 2013 there.

----------


## nigelandjan

> I never considered weld tacks as good as a full penetration


 Man after my own heart , you can't beat a full penetration mate  :Smile: 


BTW all the best with your new home I am sure you will have many happy years there

----------


## DrAndy

tell that to Looper in his virgin thread!

anyway, the house progresses well

----------


## ossierob

Gidday Steve,   Congrats on this good thread.   I think we must live nearby as we have a place at Sampran town -  Nakorn Pathom province. Our place is very near Wat Rai Khing and I watch your development with a lot of interest.

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## stevefarang

G'day Rob and thanks very much. Concrete blocks have finally been delivered to the site last week and I'm hoping construction resumes this week.
I am rethinking about the wood front doors. I might forego them for now, just to save a little money for other house stuff and have them done 2-3 years down the road.
Keeping my fingers crossed the place will be finished before the end of the year.

----------


## nigelandjan

Looking forward to the next set of pics Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> Looking forward to the next set of pics Steve


Me too Nigel !!

I was hoping that they would have been busy putting up concrete block all of June myself. But apparently, due to the flooding earlier this year, there is a backlog at the concrete block factory. They say work will resume on Wednesday, so I'm hoping there is some progress to show next weekend, when we go for a visit. I think we will also be meeting with PDHouse next weekend as well, so I can voice my displeasure to them personally.

I really like the design of the house and the process they use in building it. Everything seems well thought out and not just a bunch of villagers showing up to pour some concrete, play with a welding torch, run some wire and put in a window and door or two. I'm just frustrated by the delays, granted part of it was my fault.

----------


## Mozzbie47

Looks great, the views are fantastic and the build looks very good also.
 That is the firt time i've seen gal trusses. Much better than the steel ones that are rusty when delivered and as been said, tach welded together with an old stick welder, by a guy who does'nt know how to weld, ( l havent seen a Thai that can weld ) the only thing holding many welds together is the flux. Actually most times they dont use welding shields or sunglasses at best, they turn out good, not for me though.
 Excellent thread mate.

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## kiwinev

Going to be a nice view from the office. Rest of the build looking good too. Going to be a big place, lots of space.

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## stevefarang

Thanks all, we're pretty excited as well. It looks like the next stage starts in the coming days, finally. The 4,000 concrete blocks were delivered late last week and the crew starts to set up camp later this week. Then the block work starts early next week. Hopefully it will go fast.

----------


## stevefarang

Concrete blocks still sitting there, waiting for the work crew. We are now told they will start 25 July. Looks like someone is setting up the little camp they will use. I don't want them to use our "House 1.0" sitting on the opposite side. My mother-in-law's boyfriend will be staying at the property, once the workers arrive to keep an eye on things.
But here's some pics from Saturday, July 21.





Here's a shot showing the little temporary camp they are setting up on the east side of the property. The plan is to put a swimming pool over on this side, as well as an outside sitting area and garden. There will be an outside (sheltered) Thai style kitchen on the east side as well. The western style kitchen will be in the lower left corner of the ground floor.

----------


## MrG

I know you posted about the concrete blocks you have pictured here, but could you tell me the name of them and the material. I remember that they are supposed to be superior to cement blocks, but are they superior to red brick?

----------


## UdonThani Pete

Your place is looking good Steve, you and your wife will be very happy once it's completed I'm sure.

All the best.
Pete
 :UK:

----------


## stevefarang

> I know you posted about the concrete blocks you have pictured here, but could you tell me the name of them and the material. I remember that they are supposed to be superior to cement blocks, but are they superior to red brick?


I'm not sure the name, since the house building company is the one buying them. I've seen others talk about "Q-blok" and I think these are the same. These are solid blocks and definitely lighter than what i expected. I think they do hold up better than red brick, but I think red brick is cheaper.

If I do find out the material, I'll post it.

Thanks Pete ! I can't wait to get it done now too.

----------


## MrG

Thanks for that. 

To follow up on a previous post, I contacted PD about estimates. Seems nobody in the office speaks (writes) very good English. Maybe the English speakers were out.

----------


## stevefarang

> Thanks for that. 
> 
> To follow up on a previous post, I contacted PD about estimates. Seems nobody in the office speaks (writes) very good English. Maybe the English speakers were out.


Yes, even with their english language version of their website, having english speaking staff is a problem for them.
We're having dinner with our PD house reps this Friday to "patch things up". I intend to make the lack of communication/failure to answer my inquiries in English an issue and will mention that others have had trouble trying to get info in English. I still don't think they are a bad company, but if they want to do business with foreigners, then they have to change their ways.

----------


## UdonThani Pete

Steve, I have been in that situation many times with my build here, it seems to be a common problem here in Thailand, but it never comes accross during the lead up to signing the contract unfortunately, I also think they know more than they let on but it still does not seem to make any difference.

I hope all goes well on Friday! keep us updated. Cheers.

Pete
 :UK:

----------


## stevefarang

OK, we had a decent conversation, with PD House, on Friday night and, hopefully, cleared up some issues. Unfortiunately, they only really have 1 guy who speaks english, so communication can be slow and the guy admitted it. But I got some answers on some technical issues finally.
And...finally, they have started working on the walls. But...2 of the guys had a medical emergency with their family and had to leave the 2nd day. So only the foreman is there, along with his wife and 2 kids. Supposedly, we will get 10 people working later this week. But I'm pleased with the foreman. He seems to be doing a good job and doing thngs with care, even if he doesn't follow any US safety practices (Hey TIT !!).
I took these pics early afternoon on Sunday. He made even more progress after I took these. 

Of course, now PD House puts up their promotional billboard.






Looking towards what will be the Master bedroom:



Looking towards the front east corner, upstairs, of the house.



And a view of the eastern side of the house. Their camp is still not set-up, which is an issue we will be addressing. I don't mind them using our little "House 1.0" for a few days, but I want it back for our use.



I hope there will be a ;lot more done next weekend. But it's finally going forward.

----------


## nigelandjan

Thanks for the update Steve , were still viewing mate .

BTW excuse my ignorance on Thai build but those blocks stood on they're ends in the second pic with rods sticking out of them ?  is that to bond into the pillars ? 

  I often wonder about they're block/ brickwork how great slabs of it don't fall down as it appears a lot of it does not seem to tie in around corners with all these pillars ?

----------


## stevefarang

> Thanks for the update Steve , were still viewing mate .
> 
> BTW excuse my ignorance on Thai build but those blocks stood on they're ends in the second pic with rods sticking out of them ? is that to bond into the pillars ? 
> 
> I often wonder about they're block/ brickwork how great slabs of it don't fall down as it appears a lot of it does not seem to tie in around corners with all these pillars ?


No Ian, they've marked out the floor plan upstairs and those blocks are just helping to mark corners and interior wall locations. you can't really see it in the pics, but they've chalked out their location of all the walls and doors.

Now the rebars on the edges, I believe they do use those to tie into the walls and add rigidity. I can't be there everyday, so not sure exactly. But I noticed a lot of rebar sticking out at the ends on the first floor and I assume these will bed upwards for the exteriod walls.

No need to apologize. I sometimes ask some real silly questions as well.

----------


## nigelandjan

^ Cheers mate BTW  I am Nigel the wife is Jan ,,, I'm not sure about Ian

----------


## stevefarang

> ^ Cheers mate BTW I am Nigel the wife is Jan ,,, I'm not sure about Ian


Doh !!! Damn my eyes !!!

Sorry N-i-g-e-l !!!  :UK:

----------


## terry57

Jeez mate, that is one very serious house. Really nice and being well built by the looks of things. 

You will be having lots of visits from the out laws that's for sure, hope your ready for that.

----------


## Mozzbie47

Great looking build with very nice view's Steve.  My wife has suggested we purchase land a short distance out of town to build on, l didnt particularly like the idea, but after seening your views, l have changed my mind completely.  No doubt you are looking forward to the day when you can sit in your family room and admire the ever changing land scape, l envey you mate.

----------


## Norton

> I know you posted about the concrete blocks you have pictured here, but could you tell me the name of them and the material. I remember that they are supposed to be superior to cement blocks, but are they superior to red brick?


Quite sure they are Q-Con blocks. Have greater insulating properties than red brick. They are becoming less expensive as production volumes have increased but still more expensive than red brick. No significant structural difference.

Welcome to Q-con

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## stevefarang

Yes, they are Q-con blocks. I was surprised at how light they are. I also watched how the foreman would cut the blocks down. Basically a handsaw to start the line, then he would use a small circular saw to finish the cut. Any rough spots would be dressed with a hand axe. Looked pretty easy, just repetitive work.

The views aren't bad. We look over some rice paddies. I'd love to buy the adjoining lot (behind the house) and put a swimming pool back there. And yes, the mother-in-law's small house would go there as well. But my wife wants her house not too close to ours. 

I want to set up a "man-cave" on the second lot and make it a place to experiment making beer, smoked bbq ribs, etc. I also want to try and build a solar/wind power system, on the 2nd lot, to supplement the power for the house. I have enough space for multiple solar/wind generator towers and a central battery/inverter house. I'll be working with my son (Electrical Engineer) to work out the details.

Some where on the lot, I want to drill a well. My first house (back in the USA) had a well with good cold water. I'm hoping we can get the same at the site and not depend upon city water.

We'll also keep a space for some chickens, as I like the idea of having our own fresh egg supply. Part of me is tempted to get a peacock, but I hera they make a hell of a racket. 

My wife is thinking of turning the 3rd lot from rice paddy into a banana tree grove. We'll have to add some land to both the 2nd and 3rd lot to do this though.

And yes, I am already expecting her family to invade the house initially. But, my wife does not want them to get comfortable. She is sensitive to my wanting private space and to make it our house.

We do get some nice breezes there. Makes it a little more tolerable. And yes, the house is a little bigger and not the typical thai home. But I think I deserve it, after living in an apartment/condo for the past 12 years or so. I also don't want a small space to possibly retire in. 

I am impressed by how the frame went together, seem pretty solid. Same with the rood trusses, galvanazised steel all fastened down by screws, very solid.

Looking forward to posting more updates after next weekend.

----------


## nigelandjan

> She is sensitive to my wanting private space and to make it our house.


  You have an understanding wife there Steve ,, its good she has a grasp on our western ways .

   Yes as we are different cultures we both have to make compromises to make it work for sure ,, some of that includes us having to sometimes mill around with the hordes ,, but also by the same token they have to realise we need to retreat alone to our sanctuary to have some time to realign our senses  :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

OK, we spent a long day out at the house site.

Inspecting some of the concrete walls, I discovered things were not all lining up with the frame nice & flush. I was told that the house frame is not truly straight. Needless to say, I'm a little peturbed and will be bringing this up with PD House.

But block work goes on. Most of the upstairs is 80% complete. They are now staring the ground floor.

So here are some more shots of the work.

Upstairs looking south-east from the master bedroom:


From the other side looking back at the master bedroom:


This is a different perspective from what I normally show. I walked down the road and shot across the rice paddy.



A shot looking through some of the trees we planted almost 2 years ago:


This is from what will be the driveway:



And a view of the work crew, on the ground floor:


And the work continues...

----------


## nigelandjan

> Inspecting some of the concrete walls, I discovered things were not all lining up with the frame nice & flush. I was told that the house frame is not truly straight. Needless to say, I'm a little peturbed and will be bringing this up with PD House.


  Sounds worrying Steve ,, lets hope its sorted soon and to your standard.

 Thanks for the updates mate

----------


## UdonThani Pete

Feeling for you Steve, lets hope you get it sorted, and as Nigel said thanks for the update.

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## stevefarang

Thanks guys. We'll get it sorted out. I'm still really psych'd about the house. It's really starting to look good and now I can envision walls and layout of things. 

Still alot to do. I need to give them room layouts of all the lights, switches, plugs, ceiling fans, etc. Hopefully, it will be finished in February 2013.

And I've been rethinking that wooden front entrance issue. I might stick with UPVC after all.

----------


## Makmak456

O M F G,
Walls that are not perfectly plumb and true, in Thailand ?????
Other than that great looking build.
Mak

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## townclock

makmak456 could you please tell me who the expats wife who died in pattaya i hope it was none of the 332 club can you pm me please thanks

----------


## stevefarang

*So we spent the afternoon out at the property, with some people from PD House, to go over some issues and concerns that I have with construction. Never having had a house built for me before, it's an interesting process. We also went over the electrical layout and I think we've got that all worked out.*

*More walls on the ground floor are going up, my office area walls are up, as well as the ground floor guest suite.*

*Afterwards, my wife and I and some of her family, hung around and enjoyed some food and cold beer. We brought my dog with us this time, so it was fun to have him there, even if we had to keep him on a leash. I can't wait until we have the property walls up so he can run free.*

*This was the first time I've stayed out there until after dark. Needless to say, I was very popular with all the mosquitoes and other flying critters !!*

----------


## stevefarang

Not too much progress to show since the visit this past weekend. It turns out the workers left early in the week for some holiday and will (supposedly) be back on Saturday. They were putting up concrete block on the ground floor. It was good to see my office area all walled in. It will be a nice space when the windows are in.

Anyway, from the northwest corner, where the entrance drive will eventually be:



And this is a close up of the ground floor guest suite and west wall of the house, with my office in the back corner.



And finally, my dog, guarding the kitchen area already:

----------


## UdonThani Pete

Thanks for the update Steve,I am watching with interest and thinking whats coming next due to my very similar experience, just a quick comment as I have heard it many times before and caught my builder not telling the truth (there's a surprise) regarding builders going for a holiday, sick, deaths etc, I found the real cause is if there is work else where and they will earn more they will go no matter how nice you are to them on site, at the same time if your builder PD has other projects and getting pressure to finish they will use your people, I think you need to put pressure on these builders big time, think you are being too nice at the moment Steve, I was at the beginning!.

Cheers
Pete  :UK:

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## jons557

Also keep in mind that Saturday, August 12th is the Queen's birthday- National Holiday here in Thailand.  I would be surprised to see workers show up, not trying to be a downer, just FYI.

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## jons557

Edit:

Sorry, my mistake, Sunday the 12th.  Perhaps you'll have workers after all!  I'm loving the pics!  I am now looking into the building company you contracted for a future project- nice selection of houses.  Congrats and best of luck.

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## stevefarang

> Edit:
> 
> Sorry, my mistake, Sunday the 12th. Perhaps you'll have workers after all! I'm loving the pics! I am now looking into the building company you contracted for a future project- nice selection of houses. Congrats and best of luck.


No worries Jon. I am very aware of the holiday, as it is my youngest's (currently) b-day.

To be fair, the crew was working over the Big Buddhist holiday last week. I am doubtful if they really show up to work Saturday. But we'll see. At least we have some progress, instead of staring at a concrete frame and birds nesting up under the roof.

Jon, be forewarned, unless you have a thai speaking partner, dealing with them will be tough. I know of only guy, in the whole company, who seems to speak english and even then it's not always smooth sailing. And he acknowledges that a lack of english speaking staff is going to be a problem for their success/expansion.

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## Mozzbie47

Steve, thats a great looking little dog, is it a particular breed or of the Heinze variety.

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## nigelandjan

> I found the real cause is if there is work else where and they will earn more they will go


  Same in the UK mate ,, had this prob myself during various builds over the years ,, could give you a copy of the book of excuses

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## petegilly

Interesting thread Steve, I will be sure to follow your build progress.. Best of luck BTW.

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## stevefarang

> Steve, thats a great looking little dog, is it a particular breed or of the Heinze variety.


Thanks, he's a mutt. But he definitely has some Akita in him, he's a smart guy and very protective of the family. He's a good dog.

I'd love to have a German Shepherd, but I don't know how one would tolerate the heat and humidity. 

No word if the workers came back today...LOL (color me shocked !!)

Edit to add: Nope, they did not show up !!

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## nigelandjan

^ Keep your pecker up mate I'm sure you'll get there

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## Ckrisg

Steve

The house looks great and I'm looking to build later this year up in Pichai near Pitsanalok.  It worries me a little using PD when I see this piss poor wording on the web, yes I know they build houses they don't give English lessons.  What is your overall impression now you are nearly finished.

 "PD HOUSE" is devote to serve you every procedures in biulding your dream house on your hand.Our wide selections of house designed are ready to be the house of your choice.We have many solid teams of staff with more than 14 years experience to build the same quality house to your satisfactions. 
      For The home construction has many procedures and relate to many government office involve to the work such as registration for construction permit, Application for electrical and water supply , registration for home address , application for telecommunication , running process for home morgate from finance Institute and also warrantee , consultancy etc. 
     We are fully understood this complicated procedures. We appreciate to serve those processes for you to minimize your expenses as followings.  :Smile:

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## stevefarang

Chris, we are almost halfway through. They still have all the interior and finish work to do.

Yes, if it was me alone dealing with PD House, I'd be driven to drink. Having my thai wife usually talking with them has helped. They have been responsive to any of my concerns, including meeting with us both in Bangkok and at the house site to go over my issues.

I've had a talk with the english speaking guy and he acknowledged that having english speaking staff is a shortcoming for PD House. His english is not the best and I suspect he wrote/contributed the english version of their web site.
I'm still impressed by the quality of the build, especially compared to other house projects where the owner used some local guys to pour the concrete, tack weld roof trusses, etc and had to be at the site every day. I don't have to be there daily.

I would suggest you try to talk with them but wait on a decision until we are further along. I'll probably have some other useful, constructive advice for you at that point.

----------


## MrG

> Inspecting some of the concrete walls, I discovered things were not all lining up with the frame nice & flush. I was told that the house frame is not truly straight. Needless to say, I'm a little peturbed and will be bringing this up with PD House.


It looks great. I know you met with them over some issues but you didn't mention the flush frame issue. Was that resolved to your satisfaction?

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> Inspecting some of the concrete walls, I discovered things were not all lining up with the frame nice & flush. I was told that the house frame is not truly straight. Needless to say, I'm a little peturbed and will be bringing this up with PD House.
> 
> 
> It looks great. I know you met with them over some issues but you didn't mention the flush frame issue. Was that resolved to your satisfaction?


 
Yes, it was. In fact, I even tried to knock the wall down (I weigh a mere 105 kg), and it was solid. And they've not yet added the top reinforcing bit. And they are going to move a wall ~2cm so it is symmetrical with the upstairs balcony and flush with an adjoining wall. A visitor would probably not pick up on the symmetry, but I did and it's been bugging me.

PD House is going to build a second wall, flush to the main wall, in the master bedroom to have an aligned area for the bedroom door. With this extra wall, we get a little more sound isolation in the master bedroom.

Here's a shot of the wall. The plans have it flush with the wall on the right, but alignment issues required them to shift it over to the left and leave that air gap. The master bedroom door is supposed to fit up with the wall on the left. But now they will fit it on the wall on the right and the new wall they will build in the master bedroom.





And here's a shot of the other end of the wall against the outside column. As you can it's not flush, which was really bugging me.



So shifting the wall and elminating the unexpected air gap, will align it again with the column and give me a little extra room in that area.  :Smile: 

I will say that PD House has met with us several times, recently, to discuss issues and concerns that I have had. Their e-mail communication skills remain weak, but they do meet up with me when asked. Even the engineer was at the site with us last week. I wanted to make it clear that I do pay attention to detail.

----------


## nigelandjan

^ Jeesus wept mate that is worrying ,, hope the rest is of a better standard

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## stevefarang

> ^ Jeesus wept mate that is worrying ,, hope the rest is of a better standard


 
Apparently they have some Thai standards of deviation and everything falls into this standard (of course  :Smile:  ). But yes, this one really bothered me, however they have come up with a fix that is acceptable. Especially when I mentioned about the loss of symmetry to the balcony, something a casual visitor may not notice but I will.

Again, I have been generally satisfied with the work. I really do like the pre-cast concrete frame structure, but I guess it can be tricky to align all the pieces. I still think it's stronger than some guys pouring concrete on-site and using red brick (like they are doing in a nearby area). 

If someone else decides to use PD House, this might be a stipulation to put in the conttract, although I'm not sure to word it properly other than to say "Make it right dammit !!".

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## MrG

Thanks, Steve. Glad to hear it's structurally sound.  

We're making our plans now (on paper) to bring to whoever we hire to write up the engineering specs and do the construction. So far it looks like either PD or NKD. I have to work out the exact translation for "Make it right, Dammit", but I will, whichever company I use.

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## stevefarang

Today was "Pick out Sanitary Ware" Day, yippee !!!

So off we went to the PD House sanctioned home superstore.

We checked out the standard for the house specification and then spent quite a bit of time looking at a wide range of toilets, sinks, showers, floor and wall tiles, etc. The wife has picked out a real throne for the master bath (No, not one of those Toto washes & dries your hiney" toilets). We are generally happy with the other choices made.

However, one of my wife's extended family members (a pretty good guy in my book), who was driving us around, suggested we stop and look at stone floors. The main advantage is that the stone doesn't have as large a seam between the pieces, which my wife really likes. And they were about 1/3 the price of the granite floor pieces we had picked out at the home superstore. They also had a bathroom tile arrangement that really appealed to me for the master bathroom. And they had some nice decorative floor tile pieces that I want to have fit into the ground floor tile arrangement.

So...does anyone have an opinion on stone tile floors ? I think we have to buy a sealer (they had plenty on their shelves) and probably re-apply it every year or so. My wife is even talking about using it in the covered car park area.

We also swung by the house, but I didn't bring my camera. New crew now on site and they seem nice. I liked the fact that one of the ladies was actually sweeping up debris from the 1st floor. More of the walls are up and they are working on adding the last meter or so of block to all the walls on the 1st floor.

We'll be going back Saturday, will get some pics then.

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## DrAndy

good luck with all that

I hope it all works out well

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## stevefarang

OK, we spent some time yesterday looking at granite floor options. The standard for the house is wood laminate flooring, but the feel of cold stone on your feet is very nice in the tropics. The house company uses one place to supply all the sanitary ware, fittings and floor tiles. And their prices are much higher. Plus, with the tile, there will a visible seam. We went to another place that sells granite flooring, and the seams are much narrower with the granite. We both like that.

So, this is the granite floor we chose: 




Whlie there I saw this and told my wife that we had to have it in the front entrance. You will also be able to see it when looking down from upstairs. It's a little bigger than a square meter (120 x 120 cm). We will also use a black trim piece around it as a transition from the granite: 




The new work crew is much cleaner, constantly sweeping up the bits of concrete dust, etc. I like that, alot !!

As the house looked Saturday. A lot of interior walls going up now: 




The upstairs wall, looking down onto the ground floor, is finally taking shape: 



And from the other end: 


I went out into the adjoining rice paddy to get this shot. My office will be in the lower left corner, the kitchen to the lower right (east). A bedroom is the upper right corner. Master Bath is upper left corner. The large window faces out from the dressing area. The central area (both upstairs & downstairs) will be a family rooms with a little balcony. You will also notice the house sits about 1 meter abover everything else. I don't anticipate having any flooding problems: 


A shot, from that upper bedroom in the southeast corner, showing the south wall, yes that is a banana tree bearing fruit back there:



And the downstairs utility closet/ storeroom is taking shape. Breaker panel will go in the opening on the right. The standard is 15 Amp, I've asked them to make it 30 Amp and to add a Safe-T-Cut.

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## nigelandjan

Good to see your back on track Steve , lets hope this crew keep up the good work

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## MrG

Looking good.

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## UdonThani Pete

Any progress\updates Steve?
 :UK:

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## stevefarang

> Any progress\updates Steve?


Actually yes, my wife e-mailed me some pics over night.

At this time, I'm not willing to recommend PD House for Westerners wanting to biuld a house in Thailand. Their communication is very poor, almost non-existant. While they have been willing to meet us at the site, when requested, I question how much actual oversite they provide. We have caught 2 major mistakes by the concrete block workers. One was where they forgot a door in the kitchen and the other was they never allowed for the windows in the maid (Mother-in-law for us) room. If PD HOuse was regularly supervising the house construction, they would have caught those problems.

A revised electrical plan was promised to me by the end of August, but it has not been supplied.

There's more, but I don't want to raise my blood pressure right now. I was really pleased with their initial work, but it seems everything is going downhill. I just want them to finish the house and leave. I ahev asked for the contact information of the head of their Nakhom Pathom office, which they seemed to ignore so far.

I will say, the second group of concrete block workers are keeping the site cleaner and it looks like their concrete block laying is better quality as well.

I'll get the pics posted after I put them on photobucket.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, here are some pics that the wife took with her iPad. She doesn't have the same eye and attention to detail so they are a little more general.

Front of the house:



The master bath as seen from the dressing area of the MBR: 



The stairs with the concrete block finally in position. Finally, I can go upstairs without feeling I'm goign to fall out ! 
Although my wife says there's a problem. I think what she's telling me is that the window in the stairwell should be located a little lower, so maybe 2 rows of concrete blocks need to be removed:



The main entrance on ground floor. Stairs are off to the left:



Another view of the stairwell:



Bedroom 3, which we intend to make my youngest daughter's bedroom:



I thnk this is the "Buddha room":


Upstairs family room:



View of the master bedroom looking out west onto our adjoing property, where I will add soem more fill and put a "man-cave" out there. I want to practice slow cooking/smoked ribs. etc plus try making some beer. That property is also where I want to build a solar/wind power set-up to try and run at least one a/c in the house. We've got plenty of room, sun and often get a nice breeze out there.

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## nigelandjan

Fantastic Steve !  its a huge project for sure.  

Praise and thanks to your wifes iPad pics ,   I very much like your idea of a man room , somewhere to get away from the milling crowds ,, you'll need a good lock on that door to keep em out  :Smile:    Certainly a 100% in our Thai home when we build / buy one albeit a much smaller one on our budget , but never the less it will be there .

  Hope your through the storm now mate and cruising to the finish line with your new crew

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## stevefarang

> Fantastic Steve ! its a huge project for sure. 
> 
> Praise and thanks to your wifes iPad pics , I very much like your idea of a man room , somewhere to get away from the milling crowds ,, you'll need a good lock on that door to keep em out  Certainly a 100% in our Thai home when we build / buy one albeit a much smaller one on our budget , but never the less it will be there .
> 
> Hope your through the storm now mate and cruising to the finish line with your new crew


Well Niogel,
When you get ready to build, DO NOT use PD House ! I'm really disappointed in the communication, delays, excuses and some questionable issues at the house. At this time I cannot recommend them. If things improve, communication picks up and issues are fixed to my satisfaction, then I will reconsider. 

Hell, I can't even log into the website anymore to check construction. When I ask for a new password, it tells me to contact the office staff. And then they say to contact the webmaster (with no contact details provided, of course).
Grrrrrr.....

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## bobo746

Nicee place mate how long until your finished ?

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## stevefarang

> Nicee place mate how long until your finished ?


Thanks.

Right now, March or April of next year. Although that could change depending upon how they resolve some ongoing concerns that I have with the amount of cement used on each concrete block. In some places in the house, you can see daylight through the gaps. This is in direct contrast with what they say on their website regaring installation of lightweight concrete blocks. I want these fixed, not just smooth coated over. So this will be a battle coming up with PD House and it could delay when finished.

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## bobo746

A mate has just built a town house in phuket,when he got it inspected there was more the 70 faults.Needless to say he wasn't happy.

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## stevefarang

> A mate has just built a town house in phuket,when he got it inspected there was more the 70 faults.Needless to say he wasn't happy.


 
Wow !!

Was it a PD House job ?

I didn't know they had house inspectors (legitimate ones) in Thailand.

----------


## MrG

This is a real pain in the ass that nobody needs, especially after all the Bht you've obviously shelled out. 

I was hoping PD would come through for you. I hoped to use their services after hearing  that NDK is not exactly up to snuff on their work either. 

Good luck.

----------


## stevefarang

> This is a real pain in the ass that nobody needs, especially after all the Bht you've obviously shelled out. 
> 
> I was hoping PD would come through for you. I hoped to use their services after hearing that NDK is not exactly up to snuff on their work either. 
> 
> Good luck.


Thanks.

Yeah, I'm disappointed in them too. They've dropped the ball on me. I'm trying to get in touch with the local office manager, who supposedly is eager for Westerners to buy from PD House, but they have yet to give me his e-mail address.

I know building a house can be stressful but this is driving me nuts !! Especially since only person seems to speak english in the whole damn company !!

----------


## aging one

I have never heard of one, but I did catch this on the thread about a house build in Nakorn Pratom.  By bobo 76 I think  A mate has just built a town house in phuket,when he got it inspected  there was more the 70 faults.Needless to say he wasn't happy.

----------


## Mozzbie47

Thanx for the update regarding the build quality Steve, when you catch up with the said office manager, tell him he has already lost another customer, me.

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## Doates

Nice house mate.  I just got back from Nakhom Pathom last week ;-).  I love it there.  It's like a second home these days...

----------


## UdonThani Pete

Thanks for the update Steve, I can imagine how frustrating this is for you, as a possible suggestion that worked very well for me, I employed one man (Thai) who was my eyes, ears and rep on site if he had not had been there there would have been many big mistakes made, in one instance he got them to knock one complete wall down that they had built when he could not be on site and re-build properly, I made this very clear to the builders that what he says goes.
This I did because I came not to trust the builder at a very early stage lies and more lies, like yours it was supposed to be supervised by them (the engineer) but I found him absolutely useless as children could put block work up better then they were doing and the engineer could not see it.
These builders do not employ building people, they just go out to market for the cheapest so continuity is non existinant and you get people who have not got a clue in what they are doing or learning as your expense.
Try to keep positive Steve as you will get there in the end.
Pete
 :UK:

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## Marmite the Dog

There didn't seem to be much of a reflective barrier under the roof tiles. Hard to see from the photos, so I hope I'm wrong.

----------


## stevefarang

> There didn't seem to be much of a reflective barrier under the roof tiles. Hard to see from the photos, so I hope I'm wrong.


No there isn't. But there will be 6" of fiberglass insulation placed up there. The standard is 3". It looks like the backing has a reflective surface also.

----------


## MrG

> when you catch up with the said office manager, tell him he has already lost another customer, me.


Right. And you can add me to the list when you talk to him.

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## stevefarang

> Thanx for the update regarding the build quality Steve, when you catch up with the said office manager, tell him he has already lost another customer, me.


Sorry Mozz, I missed this. I'll be sure to let them know they've lost two Western prospects (you and MrG). I'm still waiting for a reply on the Office Manager e-mail info. I bet they never give it to me, which won't bode well, becasue if I have to dig it out, what follows won't be pretty.

I'm just looking forward to getting it done and chasing them off the property ! What started out really good has gone sour very fast.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, the wife sent me some more pics that she took with her iPad. Some interesting progress.

A view looking down, from the stairs, to where the western style kitchen will be.



Then looking at the kitchen area from the ground floor. We haven't really talked about the kitchen design. I may wait until after the house is done to do any real work there. We're going to have a Thai-style kitchen just outside, so the emphasis will be on that getting finished first.



I've noticed they've started some electrical work, which is interesting. I gave PD House the marked up electrical plans in early August and was promised a revised set to review and approve by the end of August. Needless to say, I've not received them. So I'm asking PD House, today, why they are doing electrical work when I have not reviewed and approved the final set ? I told them today that i'm not going to pay for any changes made, since I neevr approved whatever drawings they are working from.

Looking east from the master bedroom. To the immediate right is an upstairs family room. The first enclosed room on the right is the "Buddha room". There are 2 bedrooms at the end, one on the left and one on the right. Bathroom is straight ahead.



Looking at the ground floor mother in law's room (originally maid's room) and what will be a breezeway side entrance from the car park. You also see one of the bedrooms upstairs as well.



An overall view of the house from the northwest. My office will be on the ground floor on the right, in the back. It will be a nice space to work in.



Looking at the entrance. You can see the family room on the ground floor and upstairs. I really want to buy the lot behind the house and get rid of the rice paddy. Maybe sometime down the line, after everything else is paid off.



Ground floor, famliy room looking west. More electrical work going on.



Upstairs, from the steps looking west towards the family room and the master bedrrom entrance. You also see the "Buddha Room" doorway on the left. 
I'm starting to wonder what is the function of the rebar sticking out and angled upwards? I would have thought it would have tied into the curved concrete block wall they've built.

That's all for now. My feelings have not changed for PD House. I cannot recommend them to a Westerner wanting to build a house in Thailand. Their customer service is pathetically bad.

----------


## nigelandjan

All the best Steve thanks of rthe update and thanks to your wifes iPad efforts

----------


## DrAndy

what sort of doors and windows are you planning on?

----------


## stevefarang

> what sort of doors and windows are you planning on?


I think they are called UPVC, white trim windows. Supposedly with the solar reflective (or whatever you call it) green glass. 

We've gone back and forth on the front entrance door. I saw a similar house with a wooden entrance and really liked it. There's a pic of that house somewhere on the first page of this thread. But I think we'll stay with the UPVC trim.

Why ?

----------


## nigelandjan

> Why ?


 He's working out what size crowbar to bring when he " visits " you  :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> Why ?
> 
> 
> He's working out what size crowbar to bring when he " visits " you


 
Ah-hahahhahahahahaha !!!!  :smiley laughing: 

Just watch out for my "killer" mutt. He's already proven to be very protective of family members.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

OK, I received the bathroom designs that we picked out, back in early August. I wasn't sure what to expect and this is really impresses me. They took the designs and fixtures we picked out and laid them out in the floorplan of each bathroom. This is great, as it allows me to quickly spot some minor things I want to tweak/adjust like add more towel racks of a glass wall separating the shower, etc.
The only problem is trying to do this from halfway around the world. I suppose. if worse comes to worse, things like towel racks can always be added afterwards and shouldn't look too bad (I hope).
Anyway, these are of the master bathroom.

----------


## stevefarang

This is the second bathroom upstairs:

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## bobo746

Looks pretty flash mate.

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## stevefarang

This is the guest suite bathroom on the ground floor. It is also a guest visitor bathroom, so it has the second door, so the guest doesn't have to go throught the bedroom to use it. It's also the only bathroom to have a urinal. I was going to have them remove the urinal back when we did the floor plans, but I figured, "eh, why not?":

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## stevefarang

This is the other ground floor bathroom, that would have been the maid's bathroom. The maid's room has been modified into a mother-in-law room when I'm not there. Or another family member may stay there. It won't be a big room and the bathroom is also basic, although I'll add another towel rack or so.
I'm not thrilled about the location of the left cupboard door. I can see it smashing into the wall, chipping the tile. I wish we could shft it over a little, but then you lose the symmetry with the sink.

----------


## OhOh

Very impressive renderings.

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## Mozzbie47

Bloody nice Steve, might it be a good finnish fit out covers a multitude of sin's, one can only hope hey.

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## nigelandjan

Love those small bathrooms Steve , tile colours etc if your going for that colour , the only thing I don't like you see so much of in Thailand is those close coupled bogs ,,much easier to maintain if you can get hold of this style .




 Gives you a much better flush to  :Smile:

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## stevefarang

> Love those small bathrooms Steve , tile colours etc if your going for that colour , the only thing I don't like you see so much of in Thailand is those close coupled bogs ,,much easier to maintain if you can get hold of this style .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gives you a much better flush to


Thanks Nigel. We looked at a bunch of crappers. The main thing we wanted was the dual-flush feature which was not part of the standard toilet available. We both liked the ones we picked out, my main prioiity was having a large enough seat for a Western arse. My wife, bless her heart, decided that our bathroom had to have a better crapper than the others, so she found one I liked, although it's a wee bit more expensive than the others.

I don't recall seeing any like the one you have pictured and I don't think the wife would have gone for that, no matter how much better it is.

The colours are what we picked out. I'm not someone that can look at tile and say, "oh yes this will work in the bathroom with those tiles over there." We had to look at existng bathroom setups, on display, and they had one display that really appealed to me for use in the master bathroom.

I'm truly impressed by the renderings. I wish that PD House would offer this feature, it would help with room layout planning plus in choosing room colours.

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## Marmite the Dog

You'll regret not having a glass screen between the shower and the basin.

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## stevefarang

> You'll regret not having a glass screen between the shower and the basin.


Yes, I already spotted that in 3 of the 4 bathrooms. The Guest Suite bathroom has a tile wall which will be ok. I also think a glass door is needed for the master bath shower or that area by the sink is going to be wet often.

And we need more towel racks. I really like these renderings, little details like these just pop out. 

I'm not thrilled about the location of the sink in the master bath, but it's too late to change it. I thought I had proposed changing the location of the sink in the master bath, but that was 18 months ago or so.

I've already e-mailed the wife about these issues.

Thanks nonetheless!!

----------


## stevefarang

PD House sent me a series of photographs documenting the "Demonstration of water pressure". I'm not there so I'm assuming it's similar to a hydrostatic test performed in power plants. It looks like it from what I can tell, although the pressure gauge scales are a little foreign to me. It looks like it's displaying kg/cm2. When overseas, I'm used to seeing pressure in bar, pascals or some variation of those.

But it looks like my water system is in and I guess it holds pressure, which is good. It would be nice if they would set the clock/time on their camera !

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## UdonThani Pete

Steve,

1 kg/cm2 = 14.22 psi, just under 1 BAR.

This is being read on the red gauge, it converted correctly when I just done the calcs.

Hope it helps.

Cheers
Pete :UK:

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## Ratchaburi

The pressure Gauge is just over 8+ bar that looks 120 psi   :mid:

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## Ratchaburi

By the way great bath room Steve

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## stevefarang

Thanks all, I hadn't bothered to check the conversion when I posted this late last night. I just found the units (kg/cm2) to be unusual to what I normally see.
So it sounds like the plumbing can hold a decent amount of pressure, I'm impressed !

Thanks again !
Steve

----------


## sunsetter

more more

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## stevefarang

Sorry, I'm waiting for the wife to send more pics. They have started applying smoothcoat upstairs, hiding everything I have issues with. She's having problems with the internet and has not been feeling well the past few days.

They are also doing electrical work, but they tell me they cannot send me a revised electrical plan until I agree to all the changes I had previously marked up. I told them I don't remember them all, sending me a list does me no good. And if they are doing electrical work, then an electrical plan exists. Grrrrrr....

I also found out that they pressure tested the water piping to 100 psi for 24 hours. I thought it was odd, using psi instead of SI units, but hey, pressure is pressure. As long as the piping doesn't leak. I did ask them why they don't use a calibrated gauge or a gauge that would have the desired pressure in the mid-range, as that is when a pressure gauge is most accurate. I have a little experience in this field.  :Smile:

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## nigelandjan

I have to take my hat off Steve you have the patience of a saint  :Smile:

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## DrAndy

> They have started applying smoothcoat upstairs, hiding everything I have issues with. She's having problems with the internet and has not been feeling well the past few days.


probably the first she should call a techie, the second see a doc

smoothcoat will not really help either

but the place is looking good, I bet you can't wait

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## stevefarang

OK, she finally got a couple of pics to me. Nothing that shows a lot. But they are doing the smoothcoat now.

This is looking from the stairs up to the 1st floor.



This one threw for a little bit. I knew it was upstairs but i couldn't figure out where. Then it dawned on me, it's from the master bedroom looking out towards what will be the upstairs family room. It also demonstrates why I'm pissed about not getting the updated electrical plans. I don't recall having 2 outlets side by side. I did want one on each wall, so we don't have extension cords running all over the place,



And then a shot looking through the doorway of the master bedroom. I guess my wife wanted to take a picture of one of the worker's kids.



That's all she sent me. And she refuses to go see a doctor.  :Smile:

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## splitlid

i think the other 'socket' is for tv and or phone line. :Smile:

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## DrAndy

^ could be

you can't have enough sockets....

----------


## Mozzbie47

Steve, you ahd better look into that socket issue, they might just think it is easier to put 2 side by side, rather than one on the other wall, it the same amount, but I guess thats crossed your mind hence the concern.

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## stevefarang

> i think the other 'socket' is for tv and or phone line.


I've been thinking that because I know I did add a tv/internet connection in the master bedroom. I just can't remember on what wall. 

I've already fired off an e-mail to PD House asking about it and again asking why they won't give me the revised electrical plan. Having that planwould help me remember things considerably.

At least things are progressing.

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## nigelandjan

Love the pic of the little kids in there Steve ,, here in the UK I work on sites day in day out ,, the minute I get out my lorry some twatt is screaming at me " Get your hard hat on !! "  ( amongst other things ahem )

 BTW hope the wife is ok

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## miniwoodworker

Hi, steve, this is amazing thread for sharing! Building a house from drawing to reality is two different things. It is difficult to communicate without knowing Thai language and they seldom tell you the problems unless you ask...
Normally the power sockets they provide three holes plug but connect with two wires, it is really matter to check with the wiring plan before they do.
 ::chitown::

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## stevefarang

> Hi, steve, this is amazing thread for sharing! Building a house from drawing to reality is two different things. It is difficult to communicate without knowing Thai language and they seldom tell you the problems unless you ask...
> Normally the power sockets they provide three holes plug but connect with two wires, it is really matter to check with the wiring plan before they do.


Thanks very much. I've already asked about the earth (ground to us yanks) wire, which will be included. I still have memories of renting a 3-level condo, in Bangkok years ago, which was not earthed initially. Not doing THAT again.

I'm fortunate I've got the Thai wife and the mother-in-law's boyfriend is over at the site on a daily basis, keeping an eye on things (yes, I trust him very much).

Communication is a big problem with PD House, which is funny considering what they advertise on their website. It will be interesting, upon the completion of the house, if they ask me to be a reference, NOT !!!!

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## stevefarang

I finally got a reply, overnight, from PD House concerning the ground (or earth) wiring for the outlets.




> Yes, every outlet in the house has a ground wire connection attached to it.A ground wire of every outlet is connected with a control panel and connected from the control panel to the copper rod underground.


So now I know they won't use a plastic pipe outdoors, as others have mentioned had happen to them. 


No new pics yet, sorry. How about a consolation prize of a dancing girl ??

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## nigelandjan

^ Bloody hell mate , did PD House supply her ?  bit on the porky side  :Smile:

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## stevefarang

> ^ Bloody hell mate , did PD House supply her ? bit on the porky side


It's part of their master marketing plan to appeal more to the Russians...  :smiley laughing: 

Although, PD House will have to learn Russian, which will be interesting as it seems very, very few people at PD House speak any english (as I'm, frustratingly, finding out).

----------


## UdonThani Pete

It's been a while Steve, any updates?

Cheers

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## draco888

a construction of that size is just an open invitation for extended family, plus village and the villages extended family to come and move in, rent free for an indefinite period of time  :Smile: 

and you have a bad heart if there is even the slightest objection to this state of affairs raised by yourself.

----------


## stevefarang

> It's been a while Steve, any updates?
> 
> Cheers


No, I'm still waiting for new pics. The wife has not been feeling well, so she has not been to the house. Her brother took some pics but it seems they are having trouble transferring them so that the wife can e-mail them to me.

PD house rep says he has a lot of pics and will e-mail them this Thursday. But this is the same guy who promised me a revised electrical plan by the end of August, and I'm still waiting. He's not very communicative, yet PD House promotes him as being their guy for getting in all this western ex-pat business.

I'm told they have been busy "smooth coating" all the walls, upstairs and downstairs. Supposedly all the plumbing is done. I still don't know the status of electrical, as they want me to approve a list of changes, when I want to see the revised electrical plan. The list doesn't let me picture what they are doing. Plus a couple of things on the list don't make sense. And I know the revised plan exists or they wouldn't have started doing things like the electrical sockets that i posted about before.

Not sure where things stand with the granite floor work on the ground floor. I would think that would be started soon.

I haven't given much thought to the western kitchen inside on the ground floor. I've found a 3-D kitchen design tool on the Ikea website, which I'll use, eventually, to plan the kitchen. Doesn't mean we have to use Ikea, but it allows me the chance to play around with layout. For now, the emphasis will be to get the outside, Thai style kitchen done first.

And yes, I fully expect family to move in for a little while. The wife wants to build a simple, cheap place nearby, so her mom can live there. We won't be using PD House for that job, not after this fiasco. I want them to finish and get the hell out.

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## nigelandjan

You have the patience of a saint Steve Kudos mate ,,, hope its a ll sorted for you and your family soon

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## UdonThani Pete

Thanks for the update Steve, I really feel your pain, keep your chin up mate it will all be ok in the end.

Pete  :UK:  :UK:

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## Mamasun

hi Steve,

Nice house..but how big (large ) are your pilars ??? and why are they the same for the first and second floor...normally the one on the first floor are more thicker !! no ? to support the second floor ! ?

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## stevefarang

> hi Steve,
> 
> Nice house..but how big (large ) are your pilars ??? and why are they the same for the first and second floor...normally the one on the first floor are more thicker !! no ? to support the second floor ! ?


In the US, we normally use the term 1st and  2nd floor. I think the Thais say the ground and 1st floor, which I try to follow as well.

I never measured the columns. I think they are 16-17 cm across ?? I'm not a structural engineer.

I do know that, when we were considering installing granite floors upstairs, PD House was concerned about the extra weight. So we decided to stick with the wood flooring upstairs. I suppose I can always go back and install some nice marble floors, up there, in a couple of years from now.

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## Mamasun

For a such big house like yours i think its a little bit too small !!! ( i am not engeneer ) must know if they have reinforced some walls or not !

I just measure the one i my house they are 30 cms x 30 on the first floor and 25 cms x 25 for the second floor ..

and the "post" for the slab upstairs are 40 cm hights on x 30 cms large

its the first house I build so I don't know the real "normes" here in Thailand

in my country we built without all this pilars !

wish you the best...to you and your wife.

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## stevefarang

The frame of the house was all made from reinforced pre-formed pieces, as you can see from some of my early pictures. The walls are made out of 9 cm Q-block concrete block, they are not load bearing. There was no pouring of forms for columns, as I have seen with other house builds here on this website. 

PD House has built hundreds of houses, so I have to assume that at least they know their loads and what is required for the columns. 

From the PD House website: "Reinforced concrete Prefab System Multi Joint Lock. Some part of structure are cast-in-place as engineer specified."

The house will be covered under a warranty, so if there is a "support" issue, I will be letting them know quickly.

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## Mamasun

ok i see it ! its an half prefab frame...I see that they have screw the pilars with a metalic piece to the foundation ? never see that before !

like you said after built so many houses ,they must know what they are doing ! 


how many months before will be finish ?

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## stevefarang

> ok i see it ! its an half prefab frame...I see that they have screw the pilars with a metalic piece to the foundation ? never see that before !
> 
> like you said after built so many houses ,they must know what they are doing ! 
> 
> 
> how many months before will be finish ?


I'm trying to have some faith in them. I was very impressed by their construction technique early on. But their customer service/response is horrible, which is the main reason why I can't recommend them at this time.

Best "guesstimate" for finish will be March-April 2013.

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## stevefarang

OK, the wife has sent me a few pics and I best get them up before I have a riot!!  :Smile: 

They aren't the best, but it's better than nothing.

The first is a view of the house, way over on the road on the east side. That's a rice paddy in the foreground. I'd love to buy that lot and put the mother-in-law's house right about in this corner. Well, add a little fill first...



The next shot is of the western kitchen, on the east side of the ground floor. I find it interesting that they are installing boxes for the electrical sockets, yet they can't be bothered to give me the revised copy of the electrical plan (I have to approve a list of changes first before they can "create" the revised electrical plan.).



And finally a view, looking from the stairs up to the 1st floor family room area. The doorway is going into the master bedroom. That back wall to the left of the doorway, is what has been given me so much grief with PD House. 

Somehow, a "wrong beam" (to the right of the doorway) was used in the framing portion of construction. It's a double thickness wall to the left. The plans show the double thickness butting up against each other. But to maintain alignment with the wall on the right, there is now an air space of about 5-6 cm inside the double wall. Which means the area of my family room is reduced and it is not symmetrical with the doors leading out to the small upstairs patio or deck area. A casual visitor wouldn't notice it, but I will and it's been bugging me ever since I spotted it when they were putting up the concrete block walls.



Anyway, that's all I've got. I know it doesn't show a lot of progress. Other than they are putting up smoothcoat or skimcoat (whatever they call it) to hide everything underneath, grrrrr......

----------


## stevefarang

OK, PD House actually sent me 20 photos tonight ! What a surprise ! But I guess this means that I probably won't hear anything from them now, for another3-4 weeks...

Not much on exterior work. Looks like they've been busy "smooth coating" interior walls. I notice they've also been installing all the electrical outlets and switch boxes.

OK, this is or was the intended as the maid's room. We changed it to make it the mother-in-law's room when she is staying at the house. The breezeway to the right will be an entrance to the house from the carpark (where the picture is taken from).



And the view looking down the breezeway to the little entrance.



This is from the northeast corner of the mother in law room. The area, outside on the left, will be where we will have the Thai style kitchen. We will have to come up with a sheltered area that complements the house.



Ground floor guest suite from the outside.



A view of the guest suite from the inside. I guess the photographer likes that wall...



The other side of the guest suite with the windows.



The bedroom area of the master bedroom, looking west. The wall on the left is the master bathroom.



Another view of bedroom portion of the master bedroom.



Looking from the master bedroom across to the other 2 bedrooms. The dark opening is a shared bathroom for that end of the house.



The other pictures are similar to ones I recently posted, so I'm not going to bother posting them. Either that, or they are not showing anything of great interest.

I hope this satisfies the demanding horde !!!   :Smile:

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## Racin

I emailed PD House in Udon Thani re. building a new house in the province. They could not even be bothered to reply! Maybe they have someone at the computer who cannot understand English and therefore just deletes every mail that is not in Thai. Twits.

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## stevefarang

OK, so PD House sent me some more pictures. Although, as usual, I think they misunderstood my request. On their website, they've got a pictures looking down the stairs. But they are small little pics and no good detail, so I asked if they could send that pic to me. Instead I get 17 other pics, none showing that shot looking down the stairs.  Ah well, TIT.

Anyway, here's a nice shot with some nice blue sky. I like this pic. Lower right corner will be the guest suite, upper right will be the master bedroom area.



The carport and MIL room downstairs. A bedroom upstairs. The stairs are hidden behind the exterior wall where they've started applying smoothcoat to. There will be several large windows above that wall.




Inside what will be my office area. You can see the banana tree just outside in the back. And some of the plumbing coming from the master bath directly above it. 
We also eliminated a bathroom that would have been to the left. You can see how they've moved the wall over.




Finally a shot of the stairs, but not the angle, looking down that I wanted, like the pic on their website. There will be a nice little storage space underneath, to keep my suitcases and what not.





A wider angle shot of the ground floor family room area. I'm not thrilled about that column, but that's a long way across. I can live with it.




External (south-east corner) view of the western kitchen. You also see the small window for the MIL bathroom.




And a view, from the northeast of the house. The car port & MIL room on the lower right, the western kitchen on the lower left. Two bedrooms upstairs with the bathroom in between.




Nothing too exciting yet, other than it's really starting to look like a house finally. I'm pleased to see the work crew is still keeping the place relatively tidy. I do like that !

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## DrAndy

looks fine, a fuk-off big place

and a few extra columns to play with

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## stevefarang

Happy New Year to everyone !
Just a quick update, no pics sorry. I'm still stuck in the USA. My wife tells me PD House says Stage 4 is now done. That means all the "smooth coat" is applied.
This means the cracked concrete block, that I found in one of the upstairs bedrooms will never get replaced. They said they fixed it and sent some interior pics showing they did something. But in a recent pic that they sent me, I could see where they did the repair and it was not near the location of the cracked concrete block. Ah well...TIT.

They also finally sent me a copy of the marked up electrical plans. So I could finally correlate what was provided in the list of changes against what I had marked up back in early August. Needless to say, there are a few errors. They just wanted me to approve the list and I was telling them I needed to compare against the electrical plan. It took almost 4 months before they sent my original marked up copies (with some extra Thai stuff added) of the electrical plan.

And yes, there is a Safe-T-Cut in the plan. We added that way back when.

Since I don't have any new photos to entertain you with, I will give you this to hold you for now...    :Smile:

----------


## OhOh

Is that a fluffy concrete vibrator she has in her hand?

----------


## fishlocker

I have heard of these concrete prefab houses by several manufactures. This one is a beauty. Thanks for sharing the pics. Looking forward to the finished product. Good luck.

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## stevefarang

OK, the wife sent a couple of pics but it doesn't seem much has changed, except the smooth coat on most of the interior walls and the lower exteriors walls. Things should start to pick up and more changes coming in the next few months. I doubt they will have it finished by March. I'm guessing June now ?

This first picture is from the outside looking at the "guest suite" on the ground floor. My office will be on the back side of the house, on this end. That big opening to the left will be a window and that will be the downstairs family room. The master bedroom is upstairs.  This is the Northwest corner.




This is an interior shot of the window and downstairs living room. The other house of the same design that we visited a few years back, had a baby grand piano in that corner by the window. We won't do that. But it should be a nice area to sit and look outside. Maybe do a little garden right outside the window?




This is a shot upstairs looking towards the more private upstairs family room. The Buddha room is that door just to the left. In the background is the entrance to the master bedroom/bathroom area.




Here's a view of the south wall. The upstairs family room has a little balcony and the downstairs will have a little patio. There's a rice paddy to the right and I'm hoping to one day buy it and open up the back end of the house. 
That's the future western kitchen inside. It will have a lot of windows, which will be a challenge. I'm going to use the free IKEA 3-D kitchen planner to help figure out what we will do there.




And speaking of the western kitchen, here's a shot. Like I said, it has a lot of windows, which will make cabinet/appliance arrangements interesting.



Here's a shot of the west wall. That's a window from the guest suite on the ground floor. The master bedroom will also have a small balcony as well.



The "heart" of the house. You see the stairs going up. That first doorway on the right is the small "maid" bathroom. The other doorway, just to the left, will be the mother in law room (aka maid room). There will a storage space under the stairs.

I'm not sure why they have not applied smoothcoat to these interior walls. This is something I've asked PD House and (surprise) no answer. 

Somewhere around there will be the breaker panel & Safe-T-Cut device as well. 

I'm still very pleased by how clean this crew is keeping the workspace.




OK, like I said it's not much of a true update, but I figured someone might be interested.

They should be doing the bathrooms, finishing the electrical stuff and laying the granite floor (ground floor) soon.

Steve

----------


## Storekeeper

Looks huge. How many square feet do you suppose it will be?

----------


## stevefarang

> Looks huge. How many square feet do you suppose it will be?


If I recall, she's ~320 sq m. or ~ 3,444 sq ft. I wanted to have a space that I could wander around in and enjoy. I think, after sacrificing for 10-12 years, I deserve to have a decent space for myself and the wife. I do remember, after all the concrete frame pieces went up, thinking it seemed smaller than the house we had toured before.
We still have 2 other adjoining pieces of property to play around with. We've already tried chickens, geese, ducks and fish. I want to add some more fill to that second lot, then put in a man-cave there to play in. I also want to work with my son, who just got his BSEE, on designing/building a cheap, easy to maintain solar/wind power set-up. I'd like to be able to run at least one a/c unit (in my office) during the day.

And if I can get that rice paddy behind us, well I'll really be happy then.

----------


## Norton

Looking good. Typical Thai construction. Make sure any A/C rooms have ceiling insulation.

Windows in kitchen will make design difficult. Plenty room for base cabinets but wall cabinets a prob. Appears a few corner cabinets will fit. Consider using some of the floor space to install island cabinets. Between the base cabinets and an island you should have plenty of cabinet space.

----------


## splitlid

id also check the height of the windows in the kitchen, all too often they make the openings lower than the kitchen cabinets. :Smile:

----------


## Norton

They wouldn't do that, would they? :mid: 

In the event they have suggest you check. Floor to window bottom should be 85cm to 90cm.

----------


## DrAndy

> Like I said, it has a lot of windows, which will make cabinet/appliance arrangements interesting.





> id also check the height of the windows in the kitchen, all too often they make the openings lower than the kitchen cabinets.


yes, they can!

but if they make the bottom sill the right height, say 1metre off the floor, you can have a decent kitchen without any overhead cabinets, which can be a pain anyway

----------


## stevefarang

> Looking good. Typical Thai construction. Make sure any A/C rooms have ceiling insulation.
> 
> Windows in kitchen will make design difficult. Plenty room for base cabinets but wall cabinets a prob. Appears a few corner cabinets will fit. Consider using some of the floor space to install island cabinets. Between the base cabinets and an island you should have plenty of cabinet space.



Thanks all for your comments,
There will be 6 inches of insulation upstairs. The standard for PD House is 3 inches, but I told them I want it doubled. If I can get a little extra cash in, I'd like to make it 9+ inches. I suppose that's something we could also add in the future.

Yes, there will be a kitchen island and a half wall separating the kitchen from the dining area. I've always wanted one and we will have one. The windows will be a challenge to work around, but it should have a different look. Plus, with a Thai wife, this kitchen won't get that much use as she will want to use the outside Thai kitchen more. This kitchen will be more for me, when I feel like whipping something up.

PS: I just double checked house size on the PD House website. It's 389 sq m or 4187 sq ft.

----------


## stevefarang

In case anyone is curious and is trying to follow the floor plan (and to save you time going back to the start of this thread),  here's  the link to the PD House website and our house design. This is the original floor plan. We've modified it a little. For instance the master bathroom was reversed, the Buddha room was shortened (bedroom #3 lengthened), bedroom #4 and adjoining bathroom are now my office corner, we've opened up the kitchen and adjusted the maid's room and pantry area.

Steve

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## benlovesnuk

very nice.

----------


## DrAndy

> There will be 6 inches of insulation upstairs. The standard for PD House is 3 inches, but I told them I want it doubled. If I can get a little extra cash in, I'd like to make it 9+ inches.


do you intend using aircon a lot!

you may also find you will lose more of your cool air temp to the windows rather than the ceiling, as they don't seem to fit double glazed windows here

and maybe from the gaps around the doors!

----------


## stevefarang

> do you intend using aircon a lot!
> 
> you may also find you will lose more of your cool air temp to the windows rather than the ceiling, as they don't seem to fit double glazed windows here
> 
> and maybe from the gaps around the doors!


PD House projects we visited before seemed pretty tight. It's not just some local, who slapped some bricks together to make the walls and then fit some glass in. They will be the UVPC type.

And yes, I will need air con in my office to work. Air con in the bedroom to sleep. We will have about 6-7 air-con units in all, but not all running at the same time.
Which is also why I want to try and put together some solar/wind arrangement w/batteries to supplement power to the house.

----------


## stevefarang

Hmmm ... me thinks I sounded a little snippy in my reply to DrAndy. My apologies.

I definitely appreciate the comments and will be sure to check for gaps around doorways and windows before we take ownership.

Thanks again ! I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticism.

----------


## DrAndy

> me thinks I sounded a little snippy in my reply to DrAndy. My apologies.


no worries, I am used to it!




> I definitely appreciate the comments and will be sure to check for gaps around doorways and windows before we take ownership.


the windows may be PVC but will be single glazed, so will lose heat through them

it is not too important, heat loss/gain is normal in any house, and electricity costs in Thailand are not too bad, yet

6 ins insulation in the ceiling, good fitting doors and windows (double glazed if an option), and QCON block walls all help reduce the costs of running aircon

----------


## stevefarang

OK, the wife sent some more pics. Nothing really changed, but some different angles and perspectives. Hopefully will explain some things I've tried to describe.

This is a view of the "breezeway" from the carport to the side front entrance of the house.




And now a view from the carport looking straight at the side front entrance. The mother in law (maid) room is the one with the windows. Those 3 columns of blocks are to the right, and it's a straight shot into the house.




A view of the right side of the house. The guest suite is downstairs, master bedroom is upstairs. There's a sitting area, downstairs, by the big window. The other house we visited had a baby grand piano there. I'm not sure what we will do there yet.




A view from the mother in law room facing the road.





This is a good shot of the downstairs area, looking from near the entrance of my office space. Nice open floor plan, except for the two columns. But I can live with that. Western kitchen will be in the far right area. Foreground will be the downstairs living room area. Main entrance will be off to the left.




View inside my future office space with some of the plumbing from the master bathroom upstairs.. We have a nice banana tree in the corner. I'm never there when the fruit is ripe. I also want to put in a large shade tree near that corner, as it gets a lot of the western sun.




A view of what will be the front entrance. You can see both the upstairs & downstairs family rooms. A lot of q-con blocks piled up. I wonder if I can sell the leftover bits and pieces. Or maybe use them in the perimeter wall construction?? Any opinions on this ?



OK, that's it for now.
Steve

----------


## DrAndy

> I'm still very pleased by how clean this crew is keeping the workspace.





> Nothing really changed


I was thinking there was not much going on there, which explains why it looks so tidy

seems like they are not putting much effort into your house and are waiting for someone to go there and shout at them a lot

incidentally, they probably haven't put the "smoothcoat" on those walls yet as they haven't put in the conduits for the wiring

----------


## stevefarang

> I was thinking there was not much going on there, which explains why it looks so tidy
> 
> seems like they are not putting much effort into your house and are waiting for someone to go there and shout at them a lot
> 
> incidentally, they probably haven't put the "smoothcoat" on those walls yet as they haven't put in the conduits for the wiring


Yep, I'm not thrilled by the "progress", but we are paying for milestones accomplished. So if they want to drag their feet, it's their cost, not mine, to keep the work crew there.

At this stage, only 50% smoothcoat on all the outside walls is the milestone, which looks like the ground floor. All the interior walls are to have smoothcoat, except bathrooms. I have already asked why not applied to the walls around the stairs.

I found out this AM, when talking with the wife, that PD House will not be installing the granite floor downstairs. We had originally agreed to have the floor installed by the company selling us the flooring, but PD House asked to do it and my wife figured it would be easier, since they are there. Not sure why the change, but it's another strike against PD House. And now we have to go back to the flooring company to get them to install it.

----------


## DrAndy

you will probably get a better job by the experts, as laying stone is not the same as tiling

----------


## stevefarang

> you will probably get a better job by the experts, as laying stone is not the same as tiling


True. I just wished we had stuck with them in the first place and not play games with PD House. 
I'll be happy when the bathrooms and the granite floor are finished. It will look like some real progress then. We've paid for the upgrades to the bathrooms, so that work should start soon.
Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Minor update, PD House finally sent me the updated electrical plans and except for 2 minor things, they got it right !!
I also realized that there's no plumbing in the kitchen and have asked what's going on with that.

We are supposed to get a free solar hot water system that will hot water for one side of the house. I have asked them about how it's connected to the plumbing system and whether I should install a back up water heater for rainy/cloudy days.

OK, so here's something to keep you entertained, until something substantial happens. Enjoy !

----------


## sunsetter

> . Maybe do a little garden right outside the window?


make sure you do a gardening thread, and dont stop posting the GIF,S  :Very Happy:

----------


## Koetjeka

> Minor update, PD House finally sent me the updated electrical plans and except for 2 minor things, they got it right !!
> I also realized that there's no plumbing in the kitchen and have asked what's going on with that.
> 
> We are supposed to get a free solar hot water system that will hot water for one side of the house. I have asked them about how it's connected to the plumbing system and whether I should install a back up water heater for rainy/cloudy days.
> 
> OK, so here's something to keep you entertained, until something substantial happens. Enjoy !


It's nice to have a solar hot water system (especially when it's free), I'm planning to buy one as well when we start building our place. 

May I ask how much you have paid for the electrical plans?

----------


## stevefarang

> It's nice to have a solar hot water system (especially when it's free), I'm planning to buy one as well when we start building our place. 
> 
> May I ask how much you have paid for the electrical plans?


There is the standard electrical plan, as follows:

Ground (First) Floor Standard



Second Floor Standard



They then give you a list of electrical devices and their associated costs for any changes you want. Since I am not a fan of a single light in a room and one outlet(plug) with a dozen extension cords, I went through and tried to imagine what I wanted in each area. My lovely Thai wife, wants to keep things simple, as her background, but I'm not a fan of snaking electrical extension cords. I also wanted exterior lights, ceiling fans in each room, plus some outside covered (waterproof) plugs for the Thai style kitchen and in each bathroom.

We'll also have a breakered field tap, on each end of the house, for any additional exterior lighting for outside areas.

So we ended up with the following.


Ground (First) Floor Final



Second Floor Final



I have asked PD House to relocate the second covered outlet, in the master bathroom, to between the double windows and the toilet. Hopefully they will do it, although I doubt it.

All the changes, including the Safe-T-Cut, upgraded from 15 amp to 30 amp and to underground cable, added up to about an extra 130,000 baht.

----------


## stevefarang

Wife tells me the workers are now back on site. Supposedly they will be doing the ceilings. She will be asking about the bathrooms, which I thought were next.

Slowly but surely...

And since you all need something titillating to keep you entertained until I have a useful update, I present the following...

----------


## stevefarang

OK, so the wife sends me a few pics overnight. They are starting to install the frame for the ceilings upstairs. Slowly but surely, it's starting to come together. I'm not sure when they do the bathrooms. I thought they were doing that next.

I think it's a new crew on-site. I hope they are as clean as the last group.

So anyway, here's a couple pics of the upstairs ceiling frame work. So exciting !! (LOL)

This is in the master bedroom, looking towards the unfinished master bathroom.






This pic looks to be the master bedroom looking out to the west. We own the 2 lots extending out from there. There will be a small balcony off this opening.






Not sure where this is. But some wiring box.





Another view of the master bedroom, more of the wall of the master bathroom. And another wiring box.





And finally a picture of a worker. in the upstairs family room. The doorway leads to the master bedroom.



That's all I have for now. 
Steve

----------


## Necron99

See you have a fully trussed roof Steve, are they still going to do the usual proxy suspended ceiling?

----------


## stevefarang

> See you have a fully trussed roof Steve, are they still going to do the usual proxy suspended ceiling?



I'm stuck in the USA, so I can't see for myself, but yes I believe it's a suspended ceiling. We'll also have 6" of insulation up there. I'd like to make it 12+" but the PD House standard is 3" and we are paying extra for the additional 3". Maybe I'll pay some local to go up and roll out some extra fiberglass batts after PD House is gone from the site.

My wife tells me that the granite stone flooring was delivered today. I'm anxious to see how that looks when it's all done. She reports they are doing all the electric right now as well.

----------


## Mozzbie47

The gal steel trusses look the part, nice job.

----------


## stevefarang

> The gal steel trusses look the part, nice job.


Yes, I'm really pleased with the galvanized steel truss design. It seems pretty solid and should hold up with the tropical moisture.
I hate to say it, but I've seen some of the other house building threads here, with some old guy in flip-flops and an even older welding machine tacking bits and pieces of metal together to hold the roof together. it just doesn't seem like it would hold up. Plus, the welding would ruin the coating, if there is even any gal coating applied.

Ours is all galvanized and screwed together. That's one positive thing I will say about PD House.

----------


## DrAndy

> Plus, the welding would ruin the coating, if there is even any gal coating applied.


they are usually painted metal

then the bits welded are repainted

seems to work OK

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> Plus, the welding would ruin the coating, if there is even any gal coating applied.
> 
> 
> they are usually painted metal
> 
> then the bits welded are repainted
> 
> seems to work OK


Ah ok, I stand corrected.

But I still like my galvanized and screwed together trusses !!   :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

OK, the wife sent me some new pics. Not much different, more of the framework for the suspended ceilings.

This is the back bedroom on the southeast wall. The plan is to make this my youngest daughter's bedroom.






OK, I figured it out. This is the other end of my youngest daughter's future bedroom, to the right of the picture above. That bump out or column was where the original wall was supposed to go, and on the opposite side is the Buddha room. We reduced the size of the Buddha room to make this bedroom bigger. She should like it. It's a nice space with a nice quiet view, away from the road.






I think this is in the master bedroom, but now I'm not sure.







And another shot of the master bedroom, looking more northwest.







I think this is the master bathroom. I'm not sure what she is trying to show me. Looks like some supply plumbing going around and I think the white is for power ?





This is a sample of the type of ceilings we will do in several of the rooms. It was something I wanted to do, but the last time I was there and mentioned it to PD House rep, they said it was too late to do. I was thinking to myself, "Well why didn't you ask me before? I know I mentioned how much I like that look.". Well it turns out my wife was talking with the people doing the ceilings and they asked her if we wanted it and she said yes. So I'm finally happy.
I do want to see if I can source and install white LED lights for the straight edges. It should look good and be cheaper to operate than fluorescent tubes (I think that is what they use).





She doesn't have any pictures of the granite flooring yet. She said they delivered 500 pieces !! I can't wait to see it.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Steve

----------


## nigelandjan

Flash looking ceilng there Stevo ! very nice

----------


## rickschoppers

Nice looking roof and I like the ceiling. I am pretty much at the same stage and, as mentioned before, had welded steel that was painted, welded and then painted again. Been up since last March and everything seems to be doing fine.

Good Luck

----------


## stevefarang

Thanks all. It's nice to finally get some progress beyond looking at just the concrete frame. Hopefully, the house will be done by the middle of this year. It's been 2 years now !!

----------


## Mozzbie47

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> Plus, the welding would ruin the coating, if there is even any gal coating applied.
> 
> 
> they are usually painted metal
> 
> then the bits welded are repainted
> 
> seems to work OK


Most of the steel work iv'e looked at in Thailand, is as you say primed steel, but it is painted over the mill carbon, you are not painting the steel just the carbon, it rusts in front of your eyes, there is no subsitute for Galvanised steel, as in Steves house. If you do use steel and you wont it to last, it shoulkd be sand blasted, the primed immediately.

----------


## Koetjeka

> Originally Posted by DrAndy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by stevefarang
> ...


I wonder where they sell galvanised steel, I also wonder if it's possible to buy HE-A or IPE beams. Does anyone have info about this?

----------


## stevefarang

Our granite flooring, intended for the ground floor, sitting in the car port area.






A close-up of the granite flooring. Looks good. Nice and neutral.




Some electrical work for the carport area. The standard is one light in the middle. I wanted a few more.




A wiring run from upstairs to downstairs. Not sure where this is in the house.




This hurts to see, beautiful concrete chipped away to the rebar. But I guess it's necessary. 




Some wiring work upstairs somewhere.




Looks like some worker has moved into a corner of the downstairs family room.




Ground floor core area is a great dry storage area for construction materials.




They are finally starting work on the bathrooms. This is the mother in law (or maid) bathroom on the ground floor.





And another view of the same bathroom.





Some plumbing from upstairs.




Our front entrance area is a wee bit messy right now.





I am anticipating to be in Thailand around Songkran. So I'll try to get a good series of clear update photos then.

----------


## rickschoppers

Really like the granite flooring. Was it that much more than tile? My experience is that they are close, but one does have to be aware of the possibility of stains penetrating its porous nature. I am thinking about using marble which is also a good buy in Thailand and is not quite as porous as granite.

----------


## stevefarang

> Really like the granite flooring. Was it that much more than tile? My experience is that they are close, but one does have to be aware of the possibility of stains penetrating its porous nature. I am thinking about using marble which is also a good buy in Thailand and is not quite as porous as granite.


The PD House standard is some crappy wood laminate flooring.

We first looked at marble tile and saw some nice stuff. But my wife heard about granite floors and how their seams are much tighter than tile. That appealed to both us. So we went to a stone flooring company and checked them out.
Then we found out it was less than half the price for marble tile. We both really liked that aspect !   :Smile: 

I do understand it will be slicker than marble, when wet, so we'll have to be careful about that. And I think they sell a sealer to apply to granite floors. I seem to recall seeing cans of the stuff for sale at the stone flooring supplier.
I would have liked to use use it upstairs, but PD House was concerned about the additional weight. So we'll use an upgraded wood laminate up there. Maybe some time in the future, we'll install marble tiles up there.

Don't ask me the name of the stone flooring place. It was someplace on the road to Nakhom Pathom and all the signs were in Thai. If you really want, I can see if my wife can send me the address.

----------


## rickschoppers

^
Less than half sounds good. There is a stone store in Udon that I have looked at and have seen several granite shops on the way to Chiang Mai. When it comes time, I will look at both and compare. Thanks for the info and please take some pics once the floor is down.

----------


## DrAndy

> but one does have to be aware of the possibility of stains penetrating its porous nature. I am thinking about using marble which is also a good buy in Thailand and is not quite as porous as granite.


all stone has some porosity but marble is stained much easier than granite, and can be attacked by acids

both are tough but I would only use granite for kitchen worktops




> But my wife heard about granite floors and how their seams are much tighter than tile. That appealed to both us. So we went to a stone flooring company and checked them out. Then we found out it was less than half the price for marble tile


depends on the granite; all stone can vary wildly in price, depending on their origin and rarity. The granite in the picture is the most common type, may come from Thailand or India, and is nice enough

----------


## DrAndy

> And I think they sell a sealer to apply to granite floors. I seem to recall seeing cans of the stuff for sale at the stone flooring supplier.


we have never bothered to seal granite (I don't think you can!?), just buy it polished and it seems to last forever. Sandstones may need to be sealed

----------


## stevefarang

> both are tough but I would only use granite for kitchen worktops


Andy, you know how Thai women like to prepare things. I'm just making sure she can sit and chop comfortably !!    :smiley laughing:

----------


## stevefarang

Got some new pics overnight.

The Master bathroom tiling.









Still a work in progress...

----------


## stevefarang

This will be the second bathroom upstairs.

----------


## stevefarang

The guest suite bathroom, on the ground floor. It's the only one to have a divider wall, that they are now building.

----------


## stevefarang

Some shots of the ceiling in the master bedroom. I don't know what you call this 2-tier look (Dr Andy, do you know in English ?), but we are doing it in about 4 different places in the house.

----------


## stevefarang

The workers making themselves comfortable inside. There's supposed to be a camp, so I'm not sure if I want to be a dick and complain or just let them enjoy the space. I know I made an issue of it last year, when workers moved into our bamboo hut, since PD House wasn't providing the materials for their camp.

They will have to relocate when the granite floor goes in. I believe that starts sometime next week.

One couple is in our future ground floor family room.







And another couple is in the guest suite area.




Hehehe, I guess she didn't want to be in the picture...

----------


## DrAndy

> Dr Andy, do you know in English


I think they are called "coffered" ceilings

not to my taste but good for lighting

your place is coming on well

----------


## stevefarang

Thanks Andy.

It's good to finally show off something besides the concrete frame and walls.


And dancing girl gifs !!!    :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

Since I got to choose the granite floor downstairs, it's only fair the wife gets to choose the upstairs (after asking what I thought). So we'll go with this floor laminate.

----------


## nigelandjan

Nice bit of tiling going on there Stevo ! 

Allthough I have to say it looks bloody weird to me to tile up without having any windows in ,?? WTF ??  still TIT  :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> Nice bit of tiling going on there Stevo ! 
> 
> Allthough I have to say it looks bloody weird to me to tile up without having any windows in ,?? WTF ??  still TIT


Thai logic. I've given up trying to understand the way things are done there. 

At least it's progressing now. The wife tells me there are a lot of people on the site now. There will be another crew, arriving next week, to install the granite flooring. I think she said 8-10 people. I can't wait for that to get done. I'm eager to see how it looks.

----------


## nigelandjan

Bet you are to mate ,, especially with you being back in the US earning the money .

Thanks to your wife with the pics BTW

----------


## stevefarang

The granite floor is, finally, getting installed. I don't have to look at the rough concrete anymore !

These shots are over in the western kitchen area. My wife just sent these today.






If all works out as planned, I'll be there around Songkran. The house will be very different looking from when I last saw it, finally !!

Steve

----------


## nigelandjan

Nice mate ^

----------


## rickschoppers

If you don't mind me asking, what was the total cost of the granite flooring and installation and total square footage/meters? I will be doing similar and am curious how the cost compares to tile. I know it is more, but not as much as what we have to pay in the States.  

The floor looks great, by the way.

----------


## stevefarang

> If you don't mind me asking, what was the total cost of the granite flooring and installation and total square footage/meters? I will be doing similar and am curious how the cost compares to tile. I know it is more, but not as much as what we have to pay in the States.  
> 
> The floor looks great, by the way.


Rick, thanks very much.

I don't have the numbers with me, here in the USA. But we compared  both the normal marble tile and the granite floor last August. The granite was about 1/3 - 1/2 the price of the marble tiles we looked at first. My wife also likes how the joints seem smaller than with the tile option.

PD House crack engineers told us to plan on 170 sq meters.

I'm hoping it will look even better when all finished and polished up. But it does beat looking at the concrete subfloor. Although the workers will now have to be more careful on it !!

Steve

----------


## DrAndy

we were just quoted around B1800 per sq m for the cheapest granite, similar to Steve's. They have several types to choose from

we went for a silvery grey/black stone that was B2000

then they go up to B5000+ for decorative stone

----------


## DrAndy

> My wife also likes how the joints seem smaller than with the tile option.


stone always is butted up against the next slab, tiles always have spaces that need grouting



> I'm hoping it will look even better when all finished and polished up


when the granite dries it will look better; you have a quite porous stone and you can see the water staining

granite has quite large crystals so there are minute gaps, which the water seeps into. No problem as it dries easily

----------


## mfosh

What I'm not easy to understand why the floor is laid already. Consider allt to paint the ceiling is not finished, and they do not care about the floor is finished. :Confused:

----------


## stevefarang

> we were just quoted around B1800 per sq m for the cheapest granite, similar to Steve's. They have several types to choose from
> 
> we went for a silvery grey/black stone that was B2000
> 
> then they go up to B5000+ for decorative stone



The price quoted for the 170 sq m was a bit less than B1,800/sq m.  I seem to recall the price worked out around B200,000-2220,000. The tile was up around B500,000-600,000. 

I'm not an interior designer, but I know lighter colors will make a room seem bigger , feel cooler and easier to integrate other colors in. So, as much as I saw some nice darker colors that I would have liked, I stuck with the fairly neutral choice made, although it's looking a little darker than I was hoping. Might be the camera angle as well.

I'm assuming that after the installation is complete, they will do some kind of buffing or polishing.

mfosh, I'm assuming that it is being coordinated with PD House. But I don't think it will be too much of a problem to lay tarps, or similar, down to cover the floors before painting. That's their problem.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that little "base piece" (not sure of the proper term) added to the lower wall. That's a nice touch.

Thanks all.

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

^
My understanding is that the grey and black granite is the least expensive. Any other variations of colors may go up from there. When I venture over to Tak, I wonder if there will be two prices, a Thai price and a Farang price?

Either way, I am still wanting to put stone in my house to cover about 200 sq meters. Good progress on the house Steve, just make sure the Thais use drop clothes for your finished floor.

----------


## stevefarang

> ^
> My understanding is that the grey and black granite is the least expensive. Any other variations of colors may go up from there. When I venture over to Tak, I wonder if there will be two prices, a Thai price and a Farang price?
> 
> Either way, I am still wanting to put stone in my house to cover about 200 sq meters. Good progress on the house Steve, just make sure the Thais use drop clothes for your finished floor.


We went by the listed price posted next to the granite at the shop. There didn't seem to be a 2-tier price system. But I had my wife, her cousin and mother boyfriend (I trust both guys to make sure no funny business is pulled on me), all involved in the discussion. And I was the only farang around, it was very much a Thai oriented place.

We saw an assortment of choices, but I wanted the most neutral choice. I seem to recall other color choices were in the same price bracket, but it really doesn't matter.

Don't forget, this stuff is heavy. If you are planning to use it on an elevated floor, be sure to take the weight into account when choosing your columns and supports. We initially thought about using granite for the upstairs, but PD House was very concerned about the weight it would add, after the frame had been already built. So, we are sticking with wood laminate upstairs for now. Maybe in 5-6 years, I'll look into installing some tile in the main areas, such as the upstairs family room, don't think it will have the weight of the granite.

I'm still here in the USA, waiting for a couple of PO's for work to come through before I can get back over. I'm assuming they will use drop cloths and I will be walking through looking for paint splatter on the floor when I finally get there. I will also be having discussions with PD House about their failure to answer my questions, such as why is there no water supply/drain in the kitchen area ? I'm really not happy with PD House customer service, especially since they seem to want to get more farang business.

200 sq m ? !!  Damn, that's even bigger than my place !  And everyone keeps telling me how oversized our place is ! Damn !!!  Be sure to post pics. I want to see "Castle Rick" !!  :Very Happy:

----------


## rickschoppers

^
Yes, I probably went too big, but I have a thing about being claustrophobic. Good information on buying the stone and it is always good to have family with you when making such a large purchase.

Here is the link to my house build, if you are interested:

https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...don-thani.html (New Build Near Udon Thani)

Keep up the good work and I am sure you can't wait to get back and see the progress.

----------


## stevefarang

> ^
> Yes, I probably went too big, but I have a thing about being claustrophobic. Good information on buying the stone and it is always good to have family with you when making such a large purchase.
> 
> Here is the link to my house build, if you are interested:
> 
> https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...don-thani.html (New Build Near Udon Thani)
> 
> Keep up the good work and I am sure you can't wait to get back and see the progress.


Ah ok, I thought you were just in the planning stages of a build.

Yes, my wife also keeps telling me we should have gone smaller, but like you, I want some room inside to bounce off the walls.

----------


## stevefarang

Things are humming along now.

It looks like most of the ground floor has the granite installed. 



I think what's mostly left is the tricky bits of fitting in the rounded edges and stuff.




The main entrance is yet to be done. 



They need to install this decorative tile we bought last year. It will give it a more formal look. It's thinner than the granite flooring, so I'm assuming they will put some more concrete, or fill, underneath to keep it flush with the granite.



Peeking into my office space.



And inside the office, with that great banana tree outside the southwest corner of the house.



They still have to do the MIL (aka maid) room and the area out to the carport.



A shot of the master bedroom with them working on the coffered ceiling.



And, finally, a view from the upstairs family room looking out over the rice paddies. Off in the distance, you might make out the huge chedhi that Nakhom Pathom is famous for.

----------


## stevefarang

They haven't finished the floor in the guest suite either. Doorway on the right leads to the bathroom. Door way on the left leads out to the central living area. You can just make out the entrance to my office space.

----------


## DrAndy

the floor ties it all together, makes a big difference

and the views are really good

----------


## stevefarang

Thanks very much Andy. I'm happy to see the granite go in. And yes, we have some views around the property. And we haven't really done much with landscaping yet.

Although, after looking at this shot, I'm wondering how the door will be fitted in the opening for my office. That little granite piece, sticking up in the doorway (I'm assuming it's the same on the opposite side that you can't see), is going to block the door. Visually, it looks nice, but...



This will be a tricky one to ask the wife. My Thai is NOT that good. 

Steve

----------


## Norton

A couple of oops there I think. The granite base piece will have to be removed to get in the door frame properly. Also appears they need to cut wall and install conduit for those 2 wires.

----------


## stevefarang

Norton,
Those two wires are for TV and internet/phone, if I recall. They are coming out of the lower box and then tied off, just to keep them out of the way.

At least that's what it looks like to me.

The base pieces will have to come out of the doorway. Ehhh...I'll have a couple of nice looking paperweights for the office.  :Smile:

----------


## Norton

> Those two wires are for TV and internet/phone, if I recall.


Upon closer inspect they are indeed. No probs then.




> The base pieces will have to come out of the doorway. Ehhh...I'll have a couple of nice looking paperweights for the office.


Looks that way. Also the granite pieces that join the removed bit may need redone.
All no big deal as long as the granite guy can return.

----------


## stevefarang

> Looks that way. Also the granite pieces that join the removed bit may need redone.
> All no big deal as long as the granite guy can return.


Yes, I'll be mentioning to the wife tonight or tomorrow morning. The granite crew is still on site for at least a few more days.

Thanks!
Steve

----------


## Dead Metal

Looking very good steve. Surprised to see the finished floor go down so early, but i suppose its like a jigsaw-puzzle, all will be revealed in the fullness of time, thanks for sharing.

----------


## Maxion

stevefarang

While you still have some of the ceilings open, have you considered all the electrical services required.

AC power feeds
TV and Satellite
Telephone 
Alarm and security
Network

----------


## stevefarang

> stevefarang
> 
> While you still have some of the ceilings open, have you considered all the electrical services required.
> 
> AC power feeds
> TV and Satellite
> Telephone 
> Alarm and security
> Network


Go back to post #227 and you will see the standard electric plan and the revised plan.

Power will come into the property underground and through a Safe-T-Cut. There will be a 30 AMP service instead of the standard 15 amp. The 30 Amp still sounds small, since in the USA the standard is 200 amp service. But I think the main current draws will be the a/c and they have their own breakers.

Steve

----------


## Mozzbie47

Steve, 
Looks like the end result will be much better than earlier expected.
looking forward to seeing the end result.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, 
> Looks like the end result will be much better than earlier expected.
> looking forward to seeing the end result.


Thanks. That makes 2 of us !

Well, including the wife, 3 of us !!!!  :Very Happy:

----------


## stevefarang

My wife just called. Apparently, that lovely decorative floor tile piece that I wanted in the main entrance is not available. I'm a little po'd, since we paid for it last year. So my wife now has to go back over and choose, on her own, an alternate design.

I can only keep my fingers crossed she will pick something I like.

----------


## stevefarang

Talked with the wife this morning. Apparently, the stone flooring store will be able to get some more of those decorative floor tiles after all. We'll have to wait about a month, but with luck, I'll be there by then to help with the selection of the decorative black strip I want around it.

----------


## DrAndy

phew....

----------


## Wizard of Oz

Yes the famous "Mai mee" (not quite sure if spelled right for "no have") is very frustrating, especially when building a house. 

Other day was looking for a bathroom door and did see a nice one at global house. After saying to the guy "I'll have that one" the famous "Mai mee" is spoken again.

But there it is! The door on display, you still have that one! If you don't have it in stock, why show it on the floor? Anyway after a little bit of discussion and him calling his superior, I could get the "display" door. (although no discount...)

House is looking great Steve. I have (the same) granite floors in the shed as well, love it. Looked when the guy was laying the tiles, that is an art by itself. Don't worry too much if they start painting, I'm painting part of the shed to be a temp house and later guest room and spilled (quite) a bit on the floor, comes off really easy. Nice and cool too the granite tiles! Just don't drop your fine china.

----------


## DrAndy

> Yes the famous "Mai mee" (not quite sure if spelled right for "no have") is very frustrating, especially when building a house.


it can be if you need it i a hurry, otherwise they will always order it for you

takes anything from 2 days to 2 weeks depending on what it is

----------


## Wizard of Oz

Yes, if you're lucky. But could have been taken out of stock as well, when trying to build something, not very convenient. 

Many of the real nice things at Global House are on order basis only, especially the high end stuff. 

Ordered a water heater at Global House, again the famous NO Have, took about a week to get it ordered, had to pay a 5000 baht deposit on a 6000 baht heater.. when they called it had arrived and we drove back to Global house, waited about an hour to be told that they can't find it....Thai efficiency at its best.

That's why I will not start the build of the "real" house until I have everything "in house", getting there, slowly. Not going to make any sacrifices by having to choose something that I didn't want in the first place, just so the build can continue.

----------


## rickschoppers

^
Didn't you know you are only supposed to order items in stock? :mid:

----------


## Wizard of Oz

Yes it would be nice if they don't display items they cannot deliver (anymore). But it looks to be common Thai practice. 

When I was in a "fashion" store in BKK a while ago, I saw something really nice displayed. When I asked how much and can I have one XL I was told, no cannot buy, only for show.....

----------


## Dead Metal

> When I was in a "fashion" store in BKK a while ago, I saw something really nice displayed. When I asked how much and can I have one XL I was told, no cannot buy, only for show.....


  :smiley laughing: yep, says it all..TiT

----------


## Wizard of Oz

^ gee you're funny! What a sorry life you must have if this breaks you out laughing. But hey, glad to be of service.

----------


## BillH52

Well, it IS a 'show' room.  
Sorry, shopping for stuff in Thailand really brings out my sarcastic 'dry humor' side.

----------


## brian3673

great thread,, awesome house..makes my one look like the garden shed,,,haha
all start my thread today i think.

----------


## Wizard of Oz

> takes anything from 2 days to 2 weeks depending on what it is


Don't want to hijack the thread, but just to keep you update on my latest trip to Global House yesterday.

Glass door for shower, not in stock, takes 40! Days to get.
Wall mounted cabinet with 2 wash basins, not in stock, again 40 days delivery time both items out of the Kohler range. 

Whilst they promote these items, the guy insisted he had to call Kohler first. Could not pay a deposit. Yesterday afternoon he called back, yes could order with the above mentioned delivery timeframe, after we have paid a deposit, so now today I have to drive back to pay the deposit...brrrrrrr

8m2 black floor tiles, not in stock! Yes I understand if I would ask for 800m2 but a mere 8m2 not in stock..... Seems I will be moving in but still have to use the bathroom in the old house. 

That's why I now start the build of the real house if I have everything, everything "in house", getting there, slowly.

----------


## Rocksteady

> Originally Posted by Wizard of Oz
> 
> Yes the famous "Mai mee" (not quite sure if spelled right for "no have") is very frustrating, especially when building a house.
> 
> 
> it can be if you need it i a hurry, otherwise they will always order it for you
> 
> takes anything from 2 days to 2 weeks depending on what it is


Just been through this for a couple of exterior lights for our rear wall. 

 Frustrating when they let their stocks run out but forward planning isn't a big part of the culture!  A fact I'm so often reminded of when having to watch my big mac go cold while they cook up a whole new batch of fries from scratch rather than keep a constant supply on the go!

----------


## stevefarang

OK, Finally got some updated pictures from the wife. Things are humming along now. Best part is PD House has missed the revised completion deadline, so there are damages of 300 baht/day due to us.  :Smile: 


Outside view of main entrance area. What a mess. Can't wait until it's cleaned up and landscaped a little.





An outside view just to the right of the main entrance. You see the guest suite downstairs and master bedroom upstairs.






A view of the carport, which is just to the left of the front entrance. This is an end view, from the east. I hope they do something with the granite. I don't like seeing that gap on the end.




East end of the house. The kitchen entrance is the doorway you. Rice paddy behind us. I want to buy that land one day.



Going inside now.

A view looking out from what will be the main entrance. Stairs are to the right.




Another view of the main entrance area.




I've think that I've posted this pic before. It gives you an idea of the space from the main entrance area. The Western kitchen is off in the back. It's going to be a challenge to make work with all the windows. But we'll come up with something. I'm not in a rush to finish that area off. We'll have a Thai kitchen just outside. That will be done first.





The central area downstairs. Kitchen off to the right. Bathroom and MIL room straight ahead.





A view from the downstairs family room. I thought this was going to be a door, similar to what we saw at the other house we visited. But I guess this is ok for now. We can always change it later.



A view of the floor in that downstairs family room area.




Doing something on the stairs. I'm glad to see they finally did something with the curved wall at the top. I was getting worried, seeing the rebar sticking out up there. I just realized my wife is relaxing, in the chair, back in the kitchen area, hahahaha !!



She sent me some more, but I think these are the most interesting ones.

----------


## rickschoppers

Stairs going up are to the right, and that is good. Everything coming along nicely Steve.

----------


## stevefarang

> Stairs going up are to the right, and that is good. Everything coming along nicely Steve.


The stairs have been in place for over a year. I used to be a little nervous going up them without anything to hold on to, thanks to a motorcycle accident (here in the USA) about 5 years ago. At least the walls are in position.

Thanks Rick. I was getting frustrated looking at just the concrete frame itself. I just wish I could be there to more closely check things out.

----------


## MrG

Looks great, Steve. 
I look forward to hearing your report from your first on-sight inspection too.

----------


## ootai

Steve
Thanks for the thread I have been enjoying watching your progress. Don't get excited about getting B300/day as it may never be paid. When our builder went over the scheduled time all we could do was negotiate an agreement to get him to f**k off so we could finish it ourselves.
How long will it take for them to finish it to the final stage?
Don't worry about making the insdie kitchen work as it will probably never be used once the outside kitchen is operating. I am the only one who eats inside because I can't sit on the floor and need a table, no cooking gets done inside.
As for the wife relaxing, who said building was stressful?
In regard to buying the land behind your house just go and ask what the owner wants and then pay it otherwise you will be waiting forever as they keep jacking the price bercause they think you want it so bad. Have you treid to buy it yet? Once they know you want it all they can see is the size of your house (read wallet).

Just to finish let me say it is an awesome place and I hope you have many a happy year to enjoy it.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve
> Thanks for the thread I have been enjoying watching your progress. Don't get excited about getting B300/day as it may never be paid. When our builder went over the scheduled time all we could do was negotiate an agreement to get him to f**k off so we could finish it ourselves.
> How long will it take for them to finish it to the final stage?
> Don't worry about making the insdie kitchen work as it will probably never be used once the outside kitchen is operating. I am the only one who eats inside because I can't sit on the floor and need a table, no cooking gets done inside.
> As for the wife relaxing, who said building was stressful?
> In regard to buying the land behind your house just go and ask what the owner wants and then pay it otherwise you will be waiting forever as they keep jacking the price bercause they think you want it so bad. Have you treid to buy it yet? Once they know you want it all they can see is the size of your house (read wallet).
> 
> Just to finish let me say it is an awesome place and I hope you have many a happy year to enjoy it.


I'm not real excited about the 300 baht/day. But it's a little leverage to have on PD House. Of course, they will try to negotiate it away.

I know the inside western kitchen won't get used that much, that's why I'm not worried about completing it right away. I want to do it after the house is finished I have time to play with the design myself.

I'm not going to go ask the owner about that land right away, I know he'll inflate the price. We've got plenty of land already, with the 3 lots we already have. It's just, with the layout of the house, it would be a perfect backyard spot. Plus I would enough room to put the MIL in her own little home right next to the road.
I'd rather wait for him to come to me. We have already taken up 3 former rice paddies next to his. Plus we need to save money to put stuff in the house and do all the landscaping, paver driveway, etc.

I'm not sure when the house will be done. It was supposed to be done several days ago. I'm hoping by May ?

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

OK, the wife has sent some more new pics.

Ceiling in the western kitchen area.






The stairs are finally taking shape.








The coffered ceiling in the master bedroom, looks almost finished.








The ceiling in the dressing area of the master bedroom. Entrance to master bath is to the right.






Ceiling in northeast corner bedroom. This is planned to be my youngest daughter's bedroom.



And finally some shots up above the ceiling. I won't want to go up here ever.







And finally, some flowering tree on our main lot. My wife thinks it's beautiful. I think it needs some pruning.  :Smile:

----------


## nigelandjan

I,m with your wife on that one mate ^ 

Those blocks on the stairs ,, never in my life seen anything like that !  still if it works I guess its ok

----------


## stevefarang

PD House has finally sent me some updated pics. It's amazing how cooperative they are now when a stage payment is due.

Some of these pics look very similar to ones my wife sent me recently, so I'll only post some that show some real changes or are visually interesting. I may do this in several steps as it is getting really late here on the west coast of the USA.


Upstairs family room ceiling taped and joint compound. This looking south. There will be a small balcony out there.




Looking towards the master bedroom.




The guest suite bathroom looking at where the toilet and sink will be going.




The guest suite bathroom and the shower area beyond that wall.





Downstairs central area facing west. You see the cables for the tv, etc. The opening behind and to the left will go to my office area. Follow the hall to the right to go to the guest suite.




And a view looking just to the right of the same area. The main entrance will be just to the right (where the granite floor pieces are not yet installed).





Upstairs ceilings looking west, towards the master bedroom. You see the main entrance below. 




Upstairs ceiling from the master bedroom looking east. Starting to look really good now. They finally finished off the curved wall section upstairs.





A view up "in the attic". Looks like there will be plenty of room to pay some skinny Thai guy to go up there and roll out more fiberglass insulation batts. I'd like to have at least 12" of fiberglass up there. I also liked the other thread that mentioned the spray foam product applied to the backside of the shingles. I'm going to give that some serious consideration.




Some shots of the master bathroom. Hard to get a good shot with all the light from the windows. First shot shows the opening for the future jacuzzi (or just a tub) in that right corner.



And then looking where the counter/sink will go.




If I remember, this is the other upstairs bathroom, on the east end of the house.





The MIL's (aka maid) bedroom. Nice big windows.




View of the east end of the house. The MIL room is the big window to the right, the western kitchen is in the back corner, with the door way. We're going to fit in some type of Thai kitchen in this outside area. Just need to come up with a layout that is sheltered and compliments the rest of the house. I've already got 3 fluorescent lights planned to be installed out there. There will also be several outlets as well.




A rare view of the south wall of the house, taken from the approximate area where we will have the water pump and stuff located. You see the 3 kitchen windows on the right. If I recall, those little blue pvc pipes are part of the "termite killing/prevention injection grid system" installed under the house.



It's starting to really look like a house now. Yay !!!

----------


## DrAndy

good pics and progress






> I also liked the other thread that mentioned the spray foam product applied to the backside of the shingles. I'm going to give that some serious consideration.


It would be interesting to know how much that costs

I think that fibreglass roll stuf works well, and if you make it 12" should be more than enough....as long as the roof space has some ventilation to let the hot air out

----------


## cheekyman

Excellent thread - really informative

----------


## stevefarang

> good pics and progress
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by stevefarang
> ...


This is the link from the other thread: Sprayfoam - Thailand

What caught my eye was how they mentioned it also helps to prevent possible leaks and keep the roofing tiles in place. This is my first experience with these types of tiles.
Granted, if I ever want to replace the roof, it will make removing the tiles more of a chore.
It looks like we have good ventilation, but I'm still debating adding one or two of those little "turbine fans" on the south (back) side of the house.

Thanks !

----------


## DrAndy

aha

"The costs of our treatment lie in between 450 and 650 baht per square  meter of roof, depending on the type of roof tiles used as well as on  the location of your roof"

the roof is usually on top?


anyway, roofs do leak, often due to insufficient slope for the type of tiles

----------


## stevefarang

> aha
> 
> "The costs of our treatment lie in between 450 and 650 baht per square  meter of roof, depending on the type of roof tiles used as well as on  the location of your roof"
> 
> the roof is usually on top?
> 
> 
> anyway, roofs do leak, often due to insufficient slope for the type of tiles


LOL, smart ass!!!    :Smile: 

I think they mean location in Thailand.

Well the main roof has been up for about a year and it has been dry underneath, so I take that as a good sign. And it looks pretty well sloped, no flat spots. 

I'm more concerned with the tiles possibly shifting over time. Like I said, I'm not very familiar with this type of roof. I've never had a house with this type of roof before.

It's not a high priority item right now, but it does interest me. I'd like to try to do it before rolling out extra batts, just so the workers know where to step and don't compress the fiberglass. 
But between the well ventilated attic space, 12"+ of fiberglass and that foam on the inside of the tiles, it should really cut down on having hot rooms upstairs.

Thanks Andy !

----------


## rickschoppers

Steve, how are your granite floors holding up with all the other construction that is going on?

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, how are your granite floors holding up with all the other construction that is going on?


Rick,
I'm stuck here in the USA for now. So I can't really say. They just put them down and from what I see in some of the pics, they seem to be ok. I'm assuming people are being careful on them.

Here are some pics of the granite flooring.

Downstairs central area, looking west. You see the entrance to my office space on the left. The little hallway to the right will go to the guest suite.




Then the photographer rotated a little to the right to show the little sitting area, with the big window, next to the main entrance. The house that we toured, similar to the one we are building, had a baby grand piano here. I'm not going to do that. Not sure what we'll do with the space yet.





The kitchen area. I've posted similar pictures previously.




Looks pretty good to me.

----------


## Necron99

> Originally Posted by DrAndy
> 
> 
> good pics and progress
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you mean rooftop whirlybirds then you should. They will take 2 to 3 degrees out of the roof space. Can't have enough ventilation.

----------


## stevefarang

> If you mean rooftop whirlybirds then you should. They will take 2 to 3 degrees out of the roof space. Can't have enough ventilation.


Yes, the rooftop whirlybirds.  :Very Happy:  

The house does have an opening in the front for letting hot air out, but I tend to favor being more conservative. I won't do it right away, as we still have to do the perimeter wall, a paver driveway, some type of outside Thai style kitchen, etc. But I do want to put a small one on each end of the south side facing section of the roof.

That and the 2" of foam stuff on the inside of the roofing tiles, plus 6"+ of additional fiberglass insulation. Not sure which I will do first. The whirly birds will be the cheaper option for sure.

Thanks !

Steve

----------


## MrG

I don't know if this has enough credibility to help (they want to sell you something), but based on this, you may want to do it first. 

Unofficially, I have heard that these vents are one of the best and cheapest ways to pull heat out of your attic, and therefore the rest of your house.

http://www.checkthishouse.com/18/attic-ventilation-how-many-attic-vents-your-roof-needs.html

----------


## richardshane

Steve, I am currently having a house built by PD House and I have some stories, pics etc. of my build which I would like to share with you. Although I would just like to post pics etc in a new thread it has to be done carefully due to the laws of the land. If you can pm me your e-mail I can forward a link to some of the pics, I would have pm'ed you mine but I tried and cannot pm until my post count hits 20...I have 19 to go.

----------


## nigelandjan

Your tiling is looking good Stevo ,, one thing I am allways impressed with ( generally speaking ) is the standard of Thai tiling .

Richard you can soon get your post count up and we would all love to see your own pic thread on your build and shared experiences good and bad .

Tip get yourself a Photobucket account to do your pics with ,, you just upload to PBket then right click your PBket pic using ,,,,,copy image address ,,,,, then come back to your TD thread click the little yellow house above this box , remove the hhtp// out of there by using your backspace ,, then just paste your pic from PBket into it ok ? hope that helps you and anyone else who wants to post pics .

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, I am currently having a house built by PD House and I have some stories, pics etc. of my build which I would like to share with you. Although I would just like to post pics etc in a new thread it has to be done carefully due to the laws of the land. If you can pm me your e-mail I can forward a link to some of the pics, I would have pm'ed you mine but I tried and cannot pm until my post count hits 20...I have 19 to go.


Hi Richard,
I'd like to hear your PD House experience. I'm not sure what you mean by being careful in posting pics due to the law of the land. If you mean your post count, just go to the Teak Door lounge area and make a bunch of posts there. I think that's what I did before posting pics.
What's your PD House construction project number ? I can look at the pics PD House posts on their website, although they are small and hard to make out any detail (something I've mentioned to them about).
How far along is your project and where in Thailand ? Are you having a generally good experience with PD House or are you frustrated by their proclaimed incredible great customer service which really is 180 degrees the other way (ie it's pretty bad customer service - at least for a farang).

As Nigel suggested, open a photobucket account. That's where I keep all of our house pictures. It's pretty easy to copy the image from there, they will even include the image tags, so you don't have to do it yourself.




> Your tiling is looking good Stevo ,, one thing  I am allways impressed with ( generally speaking ) is the standard of  Thai tiling .


Thanks Nigel, from what I can see they do look good. It's really hard to make out the bathroom tiles, in those pictures, with all the sunlight streaming in. I'm glad the master bathroom has a nice formal look to it.

Hell, I'm just glad we aren't looking at just the concrete frame anymore !t's really starting to look like a house now.

----------


## Thetyim

> I'm not sure what you mean by being careful in posting pics due to the law of the land.


I thought he meant the defamation laws

----------


## richardshane

Yes, thanks, I have posted in forums many times and already have a photo-bucket account. Sometimes posts can be considered slanderous even though you are speaking the truth. Tort law in Thailand is quite different than Canada or the US. In my opinion the building of my house here in Thailand is not what I expected.  :ssssh:

----------


## Makmak456

looking good

----------


## DrAndy

> Although I would just like to post pics etc in a new thread it has to be done carefully due to the laws of the land


if they are pics of your house and what was done, why should the law worry you?

----------


## stevefarang

> Yes, thanks, I have posted in forums many times and already have a photo-bucket account. Sometimes posts can be considered slanderous even though you are speaking the truth. Tort law in Thailand is quite different than Canada or the US. In my opinion the building of my house here in Thailand is not what I expected.


Richard,
I think I have been very fair with my criticism with PD House. When they have done something I was happy with, I said it. For instance, the galvanized steel roof trusses and their assembly. I think it looks great and should hold up for a good long time. I was also very pleased with the concept of the factory made pieces of the concrete frame. It should help make the house very strong. I was not happy to find out that they used a wrong beam in one area or that the the frame ended up being a little crooked.

But I have also mentioned where they have let me down, and customer service is something they have trouble with (or at least in dealing with farang). I've tried to keep my comments constructive so that if PD House does ever see this, they might try to learn from it.

Do you deal with a Dr. Jarut ? It seems he is one of the few people, at PD House, that speaks English.

This is a discussion board, I agree with Andy that you should not feel intimidated by supposed threats of legal action. It's your house. If anything, you could help out future farang buyers of PD House "products". And you might get some good ideas from others on this board. I know I have.

If you decide not to start a thread, at least let me know your project number so I can check it out on the PD House website. As I said before, their pictures are small (Making it hard to really see what's going on - something I've mentioned to them before), but at least I can see what you are doing.

----------


## t.s

hi mate, i have noticed a few times saying you "can change it later". 

experience has taught me if it needs changing, it needs changing now, it will either be a hassle later, way more expensive, or simply never get done

----------


## richardshane

Had to let go of the whole crew today...the project code is SN-5505 I think...

----------


## stevefarang

> hi mate, i have noticed a few times saying you "can change it later". 
> 
> experience has taught me if it needs changing, it needs changing now, it will either be a hassle later, way more expensive, or simply never get done



TS, is this for me?
I don't believe that I've said "we can change it later". There are some things I will take care of later, like kitting out the western kitchen, tweaking the insulation up in the attic, etc. Any changes to the house layout were made at the beginning.

----------


## stevefarang

> Had to let go of the whole crew today...the project code is SN-5505 I think...



OK, I found it on the PD House website. You do know they post pics there don't you? They are small and useless for checking on progress or quality of work, I've tried to tell them that.

Hopefully, they will sort things out for you.

There was another guy on this board that seemed to know some people at PD House. He had posted, a while back, that he was going to say something to someone there. I wonder what became of that ? If PD House wants to make themselves more attractive to foreign buyers, then they need to improve some areas. That concrete work at your place looks pretty bad.

----------


## MrG

> There was another guy on this board that seemed to know some people at PD House. He had posted, a while back, that he was going to say something to someone there. I wonder what became of that ?


I didn't make the original suggestion, but I supported it and doubled down with the suggestion that numerous enquireries by membership of this board might have an effect. On further thought, it might not be a good idea; besides the fact that it's not my project to speak out about without a go from the house owner, I don't know what the slander/libel laws are like in Thailand. It could backfire. 

Still, one can't help but think they would try to make good on the damage (pay him off for the work and clean up the site and walk away) for PR reason and just to tamp down the noise.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> There was another guy on this board that seemed to know some people at PD House. He had posted, a while back, that he was going to say something to someone there. I wonder what became of that ?
> 
> 
> I didn't make the original suggestion, but I supported it and doubled down with the suggestion that numerous enquireries by membership of this board might have an effect. On further thought, it might not be a good idea; besides the fact that it's not my project to speak out about without a go from the house owner, I don't know what the slander/libel laws are like in Thailand. It could backfire. 
> 
> Still, one can't help but think they would try to make good on the damage (pay him off for the work and clean up the site and walk away) for PR reason and just to tamp down the noise.


No, this was before Richard starting posting. Someone had posted something about saying something to PD House about my problems/issues. I thought it was somewhere on this thread. I tried to find it but cannot.

----------


## stevefarang

Yay !! Songkran is over and the workers are back. Slowly but surely, progress is made.

First is an interesting view from the SE corner of the lot. You see where the western kitchen will go downstairs. We'll have the Thai style kitchen just outside as well as some kind of patio/terrace to enjoy at night. I will have to be sure we have plenty of fans, as there are a lot of mozzies as night.




A view of the east wall of the house. You see the kitchen door on the left. The MIL (or maid) room on the right. Youngest daughter's future bedroom upstairs on the left. Another bedroom on the right. Small window in the middle is for the shared bathroom.





Downstairs family room is looking more complete. My office is behind that wall.




View of the common area downstairs. Nice little storeroom, under that stairs, for my suitcases.




Upstairs family room. No door yet for the master bedroom, so you can see into it for now.




Front of the house. Still a mess. They still have not redone the top of the entrance, as I was recently promised. It's supposed to be curved, not straight across. I will have to ask PD House about this again.




Another view of the entrance from inside.




Looking out to the carport area, just outside of the MIL room (to the left of the main entrance)




Steve

----------


## terry57

^

Brilliant Mate, I give it up for you guys that do these builds.

Cheers

----------


## nigelandjan

Thanks for the update pics Stevo ,, coming on mate wont be too long now ,, looking a large imposing pad

----------


## Miguel

Steve I think those white pipes are for hot water supply from the Solar heater. What are they made out of and how are they held together? Welded with heat?





> OK, the wife sent me some new pics. Not much different, more of the framework for the suspended ceilings.
> 
> This is the back bedroom on the southeast wall. The plan is to make this my youngest daughter's bedroom.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve I think those white pipes are for hot water supply from the Solar heater. What are they made out of and how are they held together? Welded with heat?


Miguel,
I have no idea. I'm still over here in the States. I can only look at the pictures and take a guess. I have asked PD House how the solar hot water heater will be plumbed in, but (no surprise) they haven't answered yet.

Steve

----------


## Miguel

Steve
If you find out I'd appreciate it if you would post the information. I'm building a house and hot water piping seems to be a mystery in Thailand. 
Thanks
Mike-Miguel

----------


## Norton

Thermoplastic is used a lot here. Available all over the country. Make sure you get someone with installation experience.

----------


## DrAndy

> They still have not redone the top of the entrance, as I was recently promised. It's supposed to be curved, not straight across.


that is usually done later as it is a decorative feature, don't worry




> I'm building a house and hot water piping seems to be a mystery in Thailand. Thanks


we used the green pipes that need a special welding tool

work well - probably similar to the white stuff

not too long ago there was no hot water pipe available except copper, but now there is a bit of choice and most town plumbers can do it


and run a pressure test after completion

----------


## BKKBILL

We also used the green pipe and think it best to use it on both hot and cold water lines. Called PP-R. If you do use it make sure to get the one with a red stripe.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> They still have not redone the top of the entrance, as I was recently promised. It's supposed to be curved, not straight across.
> 
> 
> that is usually done later as it is a decorative feature, don't worry


I do worry because the original house plans show the straight top, not the curved as in the PD House picture. I had a talk with their translator and the PD House Branch Manager, last August about this. I showed them the picture, on display in our yard and the plan and asked why I was not getting the same, which was a feature I really liked. I was given the old "They don't make those windows anymore" reply. But then the PD House Branch Manager made a call to someone, and then told me I will get them.
I'm getting tired of the "PD House promise to do something, then they go ahead and do something else" deal. So I'm watching to see if this will be changed.

They've already applied all the finishing smoothcoat. I would think they would have shaped the Q-con block first, before applying the smoothcoat.

Steve

----------


## Norton

> We also used the green pipe and think it best to use it on both hot and cold water lines. Called PP-R. If you do use it make sure to get the one with a red stripe.


Yes. The one I've used as well. Couldn't quick find a pic of the green but the white I posted essentially same.

----------


## BKKBILL

Here is the web site make sure you get the one with a red stripe.

THAI PPR Quality Pipe

----------


## DrAndy

I bury most of my pipes Bill, so the decoration is not important

----------


## Mozzbie47

> Here is the web site make sure you get the one with a red stripe.
> 
> THAI PPR Quality Pipe


Good info Bill, thanx

----------


## nigelandjan

^ Yes agreed thanks for the link Bill ,, as you say the red stripe is the one with the 50 year life for the hot water line

----------


## stevefarang

The wife is promising some more pictures overnight. 
But she already sent this one of the master bedroom. I see some roofing tiles, so maybe this means they are finally going to install the roofs on the two ground floor extensions (one for the guest suite, the other for the car park).
She also told me that PD House will be doing the windows "next month". I need to get a clarification from her on that, since PD House is already well past the 200 day extension we agreed on last August.

Anyway, enjoy.




It looks like I will be going to Thailand, briefly early next month. Basically just to get the wife as we head to Brisbane, QLD area for a few weeks of work. After that, we fly back to Thailand for a few days then fly down to Singapore for most of July. I'll try to get some decent pics, but hopefully we should be nearing the end of getting the house finished. We still need to do the perimeter wall, kit out the house, install a paver driveway, landscaping, etc...

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

She's faster than I thought !

Here's a view of the outside northeast corner of the house. You can see how the house sits above the rest of the area that we initially filled. You can also see the big windows for the MIL/maid room on the ground floor and the windows for the front bedroom upstairs. Doesn't look like the shingles are yet installed in the car port area.




Next is a view of the southeast corner of the house. Doesn't look like much has changed here yet. The ground floor is where the (future) western kitchen will be. My youngest daughter's bedroom is upstairs. I like how she will have that big window. The water tank & pump will be located in the south corner behind the kitchen. Not where you see the current concrete but more outside that first window on the south wall.
I'm thinking we should have added a ledge, upstairs, on the south wall for placing the air con units.
We will have to come up with a design for the outside Thai style kitchen and patio area that complements the main house.
And again, you might be able to see how we added additional fill in the area of the house.




The front of the house. Still a mess of Q-Con blocks. I wonder if I can save them for re-use, when I build my man cave (or another building) on the second lot ? Hopefully they are not too busted up. I also hope there's no snakes or other nasty critters living under them. And again, you can see the raised area around the house. I'm thinking of putting a little fountain down in front.




Downstairs family room, as seen from the (future) Western kitchen. Granite flooring looks a little dusty. That big window you see looks out the front of the house. The main entrance is just to the right of that window (not in frame).



And finally, an interesting view of the stairs. You see the storage area underneath, perfect for my suitcases. There will be some type of wooden shelving around the stairs and we've already agreed to keep mementos from our trips on display there.



Steve

----------


## DrAndy

> I need to get a clarification from her on that, since PD House is already well past the 200 day extension we agreed on last August.


do you have any compensation agreement for the ridiculous over-run?

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
>  I need to get a clarification from her on that, since PD House is already well past the 200 day extension we agreed on last August.
> 
> 
> do you have any compensation agreement for the ridiculous over-run?


I saw in my copy of the original contract, 300 baht/day. But I understand, from the wife, the revised 200 day extension has 512 baht/day.

The PD House branch manager was out at the house measuring for windows yesterday. He told my wife, it will be 45 days before the windows will be delivered. So that's 23,040 baht in our pocket, right there alone. I haven't even gone back to the 200 day point, which was about March 18 (if I recall). My wife was shouting at him for the delay, saying it makes us look bad at this point.

Steve

----------


## Norton

> So that's 23,040 baht in our pocket, right there alone.


Keep it in your pocket. Whatever the total when house is complete, deduct from your final payment.

----------


## DrAndy

ys, pity it isn't more but they don't seem to care

----------


## stevefarang

Oh it's more than that. That's just the 45 days for the windows. They were supposed to have the house finished back around March 18.

It's adding up, although I'm sure they will try to find a way out of it.

----------


## terry57

Always hard to oversee a project of this size when your hardly ever on sight.

That's a big job in Australia where one is protected by proper building codes and registered builders must have insurance.

Trying to complete a large project like this in Thailand would always be a gamble if not watching the build day by day.

Anyway. hope it gets there in the end.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, the wife sent some more pictures of my house. She's always good to call it "your house" when talking with me. Same when we bought the property, she would always call it "your property". I've never had to prod her about doing that. It's something I noticed early on.

Anyway, looks like progress, slowly but surely.

First up, looking from the northwest corner at the ground floor guest suite. Master bedroom is upstairs.





Then a view of the northeast corner. MIL/maid room on ground floor. A bedroom upstairs. They still need to put the tiles on the car park roof. Looks like most of the smoothcoat is applied, so they should be doing that sometime soon.





An angled view, looking more south so you can see the kitchen in the back corner.  This whole area will be finished off with some sort of covered patio and a Thai style kitchen by the side of the house.




This looks like a view from one of the windows in the bedroom above the MIL/maid room. I believe she was trying to show the soffit detail. This should keep most critters out of the attic space.




And I think this is from the upstairs family room balcony, looking east. More soffit detail.





This is a great shot showing the main living area downstairs, as seen by the stairs. You can just see the door to my office in the southwest corner of the house. We'll have to be sure there is some nice shade tree outside that area. We already have a banana tree there.





Another view of the same area, as seen from the main entrance. I really like the idea of a large space looking down from upstairs. That little doorway that you see upstairs goes into the "Buddha room". We had it reduced in area and expanded my youngest daughter's bedroom.




A view of the downstairs family room.




And looking back towards the future Western style kitchen.





I think this is a view from the upstairs family room, looking south. I want to buy that rice paddy right next to us. It would make a perfect backyard space and a nice spot to put a small pool.





Master bedroom, looking west.




Master bedroom, looking east.




Master bedroom, as seen from the "dressing area", looking north. Wall on the left is part of the master bathroom.

 


OK, I think that's enough for now...

----------


## stevefarang

The wife has sent some more photos. Looks like they are starting to put primer on the interior walls and mount some interior doors. 
She went to Home Pro to buy some of the CFL light fixtures that will go in the ceilings and a couple of the ceiling fans that we'll have in each room.

First up is an interesting view looking in to the MIL/maid room from the car park area on the northeast corner of the house.




And then, a shot inside the MIL/maid room, looking out the window to the car park area.




I really like this shot. You see the stairs going up, some of the upstairs (door to the Buddha room) and, on the ground floor, the kitchen way in the back.




And then, if you were to look to the right. You see the door way to my office in the back.





And then a view, looking back from the kitchen area to the front.






A nice shot of the ground floor family room.





And speaking of my office. I've got a nice banana tree growing just outside the south corner.






This is upstairs, looking east from the family room area. The shared bathroom is straight ahead. Seems awful dark, I thought the window was bigger in there. The Buddha room is that door on the right.





Then looking west to the master bedroom.





Master bedroom is still a mess. 





OK, that's all for now.

----------


## Mamasun

Hi Steve !

Don't you think the stairs wall is too low upstairs...that's can be dangerous !

or maybe are you going to put some banister ?


How many m2 do you have downstairs ? and in the all house (inside)

Thanks  :Smile:

----------


## MrG

It's going to be a beautiful place.
Love the office window.

----------


## stevefarang

> Hi Steve !
> 
> Don't you think the stairs wall is too low upstairs...that's can be dangerous !
> 
> or maybe are you going to put some banister ?
> 
> 
> How many m2 do you have downstairs ? and in the all house (inside)
> 
> Thanks


Yes, there will be a wooden banister.

If I recall, downstairs is about 170 sq m, upstairs is 150 sq m.




> It's going to be a beautiful place.
> Love the office window.


I certainly hope so, thanks. And yes, that office space will be nice. Although it's a south-west facing area. We'll have to get some more shade on that side. I'm looking forward to enjoying some bananas from that tree. Every time I visit, it's bearing fruit but not ready to eat. I'm going to plant some lemon trees on the property as well.

----------


## nigelandjan

Great pics again Stevo ,, big thanks to your wife for sending them on for you /us to view.

Looks like your gonna have a fantastic place there soon ,, wont be long now mate

----------


## stevefarang

> Master bedroom is still a mess.


Just talked with the wife. It didn't click yesterday, but that's the jacuzzi that will go in the master bathroom.  LOL


Edit to add.
These are some older pics of the master bathroom. Not the best, but I guess PD House had some trouble with the light streaming in the windows. But you can see where the jacuzzi will fit.

----------


## terry57

Christ, your joking ain't ya, that's not a house its a friggin palace.

The money you are laying out on this build must be blowing your wife's mind.

Its your house but on family land I imagine so its there house in reality.

Whatever, Enjoy. It looks great.

----------


## stevefarang

> Christ, your joking ain't ya, that's not a house its a friggin palace.
> 
> The money you are laying out on this build must be blowing your wife's mind.
> 
> Its your house but on family land I imagine so its there house in reality.
> 
> Whatever, Enjoy. It looks great.



Yes, a few times she yelled at me for it being too big. But it was my choice to go that size. I've been wanting a big house for a long time, living in apartments and condos got to me. And, if I do retire there, I don't want to shuffle back and forth between just a bedroom and a living room. I like some room. And I really enjoy the large open space between the 2 floors, I think that's what sold me on this design.

No, we specifically bought the land from some lady. She sold us the first lot, then the second lot. Then about two and half years ago, she sold us the 3rd lot, which is only accessible via our two lots, so she had no choice but to sell it to us, at very favorable terms (my clever wife!). That woman's family was not happy and tried to get us to give it back, but we refused. It's still a working rice paddy, that some farmer uses and is supposed to pay us in rice. We're going to do something with it eventually.

My wife is now working on cozying up with the granddaughter of the guy who owns that rice paddy behind us. I've told my wife that I want that property. This design house needs a backyard and it would be a perfect space, after filling it in. Might even put in a swimming pool back there as well.

We are also close to the railroad tracks for that future rail link between Bangkok and Hat Yai. The Nakhom Pathom station won't be too far from our place, yet we are off the main roads. This will make it very easy to get into the big Mango, if we want a night out.

As I said before, I know I can't own land in Thailand (without a lot of bother). But one thing I noticed early on with my wife, even before we finally tied the knot, was that she would always call the property "your property" or "your land" when talking with me about it. She has never tried to assert it as hers. She does the same thing with the house. It's always "your house".

Thanks again !

Steve

----------


## DrAndy

> We'll have to be sure there is some nice shade tree outside that area.


one of the good things about Thailand - you can buy a nice big tree and have it brought over and planted

a couple of years later and it looks excellent

incidentally, bananas are not trees but grasses

they have a bunch of fruit then need to be cut down and other shoots pop up

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
>  We'll have to be sure there is some nice shade tree outside that area.
> 
> 
> one of the good things about Thailand - you can buy a nice big tree and have it brought over and planted
> 
> a couple of years later and it looks excellent
> 
> ...



Yes, I've seen several places nearby our house that sell big, balled up shade trees. I seem to recall pricing was over 30,000 baht for one tree. My only concern using them is how strong the root system will be if it's that mature. I'd be nervous that the roots won't be able to really dig down and it could topple right on the house during a good blow. I know they will brace them for a period of time.

But we'll probably look into them, if nothing else but to help block the sun on that side of the house.

Dang, I didn't know bananas are a grass. Learn something new every day. Interesting, thank Andy.

----------


## DrAndy

We needed a tree for shade on the farm

one of the building workers said he had a nice tree he would sell us, as it was in the way of what he wanted to build

We paid B10k for the tree, delivered and planted, with a 3 year guarantee

it is now a lovely big tree, perfect


they cut the branches right back, so the root system can support the tree. It took 2 years for a decent canopy to develop, by which time the roots had also expanded

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> That little doorway that you see upstairs goes into the "Buddha room". We had it reduced in area and expanded my youngest daughter's bedroom.


He won't be staying at my place; scrounging bar steward.




> incidentally, bananas are not trees but grasses  they have a bunch of fruit then need to be cut down and other shoots pop up


Get rid of the banana if it's near the house. Worst weeds I've ever had to deal with.

----------


## DrAndy

^ at least you get bananas!

not a weed if you want them, and they are in a good position

their roots are not intrusive so will not damage the drains etc

----------


## stevefarang

That banana plant is staying right where it is. I like it.   :Smile: 

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Some more pics from last week.

Another shot of the master bedroom, looking east. You can see where they stored the jacuzzi for now. Still working on primer for all surfaces.




Looking from the kitchen to the ground floor family room. Main entrance will be to the right.




Looks like some of the sanitaryware & stuff sitting safely in the kitchen area. My wife tells they won't put them until near completion, so the builders aren't using them.





The front bedroom, upstairs, on the east end of the house. Looks like there are some of the roofing tiles to be installed over the car park area.




The view out the upstairs family room. Obviously, there will be doors and a stainless steel railing on the balcony. That doorway is one bone of contention I have with PD House. It's not symmetrical to the room. You probably would never notice it, but I caught it when they were doing the interior walls and it all had to do with alignment. On the west wall of this room, there is a double block thickness for the wall. The plans have the blocks butting up against each other, but in reality, there is a ~5 cm air gap between the two. I thought about putting in some little time capsule or something in the space. So the wall pushes into the room just a little and disrupts the symmetry, or at least to me it does. I doubt any visitors would ever pick up on it.




The wife went shopping at Home Pro for some light fixtures and fans. Every room will have a fan. She picked up 2 fans and will wait for me to choose and pick up the rest. I don't know what rooms these will go into.





Some of the light fixtures that she picked up. Looks like all CFL bubs. I want to switch over to LED as soon as reasonably possible. I've been trying one out here, at my place in the USA, and I really like the light it puts out as compared to fluorescent bulbs. I might even see about installing strips of LED lights up in the coffered areas of the ceilings.



Steve

----------


## richardshane

Looks like things are moving along...you're on your way here soon ?? First thing I do here whenever I move into a new (to me) house in Thailand is change over every fluorescent bulb to cool white, I find that bright white fluorescent irritating, gives me a headache... but it keeps the ghosts at bay.

----------


## stevefarang

> Looks like things are moving along...you're on your way here soon ?? First thing I do here whenever I move into a new (to me) house in Thailand is change over every fluorescent bulb to cool white, I find that bright white fluorescent irritating, gives me a headache... but it keeps the ghosts at bay.


I just arrived in Tokyo. Will be in BKK later tonight and out at the the house build tomorrow afternoon.

My plan is to switch all LED bulbs ASAP. I've been using one at my place in the USA and really like it. We may even install LED light fixtures initially, instead of the CFL bulbs anyway. All depends upon price. Maybe pay a visit to Home Pro tomorrow and take a quick look.

----------


## richardshane

Welcome Back !!, I guess we'll be seeing some more pics soon !!

----------


## Mozzbie47

Must say it is starting to look good mate, looking forward to your report  when you are on site.

----------


## stevefarang

Not sure what's going on with my laptop, keeps freezing up. So I'm re-doing this in smaller sections.

View from the road.





Main entrance. PD House has gone back and given me the curved piece at the top, as I asked for.




West end of the house. My office in back ground floor corner. Guest suite in front. Master bedroom & balcony upstairs.





East end, showing the car park area. Bedroom upstairs. The 3 columns are in front of a side entrance.



Roofing details for car park.




A while back, there was a discussion about granite flooring. Some one had mentioned that it was a thin slice of granite with a concrete backing. This looks like granite all the way through.  Those c-shaped pieces are concrete trim pieces that will go around all the exterior columns (and I think most of the walls as well) You may seem some already installed in some views of the house.




East end of the house, from a side road.




South end of the house, down the same side road.



And the workers camp, east of the house. This will all be future garden/patio area, where we will hang out in the evening.



I'll post some interior shots later.

----------


## stevefarang

Looking into the guest suite area. Nice big windows.




From the corner, looking back out. You also see the bathroom, which will also be accessible from the family room.




A view inside the bathroom. it's the only one with a divided wall for the shower.






My office space, southwest corner, complete with banana grass (LOL thanks Dr Andy) outside. Again, nice big windows.




And then looking back out.




More coming...

----------


## stevefarang

Master bathroom, you see where the jacuzzi will go. These pics better show the tile. Nice and formal.


Then, looking back where the shower will go.





All the bathroom and the car park ceilings have this green ceiling board (or sheet rock in the USA). I'm assuming it is a more moisture resistant material.



Maybe a few more, but that's most of them.

----------


## stevefarang

We are back from Australia and will go to the house tomorrow, before we head off to Singapore for most of July. 
It turns out they use the wrong sheetrock/gypsum for the exterior ceiling of the upstairs balcony. They used the standard interior stuff and not the moisture resistant like found in the bathrooms and car park area. The contract does specify they use moisture resistant gypsum board for that area. I believe my wife is going to be raising some hell with the workers tomorrow. it might be worth making a video !   :Very Happy: 

Hopefully some more progress has been made. I would think the windows should be ready to be fitted in soon. I don't like seeing the birds flying in and out to our coffered ceilings.

Steve

----------


## richardshane

Steve just thinking....you've had problems with your house build and you are here....problem is you're not where you should be...don't take this wrong but nobody is going to watch over your house like you !! In my opinion and after going through what I went through "you" should be there.....I really thought it was going to be a carefree build and I could trust what was supposed to happen but the first time I left for what was supposed to be 3 days I came back 1 day early and they were already using hand-mixed concrete on the foundation....you cannot trust "Any-one" to supervise it for you !!!  "Thai-Rak Thai" translation: "Thai-love Thai" this is just the way it is...we are just "Farang" so if you have relatives looking after it for you they might see something which is not quite right but  they don't want to cause a problem and really as long as the walls are standing it will look good to them...."Mai Pen Rai".  Thats all I will say Steve....I wish you would have lived here for a while....maybe you would understand...I was fully prepared to sit at my build every day for however long it took because I realized there is no carefree build here, your supervision is a requirement... I'm not trying to be an asshole Steve, and maybe you have things under control ?? You'll never know the mistakes and short-cuts unless "you" see them being done. Good Luck,  ::chitown::

----------


## terry57

That's a crazy arse house mate but looks like its been built well.

PD house has seem to have got your house right where as another poster on this board has been royally screwed over by them.  Sure you have read that thread EH.

But as I said on the other thread it all depends on the contractors who are doing the Build.

You have been very lucky it seems where he was just very unlucky with the workers supplied.  

Good luck with it all.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, long day today. I'm not going to post any pics, as the changes are mostly cosmetic in nature at this time. They did replace the wrong gypsum board installed in the exterior ceiling of the upstairs family room balcony. The guy in charge even showed me a pic he took after it was replaced.
Primer has been applied to all the walls (inside and out). I took a few exterior pics. I won't post them unless someone really wants to see them.

We spent some time at HomePro, and some other home stores. picking up ceiling fans, spotlights, other interior lights, bathroom fans, towel racks, etc. We got a Mitsubishi 300 Watt continuous pressure pump (no 250 W available and I'm concerned 200W will be insufficient for our size house) and a 2000 l tank. Yes, they did have a lot of Hitachi pumps and were trying to steer me to them. 

HomePro staff also suggested I buy a water filtration unit while there, but I was not impressed by what they were pushing and I know some of you have made some suggestions (on other threads) for filtration units I want to consider.

We also spent some time with the guy who will be building our security wall.

I was told our windows and doors will be delivered in about a week. I'm looking forward to getting them installed. We found 2 bird nests in our coffered ceilings.

As far as the difference in build between our house and  Richard's, it's clear that whoever is in charge of Richard's house decided to cut some corners and not follow the PD House standard of preformed beams & columns. 
Yes, I would have loved to be at the construction every day, but my work and personal schedule would not allow for it. Plus, there was no reasonable lodging for me near the project and the drive from/to Bangkok is tough (I wouldn't want to do it every day). 

It is one reason why we went with PD House. Their promise of my not having to be on-site every day of construction. My issues with PD House are nothing like what has gone on at Richard's house. I just can't wait to get the damn thing finished, so we can move in. The yard is a mess, between trash from the workers and the weeds growing wild.

----------


## nigelandjan

Coming along Steve , slowly but surely ,, very nice tiles in your bathroom .

Your gonna love this when its all done

----------


## stevefarang

Oh what the hell...

Here's a shot taken from the northeast corner. The outside Thai kitchen will be situated along this wall. The wife is also talking about making the car park area a sheltered area to sit outside under.





The southeast corner of the house. The water tank and pump setup will be on this corner, just outside of the kitchen.




A view from a corner near the entrance looking back towards the western kitchen.




And then, I'm down in the corner of the western kitchen, looking back to where I was standing previously (where the broom is).




And the usual shot of the front of the house. Most of the primer coating has been applied. They are adding concrete trim pieces around the columns and other vertical sections.




Like I said before, not much of significance has changed. I expect with the windows and doors, she will look more complete.

Slowly getting to the finish line, although we won't really be finished kitting the place out for a while.

Steve

----------


## terry57

^

A truly stunning house, many happy days to come playing there mate.

Some very serious coin invested , good luck with it.

----------


## Necron99

Are you going to add any outdoor areas Steve?

----------


## stevefarang

> Are you going to add any outdoor areas Steve?



Yes, of course. We've got plenty of room to do so.

There will be an outside Thai kitchen on the east wall. We'll have some kind of patio and garden area on that side as well. Right now the worker's camp is set there, as you see below. We'll soon start building a perimeter security wall along the road that you might see in the background.



My wife was thinking of putting a swimming pool in that area as well, but I'm not keen on it being there. I'd rather wait and see if we can get the rice paddy directly behind the house instead. It would be a perfect spot for a nice small pool to relax in.

The front will be landscaped as well. The way the house sits, raised on some extra fill, I can see a perfect spot for a small solar powered fountain, in that curved area as the road goes up to the house front.

On the other side of the property are 2 lots we also own. The first will be raised and a man-cave will go there. We also have some ducks, geese and chickens there so they will have a drier, higher ground as well.

I want to put together a poor man's solar/wind setup, so my thoughts are to have a series of solar panels and wind generators mounted on this lot (and the 3rd lot as well). Still need to work out the specifics with my son (the BSEE). I want to get the house done first and then play around with this idea.

The final lot is a rice paddy right now and we are still thinking what to do with it to generate a revenue. My wife's father, who is a fruit vendor, is suggesting bananas (gluay hom). I don't care what it is, as long as it's making some money.

----------


## stevefarang

Finished up work in Singapore. Heading back to Thailand today. 

I expect to be visiting the house in the next day or so. I think the windows have been installed, finally. So that should stop the birds nesting in my coffered ceilings.

I think we will be meeting up with PD House at their Nakhom Pathom office as well, to discuss things.

So those of you eagerly awaiting updated photos, I should have some coming soon.

----------


## nigelandjan

Good lad safe trip mate

----------


## stevefarang

Oooops, I typed too soon. My wife had checked with PD House and it turns out the windows aren't ready yet. So we won't be going this week. It will have to wait until after we get back from a quick trip to Krabi & Hat Yai.

As frustrated that I am with the delays, I like the fact that we are now in the damages phase, as they missed their 220 day completion window (due back in March 2013).

----------


## nigelandjan

Bit of compo eh mate ?

----------


## stevefarang

> Bit of compo eh mate ?


As I recall, it's 512 baht a day. Started back in 3rd week of March 2013. You do the math, it's good. Although, I know PD House will fight it.

----------


## terry57

PD House on the ball again EH.    :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## stevefarang

> PD House on the ball again EH.



Well, we've had better luck than Richard Shane did, although it's been 2+ years in the making. I've had and still have some issues with them, but at least it's almost finished. I can't wait.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, greetings from Ao Nang beach area. It was an interesting & wet drive down. I haven't driven a right hand drive, stick diesel truck in a while.

On the way, we had a chance to swing by the house and I took some more photos. No big visual changes, but they are doing some smaller details. They are also re-doing the balconies for some reason. Something about them being "not beautiful enough". All I know is that they have removed a large chunk of reinforced concrete from each balcony. Now they are rebuilding with brick.

I've also noticed they are cleaning up the bathrooms. I think they are getting ready to install the floor tiles.

Anyway, here's a couple of pics.

This will be a little garden wall on the front of the guest suite. I've been watching this area, wondering they had forgotten about it. I'm planning on putting some roses in there (if they can tolerate the heat)






This is the breezeway from the car park into the side entrance.






The family room balcony upstairs with the workers rebuilding the wall. And my wife, hiding from the lens.






Looking at the balcony from a master bedroom window. Using up the Q-con block.






A view of the master bedroom re-worked balcony:





This is a rarely seen angle, from the southwest in a nearby rice paddy. You can see where my office will be on the corner with the banana "tree"





A closer view of the wall outside my office. They are installing these concrete trim pieces that are really appealing to me. They are also "flattening" out the ledge outside the master bedroom balcony. I assume we will mount some of the A/C units there.





A shot of the south wall, taken from near the kitchen. You can see their work on the upstairs family room. And again those trim pieces.




A shot of the east wall, with the kitchen downstairs. And more of those trim pieces.




And a parting shot of the house as of the other day. I'm told the windows & doors will be delivered next week. Of course, they said that back in late June.




Steve

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## nigelandjan

Looking like a blooming palace Stevo wow that is some size ,, reclon I will be able to find it ok  :Smile: 

Very nice to mate bet your well proud of how its all taking shape now ,, been a long time but looks like it will all be well worth it.  Unlike poor old Richard ,, have to feel for the guy

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## stevefarang

Thanks Nigel !

We haven't finished the paint job. After the cammo paint is applied, you'll never see it !!   :smiley laughing: 

Yes, I feel bad for Richard. I think one of the reasons he went with PD House was because of this thread. It's too bad they jerked him around like that.

We still have to kit it out. And build the security wall, paver driveway, landscaping, etc....

Steve

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## nigelandjan

> After the cammo paint is applied, you'll never see it !!






> And build the security wall


Blimey I,m not that bad a guy  :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> After the cammo paint is applied, you'll never see it !!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Oooops, I forgot to mention our trained attack soi dog, roaming the grounds interior !!!

And, maybe some geese. They can be ornery and make a racket if something is up. I've got one who will try to come at me, if I'm not looking. He's a big mean looking thing.

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## stevefarang

OK, we made a quick detour at the house, on our way back from Krabi/Ao Nang Beach and Hat Yai, yesterday. They have not started to install windows yet, but they have fitted in most of the "down lights" downstairs. They've also installed most of the floor tiling in the bathrooms too (except for the master bathroom). In the master bath, they have spaced out the area for the jacuzzi and the shower.

So here are some new pics:


East end of the house. You can see our just delivered 2000 liter water tank sitting in the car park area. They are now starting to frame the windows with those concrete trim pieces.





The flower bed located outside the guest suite. It's looking good, although there are no drainage holes. Any advice on this? Should I go ahead and get someone to drill/punch a few small holes in the bottom. I'm concerned about water seeping through the guest suite interior wall. I will be putting about 8-10 cm of gravel, for drainage at the bottom. But I would think I would want some type of small drain hole.






The kitchen/dining area is looking better with lights and stuff installed. Except they used the wrong fan and that light fixture belongs upstairs in my daughter's bedroom. Ah well, at least it helps define the rooms. They've also rounded all 3 columns, looks a lot nicer than the blocky square ones from before.





Downstairs family room and the various down light locations. This will be a well lit house. I intend to slowly switch over to LED lights everywhere. I'm also thinking of putting in strips of LED lights up in the coffered ceiling areas sometime later.






Floor tiles in the guest suite bathroom. I'm assuming they will replace the cracked floor tile.






A view of my office from the banana tree location. And they installed the family room fan that my wife picked out, LOL...






And the gecko I spotted inside, on one wall of my office. My wife didn't see it until I showed her this pic, now she's afraid of it and wants it gone. I thought they were lucky ?





Upstairs family room balcony is slowly taking shape now. Pic is taken from the master bedroom dressing area.








Same area, but from the family room now. So you see the inside work:






A view of the same balcony from down by the kitchen.





And finally, our 2,000 liter water tank. I hope it's enough. I'm told the jacuzzi will hold about 250 liters, which was one of the reasons why I picked that size. Damn thing looks like an oversized plastic hand grenade toy we would play with as kids.



Ok, that's it for now. I did see a bar installed across the main opening in the front of the house, so I'm hoping that means glass work will soon start.

Steve

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## nigelandjan

Coming on Stevo boy ,, still a way to go .

If I were you I would get some drain holes in that balcony floor . 

If you gonna fill that concrete box outside the guest suite mate it might be an idea to just put flowers in containers in there ?  as I would say putting earth that high above the DPC on that wall is gonna cause you damp problems coming through the wall .

I cant help but notice what an arse about face way they are doing the ceilings ,, Jeez why would you want to install sunken ceiling lights + fans etc into bare plasterboard and then plaster around them ??? thats just gonna make one hell of a mess and look pretty awful with plaster against the fittings ,, also if and when you ever have to remove them its gonna pull the plaster off with the removal .


Good luck with it mate

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## stevefarang

Good points Nigel, thanks.

The lights might be in temporarily, before they put the plaster up. Or I would think that. Instead of cutting in after the plaster has been applied ?

I'll ask about the balcony drains. The answer is most likely that it is a work in progress.

I suppose we could keep the roses in pots. I was keen on filling the planter with soil (bottom bed of gravel), but without some type of drain holes it will be a problem.

Thanks again !


Steve

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## stevefarang

Now, I'm told that windows and doors will start to go in on August 10. I'll believe it when I see it. This is the promised 3rd date.

PD House has not yet answered my e-mailed questions about the ceilings, flower planter, drainage for the balconies, etc.  Color me surprised.

If they were better in communication, I would be willing to recommend them. But this refusal to answer e-mail (even though I was assured of this way back when), is very aggravating. My business would die if I treated my customers the same way PD House treats me.

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## nigelandjan

Blimey mate your not having a lot of luck with the communication .

That must be a hell of a frustration . 

As for the ceiling fitments light,s / fans  ,, I,m not a builder Steve but I have had building refurb work done over the years and including the property we are in now whenever the ceilings been re-done its all been finished right off then the holes cut for the lights after its all dry.  

Infact the last time I did this I painted the ceilings before they fitted the lights to so as not to have to paint around the fittings.

If you think about it those sunken light fittings are now flush with the plasterboard , so with a skim of plaster on the board they are gonna get buried .

Mabe you've highlighted a prob to them they would rather stick they're head in the sand with .

Good luck with it all mate I will be over in the end of October for 5 months so hope to come and see you then

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## stevefarang

They've been pretty bad about communication for over a 14 months. I rarely get a reply.

I'll be watching the ceiling plaster and lights, as best as I can back in the USA. I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and that they will remove the lights when applying the final coat.

With luck, I will finally spend the New Year with the wife in our own place, if PD House ever finishes...

----------


## stevefarang

Yay, we have windows and doors !!!

Overall front view of the house.




A close-up of the main entrance. I'm really glad we got the arch at the top. The original house designs had a straight horizontal run, which was not depicted in the advertised picture of the house (which had the arch).




Outside the guest suite (west side of the house):





And the car park area, complete with my yet to be installed hand grenade shaped water tank (east side).




Future western kitchen area:




My office area:




Inside the guest suite:




Inside the guest suite bathroom. Not sure about that fan, I thought I said to mount it on the wall. Not sure how it will vent arranged like that ?




This is just inside the main entrance. You see the door to my office and the guest suite is down around to the right.




Upstairs family room looking out to the balcony:




Master bedroom:




Finally !!!

----------


## Loombucket

Well done Steve, it starts to look really nice! What colour are you thinking of making the outside walls?

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## stevefarang

Thanks,
We're being real original and copying the same color of the house, of the same design as ours, that we toured way back when.




I really like the color blue and have some houses with the blue roof tiles that really appealed to me. But I know they will absorb more heat, and I wasn't sure what to use for the house color then. I'm not the most color-coordinated person.

Steve

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## laymond

great house steve,looking forward to the photos of the end product.without being rude,why did you have to have such a big house???I mean its huge and you will need 3 or 4 cleaners to come in daily to keep it clean.no offence mate,just wondering like. :Smile:

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## nigelandjan

Thanks for the update mate ,, coming on

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## bobforest

Steve

Looks great!

In the picture of the finished house, what's the window directly to the left of the main entrance. It's a low window, almost like to a half-sunken room at a lower level but I'm sure I have seen no such room in your photos.

bobforest

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## MrG

Great job, Steve. Looks great.

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## jizzybloke

That is a big house!

Nice though, hope you're happy in there Steve!!

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## stevefarang

Laymond,
The choice of house is all mine. My wife wanted a smaller, simpler thing. But after bouncing around condos and apartments for the past 13+ years, I wanted something I can knock around in, especially if I retire there. I would go crazy if we had just a bedroom, tv room and kitchen. I also liked the floor plan and the open feeling to it.

Cleaning it will give my wife something to do. Or we'll have to hire some cute young house cleaner...  :Smile: 

Bob,
There's a small storage area under stairs. It will have a door. The owners of the house we toured wanted a window there. I thought about doing the same, but I could also see it being an easy way in for unwanted visitors. So we left the solid wall in place.


Still a lot of details to attend to. We will kit it out, one room at a time. My wife is working on getting the perimeter wall built. I need to get the paver driveway put in. With the house area about a meter higher than the surrounding land, I can picture a curved driveway up to the house. I am also envisioning a small fountain down below, on the inside of the curve. Maybe another parking spot below for washing the cars ?

Thanks all. I'm just thrilled to finally get some windows in place.

Steve

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## Norton

> I need to get the paver driveway put in.


Is the "paver" driveway like picture above?

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## Norton

Consider this type of driveway. Small stones embedded in concrete. It's what I have. Very durable and low maintenance. Matches your house colors well.

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## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> I need to get the paver driveway put in.
> 
> 
> Is the "paver" driveway like picture above?



No idea yet. Haven't even begun to check out options yet.

Why ? Any suggestions ? I'm open to ideas.

I did find out tonight that it was my wife who had them put the fan in the ceiling. She saw that in the hotel we usually stay in Bangkok and really liked the look of it. I asked her how does the air (and bad smells) go outside (this is a ground floor bathroom). She didn't have an answer for me, but supposedly will ask.

Steve

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## Norton

> Any suggestions ?


Yes :Smile:

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## stevefarang

> Consider this type of driveway. Small stones embedded in concrete. It's what I have. Very durable and low maintenance. Matches your house colors well.



Interesting, but not sure how that would look for a big driveway. And the cost of this versus pavers. But definitely food for thought, thanks Norton !

Steve

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## Norton

Cost vs pavers needs a look but sure will look fine on big driveway.

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## Norton

The place is coming along well. All just takes time and some thought.

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## nigelandjan

Your place looks beautifull Norts ,, now get out Steve,s thread !   :Smile:  :Smile: 

Steve can you put up some pics of the ceilings after they plaster around those light fittings please ?  I would be interested to see how it looks when they plaster up to them

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## stevefarang

> Your place looks beautifull Norts ,, now get out Steve,s thread !  
> 
> Steve can you put up some pics of the ceilings after they plaster around those light fittings please ?  I would be interested to see how it looks when they plaster up to them



I'm still waiting to hear back from PD House about that (surprise-surprise) Nigel. I'm not there, so I can't guarantee a detailed shot, but will see what I can do.

Thanks Norton, for that other pic of the concrete driveway.

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## thaicbr

Steve .. You know PD house have an office in Nakhon Pathom now.. why don't you send the emails to your wife (if she is here) and get them sorted, on the spot.

The office is just up from Big C on the opposite side of the road at the lights.

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## Ratchaburi

Also in Ratchaburi   :Smile:

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## stevefarang

> Steve .. You know PD house have an office in Nakhon Pathom now.. why don't you send the emails to your wife (if she is here) and get them sorted, on the spot.
> 
> The office is just up from Big C on the opposite side of the road at the lights.


We've been dealing with the NP office from day one. I knew they moved.

Doesn't matter, they still don't speak/read English. So they have to be sent to another guy for translation. That is assuming they are going to even answer.

BTW, we're waiting for dry weather to paint the exterior. I'm assuming they are working away on the interior items. Wife hasn't gone in a few days, she hasn't been feeling well.

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## stevefarang

Still no answer from PD House (surprise-surprise).

Wife has sent me some new pics. They've been busy painting interior, working in the bathrooms and looks like they've been cleaning up the interior.



Guest suite interior. I was surprised to see this color, as I thought we were going with a neutral color. I'll go with it for now, but it might have to be repainted before any male farang guests stay with us.




Guest suite bathroom. I like the shower set-up and am really glad we got rid of the urinal (standard in design). It would have been located on the wall opposite the toilet. Which would have meant that anytime you're sitting there, your face would be near the urinal !!

I'm still trying to figure out how the exhaust fan will vent, unless they are going to install some ductwork outside. Unfortunately, my wife doesn't understand these kinds of details. But I'm trying to get her to understand. She wants the fan in the ceiling, which does look nice, but there's got to be an exit path for that fan.






Looking under the stairs towards the visitors bathroom and the maid room. That bright light is from the side entrance (car park area):





A view from the stairs looking up towards the master bedroom:





From the upstairs family room, looking towards the front of the house:





Master bathroom suite is coming along. Looks like they will soon be able to install the jacuzzi, which has been sitting in the master bedroom for a while now.









Front, upstairs bedroom on the east end of the house. For now, my wife's sister will stay there and she picked the color.






My youngest daughter's bedroom. I know she really likes blue, so we went with a light blue color. Although, it looks a little too green. We may have to tweak it a little when she visits. This is also on the east end, upstairs and above the kitchen:




The shared bathroom for these two bedrooms. I hope that the sink will be better centered than that !  And we will have to get a nice glass divider between the sink and shower (left of the sink).




Steve

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## nigelandjan

The more I see the bigger it gets !  

Huge place mate ,, I reckon your gonna be well pleased with it once the builders are all done and gone home

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## Ratchaburi

So you will be using as a under ground water tank, if the tank is empty & there is water in the ground a round the tank it can lift the tank.
Steve your land looks very high but water can sit around the tank.
Also the pump will have to draw the water from below so you would more problems.
When you have a tank above ground it is less of a problem.

I built some tank to go under ground at my home, the day before installing them.
I had a rethink as I was tilling over the top of them & decided not a good I they could lift if empty. :Smile:

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## stevefarang

Believe me, I argued against putting the tank in the ground, mostly because of concern over NPSH requirements for the pump. But the wife did not want to see the tank, so she picked one out, from the catalog, for in-ground purposes. I did have a say on tank size.  :Smile: 

2,000 liter size tank, so hopefully it should never, ever be empty. Water supply seems pretty reliable. I'm also thinking I want to dig a well in the coming years, just not sure how expensive it will be.

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## stevefarang

We've got power to the house it seems. Looks pretty good in the dark. They've also been adding the decorative red brick on many of the exterior columns.

Some views from the front (north end)








Northeast corner:




Northwest corner, looking at the guest suite (ground floor) & Master Bedroom (upstairs):




A little more of the northwest corner:




Outside my office, looking east from southwest corner (and my banana tree):





View from northeast corner where you see the car park (with water tank waiting to be installed):






South east corner, outside the interior western kitchen:








East corner of the house. This is where we will have the outdoor, Thai style kitchen and patio area to relax.







Steve

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## nigelandjan

Blimey mate , your sure gonna have some size electric bill  :Smile:

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## stevefarang

Guest suite bathroom, ground floor.




Maid/visitor bathroom, ground floor. We're going to have to do something about a shower curtain or screen.:





Upstairs shared bathroom for the two bedrooms on the east end. It's hard to see, but that vase like figure has some nice blue tones in it. The main reason why I picked it out.





And we will put a glass screen between the shower & sink.




No new pictures of the master bathroom. I think I posted one or two recently anyway.

Steve

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## stevefarang

> Blimey mate , your sure gonna have some size electric bill



We are using a lot of flourescent bulbs, and I did want a lot of light. Their standard has one single light in the ceiling of each room. I re-did the electric plan to have four lights in each room, 2 lights per switch.

And after testing an LED bulbs here in the USA, I'm going to slowly switch over to LED bulbs. It's a nicer light than flourescent.

I did see some LED bulbs in Thailand that were rated 50/60 Hz 110/220 V, so I'm going to check to see if the USA bulbs are the same. That would save me some money, as LED bulbs are still pricey in Thailand.

And, as I've mentioned a few times, I want to play around and try to set up a solar/wind system to help out.

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## stevefarang

Looking from the downstairs family room out to the main entrance. Looks like they been cleaning up the interior.




And then looking to the stairs. You also see the side entrance from the car park area. The closed door goes to the maid room. The open doorway is the visitor's bathroom.




Looking to the left (west) of the main entrance, there's that little sitting area. In the back, you see a doorway to the guest suite bathroom. We also had them round all the columns. We first had 2 square shaped columns and one round one. We decided we liked the round ones better.




Now, standing by the main entrance and looking east, towards the kitchen:



Steve

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## Norton

> concern over NPSH requirements for the pump.


I have underground tank. Been in place 10 years. Zero maintenance so far. 
No cavitation problems with pump but house is single story. Good pressure at all faucets even when multiple are on.

The house is coming along quite nice. Won't be long til you will have to fill up with stuff.

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## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> concern over NPSH requirements for the pump.
> 
> 
> I have underground tank. Been in place 10 years. Zero maintenance so far. 
> No cavitation problems with pump but house is single story. Good pressure at all faucets even when multiple are on.
> 
> The house is coming along quite nice. Won't be long til you will have to fill up with stuff.


Thanks Norton. It's a 300 w pump, so we should have good pressure. But I am worried about cavitation. I don't think the HomePro staff would have any idea about this (pump curves), so we'll have to wait and see how the pump works with the underground tank.

The fill up of stuff will be a slow process. Eventually, there will be about 7-8 a/c units, but we'll only do the bedrooms and my office first. We have ceiling fans in every room, so that should help. I want to focus on the outside Thai kitchen before worrying about the interior Western kitchen.

I'm hoping it will be done in less than 3 months. They are waiting for some dry weather to paint the exterior.

And no, PD House has not yet responded to my e-mail. I even forwarded a message to one of their VP's, but he's silent as well. Really poor customer service. If they want to do business with foreigners, they have to learn to deal with them.

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## Ganesh

I like those doors in your main entrance - are they aluminum or UPVC?  Any idea the brand or where PD House got them?

Thanks

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## stevefarang

Some new exterior shots.

Main entrance view. If you look at the columns flanking the entrance, you will see a concrete trim piece about 3/4 of the way up. Now, if you look to the right, by the guest suite corner, you will see little red brick trim pieces. They will do the same on these two main columns up to the concrete trim pieces.




A view to the left side of the house. You see the car park, our 2,000 l water tank waiting to be buried in the ground behind the kitchen. They've installed the red brick trim pieces on the corners. You can also see the side entrance into the house from the car park.




Looking more at the guest suite.





Now going around to the west side of the house. The guest suite is to the left, guest suite bathroom is that small window and my office is to the right (southwest corner). Balcony off the master bedroom is starting to to look good.





A close up of the balcony area. My wife picked out the external lights. Not what I would have gone with but c'est la vie.





Looking at the south wall. Outside the western Kitchen. The water tank will be buried about where the ladder is sitting on the ground.






Looking at the east wall. Entrance to the western Kitchen is that first door. Thai kitchen will be located out here, plus an outside sitting patio. Need to come up with some kind of cover to complement the house, maybe have a couple of ceiling fans stuck up inside as well.
Looks like they've installed the red brick decorative trim pieces here as well.




Steve

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## stevefarang

> I like those doors in your main entrance - are they aluminum or UPVC?  Any idea the brand or where PD House got them?
> 
> Thanks


UPVC. I can try and ask PD House who their supplier is, not sure if they will reply...LOL

If you go back to the beginning of this thread, we were torn between a beautiful wood entrance and the UPVC. I was going to go with the wood  but didn't know how much of a maintenance headache it would be. I suppose we could always switch to a wood entrance down the road.

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## Storekeeper

Hey Steve ... Is it really as big as it looks? The reason I ask is because I saw so many houses in Thailand that from the front I could only imagine how huge they were inside ... And then come to find out it was kind of an illusion once I saw the interior. 

So how many square feet is the interior? By the pictures I would guess roughly 2200. Is it that big or bigger?

----------


## aging one

It looks way bigger than mine and I have 2100 sq ft, or 210 sq meters sk.

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## stevefarang

> Hey Steve ... Is it really as big as it looks? The reason I ask is because I saw so many houses in Thailand that from the front I could only imagine how huge they were inside ... And then come to find out it was kind of an illusion once I saw the interior. 
> 
> So how many square feet is the interior? By the pictures I would guess roughly 2200. Is it that big or bigger?


Yes, compared to a typical Thai hut, it's big. But I wanted it, especially after seeing the large open space at the front entrance. The wife wanted something much smaller. If I end up retiring there, I don't want some small 1-2 bedroom shack, where I shuffle from the bedroom to the sitting room and back again. With this, I have room to roam and a bedroom on the ground floor, if I ever have problems with the stairs.

I've also been crammed into a 2 bedroom condo for the past 8 years or so. I relish the open space.

I thought I had mentioned the dimensions before, but no worries.

The overall footprint is: Length: 22 m, Width 22 m. Although is doesn't feel like a square. You can read back and see the standard floor plan and our floor plan (via the electric plan I posted).

What the heck, here's the link to the PD House standard floor plan for our little humble abode  You can even see the standard floor plan for each floor. That may help you understand some of my pictures.

If I recall, when we were pricing the granite flooring, the ground floor is about 170 sq m, and upstairs is 150 sq m. So ~320 sq m, which is about 3444.5 sq ft.

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## Storekeeper

> If I recall, when we were pricing the granite flooring, the ground floor is about 170 sq m, and upstairs is 150 sq m. So ~320 sq m, which is about 3444.5 sq ft.


Wow! 3444 square feet ! Yep, that's plenty of room to roam. Thanks for the response. It's a grand looking house. Cheers.

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## alitongkat

wow... thats like "tara"... 

but very nice, and the colors also of nortons house really awesome...

there is on the concrete ground layer seen "holes", as if the ground wasnt prepared straight, flat
e.g.  as on this one

isnt this dangerous?

why do they paint white dots and stripes everywhere ?

the doors...
in europe, there is a metal shield on the frame, with a "hook" (a metal pole) and the door has such metal-lids/caps, so that the dore is hanged into the poles on the frame...
why do they in asia this two-shield-thing... one on the door and one on the frame - even in SUCH LUXURIOUS houses ?

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## Bettyboo

> the ground floor is about 170 sq m


That's a nice size. I'm building a tiny and cheap place; 120sqM (one floor) inside and about 80 sqM covered outside space; that's about as small as I could reasonably go, so 170sqM (2 floors) is very nice - I wouldn't say huge...

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## alitongkat

what is the room height in the regular rooms ?

personally, i think in asia you can "go big" with the house, as buying the place isnt that expensive and you dont have to pay for the extraordinary heating costs...
so big and high and open space - is quite good here and even of advantage, might stay cooler...

the problem is however, that most people use almost the whole place to fit the house onto, with almost no space around it anymore... 
thats very stupid... huge house, ok, but have PLENTY of space to the neighbours... otherwise, better go smaller... 3 meter is the very minimum to the neighbour imo...

----------


## alitongkat

and if they pay 500 baht per day compensation for not finishing the house in time, then its not overly much - 30 * 500 = 15,000 THB per month...

because normally, you will have to pay longer rent, while you already have to pay for the loan at the bank... - because of the construction delay...

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## stevefarang

> wow... thats like "tara"... 
> 
> but very nice, and the colors also of nortons house really awesome...
> 
> there is on the concrete ground layer seen "holes", as if the ground wasnt prepared straight, flat
> e.g.  as on this one
> 
> isnt this dangerous?
> 
> ...


Wow, that is an old picture you pulled up. LOL

That hole should be where the outlet pipe to the septic tank goes (possible ease of access to the plumbing under the bathroom?).  I don't even recall seeing it now. If it is still there, it will be filled.

I'm not sure what you mean by white dots and stripes. Some of those are lines to ensure things are straight.

And you totally lost me on your door question. They look like the typical doors used in houses in the USA. I'm not European, so I can't compare to what is done there. Could we have gone with fancier doors ? I'm sure we could have, but that is not a big concern for us. We can always replace them later, if we discover something really interesting. For now, I want PD House done and gone.

Steve

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## stevefarang

> what is the room height in the regular rooms ?
> 
> personally, i think in asia you can "go big" with the house, as buying the place isnt that expensive and you dont have to pay for the extraordinary heating costs...
> so big and high and open space - is quite good here and even of advantage, might stay cooler...
> 
> the problem is however, that most people use almost the whole place to fit the house onto, with almost no space around it anymore... 
> thats very stupid... huge house, ok, but have PLENTY of space to the neighbours... otherwise, better go smaller... 3 meter is the very minimum to the neighbour imo...



LOL, the closest neighbour is across the road from us. And they are very happy we developed the lot and built the house. They used to have problems, during heavy rain with water washing across the road into their place. Not anymore.

The back side of the house is close to a rice paddy, but we are thinking of buying it one day. The house begs for a swimming pool behind it and that lot would be perfect it. My wife is friends with the granddaughter of the guy who owns it and is working that angle.

I posted this before, but here's a Google Earth snapshot of the 3 lots we own.




Room height ? I never measured it, but it looks like a "standard" room height.

Steve

----------


## alitongkat

chose the picture because of the hole... 


european door...


in thailand, and apparently in the US the middle bolt is entirely missing ?
i have never seen other doors in europe than the style on the pic...

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> the ground floor is about 170 sq m
> 
> 
> That's a nice size. I'm building a tiny and cheap place; 120sqM (one floor) inside and about 80 sqM covered outside space; that's about as small as I could reasonably go, so 170sqM (2 floors) is very nice - I wouldn't say huge...



Actually, after the frame was up (before they started the Q-con block walls), I remember walking around the place and thinking it's small.

----------


## rickschoppers

Steve, have you been able to stick to your original budget, or has it run over as almost all builds do?

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, have you been able to stick to your original budget, or has it run over as almost all builds do?



It's gone over, but only because we added things like the granite flooring downstairs, additional lighting/electrical outlets, upgraded electrical panel, buried power line to the house, jacuzzi in master bathroom, upgraded wood trim for the stairs, etc.

We also had to buy additional gravel for when the cranes were lifting the columns and beams. But that's all in the front of the house and can be re-used (hopefully somehow) for the base of the paver driveway.

If we had stuck to using the standard design, then we would have probably stayed on budget, since PD House was doing the build. But things like a single down light in a room was not going to cut it. I'm trying to anticipate what we would want in the future, so we have plenty of lights and electrical outlets on almost every wall (no need for the standard Thai practice of running extension cords everywhere).

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

Steve, dare I ask your estimated total cost? Very nice place, by the way.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, dare I ask your estimated total cost? Very nice place, by the way.


A little over 6 million baht.

Thanks very much. It will be nicer when the security wall goes up, paver driveway goes down and landscaping is at least in progress. I expect we will be experimenting with the landscaping for a while. But I definitely want to get it cleaned up, some flowers & trees put in and see about putting a little solar powered fountain down in front (where the drive should curve up). We also need to get a good shaded, well ventilated patio area set up outside the kitchen as well. I suspect we will be hanging out there a lot, if I can keep the mozzies at bay.

Steve

----------


## BKKKevin

You mentioned the neighbor talked of flooding... Will the underground water tank risk contamination if there is flooding?

----------


## Mathos

Nice thread, beautiful house as well Steve.

We saw some decent houses a few years back 
in northern Thailand, they were unbelievable in price.




Tidy looking homes.




From memory, which is never so good nowadays, 
these were on small gated estates.

They were around the £70K - £85K.

Green coming your way if the system allows it Steve.

Thanks for sharing.

----------


## stevefarang

> You mentioned the neighbor talked of flooding... Will the underground water tank risk contamination if there is flooding?


No it shouldn't (knock on wood).
The original lot was a rice paddy. We first raised it about a meter and let it settle for a year or so. I don't think it ever flooded at that point. Then my wife had them add another meter of fill in the area where the house is positioned. The water tank should also be in this general area.

----------


## stevefarang

> Nice thread, beautiful house as well Steve.
> 
> We saw some decent houses a few years back 
> in northern Thailand, they were unbelievable in price.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tidy looking homes.
> ...


LOL, I've never understood this "green coming your way" thing.

That second house could be a PD House project, although that right corner is different looking.

Thanks and you're welcome. I just wish things turned out better for Richard and his PD House construction project. But making the move back to Canada could also be good, especially spending more quality time with his kid.

Steve

----------


## terry57

> A little over 6 million baht.


A fraction of what that house would cost in the real world. 

Not to mention that once you start altering things the cost sky rockets.

----------


## terry57

> That second house could be a PD House project.
> 
> I just wish things turned out better for Richard and his PD House construction project.



Mate, you are extremely lucky that they have done a reasonable job on your gaffer, you could of quite easily ended up in the same boat as Richard and numerous other farangs that build houses in Thailand.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> 
> A little over 6 million baht.
> 
> 
> A fraction of what that house would cost in the real world. 
> 
> Not to mention that once you start altering things the cost sky rockets.



Yes, I know the price is pretty good, compared to places here in the "Colonies".  :Smile: 

Looking at the PD House website, I see they've raised the price to 7 million baht.

We tried to minimize altering things too much. But there was no way I was going to go with PD House's standard of a single light in the ceiling and maybe one electrical outlet per room. I know they make some money off of changes and extra work.

We will still have to do the interior western kitchen, but that will wait a while. I want to get the outside Thai kitchen done first. Plus, with all the windows in that space, we're going to have to play around with the layout. I'm going to try and use the IKEA 3-D kitchen planner. I may not use IKEA stuff, but it will help in figuring out that space.

But we won't use PD House for this work. I want them done and gone.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Yay !!  It looks like the rain has let up enough to allow them to start painting the exterior.















This last one is an angle you don't see too often. It shows the south-southeast end of the house from the road. The rice paddy in the foreground is the one I want to buy one day. That open door goes into what will one day be the Western kitchen. You can sort of see the upstairs family balcony on the left.



Steve

----------


## Dead Metal

Very nice, looking very good, the garden will keep you fit.

----------


## jonny22

Nice Mathos ... Keep the good work. But you said the prices of these houses are unbelievable. I agree with you but if you look theses houses you will realize that that's worth the unbelievable price. If you built these houses by your self it will cost you a lot too

----------


## aging one

> Nice Mathos ... Keep the good work. But you said the prices of these houses are unbelievable. I agree with you but if you look theses houses you will realize that that's worth the unbelievable price. If you built these houses by your self it will cost you a lot too


Mathos? I think you have the house owner wrong mate. Not a great first post, but welcome.

----------


## DrAndy

> The overall footprint is: Length: 22 m, Width 22 m.


that is over 400sq metres




> when we were pricing the granite flooring, the ground floor is about 170 sq m, and upstairs is 150 sq m. So ~320 sq m,


someone has stolen over half your floor space!

or your walls are very thick

It is a very large, hiso looking house, rather imposing

----------


## Bettyboo

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> the ground floor is about 170 sq m
> 
> 
> That's a nice size. I'm building a tiny and cheap place; 120sqM (one floor) inside and about 80 sqM covered outside space; that's about as small as I could reasonably go, so 170sqM (2 floors) is very nice - I wouldn't say huge...


As pointed out by DrA above; it's a lot bigger than that!

My previous browser didn't allow me to see the pics, hence my comment based on your numbers - it is a big house.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> The overall footprint is: Length: 22 m, Width 22 m.
> 
> 
> that is over 400sq metres
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, they haven't stolen the floor space. Look at the layout, you have the two "wings" on each end. In between, it's just land.

It may be hiso looking, but I don't care. I liked this design and really liked the large open interior space towards the front. Living in a small condo in USA for years, I want some room to roam at my place in Thailand. The wife wanted something smaller, so it's not her trying to boast.

Steve (or am I Mathos now  ??  LOL)

----------


## nigelandjan

> Not a great first post,





> Steve (or am I Mathos now ?? LOL)


 :rofl: 

Good to wake up tune in and have a chuckle first thing to start the day thanks 


BTW Betty if you think your one,s tiny , you wait till I start posting up our one soon to be built ,, I guess it would make a decent shed / workshop for your one  :Smile:

----------


## jonny22

> Nice Mathos ... Keep the good work. But you said the prices of these houses are unbelievable. I agree with you but if you look theses houses you will realize that that's worth the unbelievable price. If you built these houses by your self it will cost you a lot too


Hope you get some help from here
Architect Gold Coast

----------


## Brice

Awesome home. Really a good and appreciative work. I also love these type of homes far from the city and noise. I am with you for your interior designing :-)

----------


## richardshane

Glad its almost done Steve.  "PD House Sakon Nakhon" asked me to remove my thread as my posts showed peoples faces and they were not true according to "PD House Sakon Nakhon"....in order to save myself from being legally obligated to reside here awaiting court proceedings for the next 10 years I asked that the thread be removed. I did notice on their facebook page (PD House Sakon Nakhon) that they have a new foreign customer....hope he does well.....

----------


## nigelandjan

Could you not have just had the pics removed ? 

Hope you start another thread about them without the pics to warn others

----------


## stevefarang

> Could you not have just had the pics removed ? 
> 
> 
> Hope you start another thread about them without the pics to warn others


Wow, you got a response from PD House ? I'm still waiting, and I've gone  on their facebook page, asking that their guy please contact me.

I would have just edited the pics to blot out their faces. Removing the pics altogether removes evidence of their poor quality work, such as the paper bags mixed in with the concrete. If some new customer saw that, they would think twice.

----------


## Brice

> Awesome home. Really a good and appreciative work. I also love these type of homes far from the city and noise. I am with you for your interior designing :-)


house builders Brisbane

----------


## richardshane

> Glad its almost done Steve.  "PD House Sakon Nakhon" asked me to remove my thread as my posts showed peoples faces and they were not true according to "PD House Sakon Nakhon"....in order to save myself from being legally obligated to reside here awaiting court proceedings for the next 10 years I asked that the thread be removed. I did notice on their facebook page (PD House Sakon Nakhon) that they have a new foreign customer....hope he does well.....


Now I'm being  asked to remove this post !!! WTF !! There is no reason whatsoever to remove this post as I was stating fact.... I have no idea why they want to keep on bugging me... Sure am glad I will be in Canada soon where I can freely express myself.

----------


## aging one

I like your site Richard will it to someone and they will keep it going even if you cant. 

Oh PD if you read this ASEAN is coming. What ya gonna do?

----------


## richardshane

My bad....it has nothing to do with this thread it is a website address which they forwarded to my wife....I've never seen it before....I'll have to ask some of my Canadian friends...??

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by richardshane
> 
> 
> Glad its almost done Steve.  "PD House Sakon Nakhon" asked me to remove my thread as my posts showed peoples faces and they were not true according to "PD House Sakon Nakhon"....in order to save myself from being legally obligated to reside here awaiting court proceedings for the next 10 years I asked that the thread be removed. I did notice on their facebook page (PD House Sakon Nakhon) that they have a new foreign customer....hope he does well.....
> 
> 
> Now I'm being  asked to remove this post !!! WTF !! There is no reason whatsoever to remove this post as I was stating fact.... I have no idea why they want to keep on bugging me... Sure am glad I will be in Canada soon where I can freely express myself.


Because it makes them look bad. And what they did was bad (no...it was really f&^%$'d up) and they should have taken action to correct it for the sake of the customer. They don't mind promoting how they win all these customer service awards, but when it comes time to actually deliver, they are woefully inadequate. And the Thai style of just ignoring something or someone, is not going to work with potential farang customers.

Hit them with both barrels from the Great White North.

----------


## stevefarang

Wife has sent me seen more pics of the exterior. Looks like they were able to get the upper areas painted.

Northeast corner. We'll be putting some type of covered patio area on this end and expect to spend a lot of time outside in this area.




Looking from the car park area and into the house.





Looking towards the guest suite area. Looks like they are prepping the brick work that will be on the two main entrance columns.




Looking more at the main entrance.





The upper area of the main entrance. Looks like they have mounted the flood lights, but need to adjust their aim (especially the one on the right).



Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Well, I guess my bellyaching on the PD House Nakhom Pathom FB group page finally caught someone's attention at the main office. All of a sudden they want to answer some questions I had asked back in July. And within just a few days, they did !!

But, I did find out that the louver grate on the front of the house is decorative only. So, while I have vents in the soffits all the way around, I have no exit point for hot, humid air. I think PD House believes those soffit vents are for venting hot air out. They clearly are not familiar with thermodynamics and the basics, like hot air rises.

So, I'm going to have to look into buying some of those whirlybird ventilator things. I'm thinking at least 2, one towards each end (east/west) of the house, located on the south facing roof (so you don't see them from the front entrance). Maybe a 3rd one in the middle ?

Here's a view of the south side of the roof.



I'm bummed to learn of this, but at least someone from PD House is answering questions now.

Steve

----------


## Mamasun

Hi Steve,

Can you please tell me what kind of material is the eave ceiling outside ? is it wood or ?

The house is super...

----------


## stevefarang

> Hi Steve,
> 
> Can you please tell me what kind of material is the eave ceiling outside ? is it wood or ?
> 
> The house is super...


If I recall, it's plastic.

Thanks. PD House now tells me it will be finished in October. I'm assuming 2013, LOL.

Then we have to start the landscaping and kitting it all out. 

Based on my every positive experience with LED bulbs here in the USA, I want to replace the CFL bulbs as soon as possible (assuming LED bulbs come down in price in Thailand).

A lot of things I want to do there.

Steve

----------


## Mamasun

Thanks

By plastic , do you mean PVC ? is it some kind of panel or plank ?

beause i need to do the roof outside and i find the "con wood" panel really ugly
and wood very expensive..lol

----------


## stevefarang

> Thanks
> 
> By plastic , do you mean PVC ? is it some kind of panel or plank ?
> 
> beause i need to do the roof outside and i find the "con wood" panel really ugly
> and wood very expensive..lol


That, I don't know. PD House sources it. I would think PVC, but not certain. I think it comes in a package of precut length "planks" and they cut down to fit and do angles at the corners. It looks very familiar to stuff I see used at new houses here in the USA.

Perhaps Dr. Andy knows more about it than I ? If I can find it in the spec sheet, I'll let you know.

Steve

----------


## Mamasun

Ok thanks again...have a nice day

----------


## stevefarang

Received some interesting new pics. Nothing that shows dramatic details, but some of you might be interested.

First shot is of the insulation that they will install up above the ceiling upstairs. The PD House standard is 3". They have an option for an extra 3", which I agreed to way back when (early on in the project). Probably next year, I'll hire someone to go up there and roll out another 6 inches, if not more.



Some shots of the second bathroom upstairs (east end of the house). This will be a shared bathroom between my daughter's bedroom and the other bedroom (my wife's younger sister will stay there for now). Yes, I know. We need a glass screen between the shower and the sink.

 



A shot of the visitor's and/or maid's bathroom, downstairs east end, near the kitchen.




Shower area of the guest suite downstairs (west end). I had some questions as to whether the solar hot water heater is supplied to this bathroom (it is to our bathroom upstairs). I never saw the hoses running down to this space, but they assured me it was and finally sent some pics to confirm. I'll still double check, when I get there.




Ceiling area of the front bedroom on the east end of the house. This is where my wife's younger sister will stay, for now.





Ceiling area of master bedroom. I'm going to have a talk with the wife, when I get back over, about pink walls and that hideous "THING" of a light !! I'm afraid to wake up and see THAT first thing in the morning !!  LOL







Finally, the decorative floor tile was finally installed. I've been waiting a long time to see it go in. Last year (early August 2012), after we told them we wanted it, they said it was no longer available. This was after I had returned to the USA. But then they told my wife, new ones were going to be available after all. So I was happy. I kept telling my wife that we need a narrow black strip around it to transition from the tile to the black/white granite flooring. And she said she kept telling the flooring people too. But, the guy who came out to install the tile asked my wife why we didn't want a black strip around it AFTER he installed it. Turns out the other folks had left and this new guy never knew what we wanted. 
Oh well, it's in.

My wife also had me thinking that they were not going to put it in the main entrance inside, but locate it outside. People told her it would be more beautiful. But I was happy to see that it is inside, right about where I wanted it.




And a close up. 



But there's more !!!
I'm looking at the pic and thinking, "This doesn't look right". After all, this was the one I wanted...



Ugh!!!

Oh well, it's not too bad I guess. I really like the color blue and that was one reason I liked my original choice.

I will say that, since this other PS House lady (franchise manager is her title, I think) has stepped in, communication has dramatically improved. She tends to reply within 24 hours and has really tried to answer my questions and not blow them off, like the Thais try to do.

Steve

----------


## nigelandjan

Shame you didnt buy it at the time and take it home for later mate .

I agree with you it would have looked a whole lot better , unfortunately that dark is far too dark to go with the existing surround tiles ,, mabe a nice bit mat over it  :Smile:

----------


## Ratchaburi

Good on yu Steve, keep the barsted's honest

----------


## stevefarang

> Shame you didnt buy it at the time and take it home for later mate .
> 
> I agree with you it would have looked a whole lot better , unfortunately that dark is far too dark to go with the existing surround tiles ,, mabe a nice bit mat over it


I wanted to, believe me. But I was assured there would be the proverbial Thai "no problem". Plus, there would have been an issue of where to store it. The mother's house is kind of small as it is.

It looks like something from Versailles. Not that there's nothing wrong with that, but I really, really liked the other pattern. I spotted it as soon as we went into that shop and knew I wanted it.

Maybe, sometime in the future, we can cut out the current pattern and put in the one I wanted in the first place (or maybe even something even better) ?

Oh well. C'est la vie !

And it's not something that I can blame on PD House. They had nothing to do with this.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> Hi Steve,
> 
> Can you please tell me what kind of material is the eave ceiling outside ? is it wood or ?
> 
> The house is super...



OK, I found this in the specs. But it looks like they are listing the galvanized steel in there and I'm not sure where the break is:
"Vinyl ceiling "PANELE" Model. CENTER VENT. Galv. Stud. "

So it looks like it's vinyl.

Steve

----------


## Mamasun

Thank you very much Steve ! 

Now I need to find it ...and really don't know where to buy it ..Because I have never see it before

any idea ?

----------


## stevefarang

I would think a Home Pro  or Thai Watsadu type place would be a good start.

----------


## Mamasun

Is it something like this : down the page on right 

SCG Experience - Product search result

----------


## Koetjeka

Really looks like a nice place!

Do you know the price per m2 of that granite flooring? I would love to have that in my house.

----------


## stevefarang

> Really looks like a nice place!
> 
> Do you know the price per m2 of that granite flooring? I would love to have that in my house.


I forget the price, but it was about 1/3 the price of the tile floors we looked at. My wife likes the granite, as the pieces butt up close with no large "seams". I was hoping for a lighter, more neutral color, but it's not bad. If I can get the price, I'll let you know.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

OK, PD House has sent me a couple of new pics.

These are of the water tank being installed in the ground, behind the kitchen. And then some of the water piping. I'm not sure about the unusual tie-ins and valving since I'm not there.






And some of the two septic tanks. We have two, one on each end of the house. The plans called for 2,000 l and 1,600 l tanks. I told our PD HOuse guy, last year, that I want the 2,000 l tank on the west end where our bathroom & guest suite bathroom is located. The mast bathroom will have the jacuzzi and I figured that tank will get more use.
I even repeated this in an e-mail, to my new contact at PD House, about a month or ago.
But did PD House do this ? Nope. They put the bigger septic tank on the east end, where the kitchen is and the smaller one on our end.

This is the east end, outside of the kitchen.



And over on the west end:





Someone putting up the fake vent grill above the main entrance.




And now my latest issue with PD House. They finally installed the solar hot water heater that was part of the promotion when we signed the contract. This heater will supply hot water to both the master bathroom and guest suite bathroom. However, they never asked me where I might want it and they put it on the front, north facing roof. I am really unhappy about this. I can't believe they didn't put it on the south facing side of the roof, where it would sit right above the master bathroom, reducing the length of any connections. And, you can see it now from the main road. I just can't believe that they didn't think to put it on the south facing roof. 




Grrrrr....

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

My new contact at PD House sent me an e-mail tonight and apologized for the mix-up. She says the large (2,000 liter)septic tank is on the west end, as I asked for, and the smaller on (1,600 liter) is on the east end.

I'm not sure to verify this, so I'll have to take her word on it. I do know she has been trying her best to answer my questions, as compared to my previous contact who would just ignore my e-mails.

I'm waiting for an answer on the solar hot water heater. I'm hoping that they can switch it to the sunnier south side of the house, which will also make it hard to see from the front of the house then. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Update: The solar hot water heater will be moved to the south facing roof.  Yay !!

Also, she tells me that our jacuzzi, in the master bathroom, is connected to the waste water pipe. Only the soil pipes goes to the septic tanks. So now I'm wondering where do our showers and the jacuzzi drain to ??

Update 2: She now tells me that the showers and jacuzzi drain to the waste water line which connects to a cesspool or public sewerage pipe. Which now explains why there's a public sewer connection in the plans. I had assumed it was a typo, or something in the event a sewer connection was available.
But if there's public sewers, why do we have septic tanks? Is the public sewer more of a storm drain like connection ?

----------


## stevefarang

OK, I've received more of an explanation from PD House on all things waste water. I've gotten to used to public sewer systems, that it's been 30-40 years since I've had to deal with septic tanks and cesspools. Back then, I was a kid.

So, the soil lines (from the toilets) drain to the septic tanks for the good ol'bacteria to do their thing. From there, the water flows into the cesspool. The waste water lines, from showers, sinks, jacuzzi, etc all go directly to the cesspool.

Which now clarifies things when I see these two pictures. The septic tank is that dark looking tank stuck in the ground and the cesspools are the two concrete structures behind





I did notice that waste water drain lines to the cesspool angle down before going up into the cesspool. I am asking PD House about this, if it's intentional (like a loop seal) or just sloppy workmanship. I doubt if they will admit to sloppy workmanship, but I am curious to read their reply. Last time I checked, water cannot flow uphill on it's own (at least in the real world).

By the way, the price of a truck load of fill was 2,200 baht ! My wife is not happy about that, as we had payed 1,500 baht a truck load before. But that was over 2 years ago. Maybe because it was a single load ?

We're going to need a lot more fill when we raise the level of our second lot, so we have a drier place for the chickens, ducks and geese and room for my "man-cave".

Steve

----------


## Koetjeka

> By the way, the price of a truck load of fill was 2,200 baht ! My wife is not happy about that, as we had payed 1,500 baht a truck load before. But that was over 2 years ago. Maybe because it was a single load ?


Is that solid gold soil or what? Seems incredibly expensive to me, we paid 100B per load which is 20x cheaper. 

Are you going to hide the ugly blue pipes, or not?

----------


## rickschoppers

^
Is that for a small hilux truck load? I have never seen fill dirt for 100 baht. I have paid anywhere fro 500-700 per truckload depending on the size of the truck.

----------


## stevefarang

> By the way, the price of a truck load of fill was 2,200 baht ! My wife is not happy about that, as we had payed 1,500 baht a truck load before. But that was over 2 years ago. Maybe because it was a single load ?
> 			
> 		
> 
> Is that solid gold soil or what? Seems incredibly expensive to me, we paid 100B per load which is 20x cheaper. 
> 
> Are you going to hide the ugly blue pipes, or not?


I have no idea, as I'm over here in the USA. I'm assuming this will be another big truck load, like all the other deliveries were. But only a single load, which might also affect the price.

I'm told they are testing the septic system. When that is done, the larger drain pipes will all be covered by the "solid gold" fill.  :Smile: 

Steve

----------


## Koetjeka

> ^
> Is that for a small hilux truck load? I have never seen fill dirt for 100 baht. I have paid anywhere fro 500-700 per truckload depending on the size of the truck.


I'm not sure what people normally get but I had loads of this size, although not far from our land, about 2-3km I think.

----------


## rickschoppers

^
That's a very small truck. It must have taken hundreds of loads.

----------


## rickschoppers

Here's a snippit from another thread that talks about the rise of fill dirt. This is probably for a six wheeler 10 ton truck. We used a little larger truck for our filling. Of course they will charge whatever they think they can get which is why I have my SIL do all the fill dirt negotiations.

_Just talked to our backhoe and dirt guy to order a few dozen loads of fill dirt and heard that the government has cracked down on the excavation sites on non-chanote land.   We normally got dirt  from 300-400 baht a truck load but now the price is 500 baht if he can  find it.  We'll know in a few days about that, but was wondering if  anyone else is experiencing this price increase.  No problem getting  gravel, as this affects only fill dirt._

----------


## stevefarang

I'm assuming that it will be a truck like this. This was from when my wife had them put down more fill (~1 m) in the general area of the house. We had already filled the whole lot (again ~1 m) with fill of a lesser quality. This newer stuff looked like good dirt.




Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

^
Yes, that is the size truck we used. You will also pay a little more for quality fill dirt rather than rock and root filled dirt. Again, it is supply and demand with whatever the market will pay.

----------


## Koetjeka

> ^
> That's a very small truck. It must have taken hundreds of loads.


It's the only truck available here I'm afraid, in total we ordered ~150 trucks. Now we had flooding so I guess I'll add 300 more (1-1,5m higher).




> Here's a snippit from another thread that talks about the rise of fill dirt. This is probably for a six wheeler 10 ton truck. We used a little larger truck for our filling. Of course they will charge whatever they think they can get which is why I have my SIL do all the fill dirt negotiations.


Yep, whatever you do, don't show your face or else the price will probably be doubled.

----------


## rickschoppers

^
Yes, we do have to settle for whatever is available. We were lucky to be somewhere that used the larger trucks. As long as the job gets done, that is all that matters.

----------


## Mamasun

I paid 600 baht for a medium size truck. no special soil... pale yellow color

----------


## stevefarang

> OK, I've received more of an explanation from PD House on all things waste water. I've gotten to used to public sewer systems, that it's been 30-40 years since I've had to deal with septic tanks and cesspools. Back then, I was a kid.
> 
> So, the soil lines (from the toilets) drain to the septic tanks for the good ol'bacteria to do their thing. From there, the water flows into the cesspool. The waste water lines, from showers, sinks, jacuzzi, etc all go directly to the cesspool.
> 
> Which now clarifies things when I see these two pictures. The septic tank is that dark looking tank stuck in the ground and the cesspools are the two concrete structures behind
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, wonder of wonders !!! My new PD House contact agrees that those drain lines are not angled properly. So hopefully they will be corrected.

Steve

----------


## Wizard of Oz

Just wondering if you have a difference between black and grey water? At my temp. place the grey water just runs into the ditch next to the house, black goes in the tank.

----------


## stevefarang

> Just wondering if you have a difference between black and grey water? At my temp. place the grey water just runs into the ditch next to the house, black goes in the tank.



As I understand it, at our house:

The grey (drains from showers, sinks and what not) go directly to the cesspools, positioned after the septic tanks.

The black water (toilets) goes to the septic tank, then the liquid flows into the cesspools.

----------


## stevefarang

Some new pics from PD House. I really like this new contact of theirs. She actually responds in a reasonable amount of time (even on weekends) and actually tries to answer each question that I have, instead of picking and choosing. Of course, it could always be that the project is nearing completion, but I'll try not to be so cynical and give her the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, our in-ground water tank and starting to set up the water pump. If I recall,we got a 250 W Mitsubishi pump. I think I mentioned it in a previous post, after we bought it.






A nice shot of the west end of the house. Looks like the still need to do the stainless steel railings for the master bedroom balcony. Master bathroom has those 2 little windows (more windows on the south wall). My office will be lower right hand side. Guest suite bathroom has that little window.





And speaking of the guest suite bathroom:




I think this is a shot of the maid room bedroom door and the bathroom. Interesting that the bathroom has a sliding door. I didn't specify that, but it's not a bad idea.




They also sent me some photos of some of the ceiling fans and lights, but nothing too interesting to see.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

A couple of new pics. Not the clearest pics, sorry.

A view from the north end, possibly standing close to the road. I remember planting those trees.






A view from the northeast corner. Car park is up front. Maid bedroom facing car park. Kitchen is back left, and bedrooms upstairs. Nice, thick 2 m wide concrete walkway on the east and south walls of the house. We're going to have to start thinking about how to set up the exterior Thai style kitchen. Normally, it would butt up against that east wall, but now I'm wondering if I want it facing the other way, or at least the cooking areas. Keep it away from the side of the house.






A view from the northwest corner. Guest suite is in the corner and master bedroom upstairs.





Master bathroom is still a work in progress. I know there's a delay in the counter top that my wife ordered, but I'm not sure what's going on with the jacuzzi area.





Master bathroom walls. Still needs some cleaning. I see what looks like some line of grout on the left side and a light film of some dried "something" on a brown tile on the top right. Still, it looks nice and formal.



Hopefully, all will be finished this month.

Steve

----------


## MrG

> We're going to have to start thinking about how to set up the exterior Thai style kitchen. Normally, it would butt up against that east wall, but now I'm wondering if I want it facing the other way, or at least the cooking areas. Keep it away from the side of the house.


We considered that same detail when planning our house. There's a pic in one of these threads of someone's Thai kitchen bordered by the house and a half wall with a counter, sink, and most of all burners away from the house. Better wind ventilation that way, too, we think.

----------


## stevefarang

Got some new pics.

East end septic tank:




West end septic tank and the first cesspool. There is an "overflow" cesspool off to the right of this picture. Piping drain angles look ok from this shot.




Northwest corner view. we now have the 2 m wide tiled walkway extending further around the house. My wife has also bought a couple of plants, although that planter in front of the guest suite will have roses. I'll figure out another spot for those two plants, maybe over by the car park.




A close up of the plants my wife bought.




North view facing the house. They haven't relocated the solar hot water heater to the south facing roof yet.




A close up of the corner on the right side of the entrance. Looks like I misread an earlier picture. The decorative tile piece IS located just outside the entrance and not inside, as I had hoped for. I guess it looks ok though.




Another shot, later in the day with some of the lights on.




Moving inside to the upstairs family room, facing west to the master bedroom. I can't wait for the wood flooring and railing.




A view of the front entrance glass.




Master bathroom shower now installed. I thought we had purchased a glass enclosure.




The wife's jacuzzi finally installed (sort of).




My throne...




Someone cleaning the floor in my office space. Going to have re-paint those walls. I don't know what the wife was thinking !!!




I don't think they will make the completion date of October. More money they owe us.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

They moved the solar hot water heater from the front (north) to the back (south) roof.  Yay !!




Although, I would think they would have positioned it a little more to the left, putting it closer to both the master bathroom and the guest bathroom downstairs that it supplies. Oh well, at least it's on the sunnier south facing roof.



I don't know when they are installing the stainless steel railings for the balconies. I would think very soon.

Steve

----------


## UdonThani Pete

Looking really good Steve, well done for your patience it has paid off!

Cheers
Pete

----------


## Koetjeka

Looking very good, you're almost there man!

About the solar heater, do you also have a backup boiler for days when it's storming outside?

----------


## stevefarang

> Looking very good, you're almost there man!
> 
> About the solar heater, do you also have a backup boiler for days when it's storming outside?


Yes, every bathroom has an on-demand heater.

Thanks all.

We still need to do the perimeter wall, paver driveway, outside thai kitchen, landscaping, a/c units, kit out all the rooms, add more fill for lot #2, build my man-cave, finalize design & build the solar/wind generator system, re-design the fowl yard, etc....
But at least I'll have a place I can hang my hat in and I can stop supporting the Thai hotel system every time I come over.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

I'm gettin' wood...




The wife has tried out the facilities and she really likes the toilet in our bathroom. She says the toilet near the kitchen is too small and uncomfortable. She now wants to replace it with a toilet like the one in the master bathroom. And probably the other 2 toilets in the other bathrooms (they are all the same). I'm hoping we can resell the original toilet(s).

I also found out that we got another 23 loads of fill dirt at 1,800 baht/load.

----------


## Roobarb

> She says the toilet near the kitchen is too small and uncomfortable. She now wants to replace it with a toilet like the one in the master bathroom.


She sounds a switched on woman Steve.  It's an area that is most definitely not worth compromising with.

Sorry if I missed it earlier, but why exactly are you "gettin' wood"? (please only answer this if it is related to the picture in the post and has absolutely nothing to do with your wife testing toilets  :Smile: ).

----------


## stevefarang

It was a play on words, based on the picture. We are finally getting the wood flooring installed upstairs. I'm waiting for some more pics from the wife showing some progress.

----------


## stevefarang

Some of the flooring installed upstairs. I like my hardwood !!







The house should be done soon. Or at least the part PD House is responsible for. There's still a lot to do.

----------


## Mamasun

Its really beautiful..love it

----------


## charleyboy

That flooring looks fantastic!

----------


## terry57

I suppose this thread will prove that " PD House " can build a decent gaff when they have the right people on the job.

That's the key innit.

That's one crazy arsed house man,  Be nice when you can actually relax and enjoy it.

----------


## Roobarb

Steve, the flooring looks great.

Seeing the pictures I fully understand why you 'got wood'... :Smile: 

Well done by the way on the entire project, I've greatly enjoyed following it.

----------


## naptownmike

That wood floor looks great. Do you know how they attached it to your cement floor.

----------


## stevefarang

Mike,
No I don't, I'm over here in the "Colonies" for now. I'm assuming it's a "floating floor" and those wood pieces snap together. Perhaps someone like Dr. Andy can explain how it's done.

Thanks all for the kind compliments. I'm looking forward to welcoming in the new year there next month.

----------


## stevefarang

PD House has sent me some new pictures. Nothing really showing the wooden floor work for the upstairs.

The first is a night time view from the northwest corner.




Some external views of the main entrance:







The window to the left of the main entrance. You can see the stairs inside:




The "side entrance" to the house:




Then a shot looking out from the "side entrance" over by the car park.





A view of the stairs. Not sure why they haven't done the wood steps or railing yet.




A view from upstairs looking towards the main entrance. Some of the wood flooring is still piled in that back corner. This was one of the things that really appealed to me about this house, that large open space with all the windows.





The upstairs shared bathroom. It's going to need some additional stuff in there, like towel racks and a place to store towels.




The master bathroom with the wife's jacuzzi. I suspect she will be enjoying that often, but it is big enough for two:







And a parting shot of the front. PD House tells me the stainless steel balcony railings will be installed shortly and more pics will be coming.






One problem we have, not PD House's fault, is the water pump is not supplying enough pressure for the whole house. It works fine if only one faucet is open upstairs, but pressure drops with 2 or more faucets open. As I recall, it's a Mitsubishi 250 w pump. We are obviously going to need a bigger pump, as we have 4 bathrooms and the kitchens. I'd hate to get rid of that pump, since it's brand new and am wondering if we could get a smaller size pump and put it upstream, like a booster pump ?

Steve

----------


## Mamasun

Wow ที่สวยงามมาก...very beautiful !

----------


## Mozzbie47

After all the trouble you had at the start, what is your opinion of the builder now Steve, would you use them again or recommend them.

----------


## stevefarang

> After all the trouble you had at the start, what is your opinion of the builder now Steve, would you use them again or recommend them.


It wasn't a trouble at the start, it was in the middle and some issues with attention to detail and the usual Thai style of promising me one thing and doing something totally different without ever telling me. That and the total breakdown in communication, which was really frustrating me.

The lady who is now my contact does a much a better job of trying to answer my questions in a very timely manner. She's Thai and English is not her first language, but she does a fairly good job. She even apologizes if she's a day late in replying or lets me know she won't be able to reply the following day due to a meeting.

I've got mixed feelings to be honest. I want to get over there and check things out myself. I feel really bad for what they did to Richard, who I think decided to go with PD House based on this thread. He was hosed big time and I hope people will keep that in consideration in making a decision. We also had a chance to tour several recently completed PD House homes, including one that is the same model as what we went with. Actually, after seeing that house and the large open spaces, I was pretty well sold on that design.

I do like their style style of pre-fab reinforced concrete frame that just keys together and that roof truss system (instead of some guy in sandals tack welding pieces of metal together to hold up the roof tiles).

I'm not planning on building another house. This one is big enough. I'm not sure if I am ready to recommend PD House yet. I'll wait until things wrap up and I'm over there, which should be next month.

Steve

----------


## terry57

I'm actually amazed that the Build is near completion without some god awful problems being thrown up.

PD house does have a touch and go reputation.

I think you're incredibly lucky to have the house like it is.

Such a large financial investment given over to the Thai's ????

You're a much braver man than me. 

Good luck with the finish.

----------


## rickschoppers

The test of a good build in not the initial appearance. You will need to wait about 2-3 years to see if any major issues surface. If they do, it will depend on how quickly and how well PD responds in fixing that issue. Your house now looks very nice and you should be proud of what you have accomplished.

I am hoping the house I am building will have no major issues for quite a long time. That will be the true test whether it was constructed properly.

----------


## Ratchaburi

> One problem we have, not PD House's fault, is the water pump is not supplying enough pressure for the whole house. It works fine if only one faucet is open upstairs, but pressure drops with 2 or more faucets open. As I recall, it's a Mitsubishi 250 w pump. We are obviously going to need a bigger pump, as we have 4 bathrooms and the kitchens. I'd hate to get rid of that pump, since it's brand new and am wondering if we could get a smaller size pump and put it upstream, like a booster pump ?
> 
> Steve


Steve it sounds like you need a inverter pump, 


 *Inverter Pump*


Inverter pump , the newest intelligent technology product which came out from our effort of development. 
The pump driven by typical inverter will adjust pump speed to keep  constant pressure in any pump flow rate. With appropriate pump  selection, inverter pump will provides "real constant pressure" in every  discharge for your system 
Inverter pump also provide lower starting current  than regular pump and  that is a great means of energy saving and lower electricity cost for  user. Our invert pump comes with selected pressure level function allow  you to choose the right water pressure for your system.




 :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> The test of a good build in not the initial appearance. You will need to wait about 2-3 years to see if any major issues surface. If they do, it will depend on how quickly and how well PD responds in fixing that issue. Your house now looks very nice and you should be proud of what you have accomplished.
> 
> I am hoping the house I am building will have no major issues for quite a long time. That will be the true test whether it was constructed properly.


Very true. Although the main frame and roof have been up for 2 years now and have faired well. Hell, the house "shell" was a sancutary for the wife's family, last year, with all the rain and flooding in the area. They strung hammocks up and camped out there. I also understand our neighbors liked having the house there, as it changed the way the flooding affects their property.

I also think that PD House has more on the line, than someone who finds a plan on-line somewhere (or makes their own) and then hires a local crew to put it together. Yes, we did pay more this way, but I'm hoping it pays off in the long run.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> One problem we have, not PD House's fault, is the water pump is not supplying enough pressure for the whole house. It works fine if only one faucet is open upstairs, but pressure drops with 2 or more faucets open. As I recall, it's a Mitsubishi 250 w pump. We are obviously going to need a bigger pump, as we have 4 bathrooms and the kitchens. I'd hate to get rid of that pump, since it's brand new and am wondering if we could get a smaller size pump and put it upstream, like a booster pump ?
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> Steve it sounds like you need a inverter pump, 
> ...


Interesting, not sure where to find one in Thailand.
However, I don't think it's a pressure problem, but volume. We need enough volume of water (at a decent pressure) so that I can be taking a shower upstairs and the wife can be messing around in the kitchen, while someone else is flushing a toilet somewhere else in the house.

I chose a 250W Mitsubishi pump, based on what people were saying in another thread, but should have also looked at pump curves (I doubt the HomePro staff would have any idea of what I'm talking about - LOL). We've got 4 bathrooms and (eventually) 2 kitchens (Thai & Western). I'm just hoping to find a way to salvage that brand new Mitsubishi pump in the grand scheme of things.

But many thanks anyway !

Steve

----------


## bankao dreamer

Excellent Steve Im happy its nearing completion. May you spend many happy times living there.

----------


## stevefarang

Got some new pics from the wife and PD House. I also have to clarify that the wood floor pictures shown before are from another similar project. They have not done the wood flooring yet. Hopefully the guy will start later this week.

Anyway, stainless steel railing for the balcony off of the master bedroom.




They are installing the SS railing for the balcony off of the upstairs family room.




A close up of the family room balcony SS railing. I want that rice paddy behind us. I can picture a lovely pool right there.




Master bathroom exhaust fan, I never told them where to install it. Looks like they picked a great spot !!




And, while we're in here, my wife sent me a pic of her new jacuzzi in the master bathroom. I know she can't wait to enjoy it.







Exhaust fan for the east end upstairs bathroom:




Exhaust fan for the downstairs (west end) guest suite bathroom. My wife originally had them install it in the ceiling. She had seen that done on our travels and really likes the look. But she failed to realize the fan would only be venting into the dead space between the ceiling and the concrete floor above. So they finally moved it.




Exhaust fan for the downstairs east end (maid or guest) bathroom.




Interior view of my youngest daughter's bedroom. You can see the stairs coming up outside. We actually enlarged this room by pushing that wall that you see to the left of the door back. It makes the "Buddha room" on the other side smaller, but my wife was satisfied with this.




A view, from the stairs, looking down into what will eventually be the Western kitchen. It will be a challenge to place counters with those windows.



And then, a view from the stairs, looking over across the main entrance. My office will be behind that door. One of the things that sold me on this house is this large open space.




A view from upstairs looking towards the east end of the house. You see the doorway to my youngest daughter's bedroom on the right, the shared bathroom in the middle and another bedroom on the left.




Another view from the same area, although she moved back closer to the master bedroom doorway for this one. Here you see more of the windows on the main entrance.



A picture of the front during daylight:




And then at dusk (taken from the road):




It sounds like PD House has just a few things to wrap up before they  clean up and depart. So I do believe I can sleep there next month and  celebrate Happy New Year with my wife. I know she is planning on some  type of monk blessing party after I get there.

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

Great color for your youngest daughter's room. Close to what I will be painting my living and dining rooms. Your other colors are also close to my interior choices.

Did you pick them out, or did your wife? Good eye for interior decorating, whoever it was.

----------


## stevefarang

> Great color for your youngest daughter's room. Close to what I will be painting my living and dining rooms. Your other colors are also close to my interior choices.
> 
> Did you pick them out, or did your wife? Good eye for interior decorating, whoever it was.


Thanks. 

My wife picked them out. I know my youngest likes blue so I told her to pick a light blue shade. Unfortunately, the wife picked out some light pink color for our bedroom and my office. The office is going to be repainted !!! LOL

The exterior color is similar to the house we toured 2+ years ago. We both liked it.

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

Your main outside color is along the peach variety and I picked a couple of shades darker for my outside. Your wife has good taste (as you do, I am sure) and she did a good job except maybe on the office. My office will be a light tan with one one wall being terracotta where the TV will mount.

Again, great combination of colors.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, now this is the real hardwood floor in our house. We had a minor snafu the other day, where (typical Thais), the people who were supposed to do the work see the house and suddenly start wanting more money for other things. My wife was in tears the other day over it. We told them to hit the road and my wife found someone who would do it. Promised to have it done by Tuesday, but, he's a quick bastard !!   :Smile: 

The only thing, which I really don't understand, the floor has to sit for 10 days before he will "make it beautiful". I've never heard of this, unless he was just saying that due to other work commitments. So, my wife assures me it will look better than what you see here. This is just as of the day of installation.

The first one is looking from the stairs west to master bedroom. Upstairs family room is adjacent to our bedroom, where you see the light. Buddha room is open doorway on the left.





A close up of the upstairs family room floor, looking towards the balcony.





My youngest daughter's bedroom. Obviously, some cleanup to be done still.




The Buddha room:




And the master bedroom:




I like my hardwood !!!

----------


## gusG

^ I'm not sure, but he may want to give it time to settle before he sands it.

Or he may have another job to do>

----------


## stevefarang

> ^ I'm not sure, but he may want to give it time to settle before he sands it.
> 
> Or he may have another job to do>


Maybe that's what the 10 days is for ? I have no idea and my wife couldn't say either. I've never installed hardwood floors so I have no idea.

Thanks !

Steve

----------


## Roobarb

Steve, I remember I had some hardwood floors installed in a flat in KL (Malaysia) a few years back and the contractors also said they had to leave it a few days before sanding.  I can't remember exactly what the reason was but I think it was about letting the glue harden.  

They used some thick, gloppy tar like stuff to stick it to the original concrete floor.  I'd imagine it takes a while to do what it's meant to.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, I remember I had some hardwood floors installed in a flat in KL (Malaysia) a few years back and the contractors also said they had to leave it a few days before sanding.  I can't remember exactly what the reason was but I think it was about letting the glue harden.  
> 
> They used some thick, gloppy tar like stuff to stick it to the original concrete floor.  I'd imagine it takes a while to do what it's meant to.


I think you need a subsurface so the actual wood does not come into contact with the concrete. If it did, I think it can warp the wood. That was part of the problem we had with that first guy. He wanted to use some prime stuff, I forget what my wife called it. Instead, we are using some cheaper subsurface, possibly some type of plywood. My wife said it was "big wood". Will we regret it later, perhaps. Maybe not though.
I can understand the need for letting it settle a bit before final finishing.

Thanks very much anyway !

Steve

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> Originally Posted by Ratchaburi
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by stevefarang
> ...


You just need a couple of properly powered pumps. 2 350w pumps would be more than enough.

----------


## Bettyboo

Nice floor.

I rented a nice house that was 20+ years old (in a hi-so-ish estate in Rama 2) and had similar flooring; still in excellent condition, easy to clean, looked nice, functional - the nicest flooring I've seen in Thailand. Good choice...  :Smile: 

After much grief, the house appears to be coming together well. From the first post, I thought this build would be a disaster, but please to see it is coming together well; much deserved from the OP's hard work.  :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

I went back a few pages to check on the pump, it's a 300 watt Mitsubishi.

----------


## nigelandjan

I've just got a 200w pump for our little shed Steve,  so your sure gonna need some ooooomph to drive it into your pad.

BTW just an aside I'm hopefully gonna get the lads doing our build to put a concrete pad around the pumps and custom weld a cage which will be bolted to the floor with a padlocked access door on it.

I know it won't stop the thieving bastard,  s but it could give me time to find my gun   :Smile: 

Just an idea mate,  bit of a deterrent ( mabe)

----------


## stevefarang

> I've just got a 200w pump for our little shed Steve,  so your sure gonna need some ooooomph to drive it into your pad.
> 
> BTW just an aside I'm hopefully gonna get the lads doing our build to put a concrete pad around the pumps and custom weld a cage which will be bolted to the floor with a padlocked access door on it.
> 
> I know it won't stop the thieving bastard,  s but it could give me time to find my gun  
> 
> Just an idea mate,  bit of a deterrent ( mabe)



Well, after reading the other thread about water pumps, I went with what I thought was a good sized pump. I want to get over there and check it out myself. I don't know if having 2 pumps in series will do the trick or if I just get a higher volume pump.

I believe our pump is sitting (bolted ?) on the concrete skirt behind the kitchen. We still need to get the security wall put up around the first lot at least.

You could leave a bare wire touching the cage. I think that would be a good deterrent whilst you get your aim set...   :Smile:

----------


## benlovesnuk

Hi Steve

I have a Hitachi 250w continuous pump, we run 4 bathrooms, and kitchen the length of the house is 22m and 2 levels, pumps from a well to tank and then pumps to the house. Water pressure is good(some places very strong) all over the house. I would have thought 300w should be fine for 2 level property. Maybe the pump is not functioning properly? Just for your interest as a comparison.

Cheers

----------


## stevefarang

> Hi Steve
> 
> I have a Hitachi 250w continuous pump, we run 4 bathrooms, and kitchen the length of the house is 22m and 2 levels, pumps from a well to tank and then pumps to the house. Water pressure is good(some places very strong) all over the house. I would have thought 300w should be fine for 2 level property. Maybe the pump is not functioning properly? Just for your interest as a comparison.
> 
> Cheers


That's what I would have thought too. I need to get over there to check it out.

----------


## Ratchaburi

> Originally Posted by benlovesnuk
> 
> 
> Hi Steve
> 
> I have a Hitachi 250w continuous pump, we run 4 bathrooms, and kitchen the length of the house is 22m and 2 levels, pumps from a well to tank and then pumps to the house. Water pressure is good(some places very strong) all over the house. I would have thought 300w should be fine for 2 level property. Maybe the pump is not functioning properly? Just for your interest as a comparison.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> ...


Steve you are drawing water from a tank under ground, some pumps don't like when they have to draw the water from below the pump.
Most people have the tank above ground. :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by benlovesnuk
> ...



I know, but the wife wanted it underground. I may need to get a little booster pump, put in upstream, to provide the necessary NPSH for the main pump.

Thanks!

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

They are doing the wood for the stairs. I'm not sure how the wood is fixed to the concrete stairway, I'm assuming some type of adhesive. I'm also assuming some type of vapor barrier separating the wood from the concrete ?

This is near the beginning of the job:




Then a view afterwards:




A close-up view:




A nice view looking down from upstairs. You can also see the decorative tile at the front entrance. It doesn't look bad, even if it's NOT the one I selected (sigh):




Looking into the "Buddha room" before finishing the surface:




My youngest daughter's bedroom on the east end:




A view, from the top of the stairs, looking west to the master bedroom:




The master bedroom, looking west to the balcony:




And now, it looks like they are applying some type of polyurethane coating on the wood. I think this is in the master bedroom:




And after they applied it in the "Buddha room":




And in the "Buddha room". You can also see where they have not yet applied it in the hallway:




I don't know how often we will have to reseal/recoat the floors with that stuff, but it sure looks shiny !

The bannisters have yet to be installed.

As far as PD House's involvement, the house is just about finished. We still need to kit it out, do some type of driveway, build the perimeter security wall, landscape, build the outside Thai style kitchen and kit out the interior. And once I get over there, I'll try to take a series of pictures that better show everything.

Steve

----------


## Mamasun

Fantastic..looking really good...do you have room for rent ? :Wink:

----------


## Koetjeka

Damn that looks really amazing! 

What kind of floor trim are you going to use?




> I'm also assuming some type of vapor barrier separating the wood from the concrete ?


Do you honestly think they do that kind of stuff in Thailand?

----------


## stevefarang

> Damn that looks really amazing! 
> 
> What kind of floor trim are you going to use?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 			
> ...


Thanks very much to both of you !

I am in the States still, so no idea of floor trim we'll go with.

As far as vapor barrier, I know they put some type of underlayment on the flooring upstairs, so I'm assuming there is something on the steps as well. But, as I am here and not there, I can't see what they did.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

So the wife sent me some pictures of the finished flooring upstairs. We still need to install the bannister for the stairs and we will need some type of railing on that edge, upstairs, to keep kids and old Americans from tumbling over.


First up, a view looking east. You can see the stairs and the floor. You also will see what I mean about a railing. It's been so long since we visited the house similar to this that I forget what they did. At the end, you see the bathroom door straight ahead, my youngest daughter's bedroom door on the right and another bedroom (my wife's sister bedroom for now) on the left. Well, ok, you can't really see that door on the left.





Then from the same general area (further in the upstairs family room), but now looking to the left, or north, at the main entrance.





Looking west, inside the master bedroom. Wall on left is master bathroom:





And then the dressing area of the master bedroom and door into the master bathroom (on right):




Looking inside the "Buddha room":





A view inside my youngest daughter's bedroom (southeast corner of house):




And a view inside the other bedroom (north east corner):





These floors are really shiny !!
Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

Very nice Steve. A proper palace.

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## terry57

You're extremely lucky to have workers who actually know what there doing.

A real job done there.

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## stevefarang

Thanks all very much.

PD House sent a few pics overnight.

Front view of the house from down near the main entrance (north-west). It looks like they added some more fill which kind of ruins what I had in mind, which was a sloping curving driveway with a nice little fountain in the apex of the curve. I guess when I get over there, I'll have to come up with some other idea.






A more direct view, from the north end. And yes, I can see the little tree falling over in the planter in front of the guest suite. I've already mentioned it to the wife. Although, those won't be staying there. I intend to plant some nice flowers there instead. So those little trees will end up somewhere else.
It looks like they already have one of those circular concrete benches/tables in the car park area. For the time being, it may end up being an outdoor sitting area. Although I'm going to need a fan blowing on me. The bugs around there are pretty aggressive at night, at least towards me!!







A view from the north-east corner, showing the car park area. We're going to have to get some more fill or do something to make sure cars/motorcycles don't go over that edge !
An outdoor Thai kitchen is going to be located in that back corner area as well. Indoor Western kitchen will be accessed through the white door, behind the scaffolding. 
Not sure of the layout for the Thai kitchen. I'm thinking of having the stove face away from the house, to help keep soot, grease, etc from the side of the house. We'll need some type of matching roof or cover, to keep everything dry.
I'd also like to have the outdoor sitting area in this location as well. Some type of gazebo or Thai equivalent. Again, with lots of fans to keep the bugs off of me.
This whole area will be landscaped and gardens.
More brainstorming is needed.






A nice shot of part of the south side of the house from the east end. The future indoor Western kitchen is just to the right of where the photographer is standing. You see the windows butting out from the downstairs family room and the upstairs family room balcony. And the banana tree just outside my future office space.






And finally a view from downstairs looking at the stairs. The open doorway, on the right, leads into the maid or MIL room that is right next to the car park. Bathroom door is just to the right of that, on the tracks it looks like. The side entrance, from the car park area is to the left of the MIL room, kind of hidden by the column. I see daylight peeking in on the bottom. We'll have to look into sealing strips of some sort, Lord knows what could come crawling in through that gap.
Under the stairs is a storage space. One thing I've noticed in Thai houses is that there usually is not dedicated closets, like in the USA. Instead, they have freestanding wardrobes and what not.
My contact at PD House did complement me on the wood used for the stairs. They are really impressed by it.




OK, that's all for now.

Steve

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## rickschoppers

So when is the housewarming party?

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## stevefarang

When I can get over there. I was supposed to do a job, in BKK, next month. But it's been pushed back until March, which has thrown everything out of whack. So, I'm trying to find some other stuff to fill in the time.

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## Bettyboo

Exactly the same wooden floor and stairs that I had in a house I rented; looks nice and is very practical.

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## Andos

Hi Steve, house looks cracking. Well done.

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## Mamasun

So beautiful...and beauty has no price...but how much to buy and install this wood parket ? certainly a hight price ! in m2 ?

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## stevefarang

> So beautiful...and beauty has no price...but how much to buy and install this wood parket ? certainly a hight price ! in m2 ?


I don't think it's a true parquet floor. The wood is bigger. I know my wife wanted even longer pieces to use, but it was getting expensive.
I'm not sure the price, as I'm stuck in the "Colonies". But if I can get the price per sq m, I will let you know.

Steve

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## nigelandjan

Fantastic Stevo,   what a palace,  what a journey,  I hope you and your good lady are very happy there

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## Marmite the Dog

Lovely wood on the floors. A bit shiny for my tastes, but at least you'll have something to give the wife grief about if they're not cleaned and lose their shine!

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## Bettyboo

> So beautiful...and beauty has no price..


500 baht, and I'm yours for the night.

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## Mamasun

Well 500 for the night ...but and for the drink and food ? 5000 ..lolll  :Wink: )

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## Bettyboo

> Well 500 for the night ...but and for the drink and food ? 5000 ..lolll )


Sold. Can you make your own way to Muscat, and I'll pick you up from there...  :Smile: 

This is a grand house indeed. I do like the floors, very nice.

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## stevefarang

Will you two get a room dammit !!  Just not at my place. I don't want you shining my floors up even more. Hell, I haven't done anything in there with my wife yet !! Let us break it in first !! 

After the monks do their chanting thing.

Thanks much to all. Merry Christmas !!

Steve

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## bankao dreamer

Steve you will have to stop referring to your place as a house you must choose either Mansion or Palace.
Lovely place hope you will be very happy
Merry Christmas

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## Bettyboo

> Let us break it in first !!


Pictures!

Merry Xmas, Steve; all your efforts and pains have proven worthwhile; good job.  :Smile:

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## stevefarang

Thanks folks and have a Happy New Year, no matter where you are !

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## stevefarang

OK,
They are now doing the curtains inside. This has been a big area of "discussion" between the wife and I. I'm not keen on curtains, preferring something simpler and easier. Especially for those north facing windows on the main entrance. I can see them as being heavy and a pain to keep clean. However, the wife won out. I did get more normal blinds in my office and the Buddha Room, yay !

Anyway, they started installing them on Christmas Day. This was up in the master bedroom.






And then the following came on Dec. 27.

The master bedroom, curtains finished. Looks a little more tolerable, but I'm not into all the fabric, seeing it being a pain to keep neat & clean in the future. This is looking to the west.





And then, master bedroom looking south, to the changing area and the master bathroom door.




Looking out from the master bedroom towards the east end of the house.




Peeking into the Buddha Room. And the blinds. Personally, I would prefer them sitting inside the window frame.





My youngest daughter's bedroom. It looks like they use a different color for the curtains in here:




The other upstairs bedroom, that my wife's younger sister will use for now:




Looking from the top of the stairs towards the main entrance. The curtains don't look as big and bulky as I feared:





A view looking down the stairs. We still need the bannister, but these stairs are really growing on me. Very dramatic looking:




Looking at the stairs from the main entrance:




Looking at the main entrance from the downstairs family room area:




The guest suite (northwest corner):




My office (southwest corner), with the blinds. I really don't like the look of these blinds sitting outside the window frame. These will eventually have to get redone and repositioned inside the frame, giving a neater look:



Happy New Year to everyone !
Steve

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## Roobarb

> OK,
> They are now doing the curtains inside. This has been a big area of "discussion" between the wife and I. I'm not keen on curtains...
> 
> Happy New Year to everyone !
> 
> Steve


Steve, the thing is that without having to worry about our wives opinions we would live in places that were 60% workshop filled with various motorbikes, ATVs, boats, cars, tools etc; 30% living room with a bar, pool table, big TV etc and the rest given over for sleeping, cooking and possibly washing.  

Instead we build houses with en-suites and kitchens and things as it keeps our wives happy.  The house is for her, if she likes the curtains then she can have them.

Get your man cave sorted out.  That's for you.  No need for curtains there...  :Smile: 

A very happy new year the both of you too.

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## Marmite the Dog

I like the weight and colour of the curtains, especially in your daughter's room. Not a fan of the tassels though, a bit too fussy for me (that's women for you).

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## nigelandjan

Looks very swish with all those curtains Stevo,   I reckon the bill for that little lot would have paid for our little hovel. 

I hope it's not as dusty round them parts as this hole,  would be a nightmare to keep clean here

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## Koetjeka

Very nice curtains and perfect color, which brings me to the question who actually chose the color because women tend to have a 6th "color sense".

If I were you I would reconsider the curtains for the window in the staircase. I'm not sure how it's normally done but I think one side of the curtains should be lower than the other side. Again, I'm not sure what's right but something seems to be... off.

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## stevefarang

> Very nice curtains and perfect color, which brings me to the question who actually chose the color because women tend to have a 6th "color sense".
> 
> If I were you I would reconsider the curtains for the window in the staircase. I'm not sure how it's normally done but I think one side of the curtains should be lower than the other side. Again, I'm not sure what's right but something seems to be... off.


Interesting observation about the curtains on the staircase window. I see what you're saying, but I think doing it that way (curtains longe ron one side than the other) would also make it look "off" as well.

I was asked about the curtain color choice and we went back & forth on several options. I never really was keen on curtains anyway. Between the cost and having to keep them clean (Nigel astutely picked that out), I think my wife will eventually see my point. Personally, I thought a good solar reflective film would have looked good on the main entrance glass and side windows. Then curtains or blinds for all the bedroom windows.

Happy New Year to all !

Steve

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## BKKKevin

_"I just saw it in the window and had to have it"_

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## stevefarang

Sorry, no new pics yet. I understand they are working on the bannister.

My wife tells me the monks are coming Friday to do their part. PD House still has some odds and ends to do.

My wife is starting to kit out the house. I'm looking forward to actually starting to live there when I go over, early next month.

Steve

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## Koetjeka

I can't wait to see more pictures, it has been one of my favourite builds here.

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## stevefarang

Well this is kind of cool. Someone was telling  me how to get the coordinates to our house in Thailand. When I went to  look on Google Maps, I was pleased to discover that they have updated  their photos of the area. You can now see our house and how it's oriented to the road.

 What you see that looks like an entrance will be walled off and  landscaped to be part of a private garden area. The actual entrance will  be further up the road, up by that red corner.

All those building  "below the house" are temporary worker camp housing. All that should be  gone soon. Hopefully they picked up all their trash too !
 And with  luck, later this year, we'll add some more fill on lot 2 (the green  lined area) and partition it so the ducks, geese & chickens have  their spot and I will have my man cave there as well.  I'll also set up  some solar & wind generators there.

Lot 3 is still a rice paddy. We haven't decided what to do there.

Here it is before:




And now:






Very cool !

Steve

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## bankao dreamer

Nice steve, Are you over for good next month ?

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## stevefarang

> Nice steve, Are you over for good next month ?


Thanks !

I have to go to Jakarta for 5 days the second week of February. And I may be going to Bahrain, for 5 days again, towards the end of February. Other than those, I'll be hanging out at my new digs and marveling at my wife being ~7 months pregnant.
I'll go back to the USA early March, but may turn around and come right back to do some work in Thailand, plus the wife is due sometime late March.

You'll also notice there's no Cinderella Carriage in that pic !!  LOL

Steve

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## bankao dreamer

^^^
Congratulations on your pending arrival.

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## Wasp

May turn around and come right back to do some work in Thailand, plus the wife is due sometime late March.

You'll also notice there's no Cinderella Carriage in that pic !!  LOL

Steve[/QUOTE]




....... your carriage awaits .

...................

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## stevefarang

^^^   LOL    :smiley laughing: 


Thanks Wasp !

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## Wasp

> ^^^   LOL   Thanks Wasp !




I can actually be serious you know Steve . And I find I completely agree with you about the drapes . They're not curtains. They're bloody great heavy drapes . . A bit bordello . Also hanging the blinds outside of the window framing ...would be a "*no* ".

Like you ... I would have " discussions" about them too . And like you probably lose.

What else do I feel about your place ?  Well ..... it's splendid . I love having so much space . Those shiny stair treads look dangerous as Hell .  
The low wall at the top of the stairs looks like somebody will eventually go over it .

All in all - a great-looking house . But it should be in Childwall Valley just outside Liverpool .

With Romelu Lukaku living in it .

Which means I really do a little bit envy you such a fine-looking home .

................Wasp
...................

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## Iceman123

Superb build Steve - you will be pleased to hear that NASA have confirmed that after the Great Wall your house is the second man made object visible from space.

 :Smile:

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## stevefarang

> Those shiny stair treads look dangerous as Hell .  
> The low wall at the top of the stairs looks like somebody will eventually go over it.


Actually, I was warned, by an old class mate here in the Colonies, that granite flooring is really slick when wet, so we'll have to be careful walking around on the first floor, or even the car park area.

Nothing I can do about the shiny stair treads, my wife hasn't said anything about them being slippery, yet.

Yes, that low wall will need some type of wooden railing or something similar. They may have done something already, I'm not sure. The wife has not sent any pictures lately. We've got a little guy on the way, so that will be dealt with.

Steve

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## stevefarang

> Superb build Steve - you will be pleased to hear that NASA have confirmed that after the Great Wall your house is the second man made object visible from space.


LOL, thanks iceman. And they can even see Cinderella's carriage too !!   :Very Happy: 

Steve

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## rickschoppers

> Steve you will have to stop referring to your place as a house you must choose either Mansion or Palace.
> Lovely place hope you will be very happy
> Merry Christmas



I will have to agree with BD here. My vote is to start referring to your build as a mansion unless you do have some royal blood in you. :Smile:

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## stevefarang

Damn, am I going to have to start practicing my wave to the minions ?  :smiley laughing: 


Anyway, I finally got a couple pictures from PD House. Nothing too telling. I will be stopping there next week, on my way to Indonesia and will be taking some more pics to try and satisfy the hungry hordes.

So, this looks like a water tap over to the right of the main entrance.





I had noticed that they had forgotten to install some outside electrical outlets on the east wall and I think this is some proof that there some installed, somewhere on the exterior (as I had specified). I'm kind of ticked off that I noticed them missing and not the PD House person at the site who is supposedly overseeing everything. I raised a ruckus about this with them and they seem to suddenly be working on it. Needless to say, I will be going over the place very closely next week.





I'm not thrilled about that weird angled looking joint, or whatever that is.




And finally a shot of the east wall and the kitchen door. I liked how they put in that black vent hood for the bathroom fan on the east end. I'll be curious to see if they did that for the other bathrooms.
The goal is to set up an outside Thai kitchen on this end, after the security wall goes up. We'll also have some outdoor eating area and garden area here too. I'm sort of taking a liking to a Sala.




Happy Chinese New Year !

Steve

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## Wasp

_Steveyourhighness ._



 Wassgoinnonn here ?

You're destroying your image !!

The stripey towel draped on the back door ! The messy water tap !! The bright blue plumbing !!!

EVEN A WHITE PLASTIC CHAIR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I may be forced to delete a wheel of your carriage .


...... Wasp

............

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## stevefarang

Wasp you cretin !!!  :Very Happy: 

I'm still here in the USA, so I have no control over what's going on there. I'm assuming the striped towel is just temporary, to help keep people outside looking in. There is no security wall yet, so anyone can just walk right up. I'm not thrilled about it but there's not much I can do right now. The wall is a priority. And yes, we'll do something about blinds or something for that door.

The blue piping is standard, but it does need some more fill. It doesn't seem well covered and I'm not impressed by the piping sticking up like that. It's asking to be broken or tripped over. Again, I'll get a better feel for things when I get there next week.

The white plastic chair ? Mai pen rai, I don't think it will support my King Henry VIII like mass, so I won't ever be sitting in it. I'll get a plastic gold colored one instead !   :Wink: 

Now, back to your toils, you peasant. And bring me a shrubbery...

Steve

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## Wasp

..




> Wasp you cretin ............ bring me a shrubbery...!!


You see !

It comes naturally !!


W

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## bankao dreamer

> And bring me a shrubbery...


I knew it I knew it. It is a Palace you are a direct descendent of the Knight's who say Ni.     :Smile:

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## stevefarang

with hu-u-u-uge tracts of land...   :Very Happy: 

Sorry, it's hard to type Monty Python accents...

Now, where are my coconuts ?

Steve

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## stevefarang

All right you heathens !!!

Proof that the amazing technicolor towel doesn't stay there all the time. Looks like the exhaust fan for the east end upstairs bathroom also has vet cover, even as it's well protected from the rain anyway. I didn't know we got a spotlight on the east side as well.




This will be the access up to the roof area. I'm thinking of hiring some skinny, young Thai guy to go up there, probably later this year and roll out another 6" of fiberglass insulation as well as inspect the roof for any issues.



They sent some other pictures, but they are all covered electrical outlets and stuff for the outside. I noticed they had not installed them, so they sent a crew in to do the work.

I'm going to try to do a detailed review of the job later this week. I'll try to take a lot of pictures, but won't be able to post them until I get to Jakarta in 1 week's time. We don't have internet at the house sorted out yet.

Steve

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## FatOne

Looking fantastic , my Lord. Maybe you should get the Black Knight to guard your gate?

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## koman

Looks like a rendering crack in the beading there SF......by gad,  the place is falling down....get everybody out immediately.. :Smile: 

There is no photo evidence of gun turrets or missile launchers.....only search lights.. what kind of American are you?... or are you still just working with the arms dealers on pricing etc??... :Smile: 

Good paint color choices there SF......have you seen Bettyboo's thread......he's talking about_ Pinks, Pastels_ and really weird shit like that..... :Smile:

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## stevefarang

Well my wife picked pink for my office and the master bedroom walls. The office is going to be repainted ASAP. The master bedroom...we'll have to talk about that.

Steve

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## BKKKevin

I know conspicuous exhaust vents may be HiSo in the countryside... But if it were me I'd send someone up there with a can of white paint to make it blend a bit better...

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## Koetjeka

> Well my wife picked pink for my office and the master bedroom walls. The office is going to be repainted ASAP. The master bedroom...we'll have to talk about that.
> 
> Steve


Women... 

So which color are you going to pick for the office?

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## stevefarang

I'm not too concerned with painting the vent covers. They will just need to be cleaned up & repainted when the paint peels off sometime down the road. Or maybe they sell a white plastic vent cover that fits ?

I wanted my office to be the same white color as seen on some of the walls. I don't know if they left any remaining cans of paint at the property, probably not. If not, I'll just pick a simple white color, hopefully it will cover the pink (ugh!!).

Steve

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## Wasp

I'd buy this house just on the quality of the hinges on that bathroom door !

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## BaitongBoy

^Does the carriage come with the house?...Heh...Any Harrypotters?...

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## stevefarang

Kind of nice to actually sleep in our house. Still some problems, but they can be fixed. Will post some new pics early next week.

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## stevefarang

OK, I'm in Jakarta with a squirrelly wifi  connection.

Spent a few days in the house and enjoyed it, more or less. It's really nice to have that space downstairs to wander around in, which is exactly what I wanted. I'd not be as happy if all I had was a bedroom, living room, bathroom and a kitchen.

What's really nice too is how relatively cool it stays inside, with the Q-Con block. The back wall get the sun all day, and while it still gets warm, leaving a window or two open on each end, along with a ceiling fan and it's not unbearable. When I get back, I'm going to feel the Q-con block, to see how much heat, if any, conducts across.

I've found out the deal with the towel over the kitchen door. The fridge is just inside and gets hit directly with the morning sun. So, to help keep it from overheating, the wife uses a blanket in the morning to help shade it. My plan is to put a "wing" on that end for the Thai style kitchen, so that should solve that problem down the road.

Right now, we have the shell of the house and some basics. It's going to take time to build up the interior as well as get the security wall, paver driveway, landscaping, etc. I think the next goal is to get a/c ( a nice quite inverter type unit) in our bedroom, so it's usable. 

We're sleeping in the only room that has a/c, my office. It's a just a mattress on the floor, which is a little tough on my wife, who is now ~8 months pregnant.

We have a basic kitchen set-up, but I want to move it all outside as part of the Thai kitchen once the wing is done. My plan is to make a wing, that emulates the look of the carport. It will be more rectangular in shape than the car park. We'll put the Thai kitchen out there and also have a nice fairly water proof sitting area as well.

We enjoyed a nice party my first full night in the house. Last time I was there at night, back when only the walls were going up, I got chewed on by way too many mozzies (we are right next to rice paddies). So I was a little apprehensive to be outside at night. It turns out, we get a good breeze most of the time and there was no problem at all. It was quite enjoyable.

I've already generated 3 pages of deficiencies to PD House and will making another list, when I get back this weekend. They did a crap job on painting both interior and exterior surfaces, with paint drips and smears in many places. They got paint on the light & fan fixtures trim pieces and some areas missed the ceiling (while painting the trim piece). There is paint drips and smears all over the tile on the east end of the house (where the future Thai kitchen will be).

I specified and paid for 3 water proof electrical outlets on the east wall. When they sent me a pic a while back, I happened to notice they were not there. They supposedly went back and installed them. But upon arrival, I noticed they only installed 2 and one of them is not in the general location I specified. So I'm making s tink about that.

Several of my wife's friends and family members have pointed out some deficiencies in the rendering of the exterior. It's not very smooth and, in some spots, you can see how the edge of their tools "cut" into the surface. The unevenness is really noticeable when we turn on the exterior spot lights.

I've also noticed the decorative tiles used on many of the columns are incomplete. They went down one side and failed to tile the other side, even though tiled completely the opposite column. There's grout sticking out of the end of the tiles. And I'm not sure if there is supposed to be some type of filler grout between the tiles.

While I really like the size of our master bathroom, I'm not happy about the quality of finish. Some spots have smears of paint or caulk. And I even noticed they intentionally installed a broken piece of decorative tile, right in the shower area !

Anyway, I'll start posting some pics and I'll probably point out some other deficiencies as well.

A view of the main entrance:





A head-on shot showing the large windows. Lots of natural light and facing north, so no worry about the sun.





Looking to the left of the main entrance:





Apparently, they had to leave the gap, for expansion reasons. I'm not sure what we'll do with it. For now, there's just dirt and some gravel.




A view from the east end, showing the car park area. We're being very careful, to be sure we back OUT of this space.




From inside the main entrance, looking to the left (east) and our stairs. The bannisters are not yet finished. My wife has the same guy who did a beautiful job on the stairs coming in to do the bannisters (and I think the floor trim as well).

Yes, there's 2 dings in the wall from the guys who did the curtains. My wife is being purposefully vague about if & when they are coming to fix that. 




And this is looking up a little higher.




And then looking from the main entrance towards the kitchen area. It's basic, but it works. The granite flooring is very cool on my feet.




Now from the kitchen area looking towards the living room area. I'm not happy about the size of that TV, but it's too late now. Yes, they have the Thai channel satellite set-up. Almost 400 channels, all Thai language.  :Sad: 




Will post more pics soon.

Steve

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## stevefarang

Some pics of the master bathroom. What surprises me is that back during construction, I would feel this bathroom might be too small. But now it feels a bit too big. I'm loving the space. We have 4 windows (2 on south wall and 2 on west wall) and big ol'ventilation fan. I just crack 1-2 windows open when I take my shower. The fan is wired to the lights, so it comes on automatically.
I'll also leave the windows cracked open after the shower and just let the breeze help ventilate and dry out the space.

We obviously need at least 1 more towel rack. The counter space has enough room for another sink. But with the window placement, it wouldn't have a mirror (although I could set up a mirror on a scissors type joint). With our little guy due soon, that space will be ideal for tending to him.

We also need some glass walls/door for the shower. I think my wife said it was around 40,000 baht, which sounds a little high. I also don't like the drain thing. It looks like an inverted cup, beneath the screen. It seems to sit right on top of the drain pipe and restricts the flow, so it doesn't drain right. Does that inverted cup thing have any type of height (or clearance) adjustment ?

I have not tested the jacuzzi yet.









Steve

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## koman

Great looking place SF.  Too bad about all those deficiencies, but it seems no matter what builder you get or how much you spend here, you still end up with some crap work here and there and end up fighting to have it put right.

It's a big house....far too big for me and the wife.... :Smile: ...but if I was younger and had a family it's the kind of  place I would have built too.  

You mentioned the coolness of the Q-Con.  I agree totally.  I've been testing mine on of few pretty hot days we've had recently and the difference between the inside surface temperature and the outside is very pronounced.  Very much better than regular concrete block or brick.   

You are going to need some pretty big AC units.  Looking a the size and the amount of open space you have.  I'm using a 36000 Btu invertor unit for my main living area and smaller 12-15000 Btu units for the bedrooms....all invertors.   You will probably need a lot more....which serves you right for trying to outdo the Sultan of Brunai's living space..... :Smile: 

Good luck with kicking PD's ass.....they seem to need it from what I've been hearing.

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## stevefarang

Thanks Koman,
At this time, there is no plan on installing a/c in the large living space. It seems to stay tolerable, with a few fans going and a nice cross breeze. There will be a/c in each bedroom and my office.

Steve

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## stevefarang

Some different external views.

From the east end of our first lot. For a while, I was thinking this space wouldn't be big enough to fit a pool, but I might be wrong. However, the pool is not a high priority item. We definitely need to do some landscaping.





A view of the southeast corner, with the kitchen on the ground floor and youngest daughter's bedroom upstairs. You can see the grey 2000 l water tank in the ground. I haven't noticed problem with the water pump and pressure, upstairs in our master bathroom :






A view of the south wall and the concrete walkway all around the house. Too bad they couldn't bother to clean up their mess !







View from northeast corner. I'm standing on the side of the road, adjacent to the rice paddy:






And then walking out onto the rice paddy. This is our south facing wall. Lots of Q-con brick to help block the sun. We'll still put in some trees to help provide shade:






Further over on the rice paddy and the southwest corner of the house. You see the banana tree in front of my office space on the ground floor. Master bedroom upstairs. Solar hot water heater is now on the south facing roof, making lots of really hot water.




Steve

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## stevefarang

Some of the water & waste system pics. Hopefully I can keep my terminology straight. I haven't used a septic tank in 40 years !

First up, the 2000 l water tank, our 250 w Mitsubishi pump and the kitchen drain grease trap (that plastic box looking thing in the little concrete box). I'm not thrilled about that plug arrangement for the power. Need to get a box made up to cover the pump and the plug.






The temporary sink set-up. Very basic, but it works for now.






Another view of the outside area on the east end of the house. My plan is to have a wing, that looks similar to the car park extension on the front of the house, stick out on this end. The outdoor Thai style kitchen will be here along with a covered sitting area. The only problem is the septic tank & drywells are in the same area, so we will need to be sure access to those are maintained.








The east end of the house with the a 1600 l septic tank and 2 in-series drywells.






This is the west end of the house. It has a 2000 l septic tank and 2 in-series drywells. My only concern here is that the water supply for the rice paddies is just about 3-4 m from the second drywell. That big blue pipe is a vent from the septic tank. It comes up right to the corner of the concrete walkway. There's a vent pipe on the east side septic tank, you can't see it since it is blocked by the table and benches in the previous pic.



Steve

----------


## stevefarang

A couple shots of the other bathrooms.

Guest suite bathroom:








The maid's/visitors bathroom:






Steve

----------


## Roobarb

The place is looking great Steve, well done.  You're getting it finished just about in time it seems.  When's your wife due BTW?

----------


## aging one

What kind of pressure do you get in the rainshower? Sorry but can the standard wall mount electric heater put out enough pressure for it? I have top dollar ones and still I am not happy with the pressure. We have a lot of family in the Nakorn Pathom, Thamaka area, this surely has to be one of the nicest houses around.

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## stevefarang

Thanks!
The wife is due sometime mid to late March. I'm really hoping he doesn't pop out in April. My 2 oldest kids are born in April, I have enough April kids.

As far as water pressure, I can't speak for the electric water heater showers. Obviously, if it's a small tube line, then you're not going to get much. I haven't checked it out, but will do so when I get back from Jakarta.

Our shower in the master bath has decent pressure. It doesn't have as much pressure as the ground level water taps located outside the house. It's got to work it's way through the plumbing up from the ground and somehow interface with the solar hot water heater (which cranks out some good hot water).

The house is off the beaten track, so we don't get that much traffic. Hell, we don't even have a street address !! I was just really impressed by the nice breezes we were enjoying. We can keep a few windows open, during the day to help keep airflow and then button it up at night to keep out the bugs.

Steve

Steve

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## koman

I'm interested in that solar water heater of yours.   Where did you get it?    I'm planning to mount some solar panels on my south facing roof at some point and a water heater would be a good addition I think.   We don't need a lot of hot water around here with just two of us,  but still......

----------


## stevefarang

The solar heater came as part of the house. If you look closely, you will see it has a PD House label on it. If you want, I can ask them who supplied it.
Yeah, be sure it's on a south facing roof. They first put ours on the north roof, never asking what we wanted.  I had to make a stink to get them to move it, partly by questioning the capabilities of the engineer in charge.

----------


## koman

> The solar heater came as part of the house. If you look closely, you will see it has a PD House label on it. If you want, I can ask them who supplied it.
> Yeah, be sure it's on a south facing roof. They first put ours on the north roof, never asking what we wanted.  I had to make a stink to get them to move it, partly by questioning the capabilities of the engineer in charge.


If you don't mind.  It would be good to have a source for future reference.  I saw quite a few of them when I lived in Hua Hin, but none locally.  

Amazing that a company like PD would not know to mount a solar devise on the south side.....my north side gets hardly any sun at all because of the roof design.....which was quite deliberate.... :Smile:

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## stevefarang

Yep, the first thing I thought, when they sent me the pic of the house with solar hot water on the north roof was, "Why the F%ck did they do that ?". I guess maybe they thought it would look more beautiful on the front of the house. That, or they wanted their PD House logo out for everyone to see, free marketing.

I'll check with them and see what answer I get from them. The heater works great for showers, It will be interesting to see how well it works when filling the jacuzzi.

Steve

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## stevefarang

Well that was a quick reply !

Here's what they said:




> Dear Mr. Steve,
> 
> We  get this item from PD Siam Supply and Services Co., Ltd., the solar hot  water machine and the hot water pipe. But they don't provide  installation service. Your friend may contact the sales person at hr.karnpicha@gmail.com for more information. She can reply the email in English.




Steve

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## koman

> Well that was a quick reply !
> 
> Here's what they said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dear Mr. Steve,
> ...


Thanks, appreciate that...very quick response.    I've made a note of the contact for future reference because I'm nowhere near ready....I need a lot of things finished around here first.

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## bankao dreamer

For fecks sake Steve the wife has just looked at the pics of your maids bathroom. Its 20 times better than my posh upstairs loo ( mind you it was built by Somchai ). Now she wants a basin like the one in your pic, please stop posting pics  :Smile:

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## stevefarang

> What kind of pressure do you get in the rainshower? Sorry but can the standard wall mount electric heater put out enough pressure for it? I have top dollar ones and still I am not happy with the pressure. We have a lot of family in the Nakorn Pathom, Thamaka area, this surely has to be one of the nicest houses around.


OK, I checked today and we have good water pressure/flow (bathrooms upstairs and downstairs), hardly the dribble I've seen on some wall mounted units and it does seem to heat up fairly well too.

The south facing Q-con block wall stays nice and cool inside.

Steve

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## Wasp

I could be in some trouble here steve .

I've been saving your Thread and now I'm about to start but I just saw bankao's comment .

Methinks depressing times are coming up .



Wasp

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## stevefarang

Broke in the jacuzzi last night. Found out that you have to plug the damn thing in first, which is accessed through a panel on the side of the jacuzzi. So we're going to have to find a waterproof power switch to mount on the side. I'm not bending over and pulling that panel out and sticking the plug into a socket.

Jacuzzi is nice, although I felt a little too big for it (and I'm not a tall dude). The only problem with it is the drain handle is on the far side, up against the wall. It's going to be tricky to close, without going into the jacuzzi first. But it was nice to relax in some nice cool water. My wife was looking rather jealous when she came in.

We also tested the Saf-T-Cut. I had my first ex-pat visitor, an old Brit friend of 20 years. I was showing him the Saf-T-Cut and he suggested increasing the sensitivity. Well, while playing with the air pump for the jacuzzi, the main breaker tripped. 

At first, I thought it was me and that button for the air pump, I was trying to turn it off and pushed it twice when the breaker tripped.  But while eating breakfast this morning, the breaker tripped again. So I've dialed back one setting on the Saf-T-Cut.

So this makes me wonder. It seems we have a minor earthing issue somewhere (not the jacuzzi as it was unplugged after use), is this acceptable ?

Steve

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## Wasp

None of this story is acceptable .

It's freezing here and the roads are flooded .


Wasp

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## rickschoppers

Steve, you are lucky to have good water pressure. I have read where this is a hit and miss thing. If I knew I would have enough pressure, I would be buying fixtures like yours. Maybe I will finish the one toilet first and then see if a sun shower works or not. If it does, I will get one for the second toilet since I like lots of water for my showers.

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## stevefarang

Rick,
We have a 250 W Mitsubishi pump, based on the advice of others here. 
A while back, I was worried while in the USA. My wife was telling me that you could only use one faucet at a time. But I've tried it here and so far have had no real problem. I was also worried that, with all the piping we would have some pressure losses as the water moves through the piping, but it hasn't really been noticeable. 
Yes, filling the jacuzzi and taking a shower, the shower pressure is a little less, but not a trickle.

PD House is coming tomorrow. The guy who always promises me one thing and does another. This will be interesting.

Steve

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## rickschoppers

> Rick,
> We have a 250 W Mitsubishi pump, based on the advice of others here. 
> A while back, I was worried while in the USA. My wife was telling me that you could only use one faucet at a time. But I've tried it here and so far have had no real problem. I was also worried that, with all the piping we would have some pressure losses as the water moves through the piping, but it hasn't really been noticeable. 
> Yes, filling the jacuzzi and taking a shower, the shower pressure is a little less, but not a trickle.
> 
> PD House is coming tomorrow. The guy who always promises me one thing and does another. This will be interesting.
> 
> Steve


Speaking of water pressure, I have a Hitachi 300W pump and am having some problems with it pumping what I would regard as sufficient amounts of water to support a rain shower. We have had a couple of locals look at it and they keep saying I need to replace it, but I feel there is nothing wrong with the pump, but only with the way it was set up. We have the person who drilled our well coming out today to look at things and one of the possibilities may be the pump in not sufficiently primed. 

Since I am not an expert on these things, it is frustrating for me to try and explain to my wife that the pump is fine, we just need to make sure all the settings are right along with the way it is plumbed.

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## BKKBILL

Might want to remove the shower head and have a look-see as a lot of rain showers are being shipped with restrictors at the threaded joint. A water saving device. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## rickschoppers

I haven't purchased the rain shower yet, but would hope when I do, I have enough water pressure. The test for my current water pressure has been done by just opening a valve for a garden hose and watching it dissipate to a small amount. The pump manages to build the pressure, but when the valve is opened it runs great initially, but it appears the pump can not keep up to maintain that pressure point.

----------


## stevefarang

Bill has an excellent suggestion, check for any type of "water saving' flow restrictor in the line. You could have a suction problem, since your pump is bigger than mine and I get great pressure at my 4 water taps around the house (ground level). Does it make a lot of noise when operating? That's a sign of cavitation and insufficient suction (ie low discharge pressure & flow).
Is the pump taking a suction from a water tank ?
Another thing to check is if the pump is/was properly vented.

PD House, to their credit, sent 2 people out to the house today to review the issues we have. One guy was their main translator for foreigners and the other was the District Manager. They were very patient in going around with us and taking pictures of the things we are having problems with. They assured me that they will be in touch tomorrow to let me know when a work crew will be coming in to correct things.

Big Buddhist house blessing party on March 3.

Steve

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## rickschoppers

The person who dug our well came out and has gotten the pump working 90%. My understanding of all the translations is that there may be a spring that needs to be replaced. The pump sat for about a year without any use, which should not make any difference in my mind, but that is what I am being told is the problem. He will buy a replacement part and see if that takes it up to 100%.

Steve, the proper venting sounds right and there have been two times now that either birds or mice have made a nest near the intake which may be contributing to the problems. The pump is very quiet when operating and sounds good to me, but again, I am not a water pump expert. I just feel it needs the right person to look at it and buying a new one is not needed IMO. Glad to hear you have good water pressure since that can be a headache.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will get it sorted at some point since I am set on having a sun shower.

----------


## stevefarang

Yes, I should have said that if the pump is cavitating, it will sound like little rocks shaking inside a tin can. If she's quiet, then it is probably ok.
Springs do wear out/fail, even just sitting there. Might be the spring for the pressure regulator, maybe it's not flexing anymore.

Hopefully you'll be sorted out soon.

Watch out for the Google Earth cameras when you do your sun shower, you don't want to give the world a free show... :kma: 


Steve

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## stevefarang

The view, looking south, out of the upstairs family room. We had the doors open when PD House came over to see some of the issues I have with the house. They seemed impressed with the view. I don't know, it's just a rice paddy. Maybe it's the Wat you see in the background that caught their eye.

Although, I do want to buy the paddy, right next to ours, one day. I can see a lovely swimming pool in that spot.





This is a closer shot of the railing for the balcony. I've noticed what looks like corrosion towards the west end of the railing. However, it's stainless steel, which normally doesn't rust (unless a poor quality SS). But I need a good suggestion for some type of cleaner to remove the crud on the railing and brighten/protect it. Something I can easily find at my local Home Pro store. Can anyone suggest anything ?




This is looking west, from the family room balcony. The larger window is in the dressing area of the master bedroom. And the smaller windows are part of the master bathroom.





This is looking down from the family room balcony, looking at the south west corner of the house. That's the location of my office & where we are sleeping right now (only room with A/C right now). You see my nice banana "tree" there. My gardener tells me we have 3 different types of banana trees on our properties. He knows I like bananas and has started new "shoots" around our water trench on the second lot. I want him to get some more lemon trees as well as an orange tree or 2.




I'm pretty pleased with the color combination we went with, even if I really like the blue tile roofs. My only real complaint with the paint is in the application. There's a lot of paint splatter, both inside and out. But more on that later.

Steve

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## nigelandjan

Beautifull Stevo ,  I know you mentioned paint splashes just now and instantly I feel your pain mate.

 Albeit in comparison to your regal place , our little shed on the prairie suffered the same fate, if you have any blood pressure probs when it gets to this stage of the build its best to keep away.

 I think farangs should be able to be employed in Thailand as decoraters  (  clearly exempt in the category , thais cannot do the job )

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## stevefarang

Thanks Nigel.
One of my current beefs with PD House is the issue of attention to detail. I've now caught several things that the PD House guy on site should have, including an issue with a wall upstairs, someone using regular sheetrock, on an exterior ceiling, instead of the green moisture resistant sheetrock and, most recently, the missing electrical outlets on the east wall. That last one I spotted when they sent me a photograph of that wall, after the house was "finished".

I'm also making a stink about paint splatters. Whomever painted the interior ceilings  did not cover or remove the down light & fan trim pieces, so there are smears of paint on them. In one spot in the kitchen, they got paint on the trim piece and misses the ceiling right next to it.

I've also got paint splatter all over the tile on the east side outside wall. Even the PD House reps, who came out last week, made a comment that it appears no-one put a tarp, or any type of cover, down before painting that wall. Here are some lovely samples.















It's hard to see all the paint splatter, but it's there.

There's also paint drips elsewhere on the external walls:












Sloppy painting onto my light fixtures:




Now, interior design I can't really comment on. I have crappy tastes and am not color coordinated. I'll probably just copy someone's else's ideas.    :Very Happy: 

Although, I will try to get furniture that is cool to sit in/on. And definitely not that massive dark wood with mother of pearl inlays that you see in some older homes. Looks nice, but expensive and really uncomfortable.

Steve

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## koman

Shockingly poor paint job...and especially on a house like that.   That is pure vlllage shit and PD needs to take a serious look at their sub contractors if that's the best they can do.

My own painting is due to start any day now.  The paint just arrived yesterday....so I'll be there casting a long shadow over their shoulders.   I arrived a few mornings ago to find the electrical guys getting ready to install all the light fixtures....I told them to stop because then the painters would have to work around the lamp bases.    Seems like basic common sense to me, but they are all mystified by such strange farang notions.     I did get an acknowledgement from the head of the painting team though.....makes life much easier for them..... :Smile: 

Your house really is very nice..... it's a shame the local "tradesmen" don't seem to understand how the _details_ are important....at least to some farangs.... :Smile:

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## BKKBILL

> Steve


Not only poor painting see cracks opening up.

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## stevefarang

^^^^

Yes, I've already identified several cracks to PD House. I think this was one of them.

Steve

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## koman

> ^^^^
> 
> Yes, I've already identified several cracks to PD House. I think this was one of them.
> 
> Steve


Cracks like that are pretty common and probably unavoidable.  The problem is that they did not treat them with filling compound before painting.   Mostly just rendering cracks and easy enough to fix, but it looks like the lazy twats just slapped the paint over them.

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## stevefarang

And speaking of cracks...












Steve

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## bankao dreamer

^ Feck

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## stevefarang

PD House was shown these cracks and, I'm assuming (since they took pics), that they will be repaired. I've found a few others since then, so I'll be on their case about them as well.

One thing I have quickly learned is that when the wind comes out of the south, in the am, that we should have a decent breeze for most of the day. And enough of a breeze that we can enjoy sitting outside, in the evening, without too much bother from the bugs and mozzies.

But, if the wind is from the north in the morning, it may be pleasant at first. However, it usually means we will gets clouds later. And, more importantly, the air will also die down and there won't be much of a breeze and I need to seek refuge inside, before the sun goes down. Being right next to a rice paddy, we get a lot of bugs !!!





And yes, we have already complained to PD House about the sloppy work on that exterior wall. It was duly noted.




Me and my "gardener" installed the first of what will be several solar power 60 LED security lights that I want to install around the perimeter (at least one on each corner, if not more, facing opposite directions). This one was a test to see if it holds up in the tropical heat and sun. It's a Harbor Freight light that I bought in the US, for about US$32 (1000 baht). So far, it seems to work and the wife's family is duly impressed.



Steve

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## bankao dreamer

Steve
change the bulbs in the outside lights, our house is all open living space. The anti bug light bulbs make a hell of a difference. A pic I just took underneath our place its where Im sat posting this, not a bug in sight.

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## terry57

> 



See that light you have on the Exterior wall .  I have installed exactly the same lights at my place in Australia.

Those lights are not rated water proof, they are only rated water resistant meaning they need to be under an eve or a covered area. 

In the monsoon you could have problems with your lighting circuit blowing out due to water intrusion into those lights. Specially if you have a Safety-Cut as it is designed to be sensitive.

Remember what I'm telling you, it could save your Electrician a shit load of time tracking down your short circuit on the lighting side. 

These lights are not designed to be out in the full on weather. 

Any real Electrician will tell you that. Google it up.

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## stevefarang

Thanks Terry !!

Steve

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## terry57

> Sloppy painting onto my light fixtures:



See that light. When one mounts it on the wall there is a rubber seal that the mounting base fits into. Water resistant only, not fully sealed to make it water proof.

Same as the where the globes screw into. A thin Rubber O ring is the seal for the cover. Water resistant and not Designed to be water proof.  

PD house will tell you different of course. 

The lay man would not know any different and of course the standards in Thailand are no where near what is expected in the real world. 

Electrical seems to be not that important to the Thais. The monsoon season will sort it out.

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## terry57

^

Actually the tosser who has installed that light has not even fitted the rubber seal between the light and the wall.  These lights come with a rubber seal but can be hard to install sometimes. 

I had to do the same thing on one of my lights because my wall was a tad warped and I could not get the screws in. There are two shitty little screws securing that light to the mounting plate.

I would be checking all those lights and kicking up shit if the rubber seal is not installed.

If no rubber seal is separating that light from your wall water will get in very easily. 

This is a safety issue. Another issue is the Earth wire. This fitting is metal and must be Earthed.

Hope they have at least done that.

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## stevefarang

^^

The electrical system is earthed, for what it's worth in Thailand.

I'll ask PD House about the rubber seal for those lights, thanks for the heads up. They didn't advise us on lighting choices. The wife got these at Home Pro. I'm going to have to go there and see if the rubber gasket is included in the packaging.

Except for the east wall, these lights probably won't see much service at all. I intend to extend a wing off the east wall, that looks similar to the car park in the front. This "wing" will be the location for the outside Thai kitchen and general sitting area. So those lights, on that wall, will be better shielded from direct rain.

Looks like I'm going to have to be looking at replacing those lights with something a little more monsoon proof. There will also be solar powered security LED light there as well.

Thanks again Terry !

Steve

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## terry57

^

Ive installed 4 of those exact lights in my house in the back garden. 

I initially automatically thought they where water proof, the salesman informed they where water resistant only.

I read the instructions and sure enough it stated that they where only water resistant. 

The lights definitely come with the seal but that does not make them water proof.    

Your best option is to run a bead of silicon around the connection of the light and wall where the rubber seal should be. The installer has just not bothered with it, I can assure you of that.

Also run a silicon beading around the seal where the bulb screws in. You know, where you screw the cover off to replace the light bulb. 

You need to make those lights water proof, silicon will do it. Cheap and easy.

I would not even bother raising the issue with PD house, just do it your self and you will know its done properly.

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## terry57

> The electrical system is earthed, for what it's worth in Thailand.
> 
> Steve



Yes well that don't mean the installer has bothered connecting the Earth wire. 

I worked 4 years as an Electrical installer when I was a young guy so have a bit of an Idea on home installation..

In my apartment in Bangkok I decided to have a pile of extra power points fitted.

Since labor is so cheap I decided against doing it my self, just get the Electrician in to do it.

Anyway my Apartment is fully earthed. Red Black and green Earth wire to the power points. This was a piss easy job , just join the Red black and green wire to the existing wires and continue the run to where I wanted the new power points. 

Baby work for anyone with half a brain. I left this guy to it without supervising him.

What did he do ?  Tosser decides to only run the Red and Black and not bother with the Green Earth wire   . ???????????

So simple,  the safety factor ignored because he would save a few baht by not running the green Earth Wire.

My fault as I should of watched him.

Lesson learned.

----------


## stevefarang

> ^
> 
> Ive installed 4 of those exact lights in my house in the back garden. 
> 
> I initially automatically thought they where water proof, the salesman informed they where water resistant only.
> 
> I read the instructions and sure enough it stated that they where only water resistant. 
> 
> The lights definitely come with the seal but that does not make them water proof.    
> ...



I will probably end up having to do that, but I'm trying to make a point to PD House that their attention to detail is lacking. Their people should have installed the rubber gasket that came with it.

If I run a silicon bead around the top, won't I be unable to remove the cover to reach the bulb then? I want to slowly replace all the CFL bulbs with LED bulbs, so access is important to me.

Steve

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## terry57

Firstly the rubber seal for those outside lights came with the box containing the light. 

 Your man has ditched them for sure. Saved him time on the installation. 

If you had an original box the installation instructions are inside explaining that the lights are only water resistant and clearly showing the correct way and the importance of fitting the rubber seal between the light and the wall. 

If you had that you could walk straight into PD house and they could not argue against it.

If you want to push the issue you could always go buy another light complete with Installation instruction.

The lights you have are doubles, meaning they have two lights, one shines up and one shines down but the same lights come with only a single light but instructions are exactly the same. 

These are quite a bit cheaper. 

Secondly I would replace all those outside lights with LEDs now before the next monsoon and then seal them with silicon. 

Its easy to break the bead if needed by running a sharp knife through the silicon, no problems there.

You wont have too though as the LEDs will last many many years plus the power usage is nothing.

There getting cheaper all the time, just bite the bullet and do it now.

I placed LEDs in my outside lights straight up and have replaced all my interior down lights with the same. 

Yes, Id tackle PD house over those lights.


Google the light up, maybe something on the Net regards specs.

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## stevefarang

Big Buddhist house blessing party starts today. A bunch of older ladies were here, before 7:30 AM, cooking and doing stuff. Brother in law had that traditional Thai music playing, complete with the distorted bass, thumping through the wall into where I was sleeping.
I had to run to 7-11 to get something to eat, since the wife couldn't get in and cook me anything.
The big party is tomorrow, when the monks come. We're expecting about 200 people then. I will post some pics when I can.

Going to be looking into the exterior light issue that Terry alerted me to as well. Picked up some LED bulbs at Home Pro (199 baht each). I've already replaced the Buddha room lights, which were incandescent bulbs. The wife wants those 2 lights on all night, so they were first on the list to be swapped out.

Steve

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## bankao dreamer

> The wife wants those 2 lights on all night,


Don't tell me ghosts are afraid of the dark ?  :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

The House Blessing and party was a 2+ day event.

It started bright and early (7 AM) on March 2. I was awakened by that traditional Thai music (the kind with the overamplified bass) pounding through the walls. At first, I thought someone had parked their truck over on the east side of our house. But when I shuffled out of our temporary bedroom (my office - only room with a/c), it turns out the wife's brother had his stereo playing and dialed up. Ugh...

There were a bunch of strange, older women fussing about in the kitchen area and just outside. It turns out they were making food for the monks (I guess both for that day & the next). My wife apologized that she could not make me breakfast, so I popped out to the local 7-11 for something.

The rest of the day was mostly just close family members (mostly women) working on preparing food for the monks for the next day. Where we used to keep chickens, ducks & geese, on our second lot, had been cleaned up and was now a large, mostly sheltered area, where the ladies set up an assembly line of prep work. We ran a hose from one side of the house out to them. Several temp propane burners were set up as well.

Late morning, a friend of the family came by with a grader mounted on a tractor, to help level the lot. Unfortunately, in doing so, he also uncovered our "underground" power line (Yes, I am asking PD House how deep do they place the power line). He just ripped the outer covering, did not damage the power cables themselves. We dug a slightly deeper trench and reburied the power line, with a piece of the leftover concrete trim pieces covering over the damaged area. When I go back over, I'll bring some electrical tape and will rewrap the area that was damaged.

Sometime during the day, all the Buddhist monk stuff was delivered. This included a temporary wooden shrine, and mats for the 9 monks to sit on.

Other folks started setting up tents on the north side and chairs on the east side. Later in the afternoon, someone came by and started stringing the lights.

The day ended with another little gathering outside, enjoying the breeze.

Some pics:

The "underground cable":





The ladies, hard at work, over on the second lot:





After the tractor went through, I went around and took some shots of the house:

North end:




Northeast corner:




From the east. I really like this shot. It will look even better when we finally get the landscaping started:





And finally, an evening shot, the calm before the storm.




Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Now it's the morning of the big day.

A little altar was set up outside. The wife and & I had to go out there, light some incense and say a prayer and ask for good luck:




More cars are filling in.




It's not often we have the main entrance doors open, Looking in, you can see the mats where the 9 Buddhist monks will be sittting:




The service starts:













Chanting done, time to feed the monks:







Afterwards, one of the monks walked through the house, sprinkling water everywhere to bless the bless. I didn't catch it but he "painted" some symbols on our bedroom door and place some gold leaf.
I did catch him doing the downstairs window, while standing on a a stack of chairs.











After the monks have finished eating, time for people to dig in (starting with the elders eating first):





Most of us laid down to take a nap by 1 PM. We were up and going, since 6 AM, and it was going to be a long night.


Steve

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## koman

Very elaborate looking shindig you did there.   Nine monks strikes me as overkill.....a bit like the old US nuclear ICBM programs of the 60ies and 70ies.   If the paint drips and cracks suddenly disappear we will know that it was worth it .. :Smile: 

Your house colors are almost exactly the same as ours....and even the lantern lights on the front columns are the same.   You have excellent taste......but nine monks????   Was there some kind of volume discount program in effect?...... :rofl:

----------


## stevefarang

^^^  The number 9 is a very lucky number, hence the 9 monks. I understand that little "drawing" made by the one monk on our front window, is a stylized version of the number 9.
It would be nice if those paint drips and cracks would disappear, they should with all the merit we made that day !

I'm not into decorating and when it came time to decide on colors, we decided to go with the same colors as the house we toured 3 years ago. We both liked those colors. While I usually favor blue, I am taking a liking to the color scheme. Blue would have absorbed more heat.

The lantern lights were picked out at HomePro or Thai Watsadu (I forget where we got them last year). Maybe in a few years, I'll change them out for something a little less common.

Thanks !

Steve

----------


## koman

> The lantern lights were picked out at HomePro or Thai Watsadu (I forget where we got them last year). Maybe in a few years, I'll change them out for something a little less common.


That's pretty well how you have to do things.   I had all kinds of ideas about lighting, tiles and other things, but could never find what I had in mind, so in the end you just have to go with what's available, on you will never get the house finished.

   Nearly everything we have is second or third choice, but you do come to accept the results and at times feel quite lucky about the way things turn out. 

Colors are difficult because the way they look in the brochure (or on the computer display) is often not close to the way they look when you slap them on the wall; and then you have the different lighting conditions to contend with.    The inside colors are especially critical, because that's what you end up looking at most of the time.

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

LOL, I think I was there to pick out the lantern lights and the exterior lights on the east side of the house. The rest were picked out by my wife, as I was back in the USA. So it wasn't an issue of not having what I wanted, but I had no real say...  :Very Happy: 

At least I was able to choose the bathroom tiles and granite. I really like the formal look of our bathroom, even if PD House forget to caulk 3 tiles, failed to clean up all the paint splatter, etc. in the bathroom. I like that bathroom.

My wife picked out the wood floor, although I think she did ask me what color I liked. We've gotten a lot of compliments on it and I like it, so I guess that was a very good choice.

And the exterior colors are the same as the finished house we toured. It wasn't a pc image or anything like that.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

> Nine monks strikes me as overkill.....a bit like the old US nuclear ICBM programs of the 60ies and 70ies.  
>  If the paint drips and cracks suddenly disappear we will know that it was worth it .



Missy a while ago wanted to spend some Bahtsies on her mum's place .

A total dump it was .... and in fact it still is . 
So small that its East side is almost also its West side . 
You can touch this North-East corner and take two steps to touch its South-West corner !

All she really did was brush out the snake skins and the dog poos , paint the walls a delicate orange/pink and then tiled the whole living area floor .
Probably 4 m² .

And then called in the monks .

And 9 turned up for that too !!!!

Based on which Steve really should have had about 200 of them !! 


Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

Workers were busy setting up tables and a stage.





And a little bit later on...





A temporary kitchen was set up in the adjoining rice paddy. Both the owner of that land and the farmer were invited to the party, so all was good. It turns out that all the tents, tables, chairs, plates, glasses, etc were "rented" from the local Wat for a mere pittance. A really good deal and something to remember if we hold another big party.







About 6 pm, things started happening. Tables started filling up, whiskey started pouring.













At most tables, Red Label was poured. Except at my table, we had the good stuff and a big bottle of it too !! (That frowning lady usually was smiling)




It was a beautiful sunset, with a sliver of the moon that my camera really didn't capture.




The talent came out to sing and she was a cutey.




The village "head" saying a few words, with my wife and her mom on stage.






We had a nice breeze, so the bugs were not much of a problem. It was a pleasant evening that went on until ~ 1 AM.




The singers did a good job, the heavier set one had a really good voice. And yes, some folks did get up and do some singing. Some folks asked me if I wanted to sing a song and I told them I would spare them the agony...  :smiley laughing: 




All in all, it was a very good party. We had very nice weather, the food was good, plenty of drink (every table we went to, I had at least 3 glasses of whiskey thrust at me) and a good time (sanook) was had by all.

So it's officially now a house. Still, really a shell with much to be done inside, but it's now a home.

Steve

----------


## bankao dreamer

Crickey Steve you don't mess about I intend never to finish my house so I don't have to go through that.

----------


## BKKBILL

> Crickey Steve you don't mess about I intend never to finish my house so I don't have to go through that.


But BD did you not see the entertainment. :Smile:

----------


## ossierob

Well done Steve...the house looks fantastic mate. Congrats on getting through it all and now the outside fun gets earnest with you developing a garden

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

Thanks very much rob, but we still need to kit out the interior, build a security wall, install a paver driveway and build a wing out on the east side for the outside Thai kitchen. Much to be done.

But I am looking forward to greening up the place.

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

Steve, after looking at the pics of your party, I consider myself lucky. We only had about 30 people including some village elders to celebrate our new house. The only entertainment was the BIL and SIL getting into a brawl which ended with the BIL wheeling a brick over his head ready to clobber the SIL before I stepped in.

The total damages were under 10,000 baht and I have to thank the wife for keeping it a small occasion. 

Congrats on the completion!!

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, after looking at the pics of your party, I consider myself lucky. We only had about 30 people including some village elders to celebrate our new house. The only entertainment was the BIL and SIL getting into a brawl which ended with the BIL wheeling a brick over his head ready to clobber the SIL before I stepped in.
> 
> The total damages were under 10,000 baht and I have to thank the wife for keeping it a small occasion. 
> 
> Congrats on the completion!!


Thanks Rick, but as I said before, the house is just a shell. Still much to be done, inside and out.

The party reminded me of a Western style wedding reception. Everyone was sent invitations (~200 were sent out). At the party, we would walk around to each table and while the guys were giving me their glasses of whiskey to drink, envelopes (with cash) were passed to my wife.

Later that night, when things were winding down, my wife and her sister sat down with a calculator and a note book to document who gave what and how much. We actually made some money, more than I expected ! 

Hell, if we get that amount every time, I'd be willing to throw a party once a month !!

The flip side however, is that if we are invited to one of these folk's parties, we'll be expected to cough up some Thai baht in return.

But still, it was a helluva night and I was very pleased with how nicely things worked out, especially with the weather and minimal bugs. It's a good piece of land to hold parties.

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

^
Steve, living in the northeastern countryside means that you will not receive any cash since they are dirt poor around here. If I had thrown a large party like yours with entertainment, maybe a few baht would have come my way. In the end it looks like I paid much more than you did for the housewarming party. :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

OK,
Not much has been happening since I am back here in the States.'m trying to get some more money earned, to continue doing everything I want to do in the house.

However.....

My wife sent me some pics, about 8 days ago, of some rather disturbing "cracks" in the exterior walls. It looks like they did not wait long enough to let the walls "cure" before painting. Or at least, I think that was what someone suspected before.

Interestingly, these are all on the east wall, which does get a bit of sun in the morning.










They did have some workers at the house the other day, so I will post some shots of some of their repair work soon.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

These are some pictures my wife sent me, the other day, of PD House workers fixing the external walls.













Steve

----------


## stevefarang

And then some pics, I received this morning, from PD House.

It looks like the "cracking" was even worse than I thought. I didn't spot that many, but at least it's getting taken care of. And we'll get a second coat of external paint, which I think always helps.




Crikey !!! This looks horrible !













Allright !! My solar powered security light, brought from the USA (Harbour Freight- LOL) is still there !!! My wife's family was very impressed by it. I'm curious to see how it holds up in the tropics. I want to put 4-5 more around the perimeter.

















I'm still bothered by the missing fan vent cover. I'm hoping I can find one somewhere, cheap, that will fit. Don't think it will be a problem.



Steve

----------


## koman

Wow.....never seen anything like that before.  Some rendering cracks are normal and very common but somebody must have screwed up the cement mix and application big-time to get that much cracking.   Good that PD are fixing it....and you get an additional coat of paint.  Hopefully that takes care of it..... :mid:

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

I'm not real familiar with this stuff, but I think others have commented that they should have let the original application dry more thoroughly and fix any cracking then, before painting. Looks like someone rushed it, or so I believe.

A lot of issues I have found with the house relate to attention to detail and just plain sloppiness. There's a lot of paint splatter and what not from what seemed a rush job to paint. They forget to apply caulk on 3 tiles in the master bathroom. Hot and cold water connections were reversed at the jacuzzi. A lot of paint smears in the master bathroom, etc...etc....etc....

I did ask them if they would be proud to show a future customer our house as a sample of their work ? I think that is helping things, a little.

This is just a start.

Steve

----------


## Loy Toy

> I'm not real familiar with this stuff, but I think others have commented that they should have let the original application dry more thoroughly and fix any cracking then, before painting. Looks like someone rushed it, or so I believe.


The cement mix with the sand was too high and the render went off to quickly.

I always ask the renderer to continue to spray water on the wall after rendering and to slow down the curing process.

In fact when I pour columns I wrap the exposed column in plastic film which slows the curing and stops any cracking. 

Looks a nice home anyway Steve and I hope all enjoy it.

----------


## stevefarang

^^^
Thanks for the clarification Loy Toy. Hopefully this will fix the problem once and for all.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

That's an unpleasant problem to be dealing with on such a fine house .

What PD don't realise is that it makes you check around with that much more of a beady eye and you end up making them rectify tiny things that you might have previously let go .

Only one thing would I change there Steve .

The satellite dish .


I'd even perhaps give it its own plinth away from the building with a cable under the garden to the house .

I hate them . I do . I do .

But a fine build yerr honerr gizz a silver coin.



Wasp

----------


## Koetjeka

> What PD don't realise is that it makes you check around with that much more of a beady eye and you end up making them rectify tiny things that you might have previously let go .


When the house was finished, didn't you have to check the whole house with their foreman, write down their mistakes and sign for it?

----------


## stevefarang

Wasp,

That satellite dish was installed while I was not there. In addition, they ran cable from the dish through the wall to both the downstairs family room and our master bedroom. But there's a connection already *in the wall* at both locations. I was ready to yell at my wife about that, but figured in her "delicate state", I'd take the high road and not say anything.

So, when PD House reps were out inspecting all the deficiencies I had noticed, I asked about the tv cable connections. It turns out there is a junction box, for the satellite dish, somewhere up above the upstairs ceiling. So sometime down the road, I'll have someone run the cable to the junction box, as intended, and fill in the holes in my walls !!

This was not a PD House problem. I would think the guys installing the satellite dish & cable would have noticed the connectors in the wall. Or maybe they were too lazy to go up in the attic to find the junction box ? (hmmmm...)

As far as going around with a beady eye, I've been doing that from the first time I was there after construction started. I caught a wall in the wrong spot, that turns out PD House said was due to a wrong beam used when they framed the concrete "erector set". I'm still peeved about it. If you visited, you would never see it, but it changes the layout of the upstairs family room by a few cm.

I've caught a cracked Q-con block installed in a wall. Fortunately, they had just started, so we had them remove the block and replace it with a new one. Unfortunately, there still one in a wall upstairs. PD House insisted the repaired it, but the pic they sent me was for a block at a different location. They never got back to me on that one.

And Terry (I think is his name here) pointed out the issue with our exterior lights and their missing gaskets. That's an issue that I'm making a stink over. If they are not fixed by the time I get back there, I'll get the silicone sealant and do it myself (after replacing the CFL bulbs with LED's).

I'm dealing (by e-mail) with a woman, at PD House, who seems to speak some English and is usually good at replying in a timely fashion. I've already told her that I do not want to talk to their local office manager anymore, as he has made too many unfulfilled promises to me and I do not trust him anymore.

They've got about 4-5 pages of issues I have identified. Some minor, but many are strictly attention to detail failures. And I always ask them if they would be proud to show the house to a future PD House customer.

Still a ways to go. But I'm glad to see PD House people finally out there working on fixing the exterior walls.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> What PD don't realise is that it makes you check around with that much more of a beady eye and you end up making them rectify tiny things that you might have previously let go .
> 			
> 		
> 
> When the house was finished, didn't you have to check the whole house with their foreman, write down their mistakes and sign for it?


I was not there, when PD House said it was finished, so i could not do a walkthrough and make a punch list at that time. And my wife is not one to go around and check things like I do. PD House wants their final 10%. I want these discrepancies fixed before paying that last 10%, plus there is a warranty on the house.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

> I was not there, when PD House said it was finished, so i could not do a walkthrough and make a punch list at that time.  PD House wants their final 10%. I want these discrepancies fixed before paying that last 10%, plus there is a warranty on the house.
> 
> Steve



After these discrepancies are fixed I'd give them 5% and tell them that because a lack of trust now exists and because of promises and assurances not being met along with you fully expecting to find other discrepancies you will pay the other 5% in 12 months time - subject to you being satisfied with the work.

Or summatt like that - yerr nobleness .



Wasp

After koman's problems I'm definitely down on Thai " professionalism " at the moment.

----------


## BKKKevin

Steve what are all those blue pipes sticking out around the perimeter of the house?... Is that for the termite guys to inject more spray?...

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> I was not there, when PD House said it was finished, so i could not do a walkthrough and make a punch list at that time.  PD House wants their final 10%. I want these discrepancies fixed before paying that last 10%, plus there is a warranty on the house.
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't think I can get away with that, since it's not in the contract. However, when I go back I will give them an ultimatum. Either I hire and pay guys to do the work properly, deducting it from the final 10% or they get it done pronto. I can't sit around and wait, for weeks on end, for a PD House crew to come out and fix things.

I just want it finished and PD House out of my hair.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve what are all those blue pipes sticking out around the perimeter of the house?... Is that for the termite guys to inject more spray?...


Yes, those small, capped blue pipes are for the termite killing stuff. I don't know if it's a spray, tablets, or what.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

I don't think I can get away with that, since it's not in the contract. 

 I will give them an ultimatum. Either I hire and pay guys to do the work properly, deducting it from the final 10% or they get it done pronto. I can't sit around and wait, for weeks on end, for a PD House crew to come out and fi


But surely that's not in the contract either !


Pay them 1% a month for 10months ..... so they're getting paid .
You're not refusing - just being careful .

Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Love your house Steve, and what a great party. I think you've probably done better out of PD house than some others I've read about, most don't even get a ring back!

----------


## stevefarang

> I don't think I can get away with that, since it's not in the contract. 
> 
>  I will give them an ultimatum. Either I hire and pay guys to do the work properly, deducting it from the final 10% or they get it done pronto. I can't sit around and wait, for weeks on end, for a PD House crew to come out and fi
> 
> 
> But surely that's not in the contract either !
> 
> 
> Pay them 1% a month for 10months ..... so they're getting paid .
> ...


No, it's not in the contract,  but I want PD House gone ASAP.  If I tell them that I will pay 1% every month,  they will just drag this out 10 months.
Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> Love your house Steve, and what a great party. I think you've probably done better out of PD house than some others I've read about, most don't even get a ring back!


Thanks, it was a fun party. 
I don't know why things went differently with others. I really feel bad for the one guy (RichardShane ?), because I think he specifically went with PD House, based on what he saw in our initial build, with all our nice factory pre-formed columns and beams. Then they f*cked the whole thing up doing pours at his site, using the wrong concrete, leaving concrete bags in the pour, etc.  It was the initial build from hell. I would never want to use PD House, if I only saw that thread.

I still like the way our house was assembled. I'm not impressed by the finishing work and attention to detail issues that i keep catching.

Steve

----------


## thaicbr

I think the words" Thai" and "attention to detail" should not be said in the same sentence.. Not unless your making a joke anyway!

----------


## stevefarang

Sorry, I don't have any news to report on house repairs or other things I want to do to it.

However, it's been busy over in Thailand. My wife's water started to go a week ago and she delivered our boy on April 9 at 7:30 PM, Bangkok time. He was a "wee lad" of 4,300 g. Needless to say, my wife has been a little sore (ie no C-section).

Apparently, he was a little troublemaker in the hospital nursery. Things would be quiet. He would start to cry and get all the other babies crying. He was quickly labeled as the American.

They finally went home the other day and he actually was pretty good the first night. I figured he'd be up and crying all night and my wife would be a frazzled mess. But apparently they slept most of the night. She nursed him twice, and all he did was start to make a little noise before she would nurse him. They would then go back to sleep.

He does have a set of lungs, as my wife has sent me some video of him crying and fussing, so he's not always so easy.

Here's a pic my wife sent me this morning, in what seems to be his favorite sleeping position. It's very cute, but I definitely need to get him some blue colored stuff to wear !



It's good to see him in our house. I can't wait to get over there. Still waiting on a customer to finalize some work before I head over.




My wife also sent me some other pics. It seems we've had a good crop of mangos, including the big ones that we planted 3-4 years ago. We bought 3 trees, from a local nursery somewhere. They were from Australia and the fruit is ~2 kg in size, instead of the usual 1 kg local mangos. I was worried that, being bigger, they would not be that good. But I've been assured they are very good.

We also have another 4-5 mango trees around the property, as I recall.

So, my wife's father is taking them to his local market, where he sells fruit. They were sold very quickly. Maybe we need to figure out a way to get more of those big Australian mango trees (grafting ?).




Sorry no real house news as of late. I figured everyone has been off celebrating Songkran in one way or another. I was really hoping to be there for this year. I was going to load a couple buckets of water in the back of our truck and see what fun we could have. Hopefully next year.

Steve

----------


## patsycat

Cutie!!   What's his name?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

----------


## Iceman123

Well done Steve and congrats to all 3 of you

----------


## terp80

Damn! 9 1/2 pounds! :Omfg:  Steve, that's a _biiig_ boy, and cute as a button. :Baby:  And from his contemplative "The Thinker" pose, he will be smart too. Either that or a Sumo wrestler. Congratulations and best of luck!  :Smile:

----------


## Roobarb

Congratulations Steve, great news.  Looks like you managed to get the house done just in time.  Well done to you all.

----------


## stevefarang

Thanks all.
His real name is Mark. 

I don't know what Thai nickname he will have yet. I've been calling him "Yak Noi" ever since we knew he was coming, since there was some excellent Fat Yak Ale (from Melbourne,Australia) that surely was involved, hehehehe...  :Naughty: 

Happy Easter to all !!

Steve

----------


## bankao dreamer

> His real name is Mark.


Congratulations Steve and a most excellent choice of name.

----------


## Ratchaburi

Congrad's Steve

----------


## koman

Congratulations Steve.   Looks quite comfortable on the marbled floors of Chateau SteveFarang.   We he inherit a title??.....

----------


## rickschoppers

Congrats Steve. Welcome to the club of raising a Thai/Western child. My son will be 4 years old in a month or so and I enjoy watching him grow.

----------


## stevefarang

^^^
Thanks Rick, but he is my second half Thai/half Western kid. My youngest daughter lives down in Hat Yai with her mother (long story, not going to get into it). The plan is to get her moved in by the end of the year. We already have a bedroom for her.

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

You are well experienced then, but they are always a wonder to behold when they are that small. Good luck with everything.

----------


## stevefarang

> Congratulations Steve.   Looks quite comfortable on the marbled floors of Chateau SteveFarang.   We he inherit a title??.....


While I do have quite a bit of British (& Welsh) lineage in my background, I'm American. There are no titles !!!

Hell, I might let him keep the lovely carriage Wasp added to the picture of my house ! LOL

He can battle with my older son, for the chrome steel implant in my shoulder, from a motorcycle accident 6 years ago. It has to be worth something, or at least make for a cool paperweight on a desk.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> You are well experienced then, but they are always a wonder to behold when they are that small. Good luck with everything.


I know. It's killing me not to be over there right now. But I need some customers to come through with Purchase Orders before I get over there.

Thanks !

Steve

----------


## FatOne

Fantastic news, congrats Steve. House looks great, baby looks great, life is good!

----------


## nevets

Great house thread thank you , and about insulation on the ceiling , the more you have the bigger your  cables should be due to the heat and amps caried by the cable , can result in over load and burn out. 
And it's been wired to Thai standard not British.

----------


## nevets

I was reading page 13 , congratulations on the new baby.

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by rickschoppers
> 
> 
> You are well experienced then, but they are always a wonder to behold when they are that small. Good luck with everything.
> 
> 
> I know. It's killing me not to be over there right now. But I need some customers to come through with Purchase Orders before I get over there.
> 
> Thanks !
> ...





OK .

I'll have 6 of whatever you make .


I hope it's yachts .




Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

Thanks all for the good wishes. I should finally be back there in about 15-16 days.

Unfortunately, a little problem has popped up that I will be looking for solutions to. My wife told me how her brother had come back to the house the other day and found a baby cobra INSIDE the house. I think it came in through an open window (none of our windows have screens - something I may have to try and find a fix for).
It was disposed of (I think she said he ate it too!!) but I am very concerned about a nest of cobras anywhere near the house.
I suspect they are under the house, as on the west side of the house, we have a large opening that would allow them to get under. 



The west side of the house is close to the water channel that supplies  the adjoining rice paddies and other areas that a snake would probably  like to slither around.

While I'm not certain they are under the house, that's my best guess, especially if they are found that close to the house. This would be a valuable warning to others building houses with crawl spaces, it may end up being very attractive to snakes and other nasty critters.
I'm going to see if there is some one in the area who can get under there and check to see if they are in there. If so, I want them gone and that crawl space made undesirable to snakes in the future.

This includes finally filling in that area next to the house and putting in some flowering plants,as I've been wanting to do anyway. I may try to fill in some of the gaps with cheap red bricks, to help dissuade any thing from trying to dig in and under or dig out from underneath.

Is there anything else I can do, besides get a pet mongoose or two ? When we had the geese, ducks and chickens on our second lot, we had a problem with a python nabbing a few of our birds. They put down some white powder around the perimeter of the bird house, that I guess the snake doesn't like. Can I do the same with cobras ?

If they are not under the house, I want the nest found and removed/destroyed. I have zero tolerance for snakes and having them so close as getting inside my house, is really bothering me.

Thanks,
Steve

----------


## Wasp

Well Steveyourgloriousness , two days have gone and not a single offer to come and stomp all over your load of cobras .

It's quiet around the Threads hey ?


Wasp

----------


## rickschoppers

^^
Get a couple of dogs to keep out the snakes. Worse case scenario is that the dog would take one for its owner which is better than having them in the house.

Seriously, snakes are not very fond of dogs. Hence, most Thais have dogs around and they serve as a good burglar alarm.

----------


## koman

What is needed would be a 12ga pump shotgun and an Indian snake charmer's flute.

You sit on the porch and play the flute.  I'm sure there must be an on-line tutorial on technique development....or you might even find an Indian snake charmer looking for employment in your area.

  The Cobras come out...they can't resist the flute.....and you blow them away with the 12ga.    What could be simpler?.... :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> ^^
> Get a couple of dogs to keep out the snakes. Worse case scenario is that the dog would take one for its owner which is better than having them in the house.
> 
> Seriously, snakes are not very fond of dogs. Hence, most Thais have dogs around and they serve as a good burglar alarm.



Rick,
As soon as our perimeter wall is finished, I'll bring my dog over from the MIL's place. I might even get him a friend as well. I'm even debating on the idea of having some geese free to wander around. I understand some Customs facilities, at locations around the world, use guard geese. They seem to be even more susceptible to things than dogs.

I definitely want to fill in that opening on the west side of the house. But only after we see if there's someone foolhardy enough to crawl under there and have a look-see. I am going to show no-mercy to any snakes in, under or even near my house. They have plenty of room around the rice paddies to do their "snake things". There is no need for snakes to go into my house, especially if they are cobras !!

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> What is needed would be a 12ga pump shotgun and an Indian snake charmer's flute.
> 
> *You sit on the porch and play the flute.*  I'm sure there must be an on-line tutorial on technique development....or you might even find an Indian snake charmer looking for employment in your area.
> 
>   The Cobras come out...they can't resist the flute.....and you blow them away with the 12ga.    What could be simpler?....



Ummm...koman, your post sounds so gay !!!  :smiley laughing: 

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I'll be going back over to Thailand, very soon. But only staying for about 10 days total.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

We decided, yesterday, on an initial whole house 3 - stage filter system.
When I came over, last week,  the master bathroom faucet was heavily blocked with sand / grit.
We're installing a 3 - stage system with backwash.
1st stage is Manganese,  2nd is Carbon & 3rd is ion exchange resin. Water hardness tested top of the scale.
We will install eventually a smaller one in the kitchen for drinking water. 
They are installing it as I write this. I can't post pics, as I'm using my Android phone.
Steve

----------


## stevefarang

And today, we have the termite guys here waging war on the critters. It sounds like bottles of champagne being open, as they pop the covers off each fill tube going to the grid under the house.
They will be back every month for the next year.
I will post some pics when I get back to the USA.

----------


## terry57

^

Your house looks brilliant mate besides all those friggin cracks coming on.  :Confused: 

Don forget to seal those outside lights.

----------


## stevefarang

> ^
> 
> Your house looks brilliant mate besides all those friggin cracks coming on. 
> 
> Don forget to seal those outside lights.



Thanks Terry.
PD House did come and repaint all those cracks, so she looks better. I haven't forgotten to seal the lights. Just no time to do it yet. This trip is cut short unexpectedly as I HAVE to go back to the USA for my special visa to Nigeria. 
Cheers
Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Water filter system for the house is finally installed. The guy seemed to do a good job. I noticed he zip tied pic lines together. He even cleaned out the interior of our water storage tank.
Water does feel softer already.
Will post pics when I get back to the USA. 
Steve

----------


## stevefarang

OK, as promised, here are the water filter installation pics. 
We made the deal on Saturday. One of the guys, with his gf, went to Minburi on Sunday to get the stuff they needed and they all (2 guys and the gf) showed up Sunday night to get started.







They were very good with letting me check out and look into the different bags. The one that really caught my eye were the resin beads, with my background in power plants.



My wife thought the resin beads were beautiful. I told her they can be a pain in the ass, when they spill. They stick to everything. But yes, they are sparkly.



Turns out they were short one bag of Manganese, so they neatly put everything to one side of the house and called it a night by 10 PM or so.

Monday morning at 8 AM, both guys and the gf showed up to resume work:



At about 10 AM, one guy and his gf had to leave to go to work. And the other guy just kept working throughout the day. I give him credit, as the filters are set up on the south side wall. We tried to make sure he stayed hydrated. He rerouted our water supply to feed into the filters and then the treated water goes to the 2,000 l storage tank. The house pump takes a suction from the storage tank to supply the house.

As a reminder, the filters are 3-stage, Manganese, carbon and resin bed. The salt was in a separate white poly tank and is used to regen the resin bed. There is a cartridge filter downstream of the 3-stage filter set-up, most likely to catch any carryover from the filters (most likely resin beads)











The system includes backwash valves and is neatly plumbed off our concrete pad. I noticed he used zip ties around all the piping, just to give them more rigidity and a cleaner look.

The only thing I am still not clear on is the valve for the resin bed. It's got multiple positions to it. My Thai is not that good and his English was worse. He will be available for service calls, so I'll get them figured out.

Our friendly worker also said that our water tank needed to be drained and cleaned out. He started the process, but then my brother-in-law came home and offered to dive the tank and scrub it down.



Some pretty nasty gunk after only 6-7 months.




It took him a few tries to prime our pump, but eventually all was set up again. He retested the water and hardness dropped way down to the lowest range. We noticed the water was definitely "softer".

I flushed the solar hot water heater the next day, just to clear out the "dirty" water.

As far as operation goes, we backwash monthly. I think we do a regen monthly as well. The salt supply will last 6-8 months. I don't expect a new bag of salt to cost that much.

All in all, it's a pretty nice looking set-up and we are pretty happy with it. After the kitchen is done, we'll install a smaller set-up for drinking water in the kitchen. I'd use the same guy again. He was methodical, careful, good natured and good worker.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

That Monday morning, about an hour after the water filter guys showed up, the termite guys showed up.
This was the proverbial family friend of my wife. We met him Sunday to talk about it and worked out a deal where they will come once a month, for a year, to treat the house. I don't know what chemical they use, but it did smell bug deadly.

We had an initial treatment done a little over 3 years ago. That treatment supposedly was good for the 3 years.

They went around the house and popped off the caps for the grid system installed under the house. The boss (my wife's family friend) noted that at least one of them, he spotted a termite crawling out. They injected that stuff down the tubes as well as sprayed it all around the perimeter of the house, plus inside in the bathrooms. They even sprayed some out away from the house, just to show me the power and range of the stream.

We had mentioned about the baby cobra that was seen in the house. I showed the boss where I think the snakes are possibly hiding out under the house. He had a big plastic container with some kind of black tablets that he said kills snakes. He had one of the workers place some in that general area. Hopefully it works !!! Although, I do intend to seal that area up with some crushed stone and soil, for some plants.







While they were doing the termite treatment, my wife and her mom, cleared out of the house and hung out in the shade of some trees with our 2 month old son. They enjoyed a nice view of the house:




The termite guys were done in about 2 hours.

Steve

----------


## Drainpipe

The termite injection treatment should be done once a year (unless you use some more advanced chemical like Termidor/Fipronil, then that lasts ten years); the monthly visits are normally to spray all around the edges of the rooms and under the house edges, to kill cockroaches and other bugs

----------


## stevefarang

> The termite injection treatment should be done once a year (unless you use some more advanced chemical like Termidor/Fipronil, then that lasts ten years); the monthly visits are normally to spray all around the edges of the rooms and under the house edges, to kill cockroaches and other bugs


The original treatment was for 3 years. I have no idea what used back then or now. We noticed in increase in ants around the house, after the 3 years were up back in February.

If these guys want to come every month and spray that stuff down those tubes as well as around the edges of the house, more power to them.   :Smile: 

Maybe they will keep an eye on the snake issue as well. It helps that the boss is a friend of the family. 

Steve

----------


## koman

That's quite the setup you have for the water treatment.  Jaysus, where do you get your water from that it needs that much filtration and treatment.   We just have one RO filter in the kitchen to produce pure drinking water.  The normal mains water is clear and clean with no residue at all that I've seen so far.   

Thailand does have some pretty ugly water supply in places...that's for sure.... :Confused: 

I see your termites get blue pipe.....our  termites have black pipe.   Termites can be quite particular about the color of their pipes you know...... :Smile:

----------


## terry57

Regards the water filtration,

Just goes to show that the Thais are on the ball when the correct workers are sourced.

Nice job right there.

----------


## stevefarang

> That's quite the setup you have for the water treatment.  Jaysus, where do you get your water from that it needs that much filtration and treatment.   We just have one RO filter in the kitchen to produce pure drinking water.  The normal mains water is clear and clean with no residue at all that I've seen so far.   
> 
> Thailand does have some pretty ugly water supply in places...that's for sure....



Thanks Koman, but we get some pretty crappy water. Almost immediately, all the toilets had a yellowish film in their bowls. I saw a ring in the jacuzzi as well after using it, and assumed that the film was just residual machine oil or similar, from the jacuzzi pumps and plumbing. It wiped right off.

What really motivated me was when I returned to Thailand, I immediately noticed the flow from the master bathroom faucet was really low. When I took it apart, I found a bunch of sand/grit upstream of the little strainer in the faucet head. I cleaned that all out, but the flow is still pretty bad. Something inside is still clogging up the works. So eventually, I'll see if HomePro carries a replacement for that little cartridge device. Or maybe I'll try soaking it in some white vinegar, see if that clears out the gunk.

We definitely noticed a difference in the water after the system was installed. It was much softer. The guy who installed it did the same test he did before the installation, when our hardness was off the graph high. It is now at the bottom of the little color graph chart.

I'd like to use RO for drinking water in the kitchen. I've got an old acquaintance of mine, back here in the USA, that used to be in the water treatment business. He says UV is the way to go to kill all the bacteria and critters in the water. I've never been keen on UV systems.

I'd like to dig a deep well, sometime in the future.




> I see your termites get blue pipe.....our  termites have black pipe.    Termites can be quite particular about the color of their pipes you  know......


Oh, you have just the normal little munchers. We have to deal with the Nakhom Pathom Blue Meanies !!    :Smile: 

And hopefully, with all the stuff injected into our grid, there are now no termites anywhere near our house that will care what color pipe is used.


Steve

PS: Thanks Terry !!

----------


## koman

> I'd like to use RO for drinking water in the kitchen. I've got an old acquaintance of mine, back here in the USA, that used to be in the water treatment business. He says UV is the way to go to kill all the bacteria and critters in the water. I've never been keen on UV systems.


I've used both RO and UV.   One difference is the taste/texture of the water.   The RO produces a very pure but very flat tasting water.  It's almost like drinking distilled water.    The UV actually produces a more palatable drink IMO....but the RO is the gold standard for purity.    Decisions decisions.......

----------


## stevefarang

^^^^


Thanks Koman.
The impression he gave me was that if I want to kill bacteria, or any other nasties, in the water, I need UV. But I always figured RO would strain them out as well.
I just don't trust that funny purplish colored light.

Steve

----------


## koman

> The impression he gave me was that if I want to kill bacteria, or any other nasties, in the water, I need UV


Bombarding water with high intensity UV light will certainly kill off any bacteria and give you safe drinking water.  (assuming all the other solid and dissolved crap has been filtered out already  

 RO also takes out bacteria, viruses, and everything else.  Only pure water molecules are able to pass through the process...which I guess is the reason for the water tasting so "flat".    You can even turn raw sea water into fresh drinking water with an RO system.   I had one on my last boat.   They used to be pretty costly, but the prices have really come down now. 

 The one in our kitchen was about 7000 baht in HomePro.    The one on my boat cost  well over US$3000.....or 100,000 Baht.++... :Confused:

----------


## patsycat

And what about an update about you meeting your son for the first time?  that must have been awesome.

----------


## stevefarang

^^

Yes, it was, thanks for asking. I really enjoyed being with him. He's a good little kid, pretty good natured and not too fussy. I'm happy he's got a decent house to sleep in and we'll keep tweaking the house. there's still much to be done. We now have a/c in the guest suite (Samsung 18,000 BTU) and the master bedroom (Mitsubishi Inverter 24,000 BTU).

But I figured I wouldn't bore y'all with pics of the little guy.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Last night, my wife noticed a bad smell in my office room, which she's been using as a bedroom for now (since it has air con). They opened the windows and her brother cleared out the room looking for the source, but they found nothing in the room.

We had just installed the air con in the master bedroom and she's been waiting for me to come back before sleeping up there, but that idea went out the window last night. She took my son up there and slept there.

It sounds like those black tablets, that the termite guys put down, worked ! The thought is that a big snake(s) is dead under the house. They are going to fill in that opening on the side of the house tomorrow, finally.

I know 1 or 2 guys are planning on having a crawl space under their house. Be very careful that crawling/slithering critters don't get in there. Always check before going into that space. I really hate snakes.

Steve

----------


## terp80

> I know 1 or 2 guys are planning on having a crawl space under their house. Be very careful that crawling/slithering critters don't get in there. Always check before going into that space. I really hate snakes. 
> Steve


Thanks for reminding me. I'm going to have to wait to see how my crawl space turns out. May not be for a few months yet before they brick that up. I want a couple access doors and air bricks with screens. I'm not that crazy about snakes either - or any other creepy-crawlies for that matter. And I don't plan on being the one who goes under there for ANY reason. :Aargh4:

----------


## stevefarang

^^^^

Holy Crap !!! Are those in Thailand ?? Yikes !!!

I'm also wondering if it's possibly some creepy crawlies that were taken out by the termite treatment. I was worried it was something dead in a corner of the room, but it's not.

Hopefully the smell will be gone before I change the room back into my office.

Steve

----------


## patsycat

Well, just one or two of the little guy.

----------


## terp80

> Holy Crap !!! Are those in Thailand ?? Yikes !!!





> Well, just one or two of the little guy.


Yup. On my site. This "little guy" had been killed by the crew. But must not be good eat'n.  :Yuck:   :rofl:

----------


## patsycat

I was talking about his two month old baby.

----------


## terp80

> I was talking about his two month old baby.


Haha. Think he might be cuter than my "little guy."  :Slap:

----------


## stevefarang

Patsycat,
I don't follow you. Are you asking for some pics of my son ?
I also thought you were talking about the creepy crawlies.
Being a house building thread, I didn't think it appropriate to go and post his pics.

Cheers !

Steve

----------


## patsycat

It was about your son, sorry.

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

OK, I don't want to turn this thread into a bunch of pics of my new son. But here's a couple from late last month.





Steve

----------


## FatOne

Hi Steve,
He looks very beautiful, and since when have these house building threads been exclusively for house building? Mine's about bananas at the moment, and we've had some wonderful arguments about the sex of an oven on others!!!
Marty

----------


## stevefarang

Did someone say something about bananas ?




 :bananaman:   :bananaman:   :bananaman:   :bananaman: 

 :smiley laughing: 

Steve

----------


## BKKBILL

Steve, now wasp will be in relapse. :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Hades Airlines is about to depart .






W...................

----------


## patsycat

Thanks Steve , he certainly is a handsome wee boy.

----------


## terp80

> Thanks Steve , he certainly is a handsome wee boy.


 I'll second that. :bananaman:

----------


## stevefarang

Thanks all.
Say what you want about me, but I do make good looking kids.  :mid: 

Greetings from Nigeria !

----------


## terp80

> Thanks all.
> Say what you want about me, but I do make good looking kids.  
> Greetings from Nigeria !


Say "Hi" to the former oil minister for me. Tell him I'm still waiting for my $5.6 M USD to be deposited into my US bank account.  :bananaman:

----------


## stevefarang

^^^^

LOL, actually a new friend of mine, Prince Jigabooboo of Nigeria, is having trouble transferring some 32.7 million US dollars out of the country. So, go ahead and send me your bank account number and we can split it 50/50.   :Very Happy: 

Steve

----------


## terp80

> LOL, actually a new friend of mine, Prince Jigabooboo of Nigeria, is having trouble transferring some 32.7 million US dollars out of the country. So, go ahead and send me your bank account number and we can split it 50/50.   
> Steve


Not until his friend, the former oil minister, completes my transfer. At least I don't have to split that.  :rofl:

----------


## stevefarang

OK, so my brother in law has filled in the west end of the house, where we had the gaps that snakes and other critters could get under the house.
I thought I had a before picture, but this is all I can find right now.





And, this is his handy work. Looks ok. I'm assuming he went all the way across, filling in the other gaps. I can't tell if he put down some mulch.




Other news, I brought over some ghost chili seeds and planted a few to see what would happen. Well, looks like we have a little success. My wife is going to try them Friday night. I'm curious to hear her reaction, as I've yet to find anything "hot" that impresses her taste buds.  :smiley laughing: 



Steve

----------


## FatOne

Looks great Steve, the Chateau is looking perfect!

----------


## stevefarang

Just to clarify, the pics I posted above (showing the filled in area and flowers) are for the corner, where my office is located. My wife tells me the bad smell is now just a little bit. It must have been a big snake that died under there.

I also posted a pic of the ghost chili plant that actually grew. My MIL tried one last night and said it smelled very nice (hom dee) and was very spicy (peht mark-mark). Looks like I finally hit upon something to impress the wife's family !
Now that I know they will grow there, I'm going to see if we can get some more growing. Maybe get a very small business of growing & selling ghost chilis. 

I have an old high school friend sending me some "zombie chili seeds" from Ecuador. He claims they are the hottest chilis. So we'll try to grow them and see what the Thais think of them.

And thanks O large one !  :Smile: 

This weekend, we are adding some more nice fill dirt on the east side of the house, where we sit outside. This will raise this area, in anticipation of the perimeter wall. I want the nice fill dirt as this will be wear we will have some nice landscaping and plantings. 

My wife has a quote from guy who is supposedly well regarded for building nice walls. We are also installing security screens on all the windows.

House is slowly coming along. I look forward to going back there in about 3-4 weeks.

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

Steve, you may want to double check about mailing any seeds. The last I heard, it was not allowed to bring seeds from the outside into Thailand.

All you gardeners may be able to shed more light on this. Otherwise, it sounds like a very good idea.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, you may want to double check about mailing any seeds. The last I heard, it was not allowed to bring seeds from the outside into Thailand.
> 
> All you gardeners may be able to shed more light on this. Otherwise, it sounds like a very good idea.


He's going to discretely mail them to me in the USA. In fact, they are on their way now and should be waiting for me when I get back from Nigeria . I'll carry them over from the States. That's how I brought the ghost chilis over.

Steve

----------


## koman

> Originally Posted by rickschoppers
> 
> 
> Steve, you may want to double check about mailing any seeds. The last I heard, it was not allowed to bring seeds from the outside into Thailand.
> 
> All you gardeners may be able to shed more light on this. Otherwise, it sounds like a very good idea.
> 
> 
> He's going to discretely mail them to me in the USA. In fact, they are on their way now and should be waiting for me when I get back from Nigeria . I'll carry them over from the States. That's how I brought the ghost chilis over.
> ...


Great idea posting this on an open forum.   It's illegal to transport plants and seeds internationally without a license.  (to restrict the spread of plant disease and other nasty destructive plant stuff)  and Thailand having a large agricultural industry is quite sensitive about things like that.....as is the USA, EU, AUS,... NZ is absolutely paranoid about it.....etc etc....

Better hope the generals are not monitoring.....otherwise you could be moving from Chateau Stevefarang to Chateau Bangkok Hilton..... :Smile: .

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

Having been to both NZ and Australia quite a few times, I can understand and respect their unique situation.

However, I seriously doubt anyone is going to have a hissy fit over a few chili seeds brought in to Thailand, for the purposes of growing fresh vegetables/fruit (I can't remember what category chilis are) for personal consumption.

I think they have more important things to worry about, such as illegal narcotics.

Interestingly enough, we bought, about 4 years ago, some Aussie mango  trees from a local nursery. They advertised them as having fruit  averaging 2 Kg vs the standard 1 Kg mangoes in Thailand. They are bigger and still taste pretty good. The father in law sells them at his fruit stand and they are fast sellers. Interesting, as the Aussies don't mind exporting their fruit trees.

Steve

----------


## Koetjeka

> Great idea posting this on an open forum. It's illegal to transport plants and seeds internationally without a license. (to restrict the spread of plant disease and other nasty destructive plant stuff) and Thailand having a large agricultural industry is quite sensitive about things like that.....as is the USA, EU, AUS,... NZ is absolutely paranoid about it.....etc etc....
> 
> Better hope the generals are not monitoring.....otherwise you could be moving from Chateau Stevefarang to Chateau Bangkok Hilton......


Ohhh, I guess I was lucky when I brought 20kg of rice seeds with me to the Netherlands  :yerman:

----------


## cnx37

Steve
The cracks in the walls.
Did you ever discover a reason for their occurrence?

----------


## stevefarang

^^^^


They did not allow enough time, after applying the smoothcoat, to let it dry and cure. They then applied the paint and the cracks showed up. PD House has since gone back and fixed the cracks.

Steve

----------


## cnx37

Thanks Steve
I am not having a good day today. My builder has no experience with Q-con. I am the 1st client of this builder in rural Thailand (150km from CNX) to request Q-con. I was beginning to think that, just maybe, there was a problem with Q-con bricks. In fact, given this, I was reconsidering my options eg a return to "red". OK, one fear resolved! 
With the builder having no experience with Q-con, there is a possibility that I will have problems of another kind ie labour technique with new product. Maybe I "need" a drink, a sedative (or both)?

----------


## stevefarang

^^^^

Didn't someone post on your thread that the workers can get some kind of training, from a Q-Con rep, on how to properly install them ? If not, I'm certain they can find a crew that can do the job, even if it costs a little more to bring them in and put them up for a week or 2. It's far better, in the long run, than living in an oven.

Steve

----------


## cnx37

Steve
Thanks! Although I have been with the same woman for 10+ years (& have lived >12 years in LOS), I have just discovered that there are communication problems. (I have  a lot to learn!)
Q-con - there is NO debate! A certainty!
I have just discovered that the builder does have experience with Q-con - 2 homes & 1 office. Yes, not all employees have experience with Q-con - not a problem. In rural Thailand "red brick" is far more popular - price? (the average new house price where I will live is B1.5m).
So, we proceed with Q-con - thanks for the advice, Steve!

----------


## stevefarang

Before we start the perimeter security wall, the wife wanted our property on the east end of our first lot, to be fairly level with the area around the house. I figured we'd be raising that area anyway, to further lessen any chance of flooding.
So they started coming today, delivering loads of what looks like some nice dirt, instead of the cr@p that they used around the septic tanks. Since we'll be doing landscaping and plantings in that area, I'm happy.
My only stipulation to the wife was not to harm the mature Australian mango trees we have on the edge of the property. These trees produce fruit averaging 2 kg each and they are good. I expected that since the fruit was bigger, taste would be bland.
I guess, it wouldn't be interesting if there was a little excitement in the process. My wife tells me one of the truck got stuck. I think you see which one in some of these photos.












And an exciting action shot !!!




I understand more trucks come tomorrow.

Steve

----------


## terp80

> So they started coming today, delivering loads of what looks like some nice dirt, instead of the cr@p that they used around the septic tanks. Since we'll be doing landscaping and plantings in that area, I'm happy.


That's some good looking dirt. :Yup:

----------


## cnx37

Steve 
Thanks for your advice & sharing your experience - esp re Q-con bricks.
*In hindsight, would you use the same roof color again? My wife likes brown or grey.* I did have a leaning towards red - true terracotta. Now, I sway with the branches - but not blue.

----------


## stevefarang

^^^^
I am not a fan of darker color roofs, such as brown and grey. I do like the color blue, but that would not have worked for the roof color.

Yes, I am happy with the roof color we picked out. We had an option to upgrade to some type of ceramic roof, but I figure we could always do that sometime down the road (when the roof needs to be replaced).

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

It looks like they had a little party last night at the house.  All I know is that, from this angle, the house looks pretty good. Even if it really needs some landscaping ! I'm going to have to swap the existing lights with LED. The exterior lights, on the left are LED already. Nice and bright and no attraction to bugs. Whenever we turn on the lights in the carpark, the bugs swarm to those CFL light.

I don't know if Terry will be reading this, but I was informed by PD House that they applied a silicone seal on my "water resistant" exterior lights on the south side. I'm looking forward to getting back there and checking them.




The rest of the dirt was delivered today and smoothed out. It really raised the level up, although I'm sure we'll get some settling, especially with the rainy season coming. These are pics the wife sent me.










My Australian Mango trees have been spared, for now.







They even put some dirt back behind the kitchen area. Now our water tank is truly underground. This should help give us cooler water, as the tank was always exposed to the sun.



Steve

----------


## Wasp

*
*


Shouldn't that be .................. 









Wasp

----------


## koman

That's a lot of dirt there SF.... what do you have to pay for a truckload in your part of the world.  Our latest delivery cost 300 baht per truck...up from 250 about six months ago.  We are having dirt inflation..... :Confused: 

You will likely get quite a bit of  erosion around the edges if we get anything like the kind or rains we had last year, but there's not much to be done about that until a wall is built around it.    Be really nice when it's all settled with manicured lawns, exotic trees, Peacocks, fountains, vintage cars...............a proper Chateau needs these things in the grounds..... :Smile:

----------


## FatOne

The Chateau is looking grand, Steve. Isn't it amazing how cheap a good dirt fill is in LOS??? The sort of fill would cost an arm and a leg here in Oz.

----------


## cnx37

Steve
I prefer red color roof too - terracotta style! However, wife has already ordered grey color - at least it is not a dark color & not blue (& different - good - bad???).
All seems to be moving in the right direction.

----------


## stevefarang

> That's a lot of dirt there SF.... what do you have to pay for a truckload in your part of the world.  Our latest delivery cost 300 baht per truck...up from 250 about six months ago.  We are having dirt inflation.....
> 
> You will likely get quite a bit of  erosion around the edges if we get anything like the kind or rains we had last year, but there's not much to be done about that until a wall is built around it.    Be really nice when it's all settled with manicured lawns, exotic trees, Peacocks, fountains, vintage cars...............a proper Chateau needs these things in the grounds.....


I don't know how much per truckload, we paid 110,000 baht for it all. It was a large area that was raised, plus that spot behind the kitchen, where the water tank is located. 

If I had my way though, I would have some of the dirt from our second lot moved over to where we just filled in. We had ducks, geese & chickens on that land, for several years. I bet it's pretty fertile soil !!

The perimeter wall construction starts next month. My wife has some guy lined up who apparently has an excellent reputation for wall building.

I'm actually thinking of getting a peacock to wander the grounds. Although, some of my family is telling me that they can be noisy and cranky. First though, got to get the landscaping going. I hate to think what the cost of sod will be for an area of that size. Plus, all the watering to get it established.

LOL Wasp, I love it !!!! Thanks !

Steve

----------


## terry57

When you check the lights make sure the bead is complete.

It will need to be once the wet season really kicks in.

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

I will, thanks Terry.

I also still need to swap out for LED bulbs, as I'm assuming that they didn't do a bead of silicone top of the light fixture. Although, at this time, these lights don't get much use.

Steve

----------


## BKKKevin

What's the extra land for?... Are you planning on building a restaurant?...

----------


## stevefarang

^
I think I stated before that the wife doesn't want the perimeter wall dipping and rising, so she wanted the land fairly level. Hence the extra fill. Plus, it makes us even more flood proof. And it gives some nice dirt to work with when landscaping and doing plantings.

There's not enough people around the area to justify a restaurant. And I wouldn't want them wandering around our property if we did.

Steve

----------


## danno5

Had a peacock outside my hotel window on Phuket during my honeymoon. Damm thing would start around 5 am and wake me up every day. My wife thought I was crazy because each night when we got back to the hotel around midnight I would make sure to wake the damm bird to get some revenge! :-)

----------


## stevefarang

They've started installing mosquito screens for all the windows. Supposedly this group works with PD House, knows these windows and have a good reputation.
My wife sent me these pics and I spotted a problem right away. Let's see if anyone else picks up on it.











My dog has finally been relocated to the house as well. They do exercise him, but when the workers are around, they keep him in his new home. It's in the shed where we used to have all the ducks & chickens. I bet he hates it, as he is used to running around freely. But it is shaded & well ventilated. I want to try and set up a run for him, the next time I go over there. I don't know where I can get the stuff for a run over there, so I will probably buy a kit, in the USA, and take it over. No real trees, on the east side. So I will have to look at planting some concrete poles temporarily. Once the wall is up, he will have free run of the property.








Steve

----------


## FatOne

Nup, what's the prob? I intend to get my windows made up with screens and some sort of grill before they are fitted, so handy to know?

----------


## palexxxx

In the third pic,  the window opens inwards,  when the window is open there is no screen doing its job.

----------


## cnx37

> In the third pic,  the window opens inwards,  when the window is open there is no screen doing its job.


This is quite acceptable in Thailand? Isn't it? (ISO - BS)

----------


## koman

Nice dog.  Looks like a thoroughbred Bankeow....?    They would hate being in a cage... they love their freedom.  Better get that wall built ASAP....the last thing you need is a neurotic Bankaew... :Smile: 

Don't see the problem with the screens......ya reckon the mosquitoes can figure it out?..... :Smile:

----------


## koman

> In the third pic,  the window opens inwards,  when the window is open there is no screen doing its job.


That looks like the screen to me.......not the window.... :Confused:

----------


## cnx37

Forget all this futile stuff. Sleep under the stars - enjoy nature (& the mozzies). Give me the simple life.

----------


## palexxxx

> Originally Posted by palexxxx
> 
> 
> In the third pic,  the  window opens inwards,  when the window is open there is no screen doing  its job.
> 
> 
> That looks like the screen to me.......not the window....



yep,  you're right.  Please withdraw my post,  I'm obviously blind.

----------


## stevefarang

Yes. To close any of the windows (they all open outwards), you have to open the screen, into the house. So all the little critters on the screen will now be INSIDE. Unfortunately, with the design windows we have, there is little we can do. My wife is not too concerned about it though (the good ol'Thai style"). I s'pose we could tap the screen and hopefully scare off some bugs before opening the screen into the house.

I'm also slowly replacing all the lights in the house with LED bulbs, that should also dissuade insects from crawling all over the screens.

CNX, we are right next to a rice paddy. When there is no breeze, it is insect nightmare outside. I also like a nice cool room to sleep in. No way will I sleep out under the stars around our lot.

My dog is a mutt. We believe he has some Akita in him, as he does have the Akita look. He's only in the cage during the day, while workers are coming and going. I'm going to try and set up a temporary run for hm, the next time I go over.

Steve

----------


## cnx37

Your ingenuity. I would patent them! Alternatively, employ a young Burmese person - tapping windows.

----------


## palexxxx

> They've started installing mosquito screens for all the windows.
> My wife sent me these pics and I spotted a problem right away. Let's see if anyone else picks up on it.
> 
> Steve



When you asked if anyone spotted a problem,  I thought you meant something other than standard operating procedure.  All the houses here have the screens on the inside.

----------


## stevefarang

Security screens are now being installed.

Main entrance






Just to the left (looking out) of the main entrance. You can see the guest suite "wing":




The other side, opposite from the main entrance:





Side entrance from the car park. I like the look of this one. We should be able to leave the door open and still get a nice breeze through the security door (with screens):




Down by the what will be eventually the inside (western) kitchen:




In my office area:






I was wondering how these security screens would fit in the windows, as the windows open out (and the mozzie screens open in). Looks like they fit in between the two:




I will be going over for the month of August. They start building the perimeter wall in about a week or so.

Steve

----------


## cnx37

Steve,
These are NOT nice "digs", they are very nice "digs", excellent "digs"! Congrats!
Normally, I am not one to issue compliments at whim but I cannot help myself. :You Rock Emoticon:

----------


## stevefarang

^

Thanks very much. There is still much to be done, but it's slowly coming together.
Maybe I'll steal koman's wife and put her to work to do our landscaping !  LOL

Steve

----------


## FatOne

Looks fantastic Steve

----------


## terp80

:ditto: Yeah Steve. Looks great. And I haven't seen Venetian blinds very much in Thai houses. Makes me feel right at home. :yanky:

----------


## stevefarang

Terp,
I wanted those blinds for my office, but the way they are installed drive me nuts. They sit outside the window frame and not inside ! I'll eventually replace them with some more aesthetically pleasing to my eye. Maybe even those wooden shutter things one sees in the South (USA that is).
I will have to start setting that room up as my office next month.

Steve

----------


## cnx37

Venetians driving you crazy? Throw the things out, quick. Wooden shutters - that is what I am having (partially). # 1 preference - no blinds, no shutters, no curtains.

----------


## stevefarang

^

The only thing I don't like is how they sit outside of the frame. I can live with them for now, I'm not going to divert limited funds for something like that right now. Sometime down the road, they will be changed.

I need the shade as that room sits in the southwest corner and gets a bit of sun for now.

Steve

----------


## bobo746

Nice looking joint mate.

----------


## Ratchaburi

Steve your house is about 60 70 kilometres from Bangkok I'm 90 kilometres along the same highway.
You will be able to get a good internet conection where you are, it takes time to find thing here in Thailand.
I have been here for 10 year, but still find new things,it takes time to find where things are. :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

^

I'm always finding new things when I go there. Need to find a good hardware store, beside HomePro, and a good nursery for flowers, bushes, etc. I will see some places, as we whiz by, but can never remember where they are.

I am surprised to see they are extending the overhead highway that far. Can't wait for them to finish it though. That road is a real mess these days.

Steve

----------


## Ratchaburi

> ^
> 
> I'm always finding new things when I go there. Need to find a good hardware store, beside HomePro, and a good nursery for flowers, bushes, etc. I will see some places, as we whiz by, but can never remember where they are.
> 
> I am surprised to see they are extending the overhead highway that far. Can't wait for them to finish it though. That road is a real mess these days.
> 
> Steve


Went through that way today & I will be happy when they finish as those 2 sets of traffic light has been a pain.

It should make the trip to Bangkok more easy. :Smile: 

For hardware Globle house south from you 7-8 kilometres. :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

If I recall, Globe House will be on my right, heading towards Bangkok ? I think they have a shop, selling all kinds of light fixtures, right next to them.

If it is, my wife's family was not impressed by them. I think Thai Watsadu had better prices, as I recall. I need to spend more time just poking around. And to find a good nursery for sod, plants and trees.

And yes, those lights are a pain. My wife knows some shortcuts, through the side streets, but still it can be a pain.

Supposedly, if it's ever built, the high speed rail will have a station in NP. And, supposedly again, the BTS was to be extended out to NP. We're not too far from the railroad lines, which would make getting to/from Bangkok a lot easier.

Thanks !

Steve

----------


## rickschoppers

Globel House has a pretty good hardware section and carries most of what you would need for your home. The negative is that their stock is fairly old and really not up to date when compared to some other large outlets like Do Home and HomePro. I did a lot of buying of steel and Shera Wood at Globel House and found their prices to be fair. At least things were marked with one price and could not be ratcheted up when they saw a farang coming.

There were times I purchased at local shops for a little more money since I had to burn fuel and time to buy at Globel House. Steve, you will need to take a look around and see what the best prices are. If price is not an issue, IKEA and HomePro seem to have more updated stock along with Do Home, which is not as high priced.

Most members who have built a home have learned where good deals can be had and it is too bad this happens at the end of a build when everything has already been purchased. If I knew what I know now before I started building, I would have saved a lot of time and money.

----------


## stevefarang

Rick,
I like some of the stuff at Ikea, but the wife doesn't seem too thrilled with them. It also looks like the Bangna area is a parking lot on the weekends, so I don't know if we can get there.

We still have a lot to purchase. Every bedroom needs a wardrobe or two. Inside kitchen needs to be completed properly, living room furnishings (upstairs and down), set up my office, etc.

Steve

----------


## Ratchaburi

> ^^^
> 
> If I recall, Globe House will be on my right, heading towards Bangkok ? I think they have a shop, selling all kinds of light fixtures, right next to them.
> 
> If it is, my wife's family was not impressed by them. I think Thai Watsadu had better prices, as I recall. I need to spend more time just poking around. And to find a good nursery for sod, plants and trees.
> 
> And yes, those lights are a pain. My wife knows some shortcuts, through the side streets, but still it can be a pain.
> 
> Supposedly, if it's ever built, the high speed rail will have a station in NP. And, supposedly again, the BTS was to be extended out to NP. We're not too far from the railroad lines, which would make getting to/from Bangkok a lot easier.
> ...


Steve  
 If you through the 2 set of lights that heading away from Bangkok.
about 5 kilometre's past the 2 set of lights on the left or you can keep going to Ratchaburi there's a globle house has a lot more that the first store.

I'm on the old bypass road Photharam to Ratchaburi road highway Number 3089 
Many places selling rocks, small-to-large tree's there is a fibreglass pool manufacture on the road.
 Also you go back towards Bangkok outer ring road turn north 1 kilometre. also remember to cover over what you put in the back of your truck.
As Mr BlB will need you to give tea money :Smile:

----------


## rickschoppers

Steve, I will probably be taking another trip down to IKEA to look around for some finishing touches for our house. Last time I went, I got there when they opened. In and out in a little over an hour. At that time, I was just buying lighting, so it narrowed the search. I can spend hours in a place like that.

By the way, those are great looking security screens. If I were going to put them in my house, I would ask where you got them. Very nice.

----------


## stevefarang

Well, my new T-mobile plan works great for my phone, even over here in Thailand. But I just can't use it to connect my laptop to the internet, either as a mobile hot spot or in tether mode. So I finally broke down and got a 4GB deal with 1-2 call. I'll use this 1-2 call set-up just for my laptop work and use my T-mobile sim card & phone for everything else.

So anyway, I am back here in Nakhom Pathom and observing the changes to the house & property, plus really enjoying my new son. He's such an easy-going and happy kid, so far...  LOL   :Smile: 

My wife had some more fill added to the east side of our lot, in preparation for the security wall. The wall guys have started working. A family friend had some of the fill pushed around to the south side, so now our water tank is truly underground and no longer subject to radiant heating. it's nice to have some cool water coming out of the shower finally.







This is looking along the southeast corner of our lot. You can see some of the prep work for the wall. And the rice paddy next door.




A view of the east end of our first property. It used to slope away from the house. Not anymore. We sit a good meter above everything around us. It will have to be the mother of all floods to affect us.





Looking, from the kitchen door, towards the north and our car park. They've also raised the land at the end of the car park. We used to have a bit of a drop off there, that would have done serious damage to our car or truck. Not anymore.




North end of our property, along the main road.  Again, you can see the preliminary wall work. I can't wait for it to get finished, the property is a mess of piles of dirt right now.




We have also installed security screens on all the windows. These are really nice, hand painted screens.












My wife also had the openings under the house, over on the west end, filled in so we don't get a repeat problem of snakes slithering under the house. She and her brother did a little gardening there. It's not bad. Not exactly what I would do, but it's nice.





Steve

----------


## terp80

> So anyway, I am back here in Nakhom Pathom and observing the changes to the house & property, plus really enjoying my new son. He's such an easy-going and happy kid, so far...  LOL


I'd say you're a very lucky guy. His personality may well be like that even when he is older. Certainly better than having the opposite. :Yup:  :Fing02:  

And the new dirt . . . well, looks like . . . er . . .  dirt. :Ugh2:  Welcome back to the Land of Happiness. :Wink:

----------


## terry57

Make sure you install smoke detectors in your house.

Security screens will kill you if you ever have a fire and need to exit a window.

----------


## stevefarang

^^
We were pretty happy last night Terp. I brought over with a bottle of strawberry moonshine.  It's gone now & my wife wants me to bring as many bottles as I can.  :Smile: 
Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> Make sure you install smoke detectors in your house.
> 
> Security screens will kill you if you ever have a fire and need to exit a window.


I brought over two a couple of months ago and they will be installed sometime this month. 
Thanks Terry !
Steve

----------


## terp80

> We were pretty happy last night Terp. I brought over with a bottle of strawberry moonshine.  It's gone now & my wife wants me to bring as many bottles as I can. 
> Steve


Careful Steve. That sort of thing can lead to another little one. :bananaman:

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> We were pretty happy last night Terp. I brought over with a bottle of strawberry moonshine.  It's gone now & my wife wants me to bring as many bottles as I can. 
> Steve
> 
> 
> Careful Steve. That sort of thing can lead to another little one.


Ummm...yeah that is why my son has the nickname "Yak Noi".  :Smile: 
We discovered a wonderful ale late last June (you do the math) while in QLD, Australia. It's from Melbourne and is called "Fat Yak Ale". We both immediately took a liking to it. Needless to say, one thing led to another and well.....

But his paperwork, for his US birth certificate, US passport and SS # were all accepted at the US Embassy on Aug. 6. So, as a newly minted American, he just had to try his first Mcdonald's French fry... 




Steve

----------


## stevefarang

The workers showed up the other day and did some digging around the concrete posts that they had previously driven into the ground. They also did some trimming around the tops of some of the posts. 
While we were in Bangkok, dealing with my son's US citizenship paperwork, somebody delivered these concrete panels and placed them around the property. I'm assuming, judging by the shape of the columns, that these concrete panels will fit sideways down in between the columns. I'll be curious to see what they do with them.
I'm also looking forward to getting some sod down. Getting tired of looking at dirt all the time.









Steve

----------


## terp80

> But his paperwork, for his US birth certificate, US passport and SS # were all accepted at the US Embassy on Aug. 6. So, as a newly minted American, he just had to try his first Mcdonald's French fry...


 :rofl:   Yak Noi is cute as a button . . . a *big* button. :Baby:  Better watch those McD's French fries. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## rickschoppers

Congrats Steve on the paperwork for your son. I will be doing the same in Chiang Mai in a couple of weeks. Any pointers?

----------


## stevefarang

> Congrats Steve on the paperwork for your son. I will be doing the same in Chiang Mai in a couple of weeks. Any pointers?


If you didn't do the CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad) in the months after your son was born, there may be a question by the consulate if he's really yours. So they may require a DNA test. I had that problem with my youngest daughter, really pissed me off. Especially when the consulate officer deemed himself qualified in determining who is or is not related, but wasn't qualified to swab a Q-tip in our mouths for the DNA sample (yes, we had to go to a doctor for that).

If possible, bring a photo album of the two of you together over the years, along with his mom.

They will want to see proof of your living in the USA for at least 5 years after you turned 14. I submitted copies of my Form 1040 for the past 5 years, bank statements for the past 6 months and even mentioned my military service.

Steve

PS: Edited to add more detail, now that I'm on my laptop and not my cell phone.

----------


## stevefarang

Wall workers showed up this afternoon and put in 3-4 hours, working even when the skies opened up.

As I thought, those concrete panels fit down in between the concrete posts.







Working away in the rain...






I guess they needed more concrete panels from the other side of the property. I don't know what's different about the ones sitting right there.




Steve

----------


## Wasp

Steve ............


Looks like a pretty ordinary low-tech wall to me but Missy looked at this and said " Wow !! Expensive !!! "

Which surprised me .

She reckons far more money than building a wall brick by brick .

So what have you to say on the matter yourserenehighnessgizzabuckpleasesir ?



Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

Wasp,
My wife has shown me some examples of what the finished wall look like. I think it will be similar to koman's wall.
All I know is that the guy supervising the job has a very good reputation.
Steve

----------


## Wasp

What I meant was anticipated cost eventhoughyoucanaffordamillionmilesofsuchwalling .



Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

I can't even afford that golden carriage you've added to my house photo !
But price is 1 million baht. It's a big area that it will surround.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

So the wall people showed up bright and early today and really made a dent in the "foundation" of the wall. They are now about halfway around the perimeter.

I had a chance to watch the process a little more today. Those concrete columns that they "planted" have a notch indicating how far down the "concrete smasher" has to go. And he just spends his time with his hammer, smashing the concrete and exposing the rebar.










My wife and I were checking their work from our bedroom balcony and she spotted a potential problem before I did. It looked like the concrete sections, they are placing down in between the columns, have cut off the drainage from one dry well to the next. She talked with the foreman and he assured her the drain connection was not affected. 
I'll be curious to see how they fill in that one gap between the two columns in the corner.




A view from the starting point:




And looking towards where they were going to stop for the day:




Looking at the stopping point from a different angle. You can see how elevated our property is (> 1 m) as compared to the land around us.




And a random shot of our second and third lots, as viewed from our bedroom balcony. We go back as far as that tree line.



I did notice one person going around and picking up the bits of broken concrete, which will help greatly when I finally get around to landscaping.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

> I can't even afford that golden carriage you've added to my house photo !
> But price is 1 million baht. It's a big area that it will surround.
> Steve



Mutter Mutter Mutter Mutter ............. "God this is hard work !!!"


STEVE !!!!!


1 million Baht for how many metres ?
 Or how much a metre or a section or a whatever so I can compare !!!!

1 million is cheap if it's 22 miles long but it's expensive if its 15 metres !


Waspgettingabittickedoff.

----------


## JBaker

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> I can't even afford that golden carriage you've added to my house photo !
> But price is 1 million baht. It's a big area that it will surround.
> Steve
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It will be seen in photographs from the moon. Can't let the Chinese and their Great Wall upstage us now, can we?

 :smiley laughing:

----------


## FatOne

My whole house construction was only quoted at b1.4m so It'd wanna be seen from Bangkok if not the moon!

----------


## stevefarang

I'm trying to get the number from the wife, but I would think it is safe to say the length of the wall is 300+ meters.

Both the big sliding gate and smaller door are not included. We are deliberating getting an electric gate or manual.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

Thanks  Stevenmostworthiness .

She's right .
 Yours is more expensive than the old cement blocks and screeding . If that wall is 330 metres and a million baht then obviously it's 3000 baht a metre contrasting with the 800 Baht a metre we were quoted for a ( much shorter ) wall in Korat .

In England it would be the other way around because the concrete panels are low-tech and they are precast off site . Whereas paying men to lay bricks - no matter how shoddy the brick's quality - means high cost .

I do think the cost is rather too much towards the wrong end of the scale though .

So we'll have to stick to the one man with an old bath mixing up his cement using a hairless broom !




Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

^

Wasp,
I don't know how the other walls have been built, but these guys are laying these precast concrete panels down deep in to the ground. There's at least 3 panels between each column. I'm assuming that's to ensure nothing can dig, or slither, under the actual wall. There's a lot of labor in digging down to insert the panels. And there's usually about 8-10 people, and a kid or two in tow, working. They went like gangbusters the other day.
As I said, this guy has an excellent reputation amongst the locals, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Could he have padded his estimate when he saw out house, I'm sure he did. But I was not here when the wife hired him to do the work. I have to trust her and her family.
And I could still be short on actual wall length. We do have a big lot.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Just in case anyone is wondering,  our first lot is over 2 Rai. 

I've also spent some time eyeballing our wall and guessing it's closer to 400+ m in length.

We also had an unexpected water bill of 700 baht for the month.  Normally,  it's 50-100 baht. The thought is that our supply pipe, recently buried with the new fill, developed a leak. So they ran a new line above ground.  Right now, it's located in board of some trees by the new wall. But the promised to come back and relocate it between the trees and the wall, after the wall is finished.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Whoa!!!
The wall people are here again today. And already working along the road. 

Steve

----------


## Wasp

_O Elevated One ...........
_
I don't question the quality of your work here or even the value .
 A 400+metres construction and the labour and the materials is a lot of stuff .I

It's just that the raw figures of  1 Wall ( I know it's more than 1 but you express it in your mind as one unit .... a garden wall ) ..... 1 Wall  1 Million Baht .

Bloody Nora !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Especially when people build a whole house for less than 1 Million .

Of course if you have a home and plot that's not at all like Bettyboo's model stick house and is more like Bagram Compound near Kabul then you can see where the money goes !



Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

^

Wasp,
I have no problem with someone commenting on the costs.

Some people are happy to build a simple 1-2 bedroom place. I wanted some room to be able to pad around in, with some large interior spaces. I know the wife wanted something smaller and simpler. The idea of having a bedroom and then shuffling out to the TV room, and no where else, would drive me batty after a while.

I'm no expert on wall construction and have no idea how the other walls were built, but ours is solid into the ground. I suspect some walls sit on the surface only. If anything, I would think having nothing but bricks, would be asking for more problems, if any of these bricks shift. Having an almost 2 m long concrete panel inserted between two concrete I-beam shaped columns, that problem should not happen (famous last words I know).

We may be using these people for our drive too. They've quoted a pretty decent sounding price of about 100,000 baht. But I want to know more about dimensions, layout and what we will use for the driveway. I'm keen on pavers.


Now where's my yacht ? And I want a sexy all female crew, in matching bikinis !! Get working on that photoshop !  :Smile: 

Steve

----------


## koman

> I suspect some walls sit on the surface only.


If you built a 2 meter high wall just sitting on the ground it would almost certainly fall over in six months.  A proper wall needs foundations; same as a building. 

  The foundations are where most of the money goes because they are (or should be)  minimum 4 inch by 12 reinforced concrete. ( 40mm rebar cages filled with concrete)  A lot of steel, cement and labour intensive. 

 The vertical posts are cemented right into the foundations.  Walls like that can be built for about 1200 baht per meter up for the basic structure., which if done properly is very strong and durable.  

 Labour costs vary a lot in the wall building business.  I had quotes from 500 baht/meter to 2000 baht/meter.

Here is a photo of part of our wall foundations.....for anyone who does not know what a foundation looks like... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Steve ............. You may be taking me as being critical of what you are doing . 

But I'm not . Not at all . I just forget that there's a totally different scale of works and costs when you are getting it done properly .

I look here ^ at koman's example of doing a wall foundation properly and it makes me sad because Missy needs a 50 metre wall at the back of the property and the indolent brother is right there and has no work and no money .

I would happily pay him to build the wall ....... but we know absolutely damn well that he won't put any steel in it ; he will dig a trench about 6 inches deep and just fill it with cement ; and sure enough the whole thing will fall apart in under a year .

I'm not being in any way critical of what you are doing . It's a bit depressing watching one end of the scale and knowing full well that the brother - who needs money - is way way down at the other end of the scale .


Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

No worries Wasp, it's all good. And yes, Koman's wall is freaking awesome !!!

Ours is not that good. I did find out that the concrete columns are driven into the ground 1.5 m. We don't have that foundation, like Koman's, but I still think it's pretty strong. Time will tell.

So, moving on. Some more pics from todays work, which focused mostly on the front, road facing section.

Here's looking from where the main gate will be.




A nice touch to fit our power cable through the wall, keeping it elevated and away from any future flooding potential.




Looking back, the other way, at where they stopped today.




I noticed they were smashing up more of the columns on the front of our property. They were not just smashing concrete down to some level line, but there were either smashing the front half or, in some cases, the entire column down to the ground. I'm not sure why, but my guess, is to get better alignment of the front wall. The back wall is not entirely straight, which is ok as only the rice farmer will see it.




A view of what will be the main entrance to the property. There will be a smaller door to the right, just for people. That is where the dirt is all messed up in the picture.




And another view of the west end of the wall. You can see the little zigs and zags, again not too much of a concern there. I'm assuming the fence portion, located above, will help cover this over.



Steve

----------


## Wasp

How high will this wall be ?

----------


## koman

> And yes, Koman's wall is freaking awesome !!!


Thank you.  I had never thought of it as freaking awesome though.  Somehow I can't think that way about walls..... :Smile: 

Anyhow the wall you  are having built is very strong.  This type of arrangement is often used around commercial builds where a lot of fill has been used.  It makes a very good retainaing wall because of it's lateral strength.   Those posts are like short pylons...and as you say,  driven deep into the ground.   The concrete slabs are also very stong and once they are slotted into the upright posts it would take a lot to move them.

It is a relatively expensive way to go,  but Chateau's should only have the best..... :Smile: 

Are you going to have lots of gold tipped railings, with dragons and shit ?.... :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

^

No, we will have long stakes, and impaled upon them will be the heads of anyone who blames the Americans...





Actually, it should similar to your wall in appearance. We were going to originally go with a solid wall, but the wife was worried we would lose the nice breezes we usually enjoy in the evening. Plus, she likes to watch the people coming and going in front of our place.

And surprise !! The wall people are here again !   3 days in a row !

Steve

----------


## Wasp

Is the height a secret then,Steve ?


Ssshhhhh Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

^
2.5 meters.   :Smile: 

Steve

----------


## Wasp

You've put Jack Nicholson in your post again !
Ready with an axe to smash down your walls .



 :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile: 


W. :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:

----------


## 6kon

Your house looks like a palace. 

I guess I would have lost my mind and had a nervous breakdown follow the buildprocess of such a house if it was mine  :Smile: 


6kon

----------


## stevefarang

^

Thanks but it really isn't, except for the golden carriage added by Wasp. There are some bigger, nicer houses posted here, such as Old Monkey's place.

I just did not want a simple  bedroom, bathroom and tv room to shuffle to and from, especially as I get older. I wanted some space to roam around, the wife did not. I think I got what I wanted, more or less. We both love the open floor plan and the large open space from upstairs to downstairs. And it's really nice having a big cool master bedroom to retreat to in the evening with our son.

There are certain things that PD House did that I really like (such as the construction techniques used), but there are little issues that annoy the hell out of me. Some issues are still not resolved, although a boss is coming this Thursday to try and resolve things.

I also knew nothing about Q-Con block beforehand, but am sold on them now. I sort of wish we had gone with the 10 cm instead of 9 cm.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

*Steven* .........

You are a righteous storehouse of great knowledge in the area of Q-con blocks .

Tell me if you would - are they AT ALL load-bearing ?



Wasp with doffed cap and averted eyes.

----------


## cnx37

Steve, on your suggestion I ordered QCon - thank you. Some players recommended 20cm & 10cm. I compromised - 15cm & 10cm. I am the 1st in Fang to make such an order for a private residence.
In your opinion, what is the improvement of 15cm & 10cm QCon cf to "red brick" & 9cm QCon.
I am a curious bastard!

----------


## Wasp

cnx37  :  " On your suggestion I ordered QCon - 15cm & 10cm." 


cnx37 .............. maybe you too could establish are they AT ALL load-bearing ?



Wasp

----------


## cnx37

Wasp, I did not research this aspect. Secondly, I have no comprehension of the term "loadbearing". Insulation was my prime criteria for selection of QCon.
My builder suggested that 20cm was too "big". Too "big" what? I have no idea. He said that Isaan & BKK was OK for 20cm.

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp, I did not research this aspect. Secondly, I have no comprehension of the term "loadbearing". 
> Insulation was my prime criteria for selection of QCon..


*cnx37 :*
For example..... the Thai builders that I have encountered space their columns about 3.5 metres apart and then put a beam across the top to put the next layer on that beam . 
The advantage of the Qcons is certainly the insulation properties . But I wonder if I could put my columns say 6 metres apart and build into the space with Qcons would the Qcons be able to support another 2 metre wall on top of them rather than on a beam ?
Perhaps use a beam but you wouldn't normally have a 6metre beam . Would the Qcons support the length of such a beam ?

Would they take the load ? Can they bear a load ? 
Or would they simply compress and break because they can't take much of a load ?


Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

I'm not a structural engineer, but I know others have commented on this on the various house building threads. QCon are not load bearing. I wouldn't even risk it. There are different ways to span greater distances. We have one column in the middle of a 10+m wide living room space (spanning from front to back), on each end. The distance between the two columns is about 5+ meters.

I also don't have the time or inclination to compare Qcon to red brick. But again, others with more experience, have commented red brick is fine if you want to be cheap. But expect more radiant heat from the sun to shine through and your walls to feel hotter, unless you have lots of shade.

Our 9 cm block is fine. I've checked before, putting my hand on the outside of our sunny south facing wall and then feeling the wall on the inside. I do notice a difference in temp. Obviously 10 cm would be even better and 15 or 20 cm even more so.

Of course, Thais will say you don't need it because they are more tolerant of the heat, or don't understand the insulating benefits of QCon block. I bet most wouldn't even bother putting insulation in their ceilings, or ensure that their roof can "breathe" properly.

Steve

----------


## koman

> Our 9 cm block is fine. I've checked before, putting my hand on the outside of our sunny south facing wall and then feeling the wall on the inside. I do notice a difference in temp. Obviously 10 cm would be even better and 15 or 20 cm even more so.


We used 12cm block and it works extremely well on the "hot" south wall. 

Quite cool to the touch even after a full days sun shining on it.  Increasing the thickness of your Q-con to 15 cms would only give a  marginal improvement in heat transfer,  and 20cms is just plain overkill IMO.  If most of the heat transfer is handled by the first 10-12cms, there's not much left for the other 5-10cms anyway.  It's a clear case of diminishing returns.

  If you want to spend extra money on insulation, buy thermal glass windows and/or increase the R-factor of the attic insulation.  Those things really make a measurable difference.  

 The comparison with red brick is quite dramatic because we have one small section of brick wall (bathroom) on the outside and it gets really hot compared to the Q-Con.   It's really a no-brainer. 

  Even normal concrete block sucks compared to Q-Con....but if you need a load-bearing wall you don't use Q-con.    Thing is, with the way they build in Thailand you really don't have load bearing walls anyway.  The block (whatever you use) is just filling in the spaces in the big box sections, which are formed by using reinforced concrete beams.  They carry the loads...not the walls.

----------


## cnx37

Thanks Steve & Koman. This supports my decision to use 15cm & 10cm QCon. My decision was solely based on the experience of others - certainly not my technical expertise.
My next dilemma will be the capacity/BTU of A/C to purchase, My assumption is that suppliers will  be unaware of the benefits of QCon. Hence, potential overkill. I don't even like A/C - much prefer o/head fans.

----------


## stevefarang

^
There's a section discussing A/C sizing.
I prefer the mix of ceiling fans & A/C. We did get a big Mitsubishi inverter for our master bedroom (24,000 BTU). It is very quiet & cools the room very nicely.  I have to have a cool room to sleep. 
Steve

----------


## cnx37

Thanks Steve re insight into A/C v fans. It is early days for me. Not an obsession yet! I have read the article on TD re A/C. It is similar to "red brick" v QCon - I have already willingly made a commitment to QCon - just curious.
Wasp - re loadbearing - I have researched the internet re this topic (not indepth). I have no worries/concerns. If I am an idiot - so be it!

----------


## stevefarang

^
It's a constant "battle" with my wife's family. They are always using floor fans, but never turn on the ceiling fans. I am usually the one turning on the ceiling fan for my son, as he hangs out downstairs. I notice the difference. And he likes to watch the spinning blades.
A ceiling fan, working with the a/c will better cool a room as the fan will help move more air and help prevent "dead zones" with no air flow.
Now that the screens are installed, I've also started opening the upstairs family room balcony doors, just to let the house "breathe" and get some more air flow.

By the way, my office and the guest suite both have 15,000 BTU Samsung a/c units. The one in my office was supplied "free" by PD House. The guest suite unit is a triangle shaped one, that Samsung advertises. We got a special price (15,000 baht installed) for the guest suite unit. Supposedly, we will get the same price on the other units we buy.

 By the end of the year, we should have both remaining bedrooms set up with air. I'm thinking of going with a slightly smaller unit for those rooms, as I think the 15,000 BTU size will be too much.

I haven't given much thought to an a/c unit for the upstairs family room yet. I think the downstairs family room will get a Mitsubishi Inverter 24,000 BTU unit as well. I think the kitchen will get a 15,000 BTU unit. I know PD House was telling me a 20-24,000 BTU unit, but I think that will be overkill, especially since the outdoor Thai kitchen will get more usage (and generate more heat).

Steve

----------


## terry57

^
Before I rented out my place in Australia I had an A/C installed in each bedroom. 

The Installation cost was 15000 K Each.   :Confused: 

Such great value in Thailand.

----------


## stevefarang

Not as much visible advancement the past 2-3 days. They are building the rebar forms and preparing the walls for the concrete pour that will be the next stage, at least as I understand it (I had no one here today who speaks English).

The pile of rebar "cages". They look to be nicely made:





One of the rebar "cages" laying on the wall, which is being prepped for the concrete pour. Lots of wooden forms and bracing going up.




A view of the preparation of the wall facing the road:




And of the west end of the wall:




A neatly stacked pile of metal forms for the pour:




The southeast corner of our wall. There's a space there, which I assumed would be filled. But what I was able to make out today is that gap will allow for water, from heavy rainfall, to drain out into the neighboring rice paddy. I'm not thrilled about this because I can see my dog easily squeezing out of there. And, I can see it being an easy entry point for snakes and other critters that I don't want around. Something will have to be done about that.



Steve

----------


## 6kon

I guess u could seal the opening with chicken wire to keep the dog inside, some other nasty animals outside.


6kon

----------


## stevefarang

^
Yes,  I was thinking along those lines. I want to wait and see how it finishes up. It will be interesting to keep it clear of debris.

----------


## stevefarang

Grrrrrr....

We just had a visit from one of the big bosses from PD House. One of my concerns, upon finding out that the guy supervising our build, skimped on the paint coats was the question of how much insulation is up in our ceiling. We had specified and paid for 6" instead of the standard 3". Well, they checked and it looks like we only have 3" of fiberglass insulation. It also turns out that birds have found ways under the roof and have been nesting in there.
So, along with having to repaint all our interior walls (plus fix and repaint the exterior), they will also have a crew go up and check the entire area under the roof and install another 3" of insulation. They will also deal with the bird access issue as well.

Steve

----------


## palexxxx

^  at least they found it and told you about it instead of trying to hush it up.

----------


## stevefarang

The wall people continue to work on preparing the pour for the wall. Lots of rebar and forms being put into place. The forms look to be much straighter than the concrete panels already installed below.

I like how they've tied the rebar from the columns together with the new rebar "boxes":




Concrete forms being installed.

On the west wall:




On the north wall (facing the road). They are not as far along here with the rebar work:




I'm hoping to be here for the concrete pour.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

They finished setting up the forms for the west end wall yesterday and the concrete truck arrived before noon. I understand there was a concern that either the forms or the rebar would break if they poured straight from the truck, so instead they would pour some concrete into a large plastic container and then use buckets to dump it into the form.







They even let me dump some concrete into the form !




They then broke out the giant electric dildo to make sure the concrete was settled in properly:





My wife looked fabulous "supervising" the work:




After setting overnight, they've started breaking down the forms. Dang it's starting to look a little more substantial (and straighter):




And are now setting the forms up on the north wall, along the road:



Steve

----------


## FatOne

Looking great Steve, and she does!!

----------


## koman

Typically American.  Total overkill....when a bit of cement poured on the ground with a few layers of block stacked on top would make a perfectly good wall...... :Smile: 

Where are the gun turrets..?? :Confused:

----------


## stevefarang

^
We are going to use high intensity lasers, controlled by an OS called HAL and running Windows 7. What can go wrong ?
Steve

----------


## terp80

Aaack! :Aargh4:  I don't even want to hear about Windows 7 (at least not the Chinese version)! :Irked:  :Grumpy:  :Nono:  :Mad:  :Sad2: 

But good luck with your wall - despite what koman says. :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

Damn, they are a fast crew ! When we left yesterday, about 1 PM, they were still installing forms and rebar on the north (facing the road) wall. When we got back about 5:30 PM, they were gone for the day. But they had managed to pour concrete on part of the north wall.

I wish I was going to be here for when they do the south wall, especially behind the house. There's no room for the concrete truck to back up to the wall.

But with the rate they are working, I just might still be here.

Steve

----------


## terry57

> We just had a visit from one of the big bosses from PD House.



Jesus, you would more than likely be the first farang to ever see one.    :Confused:

----------


## stevefarang

^
I guess my emails & postings on Facebook got someone's attention. 
Plus, I'm a persistent bugger.  :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

I don't know about anybody else, but we had a helluva storm cell roll through about 6-6:30 pm. Not only was it a heavy downpour, but we also had really strong winds, so much so, we had trouble trying to open our side door going out to the car port.
It was an excellent chance for me to poke around and see how the house held up. The only problem area was the windows in my office. We had some leakage/seepage come in, although I can't see from where exactly. Normally, I'd be a little upset about it, but I think that was a real weather extreme situation. And those windows were exposed to the brunt of the deluge and winds. Although, I might still look into doing something, since they also get the brunt of the afternoon sun.

Anybody else get any wild weather tonight ?

Steve

----------


## terry57

^
Nope, Bangkok has been pathetic this year for rain, you guys up North are getting it all. 

Consider your self lucky.

----------


## stevefarang

^

Ummmm, We're only ~50 km west of Bangkok.  :Smile: 

Steve

----------


## cnx37

terry57 - tourist guide for the HiSo community?

----------


## stevefarang

OK, I'm back in the USA, so I'm not sure exactly what they are doing. All I know is that some electrical contractor showed up to check some things, a few days before I left, and said there were problems and they had to talk with PD House first.
Since then, they have made multiple visits and have been working like crazy doing something up in the ceilings. I suspect it has to do with the wiring size, but I don't really know. If I understand my wife correctly, they have also replaced our Safe-T-Cut with a bigger unit.

Here are some shots of what they have been doing downstairs:

Looking into where the breaker box and Safe-T-Cut are located.




Holey cow !!









My wife tells me that they have also fixed some non-working down lights that we have run across in some rooms.


We've also had a wire, outside the kitchen just sitting there, not connected to anything since we moved in. The electrical plan had a fluorescent tube light there. The electricians asked my wife to go to the store and buy a light, so that it could be properly hooked up.

Here's an older picture, you might make out the wires, between the window and door:



And here it is as of yesterday. Yes, there is a water proof cover to go on there:



My only problem with this is that I had replaced all the bulbs, in that area with LED bulbs, to help cut down on attracting bugs. This thing will be a big old bug magnet. I may have to see if I can replace it with a suitable LED alternative next year.

I understand the electricians will be wrapping up their work today (Friday) and will be leaving. Someone else from PD House will be coming in to fix all our new "ventilation ports". I hope it's soon.

Steve

----------


## 6kon

Steve: I can't see the pictures in your last post.


6kon

----------


## BKKBILL

Steve that's a lot of ventilation When my wiring was being done there was just one wire going to a switch box when I questioned them was told that is the way it is done. Next day noticed two wires in that same box.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): .

----------


## FatOne

Hi Steve,

How's the fence? Can we see pics of the finished product yet?

----------


## stevefarang

^

I finally got some pictures of the wall construction, still in progress. Because of all the fill on our lot, and no grass yet, if it rains, they will stop work until things dry out a little.

But anyway.

The west end of the wall:



And from a different angle:




Hard at work:




The northwest corner. There will be some sort of sign mounted on the wall, identifying the place. The door entrance will be to the left of this picture:





The north wall, running along the road:







Steve

----------


## FatOne

Cool, can't wait to see the finished product

----------


## stevefarang

It's not finished yet. But it's actually looking like a real wall now, all the way around.

Looking north, towards the main entrance area:





Looking slightly west (left):





Then, more to the right. The road is just beyond:





A different angle of the north (road facing) wall:






This is facing the north east corner:





A little more to the right, looking in an easterly direction:





Then, looking back towards the house:






Looking east, behind the kitchen and our water treatment center. You'll also notice those concrete spars (not sure of proper term) jutting out almost horizontally to the wall. I understand to give it more rigidity and to help deal with the weight of wet soil pushing outward on the wall. They look pretty substantial. I hope they work:





And then turning around and facing towards the west:




The southwest corner. It looks like we'll have to add some more fill there.





And then, looking along the west end of the property:





And then looking at same area from opposite direction:



Still not finished, but at least it's actually looking like a wall !

Steve

----------


## FatOne

Coming along nicely mate, next - the lawn?

----------


## stevefarang

^

Yes, we'll definitely start laying some sod down, on the east side. 

But I think we'll tackle the driveway next. The same contractor doing the wall has been talking with my wife about the driveway. So, it should be a good job as well. I'm pretty impressed by the wall.

I also want to get that outdoor Thai Kitchen area set up, so I can clear out what will eventually be the indoor Western Kitchen. And that outdoor area should be a nice place to enjoy the evening breezes, when present.

Steve

----------


## Nicethaiza

i look at ur model after u done it will be perfect i guess..how long u will done for this house? its big house not really small,,

----------


## stevefarang

^

I'm not sure what you mean when you say, "how long u will done for this house?". Do you mean how long until we will finish ? or how long have we been doing this project ?

If you mean how long until we finish ? That should be about 9-12 months, depending upon what you mean by finish. We, obviously, need to do the driveway and landscaping around the first lot (where the house is). I also want to build the "wing" that will become the outdoor Thai kitchen, bbq grill/smoker and lounging area. These are my priorities for now.

Interior wise, I want to fit out the western style kitchen and cabinetry for each bedroom. I also need to set up my office area. The western kitchen is not a huge priority, as I don't think it will get much use. But the bedrooms need to be properly set up and we do need more proper interior furniture.

Eventually, I want to raise the second lot up by about 1 meter and wall in the area, so I can have my "man cave" over there as well as the solar/wind power set-up.

The third lot is still a rice paddy. We haven't decided what to do there.

Steve

----------


## Nicethaiza

aha yeah i mean when u finish this house .,ohh 9-12  month that not long and i can see some pics here i like it a lot ..im jealous u.,,its a nice place there

----------


## stevefarang

Finally got some new pics of the wall. Our boy hasn't been feeling well, so they've been busy taking him to the doctor. But now, he's back to playing, learning how to crawl and causing general mischief. My boy !!!

Anyway, the west end of the wall. The space in-between will have vertical wooden slats of some sort:





The south side (behind the house). No wooden slats here, which kind of surprised me, as my wife had mentioned how she wanted to be sure the wind would be able to blow through. I don't think those ovals will cut it. Oh well, TIT:




I'm assuming they will put something over the concrete block to give it a nicer appearance.


Looking from the kitchen area out to the east end:




And then shifting to the left a little and looking more to the north. The road in front of the house is behind that wall on the left:




Looking towards the main entrance:




And then looking even more to the left, or west end of the wall. Somewhere over there is where I poured some of the concrete:





Slowly coming along. Looks like a real wall now !

My plan is also to mount solar LED lamps on top of each post. I might have to stagger them at first, because that will be a lot of lamps !!

Steve

----------


## bankao dreamer

That's a very impressive wall Steve.

----------


## terp80

> That's a very impressive wall Steve.


I agree. Very strong looking and fairly tall too, Steve. Nice! Gad your son is better.  :Very Happy:  What was the cost per linear meter?

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by bankao dreamer
> 
> That's a very impressive wall Steve.
> 
> 
> I agree. Very strong looking and fairly tall too, Steve. Nice! Gad your son is better.  What was the cost per linear meter?


Thanks terp. I really don't know the cost per meter, as I don't know the exact length of the wall. I know there was a discussion a page or two earlier on this. I do know that the wall is costing us about 1,000,000 baht plus the doors. It is a very big wall and seems very solidly built.

A guess would be ~3,000 - 4,000 baht/meter ?

It should be finished by the time I go back in November.

Steve

----------


## BKKKevin

Yes very impressive... They have even buildt a place for the family crest next to the gate!

----------


## terp80

> Thanks terp. I really don't know the cost per meter, as I don't know the exact length of the wall. I know there was a discussion a page or two earlier on this. I do know that the wall is costing us about 1,000,000 baht plus the doors. It is a very big wall and seems very solidly built. 
> A guess would be ~3,000 - 4,000 baht/meter ? 
> It should be finished by the time I go back in November.


OK. Thanks Steve. Impressive.  :Very Happy:

----------


## stevefarang

> Yes very impressive... They have even buildt a place for the family crest next to the gate!


LOL, thanks, you noticed !

Yes, on the outside, there will be some kind of decorative feature (don't think a crest per se) with the house name as well. We've been having a bit of a discussion on that issue.
Looking at it, I'm thinking about what to do with the inside area. A fountain could be nice, but a possible PITA for upkeep.

Thanks again.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

> Yes very impressive... They have even built a place for the family crest next to the gate!



Hmmmmmm.

Now there's an idea .




Wasp

----------


## FatOne

How's it going Steve? You got it all built yet? Any photos?

----------


## stevefarang

Sorry, I wasn't happy with the pictures that my wife was sending. I just arrived here yesterday and have had a chance to look around a little bit.
As you can see, the main part of the wall is built. They are now installing the slats that will go on top.

This is a view of the front. You can see the main entrance and the west end of the wall:




A view of the west wall and the side entrance:




A view of the southwest corner. If you recall, there was an opening there, and it was a bit of a gully. Looks like it's been filled in and the wall fully completed:




Looking along the south wall, behind the house. As you can tell, the back wall has the less attractive oval shaped openings. But actually, they are not that bad. you also see that concrete stay, helping to reinforce the wall.:




Looking along the back wall, going over to the southeast corner. You can see the concrete stays, in the ground, helping to hold the walls. Looks all pretty hefty to me:




A shot of the southeast corner. Yes, I know, it needs a bit of landscaping:




Now, for some exterior views.
This is of the main entrance:





Looking down along the road.




A view of the decorative stonework and the flower insert. I was worried, since my wife decided to go with the unpainted flowers, that it wouldn't look very good. But I think it looks fine and we don't have to worry about touch up paint work in the future. 
If you look closely, you can see where they've started to install wiring for a light to be mounted on top of the column. Every other column will have a light. This was something my wife did without consulting me and I'm not real happy about it, as my plan was to install solar cell powered lights on each column.
But I do like how our house looks in the background:




And finally an angled view. There will be vertical slats mounted off these frames:




Steve

----------


## terp80

Wow. Very impressive Steve! Are those frames stainless steel? 

Oh, and Steve I have a great idea about how to get a little income from your large panel[s] at the entrance. One word: *ADVERTISING* - a big ugly billboard or a giant LED TV thingie like they have on all the big shopping malls. No tellin' how much $$$$ you could bring in each month! :bananaman:

----------


## stevefarang

> Wow. Very impressive Steve! Are those frames stainless steel? 
> 
> Oh, and Steve I have a great idea about how to get a little income from your large panel[s] at the entrance. One word: *ADVERTISING* - a big ugly billboard or a giant LED TV thingie like they have on all the big shopping malls. No tellin' how much $$$$ you could bring in each month!



Thanks very much.

Yes, they look like stainless steel. They were out there, the afternoon I flew in, with a portable welding machine. Not sure why, unless they are welding the bars in position. Hopefully they will be back tomorrow, if it stays dry, so I can check it out.

Yes, I could mount a big old waterproofed LED TV out there, with a coin operated device. Maybe charge 10 baht for 10 minutes of HBO Asia (or whatever they don't get on the free local Thai TV channels).

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Terp,
Yes the rails are stainless steel. And they have been tack welding them into the end pieces as shown below:




And here's a view of one of the columns that will have a light on top of it:



Steve

----------


## snakeeyes

*Steve put one of these on each corner will come in handy .
*

----------


## terry57

^^

Hope they have not broken the Conduit when building the column. 

Much better to pre wire in instances like that, can save much angst in the case of a broken conduit.

----------


## stevefarang

> ^^
> 
> Hope they have not broken the Conduit when building the column. 
> 
> Much better to pre wire in instances like that, can save much angst in the case of a broken conduit.


The conduit was installed after the columns were poured,  I think.  It was something my wife did, to surprise me.
Except,  she forgot I was going to put in solar powered LED lights on top.
Steve

----------


## terp80

> The conduit was installed after the columns were poured,  I think.  It was something my wife did, to surprise me.
> Except,  she forgot I was going to put in solar powered LED lights on top.


Well, I guess she *did* surprise you. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## FatOne

Looks great Steve

----------


## Stumpy

> Terp,
> Yes the rails are stainless steel. And they have been tack welding them into the end pieces as shown below:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here's a view of one of the columns that will have a light on top of it:
> 
> 
> ...


Steve,
Being I have welded before did they use SST filler rod to tack the bars in? If not, those will rust very quickly at the weld fillet due to dissimilar metals and leave a nasty brown stain down the wall as it bleeds out. If they did not, you can have them wire brush it and paint a clear sealant over it or use some clear RTV. 

I ask this only because I have seen 'Bleed out" on many SST gates in Thailand and its because they tack with standard rod. Sad too because some of the gates I have seen were gorgeous but had rust at base. I pointed this out to my wife last time we were home. 

Wall looks nice. I am glad I do not have to contend with a street wall for appearance reasons.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> Terp,
> Yes the rails are stainless steel. And they have been tack welding them into the end pieces as shown below:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have no idea & I doubt the dudes doing the work could tell me. I'll try to see what filler they are using (silly me, I would think they would use stainless filler.), if they are using any filler at all. Being a tack weld, they might just be melting the metal a little.
Thanks nonetheless !
Steve

----------


## Stumpy

> Originally Posted by JPPR2
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by stevefarang
> ...


Most of the welders I have seen these guys use are Mig and quite a few Arc and they hold a little rod in their hand and feed it, Some just crank up the power and try and fuse the metals. You can do SST with Mig but to do it well you need a Tig which has a roller feed. I saw your pic and saw the discolored SST and the "Tack" blob and it looked suspicious and being I have watched some of these guys before I always wondered. Clearly they are not metallurgists. :Smile: 

Anyway not a dig at the wall or you by any means, just something to investigate. Hate to see such a nice wall end up with those brown rust stains down the cement at every post.

Cheers

----------


## stevefarang

^
I hate to quibble with you but TIG welding is the manual feed & MIG has the roller feed. I used to do a bit of TIG welding, some 30 years ago. I once even welded a stainless pipe with Inconel pipe (inadvertently,  someone placed a piece of Inconel pipe in the stainless bin. Took me a while but it did pass visual inspection.  Needless to say,  it failed the X-ray. My boss was so impressed,  he kept it.
By the way, I did spot what I think was a filler rod, and it looked like stainless. 
Could some of the rusting jobs you saw actually be chrome metal ? Tacking a bead on those would ruin the chrome. 
Steve

----------


## Stumpy

> ^
> I hate to quibble with you but TIG welding is the manual feed & MIG has the roller feed. I used to do a bit of TIG welding, some 30 years ago. I once even welded a stainless pipe with Inconel pipe (inadvertently,  someone placed a piece of Inconel pipe in the stainless bin. Took me a while but it did pass visual inspection.  Needless to say,  it failed the X-ray. My boss was so impressed,  he kept it.
> By the way, I did spot what I think was a filler rod, and it looked like stainless. 
> Could some of the rusting jobs you saw actually be chrome metal ? Tacking a bead on those would ruin the chrome. 
> Steve


You are correct I reversed machines, It was early when I responded and caffeine had not kicked in.

Most of the gates built around are all(From what I have seen) Stainless which is a nice touch versus chrome plated. But I know some of these guys just grab and go. Grab a magnet and check the rod, that will end the worry. I have tried to figure out what SST they use in TL whether 301, 301 or 304L. I would suspect 301/302 being 304L is pricier. 

Glad you found a rod,

All good

----------


## stevefarang

The front (or road facing) wall is just about complete. We need the lights, mailbox, house identifier and front gate installed.

Here's an action shot of the workers doing their thing today. They put up all the slats on the road facing wall. I like how they are using that spacer bar to get width even. 




And some views of the wall, as seen from the road. I'm guessing it's about 3 meters to the top. My head just comes up to the bottom of the slats.








A view of the house behind the wall:




And, just in case anyone is wondering what type of fasteners they used:



Steve

----------


## Hoops

I'll have to start at the first post and work up!  I saw a pix of the house on another thread and thought it looked really grand.

----------


## FatOne

That fron wall looks really good Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Well, we had our first real warranty issue about a week and half ago. I went into what will be my office (for now it's storage) and found a big puddle of water on the floor, near the door. Water was dripping slowly from the ceiling. This is right above our master bathroom, so I'm thinking a piping leak.

We got in touch with PD House and they sent someone out that morning. A little further investigation up in the ceiling and it seems to be coming from the shower floor area, not the supply piping or drain pipe. This was on a Tuesday. They arranged for someone to come out Saturday to replace the grout and re-seal, but we were invited to Petchaburi, so my wife re-scheduled for this past Monday. Unfortunately, the person quit so PD House had to re-schedule for Tuesday. The PD House rep and the husband-wife team to do the work showed up Tuesday. They removed a lot of grout/caulk in the shower and the whole bathroom floor and resealed it.
I understand from my wife, that there is still something wrong with the shower floor and it will need to be replaced. PD House is trying to find the same flooring we have, so it will be 10-12 days before that work commenced.

After it's all fixed, they will replace the ceiling in my office area.

And then, Thanksgiving morning, we had a wild, windy thunderstorm blow through about 6 AM. We then found water dripping from the ceiling in the small bedroom near the carpark. This is a sheltered room, in that there is another bedroom above it. Again, PD House was out at the house within an hour of our calling. This time it was an interesting problem. There is no leak from the roof (again, it's under an upstairs bedroom). it looks like, with the strong wind from the east, it forced water up under the eaves and over onto the ceiling. You stick your head above the ceiling and you can see the eaves and daylight through the openings (no signs of birds thankfully). I'm not sure what PD House will do to fix it, perhaps install some kind of dam or break to stop wind driven rain from getting in. When we've had heavy rain before, the wind comes from the south, so it's never been a problem. If I can, I'll try to upload some photos to help show what I'm talking about.

So, I will give credit to PD House for their responsiveness. What has helped is that they set up a group on Line so we can all communicate very quickly. The big boss for this area and one of the big guys from Bangkok are also in the group, so issues do get noticed.

On the wall story, we've picked out the colors for both the concrete and the rails. They started painting two sections of the rails, just so we can see what it will look like. They've also applied a primer coat on the concrete.
We also picked out a mural for the front. They've mounted it, but there's a lot of room on each side. So we are thinking of adding something else.

I cooked a 6 kg turkey yesterday and we enjoyed it sitting outside, throwing scraps to my dog. He's enjoying the carcass today, slowly chewing it down. My wife's family has, obviously, never seen a bird that big, but they seemed to enjoy it and the drowsy effect it causes.

My wife wants to cook a 10+ kg bird for Christmas. That will be interesting and more of a challenge.

Steve

----------


## terry57

Mate, that is one magnificent project you have got going on there.

Really good to see PD House is doing the right thing regards your issues. 

They did receive some god awful reports from other punters.

----------


## cnx37

Post # 929 - a warranty is OK. Actually, adhering to it is another.
PS: Thanks for the info re water tank etc.

----------


## nidhogg

> I cooked a 6 kg turkey yesterday and we enjoyed it sitting outside, throwing scraps to my dog. He's enjoying the carcass today, slowly chewing it down.


Dogs and raw bird bones - yes.  

Dogs and cooked bird bones - no.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> 
> I cooked a 6 kg turkey yesterday and we enjoyed it sitting outside, throwing scraps to my dog. He's enjoying the carcass today, slowly chewing it down.
> 
> 
> Dogs and raw bird bones - yes.  
> 
> Dogs and cooked bird bones - no.


What's the concern ? We've been giving him bones from bbq chicken, chicken wings, etc for years.

----------


## nidhogg

> Originally Posted by nidhogg
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by stevefarang
> ...


Cooked bones splinter, while raw bones don't.  They can (up to when it happens) kill dogs through perforation of organs by shards, lodging in throat etc.....

----------


## stevefarang

^
Well you best go out and warn all the soi dogs pulverizing those cooked chicken bones all over Thailand. 
I know back in the USA, we would never give any of our dogs chicken bones, for that reason. But as I said, he's been crushing chicken bones, pork bones, even rawhide bones I bring over from the USA, for years. He never just chews those rawhide bones, he proceeds to crunch them down into small pieces.

Anyway, back to the topic of this thread.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Here are some shots taken above the ceiling. You can see the vents along the roof line and that raised concrete "ridge". It looks like either someone forgot to install some type of block or dam, to prevent rain from being carried up and into this space or it just needs something there.






And you can see how the water just puddled and soaked through the sheet rock.





An external view of the lower roof line and the area in question. LOL, you can see my Harbour Freight Solar Cell LED Security light set-up to the left.





Yes, I am pleased by the responsiveness of PD House. If we had just hired some locals, there wouldn't be much of a response, unless I was waving 1,000 baht notes around.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

These photos are much nicer if you take the bucket , the selection of brushes ,  brooms , the drying frame , the black shoes , the white 5 litre containers , the scattered bricks out of the shot .

Hardly fitting for practically a lord with a fleet of luxurious travel options.

----------


## stevefarang

^ 
It would be even better if there was landscaping...

Steve

----------


## Wasp

Yes .

 I suppose the red bucket does its bit to distract the eye from the mud flats.  :Eek5:   :Eek5:   :Eek5: 




Wasp

 :09:   :09:   :09:

----------


## Wasp

..........

----------


## armstrong

when do you expect to finish it steve? landscaping and all... or just seeing how it goes?

----------


## runner

> An external view of the lower roof line and the area in question. LOL, you can see my Harbour Freight Solar Cell LED Security light set-up to the left.


Isn't guttering used in Thailand?

----------


## nevets

No the rain will just batter it down.

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> An external view of the lower roof line and the area in question. LOL, you can see my Harbour Freight Solar Cell LED Security light set-up to the left.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Isn't guttering used in Thailand?


Sure, if you want to pay for them.  :Smile: 

There's been multiple discussions on different threads about gutters. I'm used to them in the USA, but an old ex-pat friend of mine, who's lived in different places in SE Asia for the past 20 years or so, strongly advised me against installing them as they tend to clog up with leaves and what not.

Now, my experience at our house so far, is that when it rains it fookin pours ! So even if we had gutters, with the wind and the torrential downpours, we'd still get a lot of water up against the house and in the car park area.

So, I'm still undecided about the issue of gutters. We don't have any trees, next to the house, that could clog any gutters with leaves.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> when do you expect to finish it steve? landscaping and all... or just seeing how it goes?



A rough guess, 6-9 months. My schedule keeps changing, which affects when we get things done.

Steve

----------


## Andos

Steve, brilliant thread. Thanks to you and your wife for documenting it so well. 

We have PD house building our home at present. About 60 per cent done. 

I noticed from an early thread that PD House constructed using precast structural  columns and beams. How was the finished product once blockwork and plastering was done? Did you experience any of the columns being off true vertical or the beams not being laid truly horizontal? If you experienced this, how did they fix it? 

Cheers, Steve

----------


## Stumpy

> I'm used to them in the USA


Same here. 




> when it rains it fookin pours


I am with you Steve it rains unlike anything we experience typically in the states. 

I will be using 90 degree bent sheetmetal on the roof to redirect the water and gutters in strategic sections to keep the water focused on certain areas.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, brilliant thread. Thanks to you and your wife for documenting it so well. 
> 
> We have PD house building our home at present. About 60 per cent done. 
> 
> I noticed from an early thread that PD House constructed using precast structural  columns and beams. How was the finished product once blockwork and plastering was done? Did you experience any of the columns being off true vertical or the beams not being laid truly horizontal? If you experienced this, how did they fix it? 
> 
> Cheers, Steve


I was originally sold on them, because of the precast concrete construction. It was like a giant Erector set at first. Seems really solid. And I like the roof truss system. There were some minor dimensional issues, as there is a little play in the key and slots. But I haven't noticed any really crooked walls or floors. I have had some ongoing issues with some attention to detail stuff that for the longest time seem to be just ignored. But we got a new English speaking intermediary at PD House and things seem to be moving along, albeit slowly.

I do feel bad, though, for another guy who picked PD House, based on my thread. But in his case, everything was poured on site and it was a real cock-up (wrong concrete, concrete bags mixed in with pours, concrete pour blow-outs, etc.) PD House kept telling him everything was OK He finally told them to stop and he went back to Canada with his wife & son.

So where's your house build thread ?  :Smile: 

Steve

----------


## runner

> Originally Posted by runner
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by stevefarang
> ...


The house looks great. I forgot to say that earlier. I've only skimmed the thread but has it been a three year project?

----------


## Hoops

The fence really changes the visual landscape to a large degree!

----------


## stevefarang

Ugggghhhhhh!!!  It looks like the leak is from the solar hot water heating system. They've been trying to trace it and I think they found it.



It took them a few days to find the replacement flooring. I wonder how long it will take to find the wall pieces and get it all put back together again (on PD House's dime) ?



But on a positive note. I bought a 2.2 m pre-wired fake Christmas tree at Costco, back in the USA (yed, I did check for power compatibility). It was a pain bringing it over (EVA only charged me an extra US$100 for being oversized box), but we finally set it up yesterday and my wife has been working at decorating it. I think she did a very good job and it looks great, especially with the reflection off the granite floor.

 


They've been busy painting the rails on the wall. I'll post a pic or two when that is finished up. Right now, I'm really missing my shower in the master bathroom.

Steve

----------


## Hoops

I was searching the web for gutters and came across Maxxi Building products that do a big half round gutter, which suits my purpose, but what impressed me was the strong looking cast brackets they have.  Not some tinny thin brackets stamped out of gal sheet.  They have a web site and show prices.  Maybe some of you are interested in saving water as I am.

----------


## BKKBILL

Nice tree Steve. We brought one over in our container some sixteen years ago. It will go up next week.

----------


## stevefarang

The Christmas tree looks good, even form the outside, as seen through the main entrance. Another reason why I wanted that big entrance.






Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Well, as much as i wanted to make that big expanse of the outside wall a revenue generator, we decided to install a mural. Originally, it was going to be the Thai standard of something elephant related. We saw several nice ones, but then we saw this sailing ship and it really appealed to the wife and I. So this is what we picked. However, it still looked a little small and lonely. So, while I was away in Queensland last week, the wife went and picked out these fish to go on each side.
What she doesn't know is how similar they look to the "dolphins" one earns when serving on board a US Navy submarine. So, it was a nice touch and pays honor to my background.

I think she may also add (glue?) some flying birds along the top.




And the wall is basically finished, except for the lights, main gate and side gate.

This is the exteriod, west side:



And then some inside wall shots. I'm not happy with the pink color she picked. i think a yellow, similar to the house would have looked much better. But we won't repaint it now. I'll wait a few years, and then when it's looking shabby, we'll redo it.




This is the inside wall of that large expanse where the mural is located on the exterior. I'm thinking this is begging for a nice fountain feature. I'm thinking some dark colored stone, with water dribbling down from the top. I've already sourced a solar powered pump on eBay that can lift water to 3.5 m. Maybe stick a couple of flower pots, or similar in the pool as well, with smaller solar powered pumps.




Piles of dirt were delivered while I was away. These are to fill in all the low spots of the inside wall, so the ground is fairly level. We are a good meter + above everyone else in the area. We should never flood.




The tractor came yesterday to spread all the dirt around.









Filling in even that really low spot, over in the southwest corner:





And then the carnage started. In order to access and fill the south wall, my beloved banana tree (outside my office window), had to come down.





But, we noticed a shoot coming up by the concrete skirt running around the house. He is spared. I shall call him "Groot", but I don't think he dances.



Steve

----------


## FatOne

The wall looks really great Steve, the colour ( even if you don't love it ) makes it a feature. I will show this to my wife and we will probably copy it or something close. Thanks for sharing.

----------


## olavhome

My will not :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

We had an interesting experience the past few days.
It seems my wife left some water running all night Thursday night. This pretty much drained our 2,000 l water tank, but then I noticed our pump was not working properly. Sometimes it would start or I could hear a humming sound, but the motor would not start. I also noticed the motor casing would get very hot, in a short period of time. This would sometimes trip the motor out on a thermal protection. Plus, after the pump would shut off, it would lose suction and have to be primed.
So, I got to know my Mitsubishi pump. I figured that it could be the flow switch mechanism in the discharge check valve. But that didn't explain the hot motor casing.

My wife's brother had a couple of his friends (fellow workers at Home Pro) come over last night to take a look and they pretty much did everything I did, except disassemble the flow switch/discharge check valve. They also noticed the hot motor casing. They then concluded that it must be a break, somewhere in the house, that was causing all the problems. I was astounded by this, since this would mean we would have to have a leak somewhere in the house (which we don't have).

By this time, I had had enough and decided to bring the pump inside, away from the mozzies, and really tear it down. So we did. In doing so, I took apart a little box that sits on top of the motor and has the leads going through it, with a shielded smaller little box inside. I had looked at it the other day, not really seeing anything that stuck out at me in there. But this time, one of the HomePro guys said something about it being a capacitor and that set off a bell in my head. Quickly checking the internet, I realized the capacitor was the problem. If it fails, it can't get the motor turning properly and can lead to overheating of the motor.

So, myself, my wife and a family friend, who knows the shops around town, took the pump assembly out this morning and got the capacitor replaced (300 baht). The motor now works fine and all is restored to normal. Yay !

So, for you non-electrical engineers out there, if your water pump makes a funny noise while trying to start and fails to actually start and/or you notice the motor casing is very hot, after a short run period, then you should check the capacitor. It may well be the source of the problem.

In our case, I think having let the pump run all night (in the vendor supplied box/cover) cooked our capacitor.

I'm still not sure why the pump, when shut down, would continuously lose prime though. Now that it's cycling on/off normally, it does not lose the prime.

But now I know my water pump very well, even if the electronics still mystify me.

Steve

----------


## nigelandjan

Thanks for the tip Steve

----------


## stevefarang

The wall people were back today, filling in the low spots along the back wall. They did a good job, except someone killed little Groot.





They also filled in the southwest corner:





While some were filling the back wall, some others were building forms and rebar cage for the "foundation" of our sliding gate entrance:








The concrete truck came by mid-afternoon to fill the form:





The excess concrete was dumped inside. This area (plus outside by the road) will need to be filled up and (hopefully) compacted:




Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Some fill was added the next day and the entrance, while a little rough, is not bad getting in and out. The driveway is on the TDL.

We had a nice, albeit Thai version of a Christmas Day party for friends and family. I bought a 12-13 kg turkey (named it turkey-zilla) at Tops that pretty much filled the oven. Almost 7 hours later it was out and sat for an hour before being carved.

The Christmas tree was dragged out through the main doors and the whole area was decorated.









In front of the guest suite was a cooking area for all the Thai food. Everyone wanted to try the turkey, but wanted to eat their Thai food as well.




And here we have Turkey-zilla !!! The damn thing barely fit in a pan, kept overflowing with juices and fat, and pretty much filled the oven space. But still, it was quite tasty !





And then a brief night time shot. Much whiskey was consumed, including 2 bottles of moonshine that we had been saving.



Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Yay !  They fixed our shower tiling yesterday. It's only been 3 weeks now.

But, being Thailand, they forgot to re-install the soap holder (THAT IS SITTING RIGHT THERE IN PLAIN SIGHT !!!). I'm waiting for an answer from PD House as to when it will be corrected.




Happy New Year to everyone !

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Well, not really a war. More like an interesting competition to see which one thrives the best.
It turns out that yesterday, 3 of us got roses for the house.
The first was my wife's brother. he had actually bought one the night before and planted it yesterday morning, along with some other flowers. However, I'm not sure how well it will do as that west wall gets the strong afternoon sun.




We went out yesterday afternoon. While we were out, a family friend, who's been helping with gardening, landscaping, etc. came by with some roses and other stuff to plant in the planter in front of the guest suite. He knew I wanted some roses in the planter, so he placed one on each end, with the jasmine plants already there. He also planted some salad greens!  LOL




The little porcelain figurines are a nice touch of color as well.




While we were out at the large Chedi that Nakhon Pathom is famous for, I spotted several vendors selling beautiful flowers (I really want some orchids), including 3 roses for 100 baht. Since I didn't know about the other roses placed in the planter already, I bought some. Needless to say, when we got home, I was pleasantly surprised by the roses in the planter. But then I had to figure where to put the ones I bought. We've got several large rectangular shaped holes in the concrete, in the front of the house. A couple of them have shrubs already, but one was just covered over and filled with plastic bag garbage. So I cleaned it out, added some fill and compost stuff and planted my roses. I also added some stones, to help cut down on dirt splatter when watering. The only problem with this location, that I can see for now, is that my roses could get hit with heavy runoff of water form the roof. So I'm going to have to see if we can fashion some type of cover to protect them.



The "war" is that I am curious to see which roses will fare the best. Both my roses and the guest suite roses, face north and don't get much direct sunlight. The one my wife's brother planted, faces west and will get blasted by the afternoon sunlight.

This will be interesting to see unfold.

Steve

----------


## Stumpy

Happy New Year Steve

Good Luck with your Rose horticulture.

----------


## stevefarang

Aarrrrggggg !!  We get back to the house, this late afternoon, only to  find the water pump is not operating. I pull the cover off and find  nothing but little ants all over the place. I'm not sure what was so  appealing to them, but they were everywhere.
 I figured that maybe  they shorted out the fuse or messed up the pressure switch. 

I'm thinking  we might have to buy a new pump and fix this one at some time later, as  I can't stand not having a proper shower.  Ultimately, I would like to have two pumps, one supplying each end of the house with a closed ball valve as a cross-connect. That might help with water supply pressure problems, if more than one person is taking a shower. And, we can always open the cross-connect if a pump fails, for what ever reason.

My wife's brother convinces me to pull the pump and take it to a shop to get looked at. So I take it out and off we go.

We get to the shop and am told that no-one is available tonight, but to  leave the pump. My blood pressure is starting to go up. Just in the  nick of time, the guy shows up on his motorcycle. I explain about all  the ants I found inside and hope he understands.

 He pulls the cover  off the discharge valve, where all the electronics are. he then pulls  the pressure switch cover off and sure enough, there are still some ants  in there. He gets an air line and blows everything out. And sure  enough, the pump starts. The ants must have blocked up that pressure  switch somehow. No charge he says, Yay!!!

 Get back home, hook  everything back up, prime the pump and start her up. Took a little bit  to vent all the lines and get everything back proper, but it's done.
 I also sprayed some ant killer around and on the pump. I'll go back in a  day or two and spray again, just to dissuade the little buggers.

 I  enjoyed a large bottle of Singha beer with my very late dinner. I should  have bought a beer for my wife's brother, but I forget what beer he  likes.

Steve

----------


## terry57

They seem to like the Leo up that way. Can stand it my self though.

----------


## stevefarang

> They seem to like the Leo up that way. Can stand it my self though.


LOL,  Terry I think you are mixing me up with someone else.  Nakhon Pathom is only about 50 km west of Bangkok. 
Although,  I think he does like Leo.

Cheers mate !  

Steve

----------


## Wasp

STEVEFARANG 1 - Ants 0

An honourable effort from the ants though .



Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

OK, I got tired of the water, from our washing machine, just draining out next to our house and onto the east end of our lot. It makes a muddy mess, gives the ground a funky tinge and it's really not what I want, especially after we finally get some sod down. I don't want that area to be perpetually swampy.

So with the cooler weather, I decided to borrow a wheelbarrow and some hand tools, left behind by the wall contractor (we will most likely use them to do the driveway, so I think it's more in anticipation). We've got a small pile of gravel, also left over.

So, I dug out the hard clay like stuff that is in the general area of the drain. I was hoping to get 2 feet (~66 cm) down, but I hit some type of concrete shelf about 18 inches (46 cm), if that. It sounded hollow, but I didn't want to risk breaking it. So I expanded the hole.

I raided our little gravel pile and made a couple of trips to fill in the hole. I've arranged the soil I dug out around the gravel for now, just to give it a neater appearance. I will probably tweak things, as I intend to do some more minor landscaping in that area. It sits at the end of our covered car park and I picture some paver stones, making a low wall, and some bushes of some sort planted in that area.

Anyway, I'm rambling.
Here's a view of the "drainage yard". You can see that wonderful sheen that the laundry soap, softener, bleach, etc have given to the ground. Sorry for the blurry pic.





And here's a view of gravel hole. It's not much, but it works like a drywell. 





I've tested it and it works fine with a single load of laundry. I don't know how well the "soil" will percolate the laundry waste water, if we're doing 2 or more loads in a day, or if it's raining outside. But it's certainly better than what we had before.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

We have a gate !!!

We finally had the gate installed today. We'll install the electric motor remote at a later date.

They are also installing the 2 doors as well. I guess that gate was pretty substantial as it took most of the day to get it in place. They also hung one door on it's hinges. They will come back tomorrow to finish things up.

So anyway, here is at the start of the day. I'm sure it was a lot of fun bringing the gate over in the back of that pickup.





A gratuitous shot of classic Thai electrical work. Something everyone has seen here before. Some friends on Facebook, who've never been here, were ummmm...(pardon the pun) shocked !!




And then some shots of them working on the installation:











A close up of one of the doors:




Getting close to finishing the gate:







And finally, at the end of the day. They will be back tomorrow to finish things up.




Steve

----------


## terp80

Steve, now THAT is a gate.  :Smile:   What motor ere you getting for that thing? I recall someone on another thread talking about an Italian brand being very good, but I can't recall the name though. :Confused:

----------


## Klondyke

> Steve, now THAT is a gate.  What motor ere you getting for that thing? I recall someone on another thread talking about an Italian brand being very good, but I can't recall the name though.


I wrote here once about one, however, not about an Italian brand but Chinese named "Foresee".

It is available at GH for 10,000 B (plus installation, I did it myself). I have been having 2 sets at different locations, for over 4 years without any problem. One with some hundred operation daily. Small remote controller(s) can reach it over more than 50m. A pushbutton connected by wire can also initiate the movement. The same model has been sold in UK.

There are few more other products in other construction shops, most of them at least twice so costly. If they work twice better?

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve, now THAT is a gate.   What motor ere you getting for that thing? I recall someone on another thread talking about an Italian brand being very good, but I can't recall the name though.


I haven't the foggiest idea. This has been all the work of my wife.  I will most likely be back stateside when they get the motor and remote set up.

Thanks very much. I was teasing the gate guys, towards the end of the day. I came out and was pointing out how the rails on the wall are all straight and the gate profile has those curves. So I said it was no good. You should have seen the looks on their faces.   :smiley laughing: 

I'll probably buy them a round of beers tomorrow. The gate and doors require working in the direct sun all day, no chance of shade.

Steve

----------


## Stumpy

Beautiful gate Steve.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, I was wrong. It turns out the motor was installed today.

It is Italian, although "Roger" doesn't sound very Italian...




Straight tooth gear drive. No chain.




Back when we laid out the electric plan, I wanted an external wire, in a box, at each corner of the house. At the time, my wife thought I was crazy. Turns out I wasn't so nuts. Beats having to drill a hole into the walls of our house to tap into an outlet.









They ran the wire, in the yellow tubing, along the base of our west wall and down to the gate.




Some views with the plastic cover removed. Looks pretty sophisticated for a motor that just opens and closes the gate. I'm surprised that it doesn't have any auto-reverse if it hits the side of a car/truck. In theory, someone could get pinned as it closes and it won't auto-reverse.






Finally some views of the wall doors.

This is on the west wall. We have some mango trees over here and there is an ample area for excess parking.




And then a view of the front (north), road facing wall door:




They also mounted our mail box.




Steve

----------


## terry57

Steve,

Is PD house involved in installing that Gate or are they now finished and you are to independent contractors.  ?

Looks real nice by the way.

----------


## Klondyke

> Some views with the plastic cover removed. Looks pretty sophisticated for a motor that just opens and closes the gate. I'm surprised that it doesn't have any auto-reverse if it hits the side of a car/truck. In theory, someone could get pinned as it closes and it won't auto-reverse.


Steve, I am wondering that it does not have such security, this is very important.
The machine I am having does have infrared sensors at the sides of the gate.  Whenever the ray is interrupted (even by tail of a cat) the gate stops immediately and opens again.


Then, also the time of the automatic return after the car went thru can be adjusted for longer or shorter, as wished.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve,
> 
> Is PD house involved in installing that Gate or are they now finished and you are to independent contractors.  ?
> 
> Looks real nice by the way.



Thanks Terry.

PD House had NOTHING to do with the wall or the gate. We're still waiting on them to fix issues related to the house. They did finally patch all the holes in the ceiling yesterday and today.
But in doing so, we found that whomever installed our ceiling fans did not anchor them properly. So that's a new stink I am raising with them.

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> Some views with the plastic cover removed. Looks pretty sophisticated for a motor that just opens and closes the gate. I'm surprised that it doesn't have any auto-reverse if it hits the side of a car/truck. In theory, someone could get pinned as it closes and it won't auto-reverse.
> 
> 
> Steve, I am wondering that it does not have such security, this is very important.
> The machine I am having does have infrared sensors at the sides of the gate.  Whenever the ray is interrupted (even by tail of a cat) the gate stops immediately and opens again.
> 
> 
> Then, also the time of the automatic return after the car went thru can be adjusted for longer or shorter, as wished.


Well, I asked about it and got the usual smile and Thai laugh. 

Since I was not involved with the selection of the remote operator, it would be really hard to go back and ask for infrared sensors (let alone use my non-technical bit of Thai to explain infrared sensors). I don't really expect anyone to be pinned anyway. I suppose if they are pinned, the question will be "why are they sneaking in so suddenly as the gate is about to close ?"

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Dang, I slipped to the second page !!

Ah well, things have been quiet, needless to say.

However, they recently started working on the foundation for our spirit house (Baan Pi), as my wife was getting worried that we didn't have one up yet.

Here's my son, supervising things. My dog's butt got in the shot as well. I like to think, he's looking towards the main entrance, ever vigilant in protecting my son.










The pad, as it was the other day:





My wife wants it finished in time for our son's birthday, April 9th. Then I guess they'll have a party for the "Baan Pi" and my son. I was hoping to be there, but got stuck here in the USA with some work stuff.




And then I guess, we had some rain overnight. She sent me these pics tonight.

A view looking in through the main entrance. Hopefully the motor for the gate did not get submerged. The whole lot is about 1 meter higher than all the surrounding land, so it should be OK. Just going to take some time to drain, with all that lousy clay like soil underneath.




And a view inside of the wall, looking at our little temporary pond:




Happy Songkran to all !

Steve

----------


## stevefarang

Well things did dry out and the Baan Pi was finished in time for my son's 1st birthday.

Looks like they are setting up the Baan Pi.








Then they had their big offerings, food, flowers and whatever.

















So, I am assuming now that the spirits will be happy, having their own house and appeased with food and drink.


And, of course, a token shot of my son (the birthday boy!) being held by his step-grandmother. Amazing that he's 1 year old now.



Steve

----------


## terp80

> The legend of the chedi is a tragic one: It's said that an astrologer  told the ancient King Phya Kong that one day his son would kill him. The  king sent his son to live in the forest, where a woman found him and  raised him. As a young man, the son, called Phya Pan, entered the  service of the King of Ratchaburi, who was a vassal of the king of the  neighboring kingdom Nakhon Chaisi.


rentthecar112. Is this story in serial form? Don't keep us hanging! When is the next episode?!  :Hypnotized:  :Hypnotized:

----------


## terp80

> So, I am assuming now that the spirits will be happy, having their own house and appeased with food and drink.


Damn, Steve! They better be happy! You have a more impressive setup there than some shopping malls.  :Very Happy:

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> So, I am assuming now that the spirits will be happy, having their own house and appeased with food and drink.
> 
> 
> Damn, Steve! They better be happy! You have a more impressive setup there than some shopping malls.


I'm more concerned that they will invite other spirits to move in...   :Very Happy: 

Steve

----------


## terp80

> I'm more concerned that they will invite other spirits to move in...


Isn't that what the smaller "guest house" is for?  :Very Happy:

----------


## stevefarang

I'm still stuck back here in the USA, but they are starting to put in some trees.

I'm not thrilled about these trees going here, as my plan is to put in an outdoor Thai kitchen right here. I also don't like those trees so close to the septic tank and drywells.








And some plantings around the spirit house:








A view of the east end of the house:




An old high school classmate sent me some "zombie chili" seeds. Looks like at least one plant is growing enough to be put in the ground:




And, I can't resist, a shot of my son being a little boy, getting thoroughly muddy and having a great time of it:



Steve

----------


## koman

Those are pretty big trees.  We just planted small ones with a dose of fertilizer and lots of water.  They grow like weeds here.   

I see you still have the preferred bare earth look...same as me.   I attempted to bring in ten kilos of Bermuda hybrid grass seed to get a lawn going, but the kindly customs people in BKK confiscated it and sent it back to the US because I did not have an import license.... :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  

I've seen the stuff grown here and it makes a very good lawn,  so you might want to consider sticking a few kilos in your baggage when you travel back.    It's a fraction of the cost of buying and laying sod and actually produces a much better result if it's sown and watered properly.

The place is looking very regal.....just needs a few Peacocks and vintage cars scattered about..... :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> Those are pretty big trees.  We just planted small ones with a dose of fertilizer and lots of water.  They grow like weeds here.   
> 
> I see you still have the preferred bare earth look...same as me.   I attempted to bring in ten kilos of Bermuda hybrid grass seed to get a lawn going, but the kindly customs people in BKK confiscated it and sent it back to the US because I did not have an import license.... 
> 
> I've seen the stuff grown here and it makes a very good lawn,  so you might want to consider sticking a few kilos in your baggage when you travel back.    It's a fraction of the cost of buying and laying sod and actually produces a much better result if it's sown and watered properly.
> 
> The place is looking very regal.....just needs a few Peacocks and vintage cars scattered about.....


Yes, we haven't addressed a lawn yet.
Any places you can recommend for this Bermuda hybrid grass seed (ie Home Depot, Lowes, or ??) Does anything special have to be done before spreading it down ? I'm assuming water the heck out of it. I think some people lay straw down to cover the seeds, but I don't think I can do that. And I'm going to have to do something to stop all the little birds from eating it up. 
Maybe I'll smuggle in a little bit at a time and slowly build the yard up. I think a kilo might attract some attention if they X-ray my bags.

Thanks very much ! LOL, I actually thought about getting a peacock to have in the yard, but then I heard they are nasty buggers.

Steve

----------


## koman

> Originally Posted by koman
> 
> 
> Those are pretty big trees.  We just planted small ones with a dose of fertilizer and lots of water.  They grow like weeds here.   
> 
> I see you still have the preferred bare earth look...same as me.   I attempted to bring in ten kilos of Bermuda hybrid grass seed to get a lawn going, but the kindly customs people in BKK confiscated it and sent it back to the US because I did not have an import license.... 
> 
> I've seen the stuff grown here and it makes a very good lawn,  so you might want to consider sticking a few kilos in your baggage when you travel back.    It's a fraction of the cost of buying and laying sod and actually produces a much better result if it's sown and watered properly.
> 
> ...


I ordered my Bermuda grass seed from one of the suppliers listed on EBay.  There are always a few of them so it's just a matter of trying to find the best deal.    The problem is that the shipping costs are pretty outrageous....and then there is the customs guys to sink you,  right at the final hurdle.... :Confused: 

Depending on where you are in the US it should be pretty easy to find.   You need a 5Lb bag to cover each 5000 ft2  so looking at your pics I figure couple of tons should do the job.... :Smile: 

    I ordered 10 kilos because the area we wanted to seed was about 11,000 Ft2....plus you need a bit for re-seeding any bald spots later on.    I think it may have been the weight that attracted the customs guys, because I've been told that anything over 8 Kgs gets attention much more than small packages.

The sowing seems to be pretty simple.....loosen up the top of the soil; rake it;  sow the seed and cover it lightly with soil; water it relentlessly for a couple of weeks and up comes the grass.    If you plan to do it in small sections, you could probably cover it with netting to keep the birds from eating everything.   A 410 shotgun might discourage them as well..... :Smile:

----------


## cdjustice

great thread, looking good

----------


## Stumpy

> I'm not thrilled about these trees going here, as my plan is to put in an outdoor Thai kitchen right here. I also don't like those trees so close to the septic tank and drywells.


Shouldn't be an issue with septic or leach field with the Queen palms Steve. They are shallow rooted for the most part. I dug up and transplanted 8 large ones along the Master Bedroom side of our house on this trip. They grow up very nice and will offer some shade. I am not sure about the others planted in the picture, they do not all appear to be Queen palm trees. 

Worst case though. Let them mature in that location and you can move them pretty easily later if not where you want them. :Smile:

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> I'm not thrilled about these trees going here, as my plan is to put in an outdoor Thai kitchen right here. I also don't like those trees so close to the septic tank and drywells.
> 
> 
> Shouldn't be an issue with septic or leach field with the Queen palms Steve. They are shallow rooted for the most part. I dug up and transplanted 8 large ones along the Master Bedroom side of our house on this trip. They grow up very nice and will offer some shade. I am not sure about the others planted in the picture, they do not all appear to be Queen palm trees. 
> 
> Worst case though. Let them mature in that location and you can move them pretty easily later if not where you want them.



OK, that's good to know. Although, I'm not keen on shallow rooted trees so close to the house, if we get a good wind storm (we've had few when I was there before). They will definitely have to move at some point.

I'm also growing some Japanese red maple seedlings here, with the intent of taking them over sometime. I can picture at least one somewhere in the "front yard" (the north side). I figure I'd let them grow a little bit here, then take them over and put them in pots there and acclimate, with a mix of sun and shade. Hopefully I can coax one or two to grow there.

Same thing with a rosemary plant (or seeds if worse comes to worse). I love rosemary and my wife has taken to it as well. It would be nice to have some fresh Rosemary over there.

Steve

----------


## Stumpy

Steve,
True on shallow rooted and big storms. Fortunately they do not develop big heavy oak tree type branches that can crash down and take out a section of a house like here. LOL!. They are pretty light in weight.  

The red Maple trees sound very nice. I am curious how those will adapt being they are decidious and drop leaves when winter approaches.  Sure a beautiful tree when they get big. Good Luck.

My wife really likes Rosemary as well.  We have 2 huge shrubs at the place we rent here.  She also likes the star jasmine shrub and the smell.

----------


## BKKKevin

I would replace that palm next to the spirit house with a tree that will grow up and hide the electric pole...

----------


## stevefarang

These are the baby Japanese Red Maples that I am coaxing along here in the USA.





And here is where they came from. I love the amount of shade this tree provides, plus the branches.




Will it survive in Thailand ? I honestly don't know. It won't really hurt if I try. These were seedlings that my sister would just run over with the lawn mower.

I know that, while they are seedlings and small, I will try to keep them adjacent to the house, so they get some shade and a break from the tropical sun. I would like to have one, on the north side, near the main gate. Another, I'm thinking of placing on the east end, in the general area where we hang out.

Steve

----------


## terry57

> I'm not keen on shallow rooted trees so close to the house, if we get a good wind storm (we've had few when I was there before). They will definitely have to move at some point.



It's definitely something to consider.  Last week we had a major storm blow across Bangkok.

Next day I was in Lumpini Park and many shallow rooted trees where blow over like match sticks. Some big trees as well, not just smaller ones.  I was amassed at how shallow some of their root systems were.

The park workers come along, push then upright and anchor them down. The root system grows again and they are then blown over in the next storm.  :Smile: 

Amazing Thailand huh.  I'd be keeping the trees with deep roots well away from your septic system though. 

Place is looking brilliant by the way.

----------


## Stumpy

> Will it survive in Thailand ? I honestly don't know. It won't really hurt if I try. These were seedlings that my sister would just run over with the lawn mower.
> 
> I know that, while they are seedlings and small, I will try to keep them adjacent to the house, so they get some shade and a break from the tropical sun. I would like to have one, on the north side, near the main gate. Another, I'm thinking of placing on the east end, in the general area where we hang out.
> 
> Steve


They are beauty trees. Grow very slow, look great. Be very interesting if they survive. They are deciduous and not many trees(if any at all) drop all leaves for the "Winter" in Thailand. The direct sun as you know will kill them very quick. They need that diffused light or mild climates. My Dad has a few big ones like you pictured.  They make a beautiful canopy. 

Regardless nothing wrong with trying. There are few trees I would love to try in Thailand a Willow tree being one.

Good Luck Steve

----------


## runker

The Japanese Maple also make a nice patio tree if kept in a container to control the size.

----------


## beerlaodrinker

> OK, I was wrong. It turns out the motor was installed today.
> 
> It is Italian, although "Roger" doesn't sound very Italian...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Straight tooth gear drive. No chain.
> 
> ...


Fucking great the auto gate opener, mines an Italian one to, had no trouble with it The last 4 years, had 2 Chinese ones from global house that didn't last long, one of them was zapped by lightning striking the gate though, got this one properly earthed this time. Ripper thread by the way. I've just started construction of a 4 x 12 concrete pool here in Laos and the missus has been instructed to take photos of  all the nitty gritty, contractor reckons 6 weeks to finish, things are looking pretty ugly in my yard at the moment but the end result should be nice, I will bung up a thread later, maybe a sort of before and after

----------


## Klondyke

> Fucking great the auto gate opener, mines an Italian one to, had no trouble with it The last 4 years, had 2 Chinese ones from global house that didn't last long, one of them was zapped by lightning striking the gate though, got this one properly earthed this time. Ripper thread by the way. I've just started construction of a 4 x 12 concrete pool here in Laos and the missus has been instructed to take photos of all the nitty gritty, contractor reckons 6 weeks to finish, things are looking pretty ugly in my yard at the moment but the end result should be nice, I will bung up a thread later, maybe a sort of before and after


I think once I have commented these pictures. I have installed 3 pcs bought in Global House (Foresee), working over 5 years, equipped with the sensors against collision (work on interrupting the beam by a cat's tail), remote control over 80 m, possible also by a pushbutton connected by 2 wires. The same brand is sold in UK (can be googled), costs 10,000 B.

----------


## stevefarang

OK, a couple of pics that I find amusing, because they've got my little ankle biter in them. He's a real ham !

I'm not sure what my wife planning to do with these yet, but she's doing some basic landscaping. These pics are all on the east side, just outside the kitchen. Eventually, I want to put in an outside Thai kitchen in the area as well.









They also had some heavy rain the other night and had problems getting the car in & out. So they got some stone delivered and put down for now. We'll probably be doing a proper driveway either later this year or early 2016.

First shot is facing towards the house.




And then facing towards the gate and the road.




Steve

----------


## runker

The grade looks very flat and that maybe adding to your drainage problem.  Flat and level is great for a pool table.

----------


## stevefarang

> The grade looks very flat and that maybe adding to your drainage problem.  Flat and level is great for a pool table.


Yes, it is fairly flat. But the whole property is about 1+ meter above the surrounding land. We also don't have, yet, a lot of grass, trees, bushes, etc to help either. Slowly working on that.

Steve

----------


## saorsa

Excellent thread...thanks for sharing

----------


## stevefarang

OK, my apologies. Not much going on lately.

When the perimeter wall was put in last year, we had spaces for the lights to be installed. They are finally being installed today. They are installed on every other column on the front and west side. The bulbs are LED. Eventually, I want to install solar powered lights on the columns with out lights right now.
The back wall, non-decorative, will have some lights as well. I'll post a pic or two later when they are in.

it should look pretty good at night with the lights on. My wife also had a Sala put over near the north wall. A little nicer to sit outside in.





Steve

----------


## nigelandjan

Thats one huge plot of land your sitting on Steve  !  

Enjoy the fruits of your labours mate !

----------


## PeeCoffee

Sorry Steve...I just stumbled across you beautiful house-building project. I thought it was a Medina home build. Really nice job for a comparable song-and-dance compared to Seattle's r/e market...without the bridge traffic too !

Looking around your neighborhood I think you set the bar extremely high for the Somchais (Joneses) to try to keep up. Hopefully you find all the peace and contentment you can handle while you spend six months on / six off Thailand.

(Go Seahawks !)

----------


## stevefarang

> Sorry Steve...I just stumbled across you beautiful house-building project. I thought it was a Medina home build. Really nice job for a comparable song-and-dance compared to Seattle's r/e market...without the bridge traffic too !
> 
> Looking around your neighborhood I think you set the bar extremely high for the Somchais (Joneses) to try to keep up. Hopefully you find all the peace and contentment you can handle while you spend six months on / six off Thailand.
> 
> (Go Seahawks !)


Thanks PeeCoffee. It's a work in progress, but I do enjoy it when I am here. I know others have lamented about farangs building big houses. But we recently stayed in a 20 year old 2 bedroom bungalow in Hua Hin for 3 nights and I hated it. While i enjoy Hua Hin, I also really enjoyed getting back to the space of our house. And my son has more room to run around.

Yes, the lot is big, but again, I am very glad it's walled so my son can go outside to be a little boy and get dirty. I'm also trying to coax my Japanese red Maples to grow and a few are responding, although I'm not thrilled with the loss of the red pigment in their leaves. They are mostly sitting in the shade of a Australian giant mango tree.

I also brought over with me, on my last trip, a distillation rig. I made some mash, about 2 weeks ago, and we finally distilled a batch of "white lightening" the other day. We're going to make some more mash, in a few days, so it will be ready for "cooking" when we get back from Turkey in about 2 weeks,

It's gong to be very alcohol week between Christmas & New Years.

We do need to get some sod down. And an actual driveway too.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

> We do need to get some sod down.


Neverna ?

----------


## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> We do need to get some sod down.
> 
> 
> Neverna ?


Ummm, say what ?   LOL

----------


## Happy Dave

> OK, we had a decent conversation, with PD House, on Friday night and, hopefully, cleared up some issues. Unfortiunately, they only really have 1 guy who speaks english, so communication can be slow and the guy admitted it. But I got some answers on some technical issues finally.
> And...finally, they have started working on the walls. But...2 of the guys had a medical emergency with their family and had to leave the 2nd day. So only the foreman is there, along with his wife and 2 kids. Supposedly, we will get 10 people working later this week. But I'm pleased with the foreman. He seems to be doing a good job and doing thngs with care, even if he doesn't follow any US safety practices (Hey TIT !!).
> I took these pics early afternoon on Sunday. He made even more progress after I took these. 
> 
> Of course, now PD House puts up their promotional billboard.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi Steve, Just surfing thro looking for the plastic tank and i notice you have no insulation under the roof tiles. Any reason ?

----------


## stevefarang

Hi Dave,
You had time to read this whole thread !!??

We have 6 inches of fiberglass insulation up in the ceiling. The PD House standard was 3", we doubled it.

I debated on putting in a couple of those whirligig roof fans, on the south (back) side of the house, but after some exchanges with PD House reps, I was convinced that the design of the roofing tiles allows for air flow and ventilation.

If we had them put foil type insulation under the roofing tiles, it would disrupt the air flow. It seems the fiberglass insulation works fine.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

You seem to be Target of the Week !


Wasp

----------


## outdoorbloke

Unless I missed it some where what has been the total cost for this amazing build so far

----------


## Wasp

Interesting stuff Steve but maybe the first step on the road to madness .

Do you have a banjo --- and a plucker ?


While we're off the subject ..... I need some help from the sharper brains .

I wrote a few bits about how Missy misheard and mispronounced things . The best being when she said Harry Potter was flying over our garden . She meant helicopter.

Well now we're trying to  track down a friend who owes money and this friend has apparently studied a bit of massage and gone to work in Gowwlee .

Where is  ' Gowwlee ? ' .   What is Gowwlee ???

Apparently with a  Thai passport you don't need a visa for Gowwlee .     

?



Wasp

----------


## eddiev

Korea

----------


## Wasp

> Korea


Well !!  You may be right !!!

I keep forgetting that when she says " L " it's probably an " R " .

So Gowwlee becomes Gowwree.  Gowree .  Kowree .

You were very quick eddiev and I think it's right . :Scratchchin: 




W :durh: sp

----------


## JohnG

> Originally Posted by eddiev
> 
> 
> Korea
> 
> 
> Well !!  You may be right !!!
> 
> I keep forgetting that when she says " L " it's probably an " R " .
> ...


It's not actually a mispronunciation at all, and it's simpler than that.

Just as "Farangsett" = 'France', "Angkrit" = 'England', "Yeeppun" = 'Japan', "Cjeen" = China, etc, so "Kaoli" = "Korea".

If anything _we're_ the ones mispronouncing it!


(edit: and Steve, I'd seriously advise taking down the pics of your distillery;  advertising that you're doing something illegal really may not be such a good idea!)

----------


## Wasp

> It's not actually a mispronunciation at all, and it's simpler than that.
> 
> If anything _we're_ the ones mispronouncing it!



Just a bit too serious I think .




W :Boobies: sp

----------


## bindog

Hi Steve, I see the posts I was going to ask you a question about have been removed - that contraption you constructed under a mango tree.  But I'll ask my technical question anyway...  

You said something about a "massive Australian mango tree".  Huge maybe?  I'm curious about that - are Australian varieties larger than the local ones?  Where did you get the Australian tree - brought it in yourself from Oz, or purchased locally?  

I have this spot picked out you see, for a large mango tree that I'd like to be sitting underneath one day.  A tree like in that old movie, 'the mango tree', filmed around Bundaberg I believe.  And like the one a mate of mine had in his backyard in Townsville, that produced such a large, "thick" / "intense" patch of shade.  We would sit under there with our stubbies of XXXX back in the day, swatting mozzies and rubbing out sandflies.   :Beerchug:    ( The only thing I miss about those times is the mango tree.   :Very Happy:  )

So, if the Thai mamoeng trees are not going to grow that big I'll need to do some research...

Cheers.

----------


## stevefarang

> Hi Steve, I see the posts I was going to ask you a question about have been removed - that contraption you constructed under a mango tree.  But I'll ask my technical question anyway...  
> 
> You said something about a "massive Australian mango tree".  Huge maybe?  I'm curious about that - are Australian varieties larger than the local ones?  Where did you get the Australian tree - brought it in yourself from Oz, or purchased locally?  
> 
> I have this spot picked out you see, for a large mango tree that I'd like to be sitting underneath one day.  A tree like in that old movie, 'the mango tree', filmed around Bundaberg I believe.  And like the one a mate of mine had in his backyard in Townsville, that produced such a large, "thick" / "intense" patch of shade.  We would sit under there with our stubbies of XXXX back in the day, swatting mozzies and rubbing out sandflies.     ( The only thing I miss about those times is the mango tree.   )
> 
> So, if the Thai mamoeng trees are not going to grow that big I'll need to do some research...
> 
> Cheers.


Yes, since several people felt that post could cause me trouble with the brown shirt boys, I had it removed. Feel free to PM me if you have a question about it.

As far the Aussie Mango tree, we bought that at some local nursery. They had 5-6 for sale, as I recall. I have no idea where, it was about 4-5+ years ago. I do know they produce about a 2 kg size fruit compared to the Thai standard 1 kg. And surprisingly, they tasted pretty good and I'm not usually a mango eater.

Steve

----------


## bindog

^ Thanks for that, will keep an eye out for the trees at nurserys.  

Don't worry about your old posts, I showed them to my brother in law the detective, he didn't seem concerned.  Seemed to recognise your house though... 

Kidding.  Didn't show him.   :Very Happy: 

You ought to keep your old mango seeds btw, you could make a bit of money selling them to homesick Aussies.  (So they can grow their own trees, not go all Tory politician with them or anything!  :UK: )

----------


## PassiveCooling

Steve,

Now that you have live in the house for a while, does the down stair feel cool and airy?
With your high ceiling design, I would think it should be fairly comfortable down stair if you open the windows upstairs.

Also, did you put in a whirlybird or two to ventilate the roof?

----------


## FatOne

Hi Steve, can you look at martys new house in the sticks thread and give any comments on housewarming parties? I notice you did something similar to what I am planning.

----------


## stevefarang

> Steve,
> 
> Now that you have live in the house for a while, does the down stair feel cool and airy?
> With your high ceiling design, I would think it should be fairly comfortable down stair if you open the windows upstairs.
> 
> Also, did you put in a whirlybird or two to ventilate the roof?


Sorry, I haven't poked in here for a while.

It's Nakhon Pathom. It rarely feels cool and airy. When I am there, I will open the French doors upstairs, to help get some air flow. I'll usually shut them, again, by noon. I don't want the strong sun to damage the wood floors upstairs.

While it's not cool and airy, the ground floor is a nice large shaded space for my son to run around in and be the typical "holy 2 year old terror" !

No, I never installed the whirlybirds. PD House insisted that the design of the ceiling tiles allow for ventilation.

----------


## stevefarang

> Hi Steve, can you look at martys new house in the sticks thread and give any comments on housewarming parties? I notice you did something similar to what I am planning.


LOL, oops. Is it too late ? I'm sorry.

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## FatOne

Good to see you back, mate. No it's not too late, although most of the tips I have received from TD'ers are more along the lines of don't do it!!! I think it will be a bit of fun, and it's turning out that the wife will end up funding it, as at the moment she is earning more than me and I am paying all the household expenses while she sends her money to her account in Thailand to pay for this bash.
We will be doing this on new years day next year so plenty of time.

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## sweaty

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by eddiev
> ...


Except Koreans would have no idea where "Kaoli" is nevermind "Gowwlee" and and.
So I do think it is a mispronunciation.

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## birding

I dont write this as a criticism but in the hope that it may help you to avoid problems later.

I have only see the photos and read the text and not seen the site or house so I may have some things wrong.

First off I dont see any provision for drainage of the section such as drainage holes in the surrounding wall. I see in some photos water sitting, presumably after rain and with the fill you have used and correctly let to settle and even with the top soil you have put on there will not be much soakage into the ground so it is important to have the ground falling away from the house towards drainage outlets in the wall for without this you will end up in a lake after heavy rain.

I would recommend spouting, guttering, what ever you want to call it, around the whole house to take rain (storm) water. this should be connected by downpipes to a dedicated storm water drainage system which would take all the rain water that falls on the house right off the site. Without this all the rain that falls on the house (quite a large area) will end up on the ground alongside the house adding to the drainage problems.

I would say that there is not nearly enough provision for soakage from the outlets of your septic tanks. You have a high water table with the area having been, and still adjacent to paddy, again your fill will not absorb much water so you will need several more of the things you have now. These should be surrounded (in the hole they are in) by at least 2 feet all around of stones fist size of larger.

Also recommend that if you install a storm water system from the house that you feed your spa pool Jac.......whatever, into the storm water system and not into a septic tank for there will be a lot of water each time it is drained and that water will be quite clean, unless you chuck in bubble bath or something.

I write that with many years of experience with water and drainage in rural areas.

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## stevefarang

> I dont write this as a criticism but in the hope that it may help you to avoid problems later.
> 
> I have only see the photos and read the text and not seen the site or house so I may have some things wrong.
> 
> First off I dont see any provision for drainage of the section such as drainage holes in the surrounding wall. I see in some photos water sitting, presumably after rain and with the fill you have used and correctly let to settle and even with the top soil you have put on there will not be much soakage into the ground so it is important to have the ground falling away from the house towards drainage outlets in the wall for without this you will end up in a lake after heavy rain.
> 
> I would recommend spouting, guttering, what ever you want to call it, around the whole house to take rain (storm) water. this should be connected by downpipes to a dedicated storm water drainage system which would take all the rain water that falls on the house right off the site. Without this all the rain that falls on the house (quite a large area) will end up on the ground alongside the house adding to the drainage problems.
> 
> I would say that there is not nearly enough provision for soakage from the outlets of your septic tanks. You have a high water table with the area having been, and still adjacent to paddy, again your fill will not absorb much water so you will need several more of the things you have now. These should be surrounded (in the hole they are in) by at least 2 feet all around of stones fist size of larger.
> ...


Thanks for the comments.

It may not be too clear, but our lot is raised a good meter above the surrounding land. In fact, when that area had some serious flooding, about 4 years ago, we stayed "high and dry". Yes, we do get some pooling, after a rain. But it tends to percolate away fairly quickly. As we do more plantings of trees and lay some sod down, I think that will also help.

The septic tanks and dry wells are all built into that raised area. It's been going for about 3 years now, so I think it's working OK.

Only the toilets drain into the septic tanks. Showers, jacuzzi and sinks drain into the first dry well, positioned downstream of each septic tank. I think,if we were using the jacuzzi frequently, then we would have a problem with that drywell on the west end of the house. But, it's only used sporadically, so the amount of water it drains doesn't significantly impact the drywell.

I made up a very basic French drain for the washing machine drain. Originally, they piped the drain to a corner of the house, by the car park. The waste would come out and just run all over the ground. I hated it. We had some left over gravel. So I dug out a small hole/ditch and filled it in with gravel. It works a whole lot better and we don't have waste water running all over the ground. If we do several loads, then yes, some waste water will seep out of the gravel. But, it's much better than before.

I debated on installing gutters, back when we first were starting to build. But an old ex-pat friend, who's a crack engineer and has lived in various parts of SE Asia for 20+ years, persuaded me that gutters will be more trouble than they are worth. And, if it does become an issue, it should be easy to get them installed. I won't run them into the drywells, as that could overload them after a good downpour or two.

Thanks for the comments.

Steve

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## stevefarang

> Good to see you back, mate. No it's not too late, although most of the tips I have received from TD'ers are more along the lines of don't do it!!! I think it will be a bit of fun, and it's turning out that the wife will end up funding it, as at the moment she is earning more than me and I am paying all the household expenses while she sends her money to her account in Thailand to pay for this bash.
> We will be doing this on new years day next year so plenty of time.


We ended up funding it, but it was a blast. Well, the party that night was fun. The day time, with the monks and all that was a little monotonous. Plus, they started setting up early in the day. So, we had the wife's friends and family coming over before 8 AM to start preparing food.

There is a tradition, however, that is a lot like a wedding party here in the USA. During the evening party, you and your missus, have to visit every table, exchange pleasantries, drink shots of whiskey, etc. But, in return, you get envelopes with cash inside. Your missus will probably keep track of who gave how much, because when they throw a party. you have to reciprocate with an equal amount or a little more. Still, we ended up with a tidy sum. And, I drank a lot of whiskey that night !! 

Does this help ?

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## FatOne

Yes thanks Steve. After all the negative comments on the other thread, I think we will have a lot of fun. Good to hear you enjoyed yours.

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## stevefarang

It was a long day, they started blaring music before 8 AM, and I had been up late drinking the night before.

The Buddhist ceremony was "interesting". I had to sit on my stairs, as I couldn't get down on the floor. Eventually, one of the monks went around and blessed all the rooms and advised where to put the spirit house. I think I posted some pics of the event on this thread. It's #672 & 678.

The party was more fun. We had good weather and a nice bit of space to sprawl out on.

And we netted a tidy sum.

Steve

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## SandMike

Firstly,

Congratulations on a stunning home ... you should be rightly proud of it.

Now,

There were a few posts on a small manufacturing plant earlier.

May I suggest, for those interested, an internet search on 'the blue flame'

an illuminating read.

Cheers

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## blockhead

This is all very impressive to an Australian builder like me. Precast is obviously the way to go in Thailand just as it is in commercial buildings in Australia.
As long as one has the cranes available it is easy.
The ceilings are coffered but we usually call the change of height a bulkhead. The Asians are still well behind us in plasterboard technology. For over 20 years in Australia we have made gyp beams for bulkheads, no flushing of the external corner required. We rout the back of the sheet with a V shaped router bit, cutting through the plaster but not the paper. Then fold the sheet and glue the joint, its gives you a perfectly sharp 90 degree corner without any plastering. Fast, cheap and easy.

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## runker

> This is all very impressive to an Australian builder like me. Precast is obviously the way to go in Thailand just as it is in commercial buildings in Australia.
> As long as one has the cranes available it is easy.
> The ceilings are coffered but we usually call the change of height a bulkhead. The Asians are still well behind us in plasterboard technology. For over 20 years in Australia we have made gyp beams for bulkheads, no flushing of the external corner required. We rout the back of the sheet with a V shaped router bit, cutting through the plaster but not the paper. Then fold the sheet and glue the joint, its gives you a perfectly sharp 90 degree corner without any plastering. Fast, cheap and easy.




You do that with inside and outside corners?

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## crepitas

Kudos mate very impressive result.
  A couple of questions:
  Did the builders pile drive those somewhat skinny, what appear to be precast, poles before the slab was laid, what is tying them together..concrete beams?
  Is the slab floating or does it have footings?
  Did they install reinforced concrete lintels and frames for doors and windows?
  Drain tiles? Any flooding?
  Our pole home was built with on site poured poles and quite,overly massive to my mind cross beams. Even so it _swayed_ in high winds before the reinforced concrete window/door  lintels/frames and brick walls were in place.


Oh and where are ya gonna BBQ and drink beers when it is pissing down?...555

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## showupman

i hope for you Steve and your family that it went all well in the end and you finished with PD HOUSE....
i was lurking as a guest for a long time and followed it,and reread a lot.....again...especially because of PD.
our house we're building is with PD as well........not because i read your thread....dont worry....lol....it was our choice after a long time of looking around and researching.....LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF SIMILARITIES ......

im gonna start another housebuild thread soon (i hope so...)with a bit a different approach....it is close to the end,our build(we hope so and it looks like it,but as it stands....we have a lot of issues with PD...)
its gonna be a lookback-from the start to hopefully help others as well,what worried us or what to do better and so on.......english is not my first language.
have been there most of the time and ive done all the electrical work by myself and with the help of my wife...............i had no time for writing,been well to busy with the house building.....
......
well anyway thats it for now,
i wish you and your family merry x-mas and a happy new year

Urs&family

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## CaptainNemo

> This is a pic of the model house from the PD House website.


That's definitely rather American.

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## Vettronics

Great thread. Read through it all. At the end seems you have a really nice home. All the Best.

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## stevefarang

> Kudos mate very impressive result.
>   A couple of questions:
>   Did the builders pile drive those somewhat skinny, what appear to be precast, poles before the slab was laid, what is tying them together..concrete beams?
>   Is the slab floating or does it have footings?
>   Did they install reinforced concrete lintels and frames for doors and windows?
>   Drain tiles? Any flooding?
>   Our pole home was built with on site poured poles and quite,overly massive to my mind cross beams. Even so it _swayed_ in high winds before the reinforced concrete window/door  lintels/frames and brick walls were in place.
> 
> 
> Oh and where are ya gonna BBQ and drink beers when it is pissing down?...555


Sorry, I was away doing some work in the UAE and Oman and then finally getting the wife and son here into the USA. 

I think if you go back towards the beginning of the thread, you will find answers to many of your questions. A large number of pilings were driven into the ground. Precast concrete pieces make up the frame of the house, with Q-con blocks making up the walls (interior and exterior).

We currently use the car park in the evening, although my plan is eventually build an open air wing on the east side of the house. This will have the outside Thai kitchen and an area to kick back and relax.

Thanks and cheers !

Steve

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## stevefarang

> Originally Posted by stevefarang
> 
> 
> This is a pic of the model house from the PD House website.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's definitely rather American.


Yes, my wife reminds me that she would have preferred something smaller. But I didn't want a small place where, as I get older, I just shuffle from the bedroom to the tv room. We now have a nice large, shaded area on the ground floor, with plenty of room for my son to run around and play and no-one is sitting on top of each other. Maybe, eventually, I'll install some air-con there. But only a couple of bedrooms have air-con for now.

Steve

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## stevefarang

> Great thread. Read through it all. At the end seems you have a really nice home. All the Best.


Thanks very much. With our son in the picture, the plans have changed a bit. The house will be more of a vacation home for now. My wife will probably go back for a month or two every year, and I'll go as vacations permit. My wife's brother has been living there, since the start, helping to take care of it, so we have a housekeeper.

Steve

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## Thai Dhupp

Its such a pity all the *pictures* are gone, *Steve*. 

The *thread* is great but the *photos* would have really put the icing on the cake. 

Did you have any more *video* of the *build* apart from those two you posted?

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