#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Construction in Thailand >  >  > Building in Thailand Famous Threads >  >  Issan house complete, shed scheduled

## Texpat

I moved to Thailand in May of 06.
Began construction in Oct 06.
Completed in May.
Location: Tha Bo, Nong Khai, 1 mile from Mekong.
Started with a lot of hair, bald now. But rent-free is good.

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## Likewise

Nice place. Add a swimming pool and it's complete.

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## hillbilly

I am green with envy.

What did this home cost you? BTW, did I say I was jealous...

Please tell us more.

Where do you BBQ?

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## buad hai

Looks lovely. You started yours about the same time as me and I'm still losing hair....

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## Boon Mee

Looks great, Pat.  How much have you got sunk in it? :Smile:

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## Spin

Yep, very nice indeed, whens the house warming party? :Smile:

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## Wayne Kerr

Magnificent mate ... congratulations!

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## WhiteLotusLane

No, no, no this just won't do.   This is so anti-climactic.   

We need real-time, daily reports of every nail going in, documented, pictured, discussed, ridiculed, removed and then replaced again over a period of at least half a year.

But instead you suddenly go "Tanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa: My spanking brilliant new house!" 

Yeah, it's nice.   But we want PAIN you hear, an excruciating nails-on-the-blackboard slow materialization of a structure spread out across 46 pages of misery, interspersed with pictures of what the workers eat, where they go to take a dump, how they dress, how often they pass out and on what substances, every wart & blemish!!!

  (Future posters, see https://teakdoor.com/building-in-thailand-famous-threads/6417-a-hillbilly-shack-in-the-jungle.html for reference )

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## stroller

> You started yours about the same time as me and I'm still losing hair....


I think his 'trick' was not be there while it was being built.  :Smile:

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## Texpat

Night shot taken this weekend.


Kitchen. Granite countertops. I'm not licensed to operate stove or oven.
Gotta good handle on the fridge, though. (hic)


Dining room and lay-z-man (facing TV) Granite floors downstairs.


Wood floors upstairs (pradouk). Woodworkers did a nice job. Tha Bo is known for quality Vietnamese woodworkers.


Master bedroom with walk-in closet. Damn shoulda cleaned up the laundry. And lastly ...


Master bathroom.

House is on 2.5 rai. About 60 lam yai trees (in season now) and a few banana, papaya, lemon/lime, jackfruit, mango. Also a few tomato plants in a small 6x6m raised patch.

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## hillbilly

When I can come up with something negative about your house, I will.

Better keep my mouth shut, cause I can't think of nothing... :Smile: 

Congrats!

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## stroller

These spotlessly clean and organised places make me uncomfortable.
But each to their own.

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## Boon Mee

I'm still curious what Pat spent like in per sq. meter? :Smile:

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## WhiteLotusLane

It's nice of course..  Let me start being Thai and ask the main question:

How many bathrooms?   :Smile: 

(And 3 or 4 bedrooms I guess?)

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## stroller

Hehe, even I got 3 bathrooms!  :Smile:

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## Texpat

You can look at the plan (first pic) it's about 200 sq/m (2,000 sqf), 3bedrooms, 3 bathrooms.  My wife (of 6 years) and I saw this plan in a design book shortly after we got married. We swapped the entire upstairs to put the MBR on the east side of the house -- cooler. And turned a poxy little sitting room into a walk-in closet. Hard to say how much it was, actually. We bought the land in 2001 and shifted our savings to LOS every year since then. (In '01, $1 was about 42B, today it's 33B) Cost averaging is a good idea. House and land was slightly less than 4m. Include alcohol required to survive the experience, significaltly more. 

No swimming pool in plans -- that's what neighbors are for. Convince them to build/maintain one, then go to their place with a bottle of Red. You'll gain/Walk in the long run.

Plan: storage shed for bicycles, lawn mower, tools, shovels, rakes, gf.

If it's too antiseptic for you, to each his own. This is my retirement house. It ain't a palace, but I'm comfortable here. I'm 43 and have no job so I can putz around all day in the garden -- or not.

PS: Never invest more in Thailand than you can afford to lose.

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## buad hai

I'd love to live up there some day. Not practical at the moment. I lived most of my adult life at the beach and some nice lazy river seems wonderfully inviting now. 

You've done well Texpat. First that great avatar and now the nice house. Good work.

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## ChiangMai noon

Super job.
lovely place and beautiful looking grounds.
I'm sure you'll be very happy there.

my new place is a shit pit and I have hardly any money to sort it out but will have fun trying.

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## Boon Mee

> Hehe, even I got 3 bathrooms!


Besides the one-holer, those two coconut trees in the yard don't count... :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## jizzybloke

Looks really nice Tp, i'd be petrified of that bedroom floor probably would have dropped something on it and put a dent in by now.
thanks for the pics  :Smile:

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## splitlid

> When I can come up with something negative about your house, I will.
> 
> Better keep my mouth shut, cause I can't think of nothing...
> 
> Congrats!


 
how about the big fuckoff column in the kitchen. does that qualify???

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## WhiteLotusLane

Texpat, you also added a balcony on the back side is that correct? Looks like it on the actual picture but it isn't on the design?




> how about the big fuckoff column in the kitchen. does that qualify???


LOL..  Yes I noticed that too.  :Smile:    Doesn't matter much of course. 

Also, you need ceiling fans everywhere.  Ceiling fans are great.

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## Texpat

> how about the big column in the kitchen. does that qualify???


Yes, a bit of a problem as we bumped the entire kitchen out 60 cm. No way around that one. We partially recovered though by building cabinets around the upper half of the column.

Lighted ceiling fans in every room upstairs and the living room. Also, AC units in guest bedroom 9000, master bedroom 18,000 and living room 36000. Probably going to put one in the office, but as it's cooling down now, maybe I'll save my clams.

We added the second balcony off the east side of the master bedroom to provide shade downstairs. We also put a service balcony behind the master bathroom to hold the hot water heater and two big AC compressors (see above).

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## blackgang

> Originally Posted by stroller
> 
> 
> Hehe, even I got 3 bathrooms! 
> 
> 
> Besides the one-holer, those two coconut trees in the yard don't count...


Exfukinzactly :rofl:

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## Silent Ninja

We want to see more pics (or at least I want to)

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## Lek Lek

Yet another reason for me NOT to allow my Nong Khai lass anywhere near Teakdoor!
Nice one Pat.

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## sabang

Nice place texpat, and good to see gardens you can swing a fair size cat in.

Given the Isaan life style, you might at some stage want to consider a reasonable size shaded area, either attached to the house or (probably better) as a sala. That way the locals have got a place to lounge, drink lao khao, sleep it off and gossip. :Smile:

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## phunphin

ok.. how are you able to retire at 43?.

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## BangkokButcher

Bloody hell, I've got a neighbour  :rofl: 

Not in los at the moment, but usually stay at the inlaws place about 1km from town (Tha Bo) on the 2020 road to Ban Phue.

Should be back in October sometime, will make a nice change for some english language banter to take place, apart from my kids of course...and without having to travel to nong khai or udon to find some...

Will get the beers in for you as a house warming gift when I'm next in town.

BTW, was the builders local??
Your new house could be the answer as to why all the uncles and brother in laws have been so busy earning a crust lately  :rofl: 

Nice place Texpat.

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## ILoveDogs

Very nice house.  It makes me wish I hadn't been too scared to build my house, and instead bought one that just needed some work.

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## a. boozer

Yes, certainly a very nice home, you have done a good job of adapting the plans for your own needs!

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## Texpat

Thanks for the kind comments.

Regarding shade -- already thought of that, especially on the SW corner. Planted five coconut trees last month. Should provide good shade in a few years. Then after a decade, will be too tall. We have mature trees (eucalyptus, praduk) on the southern exposure. All much taller than the house. 

Bangkok Butcher, howdee neighbor! I need some farang friends here. My mates are all in Udon and I get tired of driving down there. The ThaBo Little Rock has coyote dancers now. And only one of them is a kathoey.

Retire at 43? -- US Air Force, could'a retired at 38, but needed the beer money. (20 years = minimum pension)  :bunny3: 

few more shots for silent ninja, then I'm done.


Big window out stairwell. Had to order the curved top aluminum piece from BKK.


Fifteen trucks of black dirt (din dum) helped slow the rain erosion of the builder's "landscape" job. Grass eliminated the problem.


West facing exposure. All green (grass) now.


I took hundreds of pics over almost 8 months. This is my favorite of all. Somchai, 65-years old, squats on an ill-supported second-story plank twisting rebar into a form while wearing his flip-flops. classic issan.

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## Silent Ninja

Thanks for the bonus pics  :Smile:

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## AntRobertson

> 


Why the two (presumably) UBC dishes?

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## WhiteLotusLane

Yeah, I noticed the same..  I think you can wire one dish to two receivers if you want to have UBC in different spots?

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## lom

> Yeah, I noticed the same.. I think you can wire one dish to two receivers if you want to have UBC in different spots?


You think so, but no you can't.

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## a. boozer

> Originally Posted by WhiteLotusLane
> 
> Yeah, I noticed the same.. I think you can wire one dish to two receivers if you want to have UBC in different spots?
> 
> 
> You think so, but no you can't.



Do you get a discount for the second UBC system?

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## AntRobertson

> Originally Posted by WhiteLotusLane
> 
> Yeah, I noticed the same.. I think you can wire one dish to two receivers if you want to have UBC in different spots?
> 
> 
> You think so, but no you can't.


Eh? Why not?  I have at home, the main unit is downstairs and we have a receiver in our bedroom also.  So you can watch/change channels from either.

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## Sir Burr

Yes, but you can't watch two different channels without two different receivers and two dishes.

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## buad hai

I thought you only need two dishes if you want to point at two satellites at the same time.

My Dad had one of the satellite TV services in the US. One dish, two receivers, each of which had two tuners, and four TV's, with a different channel on each.

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## Sir Burr

> Yes, but you can't watch two different channels without two different receivers and two dishes.


I was told this by the UBC technician when I looked into it.

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## buad hai

^Interesting. They told us all we needed was a second tuner. Instead we opted for two TV's on one tuner with a device that allows you to operate the UBC box with the remote located in a different room.

When we move, it will be two tuners and, I guess, two dishes, if necessary.

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## AntRobertson

> Yes, but you can't watch two different channels without two different receivers and two dishes.


Oh, right you are.  We can indeed change channels independently from up or downstairs but it switches both together.  Rarely a problem though as they only time we usually watch TV upstairs is together in the evenings.

That and UBC is utter crap regardless and I'm thinking of ditiching it.  I have another Sat-TV system that is cheaper, more reliable (never lose the signal during rain despite the fact it's beamed in 'from' South Africa), has superior programming, superior functions (auto-tune shows a week in advance), and an on-screen guide that is actually readable and gives you program info.

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## Rigger

The Thai guys doesnt know shit about his job you can run two recievers of one dish here at work we are running 4 recievers from the one dish and LNB. And we all watch different channels

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## AntRobertson

> The Thai guys doesnt know shit about his job you can run two recievers of one dish here at work we are running 4 recievers from the one dish and LNB. And we all watch different channels


...


I was going to insert a really lame joke there about Rigger being a 'Pirate'.... get it?  Rigger... off-shore... multiple UBC... _pirate_!?

But it wasn't funny.  So I won't bother.

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## a. boozer

> I have another Sat-TV system that is cheaper, more reliable (never lose the signal during rain despite the fact it's beamed in 'from' South Africa), has superior programming, superior functions (auto-tune shows a week in advance), and an on-screen guide that is actually readable and gives you program info.



Some more information please!

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## Marmite the Dog

Satellite TV in Thailand by JSAT.tv your Satellite TV resource in Thailand

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## AntRobertson

> Some more information please!


boozer,

It's DSTV/M-Net out of SA.  I think you can get it via other methods (with varying degrees of legality and they might be forever changing access codes on you) but I've been lucky enough to get it semi-officially.

Bascially I know a guy in their Jo'burg office and he has me registered as an Africa-based customer so I pay a subscription.

Anyways, it really is 1,000x better than UBC.  The signal strength measure is never over 70&#37; yet, compared to UBC, it doesn't go off every time a few drops of water fall from the sky!

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## a. boozer

Thanks for that information.

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## lom

> The Thai guys doesnt know shit about his job you can run two recievers of one dish here at work we are running 4 recievers from the one dish and LNB. And we all watch different channels


You can  if you have a Quad-LNB with 4 independent outputs. 
But those cheap UBC systems with their small dishes comes with a single output LNB. Refitting it with a dual or quad LNB is prolly more expensive than buying another complete dish.

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## HermantheGerman

> You can look at the plan (first pic) it's about 200 sq/m (2,000 sqf), 3bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. My wife (of 6 years) and I saw this plan in a design book shortly after we got married. We swapped the entire upstairs to put the MBR on the east side of the house -- cooler. And turned a poxy little sitting room into a walk-in closet. Hard to say how much it was, actually. We bought the land in 2001 and shifted our savings to LOS every year since then. (In '01, $1 was about 42B, today it's 33B) Cost averaging is a good idea. House and land was slightly less than 4m. Include alcohol required to survive the experience, significaltly more. 
> 
> No swimming pool in plans -- that's what neighbors are for. Convince them to build/maintain one, then go to their place with a bottle of Red. You'll gain/Walk in the long run.
> 
> Plan: storage shed for bicycles, lawn mower, tools, shovels, rakes, gf.
> 
> If it's too antiseptic for you, to each his own. This is my retirement house. It ain't a palace, but I'm comfortable here. I'm 43 and have no job so I can putz around all day in the garden -- or not.
> 
> PS: Never invest more in Thailand than you can afford to lose.


 
Congrat. Texpat


Nice little house you got there. I got plans for the same excact one (must be some kind of thai-norm).
Our house will be in Satthahip, with a view to the ocean. They told us that the house should cost about 1,6m baht. Last year I started planting some trees, coconut, mango, durian on our property. I just have one slight disadvantage....I can't retire yet...unless that Lotto Jackpot goes to the person who deserves it the most...ME.

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## Rigger

> Originally Posted by Rigger
> 
> The Thai guys doesnt know shit about his job you can run two recievers of one dish here at work we are running 4 recievers from the one dish and LNB. And we all watch different channels
> 
> 
> You can if you have a Quad-LNB with 4 independent outputs. 
> But those cheap UBC systems with their small dishes comes with a single output LNB. Refitting it with a dual or quad LNB is prolly more expensive than buying another complete dish.


Or a 2 dollar 3 way spliter works just fine but with a 4 way the signal gets very weak

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## Fabian

> I can't retire yet...unless that Lotto Jackpot goes to the person who deserves it the most...ME.


No chance because i will win it.

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## lom

> Or a 2 dollar 3 way spliter works just fine but with a 4 way the signal gets very weak


Aarg, you don't get it,it doesn't work with UBC (or any Ku-band sat system).

The decoder gives information to the LNB about high/low frequence band
and polarization of the sat signal.
Connect more than decoder, and one of them will win. 
If that one says high band and vertical polarization, then it will be so irregardless of what the other one want.

The band switching from the decoders is done by applying 12V or 18V on the coax cable. Will be nice smoke when one decoder is set to a low channel and the other to a high. When 12V and 18V meet each other...

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## Rigger

^ well it is working just fine at the moment  :Smile:

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## Rigger

> Refitting it with a dual or quad LNB is prolly more expensive than buying another complete dish.


Not sure if this system is a Ku band or not I think I read some where it is C and KU I will have to ask the sparky but dual LNB are under 20 bucks  :Smile:

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## lom

Probably a C band, you can see it from the size of the dish and the size of the LNB. 
The black 2m diameter mesh type dish here in Thailand..
And , with C band you can connect more than one decoder since there is no intelligence in the LNB.

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## a. boozer

If you are happy to watch the same programs, but in different areas of the home, what about using the gadget, known in the U.K. as a 'Rabbit'?

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## buad hai

> If you are happy to watch the same programs, but in different areas of the home, what about using the gadget, known in the U.K. as a 'Rabbit'?


That's essentially what we have. It directs the signal from the receiver to two TV's and includes a device that lets you use the remote in either location. I think it cost less than a 1000 baht and works fine.

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## a. boozer

> That's essentially what we have. It directs the signal from the receiver to two TV's and includes a device that lets you use the remote in either location. I think it cost less than a 1000 baht and works fine.


B.H.   Don't know where you find time to watch television!

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## buad hai

> B.H. Don't know where you find time to watch television!


In the heat of the day, when it's too hot to do any gardening. Also, the news at 8 AM with breakfast....

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## Texpat

Yeah, the UBC guys told me the ONLY way to watch two different programs at the same time is to have two dishes.

I wasn't in a mood (or position) to argue, so I told them to put two dishes up. The second dish is only 150B a month, so it's not a big deal -- and it's legal. This is a package deal with my wife's cellphone (also True) and she must buy a 300B card each month for the price to remain in effect. I would prefer cable TV but hell, we don't even have phone lines out here. I Internet with a GPRS modem. :Smile:

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## buad hai

If the second dish is 150 a month, how much is the second cable box?

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## Texpat

We have Gold program on one smartcard and Basic on the other. The cards can be put into either tuner so I can watch my shows up or downstairs as long as I take the gold smartcard with me.
Gold package is about 1800B and the other is free (provided wifey buys a 300B phonecard every month)

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## Rigger

> Yeah, the UBC guys told me the ONLY way to watch two different programs at the same time is to have two dishes.


Or as Lom said a double LNB which would look a little better than having a couple of dishes hanging off your roof unless of course you were Thai and wanted to show people you have two  :Smile: 
and a double LNB is 500 bht you could save 1800 bht a year  :Razz:

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## buad hai

> a double LNB is 500 bht


Is this an option UBC offers, or would you have to buy it and fit it to the UBC dish yourself?

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## buad hai

> The cards can be put into either tuner


So, the extra tuner is included in the 150 baht a month for the extra dish? Or, so you get the extra tuner because of the package deal with your wife's phone?

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## Rigger

I think you would do this your self very easy job about 2 mins with a spanner would do it

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## Rigger

> So, the extra tuner is included in the 150 baht a month for the extra dish? Or, so you get the extra tuner because of the package deal with your wife's phone?


I dont think so Buad hai last time I checked thay wanted the full amount for another reciever

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## Sir Burr

Rigger's correct. I asked. No discount for two systems, but then what do you expect from those bantits called UBC.

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## buad hai

When we had this installation done they told us rental of the second receiver would be 300 baht per month. (We pay about 1800 for the gold package.) Of course, I failed to ask if that included the decoder card and second dish.

So, we have UBC on two TV's (both must watch the same program), but we also have Korat Cable TV going to all three TV's. That only costs 350 a month for all three, but doesn't include very much English language stuff, except for BBC. Channel News Asia and a couple of movie channels.

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## Rigger

> When we had this installation done they told us rental of the second receiver would be 300 baht per month. (We pay about 1800 for the gold package.) Of course, I failed to ask if that included the decoder card and second dish


I have this set up as well but didnt know we were renting the little black box upstairs. Also dont buy there second remote as they want I think 800 bht but you can get one the same at the market for a lot less

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## MrG

Nice place, TexPat. Well done. I envy you. 

My wife and I plan to build similar square footage on the road to Tha Bo just outside of Nong Khai. Did you have a Project Manager, or did you fight it out yourself? Do you know a good company that manages construction projects around there, or can you recommend a good contractor? Any help would be appreciated. I have always relied on the kindness of strangers, but it's so much easier when they speak english. Congrats again.

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## Texpat

The guy who built it is my neighbor. He contracted all the work -- I did nothing except pay. We went shopping together and chose bathroom tiles, ceramic roof tiles, paint, granite styles etc. His English is very poor, but he's a well-respected poo-yai in the Amphur, retired from the water company. He's built several very nice homes in town -- most much larger/nicer than mine. Next time you're in the neighborhood, I can introduce you.

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## MrG

Thanks, TexPat. I appreciate it. Next trip probably won't be till June/July 08 (still a slave to vacation schedules). I'll check in with you then.

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## DrAndy

from your thread, I thought you had bought a house plan, as in



and then modified it to suit your needs

I think that is a good way to go if you want a standard modern house. Most of the problems are already sorted and the building goes smoother. It looks a nice house and your garden will soon be wonderful.


back to TV receivers etc, we are lucky in CM as there is cable available. You can have as many TVs as you like all on the one cable, and one cost per month. Each TV can show a different channel independently.

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## Texpat

Just beyond the six month point living in this house and a few things have become apparent.

1. I don't have an enclosed garage and storage for outdoor equipment (lawn mower, weedeater, bicycles, shovels, wheelbarrow, rakes, fertilizer bags etc.) has become a challenge.

2. Another issue is water. There is lime in the water here and neighbors have complained that their faucets and heaters have gummed up with deposits very quickly. Also, our water pressure upstairs leaves a lot to be desired.

I've decided a shed adjacent to the house, near the back, would answer both problems.



I'm thinking a 4m x 3m job will house a water tank, pump, water filter and that assortment of shed items.



I don't want to spend too much on this thing and have a few hundred ceramic roofing tiles remaining from the house construction. It would be a nice touch if they matched anyway. I want it to be secure so will build walls on all sides, but the eves can remain open with a slight overhang. A lockable door is required and I've even considered a heavy-gauge chain link door for ventilation. I want it to look like a shed and thought bare bricks with a neatly done work might be attractive.



It will have to be close to the rear corner of the house where the water main come in so I don't have to dig water pipes everywhere.

I haven't given much thought to how much I'm willing to spend on a shed but maybe around 30,000 should do it. Pretty basic concrete pad, reinforced concrete columns, steel for the roof and bricking. Of course rudimentary electric for pump, filter and a light as well as the water works.

I can buy and haul all the materials myself, but will require technical assistance to get the lines straight and pouring of columns etc. as I know nothing about that.

How much do you think I should I set aside for this project?

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## lom

> It will have to be close to the rear corner of the house where the water main come in so I don't have to dig water pipes everywhere.


Put the shed where you like to have it.
Digging for 2 pcs of water pipe is a piece of cake.

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## Texpat

In late December, my wife and I contracted with a local construction guy to build our shed. But he couldn't start the work until Jan 15 (likely recovering from his New Year's hangover).

The shed will be dimensions discussed earlier 4m x 3m and he claims it will be finished in 10 days. I'm in no hurry to get it done sloppily, but the sooner is better, I suppose. We decided NOT to go with the guy who built our house because he quoted us 125K for the job -- a bloody shed. We went with his competition.

The materials are slightly over 48K and the labor is 20K -- we'll see. We put 20K down and the balance is due upon completion.



Jan 15, the bricks, gravel, sand, steel and concrete arrive late in the afternoon. They had to maneuver three trucks through my lam yai trees and I was like a mother hen afraid one would get run over. The fucksticks who landscaped my front yard killed two nice ones with their giant tractor/grader. This picture is taken from my computer room. It's a sweet vantage point where I can watch the workers from the comfort of my house.



Yesterday they started digging. They dug these four holes for the footings, about 1.5 m deep. They used long steel poles and very sharp hoes. The holes revealed three layers of soil -- clay on top, red dirt about 8 inches down and the remainder was greyish rock. At the top of the photo you can see my failed tomato garden from last year. I've trimmed the surrounding trees and will try again this year. All the surrounding fields are lush green with tobacco, so maybe now is a good time to try again.



As I said, the primary purpose of the shed is to house a water tank, a pump and water filters. The water main enters the house near the corner you can see here, about 4 meters from the side of the shed. 

My wife and I looked at water pumps the other day at Udon Thani's Global House. They have a nice selection of varying brands and sizes. We're both dum and foolishly asked the clerk which kind suits our needs. My ears immediately closed and I started fidgeting with shower heads and water valves -- knowing full well he was spewing horse shit, pointing my wife to the most expensive brand that he'll get a commission on. 

We also looked at water tanks. They're pretty damn big and will take up a lot of space in a 4m x 3m shed. I'm thinking 1,000 liters ought to do it. They had one which was rectangular shaped, 2 meters long and about workbench high. Hmmmm. Only 12,000 baht -- about twice the price of other 1K liter tanks.



These grunts don't buy anything ready-made. Labor is pretty cheap and they can make it locally with the same shoddy workmanship as the Chinese junk. So they do. If there was a way for them to make the iron rebar and cross members, they'd do that locally too. 



Lunch is served. Khao niao, a small grilled fish, a little squeezy bottle of prik namplah and a twig off the tree for a toothpick. My lovely and talented wife pitched in with a bottle of M-150 ea, and a plate of eggrolls.

We ate together on a straw mat in the shade of a tree. I had a ham and cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomato and a hint of wasabi -- and two large Leos.  :Smile:

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## Butterfly

how much was the original cost of the house ? inside looks a bit small though, small rooms, I was expecting something bigger ? very nice land btw, looks great.

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## Texpat

Price -- post #16.
Size -- 207 sq m. Just right for us two. (except water tank, pump, tools, lawn mower et al)

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## Texpat

A few inches of sand are followed by a few wheelbarrows full of concrete/gravel. They have the dimensions of the shed penciled out on the wooden frame they've set up around the site. They pound nails in the frame and string lines to denote specific points of the shed. I don't imagine it's much more sophisticated anywhere, but I could be wrong. Definitely no GPS on this work site.



This was taken about three hours ago. They were cleaning up. During lunch my wife nicely asked the foreman to keep the garden as clean as possible so we might enjoy some grass near the shed within the next 10 years. He assured her they would.

As the last load of cement was poured into the mold holding the vertical rebar, the genius on cement-mixer cleanup crew dumped a mighty splooge of effluence onto the ground directly under the mixer. Ever see a pit bull take off after a meek minature poodle? It wasn't pretty.

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## Bluecat

Nice house indeed Texpat.
And nice location.  :tumbs:

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## Itchy

Nice house and a lovely looking plot. 

I'm glad we've got to the construction bit again.

Just a couple of comments.

Why are you putting your water tank in the shed? I'd have thought leaving it outside in the sun would be a good idea to let it get the benefit of sunlight - hence keeping the water warm.

When you run the electrics you might want to put in enough outlets to enable future 'add in' electrical items.

Also I assume you are burying the cable in the ground, make sure the builders use suitable cable - The outer sheath needs to be suited for direct burial (the usual material to look for is XLPE - High Density Polyurethane). Standard house cable will in a very short time absorb water and become useless.

When they bury the cable get them to dig the trench, spread sand in the bottom, then lay the cable and put some more sand over the cable, and then a covering for tiles of bricks to prevent later cable damaged when digging the garden.

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## Butterfly

> House and land was slightly less than 4m.


not bad at all for that price,




> Include alcohol required to survive the experience, significaltly more.


Tell me about it, I think this is true for everyone here, could explain why so many alkies in Thailand  :Smile:

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## Texpat

Thanks for the input itchy, I appreciate your response.




> Why are you putting your water tank in the shed


In my year-and-a-half in Thailand, I've witnessed the sun wipe out more than a few plastic items: lawn sprinklers, garden hose caddys, dog dishes, automotive parts, bicycle parts -- all in rapid succession. One of two things is happening. Either the quality of plastics in Thailand is horrible, or the angle/intensity of the sun is brutal. My feeling is the later is more in effect than the former. I shipped over some nice plastic products from the US and they've all deterioriated bady in the sun here.




> keeping the water warm


I have a large water heater (Siemens, I think) mounted on the service balcony and a smaller point-of-use hearer in the guest bathroom. Heating water is not an issue.

Good point about future electric add-ins. My wife actually boxed my ears today about that one. There will be four plugs inside the shed. I'm not entertaining any more. If my lovely and talented wife wants to make somtam out in the park with her mates, run an extension cord. This is a single family dwelling. :Smile: 

As for digging electric trenches, we're well versed in that act of ignorance. Thais dig 'em about three inches deep in poxy grey conduit that holds water out long enough for the electrician to switch cities.

I don't know what grade conduit my wife ordered, but she claims it was the top available. In any case, it's about five meters to the house's external switchbox. New photos later tonight when the kids quit the gamecenters, the mobile phone lovelies go to work and the TEFlrs go to sleep.

Cheers

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## Bluecat

> In my year-and-a-half in Thailand, I've witnessed the sun wipe out more than a few plastic items: lawn sprinklers, garden hose caddys, dog dishes, automotive parts, bicycle parts -- all in rapid succession. One of two things is happening. Either the quality of plastics in Thailand is horrible, or the angle/intensity of the sun is brutal. My feeling is the later is more in effect than the former.


Indeed, plastic does not resist sun and the heat for a very long time, wherever it is manufactured.
But water tanks I have seen (in Bkk anyway, including where I live) are not in plastic but in shiny metal.  :Smile: 
If you want a plastic tank, you'd better bury it or put it in the shed.
And it will last far longer than the metal one.
And with probably less contamination of the water...

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## peterpan

Interesting point on plastics, I have some patio chairs in our place in Queensland, about 10 yrs old and still look good, similar chairs purchased here, 3 yrs old and look like shit. The sun doesn't get more brutal than Queensland.

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## Texpat

My experience is that metal rusts, plastics brittle, wood rots at an amazingly faster rate than I've ever been exposed to in N/S/W US and all over Japan. I believe its a combination of shit plastic here and harsh sun angles. It also explains why most Thai houses are made from primarily concrete --which ages with the gracefulness of a dragon-faced 90-year-old bitch.

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## Texpat

Today they erected the lower concrete perimeter. Wooden forms were created to contain the concrete base. I'm still dubious as to how accurate their measurements are, but thought it unsavory to barge in as they were pouring concrete -- to check.

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## Texpat

They ran the electric conduit throught the rebar ... something I wasn't around to witness for my house. Wondering if that's normal or if it required divine intervention (me sitting, on the hill, watching their every move.) Kindof a nice respite from running yellow juice cables along the walls/floors.

It might be useful here to add that I demanded NO visible wires or cables. Maybe that's what they were aiming for. 

Does running two (in-out) elec conduit cables through two concrete uprights diminish the strenth of said vertical or horizontal columns?

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## Itchy

I don't think you have anything to worry about with the conduits weakening the structure. But I would keep an eye on how they seal the conduit after the cables are installed. The conduit is good for water and bugs as well as cables.

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## El Gibbon

> Interesting point on plastics, I have some patio chairs in our place in Queensland, about 10 yrs old and still look good, similar chairs purchased here, 3 yrs old and look like shit. The sun doesn't get more brutal than Queensland.



Also Texpat


There is an additive/process, maybe UV stuff of some kind, that is added to plastic to reduce greatly the effects of the sun. (Think the white plastic TOA paint buckets. Look at the number of them in use all over the country from trash bins to food processors to tool carriers.) It is expensive apparently and so not added to Asian products. Most western plastic products are made with the intention of lasting.

Don't recall what it is but know from a farming thread on another channel that it exists.

E. G.

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## Texpat

Here they're pouring concrete into the molds for the floor perimeter. They mix the concrete in a big electric-powered drum tumbler.



Beer Chang is the preferred beverage of choice after a hard day's work.

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## hillbilly

> During lunch my wife nicely asked the foreman to keep the garden as clean as possible so we might enjoy some grass near the shed within the next 10 years. He assured her they would.


Good luck on this one! My experience has shown that whatever landscaping is around a construction project will be destroyed. Invariably, I have had to start over from scratch.

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## The_Dude

How tall are these guy's? From the pics of them, they seem no more then 4 foot tall.

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## Bluecat

> Originally Posted by peterpan
> 
> 
> Interesting point on plastics, I have some patio chairs in our place in Queensland, about 10 yrs old and still look good, similar chairs purchased here, 3 yrs old and look like shit. The sun doesn't get more brutal than Queensland.
> 
> 
>  
> Also Texpat
> 
> ...


I have to say that Thailand is the only place in the world where I was able to break a plastic bucket filled with water just dropping it on the floor.
And this one never saw the sun before breaking... :Smile:

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## onuk

I like to build a Thaihouse and looking for construcion Plans. :Razz:

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## Texpat

Today they put frames around the vertical rebar and filled them with concrete. The electrician ran a buried line to the house and finished wiring two of the four columns. They also ran two water pipes into the shed, under the floor perimeter.



Making sure the columns are straight with a plum bob.

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## tango

> I like to build a Thaihouse and looking for construcion Plans.


Here they are, but often the web site refuses to open: ÊÁà´ç¨¾ÃÐà¨éÒ¾Õè¹Ò§à¸Í à¨éÒ¿éÒ¡ÑÅÂÒ³ÔÇÑ²¹Ò ¡ÃÁËÅÇ§¹ÃÒ¸ÔÇÒÊÃÒª¹¤ÃÔ¹·Ãì

Your local tessabahn village or city office will have them in large booklets- free!  And as they are TH Govt approved no need for an archeetect...just your moobahn building-fee which in my case was all of 500B.

Alternatively try Free Thai Government House Plans courtesy of our  farang friend, K. Crossy, either here at Teakdoor or at coolthai house - can't recall exactly. Crossy is also reknowned  for expert advice on electrics.  His plans below are compiled from the Thai site whereas the Thai Govt site dwloads in segments. Ohchay..?  Living in Asia

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## Texpat

Sand was filled into the floor area and water sprayed over it all day. The metal bars coming out of the floor perimeter are to hold a concrete footpath, all around, against the shed.

Last week my wife and I selected roofing tiles from a local shop. We compared prices in several shops, explaining exactly what we needed and asking about availability. The builder gave us a list so there would be no miscommunication (ha)! One store had the style and color we wanted, but only 200 flat tiles (we require 385, and another 50 odd shaped). The lady insisted they would be shipped up from Bangkok within 10 days. We politely declined, as we need them by Monday. A few minutes later, at the next store, we ordered what we needed for delivery Monday. 

Today (Sunday) a truck pulled up in front loaded with tiles -- a day early! We told the driver to unload them next to the shed. After he went back for the second truckload, my wife and I went out to look at them. They weren't what we ordered, so wifey calls the roof shop -- the lady said the order will be delivered tomorrow as scheduled and had no idea where today's delivery was coming from.

You guessed it -- from the first shop. Told the driver to take back the second load and then return for the first, cheeky bastards.

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## Texpat

I woke up around 9:30 this morning to find the wooden frames off the upright concrete columns and the welder already started on the roof. The second (correct) shipment of roof tiles was being offloaded.



At least four broken pieces meant the driver had to make a second trip. The fuel his truck used to make that return trip certainly wiped out the store's margin for the four replacement pieces. Why can't they think ahead and throw a few extras in in case a few break? 



This is what the roof structure looks like complete. It went up very quickly and I suspect tomorrow they will add the smaller steel cross members that actually attach to the roof tiles. My dog, Yako, (bottom right) is scrounging for leftover bits of lunch.

A thought occured to me while looking at how high the roof will be. Without a regular ceiling in the shed, I could probably build a shelf up high, or maybe suspend it from the roof supports to store some (lightweight) crap that's accumulated in a storage room under our stairwell.



From the opposite side, as the sun goes down. Thinking this shed might also provide some late-day shade to the western wall of the house.

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## Texpat

This was taken yesterday. Walls should be finished today. Concrete floor is laid and dried. This project is taking much longer than they claimed. I don't know if they thought finishing it quickly would be a selling point or what. I don't much care as long as it's done well. The idea is to put a ramp into the shed for wheeled items. I must also consider the best use of space for shelving, hanging tools and perhaps a small workbench.

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## Happyman

Looking good!

What is your secret?
 Its the first Thai construction site I have seen that, as soon as the walls are up, it hasn't got 3 labourers families with assorted children,dogs and chickens in residence!

You obviously have influence ! LOL

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## BangkokButcher

Blimey Texpat, tell em to keep the noise down, don't forget your neighbours  :Lol: .

Seriously though, roughly where in town are you? I keep trying to eyeball your place, but not bumped into it yet...

Good luck with the build  :Wink: 

BB


Note to self - must post here more often so I can pm members on here.

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## Hootad Binky

What a lovely residence, I wish I could have built something like that for my wife when I lived in Thailand. 

Oh well, there's always retirement  :Wink:

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## BangkokButcher

Got your pm Texpat, many thanks.

Not a million miles away from me, so I'll give you a shout next time I'm over, should be in a few months or so.

Just out of curiosity, who are you using for your internet service over there?
I'm just looking for more options due to some bad experiences...


Cheers.

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## Texpat

> who are you using for your internet service. I'm just looking for more options due to some bad experiences ...


As far as I can tell, there are two options.
There are no phone lines where I live.

Erect a 20m tall radio tower in your front yard and get some crappy dial-up, or plug in a GPRS modem about the size of a D-cell battery into your USB port. Either way it sucks, but you're connected.

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## peterpan

Good one Tex, looking foawrd to the shed warming, I'll bring the beer and a couple of home made Pizzas, you supply the poosy !

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## AntRobertson

Looking good Tex. I'll be interested to see the finished project, got half a mind to do something similar myself.

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## Texpat

Yesterday morning they started the roof. It went up very quickly.



All that remains is the 1m footpath around the shed and to hook up the interior/exterior lights -- and it's finished. Debating whether or not to paint it the same color as the house. 

My wife and I bought a water tank, but will wait until we have the filter(s) and pump before making the final water connection.

Guess I should jump over to the water filtering thread to judge my options.

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## klongmaster

One would have thought that it might have been a good idea to put the tank inside before you built the wall...or are you expecting the tank to fit through the door?..certainly looks too big on your original sketch...


Look good though Tex and gels well with the house...good thread...

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## Texpat

Bought the tank (1,000 liters, 5,500 baht) and checked that it will fit through the door before they finished the walls.

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## klongmaster

^^good man...could be a bit embarrassing otherwise...

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## smeden

> I moved to Thailand in May of 06.
> Began construction in Oct 06.
> Completed in May.
> Location: Tha Bo, Nong Khai, 1 mile from Mekong.
> Started with a lot of hair, bald now. But rent-free is good.


 :Smile: wery nice well done

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## Texpat

OK, thought I was done with the pics, but couldn't miss these.

There were some excess materials and my wife suggested we build a few stairs to the shed (the house sits 2 meters above the surrounding grounds).

She spoke to the contractor and offered a lao khao party if they'd build a small stairstep with the remaining cement and bricks. They were on that offer like flies on shit.



The contractor grins as he's getting his _mao_ on. A few of the other workers disappear into a fallow rice field adjacent to my house. They return about 30 minutes later with a clump of dirt in their hands and huge smiles.



Seems they had found a termite mound and were after some goodies that hid within. It was a major score, they explained, as most mounds only have one queen. This one had three. Thirty minutes well spent.



Two of the termite queens were scoffed down quickly by the diggers, but the last one was squeezed into a bottle of lao khao for all to enjoy. They claim it makes them keng leng -- strong.

I passed.

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## Texpat

... out.  :Smile:

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## Happyman

Nice one!
Lovely to read a story with a happy ending  :Smile:

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## Norton

Tex, looking very good.  It looks like the shed is quite a bit lower than the house.  Have you considered how to handle drainage around the shed?

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## Texpat

We thought about water a lot while putting these structures up. Being one mile from the Mekong, I definitely wanted a two story house. I know that might suck as I get older, but if a flood occurs, I'd like at least 4 or 5 meters of breathing room before I cash out. As further insurance we piled in about 2.5 meters of fill where the house would be built, when we bought the land years ago. It settled down to about 1.5 meters before construction.

The entire area slopes almost imperceptly toward the river (to the east) and drainage is OK and getting better. We put a drainage pipe under the driveway and it worked well last rainy season.

The area where the shed sits has remained relatively dry for the past few seasons (no standing water) and the shed is elevated a good 30 cm above ground level. Also, I will put the water pump on an elevated, vibration-dampening wooden platform inside the shed. 

There are about 15 homes in the subdivision where I live and they're all built on the same level as my shed (no fill, no elevation)

I know there are only two kinds of rivers in the world: those that have burst their banks and those that will. Hopefully the Mekong will remain quiet until I'm floating downstream as fishfood.  :Smile:

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## Norton

> Hopefully the Mekong will remain quiet until I'm floating downstream as fishfood.


Sounds like you have thought it out and will be high and dry.  The way the Chinese are diverting the headwaters of the Mekong by the time you depart this earth the river, by then known as the Mekong Canyon, will be but a historical footnote. :Sad:

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## Art Vandelay

> All that remains is the 1m footpath around the shed and to hook up the interior/exterior lights -- and it's finished. Debating whether or not to paint it the same color as the house.


I'd go with painting it the same color as the house.

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## jizzybloke

Nice Texpat, looks very good indeed!

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## k1klass

Nice place m8y

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## Texpat

This past weekend I bought a 10" resin filter and a wall mounted micro filter from Global House Udon Thani (12,700 baht) and a few hundred more in fittings, valves and fixtures.

Last month I picked up a Mitsubishi 255 water pump (6,000) and a 1,000 liter tank (5,500)

I paid two techs at Global House 2,500 baht to drive to my home an hour away and spend the day digging water lines and hooking everything up. (I'm a lazy git)The water is now clear and the pressure is awesome. I also picked up a bottle of Hagesan professional limescale remover which works a treat removing white lime deposits around the faucets. 

It wasn't cheap though -- in all, this shed (including water treatments) cost slightly over 100,000 baht. But I'm happy to move all my gardening and outdoor crap out of the house and into the shed.

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## Norton

Sounds as if you are well satisfied with the result.  The filter should cut down on the limescale buildup on the faucets.  Did you buy the limescale remover at Global House?

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## Viking

Hi Hillbilly
Im new here, what an nice house you got there, may I ask how mouch for the house alone, I ask because I will soon start an house project near Phitasnulok, and do you get some dravings  to share with me?
Best Regards
The Viking

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## BKKBILL

One more picture of the painted shed and we will be in and done. You have a very nice house, yard and shed.

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## Storekeeper

Missed this thread as I had pretty much stopped posting while I was living in Thailand ... Never too late though to say well done and you built yourself a beautiful house Texpat.

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