#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Construction in Thailand >  >  > Building in Thailand Famous Threads >  >  The construction of my new house..

## ChiangMai noon

After months of faffing about, we finally decided on a house design.
a little 3 bedroom bungalow affair that is affordable without having to sell my other place.

I was actually ready to get going a few weeks back but January the 8th was deemed an auspicious day by the monks.
No way am i being blamed for any inevitable future misfortunes because I insisted on starting on the 2nd or something.

I will try to update the progress at least twice a week when i have time to get up there and also post a running cost tally.

We finally settled on a local team of builders, primarily because the head builders father is a decent chap that lives opposite us and also they were cheaper than anyone else.

cost: 126,000 baht.

I went up there a bit earlier and was pleasantly surprised to see how much they had managed to do so far.

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## ChiangMai noon

I think the front door is going to be where this old chap is working.

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## ChiangMai noon

My wife is in charge of this.

She is buying all the material herself.

We got the cement mix, stones, and sand from a local building yard in Sang Kampheng.

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## ChiangMai noon

A hole being dug with a hoe.
I don't know.

Why do Thais work with hoes.
They are fukking useless tools I think.



especially when they could use one of these things that is just sitting there in the sun.

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## AntRobertson

> 126,000 baht


That seems extraordinarily cheap for a 3brm house!  Anyways, good luck with it.  I shall be following this thread with interest.

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## ChiangMai noon

So far i have paid out a total of 76,000 baht for the stuff that we have there, whatever it is.

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## ChiangMai noon

> That seems extraordinarily cheap for a 3brm house!


for the labour only of course.


we had other quotes in the 165-200,000 baht range.

they are saying it will be done inside 3 months.
not overly bothered about the time scale so long as they are on a fixed fee.

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## rawlins

^ Still seems cheap to me, but I know feck all about the subject and costs involved..... I'll be watching this develop as I may be in the same boat one day... Good luck with it all.

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## AntRobertson

^^ Even then it's still pretty cheap.  Our extentsions came to about 170-180,000k, that was labour and materials but still...

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## ChiangMai noon

^
I dunno, 5 blokes, around 40,000 a month.

Say the boss man gets 20 a month and he gives his minnions 5,000 each.
seems about right to me.

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## AntRobertson

^ Don't get me wrong, more power to you I say.  I'm starting to wonder why ours cost so much  :Smile:

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## ChiangMai noon

^
I should think that quite a bit of yours was materials though Ant.

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## peterpan

> ^ Don't get me wrong, more power to you I say. I'm starting to wonder why ours cost so much


Could it be because your a Lawyer and people just lurve to sink their teeth into a Lawyer.

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## AntRobertson

^^ Yep I expect you're right. Which reminds me... What do I have to do to get you to come and take this door and shite away, _pay you_!?!  :Smile:

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## AntRobertson

> Could it be because your a Lawyer and people just lurve to sink their teeth into a Lawyer.


No that can't be it.  I may be a lawyer but I'm a throughly decent chappie otherwise.  :Very Happy:

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## ChiangMai noon

> Yep I expect you're right. Which reminds me... What do I have to do to get you to come and take this door and shite away, pay you!?!


a small tip to the driver should do the trick.
 :Smile:

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## 63chalky

lucky sod, at least you have managed to find a builder and underway, I am still pulling my hair out seeking a builder and a price range. keep us posted on the progress

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## ChiangMai noon

^
I think you'll find rather a difference between Phukett labour prices and little backwater village prices in San khampeng.

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## Ban Saray

Good to see you finally started Noon, that is cheap, cost me about the same to do a complete top floor over an existing ground floor place in Korat. 
That included an A'c in bedroom and fully insulated walls and ceiling.

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## ChiangMai noon

^
that sounds very cheap to me if it includes material.

I think we are looking at around 600-800,000 for material.

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## DrAndy

anyway, good you got started on the auspicious day

did/will you have the proper ceremony for the first hole?

The materials are the most expensive part of any building here; make sure you buy the quality commensurate with the job, it is not worth saving a few baht on substandard stuff.

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## Rigger

> That seems extraordinarily cheap for a 3brm house! Anyways, good luck with it. I shall be following this thread with interest.


Yes it does seen cheap but if you build to Thai specs keeping it to 250K shouldnt be to hard ever with a few western things like fly screens on the windows and metal frame windows. 
I was suprised how well my workshop turned out and that was only about 150K all in with three rooms, shower , and work shop area.

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## Texpat

The guy who built my house quoted me 125,000 baht to build a 4m x 3m shed.

How can you possibly build a 3 bedroom house for 250K?

I understand there is a great differential in available materials, but I still find it hard to believe. Watching with interest.

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## ChiangMai noon

^^
I think you are confused driventowin.

the material cost will be upwards of 600,000 on top of the 126,000 labour.

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## Texpat

Oh, missed that.

nevermind.

Good luck.

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## ChiangMai noon

Having said that, this house that Thetyim's neighbour built was done for 240,000 all in.


https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...urs-house.html (Thetyim's Neighbour's House)

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## NickA

This looks like fun

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## ChiangMai noon

> This looks like fun


that's a slightly mischievous statement.
 :Sad: 

i helped build a bit of a foundation hole today.
i am exhausted.

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## Thetyim

Well done Nooners, it's looking great
I am sure you will be very happy there

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## Tao

This is an interesting thread for me CMN.  We are also about to build a small 3 bed house along the same priceline, around 1mil all in, although it will probably add up to more than that.

The wife is just waiting for the final plans from the architect which i haven't seen yet as she chose the design in the last 2 weeks when i've been away at work.  I'm hopeful she's picked something tasteful.  :Smile:   I'll find out when i'm home next week.

Our auspicious day to start building is the 19th of January so she's running around like a blue-arsed fly trying to get everything ready.  If we miss this date, i've no idea when the next one will be.  

Anyway, good thread, i'll be keeping an eye on it and maybe start my own if i'm sober enough.   :Smile:

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## Loombucket

Nice one CMN, I have been waiting a long time for this thread. Good luck and keep us posted.

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## ChiangMai noon

glad to see all the shovel shit split.
 :Smile: 

another picture.

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## ChiangMai noon

It was very hot up here today.

i think the winter is drawing to a close.

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## Propagator

> i helped build a bit of a foundation hole today.


Seems like they were not happy with you helping

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## Marmite the Dog

> The wife is just waiting for the final plans from the architect which i haven't seen yet as she chose the design in the last 2 weeks when i've been away at work.


I thought the idea of having an architect was to design a house, not help you 'choose a design'.  :Confused:

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## Tao

She chose from a template i believe then made some modifications with the architect who then draws the final plans.

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## ChiangMai noon

We had architects plans drawn up for a 2 storey house.

we then changed our mind because i found a one floor place i liked that is up for sale and repossessed unoccupied.

we just took the builders around and they copied the floor plan onto paper and we took pictures and stuff.

 :Smile:

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## Marmite the Dog

> we just took the builders around and they copied the floor plan onto paper and we took pictures and stuff.


Oh Jesus!

Do you think my intention to use a proper architect to actually design a house that fits my needs is a bit ott then?  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## ChiangMai noon

^
absolutely no need for it at all i reckon.

they got nice little pictures and biro lines on bits of paper.
 :Smile:

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## lom

> Do you think my intention to use a proper architect to actually design a house that fits my needs is a bit ott then?


Definitely. Your workers won't follow the plan anyway.

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## ChiangMai noon

I figure at least they have an actual house to copy rather than computer generated lines of pretend house.

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## lom

^Worth more than thousand drawings..

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## Texpat

^ Have to disagree there.

I've seen what Thai builders are capable of while working _off the cuff._ 

If you have a proper blueprint, you know ahead of time what you'll get, within reason. If they end up out in left field, you can tap the plan and call a do-over.

If the builder doesn't have these plans (at minimum) showing all elevations, doors and windows, I'd be very nervous.

structural
electrical
water
roofing

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## DrAndy

> Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
> 
> we just took the builders around and they copied the floor plan onto paper and we took pictures and stuff.
> 
> 
> Oh Jesus!
> 
> Do you think my intention to use a proper architect to actually design a house that fits my needs is a bit ott then?


 
I suppose architects plans can be useful in that they specify the materials and the dimensions of supports etc. In an earthquake zone that can be critical.

However, if the house you are building is a very straightforward single storey jobby, then the builders should know the information from experience. Should.

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## ChiangMai noon

^
I doubt very much that this lot would understand an architect's drawing anyway.

cheap though
 :Smile:

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## tristram

yesw, i doubt they will measure anything anyway, just say about as big as an elephant and theyll know, or two dogs width for the toilet. thats how i except theyll do it. just like the navaho

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## NickA

Sure, my house is 3 elephants and a camel wide and 5 crocodiles long :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## ChiangMai noon

Anyway.

This is a picture of the run down, repossessed house that the builders are supposed to be copying.

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## ChiangMai noon

One of the builders spent the best part of tuesday and Wednesday making these things.

I thought they came ready made, obviously not.



there's quite a few of them.




Here's one that the builders dad (our neighbour) is sticking in the ground.

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## rawlins

What did the land cost you?...

What you expecting the end cost to be, including land, etc?

And where is it?... far from civilisation?

Curious rawlins...

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## ChiangMai noon

> What did the land cost you?...


400,000 (300 dalang wah)





> What you expecting the end cost to be, including land, etc?


just over a million.





> And where is it?... far from civilisation?


18 kilometres from chiang mai centre. 6 kilometres from both Doi Sakhet and Sang Kampheng (North and South).

25 minute commute to work.

feels like te middle of nowhere tough, which is nice.

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## AntRobertson

> 400,000 (300 dalang wah)


Around B1,300 per sq. wa then.  That sounds pretty good.  Can't compare directly with moo-baan prices obviously but just goes to show how much of a profit they make on the land - ours would've paid around the same and we end up paying B10,000 per sq. wa.  :Sad:

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## rawlins

> Originally Posted by rawlins
> 
> What you expecting the end cost to be, including land, etc?
> 
> 
> just over a million.


A decent brand new house built for about 15000 pounds... That's great...  I want one.

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## NickA

^Quote and frame that and see how much it HAS costed in a year or four :Smile:

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## Texpat

Have you included items like faucets, ceiling fans, any special lighting, kitchen and bathroom cabinets ...

I'll bet the builder considers all these things *extras*.

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## MeMock

Just buy this house.

Cut and pasted from a junk email I just received.

Phone: 66-081-7842076

From : info <info@chiangmaishiping.com>  [+]  Date :  Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11 :22: 07 +0700  

To : info@knooble.com  [+]    

Subject : House for sale at Borsang Sankhampang Chiang Mai Thailand  


HI
House for sale at Borsang Sankhampang Chiang Mai Thailand
* land 104 square metre 
* 2 bad room
* 2 toilet
* 1 kitchen
* 1 garage
* good view good pollution good amenity only 15 minute form town 
* sale only 850,000.00 Thai baht with tax

Land for sale in Chiang Mai Thailand

  * Land riverside Mae Ping river T.tarwangpao A.Sunphathong Chiangmai TH 

  * 8 Rai sale 8 million baht with tax

  * 25 minute Form Chiang Mai airport (town)

http://www.chiangmaishiping.com(http...maishiping.com)
Contact : Mike (phusawasdi@gmail.com) 081-7842076

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## Texpat

> * land 104 square metre 
> 
> * 8 Rai sale 8 million baht with tax


104 sq m is slightly larger than my living room.

I think a million baht per rai is too expensive in Chiang Mai.

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## MeMock

2 bad rooms with good pollution!

A bargain.

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## Marmite the Dog

> I think a million baht per rai is too expensive in Chiang Mai.


Me too.

I have been quoted 500,000 Baht for 3 rai not too far from Noony's place, but I think between 300k & 400k Baht is more reasonable.

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## ChiangMai noon

Yes, but mune included a wooden house that we tore down.
 :Smile:

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## ChiangMai noon

> Around B1,300 per sq. wa then. That sounds pretty good. Can't compare directly with moo-baan prices obviously but just goes to show how much of a profit they make on the land - ours would've paid around the same and we end up paying B10,000 per sq. wa.


can't compare at all.

the moo bahn we have our house on now is around the 9,000 baht a dalang wah range.

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## AntRobertson

> I think a million baht per rai is too expensive in Chiang Mai.


Kinda depends where it is though.  Clearly you can get significantly cheaper as CMN has done but the closer to town you get the more the prices go up.

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## ChiangMai noon

A million baht a rai is not bad at all for that location.

saw some scrubland land in the city the other day at 30,000 a dalang wah.

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## ChiangMai noon

> I have been quoted 500,000 Baht for 3 rai not too far from Noony's place, but I think between 300k & 400k Baht is more reasonable.


you are also getting to the waaay too far to commute stage out there marmers.

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## CharleyFarley

I like the pic of the house u are copying, lots of angles and glass, nice.
 & comfortable.

We did a similar thing with our house in paying a fixed amount to the boss for labour, and let him get on with who & how many helpers he employs. It worked out OK.

Our mistake was buying tools:-

Metal cutter
tile cutter
saws
T square
Spirit level
buckets
ladders
spades ..sorry shovels
hammers, screwdrivers, chisels and drill
exteriior cosmetic cladding (excess)
paint and brushes ( diito)

all the above disappeared upon conclusion apart from one folding ladder which is borrowed extensively even to this day. :Smile: 

Even the architects plans were sold on.

Are you bothering with guttering?

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## Marmite the Dog

> you are also getting to the waaay too far to commute stage out there marmers.


As long as I have an internet connection, I don't need to go into town except for beer, food & fanny.

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## ChiangMai noon

> As long as I have an internet connection, I don't need to go into town except for beer, food & fanny.


you can get all that in Sang Khampeng.

no need to go into town at all.

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## Marmite the Dog

> you can get all that in Sang Khampeng.


Really? Even Beer Laos?

I'm not so sure being entertained by local 'entertainment specialists' is such a good idea though.

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## ChiangMai noon

> Really? Even Beer Laos?


I dunno.
I don't drink.

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## bustak

WOW, it's looking great! 

Will you have a house warming complete w/ Coyote Girls?  :Smile:   :sexy:

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## DrAndy

> Originally Posted by Texpat
> 
> I think a million baht per rai is too expensive in Chiang Mai.
> 
> 
> Me too.
> 
> I have been quoted 500,000 Baht for 3 rai not too far from Noony's place, but I think between 300k & 400k Baht is more reasonable.


 
Ricefields on our side of town cost about B320-350K per rai; these are just ricefields so you need to add lots of earth to get them a bit elevated. If next to a road the land costs more too; if next to a busier road and there is potential for business, even more.

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## ChiangMai noon

bloody ell, the building only started 2 days ago.

sadly, i can't be there every day to take pictures.


hang on, my wife took a few more today.

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## ChiangMai noon

lom wants pictures so i have some pics that my wife snapped this afternoon.

those metal things are now upright in the ground.



I was quite shocked to see a cement mixer on site.
i watched my entire moo bahn be built without ever seeing one of these.

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## ChiangMai noon

the boys hard at work....

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## Tao

Anyone know how much to buy a cement mixer?  I think i might have a lot of use for one in the very near future.

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## ChiangMai noon

^
they usually use a female Burmese immigrant and a shovel.

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## ChiangMai noon

Hard at work picking grass.

all present and correct though.
 :Smile:

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## ChiangMai noon

a picture of a hole half filled with cement.

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## lom

> Anyone know how much to buy a cement mixer?


Around 10,000 Baht for the model/size in the picture.
Motor not included, that is another 4000 Baht.

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## lom

> a picture of a hole half filled with cement.


Footings, columns and beams are what you'll see them do now and coming weeks. That is a footing..

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## ChiangMai noon

^
what are the upright metal contraptions for?

is it some sort of re-bar?

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## lom

Reinforcement for the concrete columns.
The guy with the hat is holding what is the beginning of a wooden box for making columns.
The metal will be inside the box.

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## ChiangMai noon

cheers.
that's what I meant.
 :Smile:

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## bongthom

nice pics noony. i look forward to sipping some pale welsh ale on your porch sometime in the future  :Smile:

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## Fabian

> ^
> they usually use a female Burmese immigrant and a shovel.


Are you sure it's a shovel and not a spade?

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## NickA

I'm not sure if you mentioned it before, but how long is it expected to take?

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## buad hai

Good pics. Is it a new camera or a steady hand now that you don't drink?

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## ChiangMai noon

> I'm not sure if you mentioned it before, but how long is it expected to take?


they say 3 months maximum.
I'm not overly bothered so long as it doesn't turn into a buadhai saga.




> Good pics. Is it a new camera or a steady hand now that you don't drink?


thank you.
same machine.
I think the light seems right for pic taking up there especially when my wife is holding the camera.

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## NickA

3 months and 1 million?

I say 7 months and 1.4 million :Smile: 

Don't mean to be negative, but this seems about right for other similar projects in Thailand. They never factor in time and money for problems, mistakes, extras...

Good luck though and if you can do it as expected I will give you and your wife a gold star. :Smile:

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## ChiangMai noon

^
it will end up being more than a million for sure.
hopefully not a great deal more, just a bit more.

best thing is that the builders are very local, all from the little village we are moving to.

That thread of thetyim's neighbours house gave me hope.

Completed in 2 months and under budget.

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## Thetyim

I reckon they will try and get it finished for SongKran.

Have you planned a fitted kitchen?

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## ChiangMai noon

^
they are saying before songkraan, yes.
the kitchen area is quite small, but big enough for cooking.

not sure what to do with it yet.

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## NickA

^probably some cooking would be a good idea. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## ChiangMai noon

^
That sounds familiar.
Wouldn't happen to know a certain troll called T.......m would you??

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## Thetyim

^
Are you calling me a troll ?

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## BosseO

> Good pics. Is it a new camera or a steady hand now that you don't drink?


The wife took 'em!!!

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## a. boozer

> nice pics noony. i look forward to sipping some pale welsh ale on your porch sometime in the future



Felinfoel maybe?

Certainly would be feeling foul after a good session on that!

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## a. boozer

Out of interest, assume that you have electricity to the plot, but what about water, have you a mains supply or do you have a well?

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## ChiangMai noon

Both mains water and a well which is handy for watering the garden.

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## Norton

> I was quite shocked to see a cement mixer on site.


Nice cement mixer but take note!  It might be cheaper to mix your own cement but could in the long run be really expensive.  If the boys get the cement, sand, gravel ratios wrong in your columns and beams you are going to have big problems.  I strongly suggest you look into premix from Siam Cement or ??.

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## CharleyFarley

Nah , those boys in the pics look like they know what they're doing :Smile:

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## ChiangMai noon

Anyway, onwards and upwards.

Some more pictures taken today.

i am pleased that they are making decent headway.
The place is unrecognisable from just last Monday and all of the building team have been on site all day every day.

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## ChiangMai noon

Nice to be able to see the lay out now.

I can actually picture the house.

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## ChiangMai noon



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## ChiangMai noon

All in all I have to admit to being very pleased with the first 5 days of work.

I shall write an update of the cost after every 7 days until completion.
For my own benefit as much as anything else.
So far I have forked out 70,000 baht on materials.

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## ChiangMai noon

Nice to see these blocks on site until I was told i hadn't paid for them yet.

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## Itchy

> So far I have forked out 70,000 baht on materials.


I for one would really appreciate it if you could give some prices for materials. I'm a way off building yet myself but I'd like to get a hang on prices as they are today.

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## CharleyFarley

You'll be astonished at how quickly so few, can do so much, in so liitle time.

Looks like you will have very high ceilings :Smile:

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## DrAndy

High ceilings are the best kind

nice pics CMN, keep cool and don't get stressed

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## hillbilly

Looking great, can't wait to see more!

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## ChiangMai noon

thanks all

sadly, don't think our lawns will be quite as impressive as yours hillbilly.
I have to be honest, i am more interested in getting going on the garden than the house.
I've never actually had a garden to speak of before.

I'l put up a cost breakdown of materials so far when I get home this evening.

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## bongthom

> how quickly so few, can do so much, in so liitle time.


indeedy!

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## oldgit

Hi CMN, I enjoy following your building posts, have just realised our house is near to you, on the doi saket Bosang road two miles from doi saket market, a warning! watch the builders or get somebody who knows the building trade to watch them, as we were about to have the kitchen door leading to the outside on the wrong side of the house and kitchen window lower than the kitchen units and caught them in time, I was in UK ,wife came up from BKK to take photos, it was after she had posted them to me that I noticed the mistakes.

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## ChiangMai noon

^
goodo, I have a neigbour.
 :Smile: 

thanks for the advice.
i haven't the first clue about building but I'm ewnjoying the whole project so far.

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## ChiangMai noon

*Week 2*

Today is the start of the second week of building and they still seem to be going quite well.

They have started building walls.

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## ChiangMai noon

I hope this picture is wonky not the blocks.

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## ChiangMai noon

we priced these blocks up in three different builders yards.

they ranged 3 baht 20 satang each to 3 baht and 40 satng each.

i have no idea how many of them we will need.

will find out tomorrow.



it's starting to look a bit like a house now.

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## NickA

Don't worry, this is the easy bit.... the difficult bit is when they have to take it all down because they forgot to put any holes for the doors and windows.

Saw a documentary back in the UK about some cowboy builders who got the shit kicked out of them for doing very much the same thing.

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## AntRobertson

Looking good CMN!

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## NickA

You did tell them you wanted doors and windows, didn't you?

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## ChiangMai noon

> Saw a documentary back in the UK about some cowboy builders who got the shit kicked out of them for doing very much the same thing.


we are paying them for labour in installments.

42,000 at the end of the first and second months and the remainder on completion.
if they fukk it up I'm not too worried.

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## ChiangMai noon

My wife has just told me that these are just the footings.
fukk me, how high off the current land level are they going to start?

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## NickA

Shit, and you thought they were about to put the roof on  :Smile:

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## ChiangMai noon

^
explains why those column support structure things are about 7 metres high.
 :Smile:

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## Thetyim

You did tell them you wanted a toilet, didn't you ?

I thought is was usual to dig the septic first

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## ChiangMai noon

> You did tell them you wanted a toilet, didn't you ?


We know where the septic is going, it's a fair distance from the house actually.

might be common practise.
fokked if I know, but the house we are in now was pretty much finished before the tank was dug.

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## dirtydog

> I thought is was usual to dig the septic first


Only if the staff are living there, otherwise there is no need on a reasonable size plot of land.

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## ChiangMai noon

^
thanks for that DD.
 :Smile:

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## oldgit

The ground around the house was supposed to have been treated for Termites, last year something was eating utility room door frame, found it was termites got a firm in and they drilled holes in the tiled kitchen and utility floors to pump Termite killer in, looks charming with spotty floors now, before they put your floor slab down get them to treat the area, if not already treated. also wanted a loft opening and loft ladder, got loft opening and platform to store cases ect, but told ''no have loft ladders in Thailand''.  :Smile:

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## nikster

> We had architects plans drawn up for a 2 storey house.
> 
> we then changed our mind because i found a one floor place i liked that is up for sale and repossessed unoccupied.
> 
> we just took the builders around and they copied the floor plan onto paper and we took pictures and stuff.


If you are there to help build yourself, it's a great way of doing it. You can also change the design as you go along, very important. The original might have had some features specific to the land it was built on.. or you find some other improvements that become obvious while building... 

I had a builder but it would have been impossible had I not been there to check out the work nearly every day. Those periods of time when I was not there were generally disastrous, e.g. throwaway time. Stuff had to be torn down and rebuilt... and that was with a proper architect's plan. We changed a lot of stuff while building and most of it turned out to be excellent changes.

An architect friend later told me to never pay the architect fully before the actual house is finished - good advice, unfortunately it came too late for us.

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## dirtydog

> and that was with a proper architect's plan. We changed a lot of stuff while building


So you had a plan but didn't build to it.




> An architect friend later told me to never pay the architect fully before the actual house is finished


Why not? If he has finished the plan then normally that would be the end of his work anyway.

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## ChiangMai noon

Just come back from the new house.

things seem to be going quite well to my totally untrained eye.

I counted 7 blokes on site today and at one point they were all active.
 :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

tis is thew view from where the tv is going to be in the living room.

that back rook that the bloke is standing in will be my computer room with a nice view.



see my lovely toilet in the background.
 :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

that back room will be our bedroom.
well, my wife's probably.

i usually have to sleep in the spare room.
 :Sad:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

a couple of views from behind.

----------


## AntRobertson

> i usually have to sleep in the spare room


BWWAAHAHAHAHA!






Yeah, me too.  :Sad: 

Coming along nicely, when's the house-warming!?!  :Smile:

----------


## rawlins

> I counted 7 blokes on site today and at one point they were all active.


They must have a look-out to see when you are coming....

Looks like it's going up quick to me... but I know jack shit...

----------


## ChiangMai noon

this is a view from the side.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

*cost so far.....

sand, cement, stones, metal bits and wire and stuff = 70,000

3,000 blocks at 3 baht.20 satang each = 9,200 baht.*

1,000 blocks used so far.

2,000 arriving this evening.

----------


## bongthom

where's the swimming pool/sheep dip?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

also went to look at roof tiles today.

we either need 400 odd of the big ones at 58 baht each or 24000 of the little ones at 11 baht each.

I think we'll take the big uns even though the little ones look a bit nicer.

not sure what colour to have.

probably a dark brown.
don't like the blue at all.

----------


## Silent Ninja

Aren't the rooms pretty small? It seems to me that small rooms get awfully hot.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Aren't the rooms pretty small? It seems to me that small rooms get awfully hot.


quite small yes.

I don't have enough money to make a big house.

about the same size as my house now in fact, only too hot in March April.

there is also air con and outside.

----------


## CharleyFarley

Not sure what is correct, but  all the doors seem to open outwards here, I'm used to doors opening inwards.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
the front doors will be sliding ones so they will neither open inwards nor outwards.

the others will be innies.

----------


## Ban Saray

CMN you should consider reflective index when selecting colour of roof tiles.
Foam spray insulation under the tiles reduces my house temp by 3-4 degrees compared to every other house in our Soi; 12,000 baht very well spent IMO. LOHR have a NE Thailand branch I believe.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
thank you very much for that.

does it really reduce temperature that much?

----------


## NickA

> we either need 400 odd of the big ones at 58 baht each or 24000 of the little ones at 11 baht each.


I think something is wrong there... that's 23,200 for the big ones or 264,000 for the little ones. i think there is an errant 0 in there somewhere.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
there is, yes.
2,400 little ones.

----------


## Norton

> probably a dark brown.


Go with the dark brown, always a good choice. IMO
Not sure what the roof design looks like but make sure you account for wasted tiles from cutting or breakage when you buy.

----------


## Bluecat

> Foam spray insulation under the tiles reduces my house temp by 3-4 degrees compared to every other house in our Soi


Are you sure?
I can understand isolating the roof in a cold climate in order to stop the warm air from going out.
But in a hot climate, you would want it to go out as fast as you can and try to limit how much of it comes in by isolating walls and windows.
Or reducing the size of the windows.
A gentle reminder:
Hot air goes up.
Cold air goes down.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Not sure what the roof design looks like but make sure you account for wasted tiles from cutting or breakage when you buy.


fortunately the building materials supplier is only 4 kilometres from our house.

it has been easy to pop back and forth so far.

----------


## Norton

> fortunately the building materials supplier is only 4 kilometres from our house.  it has been easy to pop back and forth so far.


Perfect.  Better to under buy then if you need a few more just skip down and buy em.  The house is starting to look up so bet you're looking forward to the big move.





> But in a hot climate, you would want it to go out as fast as you can and try to limit how much of it comes in by isolating walls and windows.


A good point here.  A well ventilated attic worked best for me.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
honestly can't wait Norton.

can't wait to get out of my present village, nice as it all looks externally.

Have pretty much decided to keep the house and rent it out rather than selling it even though I could do with the money, not sure if it's the best thing to do or not.

----------


## Norton

> Have pretty much decided to keep the house and rent it out rather than selling it even though I could do with the money, not sure if it's the best thing to do or not.


Always a tough call.  Renting a house out can bring in needed cash but can sure be a pain in the butt if the renters are wankers (destructive, non payers).

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Always a tough call. Renting a house out can bring in needed cash but can sure be a pain in the butt if the renters are wankers


it's more what will happen to property prices in the future.

I'd like to thing prices will take a big bump at some point but there are just too many new developments and too much spare land in Chiang mai to hope for much of one.

----------


## Bluecat

[quote=Norton;505424]


> A good point here. A well ventilated attic worked best for me.


Indeed, as it would for most in Thailand.  :Smile:

----------


## Norton

^^Would also recommend solar reflective material under the roof tiles.  Not that expensive and does a good job of reflecting heat.  Homemart sells it under the name Coolroof.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

thanks.

I think there is a very old thread lurking here somewhere about insulated roofs in Thailand.

might try to drag it back up.

----------


## Bluecat

> ^^Would also recommend solar reflective material under the roof tiles. Not that expensive and does a good job of reflecting heat. Homemart sells it under the name Coolroof.


Well, why would you want to reflect heat that will not go down to where you live anyway?
Buy solar panels instead.

----------


## Norton

> Well, why would you want to reflect heat that will not go down to where you live anyway? Buy solar panels instead.


Less heat in the attic, less to vent out. Some heat will go down if the attic gets too hot.

Solar panels are still pricey.  Good idea if one can afford them though.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Solar panels are still pricey.


that's me out.

have to say it's pretty fukking cold up at the new place mornings and evenings for about 5 months of the year.

----------


## AntRobertson

> Solar panels are still pricey


They are.  We were quoted 200k for an array so small it really would've only made a neglible difference.

----------


## Bluecat

> Some heat will go down if the attic gets too hot.


Indeed, what it will get if the roof is isolated.
Not really going down, it can't go down if hotter that the air on the lower levels but it will heat up the lower levels by contact.
So try to remove that hot air as fast as you can. Chimneys would help.

----------


## Norton

> But in a hot climate, you would want it to go out as fast as you can and try to limit how much of it comes in by isolating walls and windows.





> A good point here. A well ventilated attic worked best for me.





> So try to remove that hot air as fast as you can. Chimneys would help.


Errr... yes!

----------


## Art Vandelay

> ^
> the front doors will be sliding ones so they will neither open inwards nor outwards.
> 
> the others will be innies.


For whatever reason, Thais seem to like to have the doors open out. The bungalow my wife had built has both the front and back doors opening out. Make sure you're around when they install them if you want them to open in.

----------


## Art Vandelay

> Originally Posted by Norton
> 
> 
>  Some heat will go down if the attic gets too hot.
> 
> 
> Indeed, what it will get if the roof is isolated.
> Not really going down, it can't go down if hotter that the air on the lower levels but it will heat up the lower levels by contact.
> So try to remove that hot air as fast as you can. Chimneys would help.


I don't know exactly what type of insolation (not isolation) was used under the roof of our bungalow, but whatever it is it definitely is keeping heat from the roof from coming into contact with the air in the bungalow. I'll try to get my wife to explain what was used and where it was installed - immediately under the roof tiles, immediately above the inside ceiling, or both. I don't know if it makes a difference but we use an airconditioner most of the time we are there.

----------


## Loombucket

Looks like you have the makings of a nice little place there CMN. I like the views from your 'office'. Are you planning an upstairs verandah or just a large shady area downstairs?

----------


## dirtydog

Outward opening doors are more secure.

The roof tiles get really hot during the day, without insulation this transfers downwards and will heat up the ceiling which in turn will heat up the rooms, you need the roof area to be as well ventilated as possible to get rid of heat, and also insulation will slow down the transfer of heat.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

What type of chimneys are we talking about here?

I haven't seen a lot of chimneys on thai houses.

----------


## Norton

> What type of chimneys are we talking about here?


Not really a Santa Claus chimney in the sense you are thinking. :Smile:   Many varieties of roof ventilators available ranging from simple piping to turbine wind driven fan types.  All types are available locally.  I'm sure the place you are buying roof tiles has some.

----------


## Jet Gorgon

> ^
> they are saying before songkraan, yes.
> the kitchen area is quite small, but big enough for cooking.
> 
> not sure what to do with it yet.


 
Big kitchen is best, IMO. With an island where friends can gather while you prepare the takeout on plates. :Smile:  Nice going Noonies and best of luck. Did you tear down the old house?

----------


## Ban Saray

[quote=Bluecat;505451]


> Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
> 
>  
> A good point here. A well ventilated attic worked best for me.
> 
> 
> Indeed, as it would for most in Thailand.


I never said it was not ventilated, but the fact remains and is undisputable, my house is cooler than all others in our soi, they were all built by the same builder with the same materilas.
All our neighbours have mentioned the fact.
Another offshoot was that as the roof frames and walls moved or flexed in the heat many other roofs in the soi had craked tiles after a year or so, non of my tiles have cracked yet after 5 years.

----------


## oldgit

Any latest photos on the progress of your new house CMN? please!

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Any latest photos on the progress of your new house CMN? please!


I'll put some up this evening Mr Git.
 :Smile:

----------


## Ban Saray

^ U better hurry, It's 11.00 pm

----------


## oldgit

Thanks Mr Noon, :Smile:  your a gentleman!

----------


## ChiangMai noon

very sorry.
promise to put them up tomorrow.

camera is stuck in work.

----------


## Propagator

Looking good CMN

----------


## Thetyim

> Outward opening doors are more secure.


That's true.  The only other reason I can think of is the fitting of fly screens

----------


## NickA

> very sorry. promise to put them up tomorrow.


I see you are not a man of honour :Sad:

----------


## Texpat

Moving right along. Nice place.

----------


## friscofrankie

> Outward opening doors are more secure.


Yeah but can be easily blocked by falling debris, trapping you inside, say during a fire?
In my county in California Building regs require doors to open in, all doors, bedrooms, baths, exterior doors.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

oh yeah.

pictures.

give me ten minutes to resize the bastards.

----------


## MeMock

*taps foot*

----------


## astasinim

Looking good Mr Noon. Will follow with interest.

----------


## klongmaster

> oh yeah.  pictures.  give me ten minutes to resize the bastards.


great progress nooners...who's the sheila with the big norks in the third pic?..

----------


## lom

They must be really big photos if it takes that time to resize them. :Sad:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

give me a minute.
 :Smile:

----------


## AntRobertson

> Yesterday, 11:17 PM  give me ten minutes to resize the bastards.





> Today, 09:53 AM  give me a minute.


A minute??  I think we've been more than fair in the time allocation so far!

1min Thai Time = approx. 10-60min
1min CMN Time = approx. 1 day  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

hang on.
i'm going to watch american idol first.

i'll do it then.

----------


## lom

Fess up, you don't have any new photos.
You havn't been out there for the last 2 weeks :Wink:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
come on lo0m.

18,000 plus posts and have i ever been known to lie.
 :Smile: 

i believe you will owe me a green at 11.00

----------


## AntRobertson

> i believe you will owe me a green at 11.00


I would but I'll be out of repo by then following your red for watching American Idol.

----------


## Thetyim

^^
Maybe you lie unbeknown   :Smile: 


(is that a correct word?)

----------


## lom

> i believe you will owe me a green at 11.00


ok, what day?
and are you gonna resize them chilli cooking pictures at the same time? :rofl:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

here are a few pictures that my wife has taken over the past few weeks.

you can see in this one how far off the ground the floor is.
foot and a half or so.

obviously all this needed filling.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

random shot of blokes working.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

I think this picture must have been taken on Monday.

it rained on Monday.

you can see the split levels after they had filed the ground in.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

this is the wall going up between what will be the computer room and the bedroom i think.







I shall have a nice uninterrupted view over the fields when I'm posting on teak door, assuming nobody developes the land behind.

----------


## lom

Looks very good CmN and from now on you'll see big changes from day to day.
Walls get raised very quick and soon you'll have the roof on.
Seems your crew is on schedule.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Seems you're crew is on schedule.


looks that way lom.

we have already bought in all the roof materials and blocks and are shopping for doors and windows.

so far seems to be on budget too.

still hoping to bring the whole job in under 750,000

----------


## NickA

^is it your wife or the house that is at an angle? :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> ^is it your wife or the house that is at an angle?


forget to sign in as tristram nick?

----------


## Texpat

> I shall have a nice uninterrupted view over the fields when I'm posting on teak door, assuming nobody developes the land behind.


Does that mean your post quality will improve?

I have much the same view in my CR, it's far better after a little rain and everything turns green. That accounts for my superb quality.  :Smile:  

You also have mountains in the far distance -- a bonus.

----------


## AntRobertson

> assuming nobody developes the land behind.


Is that land for sale?

----------


## astasinim

^
Are you thinking of buying it and a opening a slaughterhouse or something like that?
 :Smile:

----------


## Tao

Good progress CMN, but if you marry again, make sure she's got both legs the same length.  Your missus has to be the worst photographer i've seen i a long time.

PS.  If she's not a cripple send her to alchy's anonymous.  I'll say hello if she shows up.

----------


## oldgit

Nice photo's CMN, block work very neat, did they backfill between the beams? or have they placed precast panels on the beams then put a screed on top of them?could not see the new hammers you bought, did they take them home and brought back old ones?  :Smile:

----------


## Tao

Block work was nice.  I'm starting to get worried about posting my pics.  No blockwork yet, only my nightmares/

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> could not see the new hammers you bought, did they take them home and brought back old ones?


i didn't buy any hammers.

seem to be plenty of them knocking around the site.

----------


## Scooter

Looking good mate. Those must be the tidiest builders I've ever seen!

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> Those must be the tidiest builders I've ever seen!


Mrs CMN follows them around with a feather duster.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

we are nearing the end of the first month now and things are looking on schedule bith time and budget wise.
 :Smile: 
might even be able to afford a new oven with the bit left over.

this picture was from a few days ago.
the others were taken this afternoon.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

here are some pictures of a guy welding roof frame on.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

this is the back of the house.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the front..

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the view from my computer room.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

lots of garden to play with.

can't wait to get stuck into that.



my outdoor toilet is still standing.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

we chose dark brown tiles for the roof in the end.

they cost 14,000 baht for a hundred.

I think we need 300 of them so roof tile costs are around 42,000 baht and the metal supporty thingies (DD says they are called truss) about the same again, so around 85,000 baht total for the roof.

----------


## oldgit

Will the missus be helping you in the garden similar to couple in photo? also some photos of how not to install windows.  :Smile: 

Only in Russia…

----------


## klongmaster

^

----------


## Charlie99

Hi All, Chiangmai Noon, your place looks like it is coming along nicely. From what I've been told, the upright columns you have had made seem to be a good sign that your place is being made properly. There are pre-cast columns that can be used, but the ones made on the site (like yours) are supposed to be better. My wife and I have had a house built in Isaarn by her family who worked in BKK on sites. They copied the roof design from houses they were building there. One problem we noticed after they finished was that they did not make enough of a fall towards the drain hole in the corner of the shower area of the bathroom so the water does not completely drain out after using the shower. It would be a twat to fix so I would keep that in mind. We also had electrical wiring done in trunking before the walls were plastered to keep everything neat. Hope this helps, good luck with the house! :Smile:

----------


## DrAndy

> we chose dark brown tiles for the roof in the end.
> 
> they cost 14,000 baht for a hundred.
> 
> I think we need 300 of them so roof tile costs are around 42,000 baht and the metal supporty thingies (DD says they are called truss) about the same again, so around 85,000 baht total for the roof.


 
CMN, I would check the price of the tiles at another supplier to be 100% certain that you are not being overcharged

----------


## Norton

> CMN, I would check the price of the tiles at another supplier to be 100&#37; certain that you are not being overcharged


Looks like they are already at the site so may be too late but agree roof cost (85,000) seems very high.

----------


## Thetyim

Those tiles look an odd size to me or is the piccy deceptive.
Are they large ceramic tiles or small cement/asbestos tiles ?
Can you measure them, nooners, and tell us what size they are ?

----------


## Texpat

I think 85,000 for a complete roof is a very good price.

----------


## Norton

> 85,000 for a complete roof is a steal. I paid 90K for tiles alone.


But looking at his roof, it is much smaller than your's.  My bad, didn't notice the 85,000 included steel but still tile seems quite high if material is what it looks like to me.

----------


## Dalton

> I'm starting to wonder why ours cost so much


Cause you're a rich farang  :Smile:  Not a poor farmer like me.. :Sad:

----------


## Dalton

Good thread, nice pictures.. :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> CMN, I would check the price of the tiles at another supplier to be 100&#37; certain that you are not being overcharged


don't worry about that.

we check 4 seperate suppliers for bloody everything if it will save my wife 3 or 4 baht.
 :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## ChiangMai noon

And I have a nice story about an honest supplier that called my wife to tell her she had accidentally overpaid by 1,000 baht (she had given 9,000 for something that cost 8)

you hear little but horror stories.
I think that type of thing is quite heart warming.







> Can you measure them, nooners, and tell us what size they are ?


they are cut smaller than the average sized tiles.

I like them that way.

i think they are half the size of the norm.

----------


## DrAndy

> And I have a nice story about an honest supplier that called my wife to tell her she had accidentally overpaid by 1,000 baht (she had given 9,000 for something that cost 8).


Actually, a similar thing haqppened to us, so it must be normal to be honest and straightforward

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> it must be normal to be honest and straightforward


I think we should wait for Smeg to confirm this before we all get carried away...

----------


## danblack

So what are your roof tiles made of? and how many sq m. Too lazy to look if you already said

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
roof tile material??

these are the most recent pictures that I have taken.
took them this afternoon.

the builders are very much on course to finish inside 3 months from start to end.

the wiring is in, and they have just about finished doing the what do you call when you put cement on the walls that makes it all smooth??

this is the spare bedroom.



the computer room.

I like those glass bricks that went out of fashion in 1974.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the front.



the back a few days ago.



the back today.



it's all gone very swimmingly really and I am very happy with the progress.

this probably means i am easily pleased, but we are way under budget and also well ahead of schedule thus far.

been shopping for floor and bathroom tiles today.
 :Smile:

----------


## Thetyim

> my wife to tell her she had accidentally overpaid by 1,000 baht (she had given 9,000 for something that cost 8)


Sack her  :Smile:

----------


## Thetyim

> what do you call when you put cement on the walls that makes it all smooth??


rendering ?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> rendering ?


thanks.

it's one of those words i always forget.

like "farings".
i have to go through every letter of the alphabet usually.

even did a google on cement on walls to no avail.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

btw, it was blisteringly hot outside today but it was really cool in the house.
maybe because there are no doors or windows and half a roof.

the ceilings are nice and high.
3 metres exactly.

----------


## NickA

^Don't worry, I couldn't think of Joe Royle's name for over a month... ruined watching quite a few games of football..... I kept thinking his first name was Mike.

----------


## Thetyim

Are you going to insulate ?
and insulate where- under the tiles or on top of the ceilings ?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Are you going to insulate ?
> and insulate where- under the tiles or on top of the ceilings ?


we are mulling over the insulation thing.

I must go and read that thread again.

does it actually work?

----------


## NickA

..... he was on the same flight as me the last time I came to thailand, although he might have been going to Doha, or connecting to somewhere else.....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> he was on the same flight as me the last time I came to thailand, although he might have been going to Doha, or connecting to somewhere else.....


wild guess nick.
but are you in the wrong thread?

----------


## Thetyim

> does it actually work?


Yes.
I think the bottom line was to insulate over the ceilings and create a draft through the roof space or install those revolving extractors

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Yes.
> I think the bottom line was to insulate over the ceilings and create a draft through the roof space or install those revolving extractors


cheers.

saw someone getting insulation delivered in my road yesterday.

will look into the cost tomorrow.

----------


## NickA

...just reminiscing about joe Royle...

----------


## Happyman

> Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon
> 
> does it actually work?
> 
> 
> Yes.
> I think the bottom line was to insulate over the ceilings and create a draft through the roof space or install those revolving extractors


Am looking into those revolving extractors at the moment.
My humble abode is a typical Thai terrace house and they have roofed over the original open kitchen out the back.

It like a bloody sauna and I think one of those would create a through draught .

Its a middle house in the terrace with only a front door on the ground floor and as they have roofed over the kitchen ( and walled it in ) it is like a bloody oven even before you start doing anything !
Can fit an extractor in the kitchen roof though.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Am looking into those revolving extractors at the moment.


has anyone got a picture of one of these.
My wife has no idea what I'm talking about.

can't blame her, my description isn't great.

----------


## Thetyim

^
I think BG has them fitted and photographed
Check his gallery

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
I did that.
I even searched all of blackgang's op's a while back.

think i did a search for the word "chimney"

you wouldn't believe how many are in MKP.
 :Smile:

----------


## Thetyim

ATCO air vent Turbine Ventilator , Roof Turbine Vent

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
thank you very much for that.

i had given up.

thought you'd rise to the challenge.
have another green.
 :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

just how much wind is needed to get these things shifting?

it's pretty still up here most of the time.

----------


## Thetyim

This is BG's house

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
that's the picture I was looking for.
I knew I'd seen it.
 :Sad:

----------


## Thetyim

> just how much wind is needed to get these things shifting?


I haven't got one fitted but the ones I have seen were turning slowly when there was little or no breeze at street level

----------


## oldgit

This one?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

Any idea of cost of these things.

can't find any on the web site.

doesn't mean it's not there somewhere.

----------


## Norton

> just how much wind is needed to get these things shifting?


Not much they spin pretty easy.  Also the heat rising from the attic creates air movement which makes them operate albeit not much.  Just having the vent will help a lot.  See you have the tiles in place already so too late to put the heat reflecting foil in now so you really should invest in the ceiling insulation as it will make a big difference on keeping the house cooler.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> so you really should invest in the ceiling insulation as it will make a big difference on keeping the house cooler.


thanks.

it's on the itinerary for the day.
if we manage to choose the floor tiles before shop closing time.

not so bad, we only spent 3 hours coming to a non decision yesterday.
 :Sad: 

i think i'll start gardening this afternoon and leave the house to my wife.
we are at stalemate and experience tells me to defer.

----------


## AntRobertson

> This is BG's house


...


Where are the burning crosses? :Confused:

----------


## oldgit

Thetyim beat me to it, I suppose they make them to suite all types of tiles, house coming on fast CMN looking good.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Thetyim beat me to it,


quick isn't he?

you get a green anyway.




> house coming on fast CMN looking good.


speaking with the guys yesterday, they think it will be ready by the middle of March.
unfortunately we have to wait for an auspicious date to move in and stuff.
 :Sad: 

I don't mind the wait to be honest, but I need to know when I can safely rent my current house out.

Is it worth me furnishing my old place with crap furniture or would people rather rent unfurnished?

----------


## AntRobertson

^ Furnished I'd say.  Remembering that here the expectations of a "furnished" house are somewhat lower than the norm from back home.  Kinda depends who you're wanting to rent too as well - Thai or Falang?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

Thanks for the answer, but see red repo for use of the 'f' word.
 ::doglol::

----------


## AntRobertson

^ See repo calling you a cock in return, cock!  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
that's just petty.

geting back on track.

mistakes made so far.

kitchen is too small.
enough for basic cooking needs, but should have made it much bigger.

should also have gone for a second bathroom.

We chose the design based on cost estimates and a limited budget and the fact that i wanted as much of the land as possible to be a garden since I've never had one before.
looks like we are going to come in over a hundred thousand under budget and I definitely regret not making the house a fair bit larger.

----------


## oldgit

What direction does your computer room face CMN, Doisaket market? just wondering if we should draw the bedroom curtains at night as we're spitting distance from you, (I think).  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

It faces East as far as I can tell.

I think towards Mae On.

where exactly do you live?

are you the foreign person with a very large house about 3 kilometres from me near a little private petrol station?

----------


## Rigger

> little private petrol station?


Whats a private petrol station ?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
I mean a little one with little pumps that isn't one of the big names like shell or caltex.

"independant"?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

going up later to help with making the bench area on the front porch.
also going to make a tiled terrace around 3 by 3 metres to the right of the entrance.

----------


## AntRobertson

> that's just petty


Yes, Smeg.



> kitchen is too small


That's the one remaining problem with our house too, however...



> I definitely regret not making the house a fair bit larger.


... the good news is that extentsions and the like are easily done here.  Building permits?  What building permits?

Best advice I ever got was to live in a place and get a feel for it before worrying about making changes.  What you think is important now could well pale in comparison to something else in the future.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Best advice I ever got was to live in a place and get a feel for it before worrying about making changes.


agree whole heartedly with that Ant.

i loved the place when it was all scrub and bamboo and wooden hut.
enjoyed roughing it at weekends before we started building.

really like the neighbours a lot.

it's as far removed a neighbourhood from the middle class estate i am living on now as is possible.
you wouldn't believe they were seperated geographically by little more than 10 kilometres.

I wouldn't hesitate to use these builders again either in the future.
they have been excellent.
haven't missed a day in the last 6 weeks.

----------


## oldgit

About two miles down the road from the Market on the left  towards Bo Sang a complex security at entrance faces a restuarant on oposite side of the road, scrap yard next to complex, only a small house single story nothing grand

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
not far away then.
quite near the tesco lotus express place?

----------


## Dalton

The windows seem to be placed rather high, will you be able to look out.... :Smile:

----------


## oldgit

Hav'nt found that yet, is it new?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Hav'nt found that yet, is it new?


3 months old.
can't be more than a few clicks from you on the left hand side after bo sang.

----------


## oldgit

From the outside it looks high, you are not allowing for the wine cellars  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> From the outside it looks high,


the floor is some 3 feet off ground level.

----------


## NickA

.... he really is a very poor commentator....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
are there mods that actually read the construction forum?

----------


## Dalton

^ Seems to be quite a few.... :Smile:

----------


## NickA

^^Yep, I hope they'll clear all this construction rubbish from my "Joe Royle reminiscence" thread

----------


## CharleyFarley

^Last *English* manager to win the Fa Cup, lets hope Cardif....sorry CMn, the house looks brill, can't wait for your choice of paint colour.

----------


## NickA

> Last English manager to win the Fa Cup


sounds like a Morrissey song...

----------


## El Gibbon

CMN  from the classifieds thread


*rotating roof vents for sale*     I have 2 extra, brand new Aluminum rotating vents for monier tile roof. Includes tile it attaches to. Goes on easy, just replace a tile with the one that comes with the vent, and the vent fits on top. Drastically lowers the house temperature. B2300 each PM or email for pics. thaimat2003@yahoo.com

E. G.

----------


## Thetyim

^
I don't think that is the right tile profile and he lives in Phuket

----------


## El Gibbon

Inter-province trucking is amazingly cheap.

E. G.

----------


## jaiyenyen

Ahhhh, Joe Royle, one of my boyhood hero's, football in the park, scuffed knee's, jumpers for goalposts ahhhh Joe royle, "Up the Toffee's"

----------


## jizzybloke

This thread might be what you were looking for 

https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...-thailand.html

Looks great CMN.  :Smile:

----------


## oldgit

Any latest photos CMN ?We will be in the Viang doi area on the 7th March if you see an oldgit on a push bike shouting out cled! that will be me   :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
i keep meaning to update this but i am really lazy.

will put some pics up tomorrow.

should be finished in the next month.

----------


## oldgit

Your gang have done really well.

----------


## The_Dude

CMN,
Question for you. Will you have a "special party room" for those boys in your avatar? IMHO Very creepy!!! :Smile:

----------


## jizzybloke

> Your gang have done really well.


Have they we wouldn't know CMN still hasn't updated?!

----------


## Scooter

> i keep meaning to update this but i am really lazy.


Can't be as lazy as me mate,come on where are those pictures!

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
not so sure scoot.

you know how it is, rocking and rolling.
 :Smile:

----------


## BigRed

Should be about finished now, you do have a digital camera don't you? or are you trying to get the whole process onto 1 roll of film?

----------


## jizzybloke

He could've painted in oil by now!

----------


## Tao

Actually that's quite funny jb...  :Smile:   But, let's face it, it's quite a chore uploading pics on here.

----------


## gos

Thanks cmn great thread looking forward to seeing completed house

----------


## hillbilly

Still waiting.  :Sad:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

I have some new pics on my camera.

they are a few weeks out of date though.

I'll upload them in a bit.

i think the exterior was being painted yesterday and we also had our windows delivered today.
unfortunately I have no opportunity to go up there till next Tuesday.

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> I'll upload them in a bit.





> Yesterday, 06:03 PM


Useless twat. You have absolutely no concept of time, do you?

Gone native I reckon.

----------


## good2bhappy

maybe no house to photo?

----------


## Propagator

Might not get anything from CMN for a little while after the Rugby today. Probably well 'three sheets to the wind' by now  :Smile:

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> Might not get anything from CMN for a little while after the Rugby today.


What rugby?

----------


## mystery1051

what is status of this little home, might want to build one like you are talking about.

Mystery1

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> what is status of this little home,


what do you mean by status??

I'm off to supervise tile laying.

will post tonight.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Really would like to get info, on your plans,


we saw a house we liked that we thought we could afford on our limited budget, took the builders round and they copied the plans onto an envelope.

i'm not shitting you.

----------


## klongmaster

Pics CMN...Pics please...

----------


## Elwood

im missing the updates and the pics come on where are they  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

just came back.

it's exactly 2 months since they started building.

I have been really impressed with this team.

none of the expected problems.

their quote of 126,000 baht for labour was by far the cheapest we got and I would reccomend them to anyone building in the ChiangMai area.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

I like these little stone features around the arch.

quite expensive though.

4,000 baht I think.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

a few different angles.....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

all this topsoil was quite expensive too.

i think we have paid 15,000 so far for it....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

bathroom was being tiled today...

----------


## Zeth

When you planning to move in ??

----------


## rawlins

It's all looking grand CMN..... As a final photo on completion I hope we get to see you tucked up in bed in your new dwelling... that would be nice....

It seems to have progressed quickly but I know jack shit about the timescale involved in these projects....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

April 16th.

it's an auspicious day.
 :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

in no hurry to be honest though.
will probably move in bit by bit.

we need to sort out renting our present house first.

----------


## NickA

^Have you had a dump there yet? :Smile:

----------


## Marmite the Dog

Looking good, Noony.




> April 16th.


Just make sure you wrap everything in plastic first.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

can someone ban nicka from my nice thread?

----------


## NickA

^Well I always think of home as the most comfortable place to take a crap, so until you've done that you won't know it's home yet. Squat or throne?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Squat or throne?


are you kidding?

----------


## rawlins

It's a fair question.. have you curled one off in your new home yet?...

----------


## NickA

^^I don't know, am I?.... no, I don't think so... just an honest question

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> ^^I don't know, am I?.... no, I don't think so... just an honest question


I haven't gone quite that native yet Nick.

it's a nice toilet.
around 5,000 baht I think.

----------


## NickA

^Pictures please.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

I haven't taken any toilet pictures nik.

i'll ask my wife to get a few tomorrow.
 :Sad:

----------


## Norton

Looking good CMN.  Moving in 15 April.  Will be a good chance to throw away all the stuff you have collected over the years.  You will be amazed at how much stuff you really have!  Will you do the usual monk party ceremony on move in?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

these pictures were taken this morning.

not a lot left to do now.

the paint has been applied inside and outside and this morning the windows were fitted.

tiles are being laid a the moment too.

should be finished in a week or so.

this is our little kitchen so far.

can't for the life of me remember choosing these tiles for the work top.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

here are the tiles going down in the living room.

i loved the tiles when i saw them at first, but not so sure any more.



i even ceremonially laid 2 myself.

there's a chap fitting the front door...

the cost of the windows including fitting was 38,000 baht.

do you like my summer yellow and mint green paint combo for the living room.
i do.

----------


## Lady Hawk

Wasn't sure those colours would go to gether but looks great.
What colours the guest room?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

our bedroom is mint green.





the spare bedroom is a blue colour that my niece chose even though she is unlikely to sleep in it until she is 18 or something.
she's 6 already and doesn't like to sleep alone.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

my computer room is my favourite shade of green.

welsh dragon green.

we had a storage area built in for me to stick junk like guitars and printers.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

how do you spell scurtain board?

anyway.
we bought this from a local wood dealer in sansai.

the homepro price was very expensive, around 10,000 baht for 100 metres.
identical stuff in the local shop 2,700 baht.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

and this is the outside as of this morning....



all in all very happy.

we did an audit of all our bills last night.

land: 400,000 baht.

all our millions of material receipts : 470,000 baht.

labour 126,000 baht.

total cost with no more major outlay.

996,000 baht.

----------


## Norton

^^All in all it's just great.  Colors are well matched, windows look to be good quality, glass block is a good touch.  Tile so, so like you say but not too bad.  Wiring inside the wall as well.  Very high so!  Kitchen looks good.  Will you be installing cabinets/doors under the counter?

You've done well considering your self professed ignorance regarding houses.

 :wales:

----------


## Norton

> 996,000 baht.


Good number.  You got your monies worth.  Does look a little like the prices in some of the shops though.  You know the 999 baht vs 1,000 baht ones. :Wink:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> You've done well considering your self professed ignorance regarding houses.


thank you so much norton.
really happy.

my wife has done extremely well i think.

i have been very impressed indeed.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Good number. You got your monies worth. Does look a little like the prices in some of the shops though. You know the 999 baht vs 1,000 baht ones.


that was the number we came up with after the audit.
honestly.
 :Smile: 

and believe me, we have been on a very tight budget.

accounting for missing bills and cash in hand transactions, maybe an extra 15,000ish.

also glad we did it when we did.

inflation is happening and the cost of materials like cement and sand increased as we went along.

----------


## Lady Hawk

Looks really good CMN can't belive how quickly it has been built.
Really happy for both of you 





> my wife has done extremely well i think.


she's done a job to be very proud of :goldcup:

----------


## Norton

> also glad we did it when we did.  inflation is happening and the cost of materials like cement and sand increased as we went along.


Just joking about the price.  Doesn't matter anyway.  Close enough "around a million".  You're right waiting would have cost you more.  I just finished mine a little over 8 months ago.  Hate to break this to you but you have a few more things to be 100% finished spending money.  Kitchen stuff, curtains and furniture to name a few.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Kitchen stuff, curtains and furniture to name a few.


that's all coming from our present house except the curtains that we don't like.





> Looks really good CMN can't belive how quickly it has been built.
> Really happy for both of you


amazing to think that when we went on our christmas trip we didn't even have a plan.

seem like yesterday I was round at your place waiting for the building team to arrive.

----------


## Thetyim

> how do you spell scurtain board?


skirting board

Outside is looking great and the kitchen looks great 'cos you didn't choose the tiles  :Smile:

----------


## NickA

Good stuff... just painted the bedrooms here last week... one very similar to your blue, one peach and one that can only be described as diarrhoea yellow/brown.

Toilet pics???

----------


## Loombucket

Looking really good now CMN. All in all, a good price and quickly put together. Mrs Loomb would hate those colours but I think it looks great. Reminds me of my old bedroom in London. Dad had the lid of the tin of white before I made it to the front gate, one summer camp.   :Smile:

----------


## dirtydog

Why are they painting it before the tiling has been finished?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
because i told them i didn't wan't them to splash the tiles.

----------


## dirtydog

Paint washes off the tiles, dirty hand prints and cement don't wash off the wall that easy.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

we all aint 20 year veterans at this dd.

this is my first and hopefully last attempt.

i realise now that the bottom of the walls need painting again.

other than that though, i'm happy it looks like a house and i want to live in it.

----------


## NickA

Welsh dragons must look terribly queer

----------


## slimboyfat

Very nice CMN. Your best ever thread apart from the passport one.

Now just don't go upsetting the neighbours

----------


## Jet Gorgon

Great thread, CMN. Can't wait for the dog pics. :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

Here's the long awaited picture of my toilet for nickA

----------


## Texpat

What are you doing with the large arch in the front of the house?
Will it be windows? If so, wood or aluminium?

I have a large arched window in my stairwell and the curved aluminum (2+m) was a bitch. Had to order it from Bangkok. Hopefully CM will have better options.

House looks great ('cept for the paint in the puke-green computer room)  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> What are you doing with the large arch in the front of the house?


it's just an open porch area for sitting on.




> House looks great


thank you.





> cept for the paint in the puke-green computer room


would have had the whole house in the same green if my wife had let me.
 :Sad:

----------


## Thetyim

There is no seat on the bog.
Are you going to squat on it ?

Can you climb up that high ?  :Smile:

----------


## dirtydog

> Here's the long awaited picture of my toilet for nickA


It isn't fitted yet is it....
I think it will eventually be fitted about 60cms to the left in your ugly colored bathroom, don't worry, I saw a bathroom uglier than yours today and got pics of it  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

I'm very happy with the bathroom scheme.

you can go fudge yourself.

----------


## bustak

I saw it yesterday, & it's going to be nice! 

Are there going to be Coyote girls @ the house warming party?  :Smile:

----------


## Thetyim

> you can go fudge yourself.


Well he will have to if your toilet don't work yet

----------


## NickA

Thanks CMN, I am happy now

----------


## Elwood

is it the skirting or the architraves?

----------


## Scooter

Welsh Dragon Green?  It that what it said on the tin? :Smile:

----------


## MeMock

Looking good there CMN.

Please pass on my congrats to the missus as well.

----------


## cimboc

> Here's the long awaited picture of my toilet for nickA


Boy the "blokes" toilet on the left looks a little hard to aim for  :Wink: 

Great pic's CMn keep em coming

----------


## Silent Ninja

The missus have fallen in love with the pics of your house, so do you have a floor plan that your can share?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> The missus have fallen in love with the pics of your house, so do you have a floor plan that your can share?


not really.

i would if i had one.

we just copied it to an envelope from another house that we liked that fell within budget.

the builders over estimated the material cost otherwise it would be a fair bit larger, especially the kitchen and the bath room.

we can always extend later though.

----------


## Thetyim

> The missus have fallen in love


HAVE ?
How many you got then ?

----------


## Fabian

> do you like my summer yellow and mint green paint combo for the living room.


Of course not.

Why didn't you ask someone who is not colourblind to choose the clours for you?

----------


## buad hai

One of the more interesting and suspenseful of the constructions threads. It came out very nice.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
thanks BH.

I'll be moving in gradually over the course of the next month, house is completed already...the garden needs a huge amount of work.

probably spend a few days a week at the new house while we try to rent the old place out.

----------


## buad hai

^How far is it from the center of Chiang Mai?

----------


## MeMock

Any leads on renting your place yet CMN?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> ^How far is it from the center of Chiang Mai?


about a 30 minute commute.

roughly 16 kilometres but a lot of red lights to navigate.

----------


## buad hai

Somehow I had 40K in mind, but that might have been a different property.

Anyway, at that you should be fine and looking forward to lots of gardening fun.

----------


## Gallowspole

> my computer room is my favourite shade of green.
> 
> welsh dragon green.
> 
> we had a storage area built in for me to stick junk like guitars and printers.


This reminds me of Only Fools and Horses when they painted the local chinkies with luminous paint. :Smile: 

Very nice thread.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

just got back from the house and apart from a couple of bits and bobs, it's done.

the kitchen....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the spare bedroom.



the final job....

putting the skirtings on...
this guy is the head builder.

i have been very impressed by him.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the down step part of the living room with kitchen door to the right.



a bit of house...

lovely colours.



don't care what you all think, I love the colour scheme.

very happy and bright.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the outside patio area.....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

somewhere to put some tables and stuff at the front of the house.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the garden is going to take a serious amount of cleaning up before we even think about starting making it pretty..



bits of old house.

think someone local has bagsied these old roof tiles.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

view of the side of the house from the neighbour's mnoodle stall.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the back of the house.

very plain looking compared to the front.

might paint a dragon on it.

----------


## MeMock

Any leads on renting your town house CmN?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

we followed the tiles out of the kitchen onto what will be the washing area.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Any leads on renting your town house CmN?


do you want it?

----------


## MeMock

I take that as a no then.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> I take that as a no then.


we are in no hurry to be honest mate.

It's a nice position to be in that we can move from one place to the other gradually.

we are looking to rent the old place as of May.

----------


## MeMock

Thats the best way to be CmN. Well done for getting yourself in that position.

Not being in a rush means choosing the best tenant at the price you want.

----------


## Dalton

Do you have a trampoline  :Smile:

----------


## Texpat

Nice place CMN. I recommend checking every electric outlet, drain, faucet, light, switch, window, screen, doorlock, cable outlet, etc before you pay the builder his final payment. 

They're much harder to nail down once they've been paid in full.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
cheers.

the beauty of this project though is that the head builder lives only 100 metres away.

I have been very pleased with their work and their attitude.

they were by far the cheapest quote and i would love to help find them some more work.

any ideas how i could go about this?

----------


## Dalton

> any ideas how i could go about this?


Yep, check every inch of your house one more time... :Smile:

----------


## Thetyim

> any ideas how i could go about this?


Build two more houses on your plot and then sell 'em     :Smile: 





Edit:   Let your wife choose the colours or they might be a bit difficult to sell

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
she did, sort of.

I only got to choose the computer room or the whole place would have been different shades of green.
 :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

and you know what theters.

only seems like yesterday we were discussing the build and stuff.

I am over the moon happy that it has happened so fast and so inside budget.

i expected problems, lots of them.
I'm pretty ecstatic.
 :Smile:

----------


## buad hai

Good on you for venting the attic. I tried to get the builder here to do it but they refused. It's on my "to do" list.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

i think the muck spreader is coming later this week, then we can start making grass grow.

it's a mess right now.

----------


## Texpat

A good tractor operator with a tiller can sort that mess out in two hours. Are you going to grow grass from seed?

----------


## Norton

> It's on my "to do" list.


I did it after the fact myself and it was pretty easy.  What kind of roof tiles do you have?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Are you going to grow grass from seed?


i don't know.

i have no idea at all.

i think i was going to lay rolls of it.

i started a thread yesterday about the best grass to put down but it is going quite badly.

what do you recommend?

----------


## Norton

> i think the muck spreader is coming later this week, then we can start making grass grow.


That looks like nice dark top soil.  Sure better than the stuff we get in Roiet.  Better known as red dust when put in and then quickly becomes red brick when dry. :Sad:

----------


## Norton

> what do you recommend?


I'm planning to use sod.  20 baht per square meter in Roiet.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Better known as red dust when put in and then quickly becomes red brick when dry


that's the stuff my wife wasted a lot of money on when we moved in.

nasty infertile shit with big gaping gaps.

what's this sod stuff?

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> what's this sod stuff?


I think he means turf.

----------


## Texpat

17 Baht/sqm in Udon Thani. Delivered 80 kms and installed -- 21 or 22 baht (can't remember). Yippun is a hearty brand and withstands the hard sun. Ask a local gardner what they recommend for CM.

Pay attention to how the tractor grades the dirt -- because the operator probably won't. If you have any small trees growing, they'll be run over. If he leaves it uneven, you'll have massive pools when the rain comes. I recommend running a compactor over it before laying the sod to flatten out the bumps. My lawn is still fairly bumpy after almost a year. Hoping this rainy season will reduce the bumps. Use 30-0-0 fertilizer a few times a month for the first few months.

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> I recommend running a compactor over it before laying the sod to flatten out the bumps.


This is the one thing you shouldn't do when laying turf. The top layer of soil should be lose to allow the roots a chance to take hold, and you should never walk on or roll newly laid turf either.

----------


## Norton

> what's this sod stuff?


Bloody Brits.  Sod is I suppose what you guys incorrectly call turf. :Smile: 
It is grass grown and then cut into rolls or 1 meter squares for replanting on the top of your ground.  Go to your nearest nursery and they will have it.

----------


## Marmite the Dog

A sod is a clump of grass in soil, whereas turf is the stuff which is cut into rolls, and you bladdy well know that Norts!!

----------


## Propagator

Some good advice there with regards to the grass.    I cannot recommend and types as am not familiar with the grass in Thailand.    I would personally buy turf to lay down, but do spend some time getting the site level etc.    Agree with Texpat about running a compacter or heavy duty roller over the soil first.    I have seen to many instances  of where turf has benn laid on what appears to be level soil.    After perhaps 6 month to a year, when the soil compacts naturally big holes begin to appear.

----------


## Texpat

> Originally Posted by Texpat
> 
> I recommend running a compactor over it before laying the sod to flatten out the bumps.
> 
> 
> This is the one thing you shouldn't do when laying turf. The top layer of soil should be lose to allow the roots a chance to take hold, and you should never walk on or roll newly laid turf either.


Yes, of course. By compacting I meant reducing the blobs of dirt down to something manageable, say golf-ball sized rather than beach-ball sized. The soil will take a few years to completely settle anyway -- drying out in the summer and then getting a 3-month soaking in Jul Aug Sep. If you lay the grass on an uneven level, with air between the grass and the dirt, the roots won't take hold.



^ This isn't nearly good enough.

----------


## Propagator

> This is the one thing you shouldn't do when laying turf. The top layer of soil should be lose to allow the roots a chance to take hold, and you should never walk on or roll newly laid turf either.


Agreed here that the top layer should be lose, so after compacting go over it with a rake to scratch the top inch.     When laying turf it is best to 'plank' it

----------


## Norton

> A sod is a clump of grass in soil, whereas turf is the stuff which is cut into rolls, and you bladdy well know that Norts!!


Separated by a common language again.  I understand why you object so I'll just sod off. :Smile: 

*Sod* or *turf* is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material.


The term _sod_ may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns. However, in British English such material is more usually known as _turf_, and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultural senses (for example for turf when ploughed), or avoided altogether, d*ue to the alternative offensive meaning of the word "sod".*


CMN the rolled stuff looks like this:

----------


## Texpat

While we're being pedantic... in Thailand it's not sold in meter squares. The total area is one square meter, but the pieces are chopped into rectangles.  :Wink:

----------


## Norton

> The total area is one square meter, but the pieces are chopped into rectangles.


Yes.  The 20 baht per meter2 is the installed price.  Reckon will be close to the same in CM.

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> Marmite the rolled stuff looks like this:


I know - I've laid miles of the stuff.




> in Thailand it's not sold in meter squares. The total area is one square meter, but the pieces are chopped into rectangles.


Same in the motherland too.

----------


## Norton

> I know - I've laid miles of the stuff.


Oops, sorry.  I meant to say CMN not Marmite. (edited)

----------


## ChiangMai noon

The finishing touches were being applied today.

skirting boards are on....

I think they look great with welsh dragon green.



the bedroom.....




I actually wanted a much lighter colur but was overuled.

they are better than i had expected.

the spare room.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

living room....

----------


## ChiangMai noon

the scaffold was being removed when i left but out of battery..

----------


## ChiangMai noon

next to tackle the garden.

some 1000 odd square metres to grass over.

----------


## Tao

Looks great CMN, did you consider green for the outside as well?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

and finally.


let there be light.

the first light switched on....



that's just about a wrap.

will be spending my first night there next Sunday.

wife won't move until a later date deemed auspicious by the old folk.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Looks great CMN, did you consider greedn for the outside as well?


no, but on reflection I'd have gone with the dark green roof tiles.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> The 20 baht per meter2 is the installed price. Reckon will be close to the same in CM.


so, about 20,000 baht then.
 :Sad:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

oh, and i forgot to telly you.

the house is genuinely cool inside.

it's fukking boiling up here today.

proper serious hot.

walk inside the house and the temperature drops remarkably.

a vindication of my refusal to install air conditioning.
 :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> 3 months and 1 million?
> 
> I say 7 months and 1.4 million
> 
> Don't mean to be negative, but this seems about right for other similar projects in Thailand. They never factor in time and money for problems, mistakes, extras...
> 
> Good luck though and if you can do it as expected I will give you and your wife a gold star.


now that it's finished, I've been amusing myself by reading over the thread again.

up yours nick.
 :kma: 

a famous thread for sure.
 :Smile:

----------


## Frankenstein

Nice one, I like everything apart from the pastel green colour.

(The same as in our bedroom  :Sad:  )

----------


## Norton

> so, about 20,000 baht then.


Don't look so sad.  No need to rush.  One bit at a time as the cash becomes available.  Best to wait a bit anyway just before rainy season. :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Best to wait a bit anyway just before rainy season.


that's good news.
 :Smile: 

why don't they do it in rolls here.

seems they snip them off the bat.

I'd have thought it would take better in a roll.

----------


## Thetyim

> the house is genuinely cool inside.


Don't speak too soon.
The house hasn't "dried" out fully yet.

----------


## Jet Gorgon

Nice design, CMN. I'm not with you on the colour schemes, but hey, it's your home.  :Smile:

----------


## Norton

> why don't they do it in rolls here.


Who knows it's Thailand.  Probably because a machine is needed to cut and roll the turf* (Marmers please note) and in Thailand they can hire a cutter for each side of the rectangle* (Tex note please) for a fraction of the cost.

----------


## Texpat

You're a braver man than me considering going without aircon. I've only had mine on once this year, but April is the ball-buster. Norton's right about waiting till June or July to lay the grass. Get the dirt leveled out now though and soak it a few times to level out the bumps. Use sand to fill divots.

----------


## Gerbil

> wife won't move until a later date deemed auspicious by the old folk.


The date chosen for us to move into our house was April Fools Day.  :Smile:

----------


## NickA

If anything, CMN, I am a man of my word....



for you

----------


## terry57

Great building thread Nooners and your house is a bargain, Id like aircon though.

----------


## More Volts Igor

> Great building thread Nooners and your house is a bargain


Seconded, nice looking house.

Must admit I too am not brave enough to do without the aircon, also not too enamoured with the green (maybe it's lighter in real life) we'll be going with plain old boring Magnolia, at least you've not got a blue roof  :Smile:

----------


## NickA

^always nice to have one room with aircon for when it gets really hot, I'm sure CMN will get guest room sorted out for when I visit.....

----------


## CharleyFarley

^so you'll sleep in the computer room then.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
he'll be lucky.

computer is still in the old house.

i'm there now.

it's all that i have left there.

no telephone lines available at the new address apparently.

 :Sad:

----------


## Gerbil

> no telephone lines available at the new address apparently.


That's it then. Burn the place and move back in to the old one.  :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> That's it then. Burn the place and move back in to the old one.


i'm back for the night at least.

need to download some torrents.

amazing how quick you can get through your collection when you have nothing much to do.

I have just bought a tin of tuna, some cheese a spoon and fork and an ice bucket.

it's a sad sight believe me.
 :Sad:

----------


## CharleyFarley

OK here are some suggestions for download, highly recommended

The Office

Little Britain

The Fast Show

I think they are all series so loads to watch if you haven't already.

They are all british shows

I'm re-watching The Wire Series 1 with subtitles...fookin great

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
thanks, seen them all.
 :Sad: 

downloading some ufc and american idol episode 26 and 27 at the moment.
 :Smile: 

any more ideas?

----------


## CharleyFarley

I enjoy the humour in Boston Legal...loads of eps and good speed from EZTV

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
that will do, thanks.

never seen it and a few people have recommended it.


annoying thing about this is that maxnet assure me they can give me adsl internet connection but i can't get a bloody phone line.

if i don't hurry up and buy one off someone quick, don't think my wife will be welcoming me back.

internet is a lifeline out here.
don't think she fully appreciates that.

----------


## NickA

^^Saxondale, Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley, Nighty Nighty, are all worth a watch.

Control for a good film.

----------


## Gerbil

> ^
> that will do, thanks.
> 
> never seen it and a few people have recommended it.
> 
> 
> annoying thing about this is that maxnet assure me they can give me adsl internet connection but i can't get a bloody phone line.
> 
> if i don't hurry up and buy one off someone quick, don't think my wife will be welcoming me back.
> ...


Cost me 18,000 under the table to 'take over' a phone line and have it relocated 2 kms to my new house.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Cost me 18,000 under the table to 'take over' a phone line and have it relocated 2 kms to my new house.


thanks.
that's the info I was looking for except i was expecting a nought less.

----------


## Gerbil

^ Probably cheaper up there. Depends upon if there's a 'dormant' line nearby that can be moved and how much cable they have to nick from the stores to do the job  :Smile:  Then they have to give a backhander to someone in admin to 'adjust' the records of where the line is.

----------


## CharleyFarley

Same thing here 6 years ago, 6000 Bt and the bill still goes to the old address.

Costs another 2000 to change address on the bill...tossers.

We had to pay for 1700 metres of shitty cable from his house to ours.

----------


## bongthom

nice gaff noony. dunno about the dodgy green insides...must be a tafy thing

----------


## Rdrokit

ChiangMai noon, 
Best of Luck in your new home. Enjoyed reading your thread and could relate to much as I am moving into my new house in Korat after Songkron.
Rokit

----------


## terry57

> internet is a lifeline out here.
> don't think she fully appreciates that.






If it come to the crunch one could do without the wife but to not have Internet is simply inconceivable. 

A horrid thought at best.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## jizzybloke

How are you settling in, Mr & MrsCMn and the new woofer?

----------


## Rascal

to be able to build a house like yours! We have no land, except the old family property in Uttaradit. Where I do not want to live.

Rascal

good luck :Smile: 






> Originally Posted by AntRobertson
> 
> That seems extraordinarily cheap for a 3brm house!
> 
> 
> for the labour only of course.
> 
> 
> we had other quotes in the 165-200,000 baht range.
> ...

----------


## good2bhappy

Good thread.
I like these.
Just purchased some building land in the village and thinking of a little 3 bed bungalow.
Very usefull infomation

----------


## bongthom

some new pics noony?

----------


## jizzybloke

Mrs put the camera on the top shelf he can't reach it now :Wink:

----------


## bongthom

noony must have some slaves to do such menial work for him..

----------


## ChiangMai noon

this is a picture of the place after the scaffold was removed.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

we have built a sort of a structure in the garden with the wood left over from the original house.

I'll call it a pavilion, lovely place to relax in the evening.

will get some pictures in a bit.

----------


## bongthom

very pink noony

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
bad picture quality.

mum took it.

it's actually cream and not at all pink.

----------


## buad hai

^Sure. Blame your pink hour on your Mom....

----------


## buad hai

^Of course, I meant "house" not "hour" but I can't seem to edit this post. Why not?

Are we now prevented from editing posts in the construction threads?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Are we now prevented from editing posts in the construction threads?


i didn't think so.

tried to seed the garden but the fukking neighbourhood chickens have had a field day.

looks like we'll have to lay grass instead.
 :Sad:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

here's a better picture that I took just now.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

btw, i know have a nice fast internet connection.

bought the number off a chap down the road for 4,000 baht, so I feel properly and utterly settled.

----------


## TizMe

The quick paint job has made a great improvement.  :Smile:

----------


## bongthom

what's with the green curtains? shouldn't be allowed for non-irish

----------


## NickA

^is that some sort of sign of where to bomb???

----------


## cimboc

> 


Gee another PS thread coming up....

_"How to change the colour of my house so not to cop sh*t from the boys"_

 :Razz:

----------


## Loombucket

It looks very nice CMN, well done.

----------


## sabang

> inflation is happening and the cost of materials like cement and sand increased as we went along.


It certainly has been. A large part of the reason our place in Ubon was finished early was because, tied to a fixed price contract, the builder brought a few extra workers down to knock the job over as fast as possible, get his money out, and be left with a decent profit after his costs started inflating. Or so he told mrs.

Great result nooners.  :Smile:  Well done on getting the internet line too- I think it's pretty doubtful I can do the same in rural Ubon, unfortunately.

----------


## bongthom

> is that some sort of sign of where to bomb???


yup....always been so for the retarded engerlish

----------


## The Gentleman Scamp

It looks like a dolls house.  :Smile:

----------


## benbaaa

I can now personally vouch for the following facts:

1. CMN's house is bright pink, and that that picture above has been photoshopped to make it look like some sort of cream colour.  :Very Happy: 

2. Mrs Noony makes a mean beefburger.  Thanks, Mrs CMN.

3. Inzamam ul Haq is a fine figure of a dog, and so is her stable mate whose name I've just forgotten.

4. Bustak is a jolly nice chap, for an American.  :Razz: 

Cheers, Noony.   Found my way home.  Eventually.

----------


## bobbysan124

> here's a better picture that I took just now.


Enjoyed your thread. Good luck to you and wife in your new abode.

 :Smile:

----------


## TSR2

Hi CMN about to start a house project here in LOS , just noticed that you are using blocks instead of the small Thai bricks which Thai,s favour. I think that they given the purpose ie "in fill" with copious amounts of cement are in reality no stonger or less so than blocks, What do you reckon then

----------


## Rascal

I must say it does look very good. See you soon!

----------


## DrAndy

> Hi CMN about to start a house project here in LOS , just noticed that you are using blocks instead of the small Thai bricks which Thai,s favour. I think that they given the purpose ie "in fill" with copious amounts of cement are in reality no stonger or less so than blocks, What do you reckon then


 
He doesn't know that

but blocks are better and quicker, if you are rendering the wall

The bricks look nice exposed (like CMN in his den)

Even better would be the QCON blocks which are much lighter and give better insulation; go with them if you can afford the bit extra. You would also need the special render cement, I think

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> He doesn't know that


yes I do.

blocks are better and quicker if you are rendering wall.





> The bricks look nice exposed


i like the render.





> I must say it does look very good. See you soon!


oh christ almighty.

when?

----------


## Loy Toy

Mate I would have told them to stick the satallite dish on the back of the house!

Just a suggestion but otherwise everything else looks OK.

----------


## cimboc

^was thinking that myself actually, surprised he didn't remove it when he *photoshopped* the colour from pink to cream  :Smile: 

btw its been a while hows the gardens coming along??

----------


## punter69com

very nicely done,can you tell me how much it cost for the materials and labour?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> very nicely done,can you tell me how much it cost for the materials and labour?


labour =126,000

materials around 400,000 give or take.

can't remember, it's listed somewhere in the thread.

----------


## smeden

nice house and nice pics   :Smile:

----------


## sharon

> here's a better picture that I took just now.


Finally, you got what you want, congratulations!!!  Woohoo!!! Greenie is still required, eh?  :Smile: 

What a lovely house with a nice view back there.

----------


## jizzybloke

Have you got a proper gate yet?

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> Have you got a proper gate yet?


nope...wouldn't go with the rural surroundings and wouldn't be any more functional than what we have.
 :Smile:

----------


## jandajoy

Congrats on reaching 500 by the way.   :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

^
thought you were going to bed.

----------


## jandajoy

yes... sort of..... in a bit..... got a visa run tomorrow  :Sad:

----------


## jizzybloke

> nope.... I'm too tight to buy one.


closer i reckon :Smile:

----------


## ChiangMai noon

> closer i reckon


there is that, but they are also quite heavy and difficult to open and don't really do much more of a job than the free bamboo one.

----------


## larvidchr

Very interesting thread, nice house, well done CMN  :goldcup:

----------


## nipper

A very good thread with lots of usefull information. The whole thing is just about affordable for me, bearing in mind that prices will be going up all the time. I don't have any more questions yet but can I get back to you later?

----------


## a. boozer

For some reason, I had missed out the last couple of pages. Have to admit that with the exception of the 'very green' computer room CMN has built a very nice house at an extremely competitive price. Well Done CMN!

----------


## rubik101

Great thread and a nice house. 27.800 posts! I don't think I will live long enough to post more than about 1000!
Well done and I hope you enjoy living there.

----------


## ChiangMai noon

Thank you.

 :Smile: 




> 27.800 posts


and i'm told that at least 14 of them were quality.

----------


## MeMock

Don't be so modest, I say at least 16.

----------


## a. boozer

> Don't be so modest, I say at least 16.


Really?

----------


## DrAndy

most of them were of the quality shown in the last few posts

----------


## Guru50

Hi man,

I am new on Teakdoor but I enjoyed watching your threat very much. My woman and I live in Saraphi and we want to build a new house in november. Do you think your builder is still interested in a job? 
If yes, i would like to have his adress or phone number so my woman can contact him. You can watch my design on floorplanner but i am not alowed yet to post it.
floorplanner.com/projects/18759453-saraphihouse
The swimmingpool is planned to build later.

----------


## splitlid

hi guru, looking at your design, is the carport covered by thr roof?
as it stands the existing roof will look strange, where the masterbedroom and the rest of the house join.

----------


## splitlid

ok sorry, just found the roof plan and i can see it is covered.
 :Smile:

----------


## Guru50

Hi Splitlid,

Nice you find the roof plan, i was not sure you could make it visible.
Anyway, i really like this sketch, i tell you, i made 5 different sketches and made hundreds of changes. Floorplanner is a great program to use, great fun for me.
This is my final sketch, however it depence on the architect or contractor.

----------


## Storekeeper

Excellent thread taffy. Well done on your house. I'll be asking you about it over yonder unless you reply on this thread.

----------


## NickA

^I don't think he posts here anymore...

I bet he looks in once in a while though

----------


## BangkokBill

Interesting thread. Like the photos. My friend used Kensington in Chiang Mai. They weren't the cheapest but certainly weren't the most expensive. Have to say being a  retired builder, they did a wonderful job of he house build. They seem to build a lot for expats and retired people.

----------


## DrAndy

I think that they are often found to be very expensive

----------


## Nawty

Very very expensive

----------


## English Noodles

How much did CMN's house end up costing in total minus the price of land?

----------


## NickA

> How much did CMN's house end up costing in total minus the price of land?


He doesn't post here anymore. I will ask him.

----------


## English Noodles

^Thanks.

----------


## setaputra

I found this thread very interesting. Sorry the op does not post anymore. 

we are buying some land in sarapee - hopefully at the land office on wednesday. (it should have been friday but that is another story) and the build starts on saturday 12th

Posters may find it useful to follow developments. certainly I found reading this thread excellent and informative

If members are interested I'll open a thread and upload pictures about three times a week at least, to record progress and of course answer any questions on a daily basis.

----------


## setaputra

> I found this thread very interesting. Sorry the op does not post anymore. 
> 
> we are buying some land in sarapee - hopefully at the land office on wednesday. (it should have been friday but that is another story) and the build starts on saturday 13th
> 
> Posters may find it useful to follow developments. certainly I found reading this thread excellent and informative
> 
> If members are interested I'll open a thread and upload pictures about three times a week at least, to record progress and of course answer any questions on a daily basis.


............

----------


## bobbysan124

Nice thread.

----------


## Cenovis

> If members are interested I'll open a thread and upload pictures about three times a week at least, to record progress and of course answer any questions on a daily basis.


Sure we are, Building a house threads are always favorite reads of many members here. Dont forget to include a pic or two from the missus  :mid:

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> If members are interested I'll open a thread


Grand idea.

----------


## setaputra

> Originally Posted by setaputra
> 
> 
> 
> If members are interested I'll open a thread and upload pictures about three times a week at least, to record progress and of course answer any questions on a daily basis.
> 
> 
> Sure we are, Building a house threads are always favorite reads of many members here. Dont forget to include a pic or two from the missus



Sure, cenovis.  I'll post some pics later.  At the moment she has no free time to pose for the camera as she has around 200 cu metres of hole to dig and she is behind schedule despite my getting her to work from 5am  to 8pm.  :smiley laughing: 


sep

----------


## nigelandjan

> They are fukking useless tools I think.


The Thais or the hoes ???

----------


## keithgb

> lucky sod, at least you have managed to find a builder and underway, I am still pulling my hair out seeking a builder and a price range. keep us posted on the progress


I enquired about getting a 4 bedroom bungalow built the same as the builders house and he gave me a firm price of 1,000,000 baht with euro kitchen and outside kitchen and european bathroom.THIS IS IN Dan Chang so i dont know where you built yours but i think you payed a bit over the top. :cmn:

----------


## dirtydog

^I've built Euro kitchens that have cost nearly that, it might not be as euro as you are hoping for  :Smile:

----------


## keithgb

> ^I've built Euro kitchens that have cost nearly that, it might not be as euro as you are hoping for


He.. had one in his place because he built his sisters house aswell.Her husband is English.Nice place,three bungalows all same design.I think it was because she lived in England so they all have the same kitchens.We can only hope,but the finish on the homes are beautiful.
 :UK:

----------


## DrAndy

go for it keith, and don't forget the pics

----------


## Travelmate

> Originally Posted by 63chalky
> 
> 
> lucky sod, at least you have managed to find a builder and underway, I am still pulling my hair out seeking a builder and a price range. keep us posted on the progress
> 
> 
> I enquired about getting a 4 bedroom bungalow built the same as the builders house and he gave me a firm price of 1,000,000 baht with euro kitchen and outside kitchen and european bathroom.THIS IS IN Dan Chang so i dont know where you built yours but i think you payed a bit over the top.


Really! 
Just had a small Euro Kitchen fitted for 400g 
2 bathrooms fitted out for 300g

Your quote must be for a tiny house.

----------


## DrAndy

> Really! Just had a small Euro Kitchen fitted for 400g 2 bathrooms fitted out for 300g Your quote must be for a tiny house.


what is a g?  is that a K?

as for the prices, Euro style kitchens can cost the earth or be very reasonable, depending on what you choose

i.e. a tap can cost B4000 or B1000, depending on maker (Grohe vs. Cotto)

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> what is a g? is that a K?


Go easy on him Doc - not everyone is a native speaker. We've got loads of Merkins & Aussies on here.

----------


## DrAndy

> Originally Posted by DrAndy
> 
> what is a g? is that a K?
> 
> 
> Go easy on him Doc - not everyone is a native speaker. We've got loads of Merkins & Aussies on here.


 
it was a straightforward question, Marmite

I dunno what a g is, besides a spot

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> I dunno what a g is, besides a spot


I thought it was a myth?

----------


## DrAndy

do you have a lisp?

----------


## BKKBILL

> Originally Posted by DrAndy
> 
> what is a g? is that a K?
> 
> 
> Go easy on him Doc - not everyone is a native speaker. We've got loads of Merkins & Aussies on here.


OK now you have me curious as to what a g is and while Im at it what or who are Merkins. Know the Aussies because there from down under I think.

----------


## Muadib

Merkin equates to Seppo... 

g is slang in the US for a 'grand', 1000... So in the context above 100g would be the same as 100k...

----------


## DrAndy

oh, thanks Muadib

and Merkin is a slurred American

----------

