#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Construction in Thailand >  >  Not a House Building Thread .

## Wasp

A long time ago I was getting advice on Teakdoor for a mooted house construction out into water .   That still hasn't happened .  Disagreements among family members who own a share of the land , live 600 km from the land and have no real interest in what goes on there .... other than causing a hiatus in building .
  So I don't have a " Build " thread as yet .  But I greatly enjoy reading the Threads that are already here .

What I can contribute though is a small alteration job which I don't count yet .
All I did was supply many Bahts and left my partner to alter the structure she already shared with her family .

And this is what she was starting with ................

 Wasp .







http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1abfa362.jpg

----------


## Wasp

I thought a photo would appear here .

The photos are in Photobucket but I'm doing something wrong I think ?

Help anyone ????? Please .

                        Wasp

----------


## Bettyboo

I think there are various ways to do it, Wasp.

I clicked your link, then I rested my mouse on the pic and right clicked, then Copy Image URL. Then, on TD, I right clicked on the yellow pyramid in the editing box then pasted (making sure that the box was 100% empty of text before I pasted). Easy.  :Smile: 

Looks like a nice wooden house, take care or Roobarb will but it for his Borgesque cube...  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

It's not working for me Bettyboo !!!!!

Please check with me .
1.     I go to the image that's in Photobucket .
2.     I right click in the image and then click  Copy URL .
3.    Come back to TD ...... Click on the mountain and then Paste the URL ???

      By George should that be right ?


     I can't make this work .                I give up .

----------


## Bettyboo

^for part 3 - left click on the yellow pyramid/mountain, right click over the http:// bit then select paste. Works for me on Windows 8.

&, I'm not Roobarb...  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

I know you're not Roobarb .   I'm very sorry .  I think the " boo " part of your knickname stuck in my head .    Boo .... Roo  .    

I changed my error INSTANTLY !!   

You're damn quick on that computer !!!!    

 But I apologise .

_I only did 2 Posts and I've got a headache now ._

Cup of coffee and I'll make a new start but if I don't get the photo in there I NEVER  EVER swear   ( Honestly True !!! ) but I'll kick the next chicken I see .


                             Wasp .

 I cannot get this to work for me !!!!!!!                     All I get is a string of text and that's not what I want .

      OK      that's it .        It will take me at least 3 days to calm down and try again .      Great Thread hey ?

         But Thank You  Bettyboo  .            Happy New Year .


                                      Wasp.

----------


## Koetjeka

> It's not working for me Bettyboo !!!!!
> 
> Please check with me .
> 1.     I go to the image that's in Photobucket .
> 2.     I right click in the image and then click  Copy URL .
> 3.    Come back to TD ...... Click on the mountain and then Paste the URL ???
> 
>       By George should that be right ?
> 
> ...


Correct, you can also use Picasa (same account as your google+ / gmail account).

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> It's not working for me Bettyboo !!!!!
> 
> Please check with me .
> 1.     I go to the image that's in Photobucket .
> 2.     I right click in the image and then click  Copy URL .
> 3.    Come back to TD ...... Click on the mountain and then Paste the URL ???
> ...


_
I don't doubt you're words Koetjeka .   I even had a go yesterday and posted my first photo elsewhere at my first attempt !   But I have to be going wrong somewhere .   Bettyboo loaded my photo no problem at all .       

I've tried over and over and I keep cancelling when I get a string of text .

I'll give it one more go now then I'm going to look for a victim .

   And thank you .                                 Wasp_

----------


## Wasp



----------


## Bettyboo

Happy New Year, Waspy - ^perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect.  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Happy New Year, Waspy - ^perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect.


_What did I do ?      I haven't got any text but I did something right .   Thanks for the cool soft hand on my tempestuous brow !!!


                Wasp_

    GOSH             MIDNIGHT !!!!!!            *  Happy  New  Year  !!!!!!!!!!*

----------


## Wasp

OK     Let's start again .           A long time ago .... even bloody longer now ......  I was getting advice on Teakdoor for a mooted house construction out into water . 

   That still hasn't happened . 

Disagreements among family members who own a share of the land though they  live 600 km from the land and have no real interest in what goes on there ...... other than causing a hiatus in building .

So I don't have a " Build " thread as yet . 
But I greatly enjoy reading the Threads that are already here .

What I can contribute though is a small alteration job which I don't count yet as my building thread.
All I did was supply many Bahts and left my partner to alter the structure she already shared with her family .

And this is what she was starting with ................



 It looks pretty decent really    but it wasn't .   That Ground floor area was a rice store so it was dark , dirty , grotty , grimey , didIsaydirty? , filthy and generally unpleasant .    You ventured in there solely to access the staircase up to the living quarters .

And up those stairs was a small , dark , dirty area divided by mosquito nets and loose plywood into 3 sleeping areas .   Just normal for a father , a son , a daughter and her daughter when the adult female is left to do everything domestic , the father works his bum off on some rented land and the brother does sod all . 
  So the house on the outside looks reasonable .  I've seen worse .      But the reality  made me want to cry .  I think I did .

  Give the lady Bahts and she attacked .

   First --- rip out some hopelessly decayed bricks in order to put in some decent windows. .



        My pictures are working !!!!!!      Thank you Bettyboo and Koetjeka.

   OK ...........   the bricks have been removed in order to put some windows into the Ground Floor which she is changing from that dark rice store ...... and she's going to have a KITCHEN !!!!

    But a problem ........... _how do you move the idle brother out_ ?

 

*ANSWER* .........   You build some wallwork between those existing columns to the left of the door .  A window . A door .  And you have a perfectly decent room for him .  Put in a tv , a bed and some dogs and he's as happy as a Dog himself !


      It's 20 after midnight .  20 minutes into 2014 .  So I'll go and drink some Chang   * HAPPY  NEW  YEAR  !!!*   to anyone who reads this and especially my two new friends  Bettyboo and Koetjeka .

        I'll continue tomorrow .

                                                          Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

> I think there are various ways to do it, Wasp.
> 
> I clicked your link, then I rested my mouse on the pic and right clicked, then Copy Image URL. Then, on TD, I right clicked on the yellow pyramid in the editing box then pasted (making sure that the box was 100% empty of text before I pasted). Easy. 
> 
> Looks like a nice wooden house, take care or Roobarb will but it for his Borgesque cube...


Oi, Betty....!

Actually I hate to admit it but my immediate thought when I saw the pic of the house was 'nice place, wonder how much he wants for it'.

BTW I had to google 'Borgesque'.  I'm still none the wiser but Google Images interpreted it as 'Burlesque', and for that Betty I'm very grateful.  It made my new year particularly happy

Nice thread Wasp, keep the pictures coming...

----------


## Carnwadrick

Happy New Year, good luck with your project

----------


## Wasp

Well ...... Thank You Roobarb for your kind words .

This won't be a long thread because I haven't got any of the normal stuff about foundations , rebar , gravel deliveries , waiting for cement pours et cetera .

However - even if I forewarn you I do think you will be quite astonished at what she did with this dwelling .

And in that first photo you will see a red arrow pointing at a concrete column .  That will be significant later .

*Happy New Year Roobarb  !!!!*    --- and everyone .


                       Wasp.

----------


## Wasp

> Happy New Year, good luck with your project


Thank you Carnwadrick . My Very Best to You .


*   Wasp*

----------


## Koetjeka

> [COLOR="Wheat"]Disagreements among family members who own a share of the land though they  live 600 km from the land and have no real interest in what goes on there ...... other than causing a hiatus in building .


Wow is that house really build in the jungle or is it just the photos? It looks nice though!





> It's 20 after midnight . 20 minutes into 2014 . So I'll go and drink some Chang HAPPY NEW YEAR !!! to anyone who reads this and especially my two new friends Bettyboo and Koetjeka .


Thanks a lot  :Smile:  I rarely drink alcohol myself haha.

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> [COLOR="Wheat"]Disagreements among family members who own a share of the land though they  live 600 km from the land and have no real interest in what goes on there ...... other than causing a hiatus in building .
> 
> 
> Wow is that house really build in the jungle or is it just the photos? It looks nice though!
> 
> 
> ...



_No Koetjeka .   The house in the picture is not in the jungle .  It's near Korat and although it looks decent outside it was not decent at all inside .   It's in a busy little village but it's one step back from the road so there's lots of greenery and trees . But it's surrounded by family houses and nobody gets on very well so they try to stop access to this land .  Fortunately the neighbours ( non-family ) are very pleasant and we cross their land .   Although it's nothing to do with my Post I'll try to find a photo showing it's not jungle ._ 



  I hope there's a photo here .

It will show the homes between this one and the road .   So you can see - there's no jungle . The stuff simply grows quickly and wildly !!

           Wasp

----------


## Wasp

OK .........   Onwards .

I'm taking this slowly because there's not a lot to say as all she did was a major alteration to an existing structure which is still there somewhere inside the changes .

  Resuming ...........

        I had said already .... old structure  ...... remove bricks for windows ....... solve the indolent brother problem by making a separate room for him .
         Summary -

----------


## Wasp

I'm making a mess of the photos so I'm writing individually instead .

    Now the lady needed Bahts to render that small room plus the replacement walls with windows .  
At the same time she was wanting to make an extension to have a kitchen ! the nerve !!!   Undreamed-of Luxury !!!!!



 Note the classy working platform for the renderer .  Not a Baht misspent on that .

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

----------


## Wasp

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

So they made a start taking the ground floor out further for a kitchen space .



 Look Janet !!!!  Look how they got the nice little blocks almost perfectly aligned and almost vertical !!

We don't want any of that silly fallang ziggy-zaggy nonsense !!

Oops !!     Somebody round the corner did it !!!!     His days are numbered . 





    And then ........  in a burst of utter greed she decided she wanted a roof !!!!!





   The lady is just insatiable .   Next she'll be wanting a toilet .

Anyway ..... apparently all her cousins can make extensions and a roof that would make Michelangelo weep .  
   She assured me their work would make anyone weep so I think that's what she meant .  

I think the guy in the straw hat spent all day rolling cigarettes for the others .

So now she  promised all H&S regulations for the Nonthai area would be conformed to .  

And she got some Bahts for a roof .



   The guy in the Lilac tee-shirt was the boss so his part was to sit on the beams and watch the guy with the Drill .    Sure enough the guy with the drill drilled through his toe and the guy in the Lilac tee-shirt was there to see that he did indeed drill through his toe in the standard and approved manner .


Apparently they were all cousins .... or " sister-man " whatever that means .

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

----------


## Wasp

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

              Small coffee break for me .

      I get a headache just looking at this and remembering the guy who had just the one chisel so he was the Master Carpenter on the job .      

        He used the chisel to hack blocks in half - then make a channel for some cable - then smack away some accidental concrete blobs ....... and then he found it was quite difficult to cut into some timber with this same chisel in a delicate and fanciful way .

The chisel was as sharp as a cricket ball .


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

----------


## Wasp

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

  Here's an inside shot after we moved the rice - thoroughly cleaned out snakes , rats , crap , suspicious stuff and stuff that moved so we ran away and sent in the dogs .




  It's all looking quite clean with a decent floor but I must assure it was awful .... maybe acceptable to put a few dogs in there but not people .

----------


## Wasp

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

Another shot for Koetjeka showing next door .  Showing it's definitely not jungle .



   That wall was put there as a shared cost .  Including the gate which opened inwards to the aunty's home .  

 It was access to the main road via the Aunty's garden.  

Once my lady had paid half of the cost of that wall and gate Aunty bought 20 loads of soil - spread it on that land - and blocked the gate .

See the lovely ladder ?     If you want to go and visit ( we don't ) that's the access now .      Always a warm Dog reception too .

               Families !!!!!!

----------


## Wasp

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

  So we have an extension going on and the rendering getting slapped on .

   But sitting outside was too hot so I crowbarred open my funds and put an awning on the side .

 It's a terrible photo ....... meaning poor quality photo ........... but it was at that time so it's appropriate . 




 Brown door facing you .... door to the room of the indolent brother .     

  Note the lovely new windows of which the lady is inordinately proud .   This is a lady who cleaned floors and looked between the cracks hoping to find a lost coin with which hopefully she could buy one egg to mix into her daughter's rice .   


It has been difficult locating these photos so I must disappear and look for more which I know exist .
I promised that you'll be astonished when you see this finished .  It might not look that way at present ... but I repeat my promise .

                 So bye for now .

                                                      Wasp

----------


## sunsetter

Whos that peeking over the wall in post 24? A ghost?

----------


## Bettyboo

> Borgesque


The Borg, a collective who selfishly assimilate anything that they need for themselves with no thought for their victims...  :Smile: 




I'm liking that wall a lot; makes me feel much better about my porch...  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

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

  A little bit of inside work ..................



With expert fallang working standards !!!



But see that doorway to the right ?   That didn't stay very long .   Missy was into her stride and wanted to extend that way also . 
Making a passageway with cupboards and fridge - leading even later to a bathroom / toilet .

  A life lived upstairs was moving completely downstairs .  

 Her wish was to construct a good enough home for the others downstairs and then leave her to the space upstairs .

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

----------


## Roobarb

> Originally Posted by Roobarb
> 
> Borgesque
> 
> 
> The Borg, a collective who selfishly assimilate anything that they need for themselves with no thought for their victims...


Ah, I see.  

And there was me wondering if it was a reference to the Borgesian Conundrum, a philosophical question of metaphysics.  Specifically it asks whether a story is created by the author, or the author created by their story.

So it's a Star Trek thing then Betty...   :rofl: 

Having just looked it up in Wikipedia, it says that 'the Borg's ultimate goal is achieving perfection'.  If they ever did happen stop off in Thailand and think it a nice spot to knock up a wee holiday house - you know, somewhere they could escape the day to day pressures of life at the Unicomplex - then I reckon even they they would have their work cut out for them getting Somchai to do the job properly.

As an aside, I was amused to see that the Borg were introduced because The Ferengi, the Star Trek writers' intended enemy for the Federation, had a 'comical, unintimidating appearance and (their) devotion to capitalist accumulation by free enterprise failed to portray them as a convincing threat.  They were subsequently reassigned as comic relief'.  

Ferengi - Farang, there really is truth behind much of the fiction in Star Trek...

A very happy new year to you too Wasp, sorry to divert your thread.

A question that comes to mind is that without clear and undisputed access to the road is it worth improving the property, or are the other relatives making it difficult in the hope you'll abandon it?

Also, and I know it's been asked already, but whose is the head appearing above the wall?  Is that the Aunt?

----------


## Wasp

OYYY !!!!!!!

What's all this Borg stuff doing here ?    I'm busy grouting here and trying not to look at some dodgy wall construction !!!!

----------


## Wasp

That's the Aunt's daughter .


*Roobarb*
 " A question that comes to mind is that without clear and undisputed access to the road is it worth improving the property, or are the other relatives making it difficult in the hope you'll abandon it? "



 On the question of the access .   It was once one big block .  The great-granddad died leaving it to Missy's granddad and the granddad's 5 sisters ......... who promptly built all around the edges .

Granddad was too placid to fight and now 30 years later it's a problem .

But there are solutions .     Maybe if Missy builds an 80 metre road from the tarmacked road serving this property and the neighbour's property the neighbours might give her perpetual access .  Effectively selling her the strip of land on which she builds the road .

Other idea ...........  All those shitty vampire sisters have their plots in hock to the Bank. They could eventually lose them .  So maybe pay a debt and have a strip coming in .

There are ideas .  But this is not my build . I just said I'd pay . Miss has always lived there and she won a Court case to be able to walk in and out .   For her it's worth having a decent house when she had only had a future of debt and destitution .

                                                       Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

^ Sounds like a nightmare family situation Wasp, glad there are solutions in the offing.  Good on you for getting stuck in and helping where you can.

BTW, sorry about all the Borg stuff.  My posts are generally best ignored...  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

*Roob* ........  The land access is not such a nightmare really .  An inconvenience .  The granddad is likely to die soonish and of course the sisters not long after .  I have more fear about the greedy distant cousins who live in Bangkok and may see an extortion opportunity . Missy doesn't anticipate so far ahead .   But this is not where my build will be ... and the father has a gun which he will happily use if anyone makes his daughter's life difficult .  Additionally the local folk do have an idea about fairness and they can make your life Hell if you behave badly .  As I'm sure you already know .

 The Borg stuff just came as a shock .  I was beginning to think nobody was really looking at this but I'm happy enough that you and Boobiddyboo have had a look .

You're a funny pair .

Now then ............ apart from one important item the First Renovation is done .



   Of course it got doors , and windows and inside was tiled .
  What you can't see is the more expensive item of removing the awful , HOT corrugated iron roof and replacing it with much cooler material .

    Here is the happy crew who got the Miss to the end of Stage 1.



  That skinny young man in the blue tee shirt holding up the bowl of rice is actually the Miss ! 

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

----------


## Neverna

I'm enjoying the read too, Wasp. Keep it coming. 

What's the story with the arrowed pillar?

----------


## Loombucket

> Not a House Building Thread


...but a jolly little tale none the less. Keep it coming please!

----------


## Yemen

Interesting Wasp- keep it coming.

----------


## Wasp

Well thank you fellers .    Other ( more serious ) threads get lots of responses and interest .   I feared my small tale might be wasting my time ... except I did find that Roobee and Boobydiddlydoo were looking - and then Kojak .

And although I'm enjoying putting it together it DOES take time even for such a small story .     Finding relevant photos is the main time-consumer .

But as you guys are interested too I'll continue .

Actually all I wanted was not to be the lowest read thread ..... which had 218 views .  i was prepared to read it myself 219 times .

But I'm beyond that score so I'm content .

_NEVERNA_ ...........  that arrow becomes relevant later because I promised the end result would be majorly surprising .... and that arrowed column will be my reference point.

Thank you for the interest .

WASP

----------


## Wasp

SECOND Renovation .................


Missy was very VERY happy with the changes .

 Nice Louvred windows went in .  Decent doors .   Tiles on the floor .    A basic kitchen which was still the stuff of Lottery fantasies for her .   
A tiled clean toilet .

Most importantly the corrugated iron roofing was removed and replaced by much cooler panels which looks like compacted asbestos but it's not .  Much cooler and much quieter too in the bouncing torrential rainfalls .

And she was happy .    

What impressed me most was that she didn't want anything more .  She hadn't even asked for the first renovation .  It was my idea ... and it could only ever be my idea because it could only have ever been paid for by me .

So she asked and expected nothing more .

But that upstairs was looking pretty crap to my eyes .  And besides I loved having that crew around and I liked being able to put some money in their pockets .
I think at that time they were working on 120 Baht a day. And that was £2 .

NOBODY EVER showed any signs of even wanting to take any advantage of a stupid fallang .   I don't believe they ever did .  

So my decision again ...." Tell them to take off all that crap and put up nice clean stuff ."


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

----------


## Dillinger

Good thread Wasp, keep it comin

----------


## Wasp

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

" Tell them to take off that crap " .............. so here they go ...........




Normal Thai building practice severely adhered to .

In the foreground is the Boss saying " That looks near enough to vertical . "

And in the background is Missy's dad looking at the latest hole in the ground and asking if there's any whisky left .     Much whisky discussion ensues .  They decide 100 Pipers is the best .

     {  Thank you  Dillinger !  }

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

----------


## Wasp

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

 A further view of the dwelling as it stood at the start of the Second Renovation ....

You might notice that one reason I'm so slow is that these are actual physical photos -- so I have to find them , then scan them into the computer and try to adjust Contrast et cetera and even then send them up to Photobucket and get a URL to put them in here .      
If I look a bit dribby drabby that's the reason .

Feel tired myself now .

----------


## Marmite the Dog

A very enjoyable thread. Looking forward to seeing how the top turns out.

----------


## Bettyboo

Nice effort, Wasp. Although, I'm pretty sure that rear extension will need a second floor imminently (you may want to check that the foundations are strong enough for a 3rd floor in time...). 

Have you considered bars on the windows and a strong outside lock for that downstairs bedroom?

----------


## Wasp

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

   I think all of dass crappen has gone now and replacement wall boards are going in .




     In the next image there's a guy clearly standing on her new awning roof and there's no question about that .

I simply cannot figure out why anyone would think differently .

----------


## Wasp

> A very enjoyable thread. Looking forward to seeing how the top turns out.



  I have to keep to my promise of a surprising ending .

----------


## Neverna

^^ The guy on the right is standing.

----------


## Wasp

> Nice effort, Wasp. Although, I'm pretty sure that rear extension will need a second floor imminently (you may want to check that the foundations are strong enough for a 3rd floor in time...). 
> 
> Have you considered bars on the windows and a strong outside lock for that downstairs bedroom?


   This was all 6 years ago Bettyboo .  I was considering a second floor above that extension for maybe this year but I don't think a 3rd is a likelihood .  

_Bars on the window ??_   No .   It's a bit of an encircled compound and there's always someone sitting around .  Grandma chewing betel .   Grandpa sharpening his machete and looking at Grandma sitting there with her brown teeth  .    Always someone about .
 The Grandpa always seems to be holding his machete just behind his back when he asks me for 20 Baht to buy whisky .

I had to remove a tree and was waving a machete at it and bouncing off it .  I must be 3 times the weight of the scrawney grandpa ..... who finally rolled his eyes and brought his machete .     One big slicing chop .  Two . And with number 3 it was down .            Now I know we're talking about natives here but it's still embarrassing as a representative of her Britannic Majesty's Country .

_Padlock for the downstairs bedroom_ ?   It has a tv , several dogs , unwashed clothes , a zillion fleas .  It would be quite an endurance to even go in there .    He can move his anus and do some digging if he wants a padlock . 

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

----------


## Wasp

> ^^ The guy on the right is standing.



That's never been obvious to me Neverna .

My eyes were distracted by that diagonal item which I thought he was sitting on somehow .

So not clever at all !    Maybe I can delete the daft question and leave your answer hovering as mysteriously as I thought he was doing !!!!!

----------


## Wasp

> ^^ The guy on the right is standing.


Absolutely right  Neverna .   You and I agree .



       Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Have to rummage about again for pictures .   Sorry .

----------


## BKKBILL

Wasp there are a lot of us who are reading and enjoying your not-a-house-building-thread. Can't wait for the big surprise ending.

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> Not a House Building Thread
> 
> 
> ...but a jolly little tale none the less. Keep it coming please!



My thanks for the kind encouragement Loombucket .

 ( Where do these nicknames come from ? )


      Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp there are a lot of us who are reading and enjoying your not-a-house-building-thread. Can't wait for the big surprise ending.



And ditto BKKBILL .  Meaning thank you .... even just for reading !

Although it's a bit risky to say to people " You will be surprised " - I'm certain I can live up to that !! "

    OK   must make coffee and rummage and scan .


              Wasp

----------


## palexxxx

I'm enjoying this tale too.

I'm guessing that the surprise ending is that the house fell down in a torrential downpour or blew away in a strong wind,  due to poor quality workmanship.   :mid:

----------


## Roobarb

> ..................................................  ............................................
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In the foreground is the Boss saying " That looks near enough to vertical . "
> 
> ................................................


You know what Wasp, he could be related to my builder...  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> I'm enjoying this tale too.
> 
> I'm guessing that the surprise ending is that the house fell down in a torrential downpour or blew away in a strong wind,  due to poor quality workmanship.


Damn .

There goes the surprise .


And the house .


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

----------


## Wasp

Yes *Roobarb .*  Of course he's related to your builder .

They're cousins .


Everyone in Thailand is cousins I think .

----------


## Wasp

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

I've scanned in enough for some progress .

Now you need to understand that about this time  Missy discovered someone about 8 miles away who cast Split Roman Columns .     I would call them Greek but she insists they are " Roman King " .     They are cast split and you wrap them around existing old cement columns and then fill them with more cement . The guys who make them are cousins .     ?.?.?.?

Sorry . I know you can't get enough of photos of holes in the ground with rebar sticking up or photos of trucks delivering concrete beams .... but that's just what this is ............. Not a house build .  
Just she getting her own way -- and she LOVES these " Roman King " .    

You'll start to see them now .

She has 26 of them.

A reminder ............  this is the original downstairs although we've cleaned it out a lot and I've even used Photoshop to make it look lighter than it's normal pitch gloomy self .

   That's a little back door there .



That little door and its wall were removed and the guys took the extension out that way to make a kitchen ... and more space .  And as soon as they did so Missy discovered the " Roman Kings " .

  So the next photo is looking straight back into that extension and you start to see Roman Kings .




  The left-hand column away from you was previously the end of the house . Between this one and the right was that wall and the back door .   I don't know why .... when she turned the corner .... she changed the colour of the floor tiles .  But anyhow that was the outside before this work .


If you were here earlier you saw a strapping good-looking fallang doing some grouting .  
 I said she had it in mind to turn that corner and extend out that way for storage and then a toilet .

   And she did that .





   Despite the rumours I don't hang around taking photos of toilets .  It's just a toilet .
  A crap photo of a crapping room .

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

----------


## Wasp

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

Now turning around and looking back to the front door .


_

The front door is the same spot as was original .

Traverse right at the front door.  Past that semi Roman King and behind that bit of wall is the domain of the lurking indolent brother .

But at least he's out of the main house ._

And that took me two hours to put up ... so I need to stop , have a drink , look at a bit of tv !

                           Wasp


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

----------


## Roobarb

^ Certainly quite a transformation there.

26 pillars - how many extensions have you guys added...?





> Yes *Roobarb .*  Of course he's related to your builder .
> 
> They're cousins .
> 
> 
> Everyone in Thailand is cousins I think .


Words of wisdom there Wasp.

----------


## Wasp

> ^ Certainly quite a transformation there.
> 
> 26 pillars - how many extensions have you guys added...?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


  Well  *ROOB*  ,   Doing this has made me ponder your question about the number of columns and extensions.

When I consider how things were done I suppose it comes to 4 different renovations .

It wasn't meant to be like this .    But you spends your Bahts the first time and then there's too much spent to go and waste it so you stay on that site .

NOW of course she thinks if she could go back she would have torn down the house and made a new build .

However ...... I've seen plenty of new builds and too many are dull .   This house has a lot of character because it has nooks .  Crannies .  even Grannies !

  Tell me *Roob* ............ I upload my photos to Photobucket and then take from there to this thread .

If I delete them in Photobucket will they disappear from the Thread ?

With your hundreds of postings you probably know the answer .




            Wasp

----------


## Bangyai

I like this ' head on a wall ' feature although it would be better if it was balanced by another head on the other side of the gate. A couple of lightbulbs inside them would look very ..................um ........arresting at night time.  :Smile:

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> If I delete them in Photobucket will they disappear from the Thread ?


Yes. Definitely.

----------


## Wasp

Bangyai .............  yes your improvements are noted . More headstones required .

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> If I delete them in Photobucket will they disappear from the Thread ?
> 
> 
> Yes. Definitely.



Thank you Marmite .

I didn't know if the pictures were essentially copied from Photobucket to Teakdoor meaning I could delete them from  Photobucket .

So that seems to mean when I'm reading a Post from 2006 and it has photos then those photos are still sitting in Photobucket ??  
              7 years later .

Do you know how I can put in a photo straight from say My Documents ?  Without having to leave it out in another site like this ?

       And thank you again .

Wasp

----------


## BaitongBoy

> and she LOVES these " Roman King " .


Gotta love these Thai ladies...Keep up the good work, Wasp...

"Give her a sting for the Roman King!"...

----------


## Wasp

Well I'll forget the tv as folks is still showing an interest .


The Roman Kings have started their conquest of this renovation and they start to appear outside now .

Missy has clearly been given too much freedom as she now seeks permission to extend out from that pillar which was the front of the dwelling ....... that pillar which had the red arrow .

She wants to move out from that pillar and make a balcony for upstairs ( for me ) ... though she thinks it's called a " bikini " for me  ..... for reading .

And here's some double joy for all you hard-bitten serious TD followers ..... some cementing and Rebar !!!   ( and Roman Kings ) .






I haven't got any pictures of the holes because only my money was there .  I was in England .    
So maybe there are no holes at all .   But that's OK   .   My bikini doesn't slope much .

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

----------


## Marmite the Dog

> Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by Wasp
> ...


The photos have to be somewhere on the internet, whether it's Photobucket, TD's gallery (not for the fainthearted), Flikr or your own server space.

You cannot upload directly from your PC on this antiquated forum.

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
>  and she LOVES these " Roman King " .
> 
> 
> Gotta love these Thai ladies...Keep up the good work, Wasp...
> 
> "Give her a sting for the Roman King!"...


 *Thank you BaitongBoy*

_
 At some point somebody will ask me about the costs in this but I have no idea at all what this cost .  Truly .

And it's all because of a guy I spoke to in England one time .

I had been to Goa on holiday and that's where I first came upon this phenomenon of people who were living in absolute poverty but spent no time moaning about it and gave out beaming smiles if you spoke to them .

They upset me .

Back in England this idiot said to me " Well you can't help them all . " 

And he's right .  I can't help them all .   But I seethed about it . 

I wanted a comeback.

And I realised I should have answered - " Does that mean you never help anyone ? "

When I met Missy I realised again - well I can't help everyone - but I can help ONE ?

Help one and you help about 30 .  Because she employed people and these people had families .     So help one and you help in the end maybe 80 .

These guys were terrific .   £2 a day ..... and folks said don't give more because when your job is finished they'll be back working for Thais and you make things difficult for everybody .

So they got £2 .   Missy went out and bought the materials .

And she cooked them lunch .         

What the workers loved most of all was that they could take their money home .
Every day after work we bought snacks , beer , whisky , soda and ice . they didn't have to spend their money because they are after all just blokes with parched throats and I was grateful to have the chance to throw a whole £6 note at the local shop .

I've no idea what the changes cost . Honestly .

I loved having the chance to do it .

Once ._

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

----------


## BaitongBoy

Yeah, it does feel good to help others when you can...

----------


## Wasp

*Thanks Marm* .

    I understand better ...... but it's the first thing about Teakdoor that I think is less than good .


                          Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Yeah, it does feel good to help others when you can...



*
And then on the other hand ............*

_ I trusted Missy utterly totally and completely .
    And she has never never let me down .
And my pal felt exactly the same about his Thai lady .
   And she took him for quite a few million Baht   !!!!!_

So yes it's lovely to help someone when you can --- but it's also easy to find that you've been a monkey .

----------


## Wasp

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

 And one more step today .

We have Roman Kings going up to enable a bikini to be built .
And a bikini duly started .   

This picture deserves some looking at .   That pillar from the first photo - the pillar with the red arrow ...... well that has now been encased in a Roman King and it is marked here with a red cross .  

We've come out to a new row of Roman Kings and a " bikini " has commenced .

  And an observant eye sees another extension starting beyond the bikini.
But even I find this photo intriguing .

The original house is still there .      And you can see it if you start from the red cross .

_Returning soon ....................._

                             Wasp

----------


## BaitongBoy

> So yes it's lovely to help someone when you can --- but it's also easy to find you've been a monkey .


Live and learn...Some say the truth is unattainable...

As for monkey town...I've never been to Lop Buri, but I've had lots of invites...Don't think I wanna fight the monkeys...

A bad Thai lady is enough of a monkey, thanks...

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> So yes it's lovely to help someone when you can --- but it's also easy to find you've been a monkey .
> 
> 
> Live and learn...Some say the truth is unattainable...
> 
> As for monkey town...I've never been to Lop Buri, but I've had lots of invites...Don't think I wanna fight the monkeys...
> 
> A bad Thai lady is enough of a monkey, thanks...


_I see a mystical nature here BB !_

----------


## BaitongBoy

> I see a mystical nature here BB !


"I have my books...and my poetry to protect me"...





> We have Roman Kings going up to enable a bikini to be built .


Looking good, Wasp...Gotta love the nuances of language...Bikini, indeed...I won't forget that one...

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> I see a mystical nature here BB !
> 
> 
> "I have my books...and my poetry to protect me"...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


BB ............ the lady has a real talent for altering language .  Making mistakes in another language is what everybody does - but she excels because her mistakes could be believed .  meaning she doesn't produce gobbledygook .  " Bikini " isn't that far wrong so I leave her to ordering tiles for her bikini !

Her very best was in England .  She was in the garden but she came back in a bit hastily .

Me:  " What's wrong ? "   

She  " Not happy . Harry Potter looking me in garden "

I had to think about that one and I didn't get to the solution . " Harry Potter ?  Harry Potter ?     You say Harry Potter is looking at you in the garden ??? "

..................................................  ............. I'll give you a minute BB .

----------


## Wasp

Me :  " I don't understand !   Harry Potter ?  You sure ?? "

  She  :  " Yes .  Harry Potter looking me . "

  Me :  ( No good ) .  " What did Harry Potter look like ? "

 She :    " He fly around .  Say noisy  Dudd Dudd Dudd Dudd Dudd Dudd " 

              Got it BB ?


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

----------


## BaitongBoy

^Too funny!...Just read it now, but I would not have guessed it...Why would she think that Harry Potter was looking for her? Dudd, dudd, dudd...

----------


## Wasp

> ^Too funny!...Just read it now, but I would not have guessed it...Why would she think that Harry Potter was looking for her? Dudd, dudd, dudd...



  HELICOPTER . 

DuddDuddDuddDuddDuddDuddDudd

----------


## BaitongBoy

Yes, yes, I know...But why Harrypotter look for her? Did she not have visa?...

----------


## Wasp

> Yes, yes, I know...But why Harrypotter look for her? Did she not have visa?...


There's a helicopter base not far from here . 

 I kept her on her toes by telling her they were flying around looking for any Asian people because we don't like them .

----------


## Wasp

So possibly my fault .

----------


## Wasp

But she did like all the Robin Hoods in the garden !

----------


## BaitongBoy

^I'm not even gonna ask!...

----------


## BaitongBoy

> I kept her on her toes by telling her they were flying around looking for any Asian people because we don't like them .


Tell her to stay off the bikini when they fly by...

----------


## Wasp

> ^I'm not even gonna ask!...


   The Robin Hoods ?   Just Robins ............ but she thought anything called " Robin " was automatically " Robin Hood " .

And May Marion .

I asked " May she what ? " but got nowhere .

----------


## Wasp

She thinks all Prime Ministers are called " Tony Blair " .

So the leader of Germany is Tony Blair Angela .


............ and she can't handle the word "sailor" so the guys in ships are all " soldier boat " !

It's sweet .

       Goodnight .

                           Wasp

----------


## BaitongBoy

Cheers, Wasp...

----------


## Wasp

To Roobarb and Bettyboo and BB and Marmite and palexxxx and Dillinger and Koetjeka and anyone still reading this thread ..... I send a gift .

We could each spend hours sending out Youtube suggestions .... and thank God people don't .

But there's one .  Just one .  That I have to look at maybe once a day .  Because it's so good .   If there's an ad you can usually skip it .

So do have a look and I'll never do this again .

 ( at the very start you might think " Bloody Nora ! " but it soon changes . )






                                Wasp

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

----------


## Wasp

.................... and Carnwadrick .

----------


## Roobarb

> To Roobarb and Bettyboo and BB and Marmite and palexxxx and Dillinger and Koetjeka and anyone still reading this thread ..... I send a gift .
> 
> Wasp
> 
> ..................................................  ................


Well thank you Wasp, and how appropriate that it ends up with a clip from the Wizard of Oz.  A part of the staple diet in several of the better Teak Door threads is reference by someone to the fact that "this ain't Kansas".

Indeed it's not.

Well done, a very enjoyable and somewhat unexpected read.  :Smile:

----------


## crocman

A top read. Love your style and your sense of humour.

----------


## Wasp

> A top read. Love your style and your sense of humour.


Thank you Roob .

  And thank you crocman .

That dancing down the steps ..........  *DON'T DO IT !!!!* 

  But I bet you try a little bit ... on Ground level .


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> A top read. Love your style and your sense of humour.



crocman ........... quite a few of you have got a little ID photo next to your name .

In your case a pair of yellow crocs . ( hence the yellow font ).

How do you do that ?  I've tried the obvious place " My Profile " but I don't see where one does this .

Never thought I'd be asking a croc to help me .


 Wopps

----------


## Bettyboo

> This house has a lot of character because it has nooks .


I was thinking the same - eclectic to say the least! A massive improvement over the original rice barn...  :Smile: 



Hmmm, that's interesting, different...  :Smile: 




What's going on here??? It's becoming massive. I thought this thread was a small extension, clearly not so; you're building a Greco-Roman palace. Throw missy some more dosh and let have a look at some of these pics:









Missy is sure making a statement to the locals as to where the power lies now!!!



I don't know where this will end, but its gonna get bigger...

----------


## ootai

Wasp
thanks heaps for this thread, I have enjoyed every bit of it so far and will keep reading until the end if you ever get there.
You have made me laugh because you brought back memories particularly in regard to the way english is learned by some people. When my missus first came to Australia and starting using english more, she somehow got the colours blue and green reversed so I was always asking "green like the sky?" or "blue like the grass?". Her usual response was "f*#k off smart arse". I was going to ask about the "harry potter thing but you already explained that one, I didn't have a clue what you (her) were talking about.

I also think you must be "a good man" as per your post #69 where you made the comment about helping one and you help 30. Many times, probably daily, the relatives have at least 1 meal at our place, but how could we begrudge that when we have so much in comparison. I asked my sister in law one day whether life had changed for her family since I came on the scene. Her answer surprised me in that she spoke about simple things that I would not have thought of such there is now a car available that can drive them or their kids to hospital if they get sick and also the fact that they never have to go hungry for days.

Anyway back to your thread. I personally think she (Missy) has done a wonderful job with the transformation. I love the roman columns much better than the bloody square posts you normally see. As for the extension beyond the "bikini" I am wondering what happens if she goes all the way along the back and joins up to the toilet off the end of the kitchen, does that mean you now have the brother surrounded and trappedin the middle of the house?

Keep posting so I can keep smiling, love ya work.

----------


## Bettyboo

> " Bikini " isn't that far wrong


Not far wrong; it's a supporting structure...




> HELICOPTER


 :rofl: 

This most certainly is not Kansas...

----------


## Bettyboo

> she somehow got the colours blue and green reversed so I was always asking "green like the sky?" or "blue like the grass?". Her usual response was "f*#k off smart arse".


Maybe she is just colour challenged, you cruel cruel man...  :Smile: 

Many years ago, for some strange reason, I sometimes threw out some corrections to my missus' English (which is good when she wants it to be, goes all BBC if we meet one of my hiso Thai colleagues, but generally is pigin style...), maybe for a few days, whenever she said something along the lines of "I is going shopping", so I just kept reading my book or whatever and threw out "I am". So, she clearly got bored of this (even though she had asked me to highlight any errors because she wanted to improve her English...), came home and said "I is", I said "I am", she said "I is" then stared at me waiting for something... I said "I am". She said "I is the ninth letter of the alphabet." then laughed her little head off...  :Sad:

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp
> thanks heaps for this thread, I have enjoyed every bit of it so far and will keep reading until the end if you ever get there.
> You have made me laugh because you brought back memories particularly in regard to the way english is learned by some people. When my missus first came to Australia and starting using english more, she somehow got the colours blue and green reversed so I was always asking "green like the sky?" or "blue like the grass?". Her usual response was "f*#k off smart arse". I was going to ask about the "harry potter thing but you already explained that one, I didn't have a clue what you (her) were talking about.
> 
> I also think you must be "a good man" as per your post #69 where you made the comment about helping one and you help 30. Many times, probably daily, the relatives have at least 1 meal at our place, but how could we begrudge that when we have so much in comparison. I asked my sister in law one day whether life had changed for her family since I came on the scene. Her answer surprised me in that she spoke about simple things that I would not have thought of such there is now a car available that can drive them or their kids to hospital if they get sick and also the fact that they never have to go hungry for days.
> 
> Anyway back to your thread. I personally think she (Missy) has done a wonderful job with the transformation. I love the roman columns much better than the bloody square posts you normally see. As for the extension beyond the "bikini" I am wondering what happens if she goes all the way along the back and joins up to the toilet off the end of the kitchen, does that mean you now have the brother surrounded and trappedin the middle of the house?
> 
> Keep posting so I can keep smiling, love ya work.


  Thank you VERY much Ootai .    Such a comment does make me warm .  
Someone said there have been Building Threads that have been " shite" and I just wanted my Thread not to be classed that way .

The Thread's a bit strung out as we go off on other themes .... but that's how conversations go .

You make a couple of points  ::: Your lady confusing Blue and Green .  

 Now that may become annoying but I can't see it endangering your life much . 

Whereas my missy cannot get " Left " and " Right " sorted out .        Which IS life-threatening as you approach a roundabout in Belgium and she has the maps and she says most emphatically " Right " and uses her arm to indicate " Left "   !!!!

   And as to  : " I also think you must be "a good man" "    Well - I don't think that way about myself .  I think when I was very young and people had less then people were all basically good . They helped each other .  There was a small point in a Henning Mankell book when he said people stopped being nice when they stopped darning socks !  Meaning you don't see people darning socks and chatting any more . At some point we became a throwaway society so people don't darn any more ... and they don't display care .    I don't think I'm good .  I think I'm decent . But in the West I'm surrounded by people who are not decent . Making me look better.

But thank you sincerely for the thought .

    Wasp

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

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by ootai
> 
> she somehow got the colours blue and green reversed so I was always asking "green like the sky?" or "blue like the grass?". Her usual response was "f*#k off smart arse".
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  She said "I is the ninth letter of the alphabet." then laughed her little head off...


 Wherever she got that from Bettyboo I think that's a *BRILLIANT* comeback from your lady !!

    Give that lady a kiss from a Wasp !!!!

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

----------


## Wasp

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

Bettyboo  :    Hmmm, that's interesting, different...  :Smile:  Bit of damning comment there ?


 Bettyboo  :  What's going on here??? It's becoming massive. I thought this thread was a small extension.

_ No Bettyboo !    I never said this was a small extension .  I said I gave her some Bahts in order for her to renovate .

Now it's true that like you I thought an extension and a new roof might be the full extent ........ and it did slightly mushroom .

But you're creating new problems for me here because she now loves those " cute " columns made in the form of Greek Goddesses .   

Soon she'll be looking for a cousin who can make them ._ 

................... Wasp

----------


## Bettyboo

^ I thought she'd like those, sure I've seen some along the main roads going in and out of Bkk...  :Smile: 

& you'll be needing a Greco-Roman sala/garden area:



I reckon a mini-sphinx would go down a treat too...

----------


## Wasp

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

Ootai           " I will keep reading until the end if you ever get there.  "

Ootai ............  I'm thinking I'll get to the end today .


 Ootai "  I am wondering what happens if she goes all the way along the back and joins up to the toilet off the end of the kitchen, does that mean you now have the brother surrounded and trapped in the middle of the house? "


_I said earlier that this was all 6 years ago though I'm writing it like it's more recent - while I fossick around searching out photos ..... so on the question of the indolent brother ........... 

He turned his room into an utter pigsty but I had ensured that in the bikini above there were small gaps so that when we cleaned up the bikini he got a waterfall in his smelly room ! ................   See  I'm not so nice .

Anyway ............ across the way is yet another old rice store measuring about 12 square metres . 

 The Granddad didn't get on with the Grandma and had moved into this rice store .

Here's a view from upstairs in the renovation ._




_ Granddad has been totally happy in there .  It lacks only a few things .  Toilet . Water . Power . Cleanliness . Lights . Furniture .

Other than that it's fine .

This last few months Granddad has been severely poorly until he gave up and moved back to Grandma ( who is 15 metres away ) abandoning his little palazzo .

It was offered to the chickens who point-blank refused .

The dogs thought it beneath them .

The brother loves it !!!!  

 So now he has evaded our encircling plan by moving into Palazzo Filth .

Where he seems to be very content !_


  ...............  Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> ^ I thought she'd like those, sure I've seen some along the main roads going in and out of Bkk... 
> 
> & you'll be needing a Greco-Roman sala/garden area:
> 
> I reckon a mini-sphinx would go down a treat too...


Yes ..... in Woking there's a small enclave of car-stealing Albanians who go for this style in their free Housing Association dwellings .

Missy loves it all !

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

----------


## Wasp

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

There was a picture here of the Missy Boss ...... but I followed Bettyboo's following advice . 




   I have to source about 3 photos now and then we'll be at the end of this Thread .

       Back in a while .

----------


## Bettyboo

^quickly delete that pic, Wasp - members will be bad.

Never trust these TD folk!!!

----------


## Wasp

> ^quickly delete that pic, Wasp - members will be bad.
> 
> Never trust these TD folk!!!


You've done 16 Thousand Posts Bettyboo .

I'd be an idiot not to trust your advice .


Sad though hey ?


Wasp

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

----------


## Wasp

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



_The time has arrived for me to end ._


  The last construction photo was at the stage where " Roman Kings " had spread out beyond the original house line and a balcony had started to be built .

And the eagle-eyed saw another extension going in beyond the balcony .












Anyway .........  I was sorting photos to take us on from here - but it suddenly seemed pointless .


I mean ..... anyone wanting to look at superb building details in brilliant photos just needs to look at koman's thread .


With my next photos you would just be seeing yet ANOTHER hard-working Thai breaking all the safety rules but getting the job done .


Photos like this -





 So there seems no point showing stuff like that .


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

----------


## Neverna

How about a photo of the finished house, Wasp?

----------


## Wasp

INSTEAD ...............  in an effort to keep my promise and leave you a surprising ending .........................

Let me show you what she did .  ( Patience Neverna ! ) .


This is what she had started with ................

----------


## Wasp

................. and remember - the original house is STILL right there if you have your bearings sorted !!!


And this is what she finished with ...................  !!!!!!!!!!!






    I've enjoyed this .


........................  *WASP* ..............


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

----------


## Norton

A thing of beauty and a joy forever wasp.

----------


## Wasp

> A thing of beauty and a joy forever wasp.


Kind words Norton .

Kind words .




Wasp

...........

----------


## BKKBILL

Good stuff Wasp. The surprise ending was well worth waiting for.

----------


## Wasp

> Good stuff Wasp. The surprise ending was well worth waiting for.




Good  Good  Good  Good   Good .

  I didn't want to be unread ............  and I didn't want to fail as a surprising  ending .


Thank you Bill .



.............Wasp.................

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

----------


## ootai

Wasp
I am impressed, it is a make over of epic porportions, I am always amazed when someone starts off by adding little bits probably without any real grand plan and then gets it to all come together like she has.  I like the paint colour on the top walls, how has it fared over the passing years? For that matter are you still in the picture and hanging around there?
I realised that this is a time delayed thread but when I posted before I just used the present in line with the rest of the conversations going on. Has the brother been overcome with envy and started to renovate his chicken house or has Grandpa had more blues with Grandna and kicked the brother out again so he could move back in?
Once again I have enjoyed this thread as much for your humour as for the amazing transformation and am sad that it has come to an end.

----------


## BaitongBoy

> DuddDuddDuddDuddDuddDuddDudd


And they flew into the sunset and lived happily ever after...

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp
> I am impressed, it is a make over of epic porportions, I am always amazed when someone starts off by adding little bits probably without any real grand plan and then gets it to all come together like she has.  I like the paint colour on the top walls, how has it fared over the passing years? For that matter are you still in the picture and hanging around there?
> I realised that this is a time delayed thread but when I posted before I just used the present in line with the rest of the conversations going on. Has the brother been overcome with envy and started to renovate his chicken house or has Grandpa had more blues with Grandna and kicked the brother out again so he could move back in?
> Once again I have enjoyed this thread as much for your humour as for the amazing transformation and am sad that it has come to an end.


My thanks to you Ootai . Sincere thanks .  I enjoy the writing but I need a theme and this was a terrific theme for me .... and I'm honestly very glad you enjoyed it so much .
It was put together on the barest number of photos and if you're sad it has come to an end that's a great compliment .

 But it had to end now because I would have been posting some pretty boring photos and dragging it out . However your enthusiasm makes me think that actually I can take some other stuff and probably have an addendum chapter later on.
One enthusiastic encouragement from you justifies putting it together .

And I had a few other nice comments too .

Your questions .........

How has it fared over the passing years ? 
                  Well it hasn't been a lot lived in . I'm not even in Thailand . I'm in the UK . Missy and I are married and I go there every two years for a break though not this year. She goes _every_ year for the two freezing Winter months . 

The bikini doesn't slope that much .  
 Her dad has moved into the room below the bikini but that's only when he's too drunk to get back to his own shack in the rice fields . That's most nights . 

The blue paint that you like had no undercoat so it tends to flake off the render ... but that's just a cosmetic problem.  In fact the place is looking just fine . 
 Me hanging around there ?  Well for 6 years now I've been trying to persuade myself to retire out there . I have more fun there than I have in England . 

And I'm thinking 2014 may be the time .

Has the brother renovated his chicken house ?   Of course not . That would require effort .  But I've given in and decided to build him a toilet and shower . Missy is there now but she has decided that if I'm buying a new toilet set and shower she's going to have them and give him the older equipment from the house .  
Which is reasonable enough . 

The Grandpa and Grandma ........ she's nearly blind now and he may have cancer so they need each other .  He's a tough little character though .  When I was last there 2 years ago he got used to coming to me in the evening , pointing one finger and saying  " EESIPP Baht ? "  Meaning he wanted 20 Baht to go and buy whisky .  I gave it to him ( he has a machete ) .    

When I came home to England he had no fallang to get money from so the whisky situation was dire .  However , one evening ,he was crouched near Missy when I called her mobile .   And he recognized my voice .  So he came over to the telephone and pointed at it and said into it " EESIPP  Baht .  EESIPP Baht ? "

  I told Missy to curl a 20 Baht note under the phone and slide it out to him .

He thinks it's miraculous !!!

But no .... he won't be ejecting Mr Indolence from his former dwelling .

Again Ootai - thank you for your interest .  I'm getting some extra thoughts for an Epilogue as we speak so it's not the end.

 My Best Wishes ...............

Wasp





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

----------


## stevefarang

Good thread Wasp. A little different, but an enjoyable read and great pics.

Thanks !

Steve

PS: Mee yeesip baht mai ?  :Smile:

----------


## Yemen

lOOKS VERY GOOD wASP. tHANKS FOR THE INTERESTING READ.

----------


## bankao dreamer

Apologies Wasp old chap what with building my place I dont seem to have the time to check whats on here. 
Excellent thread and what a marvellous transformation well done Miss looks extremely happy.
Really enjoyed reading about the family matters thank you for sharing. After our place is finished we have to do something very similar ( without Roman Kings though) to the Inlaws home so it was interesting to see what can be accomplished with a few Baht.

----------


## koman

Hey Wasp....I just checked this out today.  Very nice job.....too bad the place had to lose a bit of that quaint Thainess while taking on more of a modern Mediterranean  look.... :Smile: 

The problem for me is that if the wife sees this, I'll be forced to tear down our square pillars and replace them with those Romanesque ones......so please let's try to keep this low profile if you don't mind..

Seriously though...looks really nice.....well done!!

----------


## Wasp

> Good thread Wasp. A little different, but an enjoyable read and great pics.
> 
> Thanks !
> 
> 
> Steve
> 
> PS: Mee yeesip baht mai ?



_
Steve 

 ..... it makes me sincerely pleased to get a comment like this from you . 

 Yours is one of the Threads that I particularly have stored away to read very soon because your name and references to your Thread have come up many times on other Threads .

 I already know yours going to be a seriously good Thread .

I'm glad that in comparison I called mine " Not a House-Build "

But I don't yet know how close you might be to Korat ... so "yes" I'll tell her to get another 20 Baht note under the mobile for you ._

Thanks Steve :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  


......................... Wasp

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

----------


## Wasp

> lOOKS VERY GOOD wASP. tHANKS FOR THE INTERESTING READ.



You've got your CAPS Lock on !!!!!

Thank you Yemen .

It's been important to me to find that a few people were enjoying this effort of mine .

I thought I was a bit alone not wanting to be a prat but now I've been reading Roobarb's Thread and even *he* started a bit wary in case he looked silly !

So it does please me to get your comment .


_Thank you Yemen .
_


................................ Wasp
.................................

----------


## Wasp

> Apologies Wasp old chap what with building my place I dont seem to have the time to check whats on here. 
> Excellent thread and what a marvellous transformation well done Miss looks extremely happy.
> Really enjoyed reading about the family matters thank you for sharing. After our place is finished we have to do something very similar ( without Roman Kings though) to the Inlaws home so it was interesting to see what can be accomplished with a few Baht.


Well *Banko* .....you're another name that I'm very aware of and yours is another Thread that I am hoarding away to read .

So you already have my respect and I'm pleased that you took the time to read my stuff ... and that you enjoyed it !

Would you like to go halves with me and get those split Greek Goddesss columns into production ?

You can put them into your inlaws home first .

And if they are fat enough  ( not the inlaws - the Goddesses )they can go around my Roman Kings ! 

There has to be another Albanian look-alike home somewhere in Thailand to dilute the effect of Missy .

Sincerely - thank you banko .

.......................*Wasp*
........................

----------


## Wasp

> Hey Wasp....I just checked this out today.  Very nice job.....too bad the place had to lose a bit of that quaint Thainess while taking on more of a modern Mediterranean  look....
> 
> The problem for me is that if the wife sees this, I'll be forced to tear down our square pillars and replace them with those Romanesque ones......so please let's try to keep this low profile if you don't mind..
> 
> Seriously though...looks really nice.....well done!!


KOMAN !!!!

I have some EXCELLENT news for you and your wife .

Me and banko dreamer are going into partnership producing split Greek Goddess concrete columns .  

And after he has put them into his inlaws place I'm having 26 of them to go into Missy's place ............ which means YOU can fulfill your dreams and have the 26 Roman Kings from Missy for your place !!!!!!!!!!!

At a very low price .

Now isn't that just a brilliant solution ????   Tell your wife the good news immediately !



*KOMAN* ............. 
When I ventured into the Construction Threads of Teakdoor I went straight to the most-read Thread ..... which had 96 000 reads and that was  *hillbilly* .  
 Of course I enjoyed it immensely and saw a very fine piece of construction .    

I think I simply moved down the list for my second one .  Which was *sabang* with 63 000 and once again I had an excellent story to read .

I don't know why I chose yours next . I think maybe because it had a 5 Star rating .

And what a superb Thread it is !  It's a manual . It's a serious building manual with excellent stages and just perfect photos which have taught me a lot .

After you it would be seriously embarrassing to call mine a building Thread .

But it was after you that I thought I can't keep reading you and sabang and hillbilly and Roobarb and Marmite and Loombucket and Bettyboo et cetera without making a contribution .

Hence *Missy's*  story.

I'm very glad that you enjoyed it koman .   

Very glad indeed so thank you for your kind comment .


     ..................*Wasp*
.....................

koman - this morning I found a photo that I should have put between the start of the balcony and the end of the job - so I'll put it here .




Thanks koman.

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

----------


## laymond

love your work wasp.and a great little pad as well.cheers.

----------


## Wasp

> love your work wasp.and a great little pad as well.cheers.



 Thank you *laymond* .

  My wife asked me to address some Christmas cards so I had to ask the names .

  She said " Jacqui "  and  " Lichard " .

 So I addressed one envelope to  " Lichard "  !

       Jacqui almost choked laughing !!

    Thank you again " Laymond " .


............... Wasp ....
....................

----------


## bankao dreamer

My Dearest Wasp
I have just read again this thread with the Wife who has enjoyed it just as much as myself. Now as regards to Greco Greek Roman Goddess Sphinx's surprisingly she has a cousins uncle sister bother auntie twice removed who apparently excels in the manufacturing of the above mentioned items with free delivery in the Korat area.

----------


## Marmite the Dog

Entertaining thread - thanks.

----------


## Wasp

> My Dearest Wasp
> I have just read again this thread with the Wife who has enjoyed it just as much as myself. Now as regards to Greco Greek Roman Goddess Sphinx's surprisingly she has a cousins uncle sister bother auntie twice removed who apparently excels in the manufacturing of the above mentioned items with free delivery in the Korat area.



  Break it to me gently , bankao .

Is this the end of our business dream ?

I've made promises to Koman and I don't want to devastate his dreams .

I think your cousins uncle sister brother's auntie must be married to my wife's cousin's husband's niece who made our split Roman Kings .

_My thanks to both of you for the kind words ._

Keep an eye out for Chapter 2 .


............*Wasp*
...................

----------


## Wasp

> Entertaining thread - thanks.




Thank you *Marmite* .

You're another one of the big guns whose Thread I'm looking forward to reading .

I've only just got to the end of *Roobarb* ( so far ) and it's a hoot .

I really am glad that my " Not a Build " was able to entertain you .



............... *Wasp*
................

----------


## Cujo

Just as a matter of interest, how much would it cost to build something like this?

----------


## Bettyboo

^I'm gonna have a guess at that if I may, be interested in what Wasp reckons. From scratch, a bit of dirt in the ground, you'd be struggling to build it for under 1 million baht, imho.




> anyone wanting to look at superb building details in brilliant photos just needs to look at koman's thread


Koman's thread is excellent; but this is a very nice thread. Nice build, nice house, from something average to something to be very proud of. Great stuff.



Nice. &, a blue roof - class.  :Smile: 

I'd be very happy to live in that house. Nice place. Well done, Wasp, nice commentary too.

----------


## Wasp

> ^I'm gonna have a guess at that if I may, be interested in what Wasp reckons. From scratch, a bit of dirt in the ground, you'd be struggling to build it for under 1 million baht, imho.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> ...







 I'm very pleased to get the complimentary responses as I had started out so warily .

But it quickly became clear who the big guns are ................ In my opinion .

And you *Bettyboo* are very much one of these also  ....... so I'm very very pleased to have your positive reaction . 

*Thank you* .

*Costs ?*     .............. When I say I don't know I really don't know .

There was no plan .   I didn't keep any bills .  

The gravel arrived and had to be paid for so I just paid for it .

The cement arrived and had to be paid for so I just paid for that .

Roofing arrived and had to be paid for ........ you get the idea .

The guys drove around in beat-up 24 year old pickups and nobody upgraded their vehicles so I don't think I was done over .

I just don't know .    

But the land was free and I know some of you want an answer so I've paused , ruminated ........... and if my total spend was over 360 000 Baht I would be very surprised .

It's like looking at a wardrobe when it's standing there . Looks like a substantial bit of furniture .
 But when you take it apart and lay it together on the ground there's not much substance .

I didn't pay for the volume this building takes up .   

Those white " planks " forming the walls upstairs are very cheap . Just a compressed man-made substance . 

The Roman Kings are just cement badly made .   Brick blocks are what ? 28 Baht ??  Put some render on them and they look like a real wall .

She got space . And the space itself ...... is free .

So I would stand in a Court with my hand on my heart and say we didn't spend more than 360 000 .



Thank you again for the compliment Bettyboo .

The bad news is I'm thinking of putting an extension on the end !!!!!!!!!!!!



................ *Wasp*
..................................

----------


## Roobarb

Wasp, I just wanted to echo what many others have said...

A really interesting project and a spectacular outcome.  You were absolutely right that the place is completely unrecognisable from what it started off as.

I have really enjoyed reading the thread.  Well done!

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp, I just wanted to echo what many others have said...
> 
> A really interesting project and a spectacular outcome.  You were absolutely right that the place is completely unrecognisable from what it started off as.
> 
> I have really enjoyed reading the thread.  Well done!



  The man himself !!! *Roobarb !!!!*  

I've just reached the end of your Thread ( so far that is ) and I'm enjoying it immensely .   

 I had read a different Thread on another  website of a house that's very big , most impressive , 100% perfect in every way possible .... and dull as Hell . 

  Somewhere to just sit and look smarmy .

YOUR Thread with the wonky walls and the tribulations of tiling the kitchen is brilliant !

So you have my respect - even if you didn't answer my 2 questions . 

As with Marmite , Ootai , Norton , BkkBill , Steve , Yemen ,bankao , laymond .... and the big dogs Bettyboo , Marmite , koman and your good self .. I'm really pleased that my bit of froth got accepted amongst your more serious builds .

So thank you again *Roobarb* .

What did Arnold Schwartzenegger say ..... ?????????


....................... *Wasp*
........................

----------


## bankao dreamer

Great news the distant cousin is happy to franchise his Corums for onle Eeeesip Baht each so as soon as I fashion a mould out of disused charcoal we are in business.

On a slightly more technical note a standard 6m by 6m village house on 9 columns without roof and windows can be bought for 80,000 Baht. If you are lucky enough for a passing lorry with one on the back to go by. Some neighbours bought one a year ago like this. Throw in a basic sheet roof some shutters and a few bottles for the locals to throw it up and you can have a basic house for 150,000 Baht.

Technical note 2
I blue tooth my house photos from my phone to the Wife's MacBook Pro then when on the upload photo bit of the Gallery when I click on choose file it goes straight to the uploads on the laptop I click open on the file and then continue and the pics upload. When posting pics from the my gallery I click on info for the relevant pic then copy and paste the text in the info box.
I am not sure if this can be done on any PC but it works fine for me.

----------


## Wasp

> Great news the distant cousin is happy to franchise his Corums for onle Eeeesip Baht each so as soon as I fashion a mould out of disused charcoal we are in business.
> 
> Remember ...... *koman* is waiting patiently for his shipment of 26 Roman Kings .
>  I think *Marmite* is showing some slavering interest too .
> 
> So some speed in the acquisition of charcoal , ability , cement , skills , map reading , Bahts and motivation ..... would be a good thing . 
> 
> 
> Technical note 2
> ...


Yes well ..... this technical note 2 is of great interest to me bankao.
Except for every word you've written in it .     

What language is this ?  

I might as well show it to the indolent brother . Or one of the chickens .   

 Does this mean I have to go out and buy a Macbook shady lady of the night ? And I don't have a blue tooth .  I've looked .
If I had such an off-coloured tooth would I have to come round to your phone so I could contact one of Macbook's nighttime employees ?

And where is your Gallery ? Bit upper-class for me .

And I'm sure I couldn't do it on a PC cos we'd fall off . 

These are undoubtedly good intentions but it's in a language only 8 year olds understand .
And I'm old now .  I'm well over 20 .

Best stick to conquering the Home Renovations World with poor-quality split Roman King Greek Goddesses manufactured by cousins of cousins .

...........  Wasp

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

----------


## Roobarb

> I've just reached the end of your Thread ( so far that is ) and I'm enjoying it immensely .


I'm delighted 




> So you have my respect


Gosh, in spite of my ratty building standards...




> even if you didn't answer my 2 questions


Sorry, I missed them.  I just have...




> What did Arnold Schwartzenegger say ..... ?????????


Good god man, another question...

Apparently Schwartznegger's said a few choice things over the years:

- "Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer"

- "I think a gay marriage should be between a man and a woman"

- "Money doesn't make you happy.  I now have $50 million.  I was just as happy when I had $48 million."

- "If it bleeds we can kill it"

- "The future is green, sustainable, renewable energy"

- "I have a private plane, but I fly commercial when I go to environmental conferences"

I'm guessing here that you're saying you'll be back  :Smile:  

Look forward to it...

----------


## Wasp

> What did Arnold Schwartzenegger say ..... ?????????


- "Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer"

- "I think a gay marriage should be between a man and a woman"

- "Money doesn't make you happy.  I now have $50 million.  I was just as happy when I had $48 million."

- "If it bleeds we can kill it"

- "The future is green, sustainable, renewable energy"

- "I have a private plane, but I fly commercial when I go to environmental conferences"

I'm guessing here that you're saying you'll be back  :Smile:  

Look forward to it...[/QUOTE]


 Good Grief *Rooby* .   Where do you get these quotes from ?

The one I meant was " I want more money next time . "


....................  Wasp ....
........................

----------


## Wasp

I'm guessing here that you're saying you'll be back  :Smile:  

Look forward to it...[/QUOTE]


This is kindly spoken *Roobarb* .

I'm now enjoying other people's more substantial building Threads ... such as your very own .... and I have one pretty serious problem with continuing later .

It was difficult enough building a whole Thread out of 2 photos , access to Photoshop  and talking about anything at all to distract from the paucity of photographs !

Problem now is the only other thing we have built is a platform for Buddha , a rickety ( even for Thailand ) fishing platform , and an outside drinking area that is really an oversize dog kennel made from the off-cuts of Job 1 .

But there are photos !

It will be like hanging washing on a single filament of spider line ...... but I think it can be done .



     Hope all is well in Delhi .


.................................*Wasp.*
..........................................

----------


## koman

Hey Wasp......we have fishing piers.....real proto-type things which our guys knocked together in about 20 minutes.   They are pure Thai in nature.....I'll try to dig out a photo or two for you if you like and we can compare ricketiness  :rofl: .... but today we are off on another buying trip....sigh....

----------


## bankao dreamer

Terribly sorry about technical point 2 but my 8 year told me what to do !!!! I don't understand it either.

----------


## Wasp

> Hey Wasp......we have fishing piers.....real proto-type things which our guys knocked together in about 20 minutes.   They are pure Thai in nature.....I'll try to dig out a photo or two for you if you like and we can compare ricketiness .... but today we are off on another buying trip....sigh....


*Koman* ,
_
That's not a fair competition at all ._

Anything *your* guys " knock together in 20 minutes " is going to rival the Palms development in Dubaii .  

I surrender without looking .

If you dare dig out a photo or two I'll never get any more even crap work from my guys . 
They'll be busy sharpening their machetes to deal with your guys .

.......................  *Wasp*
.......................

----------


## Wasp

> Terribly sorry about technical point 2 but my 8 year told me what to do !!!! I don't understand it either.


Well that's a relief *bankao* .

I hope you have ordered the Charcoal for our business designs .

Marmite and Koman are very keen though they are cleverly concealing their enthusiasm behind a veil of indifference .

I think we can even flog some to* Roobarb* .      He'll buy anything that's not perpendicular !!

......... *Wasp*
..............

----------


## koman

> Marmite and Koman are very keen though they are cleverly concealing their enthusiasm behind a veil of indifference .


I'm not being indifferent....I adore your Romanesque columns.....it's just that my square ones have already been rendered and have had the special fittings installed for the 18 Carat gold embellishments the wife tells me we are having.... :Confused: 

I'll try to talk her out of it, but after the kitchen cabinet buying trip today, I'm definitely on a loosing streak..... :rofl:

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> Marmite and Koman are very keen though they are cleverly concealing their enthusiasm behind a veil of indifference .
> 
> 
> I'm not being indifferent....I adore your Romanesque columns.....it's just that my square ones have already been rendered and have had the special fittings installed for the 18 Carat gold embellishments the wife tells me we are having....
> 
> I'll try to talk her out of it, but after the kitchen cabinet buying trip today, I'm definitely on a loosing streak.....


_We are prepared to get you drooling by throwing in some of the new-to-be-designed-and-developed-whenbankaogetshisfingerout - bankao and Wasp coproduction Greek Goddess columns !!!

Go tell your wife .  Quickly now man !!!

Looking at your house you could take about a thousand or so .

Take the cabinets back !_


                           ...............  *W*xxx
...........

----------


## koman

> Take the cabinets back !


Not that bad an idea really.  At the present time we have nearly everything sitting around in cardboard boxes and it seem to work fine.....actually easier to find stuff than rooting through a dozen wall mounted cupboards ... :Confused:

----------


## Loombucket

A great conversion Wasp! Well told and nicely photographed. It doesn't really matter that you didn't start it from scratch, it's the tale that counts. Love those pillars.

----------


## Wasp

*koman* :   " Not that bad an idea really.  At the present time we have nearly everything sitting around in cardboard boxes and it seem to work fine.....actually easier to find stuff than rooting through a dozen wall mounted cupboards ... :Confused: "


_Only too true actually !!_

....................... *W.*


I'll put you down for just the 600 columns .  Mix of Roman King and Greek Goddess and anything other design we can think of.   Delivery any day now .

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

----------


## Wasp

> A great conversion Wasp! Well told and nicely photographed. It doesn't really matter that you didn't start it from scratch, it's the tale that counts. Love those pillars.



*Bankao* !  *Bankao* !!!   Look at this !!!!!!

Another potential customer !!!!   Look at the drooling desire implied in Loombucket's words !!!

Should be good for a few Goddesses I would think ?   Just ship him an initial 200 and see how it goes !!!!!


  ............Thank you *Loombucket* .  It's nice of you to say this . 

It's pretty obvious I didn't have an instructional house-build to show the World so I just tried to construct an entertaining tale ...... and THAT counts as a construction doesn't it ?  So you get two .

But when you say you like the telling of it that's really good for my little heart ..... Honestly . I'm not being sarcastic .


_ALSO_ ..... I think when I answer you I move back up the chart a little bit again !

Makes me sad to watch my tale sliding down and slowly disappearing .

Sincerely -  Thank You .

.......................   
*Wasp*
........................

----------


## ootai

Wasp
Don't worry about you tale disappearring you will eventually get over it, but just to tease you a little I have replied to bump it back up to the top again.

Maybe you can recriprocate and bump my threads back up, you will find my house build on about page 10 of the constrcution forum. It's called "ootai's wife builds a house". Maybe you can also find my story about my shed, it's called "evolution of the shed", it should be lingering on about page 6.

I am afraid to say, that being an engineer, I am a bit more pragmatic than you so don't expect such an exciting tale as the one you have created here.
If you want more positive feedback then, this is it as I have replied to your thread 3 times I think, which is more replies than I have posted in probably the last year.

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp
> Don't worry about you tale disappearring you will eventually get over it, but just to tease you a little I have replied to bump it back up to the top again.
> 
> Maybe you can recriprocate and bump my threads back up, you will find my house build on about page 10 of the constrcution forum. It's called "ootai's wife builds a house". Maybe you can also find my story about my shed, it's called "evolution of the shed", it should be lingering on about page 6.
> 
> I am afraid to say, that being an engineer, I am a bit more pragmatic than you so don't expect such an exciting tale as the one you have created here.
> If you want more positive feedback then, this is it as I have replied to your thread 3 times I think, which is more replies than I have posted in probably the last year.





Hi *Oots  !!!* .

Actually I should let it disappear now .   Don't stay too long on the stage .  

But Loombucket appeared and that kicked me off again .


I will indeed look for your thread so it will suddenly appear at the top .

I'm enjoying reading a few threads but I get confused between the various builds . However right now - today - it's time for me to drink too much coffee and try to do my *tax return* .

All the pages are pretty much blank as I have very little income now .... but I still have to carefully fill in 24 bleedin pages .

Followed by headaches .

Followed by the joy of starting to read maybe 2 new thread ... including yours .


Now - more to the point -how many Greek Goddesses would you like ? 


.............................  *Wasp*

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

----------


## ootai

Wasp
Just got back from reading over at Roobarb's patch, his place is looking great as well. I just seen your comments about Thai's and should warn you that I think you are figthing a losing battle there trying to convince some of the people here that they have good points.
I always told my missus that when people in aussie looked at her like she was stupid when she didn't understand them properly, to speak to them in Thai and when they said, "I don't understand she should tell them, "now you know how I feel".  The differences, while frustrating at times (sorry most times), are what makes it all so very interesting.

As for ordering Greek Godesses, no thanks.  I had had my quota of building houses. So far I have extended the original family house, then built a new house for the family away from the highway, then built the "new" house for the wife and after all that built a house out on the farm. Sorry forgot about building the shed as well.  I just remembered I have to build a pig house when I get home next as the missus now has a friend who delivers chicken food and it so happens he manages to have a couple of bags fall off the truck each day which she will be able to get and use to feed a couple of sows.  I don't want to go into fattening pigs just breed a few and sell them at about 10kg for someone else to fatten.

I used to think living in thailand was going to send me over the top but where I work now the Indonesians are not much different.

----------


## Wasp

[QUOTE=ootai;2661075]Wasp
Just got back from reading over at Roobarb's patch, his place is looking great as well. I just seen your comments about Thai's and should warn you that I think you are figthing a losing battle there trying to convince some of the people here that they have good points.


Well *Oots* ............... 

I know you're right .    I know I will not win that one .

But just look at *Roobarb's* house ..... The guy is a village builder not Balfour Beatty .

Look at what *Roobarb* wanted and his very relaxed attitude to it all and I think they are doing a GREAT job !   There are errors - but *Roobarb* says all the time that there would be less errors if he was on site .

Then look what English builders do .  There are tv programmes about deplorable workmanship and shysters who don't complete the job or they'll happily cut the corners that they think they can get away with .

And they'll bugger off at 2 in the afternoon on Friday and come back Tuesday morning then disappear for 3 weeks on another job .

You won't get them staying on site to finish a job and they'll do as much bodging as they can get away with .

Look again at Roobarb's place . Those guys have got an awful lot splendidly right and if Roobarb wasn't away earning the shekels to pay for it all the builders would have it perfect  I'm sure .

And now look at *koman's* build where he did employ a professional to oversee everything .

Fantastic workmanship levels !

I've been showing the pictures of the roof on *koman's* house to a roofer here in England and he was shaking his head saying it was wonderful stuff .

A day and a half to install 3000 roof tiles !! ..... all drilled and clipped into place plus all the ridges and fascias .

A DAY AND A HALF !!!!     Way better than you'll get here .

More than 3000 tiles ?    A week minimum .

If someone wants to argue with me - and there's always somebody - undoubtedly you're right and I'll lose .

...... but I still think I'm right and that people are way too harsh about the Thai builders .

The Thais make mistakes if there's noone around to check . Sure . 

But they don't park up in the truck to eat bacon butties and read the Daily Mirror for an hour and a half ....skiving around as much as possible .

A supervised English crew can do a very good job .

And so can a supervised Thai crew but they'll do it with more smiles and they'll stay there 'til it's finished . 

An unsupervised English crew will be far _nastier_ than an unsupervised Thai crew whose errors are honest-to-goodness errors rather than malicious deceit and cover-up .

Let's give them a bit more credit .

Look at *hillbilly's* place .  And *sabang's* .  *Lovely* work . 



.........................* Wasp*
.............................................

----------


## koman

^
Well said Mr. Wasp.  I agree 120% with you.    There are many good workers here and they are capable of excellent results as long as they are instructed properly and given good support and guidance.

   If they do cock-up...they are only too happy to fix things up and most of them are great fun to have around.   There's nobody walking around with a dog-eared union rule book sticking out of his back pocket looking for reasons to down tools. 

Thank you for your complimentary assessment of my roof.... :Smile: ....in fact it's quite an ordinary roof and not really different to what you will find on any site belonging to one of the better development companies.   I lived quite close to a new development where the standards were very high....and so were the prices...but mostly because of the land values rather than the building costs.

One of the thing's I've learned here is that price and quality don't necessarily have a direct relationship.   You can pay 2000thb for a hotel room which is not as nice as an 800Thb room in other hotels.....or pay 4-5 times the price for food in an upscale restaurant with indifferent service and very ordinary cooking as opposed to great food and service from a small family owned place.  

From all the cost research and analysis I did before starting to build my place, I figure that hiring a professional manager with skills, experience and connections has probably save me over a million baht.....I kid you not....and once we're at a point where I know exactly what the end costs are, I will be happy to show everyone what I'm talking about.

I can't comment on English building crews, because I've been away from the place far too long, but in Canada I could hardly finish a decent kitchen for what this whole house will cost....and quite frankly I don't think the workmanship would be that much better....even at 3000 Thb  an hour instead of 300-400 a day.... :mid:

----------


## crocman

> Originally Posted by crocman
> 
> 
> A top read. Love your style and your sense of humour.
> 
> 
> 
> crocman ........... quite a few of you have got a little ID photo next to your name .
> 
> ...


Hey Wasp,

Top left of the page click on " user cp"

Click on " edit profile"

Click on " edit avatar"

Follow the instructions and pretty soon we should see a photo or something else to express your persona

----------


## Wasp

..............
............  Koman :.......

_ "Well said Mr. Wasp.  I agree 120% with you.    There are many good workers here and they are capable of excellent results ......._ "


Good for you *koman* .

There are many  Construction Threads on here which get lots of good comments about the end result .

Well who built these things ?

Even my own little renovation got lovely comments about the transformation that took place .

It has its faults .  Now I know I could have avoided those ..... but my own home is still in the UK and I can find plenty of faults there .   

I had a bathroom leakage in the UK and when I lifted the floorboards there was a plastic pipe bodged onto a copper pipe bodged onto a lead pipe !!

Many many of the Building Threads here end with fellow fallangs praising the end result so I just don't understand why people are praising the constructions but making disparaging comment about the people who built them . 

When it's done with care ( yours ) people can't praise it enough !

You say you can't comment on English crews but I assure you I have had a lot of experience of building gangs who want to knock off on Thursday afternoon at 4 o clock and come back " maybe on Tuesday ". 
It's no exaggeration at all to say that 3000 tiles plus the ridging and fascias is at minimum a lot of whistling , blowing of cheeks , rolling of eyes and then " _A week - minimum_ " ...... meaning two and a half weeks with Double time on a Saturday . 

Good for you to be speaking this way in support of the Thais who have done such a good job .

 I think they're treated pretty harshly in some of the comments on these sites .


....... And I want to add ....... I have no delusions here .  

 I can already see that the next generation of Thais are not likely to be anywhere near as hardworking as the guys who have done all the great work we see on these threads .  
I spoke on my Thread about the indolent brother . A guy who is young , strong , a skilled electrician - and bone idle .
Has no money but doesn't work if he can avoid it .

It was sabang who spoke movingly about ... " This is a woman who laboured all her life to ensure her children received the best she could give them, and who also took care of the rest of the family in Ubon on what she could send back from Bangkok on her measly wages. 
There is no more deserving Happiness- this woman Humbles me. "   
Will we see the same kind of hard-working selflessness from the new generations who aspire only to iPhone 5 and KFC in the Mall ?

I think not .

But the guys on all these Construction threads are old enough still to have some ambition and hopes and I'd like to see less criticism of people who have produced many fine builds .



..........................   *Wasp*

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

----------


## Wasp

There are still some folk looking at this Thread and the big promise was that there would be a surprising ending .

Showing the extent of Missy's changes .

This was back in Post #112 and I've just been made aware that the big " reveal " photo is now not there .

I'm sorry about that .  Undoubtedly my fault when I was moving the " Gallery " Thread .

But it's impossible ( apparently ) to reinsert that photo in that place where it would be most appropriate ( can you help me here Marmite , Roobarb , Bettyboo , koman ? ).

So I have to somewhat ruin that ending and put the photo here .




  Sorry to have mucked that up .

 ...............Wasp

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

----------


## Roobarb

Hello Wasp, it seems a while since you've been on the scene.

I'm not too sure that there's a way of re-inserting a photo once you've moved it in Photobucket.

Looking on the bright side it does mean that people will now have the chance to read through a few more posts before the grand finale.  You did promise it at the end of the thread so the lazy ones can also now flick to the last page and see it.  

You see, you've actually done everyone a favour  :Smile: 

Hope you're keeping well...

----------


## Wasp

> Hello Wasp, it seems a while since you've been on the scene.
> 
> I'm not too sure that there's a way of re-inserting a photo once you've moved it in Photobucket.
> 
> Looking on the bright side it does mean that people will now have the chance to read through a few more posts before the grand finale.  You did promise it at the end of the thread so the lazy ones can also now flick to the last page and see it.  
> 
> You see, you've actually done everyone a favour 
> 
> Hope you're keeping well...



Thank you Roobarb .

Yes I am well but in a state of indecisive paralysis .  The intention was always to retire to Thailand much in the way that so many guys say on here . 
And as long as that was in the near-future it was fine .  But I've arrived at the time and it scares me and I keep putting it off . 

Of the collection of guys here your words are closest to my thinking when you talk about all the various upcoming tasks giving you something to do . 
Because that's what I need too most of all . Something to do .  I can't sit on that bikini all day reading and drinking and keeping an eye out for Harry Potter. 

Somebody else that I respect said that to be truly content you need ... Somewhere to Live ... Someone to Love ... and Something to Do .
 I have the first 2 but I'm not sure about the 3rd in Thailand .
I can build a couple more extensions I suppose .  So I'm definitely at the time to be going but it's less scarey not to !

I was going to try to write to you Roob about something else entirely . 
 I was watching a TV Series ... The Bridge ... a detective series from Sweden on BBC . Anyway ... in an episode last week the guy walks up to his front door and pulls it open and the thing was hinged in a way I've never seen before .  And straight away I thought " Roobarb would love that ".  
 I don't know why you in particular . Maybe memories of your quirky microwave oven bunkhouse . But it just seemed right for you .



 Now maybe this is not all that special at all . Maybe there are thousands of doors pivoting like that , but I have never seen it before and I saw its quirkiness appealing to you.
So I widened your front door and drew in where these two pivots would locate ( but they are meant to be concealed.)

Obviously you lose a little on the left as it swings in but I thought it was a brilliant-looking set-up .


Thanks for writing Roobs.   

 I do love how your house is turning out .


Regards 

      ............... Wasp

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

----------


## Roobarb

> Yes I am well but in a state of indecisive paralysis . The intention was always to retire to Thailand much in the way that so many guys say on here . And as long as that was in the near-future it was fine . But I've arrived at the time and it scares me and I keep putting it off .


I'm a way off being able to retire at the moment, but the only suggestion I would have is give it a go and take each day as it comes.  Ultimately the UK is only a 12 hour flight away and you are free to return whenever you want.




> Somebody else that I respect said that to be truly content you need ... Somewhere to Live ... Someone to Love ... and Something to Do . I have the first 2 but I'm not sure about the 3rd in Thailand . I can build a couple more extensions I suppose .


Lots to do - keep chickens, photograph and catalogue changing village life, invent a better mousetrap.  The great thing is that you can do anything you please.  So long as it doesn't greatly inconvenience anyone else then it's a completely open book.




> So I'm definitely at the time to be going


That's the spirit  :bananaman:  :bananaman:  :bananaman: 




> the guy walks up to his front door and pulls it open and the thing was hinged in a way I've never seen before


I'm not sure what they are called, I think it's a balanced door hinge or something.  I have seen them before in hotels and things.  I like the way the mechanism is completely hidden.  You get something similar on glass office doors.

There are some that have pretty complicated hinges so you don't lose that bit on the left:






> I do love how your house is turning out .


Thanks...  :Smile:

----------


## koman

I agree with Roobarb....you can always find things to do...or even learn to love doing nothing... :Smile:     I used to get bored quite quickly if I was not working or involved in some challenging project....but when I started long distance sailing (usually alone) I learned to relax and enjoy doing "nothing".... I was actually quite busy, adjusting sails, checking my position, watching the ocean and the sky, making meals and a hundred and one other things that for those without imagination would constitute "nothing"..    Boredom is just a state of mind....and it can be eliminated with a bit of concentration and above all imagination.  

I say go for it.....you seem like the kind of fellow who could do very well here actually.....and there's always those Romanesque columns to manufacture and distribute..... :Smile:

----------


## Roobarb

^ There you go, two more options on stuff to do in Isaan from Koman - manufacturing Roman columns or ocean voyaging...  :Smile: 

Joking apart, get a little boat and chart a reservoir or lake or something.  Why not?

You could even install some of your Roman columns at the bottom, claim to have found Atlantis and set it up as a tourist attraction....?  :Smile: 

As Koman says there's plenty to do, but my guess is that you won't find it before you are in the position to look for it.

----------


## splitlid

them doors are called 'pivot doors'.
used for larger openings and look great.

----------


## Wasp

> I agree with Roobarb....you can always find things to do...or even learn to love doing nothing...    I used to get bored quite quickly if I was not working or involved in some challenging project....but when I started long distance sailing (usually alone) I learned to relax and enjoy doing "nothing".... I was actually quite busy, adjusting sails, checking my position, watching the ocean and the sky, making meals and a hundred and one other things that for those without imagination would constitute "nothing"..    Boredom is just a state of mind....and it can be eliminated with a bit of concentration and above all imagination.  
> 
> I say go for it.....you seem like the kind of fellow who could do very well here actually.....and there's always those Romanesque columns to manufacture and distribute.....



Sincere thanks to both of you . Sincere .

THE problem is that the leaving plan was always based on having to sell my place in England for the retirement funds . And it's that feeling of being unable to escape Thailand if it's all too much that is the problem .

I could go to Thailand for a year and not be worried . Two years even . But being constrained to stay there as I have no place back in England any more is the huge worry .

The boat on the lake is a great idea ........ BUT , *koman* , I am an utterly crap sailor though I love it .  
We hired a boat in the Whitsunday Islands one time . How they let us 3 idiots out on their rental is still a worrying mystery but we sailed around the Whitsundays .

I was the skipper because I was the only person that knew that " Port " was on the left .
And I only knew this because just before we set sail ( more like started the 30 year old diesel engine ) someone said to me " ' Don't forget the question ' Is there any Port left ? ' " So you see with some quick mumbling I could work out where Port was .
And that was a lot more knowledge than the other 2 had .

So I have been on a boat and we should have died but we didn't . And to add to my credentials ..... I stress this is honestly absolutely true ..... I panicked when I thought we were being trailed by a huge dark shape in the water .

All the great books of sailing tragedy leapt into my mind .
" Moby Dick "  " In The Heart of The Sea " " Janet and John Go To Torquay "

Doing _at least_ 2 knots I was trying to get away from this monster which was clearly following us .
Until I realised we were in very shallow water and this 'creature' was the shadow of our sail .

I'm sure you'll admire the way this modern Captain Smith hadn't uttered a word to the crew ..... one of who was happily sitting on ' that pointy bit ' in front while the other was busy manipulating the bikini top .
He always worried me that guy .

But yes ....... a boat could be quite a preoccupation .

As I said - it's the giving up of a base in England that's the difficulty .
There's no family left that I could return to and I'm not really going to come back and stay in a hotel.

I'd like a small chalet in Austria but my funds would maybe cover the front door bell and a pair of concealed hinges !

But my thanks again .To you both .

..........
..................  Wasp

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

----------


## bankao dreamer

My Dear Wasp

Sometimes in life you just have to say bollox Im off.
I planned and planned, can't do it now next year next year.
I spent a few years as a Prison officer and had the option of taking my pension early.
After 5 years in Blighty my Wife finally got homesick even though she had a job and a lot of English friends.
So we bit the bullet and just did it. I agree with Koman you will always find something to do.

Life is short and you only get one.
My Sister fought and won a battle against Cancer, on the day she was given the all clear her Husband got his results. Terminal !! they dreamed off emigrating to Canada but put it off and put it off. It was to late for my BiL he has now passed away. My Sister on her own went for it 3 weeks ago and now resides it Canada.


To re iterate just go for it live for today tomorrow may never come.

If our column business doesn't work you can invest in my Turtle driveway venture.

----------


## koman

> If our column business doesn't work you can invest in my Turtle driveway venture.


You see....this is EXACTLY what I was talking about..  opportunities abound here....in fact it's almost impossible not to make truckloads of money even if you don't really care about the stuff.... :rofl: 

"Sometimes in life you just have to say bollox Im off."

Now that's something I've done a good many times...and somehow it always just seemed to work out OK...... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Bankao and koman .

Thanks.

Even for just answering .

The fear is really a fear from all the really bad stories from Thailand . In my own experience my ex-boss lost over 20 million Baht in Thailand and instead of living out his life with the Thai partner with whom he was besotted he is back in Australia living on a poor pension . Just getting through the days. Not at all what he thought his life would end up being . And there are countless stories of farangs being taken for everything and having to leave .

Now it's perfectly true also that I have experienced far more kindness in Thailand and I've had more fun than I experienced in England .
Like you bankao at one stage all I wanted to do was get out of my job.
 When you , koman , Roobarb write like this I think yes . Get on with it . You speak of your sister's difficulties and I feel I'm being a Shrimp .
But really it's just like those people who have a bungee elastic tied around them . 
They go to jump - hesitate - hesitate again - lean forward - tell themselves to get on with it - OK let's go - lean a bit more - and then rock back and say " Not yet " .

Makes you want to push them off . I know. I know.

Maybe I'm just into my third hesitate. Your sister will be on my mind all day now . As will the Turtle driveway possibilities .

... and thanks again koman .


Wasp

........

----------


## bankao dreamer

If we expats can't support each other financially we can always advise or offer moral support. At the end of the day we choose to live here horror stories are there but so are many happy content stories also.  

I think you will be ok when you do go for it.

My Sister is ok she is loving her new life I follow her blog every day.

Turtles lots and lots of turtles

----------


## koman

> And there are countless stories of farangs being taken for everything and having to leave .


Indeed there are.....because there are countless farangs who for some reason don't heed the advise given about limiting you financial exposure and using the legal remedies available to protect  whatever investments you do make in Thailand.

My own golden rule is "never expose more than 20% of your net worth to the risks of Thailand"     The second rule is to spend a few bhahtskis on legal remedies such as a Usafruct agreement or lease,  on any real estate properties you purchase.   

I have purchased, and sold (in my wife's name of course) several pieces of land over the last few years and in each case the land office would not put pen to paper when it came to transfer time, without my express authority.   I actually had to appear in person complete with passport and sign off on the chanote, before they would transfer the land to the new owner, so there was no way for my wife to sell it out from under me....not that she would, but I take the precautions anyway.


A lot of guys hop of the plane at Swampy and in not time at all are shacked up with some bimbo they met in a Pattaya girly bar;  get all horned up because they have not had a decent looking female even give them the time of day for 30 years, and then spend their life savings trying to impress her and her predatory family.

  It's quite bizarre the things some farangs do in Thailand....but getting starry eyed is a common ailment in the LOS and if you can't keep you feet firmly planted on the ground and think objectively and clearly,  it can be a dangerous place financially as well as in other ways.

The thing is, you can and should protect yourself from predatory women. ( and not just in Thailand.. :Smile:  )   There are ways to do so...just make sure you understand these remedies and be prepared to use them.    Clinging to the familiar and safety of home territory has prevented a lot of people from having a really good life.  Carpe Diem......

----------


## Wasp

[QUOTE=koman;2687673][QUOTE="Wasp"]And there are countless stories of farangs being taken for everything and having to leave . [/QUOTE]

koman :
" My own golden rule is "never expose more than 20% of your net worth to the risks of Thailand"     The second rule is to spend a few bhahtskis on legal remedies such as a Usafruct agreement or lease,  on any real estate properties you purchase. "  


I have actually wondered from time to time how you , old monkey , stevefarang et cetera can be comfortable making the spending that you clearly have done . Without apparently worrying about the ultimate owner ( the Thai lady ) turning around and saying " Thank You - you can go now "

I wondered ..... but it's too personal to ask .
I had never heard of this Usafruct agreement and I still don't know what it is but I will look into it .

In the case of my former boss ..... I even started a Thread somewhere with the title " It's only those that you trust who can do you harm " .
Despite all of which I would never never have foreseen that the lady would do the damage she did .

Missy is not of that ilk .I'm sure.
I think my problem is the bungee jumper fear . A fear they share with Parachute jumpers and in fact anybody who gets married !!

That house that Missy developed .... has a hunk of her own money in it and my contribution I was happy to gift . I'm not in the firing line yet . But I may be soon as we are trying to buy a piece of land with river frontage . And that will be my money .

I'll most certainly look into this Usafruct provision .

Thanks.


.....Wasp

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

----------


## BKKBILL

Wasp, here is a start for your search. Koman, BD and all the rest are right no matter where you should be protecting yourself. Many farang rent as it is not that costly, possibly renting your place back home that should cover most of the cost of living here taking away that “ can’t go home worry.

Turtles indeed  :Smile: 

 Thailand Usufruct Agreement - Interactive Thailand

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp, here is a start for your search. Koman, BD and all the rest are right no matter where you should be protecting yourself. Many farang rent as it is not that costly, possibly renting your place back home that should cover most of the cost of living here taking away that “ can’t go home worry.
> 
> Turtles indeed 
> 
>  Thailand Usufruct Agreement - Interactive Thailand



Well BKK ........  I simply copied the line above - put it in Google - and it came up with a firm of legals offering to draw this up and at the same time explaining what it is .
Effectively giving a lifetime's guarantee of  { ownership } and enjoyment of the land or house and even offering effective leasing beyond your lifespan.

Which these legals offered to do at a cost of 8 500 Baht .

I've never heard of it .

I don't know of anyone who has one [ which is pretty obvious if I've never heard of it ] .
Have you got one ?  Looks like koman has this . Anyone else out there ?  Roob ? Stevefarangyourlordship ? Bettyboo ? Ootai ? Anyone at all ?

Thank you BKK and koman .  It's very reassuring and I'll read up a lot more about it .


Wasp

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

----------


## Wasp

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

Photos !!!   Photos !!!!  I have Photos !!!!



Returning to the Renovation Thread .............

 I am in the UK and Missy is in Thailand .

 I said during the building thread that I wouldn't bother with photos of materials being delivered and rebar being sunk into poured concrete . That's actually because we didn't have any such photos .Materials were delivered . She saw them . But there is certainly some doubt about the strength , type , or even existence of much of the rebar .  And Missy didn't take photos and I wasn't there .

At the time of the construction I was represented in Thailand by my Nationwide Building Society Debit Card . Missy got more credit in the neighbourhood walking around with that than if she had been walking around with me .

In the early days she wouldn't even walk around with me!
 I remember on my first morning as I expected to look around her village she took me instead across the fields to look at the local Wat Crematorium . 
Which was both unnerving and a bit  interesting .  

However on the second morning she did the same.

And on the third .

It takes me 3 days to get suspicious but I balked at the idea of a fourth visit to the local Buddhas .Then I found out what was going on .
Over the years she owed everybody in the village some money ! ... Never a lot .  But she owed everybody .
None of them ever expected to get their money back - which is a very kind thing when you think of it - but she knew if they saw her with a farrang ....  KERCHIIINGGG !!! $$££$$££$$££$$££$$££ !!!!!



So back to the build - 

No photos of 25 year old lorries with no suspension delivering 8 tons of gravel .
But I knew there existed some other photos and she found them in Thailand .

SO .......   Daa Daaaa ......... >>>>     The Bikini !!!

First view is exiting upstairs onto the bikini .........





........ and the second is MY lounger and a view towards the house of the Old Granny and Old Grandy ( which I might add for Roobarb ...it's a big place and we will indeed be selling it ! ). And note the special treat .  TWO Roman Kings on the bikini .





The next photos I must go and scan again . Because when Missy said she found the photos ( actual physical photos ) I said " Great .  Please send them to me. "

And she did .  In a yellow envelope from Thailand !

I thought she would email them but that's all still a land of magic and mystery to her.
Electronics are all invisible . Like GHOSTS .Scarey.

So she took me at my word and sent them to me and I have to scan . Coffee and scanning ahead .


.... Wasp

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

----------


## wasabi

Good to see it all coming together .

----------


## Wasp

> Good to see it all coming together .


Thank you wasabi .

----------


## Wasp

At the end of my first stage of this build I got to the point where I could show the huge changes Missy had made to her little home .

That took me to here .............








Beyond the balcony you could see there was another extension built . 
This is an example of where Missy's good nature was trounced on by the builder ... who is her cousin .

I was not there . 

He fairly insisted to her that the house would be out of balance without this extension . He was just the man to do it .... and she didn't have the determination to argue . So with me in England it went ahead .






Here's the view at the back of the house as this build took place .
Straight ahead you're looking at the back of the kitchen on the ground floor and to it's right is the toilet/shower as we sneakily try to surround The Indolent Brother .

Above the kitchen is still the original dwelling but the roof has been changed and the walls have been replaced with the white board .
I suppose it's like Trigger in " Only Fools and Horses " who said he has had the same Council sweeping brush for 17 years !!!
 It's had 11 new heads and 8 new handles but it's the same brush !

Over on the right is the obvious extension made of cement blocks and damn nearly vertical .
Looking at the near section of that block-built area those walls will form a bathroom and the rest a large living area .


Another angle from behind .




This shows a bit later with the wall of the upstairs extension completed . The glass blocks in the diamond shape denote the bathroom .

It also shows a problem I'm going to have .

Because the kitchen roof is simply an extension of the original it has ended quite low ... but it's acceptable .
However - just as Bettyboo predicted some time ago - I'm going to build above that soon . And the original high roof would become too low if extended . So I don't know how to deal with roofing a new first floor .
I've not explained that well .
I'll try again later with some other photos .

Now ...... moving around to the front of the extension ............




A glorious gathering here of 15 Roman columns . ( I still say they are Greek ).

On the Ground floor smack centre is the room of the Indolent Brother ... which he has now vacated in favour of the abandoned Rice Store .
Ground floor at the back is the toilet/shower .At the rear of the first floor you can see another bathroom and then at the front is the bedroom .

I don't like any of this work really - but it wasn't mine anyway. Missy is now very sorry she had so much done and would like to go smaller . 
But I plan to build in that area on the left to give myself a workshop and a farang-style living area . I've no confidence in the strength of any of that work but when I attach on in that area it will support it.

And now a joyousness of colour .........



How appealing is that collection of colours  ????

That extension was supposed to be new stuff . The fascia boards right up under the roof edges look about 40 years old .


Just 3 guys working today .  One to apply the White and the Blue and also try to get rid of a half tin of Pink paint left over from some other job. 

One who is clearly a Ladder Stander Oner .

And one whose job was to make sure the Greek Columns didn't go all the way up .

In an earlier Thread I stood up for some of the Thai workers . But I look at these and I wonder what I was drinking that day .


...............  Wasp


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

----------


## koman

> Which these legals offered to do at a cost of 8 500 Baht .


There are plenty of law firms who will arrange a Usufruct for you...and like lawyers everywhere they will charge you as much as they can get away with..... :Smile: 

One thing you must do, if you should decide to take advantage of this ancient and well established method of securing rights of occupancy,  is to ensure that the agreement is drafted in both Thai and English.  The English version should be a proper translation stamped and certified by an official translator.   Something translated by the TEFler across the street won't do...so spend the extra few bhatski's and get the big official red stamp of the fucker.... :Smile: 

(all this costs a bit more, but signing legal contracts in Thai; with content that I don't have any understand of,  is not something I feel very comfortable about for some strange reason... :Smile: ) 

  The one I use actually has an additional clause which states that in the event of any dispute over language interpretation the English wording shall prevail..... :Smile:     Now, I don't know if that would actually stand up in a Thai court, but I think it would maybe give you an edge.

I have had discussions about these legal remedies on other forums and as you might expect there are lots of armchair experts out there in the farang community who will tell you that they are useless....nothing works in Thailand....everything is loaded against you...etc etc.....but the proof of the pudding as they say is in the eating, and I've already had experiences of how they work in practice....so the armchair farangs can drone on as much as they like about how useless they are.....while they go on to expose themselves to all kinds of financial risk with no backup plan of any kind.  

We've all read countless tales of how poor farangs have come to Thailand, and lost "everything" to some shrew from an Isaan village who suckered them into building a miniature palace; buying them an SUV and so on.....but anyone who does these things for a woman who is just a GF, and then neglects to have any kind of enforceable contract in place, has to be way beyond naïve.   

 It's true that you can not have clear title to land here, but you can maintain control over land via lease or Usufruct contracts....and you can of course legally own the building that sits on the land....or if you are desperate enough you can have 100% ownership of a condo.... :Confused: 

There is no white mans magic involved here....just common sense and a bit of diligence on the legal side of things.   The Usufruct has been around since Roman times and was enshrined in Roman law....so it's not something a Thai law firm came up with to shaft unsuspecting London bankers....or even Sheffield plumbers.... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

koman ....

..."  signing legal contracts in Thai; with content that I don't have any understand of,  is not something I feel very comfortable about for some strange reason... :Smile: ) "


  One clear thing about your building work koman is that you are a very thorough man.Especially in preparation .
I agree with absolutely all you have to say here about idiots being suckered and about your discomfort signing documents written in Thai .
I spoke about my boss losing 20 million . It was more ..... and it all came down to his documentation being in Thai with no translations. 
He found out the day a Chinese woman turned up at his main condo with all the correct papers to show she now owned it .... having paid 5.5 million for a 6.5 million condo .
As you say .... there are endless stories along similar lines . What made my boss's story special was the size of the numbers and me actually knowing the lady.
[I knew she bet on Premier League games - but I assumed that was perhaps a 200 Baht on Chelsea to win . But she was placing 50 000 Baht on Liverpool at terrible odds even if they DID win ] !

Your guidance here is worth diamonds to me .  Never before heard of any of this .

Many many thanks .


............. Wasp

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

----------


## koman

> One clear thing about your building work koman is that you are a very thorough man.Especially in preparation


Well, thank you Wasp, very generous of you.... :Smile: 

I do tend to be a bit of a planner and although I'm willing to take risks in life, it needs to be well calculated risk.     

My building project has gone pretty well,  mostly because of  the project manager I contracted, rather than anything I've done myself....and of course the much better than average workers he has managed to bring on board.   I could not have done this without him ( and them) 

The other piece of advise I would offer,  for what it's worth,  would be to spend a few years in Thailand and discover where exactly you would like to settle before launching into any construction project.   There is a great deal to learn and many pitfalls that can be avoided by simply taking the time to get the lay of the land and getting a good feel for how things work here....and establishing contacts etc.

Too many people become impatient and rush into their new surroundings without equipping themselves adequately to deal with the 1001 surprises that the LOS has to offer.... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> One clear thing about your building work koman is that you are a very thorough man.Especially in preparation
> 
> 
> Well, thank you Wasp, very generous of you....
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I do heed anything you have to say koman . I do . I don't have a choice of looking around though . I never ever had any intention of going to Thailand at all . I was originally tracing my old boss who I thought was in Japan . Turned out he had moved from there to Thailand. So I went there . And during my visit I met Missy.Very poor .A tough life ( I know this is a million lives there ) but the most devastating smile just all the time.

When I went to see her home it was outside Korat and I've been very happy with the area though it is getting bigger now . But all the folks there have been great .
There are other farangs around but they seem to be unhappy reclusives . I've got on great with the people simply because I walk around , shop locally and ask " Sabaidee Mai ? " a lot .
Of course I don't understand their answers .
And it helps when the local youths sit outside a shop at night looking at football on a tv that's inside the shop . The Saturday game starts at 10pm and these guys have got no money . I want to watch the game too . Spend £2 buying and sharing 3 bottles of chilled Leo and these very same guys turned up in a battered pick-up when I had a flat tyre 8 miles away .

Missy even advised me to take cold drinks to the 2 police in the small roadhouse. Which I do every now and then and they look out for me.
 Unfortunately one of them has bought a flexible wooden snake for about 15 Baht in Nonthai market . It's not realistic at all but Missy gave me the look saying " Just pretend " so I jump up dramatically in shrieking terror ! The police guys think that's brilliantly funny but I have to do it every bleeding time I go there when they hide the damn thing in a new place .

But I am happy with the place . I like Dong who is the barber and Dang who cuts women's hair . I just want to meet a Ding and build a church .

Too many people become impatient and rush into their new surroundings without equipping themselves adequately to deal with the 1001 surprises that the LOS has to offer.... :Smile: 

I am listening to what you say .  And I appreciate it .
As it happens I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Thailand . Everybody here seems to be Missy's cousin and I'm not getting any of the " Walking ATM " attitude from the family .Far from it .The father keeps GIVING me land and just wants the occasional hundred Baht and the grandfather just wants Yeesipp Baht for whisky !!

After hearing many other stories from around Thailand I feel I'm very lucky .

And I feel a lot better about property thanks to your advice .

............Wasp.

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

----------


## Bettyboo

^my God, does this build never end?

Started like this:

----------


## Wasp

I'll stop it if you'd like Bettyboo.

----------


## Neverna

> The father keeps GIVING me land ...


Gives it to you or gives it to Missy? I doubt it's you, Wasp, unless the law has changed recently.

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> The father keeps GIVING me land ...
> 
> 
> Gives it to you or gives it to Missy?


Well you're right . He can't give the land to me . But he has a good piece of rice land in which Missy has dug a fish lake .When I started pondering building a new place next to water he just said ( via Missy ) I could take as much land next to the lake as I wanted . No charge . Quite unlike the more usual demands of Bahts of Gold that are made .

Wasp

----------


## Bettyboo

> I'll stop it if you'd like Bettyboo.


Nope, carry on, it's fantastic. Very nice thread you have here, Wasp.  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> I'll stop it if you'd like Bettyboo.
> 
> 
> Nope, carry on, it's fantastic. Very nice thread you have here, Wasp.



I thought you were cross Betty .
And I always love your stuff . 



....... Wasp

----------


## Bettyboo

> I thought you were cross Betty .


Not in the least, Wasp. Doing a build thread yourself, putting it our there blowing in the wind, so to speak, you get to appreciate and respect the other build threads all the more. They are all unique and interesting, but we've been lucky to have 5 or 6 really good and fun build threads on the go recently, and I'd certainly include this thread in that list.

The diversity in our different build threads is great.

----------


## Wasp

Bettyboo : Not in the least, Wasp. Doing a build thread yourself, putting it our there blowing in the wind, so to speak, you get to appreciate and respect the other build threads all the more. They are all unique and interesting, but we've been lucky to have 5 or 6 really good and fun build threads on the go recently, and I'd certainly include this thread in that list.

The diversity in our different build threads is great.


Actually I agree with you .I love the diversity - but without the banter between you and Marmite , koman and Roobarb and lots more they wouldn't be the fun they are . 
Thought you were bored with Missy's missteps and all the cousins .

And while you're around Betts .  
You taught me how to Post photos when I was struggling at the start of this . But sometimes the photos are coming up too big on the TD page .
Others have photos showing up smaller . Do you know how I can do that ?
My photos are always huge .

Good Wishes .

Wasp

----------


## Bettyboo

Regarding photos, I've always opened mine via Paint then resized them at 2000 pixels at the biggest plane - this seems to make them a size which downloads to the TD gallery where I then save my pics that I use on TD. 

It does depend on each pic to a certain degree, and whether they are larger in the horizontal or vertical plane. Posters like Looper and Marmite know much more about this than I do, but I hope that helps.

I do love the use of all these Greco-Roman 'power columns' on dual floors. They must really stand out amongst the local property!  :Smile: 



If you painted the entire property white then put a large icon on top, you could probably register as your own temple/place of importance.  :Smile:

----------


## Roobarb

> And while you're around Betts . You taught me how to Post photos when I was struggling at the start of this . But sometimes the photos are coming up too big on the TD page . Others have photos showing up smaller . Do you know how I can do that ? My photos are always huge .


If you are using the TD gallery then follow Betty's advice above, if you can (it's all gobbledygook to me).

I get the feeling that you're using Photobucket though.  If so then you can get Photobucket to automatically resize your pictures to the 800 X 600 Teakdoor standard, that is if you're really feeling a bit self conscious about your size.

Click on this link and all will be revealed:

Upload Size Options &ndash; Photobucket Support

----------


## Wasp

I do love the use of all these Greco-Roman 'power columns' on dual floors. They must really stand out amongst the local property!  :Smile: 




One of the major worries is that the builder-cousin doesn't seem to have bothered very much about lining up the upper columns to stand on the lower ones .
Rarely do they align in the vertical .
But if you stand well away ( a particularly good idea ) it all looks ok in photos.

And yes it would stand out in the area except that it's set back behind other cousins houses so you don't see it from the road.
And those cousins and aunts show their happiness for Missy by trying to stop us walking over their land to get to her patch !

However!!!!!   It does show up very clearly on Google Earth !!! 

 Honest . 

W

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> And while you're around Betts . You taught me how to Post photos when I was struggling at the start of this . But sometimes the photos are coming up too big on the TD page . Others have photos showing up smaller . Do you know how I can do that ? My photos are always huge .
> 
> 
> If you are using the TD gallery then follow Betty's advice above, if you can (it's all gobbledygook to me).
> 
> I get the feeling that you're using Photobucket though.  If so then you can get Photobucket to automatically resize your pictures to the 800 X 600 Teakdoor standard, that is if you're really feeling a bit self conscious about your size.
> 
> ...


Much appreciated Roobarb.

W

----------


## bankao dreamer

> If you painted the entire property white then put a large icon on top, you could probably register as your own temple/place of importance.


Well we already have Wat BD and now possibly Wat Wasp, we could start our own Order !! Then we wouldn't need usufructs thank God.

It is looking so nice when you consider what you and Missy started with, I like your attitude very much when you tell us of your efforts to fit in. You don't have to do that much, like you said a Sabai Dee Mai goes such a long way.

Well done Sir well done indeed

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Bettyboo
> 
> If you painted the entire property white then put a large icon on top, you could probably register as your own temple/place of importance.
> 
> 
> Well we already have Wat BD and now possibly Wat Wasp, we could start our own Order !! Then we wouldn't need usufructs thank God.
> 
> It is looking so nice when you consider what you and Missy started with, I like your attitude very much when you tell us of your efforts to fit in. You don't have to do that much, like you said a Sabai Dee Mai goes such a long way.
> 
> Well done Sir well done indeed


Thank you bankao . 

There's a guy called LORR who stops on his little motorbike anytime he sees me near the shops and he just looks at me plaintively .

Now I know damn well he can buy his own beer but one bottle costs me 40 Baht.
For that 40 Baht Lorr goes to the ends of the Earth .... well maybe the end of Nonthai ...... if I need any help .

 Lots of smiling - Sabaii Dee Maii ? - a bottle of beer - and tricks .

I can do 4 pretty good coin tricks which I've done countless times and these folks think it's just fantastic.

Not hard to fit in with them at all .
 I can even sit outside the shop at 4:30 with a chilled beer and those deadly noisy slow tractor-powered diesel things turn the corner with 35 thirsty-looking workers crowded on the back . And they cheer " herro " and don't show any touch of jealousy .

Fortunately they get round the corner before I have to buy 35 bottles of beer .

And a bottle of whisky for the driver .

Thanks bankao.

Wasp

----------


## katie23

Hi wasp, I'm new to your thread - very interesting thread you've got here, and the conversation was nice too.  :Smile:   I read your thread from page 1 to the last, and didn't just skip to the last page to see the final product! I must say that I like those Greco-Roman columns.  :Very Happy:  But please don't think of selling them to me, as I have no place to put them, and no $$ to buy them! I'm just a poor backpacker who wandered into the jungle that is TD. lol Good luck on all your ventures. Cheers!

----------


## bankao dreamer

No need to thank me Wasp old chap it is nice to read your little snippets regarding your interactions with the locals. I think when you finally stop hesitating and someone or something pushes you over the proverbial edge you will fit in and be very happy here.

----------


## Wasp

> Hi wasp, I'm new to your thread - very interesting thread you've got here, and the conversation was nice too.   I read your thread from page 1 to the last, and didn't just skip to the last page to see the final product! I must say that I like those Greco-Roman columns.  But please don't think of selling them to me, as I have no place to put them, and no $$ to buy them! I'm just a poor backpacker who wandered into the jungle that is TD. lol Good luck on all your ventures. Cheers!


Hi katie , and thank you .

I can't compete with all the technical and brilliant Threads that are in this Construction Forum .

So I just try to build our renovations around true , amusing tales that keep coming up .

I'll store some columns away for when you have $$$$$.Roman King and Greek Goddess.
Will 200 be enough ?

My best wishes to you .


Wasp

...........

----------


## BKKBILL

> Have you got one ?  Looks like koman has this . Anyone else out there ?  Roob ? Stevefarangyourlordship ? Bettyboo ? Ootai ? Anyone at all ?
> 
> Thank you BKK and koman .  It's very reassuring and I'll read up a lot more about it .[/COLOR][/SIZE]
> 
> 
> Wasp
> 
> ...........................................


Sorry for getting back to you late on this. Things seem to move fast on your thread.

I personally dont have a Usufruct on this property. I married my Thai wife in Canada living there for some ten years before moving permanently to Thailand. After being together that length of time just didn't see any need.

Fortunately and third time lucky we have been  together some twenty five years now.

I do have a number of friends who have Usufruct agreement and claim it gives them peace of mine and protection from the unknown.

Hope that helps.

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> Have you got one ?  Looks like koman has this . Anyone else out there ?  Roob ? Stevefarangyourlordship ? Bettyboo ? Ootai ? Anyone at all ?
> 
> Thank you BKK and koman .  It's very reassuring and I'll read up a lot more about it .[/COLOR][/SIZE]
> 
> 
> Wasp
> ...


You're not late BKK . I'm still musing all of this in England while Missy is in Thailand on her Winter escape .
The Usufruct agreement sounds exactly as you say - peace of mind . Though again like you we have been together 10 years now so I don't think there's really a problem.

I'm at retirement age now and I think it's the proximity of the big change of life that has me seeing more problems than there probably are .

I say to Missy that I have to have things to do every day and she just laughs .
" Things To Do ???? !!!!     No proprim .   Make a wall over derr to stop chikkinz . Change the house derr where iss too hot .  Fix moatybike for old man .  Less go Big C shoppinkk . Buy boat and go sinkink in rezzyvwaah .  Thingz To Do ?  Have millionzz things To Do doann worree bout darrt . "

Your advice { and koman } pointed me to something which should have come up long ago - but it didn't .

Thanks.  It does help.


..... Wasp

...........

----------


## Wasp

> No need to thank me Wasp old chap it is nice to read your little snippets regarding your interactions with the locals. I think when you finally stop hesitating and someone or something pushes you over the proverbial edge you will fit in and be very happy here.


I'm scared to thank you again now !

It makes me suspect this niceness is leading up to some crushing news about our joint Roman/Greek Goddess/Turtle/Wat BD/Wat Wasp ventures failing to find investors. 

We've even got katie23 interested in a couple of hundred !!


Wasp

...

----------


## BKKBILL

> I say to Missy that I have to have things to do every day and she just laughs .
> " Things To Do ???? !!!!     No proprim .   Make a wall over derr to stop chikkinz . Change the house derr where iss too hot .  Fix moatybike for old man .  Less go Big C shoppinkk . Buy boat and go sinkink in rezzyvwaah .  Thingz To Do ?  Have millionzz things To Do doann worree bout darrt . "
> 
> Your advice { and koman } pointed me to something which should have come up long ago - but it didn't .
> 
> Thanks.  It does help.
> 
> 
> ..... Wasp
> ...


By what you post it seems you're quite busy when here. For a time I worried and wondered what to do with all the spare time that I would have turns out there doesn't seem to be enough to get everything done in the day now. Have no idea how I managed when working.

As my wife says "you think to much".

----------


## Wasp

....

 ^ BKKBILL : "As my wife says "you think too much".




Your wife is of course right .

I was chatting with ootai whose wife said " .....  In Thailand all we worry about is having food for today and some money to buy food tomorrow . In Australia all you guys worry about is when are your next holidays and where are you going. "

The Thai wives have a certain realistic wisdom don't you think ?

Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

> ....
> 
>  ^ BKKBILL : "As my wife says "you think too much".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your wife is of course right .
> 
> ...


At times. :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

......

Well ...... after a small panic about life in general I must get back on track .

Because things have happened !

OK where was I ?

....... mumble mumble one man painting the tops of the columns pink .... mumble mumble ... one guy standing on the ladder for 9 hours for 280 Baht the cheeky bugger .....

 


............ and one dude also getting 280 Baht to stand in the shade and make sure noone takes those columns all the way to the top .




Looking down that side after the painting ...



 


Now that area is going to be built on starting later this year .

Extend that little walkway over TWO MORE Roman Kings coming out sideways about 7 metres and then going straight down the full length about 18 metres .

At the front will be another balcony - then another living area , bathroom amd a small balcony at the back .

And underneath ... parking and then a Workshop for me .

All of which will support the existing build and it needs it .

But right now at the front we have the missing piccies from when Missy put on her balcony rail which of course became a damn clothes rail !






Several guys putting in the toprail .

Note that underneath we have what looks like the props department from Phantom Of The Opera .

This was one of the stupid ideas from the Indolent Brother . " Buy me a compressor and spray Gun " ( She did ) .......
and I can start a business respraying moatybikes " ( He didn't ) .

He did take in those few bits of plastic from someone's moatybike and he sprayed them white and hung them on a wire while the proper working guys were cutting and welding chrome lengths upstairs .
Bits of filings and detritus floating down onto his sprayed work meaning he didn't quite achieve the effect that he was after .

That was his whole working day of nearly one hour wasted !!

You can see in the previous picture how the little turd thought it was an excellent idea to test his spraygun on Missy's Roman King column number 17 . 

12 000 Baht for a compressor .  It's not been used since . Anybody want a compressor --- definitely hardly used ?



 

Proper workers getting on with it while Missy plays " Can you see me ? Can you see me ? 







  Progressing .............With Compulsory Dog .







And done .

In one day . Great workers .   


I did admire Missy's attitude in this .
We went to a Workshop/Showroom to look at their designs and Missy had 46 000 Baht in her purse .  I was going home to UK .  That money was to last her the next few weeks .  

 Anyway - when I was having my little panic recently I had people ( correctly ) telling me " You think too much " . But Missy ... total total opposite .

At the showroom she asked how much for this design in this length .
" 40 000 installed . "
And she looked a bit sad - looked in her purse - counted she had 46 000 --- " YES ! Good . Have enough. "

Me - I'd be getting the price down or worrying about having only 6000 to get through to flying away time .  
But she - Binn 40 000 - have 46 000 - " Iss enuff !! Do it !!! "

Which is a fabulous attitude .



Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Wonderful renovation mate! Why is there always a compulsory dog?? I seem to inherit a new dog every time my missus goes back home. We've now got 2 little powder puff dogs, and one is pregnant!!! AArrgghh!

----------


## Wasp

Thank you FatOne .


A piccie walking down that side we'll develop later this year .





There's plenty of space to go and hang washing and it pisses me off to see it on the chrome rails or underneath like that .
AND the plastic containers .  Still ... it's Missy's home I have to keep reminding myself .


Next is one I haven't seen before .





The wood construction is the grandparents place and then Missy is in the back there .

The wood place is HUGE ......... and predictably filthy . 

Missy attacks it with water , detergents , bleach and a great wariness ..... to try to improve things .
And I think the grandparents resent it .

She bags up crap to take away and they sneak out and take it back !!!

We will however take this building down as soon as we can .

God knows what nests will be in there . They didn't even have a toilet when I first went there . Don't ask .

NOTICE THOUGH ......... he thieved a piece of Roman King and fixed it to the base of that support !!!

Tripling the value of the property.

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

----------


## Wasp

Is anybody reading this any more ?

If people has had enuff I'll stop scanning in the photos .

----------


## koman

> Is anybody reading this any more ?
> 
> If people has had enuff I'll stop scanning in the photos .


I just read it.... :Smile:      The build threads have gone a bit quiet over the last week or so...after a period of furious postings.   No doubt they will pick up again when there are things to post about.   I hope you keep your photos coming.  It's a fun and interesting thread.....and photos are at the heart of any building thread..... :Smile: 

Personally, I'm tied up watching the Russian's version of the winter Olympics......very impressive opening even if they fucked up one of the rings......somebody is headed for the Gulag..... :tieme:

----------


## BKKBILL

> Is anybody reading this any more ?
> 
> If people has had enuff I'll stop scanning in the photos .


I'm also reading and enjoying.

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> Is anybody reading this any more ?
> 
> If people has had enuff I'll stop scanning in the photos .
> 
> 
> I'm also reading and enjoying.



Oh Good .

BKK , koman and FatOne is enough to make it worthwhile... and katie .

But yes koman ...... it has gone very quiet for a week or so now.

I'm hoping to find my own Franky amongst my pctures because that certainly raised a kerfuffle !!

Damn funny though .  :smiley laughing: 


Wasp

----------


## hawkeye

There would be a host of people out there who love these building threads. I read every one and have only replied to them on a very few times. 

The current crop of threads are a joy to read at night. To see people unknown to one having fun, tears and a host of laughs makes the Construction thread one of the best?
The humor and wise cracks are the cream.

PLEASE keep it going.

HAWKEYE

Ps FRANKIE RULES!!

----------


## Wasp

> There would be a host of people out there who love these building threads. I read every one and have only replied to them on a very few times. 
> 
> The current crop of threads are a joy to read at night. To see people unknown to one having fun, tears and a host of laughs makes the Construction thread one of the best?
> The humor and wise cracks are the cream.
> 
> PLEASE keep it going.
> 
> HAWKEYE
> 
> Ps FRANKIE RULES!!


This is a nice level of enthusiasm hawkeye !

I know I try to put some humour into my stuff but I am constantly checking the Threads of The Usual Suspects ( You know who you are ! ) .

 A bunch of dodgy character-assassins who I love reading too .

Knowing people are reading does give you a bit of energy though .

So thanks !


Wasp

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

----------


## Wasp

...
.............. and koman .... if you're reading :

I wasn't beating up on you and Franky on Bettyboo's thread .

You see what I was doing was -- ermm --ermm ---


..... well yes I was .




Underneath .............. it's terrible.


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

.

I need to go back to something I found really peculiar .

Back 6 pictures to the picture with the props from Phantom of the Opera and the expensive chrome washing rail .

This one : .......



While Missy was doing this Balcony rail I wondered what that plant is on that tree there .

This thing .




Missy told me it was called Phlomm Prengg Gokk or something . 

It might have been something else but I still wouldn't understand . And anyway I didn't want to know the name - I wanted to know what it was . 

Fruit ?  Cucumber ? " What ? "

She consulted a couple of books and told me the name in Engrish would be " old woman's tits " .

Now that struck me as a bit rude for Missy .... but when I look at the picture I think I can see .......

Anyway I still wanted to know what it was .

So she climbed the tree , took one down , sat outside and picked the shell off it ........ and it's a loofah !!!!!!





I was utterly astonished .  Really astonished !!!

I thought they grew in the sea ! Like sponges .
I'm still majorly surprised.

They are related to Courgettes . Probably cousins.

Anyway then I made my mistake .

I told her these things are £6.99 in Boots in England . ---  Just a piece of conversation .

 But that's 350 Baht .
And somebody told somebody who told somebody et cetera and next morning half the village turned up early and started stripping our tree of all the loofahs ...........
 thinking I would be happy to pay a bargain price of maybe 100 Baht each !

Off OUR tree !!




I only wanted one .

 And for free off our own tree for goodness sake and we couldn't stop them before we had about 40 loofahs and only me interested in using them .




Wasp

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

----------


## koman

Come to Thailand and lose your Loofas's..... :rofl:

----------


## katie23

Wow, I got a special mention! Is it because I'm a guurrlll?  :Razz: 

I initially came to TD to ask for some travel advice/directions, then I looked at the travel pic threads.  Now I enjoy reading the construction threads because of the pics and the banter.  :Very Happy:   It also gives me an idea of how the male mind works, since this seems to be a "macho" forum - there are more males than females.  :Razz:  

Re: your loofah, did you know that it's called loofah because the plant's scientific name is _Luffa cylindrica_?  Although I'm not sure if that is loofah, or what we call "patola".  It may be the "upo" (bottle gourd, _Lageraria siceraria_) or the "kundol" (winter gourd, _Benincasa hispida_).  But these are all relatives - bottle gourd, loofah, cucumber, watermelon, melon (cantaloupe). We have a song in my language wherein there are so many vegetables.  :Very Happy:  Bahay Kubo Veggies Scientific Names

The "patola" mentioned in the site is the angular one (_Cucunis acutangulus_), but we also have the rounded ones (_Luffa cylindrica_). When I was small, my mom used to plant loofah for an experiment, and we had to eat loofah for weeks, until we almost choked.  :Razz:  

The loofah doesn't really grow on trees. It's not a fruit tree, it's a vine. Here, people grow them using trellises as support. Your loofah was a social climber and used the tree to rise in the social strata. Cheers :Very Happy:

----------


## koman

> Wow, I got a special mention! Is it because I'm a guurrlll? 
> 
> I initially came to TD to ask for some travel advice/directions, then I looked at the travel pic threads.  Now I enjoy reading the construction threads because of the pics and the banter.   It also gives me an idea of how the male mind works, since this seems to be a "macho" forum - there are more males than females.  
> 
> Re: your loofah, did you know that it's called loofah because the plant's scientific name is _Luffa cylindrica_?  Although I'm not sure if that is loofah, or what we call "patola".  It may be the "upo" (bottle gourd, _Lageraria siceraria_) or the "kundol" (winter gourd, _Benincasa hispida_).  But these are all relatives - bottle gourd, loofah, cucumber, watermelon, melon (cantaloupe). We have a song in my language wherein there are so many vegetables.  Bahay Kubo Veggies Scientific Names
> 
> The "patola" mentioned in the site is the angular one (_Cucunis acutangulus_), but we also have the rounded ones (_Luffa cylindrica_). When I was small, my mom used to plant loofah for an experiment, and we had to eat loofah for weeks, until we almost choked.  
> 
> The loofah doesn't really grow on trees. It's not a fruit tree, it's a vine. Here, people grow them using trellises as support. Your loofah was a social climber and used the tree to rise in the social strata. Cheers


Wow.....you really know you'r Loofas...... :Smile:     I see lots of them growing just across from our land....and as you say they are all hanging on vines.  Always wondered what they were....and one morning years ago I made a complete dick of myself because when I first saw them at a distance, it looked like there was a troop of monkeys up in the trees...... and I said something like....."look at all those monkeys"..... it still gets mentioned around the village from time to time when they run a bit low on new farang jokes..... :Smile:

----------


## bankao dreamer

No don't stop Wasp if you have something to post stick it on. I look at all the threads everyday so don't feel lonely. I also enjoy reading about the Indolent brother to see what he is not up to.
There comes a stage with every build when things slow down. When the tiling underneath our house is done I will post the pics. At the moment there is not much to post.

----------


## FatOne

I'm watching your thread Wasp, love what you are doing to the place and always entertaining. Keep it up please.

----------


## Roobarb

> ?


Keep at it Wasp, I've always enjoyed your thread.




> I read every one and have only replied to them on a very few times.


Good on yer for chipping in Hawkeye.  Nice to know that there are others out there who read these things. 

There's only so many times the regular posters can slate Koman's kitchen before it becomes repetitive.   As a general invitation to others who have been wondering about joining the fray, I'd suggest the Frankenkitschen could be a good place to start.




> I am constantly checking the Threads of The Usual Suspects ( You know who you are ! ) .  A bunch of dodgy character-assassins who I love reading too .


Agree, there are some right nutcases out there. 




> It also gives me an idea of how the male mind works,


_-- Roobarb finally plucking up enough courage to cross the dancefloor and speak to the girl on the other side of the room, knowing all his mates are watching..._




_Hello.... 





... errr, 



do you come here often....?_


_____


Katie - it's wonderful to have a gurl on the construction forum.  Things have been getting a bit macho of late with long discussions on shades of pink for walls and the like.  I've not said it to you yet, so welcome.  

Just as a slight word of warning though, this forum may give you an insight into certain male minds, however as Wasp has alluded to there are some frankly rather disturbed individuals who hang around here (driveways paved with turtles/dead dogs, obsessions with goats/other men's kitchens).   What you learn of men from here might not be an insight into how an entirely typical male mind works  :Smile: 

Great information on the Loofah BTW, I had no idea where they came from.

Enjoy your travels, and do keep dropping in to see us from time to time.

----------


## roger77

Dont stop.
I'm reading too, I just dont have anything clever to say.

----------


## Wasp

> ..... this seems to be a "macho" forum - there are more males than females. :


You're right katie . But there's not many farang ladies building houses in Thailand .

I'm sure there's loads of gurrlies on the " hello kitty " site . 




> The loofah doesn't really grow on trees. It's not a fruit tree, it's a vine. Here, people grow them using trellises as support. Your loofah was a social climber and used the tree to rise in the social strata. Cheers


This stuff about loofahs is more interesting than I would have thought . A vine !
How does it get out of the sea and up a tree like that ?

And you used to eat it ?  Honest ?? Yuckitty.

----------


## Wasp

> No don't stop Wasp if you have something to post stick it on. I look at all the threads everyday so don't feel lonely. I also enjoy reading about the Indolent brother to see what he is not up to.
> .


bankao , Roobarb , FatOne , koman , roger77 ....... when I asked if anyone is still reading I wasn't thinking just of my stuff .
I wrote on Roobarb's and on Bettyboo's two days ago and I'm disappointed when I look there again two days later ( today ) and I see the last comment was from ' Wasp ' .

The last person I want to read is Wasp FGS . So indeed it has gone a bit quiet generally .Except one of the chief villains is holding Nelson's telescope to his Nelson's eye when looking out for who the assassins are !

bankao ... thanks . I'll stop feeling lonely .

And The Indolent Brother ??? ..... Well .... he gets his own chapter soon because he seems to be out of his lifelong coma and has been seen buying a drill !!


........ Wasp

----------


## koman

> Originally Posted by bankao dreamer
> 
> 
> No don't stop Wasp if you have something to post stick it on. I look at all the threads everyday so don't feel lonely. I also enjoy reading about the Indolent brother to see what he is not up to.
> .
> 
> 
> bankao , Roobarb , FatOne , koman , roger77 ....... when I asked if anyone is still reading I wasn't thinking just of my stuff .
> I wrote on Roobarb's and on Bettyboo's two days ago and I'm disappointed when I look there again two days later ( today ) and I see the last comment was from ' Wasp ' .
> ...


A general malaise has fallen over the build threads, mostly because of Betty's unjust and damaging remarks about Frankie.  (and yes, Betty has the build thread with no kitchen or wall or anything that lines up properly)....and he's sitting in some Emirate gloating and trying to master three chord riffs,  while his long suffering Thai family struggle to complete the project.

  Then we have that Roobarb guy cheering him on.....mainly to distract from his salvaged wood being eaten by termites and various boring worms.  Sinkholes opening up on the land, causing earth tremors... and hoards of villagers cleaning out his snail supply.....not to mention knee-high kitchen counters..... :rofl: 

To cause even further discord, Betty introduces a prototype pickup truck into the mix and then posts color charts asking for advise on which paint he should use....as if anybody else gives a shit what color he paints his house. 

   No wonder the bloody build threads have cooled off.....I mean they have turned into Twitter accounts FFS.....  Even YOU Wasp have hopped on the anti-Frankie bandwagon....in a low key sort of way....but still.  Now you veer off into discussions about plant growth on parasitic vines..... :Smile: 

There's hope thankfully....FatOne is in the early build stages,  with Monks and holes full of rebar.....so he may be able to drag us all back to  "building" and bring back some life to the construction section of TD.   I see Lost and Found running a new thread on building a fucking chicken -coup in Cambodia that is creating far more interest and action than the lot of us put together. 

In the meantime we can only hope that BettyBoo, Roobarb and a few others bone up a bit on kitchen design and oven cabinets in particular,  so they can appreciate early formwork and be more inclined to encourage the disclosure of small imperfections in other people's efforts,  rather than exploit them for their own ends........ :Smile: 

I'm thinking of posting a whole series of wall building photos just to piss BB off......but I'll hold off for a day or two just to see how things go.... :Smile:

----------


## Roobarb

> Dont stop. I'm reading too


Welcome Roger, good on yer for showing your appreciation.




> I just dont have anything clever to say.


Keep posting, you'll clearly fit in well around here...  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Dont stop.
> I'm reading too, I just dont have anything clever to say.


Doesn't stop Bettyboo .

----------


## bankao dreamer

A whole chapter regarding the indolent brother !! cant wait.
Whats he want a drill for ?

----------


## BKKBILL

I have been following all these builds for quite some time now and am starting to sense some problems brewing what with Frankie being male, female, gay, bi goodness me maybe koman is right there is no hope.

Now we have to study chicken coops in Cambodia, kitchen design, massive amounts of wall building. This is getting hard very, very hard.

Understandable katie23 is wandering.

Knee-high indeed.

----------


## Wasp

> A whole chapter regarding the indolent brother !! cant wait.
> Whats he want a drill for ?


It looks profeshnull if you can say " Hav Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrr " .

Just needs to learn to hold the other end .

----------


## Wasp

bankao dreamer;   A whole chapter regarding The Indolent Brother !! cant wait.

............. there's also LadyPig to look forward to .


.............W

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

----------


## roger77

> I just dont have anything clever to say.


Keep posting, you'll clearly fit in well around here...  :Smile: [/QUOTE] 

Was that sarcasm ???   :smiley laughing:

----------


## Roobarb

^ No, very genuinely Roger, few of the rest of us have much of a clue about what we are going on about but it doesn't stop us from polluting the threads with our drivel.

You're welcome to join the fray any time, having something clever to say is certainly not a prerequisite to posting around here...

... indeed some might say it's frowned upon  :Smile:

----------


## comet8

Keep up the good work Wasp with more reports and photo`s...i`m sure everyone loves all the build threads with photo`s. This page was a bit of a downer with no photo`s..but Komans comments made up for it...awsome. And what would we do without the Franken-lith.  :Smile:

----------


## katie23

@roobarb - Hi Roobarb, pleased to meet you. <curtsey>  :Very Happy:   I sometimes come to the construction threads, when time permits, and when my net cooperates.  I think I should've said the "male farang mind", since I'm already familiar with how the minds of my countrymen work.  :Razz:  

In case you guys didn't know, I'm not a female farang, I'm a Filipina. (too many F's there, lol) 

@koman - I've been reading a lot about this Frankie...  :Very Happy:  

@wasp - what's this hello kitty site? Is it this?  


hello kitty world in Malaysia?  :Razz: 


which is very near Legoland? (me wants to go there in the future)

----------


## katie23

@wasp - re: loofas, we didn't eat them when they were mature and fibrous like in your pics.  They are harvested when they are green.  They're soft and succulent.  :Wink:   If it's the loofah, _Luffa cylindrica_, it's cooked as a soup with some soft rice noodles (misua). 


If it's the bottle gourd/white gourd, _Lageraria siceraria_, it's just sauteed like this.  This one was cooked with vermicelli noodles (noodles & shrimp optional).  


The dishes look similar, I know, but the veggies/fruit are of different consistencies.  Together with bitter gourd, squash, watermelon, melon, zucchini, cucumber, they all belong to the cucurbit family - Cucurbitaceae.  :Smile:  

Comet said this page lacked pics. If you're offended by Hello Kitty and friends, I will edit them out next time.  :Very Happy:

----------


## sabang

Quite the makeover this one- I don't think we have many examples of that in the builders threads, mainly stuff put up from scratch. Entertaining commentary too, and part of putting up your new house is about getting into your new home and it's surrounds, the Lifestyle. Quite a large part actually- I think we have several part builders/ part lifestyle threads, my 'dummies' thread an obvious example.

Cheers Wasp.  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Katie :   They're soft and succulent.  :Wink:  ..............         Sounds nice . 

Katie :Comet said this page lacked pics.
  Well that's just one Page . These stories can go pages and pages without pics as folks gets sidetracked .

Katie : If you're offended by Hello Kitty and friends, I will edit them out next time.  :Very Happy: 
No . Not at all . I introduced Kitty so I must take my punishment .

.... and Katie - if you are in Thailand and you are a Philipina then yes you ARE a falang !
Missy cannot get used to this idea that when she is in England she is the falang .She is most offended by that .
In her mind " falang " means old , white , male and probably overweight.

I think that's based 90% on me.

And Katie ....... it's hard to believe that you are a Philipina . 
You speak English far better than most English and certainly better than every single member of my family !!

Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Quite the makeover this one- I don't think we have many examples of that in the builders threads, mainly stuff put up from scratch. Entertaining commentary too, and part of putting up your new house is about getting into your new home and it's surrounds, the Lifestyle. Quite a large part actually- I think we have several part builders/ part lifestyle threads, my 'dummies' thread an obvious example.
> 
> Cheers Wasp.



Sabang .... Your ' Dummies 'thread was what got me going really on this site .
I read it all the way through because I found it so entertaining with your Mrs Santa Claus , your shopette , the cute munchkin , stick insect , scorpions , Abo painting , pegleg dog , Doghouse .....
You even fitted in some house-building too !

I don't know why your thread doesn't get referenced more because it's as thorough as koman's excellence and Roobarb's quirkiness .

But most of all Sabang - it was the words about your MIL that still haunt me as they describe some people that I know too . 
When you said ...  This is a woman who laboured all her life to ensure her children received the best she could give them, and who also took care of the rest of the family in Ubon on what she could send back from Bangkok on her measly wages. There is no more deserving Happiness- this woman Humbles me.

Still moves me sabang .   

And good on you for saying it .


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Maybe some building photos are needed here .

After Hello Kitty and loofah soup .

So .....





Night Time at Wat Wasp .

It pleases me to see the expensive clothes rail being put to its proper use .

The Indolent Brother's sunlounger left out for the dogs to use , the bag of cement and the long-reach brush .

Lovely stuff .





A few more rags left out for the ants to nestle into .

Only thing missing is a dog .

In this photo that window on the upper floor is a large bedroom .
Photos of the interior following .












Missy was very happy with that glass door .  
So happy she went downstairs and made a little video walking around and then walking upstairs and she and the camera walked into the glass door !

She's an idiot really ... and I tell you the next bit with my hand on my heart.
HONEST . Hand on Heart ..... she knows fallangs like steaks and sausages and chicken nuggets et cetera . But salads/fruit not quite as much .
She on the other hand loves vegetables . Partly the original poverty but mostly a genuine love for different leaves and veggies .

So she was astonished in England at the popularity of a song on the radio all about fruit !!

There was a hit song by 'Lulu' with 'Take That' .    " Relight My Fire " .

She listened to it a lot on Radio 2 and she tried to sing along --- utterly convinced they were singing  " We Like Papapaya " .

Hand on my Heart .

Try singing it !!!! 




 This one is only here to show the ceiling .

These three photos are of the upper floor extension .
If you swivel around with the camera you are looking into the original upstairs room of the original house .

Hang on .

No photos !!!

OK ..... I'll go and look and come back in a bit .


..Wasp
..


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

----------


## bankao dreamer

In the one photo the Roman Kings stand out in all there magnificence ( gleaming white against a green wall ) but oh dismay in a couple more they have been painted the same as the wall. This diminishes them terribly please please ask Missy to rectify this travesty.

If I may Wasp I would like to thank Katie for her valued input regarding Loofahs.

----------


## Wasp

> In the one photo the Roman Kings stand out in all there magnificence ( gleaming white against a green wall ) but oh dismay in a couple more they have been painted the same as the wall. This diminishes them terribly please please ask Missy to rectify this travesty.
> 
> If I may Wasp I would like to thank Katie for her valued input regarding Loofahs.


You're right about Katie's loofahs .




You know .. I forgot about the change of colour with those internal Roman Kings !

And I don't know which way they finished up but Missy is there right now so I'll get some photos of how it is today .

I suspect it was me getting a bit weary of Romans everywhere I looked .

You can even lean against one when you're not feeling well and you're sitting on zee crapper !!!!!







   Took a fine bit of planning to get that just there .

Supply of Paracetamol behind .  Handy spray gun for various cleaning needs .

She thinks of everything .

.

Wasp

..

----------


## BKKBILL

Must agree with BD the white does make the Roman Kings look good, that green is a powerful shade although it could diminish future sales.  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Must agree with BD the white does make the Roman Kings look good, that green is a powerful shade although it could diminish future sales.


  :rofl: 

I'll get my Thailand team to look into this .

----------


## Bettyboo

You may want to consider contacting the Greco-Roman column company and asking for sponsorship. They could take pics of your home and put them in their catalogue and showroom, perhaps an arrow and a sign on the main road towards your home, a banner hanging from the second floor. Ask for 10,000 baht per month, initially, then negotiate the best deal you can - it's all beer  money!

----------


## Wasp

> You may want to consider contacting the Greco-Roman column company and asking for sponsorship. They could take pics of your home and put them in their catalogue and showroom, perhaps an arrow and a sign on the main road towards your home, a banner hanging from the second floor. Ask for 10,000 baht per month, initially, then negotiate the best deal you can - it's all beer  money!



Hello Betts .

I already tried this Betty .

I approached Google Maps and showed them that it would be worth sponsoring me to promote their maps .





They were amazingly disinterested in the idea !

.
Wasp

----------


## koman

Have to agree with BD's comment about the Roman columns being painted green.   NO Roman would have green columns......but white....promotion to Tribune stuff.

The white ones do look nice and definitely distinguish the place from your regular village houses.  

Can't believe Google Maps dismissed your proposal......they won't last with that kind of attitude....in fact I'm so disgusted, I'm going out to buy some paper maps today so I don't have to access them anymore.....assholes.... :Smile:

----------


## Bettyboo

> NO Roman would have green columns......but white....promotion to Tribune stuff.


Actually, the columns of the big gladiator arenas were very brightly coloured. Just sayin...  :Smile: 

Anyways, Koman, I thought you like unusually, unconventionally colourful things!

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by koman
> 
>  NO Roman would have green columns......but white....promotion to Tribune stuff.
> 
> 
> Actually, the columns of the big gladiator arenas were very brightly coloured. Just sayin... 
> 
> Anyways, Koman, I thought you like unusually, unconventionally colourful things!


I'm Sorry peoples .  I do think it was me what changed the colour because I was aware of them everywhere . Even in the loo . 

And bits of Dead Romans being attached to rice barns , chicken coops and dirty old homes .

A nice image that !

So I suspect me .Trying to disappear a few Romans .

I mean Look !! ...........







....... and Bettyboo - long before you carefully planned that column bang in the centre of where you don't want it - we already had the concept ......






..... Wasp

----------


## koman

> Originally Posted by koman
> 
>  NO Roman would have green columns......but white....promotion to Tribune stuff.
> 
> 
> Actually, the columns of the big gladiator arenas were very brightly coloured. Just sayin... 
> 
> Anyways, Koman, I thought you like unusually, unconventionally colourful things!


I was referring to their houses, not the bloody gladiator arenas.  I'm fairly sure no respectable Roman would have wanted their house looking like a cheap circus tent. 

In fact, I'm having all kinds of trouble with colours at the moment.   The suppliers send out a batch of paint samples in half liter cans;  for testing.   We had selected them a while back....all decided from a bullshit computer design thingy.    They looked great on the monitor in the shop.....but they look like shit when you put them on the walls.  Some of them look nothing like what I saw on the computer screen.. :Confused: 

  Back to the drawing board.  One step forward, two steps back.... :mid:

----------


## Wasp

Koman : " I'm fairly sure no respectable Roman would have wanted their house looking like a cheap circus tent. " 

I don't think Missy is going to like you saying her house looks like a cheap circus tent .

In fact there will be tears .

Not nice from little koman .




Wasp

----------


## koman

> Koman : " I'm fairly sure no respectable Roman would have wanted their house looking like a cheap circus tent. " 
> 
> I don't think Missy is going to like you saying her house looks like a cheap circus tent .
> 
> In fact there will be tears .
> 
> Not nice from little koman .
> 
> 
> ...



Huh???   I never said anything of the sort....I was replying to Bettyboo and saying that a respectable Roman citizen would not want his  house looking like a gladiator arena which would have been garish and tasteless in the extreme.  

.....  I think Missys house looks fine.....and now that I take a second look at the latest photos, maybe painting the columns green on the inside was not such a bad idea after all.... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Just poking you for the fun of it .

And you're right about the confusion of colours . I was catching up on Building stories and was reading bankaodreamer's story .

I wasn't sure about those Thai teak houses . Then he put them up and I loved them .

Then he built all sorts of heavy cement block additions and extensions and I loathed the whole thing .

And THEN he painted those cement constructions in a kind of Italian Burnt Sienna colour and I loved it all over again . The right colour ..... brilliant .

I don't like the green walls that Missy did ..... but there's too much sunlight to paint the walls Magnolia . :yerman: 


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Well ..... I left off standing looking into the upstairs extension and I was about to swivel 180° to look into what used to be the old upstairs .
But I wanted to show how the old upstairsused to be - because it was terrible .

I know the photos exist .... because I took 'em . But it can't be difficult to imagine what a dirty room looks like .

Anyway I'll just look at how it is now ---

Doors on the Right leading to the Balcony.







This was the day when some oldish birdy dressed in white turned up to say nice things to the ' Spirits ' .
Hence the feast of cherryade , coconuts ,bananas and water gathered around the central column.

At your foot here is where the new part ( Brown tiles ) meets the old part ( polished wood ).

Lurking over in the corner is the paint stripper that they drink and call whisky . 

That room was the whole living space for 4 people . It had plyboard separating the areas and was just soul-destroying to look at .






The floorboards have been sanded and treated . Skirting has gone in and walls have had plasterboard put on .  It will get a sofa , chairs , a rug , a tv and a computer point .







This photo appeared earlier but it completes the set for this room .

We had no choice about the central Roman King . It was the original old support tarted up .

Through the right-hand window you can see the cement rice store which became the home of the grandad .
Through the windows on the left you would be above the downstairs living area .

I'm hoping to expand out that way too with a floor above the living / kitchen .... as originally proposed by Bettyboo

For clarity ... this room is shown here with a yellow cross .







Just turning around again .....

 .


To your immediate left is the double sliding door to the balcony.

The glass door is the stairway down to the family's living area though there's not really a family .

Through that glass door you can just see a little white shelf of shampoos and toothpaste .

Which is obviously ---





The Bathroom .

Loo to the right and to the right of the loo is a handy Roman for leaning-on purposes .






... Wasp
...

----------


## katie23

@wasp: I wonder, what do you need a Roman king in the loo for? To lean on while you're contemplating on the meaning of life? And waiting for your loofah soup to go down?  :Very Happy: 

I'm glad I don't have to remove Hello Kitty and friends from the former page. I think they made a nice splash of color there. lol I'm serious about wanting to go to Legoland, though - it's in my bucket list.  One day I WILL go there.  :Smile:  Btw, I think the green loofah soup looks nice with your green walls.  :Smile:  

And wasp, I am not a farang, since I'm a Filipina, presently living in Las Islas Filipinas (as the Spaniards called it), or the PHilippine Islands (as the Americans later called it).  I'm also not old, white and overweight. lol I have been to Thailand, though, twice, and both times, mistaken as a local. I came to TD to initially ask for travel advice (I made a thread in the Cambodia forum).  

Thank you for noticing my English skills! Many Filipinos speak good English; we learn English from grade school - a legacy from American colonization. There are many Filipinos who work as TEFLers in Asia, but their salaries are lower than those of farangs. Even those with low education have moderate English skills and can communicate with foreigners. From what I've read here on TD, even the "ladies of the night" speak good English.  :Smile:  

I grew up bilingual - spoke English with Viet mom, Tagalog/Filipino with my Fil dad. It was an interesting childhood - being the product of a biracial union.  :Smile:  

Cheers and thanks for the pics!

----------


## Wasp

Hi katie .

Near my home in England there's a huge hospital and probably 80% of the nurses are Philipina .Who look exactly like Thais .

So my wife walks around the shops and asks all the time " Kunn Thai mai ? " hoping to make new friends .

But no . They are all from your country .... and they speak poor English because they just stay together all the time .
Maybe 12 of them sharing one rented house and speaking always to each other in their native language .

Understandable .

You on the other hand DO speak { write } at a standard way above an ordinary English person . Or a Bettyboo or a Marmite .

But the soup still looks yucky .

Why have a Roman King in the loo ?

I'm sure even Roman Kings had loos .

.
... Wasp

----------


## koman

> Near my home in England there's a huge hospital and probably 80% of the nurses are Philipina .Who look exactly like Thais .


 



> and they speak poor English because they just stay together all the time


I wonder if there is some confusion here.  It's the English that don't speak good English these days.  I can't understand half of what most of them say and they use so much slang I don't think anybody else does either.  I've been away from the place so long now, they seem to have developed a whole new version of the language.... :Confused:    Coon hunting hicks in Alabama speak better English these day.... :rofl: 

I've worked with many Philipina's and in fact a good percentage of my own staff was Philipina at one time,  and they all spoke excellent English.  Mostly very good workers too.  They were well educated and seemed to know more about the world in general than many of the locals.  I'm talking about fairly professional staff here, but event the girls who babysit and clean houses seem to be quite fluent in English for the most part.

   If all the Philipina's decided to go home, Canada would grind to a halt overnight.... :Smile:   Probably a few other countries as well.....I mean who else could give you instructions on Loofa soup....... :Smile:

----------


## Roobarb

> I wonder if there is some confusion here. It's the English that don't speak good English these days. I can't understand half of what most of them say and they use so much slang I don't think anybody else does either.


You're right Koman, much of it is now incomprehensible gibberish.

It's similar to when my wife is chatting with her friends in Thai.  If I tried to listen then I could probably understand the gist of what they are wittering on about, but having mistakenly done it once or twice in the past I also know that, having broken down the language barrier, the general subject matter discussed is just as alien to me.  It means the whole exercise is really not worth the effort.

Good god.  I've just re-read that and realised that I might be getting old...  :Sad:  

Actually, come to think of it, have you noticed that all the UK policemen do now seem to be getting younger.  If you ever see them that is.   It's not like it used to be ba.....

... mumble mumble mumble.

Humph.  I'm off down to see my chums at the club.  At least they can still string a comprehensible sentence together what?

Scotch?  Don't mind if I do old thing.  Nearly lunchtime and all that...

----------


## Wasp

I think I was trying to compliment katie on her perfect English and I made a poor comparison with the Philipinas here who don't use their English skills . 
They stick together and as a result their English doesn't get used and it deteriorates.

But Missy is the same .
 She gets to a reasonable standard ( if somewhat warped ) but then she goes down to a big group of Thais in Portsmouth and when she returns she's talking utter crap . 

Maybe Heineken has some responsibility there .

However she does try ...... Christmas Dinner with the neighbours and totally English food ( Roast potatoes et cetera ) .So no chilli . Nothing Thai .
Concerned lady asked Missy afterwards how she liked the food .

" Religious!! " she said .

I went into 2 shops within 30 minutes yesterday . The Latvian girl in shop 1 spoke flawless , clear English ... with a lovely manner.
 The teenage , grunty, barely literate shop trainee in shop 2 - was English of course .

Yoonoworrameeen ?

It was just a heavily-expressed compliment to katie .


W

----------


## malcy

> I think I was trying to compliment katie on her perfect English and I made a poor comparison with the Philipinas here who don't use their English skills . 
> They stick together and as a result their English doesn't get used and it deteriorates.
> 
> But Missy is the same .
>  She gets to a reasonable standard ( if somewhat warped ) but then she goes down to a big group of Thais in Portsmouth and when she returns she's talking utter crap
> 
> I went into 2 shops within 30 minutes yesterday . The Latvian girl in shop 1 spoke flawless , clear English ... with a lovely manner.
>  The teenage , grunty, barely literate shop trainee in shop 2 - was English of course .
> 
> ...


That's Portsmouth for you !

----------


## Wasp

Some new pics arrived today and I seeks opinion .

First .... a new angle at the side ....



All looking rather ropey ...... but like Bettyboo and Roobarb are always saying, when I get there myself there'll be some sorting out to do .

This area will be built out 7 metres to your Right here and then come the full length down this side .

And I will heed any opinion on the next .

Here's a corner upstairs showing Roman painted green.




And here's the other room with the columns left white .




We're stuck with the columns ...... but there was small discussion on here about hiding them or not .

So ..... hide or not ?


.
Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

> So ..... hide or not ?


Not  :Smile: 

Roobard ah poisoness monkey, there was a lorry load of interesting cheeses  but I was very very drunk  :Smile:

----------


## BKKBILL

Impossible to hide. I prefer the white. 

Will this talk of being here does that mean life changing decisions have been made?

----------


## Wasp

> Impossible to hide. I prefer the white. 
> 
> Will this talk of being here does that mean life changing decisions have been made?


I don't understand it myself but I suddenly had a massive surge of decision .

To go to Thailand .

I can't do it yet . I won't see Thailand until maybe November and even then it will be for perhaps 5 months .

But yes . Solid in the decision . :mid:  And its reading this Forum that has helped .
I'm as ready as anyone to give out advice but I do concentrate when advice comes back .
Which it did .
 Advice about perspective for example but also looking at how the usual suspects look at Thailand .

Now - I have to look at what I need to do to sell my home and there must be at least 300 things that need doing . 
Gaps in floorboards that have annoyed me for 6 years . Crappy damaged bits of skirting . Rawlplugs left and painted over but still visible .

If I spend £1000 and do the hours it will add £10 000 to the sale price . 

I hope . :bananaman: 



Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

^
Good fellow  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> ^
> Good fellow


Your TurtlesDriveways , your sister , your bil had a say in this bankao .

Nothing heavily decisive ..... but they reminded me of plenty of others who met far greater hardship than the problems I make for myself .

My mum had Alzheimer's . When I went to see her there was a bloke in there - 29 !!! - 20 bloody 9 and he had Alzheimers !! Jesus !


Perspective you know .


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

....... and the results are in .

Stay with White Roman Kings ...... 2 Votes .

Hide them in the green camouflage ..... 0 Votes .


Disappointing turnout but the Whites win .


Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Add my vote from a different timezone, so a bit late! I'm all for leaving the romans white.

----------


## Roobarb

^ Wasp - try with painting them an off white colour, make them look like sandstone or something - I guess the infamous Magnolia might do it...?

Call it three quarters of a vote for white.

----------


## BKKBILL

2 3/4 votes white 0 votes green Id say that is a landslide.

----------


## katie23

Re: the columns, I vote for white or off-white, maybe "ecru".  :Wink:  I've said before that I liked the columns; I think they gave the house character.   :Smile:  Btw, I passed by a house yesterday (not my usual route).  The house also had Roman columns.  I smiled and remembered Wasp's house.  Apparently, they like Greco-Roman columns in this part of Asia too.  :Razz: 

Re: my English skills, no insult taken, compliment accepted.  :Smile:  I have quite thick skin and am not easily offended.  I'm also not offended by puns, jokes, criticisms about my country or countrymen, since I consider myself pretty well-travelled (for a third-worlder), and I have seen more of the world than my own little archipelago.  My travels have been on my own steam - work-related or I saved up for them, and not due to family money, as I/we don't have that.  My parents just made sure I had a good education.  Part of that education was to learn English well.  :Smile:  

Learning a second language (or a 3rd & 4th) is a talent and a skill.  That talent is harnessed better when one learns it at an early age.  My circumstances were a bit unusual, since I was a product of a biracial union, and grew up bilingual.  I've been reading English books, watching American shows and films since I was a kid, so I've been exposed to English all my life. My jobs have also required me to speak/write in English all the time.  

Re: the Filipinas near Wasp's place in England, yes, if they were always speaking in their mother tongue, then their English skills would go south after a time. I experienced the opposite - I found that my mother tongue suffered when I stayed in a Western country for a time, and I was required to speak in English.  I even thought in English most of the time.  But after returning to the motherland, mother tongue and English skills are equal once again (I think). 

@koman - some of those babysitters or house cleaners have college degrees, so it's no wonder that they have good/moderate English skills. I have a classmate whose mom was a schoolteacher but later opted to be a housemaid in Italy because of better pay... that's the way it is... 

For the guys reading this drivel, if you have half-breed kids, please let your kids be fluent in English, as well as their mother's mother-tongue.  They'll be smarter and richer (in life) because of it. This comes from a half-breed too. Cheers!  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> whose mom was a schoolteacher


Oh Katie !

Your first mistake !!!

Please don't say " mom " .

It's horrible .

Horrible . Horrible  . Horrible . Horrible . Horrible . Horrible . Horrible . Horrible . Horrible .


xx Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Because it's American .

----------


## Wasp

WELL !!!!!!

Just as we were shutting the doors at the Polling Station we had a stampede of voters knocking aside a strange man wearing a huge " I  VOTED " badge !!

And ( opening a Gold envelope ) .... after an all-night count .

Because I demanded three recounts to be certain .....

The White/ Offwhite / Sandy / Ecru? Party  ............. 4¾ votes .

The Cleverly Camouflaged By Smothering In Green Paint Party ..... 0 Votes .

So the result is .... white ( ish ) .

I forgot to vote .


.
Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Katie probably learned American English, in Oz it is Mum - quite common here.

----------


## Neverna

I vote .... keep the columns white.

----------


## BKKBILL

> WELL !!!!!!
> 
> Just as we were shutting the doors at the Polling Station we had a stampede of voters knocking aside a strange man wearing a huge " I  VOTED " badge !!
> 
> And ( opening a Gold envelope ) .... after an all-night count .
> 
> Because I demanded three recounts to be certain .....
> 
> The White/ Offwhite / Sandy / Ecru? Party  ............. 4¾ votes .


Oh dear a tardy voter! Looks like a recount and another all night reckoning.

----------


## Wasp

..........

----------


## katie23

@ wasp & fatone - Yes, I did learn the American version of English. I grew up with Webster's dictionary, not Oxford.  :Smile:  Grew up watching Sesame Street, GI Joe, X-men, etc. I didn't encounter UK English until James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and Harry Potter.  The Phils is a former American colony, so waddaya expect?  :Razz:  

But I do know the difference between to-mae-toe and to-mah-to, ee-ther & ei-ther, elevator/lift, pants/trousers, etc. Later on, it was fun to learn the differences (and quirks) of the Am and UK English.  :Wink: 

Re: the columns - yay, the white/off-white/ecru columns win!  :Very Happy:

----------


## Wasp

.
.
Sadly the Polling Station was closed ....the building demolished and the land was sold by the time Neverna turned up to vote .





I'll put it in as a Postal Vote .



Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

^
 :rofl:

----------


## Wasp

There's not a lot left to say about this actual building .... until later in the year when we develop the side and the back .

Don't even really need to do that . Think maybe it's the Nicolas Ceausescu influence .

But there are still pictures emerging.

And I hadn't seen this one though I find it interesting .




That's the upper part of this house as it was when I first saw it .

Infills of different wood and someone's clearly lost their stair-banister somewhere.

This was after I had replaced the roof cozz in this picture you can see it's got those lovely new asbestolux roof tile things.

That little bikini grew to become the present deluxe bikini .

And this is the closest comparison - but unfortunately it's not quite the same angle .





I had a thought-provoking chat at this time .   There was a young guy who owned a whole chisel all to himself { but the hammer was borrowed ) .

His job was to climb up onto the roof , cling onto that fascia board under the tiles ( with his toes ) and , using his precious blunt chisel , hack out the curved shapes into which would drop those roof panel things .

When I asked him about using a jigsaw he said to me that a jigsaw would be handy but then he would have the job done in two hours and he would only be paid for two hours . The blunt chisel took him all day so he got a full day's pay !! 

No incentive at all for him to invest in a jigsaw !





There is one more elaborate change downstairs that I forgot .


Originally I only had two pictures of the dingy downstairs and I said it was just one quite dirty room which had rice , animal nests , dog poo , a suspicious bundle in the corner that turned out to be the indolent brother , and a stairway up to the living area .




But I was wrong .  I had forgotten .  In that ^ photo there you can see on the left a tin door .

That was the door to a primitive toilet .

Don't have photos of that ...... but after doing the roof I did some tiling on the ground floor and I tiled into that toilet .





Including tiling the top of a washstand .


But that didn't last long . Because we did all that ground floor work and we bricked up that door .





The closed-up door-way now has that green chair in front of it .

..... and a Roman King of course .


Moving along that wall ...... There's a unit with a tv , then the second green chair and a new door .





As I was saying .... behind that first chair was the toilet but behind that second chair was simply a wall and the outside .

Missy bricked up the first door and installed that second door .
The indolent brother purloined the filthy squat toilet in hopes of having his own place one day .
A fitting selection of component I think .

Behind that wall she extended out enough to make a new room --- a bedroom for the father for when he's too drunk to stagger home to his shack .

Which is most nights .

Now though he uses it more as a store room .







Wasp
.
.

----------


## Wasp

The next job --- it seems always --- is to start building walls .

The land from Missy's home to next door was open except for some trees and bushes .

So ..... dig out the scuff stuff .............







That raised soil and the broken stumps show the line between the neighbour and Missy .


Put in some posts .




..... and more posts .





Make sure your cement mixing trough has a big hole in it .

Then build 4 courses of blocks .





Now time for a lengthy chat about how is this pesky gate going to work ?





But they got it in and painted it .











And to save some cash some wire was run as a temporary step .
Really it's just to keep the neighbours sweet and separate the chickens and dogs .

The neighbours are crucial . 

They provide the only way to get a vehicle in from the road because the other access points are blocked .... by FAMILY !!!!!

Anyway this wall and gate made the neighbours very happy .

Admittedly this is partly because I so casually put my hand on the furthest post and leaned against it looking very cool .
This stupidity was so extreme that the neighbours could only look open-mouthed as the army of big red ants stomped up the post and all over my arm and neck .

" Ooh - cute red ants !! "

But Bloody Hell .  Not cute at all .  Very nasty biting little shits they are .  But a highly amusing cabaret for the neighbours .




Wasp
.
.

----------


## BKKKevin

You don't have couple columns left over?... Flanking each side of that gate and painted the same blue they would look awesome!...

----------


## Wasp

> You don't have couple columns left over?... Flanking each side of that gate and painted the same blue they would look awesome!...


.... And they would appeal MASSIVELY to any prospective Albanian buyers !!

You're right .





Surprised Missy didn't consider it .



Wasp

----------


## pescator

:rofl:

----------


## Wasp



----------


## katie23

Very nice blue columns there, Wasp. I like the horses - classy.  :Wink:  Are Wat Wasp and Wat BD equal partners, or is Wat Wasp a subsidiary of Wat BD? What's the pecking order here?  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):   :Very Happy:

----------


## Wasp

> Very nice blue columns there, Wasp. I like the horses - classy.  Are Wat Wasp and Wat BD equal partners, or is Wat Wasp a subsidiary of Wat BD? What's the pecking order here?




I get badly pecked on by Wat BD .

Him and his fancy Teak !!!!

Pahhh ! 


Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

> What's the pecking order here?


No pecking order at all it is a Brotherhood  :Smile:

----------


## BKKBILL

> I get badly pecked on by Wat BD .
> Him and his fancy Teak !!!!
> 
> Pahhh !





> No pecking order at all it is a Brotherhood


I'm confused!  :Confused:

----------


## Roobarb

^ Bill, I think we've just unearthed the secretive 'Brotherhood of Peckers'...











... what were you thinking?  

Of course I meant the ones who like wood.











... actually on second thoughts that may still be a bit misleading. 

I'm talking about woodpeckers, like the ones below (not so much the hairy one perhaps): 



Look, they already have an Ivory Billed one.  Perhaps Wasp and BD might make space for a BKKBilled one if you wanted to join  :Smile:

----------


## BKKBILL

> ^ Bill, I think we've just unearthed the secretive 'Brotherhood of Peckers'...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hairy pecker! Thanks but no thanks will leave that one to the founders besides don't think I could pass inspection.  :smiley laughing:

----------


## Roobarb

Yes, the hairy pecker is a bit concerning.  Actually come to think of it, a green pecker is not that great either...

I suspect the Brotherhood will ultimately remain a fairly exclusive one.

----------


## BKKBILL

^

Ah well it's the thought that counts ......, or so I've been told,

----------


## Wasp

> ^
> 
> Ah well it's the thought that counts ......, or so I've been told,



To be a true pecker you have to have a decent proboscis . A fine nozzle . A long snout .

You will know whether you meet these criteriae .   :UK: 



Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

^

Damn, and I was so close.

----------


## bankao dreamer

> To be a true pecker you have to have a decent proboscis . A fine nozzle . A long snout


I have a blue pipe its long but somewhat lacking in girth  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

The colour is distressing .

We don't like blue around here .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

It's 8 in the morning here .

I answer the Boss at Wat BD and I move over to Skype .

Message from Missy ........

" Chikkinzz eat man nexx door . 

Man no happy . "


Deep sigh . And another Issaan day starts .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Well ............. no need to panic .

The man ' nexx door ' has not met a bizarre chikkenny death .

Turns out Missy's enormous flock of about 5 chickens have gone a wandering and eating his veggybills .

He wants Missy to build another wall to separate chikkinzz and veggybills .

At 30 000 Baht .

 I suggested instead Tom Yamm Chicken for a week . He supplies the veggybills and I'll pay for the Leo .

DONE !!!

Everybody happy ...............




................ except maybe the chikkinzz .


We won't tell them .


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Her mangling of the language really is special ...... mostly because she tries too hard .

Her daughter came on SKYPE feeling very pleased with herself because she has been stuck on Game 62 in Candy Crush for over a week.

But she has just managed to do the level and she's delighted she gets to move on .

Missy : " Conregulations !! " 

The heart is right at least .


Wasp

----------


## Loombucket

Best non-house building thread so far, Wasp! Keep it coming please. Also, consider talking Missy into having columns by the gate.   :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Best non-house building thread so far, Wasp! Keep it coming please. Also, consider talking Missy into having columns by the gate.


Thank you Loombucket . Very nice to know someone reads this rubbish.

I must slip in some building work soon .

Here's one for you to consider .....

Missy a couple of days ago : " No sigh . Lock in bum . "  !!!

Re: Columns by the gate ...... I hope you went back ^^^^^^ and saw them already at the entrance.
Lovely gate columns with Unicorns on top  !

From the Albanian Builders Book of Ideas - 1952. 


Wasp


.

----------


## Wasp

OK .

Just in case you ( or anyone ) was trying to figure out .........  " No sigh . Lock in bum . "

Missy was trying to say :............

" I cannot cycle today because I've left the bicycle lock in the boot of the car . "


Took me maybe 3 hours and a bit to figure out ! 


Wasp

.

----------


## Wasp

It's time to enter the last part of this whole story .

If it was an 8 furlong race we've done 7 and there's only the sala , Lady Pig and the Indolent Brother to do .


The SALA ...... is a complete accident .
 In the sense that we didn't know it was a sala until you all started talking about salas.

Missy......... ordered enough concrete posts for her extensions but then discovered the wonders of the Roman Kings .
Thank God she cannot read Roobarb's Thread cozz I'm sure she would want one of those messyneen things even though she has no idea what it is .    
So anyway - Roman Kings enveloped existing crummy columns and she ended up with exactly 4 spare new ones .

It is exactly literally true that she told her bunch of rice-planters to " put demm over derr " as she had urgent business at Kentucky Fried Chicken in the Mall .

She meant over derr to be on the ground . Not in the ground .  That's the truth of this .

But they made more work for themselves because putting them ON the ground takes 58 seconds but putting them IN the ground is an extra 3 hours work .

It's not a big problem really ............ but there are precisely 4 of these going spare so of course they remembered their geometry lessons and had a choice of a square or a rectangle . They don't know about kites fortunately . 

' Rectangle ' has 9 letters whereas ' square ' has 6 so that must be simpler to do .So they went into a square formation . 

Missy came back looking gorgeous with the secret chicken coating recipe smothered greasily all over her tiny lips and in her hair. She must have been fighting the damn chicken.

And this intricate construction was waiting ...............



Her instinct was to call in the mobile monks as nobody had stuck any Bahts in the bottom of the hole or anything !!!

Surely disaster must follow and sure enough my horse in the 3:10 at Chepstow refused at the 6th fence !!!

" What can i dooo ? " was her plaintive cry .

Well there's not an awful lot of options with 4 posts arranged in a square and she was aware that all this additional work had cost her an extra £4 of my money .

 SO .......  " come back ann make roofy peez " .



Damn !   Didn't scan that one .

Back soon .


Wasp

----------


## koman

^

I would just leave them the way they are in that photo Wasp.  In a year or two they will take on the appearance of an ancient temple ruin,  or something of that sort....maybe get National Geographic to come a take a few photo's.    Along with the Greco-Roman theme, you might really put the place on the tourist circuit..... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> ^
> 
> I would just leave them the way they are in that photo Wasp.  In a year or two they will take on the appearance of an ancient temple ruin,  or something of that sort....maybe get National Geographic to come a take a few photo's.    Along with the Greco-Roman theme, you might really put the place on the tourist circuit.....


You know K .... I wasn't there and she had these 4 surplus just because she was shipping in containers of Roman Kings .

Why she didn't wrap 4 more Roman Kings around these is just a lucky escape .

Could have thrown in a ' bocca de la verita ' .



If she knew what a verita was .  Or a bocca . 

 I think to her ears it might have sounded like swearing .


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

I don't seem to have what I thought I had .

Happens to me all the time .  

But it's only an unplanned sala so here's a few piccies .




I must say I do think they do some quite clever bits of work really as they spend most of their lives attending cock fights and drinking whisky .............
 I mean planting rice in the noble and traditional Siamese way.







It is of course very important that you walk around on the roof ...... or that you are SEEN to be walking around on the roof looking extremely serious .

Not actually doing anything though .

.

----------


## Wasp

Ahh ............ now I see .

He added that little bit at the front .




Took him 25 minutes mind !

Another 18 Baht down the plughole .

Now the next bit is absolutely crucial .

You see you MUST get some quite expensive tiles for the floor and put them down now so that you can put your ladder on them and scrape the buggery out of them .






This also ensures that when you drop your hammer , screwdriver , nails and pots of paint the nice new shiny tiles are there  as a safety net !!!



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

I quite like these ' woody ' pictures .





Anyone know what the wood is ?    Pretty solid stuff .


 


Not far from being done .  If you have a VERY good eye you can see where on the left the beams sloping down end in a nice sharp 30° angle .

Which promptly left me bloodied as they are 5 foot 4 and I am 8 foot 2 .


Father putting in a shift there making sure the hammock still works .







This shows how desperate I am for photos ... but the sala's pretty much done and at least there's no sign of any stocky tubbies dressed in white coming to 
" bless " the thing and eat all afternoon .









DAMN !!!!!


Spoke too soon .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

.

She was all over the place that one !





Blessing this and blessing that ..... and eating .





Here she is keeping an eye on the banana situation .


And now back outside where the main eating took place .

I mean ' blessing ' .





Looks like she had 9 pizzas there .

A bit much really .



Wasp
.

----------


## Wasp

.
The only clearish photo I can find to end with and still it bugs me .





Someone has left a nail in that nearest column so of course it's a race to get a plastic bag of crap onto it !



And that's the rather short SALA episode done .

There will be a clear daylight photo somewhere - so maybe a bit later .



*Wasp*
.

----------


## katie23

Nice looking sala you have there, Wasp.  :Smile: 
Question: why do Thai roofs have this nose-like thing at the end/apex? I saw it also in Betty's extension roof. Is it some sort of design? Thanks...

----------


## Wasp

> Nice looking sala you have there, Wasp. 
> Question: why do Thai roofs have this nose-like thing at the end/apex? I saw it also in Betty's extension roof. Is it some sort of design? Thanks...


Well it's too easy to just say that it's traditional but I think it's traditional .

Nice to see you katie .

I think only you and Loombucket bother with my ravings these days ...... and maybe koman .


Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

Hey !!  I bother !!

I may not post a reply every day, but I am reading and enjoying the everyone's threads.

Steve

----------


## Brunswick

I really enjoy the construction stories a lot. The banter is great.
But I have to say you do have a gift for telling a story Wasp.
You seem to be coming to the end of this story but I hope you won't disappear.
You're just a really fun read.   :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## Wasp

> Hey !!  I bother !!
> 
> I may not post a reply every day, but I am reading and enjoying the everyone's threads.
> 
> Steve


Hello Steve.



When I started I just wanted to beat the lowest score of views ... which was 218 .
Wasn't looking to be a prolific ' blog writer ' .

But I found I enjoyed trying to tell a story in a different way ( by the way Thank You Brunswick ) .  

And when I do ask if anyone's reading I do get a few replies saying yes .... so I'm not moaning .
But I have to get into a daft mood to write this way and it helps enormously when you know someone's going to be reading .

On the other hand ..... I read your Thread and I don't think I've ever commented !

So I'm as bad really .  But I DO read your Thread .  That singer really was a cutey - as you say . 

It's just a bit discouraging when you write stuff and you come back 3 days later and it's still your own name there .


Wasp

----------


## koman

> It's just a bit discouraging when you write stuff and you come back 3 days later and it's still your own name there .


Never be discouraged by not getting feedback.  Once a thread has run for a while, most readers will have said whatever they have to say and don't want to keep repeating themselves.    I read every post you make and enjoy the thread immensely....as do many others.

I'm not getting much response these days either, but lots of people seem to be reading the thread.   I don't have much to post at the moment anyway....and then Betty went and started up a bloody "Well" tread just to distract everybody from the real building threads..... :Smile: 

Keep whacking away...it's all good stuff..... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Thank you koman.

You're of course spot-on .

The quietness makes me lethargic ...... but , as with Steve and Loombucket , I'm as guilty because I always read your stuff too but I rarely respond .

I think that's because I'm no good at the banter which you and the mob of villains indulge in .  I just tell a story .
 But amongst your villains Marmite seems to have lost interest, Roobarb's not building at the moment and Betty's coming to an end .

So Dillinger pops in occasionally but it's indeed quiet .

I'm still reading .


Wasp

----------


## ootai

Wasp
Don't despair there are plenty of us reading.  You sound like you're down again after coming back from the depths.  I am now back in Indonesia at wrok again after 3 weeks back home in Burinam.  Didn't do much work at home played some golf down at Korat.  Didn't even manage to have an argument with the missus which must be a first.

Anyway you keep writing and we'll keep reading.  I like your sala and as you said they can do some interesting woodwork. Do a search if you're bored and find the thread I did on building our rice barn I was impressed with how they put that together basically without nails.

Cheers

----------


## thaicbr

i'm still looking... and chuckling!

----------


## BKKBILL

Might just say I bother too! Guess no points for just reading and enjoying.  :Baby:

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp
> Don't despair there are plenty of us reading.  You sound like you're down again after coming back from the depths.  I am now back in Indonesia at wrok again after 3 weeks back home in Burinam.  Didn't do much work at home played some golf down at Korat.  Didn't even manage to have an argument with the missus which must be a first.
> 
> Anyway you keep writing and we'll keep reading.  I like your sala and as you said they can do some interesting woodwork. Do a search if you're bored and find the thread I did on building our rice barn I was impressed with how they put that together basically without nails.
> 
> Cheers


OOOOOOOOOOOTS !!!!!!!!

   So nice to see you again .

I will look for your rice barn ....... but  ' no '  I'm not down . Things are going well really .

It's just that there's so little activity compared to a short while ago that I wonder if its worth bothering .

At exactly the same time that I was wondering about this koman wrote  " :Looks like the construction threads have become burned out. Too many threads with the same stuff....are we on overload?  "  which showed me that it's not just me finding it quiet .

But I've done this before .  Felt maybe time to stop and I got folks saying " No. We're still here .  Just quiet "

This time I've had Loombucket , koman , steveyourgraciousness , brunswick , katie , BKKBILL , thaicbr and yourself waving to say ' we're reading ' ...... so I'm OK .
But definitely running out of stuff .

I've only got Ladypig and The Indolent Brother left to go !!!

So no - I'm not down but thank you for coming on here .  I'm actually finding things are going too well !

In the sense that I made a decision - and I got an agent to come and have a look .

I thought he was going to say about £190 000 .

And he said £240 000 !

This is an old house that's been converted into flats .




[/COLOR]

First floor on the right there is me .

Anyway ..... a ground floor here went on the market at £400 000 and sold in one day !

So the people on my floor ( bigger flat ) put theirs up .  £ 310 000.  Took 3 days but it's gone !!!  

That's why I got the same people to come here .  £ 240 000 but I still have a mortgage due .

Problem now is going ahead with it instead of talking or thinking .

But that's by the bye . 

It's really nice that writing this nonsense is still being enjoyed ...you just never know . But as I said - koman commented the same way , Marmite has lost interest and Roobarb is not active in Thailand so it feels like a tailing-off is happening .

Betty is nearly done . Stevepardonmey'worship has even had a closing party ! ( Did you see his cutesy singer ? )

So I'm OK .

I'll plough on as I've done over 7 furlongs of an 8 furlong story .

Regards to you and mrsoooootss .





Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> i'm still looking... and chuckling!



Good ...... good .

It's just encouraging to know .

Thanks thaicbr .

----------


## Wasp

> Might just say I bother too! Guess no points for just reading and enjoying.


You've got me feeling like a bit of a whinger .

Actually that's exactly what I was doing really .

Sorry .

But it's nice to know you're there BILL .

Regards ...............



Wasp

----------


## hoxman

Hi Wasp,
I am still here reading and enjoying your posts. I have been busy with the move and taking the missus back to Bangkok for her Visa interview. It has been a busy week and a half for us. I promise to continue my thread on my house build and only can hope that is as entertaining as yours and the others.

----------


## Neverna

> In the sense that I made a decision - and I got an agent to come and have a look .
> 
> I thought he was going to say about £190 000 .
> 
> And he said £240 000 !
> 
> This is an old house that's been converted into flats .
> 
> 
> ...


A 2 bedroom apartment on the first floor advertised at £259,950 has been sold subject to contracts according to Rightmove. (Maybe another flat in the building). 

Nice house. It's a shame prices are so high that there's a market for developers to split nice, big houses into flats.

----------


## Wasp

The lying buggers told me they got the full price .... which was £310 000 .

I didn't even know it was on the market and it did sell awful quick .

Would have thought the £310 000 was a plan anyway so they could ' generously ' drop it to £300 000 .  So the real drop was £5 000 . Or maybe that's what they wanted all along .Lying sods . Never did like them .



But the real point was how quickly it went .

And conversions ? ....... well it was done 40 years ago .   This was just one home .... for a General and his famblee .



Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

Tis a nice looking house Wasp. So with the speed of sales around there guess you have booked your moving van for what Monday.

----------


## Wasp

> Tis a nice looking house Wasp. So with the speed of sales around there guess you have booked your moving van for what Monday.


The speed of those sales is what scares me , BILL.

It made me look around and think about what's involved .

In an ideal World I would have a much cheaper place to go to and then I could do the big Thai thing . 
 I don't want to move to an intermediate place and pay a Thousand pounds a month rent . 

What happens to all my tools and things ? 

I've never been through this process before and I can see there's a lot involved.

Maybe next year is best hey ?


Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

> I don't want to move to an intermediate place and pay a Thousand pounds a month rent . 
> 
> What happens to all my tools and things ? 
> 
> I've never been through this process before and I can see there's a lot involved.
> 
> Maybe next year is best hey ?
> 
> 
> Wasp


Id say you are waffling again. :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

BKKBILL : I’d say you are waffling again. :Smile: 



I'd say you are absolutely right . :Confused: 


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Hi Wasp,
> I am still here reading and enjoying your posts. I have been busy with the move and taking the missus back to Bangkok for her Visa interview. It has been a busy week and a half for us. I promise to continue my thread on my house build and only can hope that is as entertaining as yours and the others.


hoxman............. you ( but not only you ) are making me feel bad .

Cozz here I am whining away " Is anyone reading ? " when I'm actually guilty myself .

I get to this site and I get absorbed in getting the pictures lined up and finishing the story off . 

Meanwhile there YOU are with your story and I haven't read it or commented .

I'm gonna fix that now .

Still nice to know you're there .

Regards.



Wasp

----------


## patsycat

I read too.

----------


## Wasp

> I read too.



Good Patsy .

Clearly a lady of taste .


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

***
*
_ LadyPig and the Harridans ._



♫  ♪  A Long ♫  Long  ♪ Time Ago ♫ ♪  ............ actually back on Page 1 ..... I mentioned that one problem with Missy’s house is that it does not have any access to it from the road.

Roobarb quickly commented about this ....... about the dubious wisdom of spending money on a site with no access .

He was right of course - but there were no garden or boundary walls anywhere  and you know how Thais are . 
No walls means you just wander across and through each other’s spaces .

This lack of access had come about because Missy’s land and the plots between this land and the roads had originally been one big plot . Owned by her family .... and bordered by 2 roads .  

This ................




A big road ( the 205 ) giving easy access and more access from the local road fronting the Southern edge .

When the old rice-farmer went to the big thresher in the sky he left his land to his children . Natch .

The 5 daughters then rushed to the outside edges and built their shacks and thus  claimed their prime spaces .

Leaving the one single brother with a plot behind their plots but with no road frontage .

Here’s a view from Google showing how it got divided up .




The little red dots show where we walk out to the road.

None of this was really a great worry . The brother ( now Missy’s granddad ) is a placid guy.  

However the sisters - the harridans - are not .

But the guy never had a car - never even dreamed of having a car . There were no walls ... so no problems . Just walk between the shacks to the road . 

40 years later on though and it IS a problem . Missy has spent Bahts on her home and moatybikes are being used .

It’s a problem because the harridans have made it so .

Here’s a plan of the layout today .





The red dots on the left show where the neighbour lets us have access. ( Through that blue gate ).

As I say ..... while the land was open it didn’t matter but it’s no longer open .

Walls have been built . Sisters don’t talk to each other . They don’t talk to the brother . 

However the old guy had established .... just by usage .... a path to the road which you can see on the plan there exiting between Lady Pig and Lady Mango . His walkway is marked on the plan by that yellow line. 



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

.
.
 Now I’m going back to the Big Road - the 205 - which has recently been widened to 4 lanes .






And I don’t like it at all . VERY busy with huge trucks dragging huger trailers at high and noisy speed .

Anyway ....... turn left onto the smaller road and this is what you see .






Those properties on your right are harridan properties sitting on that original big family plot .

So now move along that road a short way and swivel to your right and this is what you see .





This is the path that the old guy had established so on the left there you're looking at a lady Mango house and on the right of that path is the Lady Pig house .
I’ll come back here later .



Now ..... back inside the property - just to be clear -



This red arrow is going around the back of the granddad’s house and it takes you to the blue gate that you’ve seen before . 
( Note the scraggy plastic bag of crap sitting on the concrete block .  NEVER miss an opportunity to place crappy plastic bags if you see a flat surface or ........ even better ................ a nail !! )

The people on the other side of the gate allow us access out that way purely out of sympathy for Missy’s difficult situation . But she depends on their goodwill.





However ..........




This red arrow goes the other way .... passing in front of Yeesipp’s house and taking you to that path to the road .

I love this photo ... because if you can- do zoom in a bit have a look at that little chicken walking up the cage on the Left like it's a stepladder !  Lovely .

Cement block there and no-one has blessed it with a plastic bag !!!  A Thai rarity that one .

Anyway .... I'm gonna follow this arrow now to Yeesipp's path . 




Clearly .............. it’s a horrible mess .

Partly that’s a result of the contrary old woman deciding to keep pigs . 
She did that  to make some money but chiefly to annoy her sister Lady Mango and her brother Yeesipp with the stink .

 It’s why she has the name Lady Pig .


* Lady Mango has her name because of a peculiar behaviour .

She goes to the shop facing her house and she buys ............ mangoes .

She could cross the 205 to the market and buy them there much cheaper but she buys them in the shop and then she sets up a little stall outside her house where she sells  ........ mangoes ! 

At a lower price than she paid for them in the shop  ! ? !  :Confused: 



It’s not a successful business . 


The bit of low wall to the left shows the start of Piggy /Mango land .


Going further down the path ............







And a bit further now to the gap where you can see the road and the shops .




Lady Pig on the Left . Lady Mango on the Right . Just enough space down the path to get a pickup .



Time to check if its loading OK ..... and make a coffee .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Small Bit More Cozz I've lost some pictures .............

.

Now old Yeesipp is a good guy .

Really a good guy with a twinkle in his eye .

He got his name because when I was there he would come to me every afternoon and raise a finger and say “ Yeesipp Baht . Yeesipp Baht .”
Always with a smile on his face , a twinkle in his eye  and a machete behind his back .

He wanted 20 Baht to go and buy whisky . And I gave him it .
But after his whisky - he’s a bloody little monster !! 

And that’s the main reason Lady Pig has been blocking us from using the path . 

She hates him . Hates the drunkenness ..... and to be honest he IS a pain when he’s drunk .

Lady Pig took it as far as building a wall across the path. But another sister - Lady Fruit - objected and took the matter to Court !
........ Where Lady Pig lost .


** Lady FRUIT is called that because she has a stall in the night market in Nonthai and you'll never never ever guess what she sells ? :Confused: 

The unsuccessful Court Case cost LadyPig 50 000 bahts and she’s not happy . So she had to remove her wall but in acts of bitterness she builds her bonfires on that path every single day .

Which brings up an issue . 

Why do Thais think every single item on the planet is combustible and will disappear if you put it in a fire ? 
They look surprised when they put a metal paint can onto the bonfire and all they get is a roasted paint can .Doesn’t disappear at all .

 This woman puts cement blocks into her fires !

And it's a damn nuisance walking through all the shit just to go and get some ice for the Leos . ::chitown:: 


More tomorrow.


Wasp :UK:

----------


## koman

I keep waiting for a couple of skinny looking Somali militia appearing with their AK47's.  The place looks just like the bad parts of Mogadishu back in the 80ies..... :rofl:

----------


## FatOne

Sounds like you do have issues, I'd be considering selling up and finding a nice quiet block to build on somewhere away from that family and roads.

----------


## koman

> Sounds like you do have issues, I'd be considering selling up and finding a nice quiet block to build on somewhere away from that family and roads.


I know of a similar arrangement in the wife's village.  Big piece of land subdivided on the death of the owner and one piece given to each of 5 family members.   Two pieces are "landlocked" behind the others and the family has been in a constant state of feud for 20 years.    The ones without road access can't give the land away.  Who wants to be stuck in a situation like that.?     The only potential buyer would be one of the families that have them cut off and they would basically want it for nothing. 

  There are probably some legal remedies available to gain access by means of an easement or _right of way_ being established by a court.....but that might cost as much as the land is worth. 

  In any case it would be worth finding out;  because the situation is more likely to get worse rather than better.

----------


## BKKBILL

Another great tale in the making Wasp Im also looking forward to it.

Dont know if you are aware of the translated Thai land laws, it makes for a good read about access with sections 1349-1352 showing how  Lady Fruit won her case.

Thailand Civil and Commercial Code (part III) | law-texts

----------


## Roobarb

Brilliant description Wasp, it makes it all very clear.

If it was me I'd take BKKBill's Civil and Commercial Code, section 1349 (paragraph 3) & section 1350 as giving the right to build a concrete road wide enough for a pickup truck between the houses of Madam Mango and La Pig.

The road would then define the extent of the passage that by rights Missy's Granddad is claiming (single car access is presumably reasonable to claim).  If Sister Swine does subsequently decide to use this road to burn her paint cans and concrete blocks then she would be blocking the defined access, something over which she has already lost a case on.

The only thing is, I would try to get this done whilst Grandad is still alive and well as he was the direct inheritor of the land when it was split.  If he were to pop his clogs before you define the nature of the access (pedestrian/motorbike/car) then it may be that Missy has a bit of a fight in terms of whether she needs to pay for enhancing the access from pedestrian to vehicular if the Harridan Hog wants to be difficult (and in this matter it does appear she has form).  The nature of the defined access will probably affect the future value of Missy's and Granddad's property.

I suspect though that your posts are a preamble to a solution that has already been reached.  

My breath remains bated...  :Smile:

----------


## bobo746

Hey mate great read you have done well ive been reading from the start dont have much time to get on line keep up the great thread.PS i've done BB's thread he's still as camp as a boy scout's jamboree  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Sounds like you do have issues, I'd be considering selling up and finding a nice quiet block to build on somewhere away from that family and roads.


Hi FatOne .


Roobarb was right to be concerned ... and you are too .
But it has never worried Missy so it doesn't worry me . 
As fallangs we DO take these things seriously but Missy knows that if it becomes a major problem then the application of that soothing balm called MONEY will solve everything .

And when you talk about finding a nice quiet block somewhere instead of living in koman's Mogadishu ....... that's again a fallang approach .
 And very understandable . Build a strong , clean , quiet gem .

But Mogadishu is always very interesting . Always something entertaining . 

Obnoxious teenagers driving their Honda Waves into 16 wheeled sugar-beet lorries for example . 

Never dull.


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Another great tale in the making Wasp I’m also looking forward to it.
> Don’t know if you are aware of the translated Thai land laws, it makes for a good read about access with sections 1349-1352 showing how  Lady Fruit won her case.
> Thailand Civil and Commercial Code (part III) | law-texts



Hi BILL .

I don't mind a bit of seriousness at all so I'll have a look at this but I have no idea of how things are legally at present .

Except we can use the access .

And I'm not going to ask any questions either because a simple question to Missy ( the only one who can sort of kind of speak a much-distorted species of English ) will indeed get me an answer but who the Hell knows what the answer means ?

Me: " What's the next thing you want in your house ? "

Missy : " Big Fish !! "

Me much puzzled because she has a small fish farm now a mile away . 
Does she want to go fishing ? Does she want to be lazy and go to the market ?

Me: " What kind fish ? "

Missy : " Two door " .

So I'm not going to be asking her anything about the legals .
But thank you BILL . I'll have a proper read .


Wasp

*

----------


## Wasp

> Hey mate great read you have done well ive been reading from the start dont have much time to get on line keep up the great thread.



Well thank you bobo .

I think I want to be really good friends with you because that's a bloody scarey avatar you've got going there !!!!



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Dear koman ......  when you compare dear Missy's surroundings to the worst suburbs of war-savaged Mogadishu you disappoint me a lot .
Because you are so seriously understating the crappiness of how they live here.

80% of it is I think unavoidable because of A} Poverty  ,  B} Habit and C} Cock-fighting .

But 20% IS avoidable if they could show  A} Desire , B} Less use of hammocks and C} Less money on cock-fighting and into a bit of home care .

Age comes into it too . 
The really oldies do not like change . ANY change... even if the change just involves water , detergent , bleach , crap removal.

You're right . It's awful . But it is about to change .





> I suspect though that your posts are a preamble to a solution that has already been reached. My breath remains bated...


And Dear Roobarb 

  I will indeed look at that stuff about the legals ... as you and BILL are saying .
And I don't mind being serious about it as I'm always sodding around .

But Roobs - you show remarkable prescience . "I suspect though that your posts are a preamble to a solution that has already been reached." 

For you are somewhat right .

I'll Post later after a  highly enjoyable trek to Sainsbury's :yerman: .



Wasp

----------


## bobo746

All good mate keep up the good work.

----------


## Wasp

*
From the Mail Online today :


Geraldine Stockford expressed her dismay on Mumsnet after finding her daughter Anna was studying the drama Mogadishu as part of her GCSE course at Teddington School.

Coincidence ?

I think not .

----------


## Roobarb

> after a highly enjoyable trek to Sainsbury's


Sainsburys...

Pork pies
Crumpets
Bangers
Jammy dodgers
Ginger pop

Oh to have a supermarket you can actually make a trek to...........  :Sad:

----------


## thaicbr

Big Fish-2 door = Big fridge-2 door... love it!



 or

----------


## BKKBILL

Well now I'm totally confused Mogadishu, Sainsburys, Samsung two door, Geraldine Stockford, what has all this to do with Frankie being female?

----------


## Neverna

Wasp. I like what you've done to Missy's house but with all the money you've spent on it, Missy still has no official access from a road. Wouldn't it have been better, in hindsight, to have used the money to buy a plot of land somewhere nearby that has access to a road and build something on that land?

----------


## Wasp

thaicbr :   Big Fish-2 door = Big fridge-2 door... love it!




No No No ! .... the second one doesn't count as a two door just because it has two doors !
It's this one - which unfortunately is in Johannesburg .

You have to be able to stand in front of the Big Fish  ..... reach forward with both hands ... and open two doors as though you are making a Grand Entrance into the Sainsbury's branch in Mogadishu accompanied by Franky , koman and Geraldine Stockford .

Isn't that obvious ? :Confused: 

It's not obvious to BILL.


Get it right !



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp ..Wouldn't it have been better, in hindsight, to have used the money to buy a plot of land somewhere nearby that has access to a road and build something on that land?




Well Neverna - you have to remember that we didn't build this house .

In fact strangely I've only discovered today that this house was somewhere else and Missy had to move the house to her Dad / Granddad's plot some years ago.

The difficulties with the family have gone on for a long time but you can't strangle a family inside a plot like that .
The authorities would always concede access .

And as I say - we didn't build this house . 

My part was in simply giving Missy the Bahts to improve it .
Replace the roof .  Extend the downstairs .

This has never been koman or Roobarb or many others locating a nice piece of land and building the dream . Which is why it was always called ' Not A House-Building Thread '
 I didn't buy land and build a home .

So no.

 What you say makes sense but that wasn't the situation that I wandered into . Missy and family didn't want to go anywhere and anyway I wasn't going to finance such a move .In that sense I'm more like Bettyboo in that I was making life better for a Thai family and not a house for me .


While I am on this theme - it came as a big surprise to me one day when I found  that ' moving home ' in Issaan often does in fact meaning moving a home .

I was asked to go along to some folks who were moving a home and I just didn't expect what it entailed .





Here you can see how the whole house has been jacked up out of the ground showing about 3 feet of the columns that had sat in the soil .

They put narrow ' railway lines ' in place which you can see there and trolleys sat on the rails .

House was lowered onto the trollies .





This close-up shows the rails and 3 of the jacks used to lift the house clear .
Those chains lead over to some anchors and then they use a horizontal block and tackle system to drag the house to the Right along the rails to the holes for its new position .





Guy on the right is tensing up the chains before pulling it maybe 12 metres across the plot .

I don't have any more pictures of this but it's interesting hey ?
Moving house in Issaan .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Sainsburys...
> 
> Pork pies
> Crumpets
> Bangers
> Jammy dodgers
> Ginger pop
> 
> Oh to have a supermarket you can actually make a trek to...........


Yes Roob .  But she's Thai . So it's not Crumpets it's chillies - at £35 a kilo instead of £1 in Issaan . 
Lemon Grass at £14 a kilo instead of free . Mangoes £2 each instead of free .

I need to trade this one in and get a nice English type .

Then again she's gonna be quite fat isn't she if she's eating Pork Pies , Crumpets , Bangers and Jammy Dodgers .

Oh the dilemma !

I been wondering 2 things about you while I was stunned bored in Sainsbury's .

1)    How DO you bate a breath ?  I've always wondered .

and 2)  What beer do you drink in Delhi ?

Just wondering like . :mid: 



Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

> Mangoes £2 each instead of free .


Ah, yes.  On our first few trips back to the UK that was met with indignant howls of 'paang maak' accompanied with visible shudders at the thought of parting with that much coinage for a mango. 

I wonder how much the cost of the ingredients detract from the enjoyment of a nice bowl of somtam?  I'll never really know the answer.




> I been wondering 2 things about you while I was stunned bored in Sainsbury's .


Gosh, you must have been very bored indeed.




> 1) How DO you bate a breath ? I've always wondered .


When I was a small wee thing I always reckoned that it sounded quite similar to the process that Heinz would adopt to produce their beans - i.e. a complete and utter mystery, but the end result was undoubtedly worth having, especially on buttered toast.

Interestingly though I found out in later life that it had nothing whatsoever to do with baked beans.

The word has the same root as 'abate' and indeed 'abbatoir'.  

Now, obviously if I'd said that 'I await an update with abbatoir breath' then you might reasonably think me a little, um, peculiar, if not downright sinister.  

I reckon that this is why people now tend to simply bate their breath rather than going the whole slaughterhouse hog as it were.

As to how one does it.  It's a little difficult to describe, but it is a sort of shortened, anticipatory breath thing.  If Koman will forgive me for alluding to his gender-challenged kitchen, I'll borrow a clip from another nightmarish Frankie, this time from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, in order to demonstrate:





> 2) What beer do you drink in Delhi ?


Very kind of you to offer old man, don't mind if I do.   :Smile: 

Tonight I was on Hoegaarden, but for more local fare it's generally a choice of either Kingfisher in its various guises or Tuborg (which I think is a tad better).

I bet you're glad you only had two questions.  Just as well you didn't go to Lidl.


Now, I have a question for you:

Your new avatar... bottom left... there's a picture that looks oddly familiar.  

Pray tell what else has hit the front page?

----------


## Wasp

Your beer ? .....   I LOVE Hoegaarden . As does Missy .

One of her favourite afternoons ( especially for an impoverished Isaan lady ) was the day we drove to Belgium to the village of Hoegaarden and sat in the Hoegaarden Brewery drinking fresh Hoegaarden. 

Exquisitely yummy it was too .

Bated breath and abattoired breath .    Odd ideas really but good to see you won't let Franky die.

And the avatar ..........
Well I couldn't think of an avatar that I was happy with .

I liked the one saying " Stand Up Tom Chaney  " because I enjoy the movie so much .

Then I thought I would make a newspaper . THE SOMCHAI THAIMES .
Clearly we both have too much spare time if I'm making a newspaper and you are looking for photos of Lego villages to put on other Threads .

But I thought the avatar would show up more betterer than its showing .

Disappointing.

But your beady little Roobsy eyes are quite right . You are one of the articles on the page .

I'll find the original page and put it up here as soon as I'm brave enough.

Don't you sleep ? It's about 3:00 AM where you are !!!!



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Well now I'm totally confused Mogadishu, Sainsburys, Samsung two door, Geraldine Stockford, what has all this to do with Frankie being female?



 :Confused:   BILL ..... you never seem sure which Thread you're reading !!!!  :Confused: 


W

----------


## Roobarb

> One of her favourite afternoons ( especially for an impoverished Isaan lady ) was the day we drove to Belgium to the village of Hoegaarden and sat in the Hoegaarden Brewery drinking fresh Hoegaarden.


It's a long way to go for a beer Wasp, you must enjoy the stuff...  :Smile: 




> I'll find the original page and put it up here as soon as I'm brave enough.


Good good.




> Don't you sleep ? It's about 3:00 AM where you are !!!!


Ah.  With the missus away you would assume this mouse to be at play.

Alas no.  The kids are both showing their appreciation for the Delhi fare in the time worn fashion - to use a slightly vulgar but remarkably accurate term, they are both 'blowing chunks' in a manner that would make the inhabitants of ancient Pompeii run for cover.  

I'm only burning the midnight oil because of my current, wholly unwanted, role as the lady with the lamp.    

How do mothers do this full time...?

----------


## BKKBILL

> Originally Posted by BKKBILL
> 
> 
> Well now I'm totally confused Mogadishu, Sainsburys, Samsung two door, Geraldine Stockford, what has all this to do with Frankie being female?
> 
> 
> 
>   BILL ..... you never seem sure which Thread you're reading !!!! 
> 
> ...


Wasp, you are absolutely spot on. As said I'm totally confused my only excuse would be all the Britishisms and/or possibly Betty's picture of Frankie.

Being in this confused state did I miss what Missy was asking for with her two door comment?

----------


## Roobarb

> and/or possibly Betty's picture of Frankie.



Yup, I also reckon Betty's entirely to blame.  Wasp didn't reign him in at an early stage and like a village idiot now Betty's run amok, spending much of his time posting pics from other threads and confusing everyone.


_Bettyboo_

May it be a lesson for others...

----------


## Wasp

:Confused: 


> Being in this confused state did I miss what Missy was asking for with her two door comment?



Are you  :Confused: confused   :Confused:   again BILL ?


She wanted   " Big Fish " .

 ' Two Door '





 Fridge .


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

.
_LadyabitlessPiggy and the Harridan clan......_ _( Family in other words  !_)


Let’s move on .

As I was saying ..... this woman puts bloody cement blocks and rubble into her bonfires .

Sometimes - when we’re off to the big city - we use moatybikes going in and out ... weaving around the fires or having to drive through them ( when they are burnt out  of course ) . 
And we hit the detritus and we puncture tyres .

It’s clear that LadyPig is one very unhappy soul . 
And she wants to share her unhappiness with the World ..... as so many do .
That aggressive sour approach works on Yeesipp , on the Indolent Brother - on Missy’s dad .... who would all happily put Lady Pig onto one of her own bonfires.

But Missy has always had one approach to life . 
A happy approach . 
Always big genuine smiles . Life is just wonderful as far as she is concerned . And she has never stopped being nice to LadyPig .

Missy makes a real point of stopping , asking how she is , buying her some hot sausages at _Big C_ .... with no motive other than a concern for a lonely , bitter old woman . 

And I’ve tried to be as good .

I came in on a moatybike wearing flip-flops . 
Why the moatybike was wearing flip-flops is still a mystery to me but as it happens I too was wearing flip-flops and I drove through a dead bonfire . 

Bashed my toes into half a block of cement and it damned well hurt .

I stopped and knew that I was being watched so made a point of limping around slowly in obvious pain and dusting off the ashes to reveal skinned , bloodied toes .

Looked up . 

LadyPig is standing there - looking .

So I  “ Sawadee !!  Sabayydee Mye ? ” . Smile and hands to nose ( what’s that called ? ). No anger . No shouting at her.

I’m sure it made her think .  


 ********************************** 


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
....And all of this is leading up to _exactly_ what Roobarb - him with the bated breath - could see was coming .

From nowhere - from a clear blue sky one afternoon - after years of ( some ) stress for Missy -
......... totally unanticipated except by smartypants Roobarb - a resolution !!!

 " So what happened ? "  I hear your alcohol-befuddled good selves wondering.

Well ..... LadyPig is Granddad’s sister . 
So she’s Missy’s Great Aunt but she says she’s Missy’s Grandma .

Lady P has _other_ Granddaughters too : some of whom are actually her Granddaughters !!!  
And greedy venomous little bitches they are too .-- LadyPiglets .

In another act of spite against her brother LadyP had signed her land over to a Granddaughter who lives in Bangkok . Just to avoid giving it to this family around her .

Of course the Bkk granddaughter said a big “ Kobb Koon Karr ! ”  ...  and she immediately gave the paper to the bank and acquired ( and swiftly spent ) a lump of money . Maybe 300 000.

But she never again visited or in any way contacted Lady Pee.

Whose life simply got more lonely .



And Missy .... whom LP has not treated well at all .... is her only visitor except for an overweight fallang who brought his bloodied toes along with him and helped Missy clear out nests of utter shite under LadyPig’s home .

Missy - always smiling - bearing hot sausages - bearing Tomm Yamm and Mangosteens and even mangoes ( ! ) .



.... and papaya and tamarind .

And kneeling down in front of LadyPig and washing her foot with warm water , antiseptic , clean towel ... a bandage .... when LadyP cut her foot on a hoe .


LadyPig ................. has been doing some reflecting .


And she has crept back into the World .

Nothing dramatic ..... but Granddad’s wife makes rice cakes and dries them in the sunshine . 
LadyP has started very slowly walking the 30 metres and sitting at the very edge of the shade in the company of this Grandma to share a rice cake ..... her brother a few yards further away . 

 It’s only 30 metres . But it’s a Thousand miles .

And Missy has sat outside her house with Iced Jackfruit and waved LadyP over .

She has come . She has spoken with Missy . She has eaten Padd Pett Gaii with Missy.

She has spoken with her brother !!!

The brother is dying . ( Cancer in his mouth ) . The Grandma is fading away ..... effectively blind . 
LadyP can see that curtains are closing and the only person in the whole damned World who will take her to a doctor or bring her food or check that she is even still alive ......




................ is Missy .



Wasp
.
.

----------


## Wasp

_Lady Lamb .. ?_


 The consequential transformation has been astonishing . I mean really astonishing .

She started off by quietly sweeping the bonfires away to the side of the path .



OK that's not exactly a revolution but it's a start .


See that scruffy little blue gate on the Right ? That leads to Lady Kinnyoww .

Missy used to go that way to the big road and the bus stop . Lady Kinnyoww insisted she wanted a wall .
Her chikkenzz were wandering too far . And Missy had to pay for it .
But Missy could put a gate in the wall and still cross that way to get to the bus .

Missy did all of that .

And Lady Kinnyoww promptly put 20 loads of soil behind the gate so nobody could open it . Hence the high-tec mini ladder there .

Let's forget her and go back to LadyPIG ............ who has made a start sweeping aside the bonfires - and now  is suddenly absolutely _demanding_ that the path should be turned into a proper concrete road with steel rods .........and Missy should not be expected to be walking in mud when it rains !!!

And it shouldn’t be happening that her old sister-in-law should be struggling to get out to sell her rice cakes  !!!!!!!!!!!!


What's going on ? :Confused: 


Quick - get in there while you can ...........








Further ..... LadyP is saying any changes must happen swiftly because all 3 of them could pass away at any time .
This is exactly as you were saying Roobzee . But it’s quite an amazing change of circumstance.








There has been soil put on top of all that and it's being allowed to settle . Concrete will follow .

Much detritus , stones and rubbish around and LadyPee - trying to make amends - asked for soil to cover it all.
Missy had 6 truckloads delivered and spread out .



.... and in return LP said to eliminate that bend in the path . Take the path straight through !!
She promptly burnt out a tree that forced the kink and Missy is getting a path straight through .






Lady Pee has signed a paper to give access .

 It’s not needed . 

We have access . But it’s certainly a symbol .

She has visited the Bank and changed the land back to her own name . The paper still sits with the bank and has debt attached . There’s no prospect of LadyP signing it to Missy and we’re not looking for that . 

However there is another sister Lady Soap and we all like her .She lives near Ayuthaya and she’s a little gem .
She loves Missy and she fancies me !  Clearly eyesight problems run in this family . But it does show good taste .

There IS a chance that LadyP may let Missy clear the debt - cut a strip of land for a bigger roadway - there ...........



and then deduct some money from the 300 and pass the paper to Lady Soap .



 And that's the story of a remarkable turn-around ( and incidentally a major uplift in the value of Missy's home .)
Nothing will happen for a while now but I'm urging Missy to get the road built at least halfway along its length to where that kink used to be .
I'll post photos when this starts to take place .

Don't go away from this little episode thinking that LadyPig has become some sort of Angel .

She hasn't .

 It gives her great pleasure that while she's helping Missy so much she's resolutely pissing off Lady Mango .

 She's not changed THAT much ............ yet .


Wasp

----------


## Neverna

Is Lady Kinnyoww a tight-fisted, stingy woman?

----------


## Dillinger

nice to see things working out with the neighbours Wasp and the Missus still smiling. Your salas nice but seems very farangish. 

I fell in love with these bamboo salas after visiting an eaterie in Ao Nang


just needs cushions

----------


## Wasp

> Is Lady Kinnyoww a tight-fisted, stingy woman?


You didn't miss the clues there Nev !!!


But ... she got the name because all she can ever say is that you are either a  " stupid fallang " or you are " Kinnyoww ."

Always one or the other and nothing else .

Lend her money when she asks and you are a " Stupid Fallang "

Refuse to lend her money - and you are " Kinnyoww ".

I really can not abide this woman .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Your salas nice but seems very farangish.
> I fell in love with these bamboo salas after visiting an eaterie in Ao Nang


Hmmmm .

I'm suspicious .

Dillinger

Speaking with gentle tongue ! 

Hmmmmmmm .   Like touching a grenade and wondering if its live .

I've examined every word . There's not that many . Maybe its in anagrams .

Clever critical anagrams . Or palindromes .

Well I can't see a fuse so I'll take a chance . 

Yes Dillinger . ( Oh God I've done it now !!! )

Yes Dillinger I agree . 
I like those straw bamboo salas much more ... until someone pointed out that snakes , spiders and other nasties quite like them too .

But my favourite bar out there is my favourite precisely because it has those bamboo / thatch sala things .



Go on then !  Do your worst !! I can take it .




Wasp

----------


## Dillinger

there's no hook being cast out there Wasp 

i save the piss taking for Bettys house. he doesnt know about the report button  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> there's no hook being cast out there Wasp 
> 
> i save the piss taking for Bettys house. he doesnt know about the report button


Oh God !!!!

He's back .
What can I doooooooooo ?

Be calm .

Hi Dill !!!   ( Too intimate . Show the man some respect . Remember - he's a monster ! )

Mr Dillinger sir ! How are you ? ( That avatar of his doesn't help does it !! )

Pleased about your reassurance there are no hooks embedded .

On reflection you're right . We'll dismember that sala straight away and look for some infested straw replacements .

Termites , snakes , ants , spiders ..... all will be welcome .

( Has he gone yet ? )


 (( WHAT report button ? ... I didn't know about any report button  !!!!... I think I'm gonna need it .... Start the car . ))

.

----------


## Wasp

*
*
Roobarb asked me about my avatar because his beady little eyes spotted something that he recognised .

I wanted an avatar that I could change as new disasters were spotted - but unfortunately you can't really make out what is in the avatar .

A failure .

So here is the front page of that newspaper for Roobs and all to read while I go and hide . 









Wasp

----------


## koman

Outstanding journalism Wasp......green sent...... :rofl:

----------


## Wasp

> Outstanding journalism Wasp......green sent......


That was bloomin quick Mr. Oman !!!

You must have better things to do .


Wasp

----------


## koman

> Originally Posted by koman
> 
> 
> Outstanding journalism Wasp......green sent......
> 
> 
> That was bloomin quick Mr. Oman !!!
> 
> You must have better things to do .
> ...


No, it's mid evening here and I just checked in to see what was happening in the wonderful world of TD.   Nothing better to do at this time of day in a Thai farming village..... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Koman .... No, it's mid evening here and I just checked in to see what was happening in the wonderful world of TD.   Nothing better to do at this time of day in a Thai farming village.....:)


Well thank you for the ' Green ' koman although I've never understood them .
So because of your green I went looking around and I found a folder which tells you about greens you have received and attached comments .
I just didn't know . 

It says I have 53 000 points !! Which comes as a surprise .

I like to understand these things so how many points is a Green ? And a Red ?

And to anyone who has ever given me a Green I'm sorry if I didn't acknowledge you and I missed your comment - and thank you !


Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

Brilliant stuff Wasp, love the first edition of the Somchai Thaimes.

Well done fella.

----------


## terp80

Wasp, that is brilliant (awesome = American)!  :goldcup:  Looking forward to the next edition of the Somchai Thaimes.  :Laugh:  Now I have to find out what the Greens actually mean.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## Roobarb

> Now I have to find out what the Greens actually mean.


Good luck with that, they don't seem to agree on much even between themselves.

This book might help:



BTW, glad to see your build has started Terp, apologies for not having posted on your thread yet - or if I have already posted on it then my apologies for having done so...  :Smile:

----------


## terp80

Thanks Roob. I'm glad to see it too - and no apologies necessary. It's exciting to see a physical thing taking shape. May be a little different from what I had in my head and what I was seeing on paper. It seems to be filling up the entire lot.  :Yikes:  I wish I had a little more land. But that's what I get for trying to live close to Muang Chiang Mai.  :rolleyes5:

----------


## katie23

@Wasp - since ya know that I learned American English, I'll say "awesome!" to your Somchai Thaimes.  I'm looking forward to the next edition.  Is this going to be a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly publication?  :Razz: 

to anyone - I also don't know what these "greens" and "reds" are.  :Confused:   I also have points from my pic thread - how did I get those? Are they convertible to cash? Can I use them for shopping or for airline miles?  :Razz:  Can someone please kindly enlighten us confused souls?

----------


## Wasp

> @Wasp - since ya know that I learned American English, I'll say "awesome!" to your Somchai Thaimes.  I'm looking forward to the next edition.  Is this going to be a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly publication? 
> 
> to anyone - I also don't know what these "greens" and "reds" are.   I also have points from my pic thread - how did I get those? Are they convertible to cash? Can I use them for shopping or for airline miles?  Can someone please kindly enlighten us confused souls?



katie :
The useful thing I learned was that you go to the top of your page .... Click UserCP ... and then click  ' User Control Panel ' and you will see the last 5 Greens ( which are a nice thing to have ) and their associated comments .

The Somchai Times ..... takes too much time .
I'm gonna let my Threads just sink away now unless I have questions or comments appearing which need answering .

Such as this one !


Wasp

----------


## koman

> @Wasp - since ya know that I learned American English, I'll say "awesome!" to your Somchai Thaimes.  I'm looking forward to the next edition.  Is this going to be a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly publication? 
> 
> to anyone - I also don't know what these "greens" and "reds" are.   I also have points from my pic thread - how did I get those? Are they convertible to cash? Can I use them for shopping or for airline miles?  Can someone please kindly enlighten us confused souls?


If you like someone's post you can send them a green.   It's adds to the posters "reputation" on the forum.    If you really don't like what a poster has written you can send them a red.....which is negative reputation and will substract from any positive score they may have.

To send greens or reds you just visit that little box on the left hand side...and click on the scales .....a box will open up where you can select a green (or red) response and a field where you can insert any comments you wish to make.    It defaults to green....so if you want to send a red you have to change it... :Smile:     I don't think many people take it very seriously but there it is.

----------


## Wasp

Saturday........ and so to London .

To the theatre .

We're very cultured around here y'know .  The Full Monty .

But first Missy is meeting a Thai friend to go and eat Chinese .
I've told her to meet me 5:30 in Trafalgar Square .
Four times I have told her and just before she leaves I check again .

Missy :  " 5 Thirty. Chakkwwoww Square " 

Please try this with your partner so I know it's not just me with these problems .

She thinks London is extremely Thai friendly .
  " Have shop for email Thai maybe Skype ! Iss good . Shop Thai Message . "

This turns out to be a shop with  " Thai Massage  " painted clearly on the window .

In Soho .

Pondering .... shall I send her in there to check her Facebook ?
Or gain some well-paid employment ?



Wasp

----------


## ootai

Wasp
I just want to say thanks. In 2010 I started posting on this site and since then I have always wondered about the "greens" and the "reds" but never asked because I thought some one would think I was stupid of course they would be right but that's another story.
So now that you have asked and I have checked I have a greater understanding, I must now start to use it to send all the reds I have stored up but not known how to send them. Yours will be the first.

My other comment is I seem to think that way back the beginning you kept wondering if anyone was reading the drivel you were posting and now look at this thread. It's got a 5 star rating, nearly 7,500 views more replies than my whole house building thread and then to top it all off you're rated a strong green.
So I hope you are now satisfied that we are out there and taking notice. Of course you also realise that I'm joking about the red, right?

Don't stop posting as I enjoy your humour and the way you present your arguements/ discussions. I can't send you anymore greens as I sent them a long time ago before I got to know the real you.

----------


## Wasp

> I must now start to use it to send all the reds I have stored up but not known how to send them. Yours will be the first.



I was instantly reaching for the mouse you bugger :yerman:  !
But I couldn't do anything because it was a mobile phone !! I do that all the time . Pick up a mouse and try to change the TV channel with it !
Or make a call on the Remote Control . Snott easy getting old.





> I can't send you anymore greens as I sent them a long time ago before I got to know the real you.



Presumably meaning now you know me you regret sending the Greens .

You write kindly to me *oots* . 
Roobarb .... or Bettyboo .... said the Greens are just a little bit of pleasantness carrying no weight .
Which is clearly true .

But then you correctly say that I have pondered many times whether there was anyone out there.
When I found I could access my Greens Folder it did mean something to me that I had over 57 000 points in there and it's sad that I missed the comments that went with them .

I don't know what 57 00 Points mean . ( koman ?  Roobarb ? ) but I'm guessing that a Green is 2 points and a Red is 1 Point .
Or maybe it's 10 and 5 . Mind you even 10 and 5 would mean 5 700 people clicks so it can't be that .
Maybe it's 100 and 50 . ( Bettyboo ? Marmite ? ... even bloody *Necron* ? )

The point is that people have taken the trouble to click on there and also make a comment . Which is good .
I don't like to be writing and then a  day later find " Wasp "  all over the place so its those greens that indicate it's not a waste of time .

Some folkses has got over a million !!!!!

I repeat - these are kind words *oots* and I like 'em ! :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

Regards to twoootses .



Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

Please Wasp old chap how do I subscribe to Somchai Times, it seems a quality publication and one I would like to start the day reading before I hunt termites.

----------


## Wasp

> Please Wasp old chap how do I subscribe to Somchai Times, it seems a quality publication and one I would like to start the day reading before I hunt termites.


I thought/hoped maybe I had slipped by your attention !

To your Credit though - you were the lead story !

You should've made those Greek Goddesses for me and then you'd have been on Page 3 with the beauties .



Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

> Please Wasp old chap how do I subscribe to Somchai Times, it seems a quality publication and one I would like to start the day reading before I hunt termites.


You could also roll it up when you've finished and use it to hit the buggers with...

----------


## Wasp

On the subject of Termites ............ and I'm being a serious person here ...... when I look on the internet about Termites it shows these massive 8 foot tall spikey nests .

The Termites in Thailand can't be living in nests like that - surely ?

So what does a human person look for when looking for the possibility of Termite nests in the neighbourhood ?

Imagining I am strolling along and I happen to have a half-pint of petrol in my hand which accidentally falls into a Termite nest and accidentally immolates the whole nest in a fiery conflagration of hellish and total destruction.

Harr ! Haarr !!  Haaarrrr !!!  DIE , you little bastards !!!!


Are they spottable ?




Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

Wasp, here is one that had been abandoned for a couple of years or so. Built like rock and you can't miss them.

----------


## bankao dreamer

^
Yep thats the blighters

----------


## Wasp

So are they not easily findable and therefore easily destructible ?


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

It's a Construction Thread . It's not personal ads or a general notice Thread .

But the last  little chapter in this renovation story was all about Lady Pig , the Harridans and Missy's granddad " Yeesipp " . 
Yeesipp who was such a good little guy - a tiny guy - always carrying a smile and a machete - who turns into such a monster when he drinks his yeesipp's worth of red whisky .
Which was why Lady Pig and Lady Mango wouldn't speak to him .

Yeesipp passed away last night .


As I say .... it's a Construction Thread not a Personals Thread .... but you met the guy in this story .

He was 85 ! A truly old age in Thailand !! 

It's still sad ...... but please don't send any condolence about this .... send more daft pictures of 12 Million Baht houses with 25 Baht plastic doors .

Cozz he laughed a lot .


Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

Right you are Wasp it is a construction thread you are also right about a passing being sad.

I’m thinking if getting to 85 and in good or at least reasonable health think it would be nice to hang around for a little longer to do whatever especially at twenty Baht a pop.

----------


## Bettyboo

> Mr Dillinger sir ! How are you ?


Waspy, he's a fukin Northern git - DO NOT TREAT HIM WELL!!! Kick him in the nuts then spank him while he's down, if it looks like he's gonna get up then give a katoey 500 baht to nick his phone and bugger him senseless (he likes that...).  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

*


Bettyboo .............



I ............... am a Northern git .




Wasp

----------


## Bettyboo

^ Explains the colours...

Eh up.  :Smile: 

Have you considered adding a urinal to your abode, Waspy?

----------


## Wasp

> ^ Explains the colours...
> 
> Eh up. 
> 
> Have you considered adding a urinal to your abode, Waspy?



I've often considered putting a urinal out in the far corner of the plot .

The Indolent Brother has pals . Missy has pals . Who come and sit in and around the 'sala' drinking ....... well anything really .
But a lot of Leo , whisky , soda , and crappy stuff ..... and then take their bursting bladders into the house and piss only in the general direction of the loo .

Sometimes missing by maybe 5 feet !
Adding a subtle something to the wall grout .

So yes ........... a urinal .... on a pole ..... over in the corner of the land behind a banana tree . With a subterranean tank plumbed on .

Next to the whippet's kennel.

Absolutely pointless providing handwash facility . 
Pee ...... and hand straight back into the sookee .

Yuck.


Wasp

----------


## Bettyboo

Sounds just like up North, no wonder you like it sooooo much...  :Smile: 

You have a sala, you flash bastard! I dream about having a sala!

----------


## Wasp

> Right you are Wasp it is a construction thread you are also right about a passing being sad.
> 
> Im thinking if getting to 85 and in good or at least reasonable health think it would be nice to hang around for a little longer to do whatever especially at twenty Baht a pop.


There's a subtle bit of condolence in these words Bill .

Thanks .


W

----------


## Wasp

> Sounds just like up North, no wonder you like it sooooo much... 
> 
> You have a sala, you flash bastard! I dream about having a sala!




We didn't know it was a sala when it was being put together .

It was planned to have some walls and grow rhubarb inside in the darkness . Rhubarbs likes the darkness my preshuss .

With some cages attached to the back for 'it pigeons .
But they were very good homing pigeons and they did fly straight back home  ..........

.............. to Dewsbury .


Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

> Rhubarbs likes the darkness...


Bloody hell.  I know I've been a little absent from proceedings of late, but no need to brand me as the Prince of Darkness just because I'm not joining in so much...  :Sad:

----------


## Wasp

Aaahhh !

....... my preshuss !!


How is your ring ?




Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

^ It's not a polite question to ask to someone who lives in Delhi...  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> ^ It's not a polite question to ask to someone who lives in Delhi...


 :smiley laughing: 


It's from Missy's favourite movie .

" Delorr  Derrin "  !!!



Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

Your stories regarding Yeesip made me chuckle, so tell us some more as a memorial please.




take their bursting bladders into the house 

There posh, our drinking buddies/ workers can be no more than 10 feet from our toilet but walk 30 feet to the fence and piss up that.

----------


## katie23

@wasp - RIP to Yeesip....

Re: urinals, get one of those modern, flush-free & water-free urinals.  :Very Happy: 

Re: Delorr Derirn, it was also my fave movie... my preshusssss...

----------


## Wasp

> Your stories regarding Yeesip made me chuckle, so tell us some more as a memorial please.


Well bankao - the most remarkable thing here is that Yeesipp ever got to be 85 .

He had a habit of taking my 20 Baht and going to look for the best deal for his terrible whisky .

The VERY busy 205 road comes through here . Thundering big road trains dragging sugar beet off somewhere .

But if the whisky was one Baht cheaper across that road then across that road was where he would go . And sometimes he would swindle more cash out of me ... usually by sharpening his machete in front of me .

So off he would go - across that road - to his cheapest source of drink .

Many times it turned him into the friendliest , noisiest rollicking monster of a nuisance.
But sometimes it didn't. 
Sometimes it just knocked him out .

And on I would say 7 occasions he only made it half way across that road again before sinking down , curling up and going to sleep on the central white line !!

Bloody squealing , hissing , swerving , braking noisy huge trucks dragging their trailers and somehow jack-knifing around him !!!
And endless pick-ups and moaty bikes . And he stayed asleep !!!!

He should never have got to 85 !!!!!!


Thank you for your sympathy .






Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

> Well bankao - the most remarkable thing here is that Yeesipp ever got to be 85 .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wasp


I'd say it's better than sitting at a malls center court watching the world pass by.

RIP

----------


## Wasp

*BKKBILL :*
I'd say it's better than sitting at a malls center court watching the world pass by.

RIP



I'd say you're spot on right Bill .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

♪ ♫  And now .... ♫... the end is near ... ♪  ♪....

♪♪♪ And so I face .. ♫♫..... the Final  Chap .. ♪♪♪. ter . ♫



For some time now I've simply enjoyed reading other people's stories but there was always pestering away in my brain the thought that I must complete my own Thread . 

During that story of Missy’s house renovations I admit that I did wander away from the story occasionally. 
Most noticeably when I had Jimmy Cagney dancing down stevefarangyourgloriousandesteemedlordship's staircase .

Anyway .... there were a few enquiries about what happened to a couple of the characters and The Indolent Brother was definitely one of these characters . 

He featured early on when we moved him into a tiny room under the bikini .
We had to make sure there were gaps in that bikini ( Indolent Brother's roof ) so that we could easily cascade water all over him whenever we washed the balconkini. 
Always at an hour when he would be sleeping .

Any time at all in other words !!

The only way he would get a shower.

At the suggestion of others who should be nameless( it was bankao  ) we then started to surround his filthy nest with extensions so we could leave him rotting away in there with his collective menagerie of dogs , poo , domesticated lice and fleas .

However the indolent escaped !


Now ... across the yard .... stepping over the dog vomit , snake skins , chicken skeletons , cobras  there is a cement-block  rice store .





The grandpa ( Yeesipp ) had moved into this barren fortification to get away from his wife . { Bit of a shrill one that wife }.


And Yeesipp was perfectly content in this rice store .  No Roman King bikinis necessary for him .
Or even windows.


However , Yeesipp's health deteriorated ( caused by age - not the dwelling ) and after a few years Yeesipp moved back to the wooden dwelling of his wife which is huge ( The dwelling not the wife ). 
This wooden structure is about equally as unhygienic as the rice store but there was at least someone there to look after Yeesipp a little bit .



 

To the left is the rice store .

Straight ahead beyond this clearly desirable wooden home is the dreaded land of LadyPig .

Anyone following this Thread will know that the land of LadyPig has been a land of monsters and death ....... but when we explained that Roobarb will need to reverse onto her land to take away this wooden house she was all in favour of putting in a road !

So dear old Yeesipp moved back there and we had an unattractive rice store going begging .

It was offered to a variety of local creatures .


The chickens clucked about it for a while  but they really didn’t like it .Wasn’t eggsactly clean enough.


The snakes thought it was beneath them .


The pigs showed no interest as it was too dirty .



The brother .......  loved it .




( Gotta work .   More later . )



Wasp

----------


## stevefarang

^^^

When did you have Mr. Cagney dancing on our stairs ? I remember the carriage ( :rofl: ), but don't recall the esteemed Mr. Cagney gracing our steps.

Steve

----------


## Wasp

> ^^^
> 
> When did you have Mr. Cagney dancing on our stairs ? I remember the carriage (), but don't recall the esteemed Mr. Cagney gracing our steps.
> 
> Steve




You should go back to Post #90 and run the video to see Mr. Cagney dancing down what is clearly your staircase .

Probably your back staircase for the Domestic staff .

Your main staircase would be bigger I assume yourmostworthinessandhighone .


Wasp

.

----------


## stevefarang

^^^


A-hahahahaha !!!   :rofl: 

Yes, and you see the ballerinas dancing in our living room. Now if they could just trample the damn snakes to death !!!

Steve

----------


## Wasp

> A-hahahahaha !!!  
> Yes, and you see the ballerinas dancing in our living room. Now if they could just trample the damn snakes to death !!!
> Steve





I think those Irish dancers could do a good stomping job on the cobras .




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Onward ............. .


Here's a closer look at the rice store that the brother moved into .




I’m not sure what was going on with those windows . I mean why have windows at all in a Rice store ?
Or why put in a window-frame and then block it over ?


Anyway ******   the brother loved it even though it did lack one or two things .......... for example water , power , toilet ,  furniture , appeal , tv , windows , sink ,  heating , shower , cooking , healthiness .


And in he went .



I'm missing a photo here I thought I had.
Must go and look .



No good . Cannot find it . Just a photo of indolence . Imagine a sloth in a dark corner .

On one of his more hyperactive days he suddenly emerged from Gollum's cave to try to wangle a compressor and sprayer out of Missy on the promise it would give him a whole new career opportunity respraying moatybikes .


He got them from Missy too !


But that career lasted a bit less than one whole day .

All that business taking out the nozzle and using White Spirit  !!

Utterly exhausting .



Wasp

----------


## FatOne

I hope this story is going to continue! Ahh, life in Thailand, I'm enthralled. Takes me away from the daily grind of retail in Oz! I so much want to get over there.

----------


## Wasp

> I hope this story is going to continue! Ahh, life in Thailand, I'm enthralled. Takes me away from the daily grind of retail in Oz! I so much want to get over there.


Yes OverweightOne ...... it does continue but this renovation is such small beans ( He added about 2 sq metres ) I have to spin out the paucity of photos .

It's nice to just know that it's being read . 

So thanks .

Your own Thread is one I've been following .
8000 reads and you haven't even got any walls yet !!

It's becoming Biblical !!



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
*

So he's in there . 

Comatose .

...... no evidence of any actual life but there were occasional suspicious occurrences which were puzzling .

Compare the previous picture with this one and you'll see a small difference .


 


 I see that he acquired some bits of Roman King detritus with which to enhance in a glorious way his little personal dwelling . There on the front .

Thieving sod .

And somehow 2 of those huge cement rainwater pots disappeared from behind Missy's home .
Curiously over the same night two of those huge cement rainwater pots appeared outside Palazzo Filth !

Coincidence I'm sure .

It wouldn't be the Indolent Brother moving things around .
He would never have got involved with moving anything heavier than a bar of Aero.

And now more bits of Roman King are being gathered .

It's starting to look like Pompeii.






Plus a sophisticated rain gathering mechanism above the door feeding a dubiously acquired water tank AND some agricultural development !
Bits of gravel for a path extending over one and a half metres ! No architect drawings or anything .

Those glass windows .... we gave him those we did.

 Missy had been very proud to have those windows .They had replaced the original horrible wooden shutter things .
But she found the louvred glass a pain to clean so the indolent one got them .
They still won’t get cleaned but that’s more the normal thing for him.

But these spits of clandestine activity are bizarre .
Activity that's a cross between sparrowlike and sluglike .
Gathering any spare bits and offcuts to build his nest but doing it secretively at night for fear we might sprinkle salt on him .

Inside Missy's home she tidies and cleans up last thing at night but we find dirty bowls and plates there in the morning . Evidence that the wraith has risen from his tomb !



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

The nocturnal Garden development continued and he even gripped some roofing and set it up there in the background to reflect the fluted column theme .





BUT ..... What Is This ?


Forsooth it looks like signs of Rigor Mortis being loosened !!!





...and what this is is this .  

Those who have followed Missy's Grand Designs story will know that LadyPig suddenly defrosted and became almost friendly towards her brother Yeesipp . 
This is Yeesipp who passed away about a month after the Russian thaw commenced .

And part of the thaw was that  LadyPig stopped blocking access to Missy's home and when she knew Roobarb would probably be coming down the road to buy Yeesipp's home she positively encouraged the construction of a road for him .


Materials were purchased for the roadway . Bricks were counted . Gravel measured . 
And bit by sneaky bit a percentage has made its magical way to the outside of Gollum's Mansion .

As you see here .

And we don't mind .

If Gollum wants to improve his slum it will improve the view from Missy's bikini and could improve the value of the rice store by anything up to 3 .... even maybe 4 Thousand Bahts .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
*
So the mighty effort begins with a plan.

The plan is ..... it would be handy to have a toilet if I'm going to attract some fool female to move in with me .

A toilet and maybe a kitchen . Right next to each other . Makes it easier for the dysentery bugs if they're next to each other . 

Now where ?

" I know !!! On the end !!! "

So 4 lines were drawn -fairly straight - 2 posts were put up - and stolen cement was poured to a depth of at least 4 inches .

No rebar or any of that fallang nonsense . That might stop it leaning over in the time-honoured and much-loved traditional Thai fashion.





Now we have to have a meeting . You've got to have a meeting cozz that's what fallangs do .

We must discuss all the work and who's going for the Leo .

Let's all ( both ) meet in the toilet ^ .





Wasp

----------


## Wasp

OK maybe it's NOT 4 inches deep .

And I remember now what that little pile of gravel was for . Never mind .

It's straighter now than it will ever be once we do a bit of leaning on it and hammering in nails to hang plastic bags on .

For that homely touch.



 Now --- time for some levelling . Let's use a bit of sand .

Hmmm ........ maybe have another meeting with someone who knows a bit about a bit of sand .

OK - back to the toilet !!!!!!!








Wasp
*
*

----------


## koman

See you have managed to turn this into a house building thread after all.  Quality build too..... :Smile: 

You have to admit that Thailand has it's advantages when it comes to this kind of thing.   Here we are un-hampered by rules, by-laws, construction codes and all the silliness that makes housing so expensive in faranglands.... :Smile: .....and stealing building materials is considered a _best practice_...... :rofl: 

Good story Waspie.....keep it going..... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Thank you koman . :Hail: 

I actually do drain of energy if I think nobody is reading this carefully constructed rubbish . 
 It's not easy getting a few pages of End Story out of a 2 metre bodge build which is more like kids building a den .

But your words shocked me ... because you're RIGHT !!! It has become a bit of a construction Thread after all !!!

I'm aghast .


Thank you again K.  :Hail: 



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Now one good thing about these meetings is that they at least did realise they had started some major construction work here with no provision for things such as pipes .

" An 'ole !!!   A big 'ole for a toilet . Let's have a vote ." { All in Thai } . :Stupid: 

And we can use all those empty bottles to pay for a tank .






" Can we get the 'ole as close as possible to the wall - so it will be really difficult getting a pipe to bend into it ?
Of course we can . "



Best check the size of the 'ole .





And stick a pipe in the ground so we look serious about this .




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

But that ^ photo is not merely a photo of a tank that's too high in the ground  ,  a pipe that's not straight , a bit of corrugated iron roofing ready to go on  ,  a collection of bottles worth upwards of 40 Bahts and the remains of a badly-sprayed moatybike .

Oh no !

It also shows a whole course of bricks has been laid !






The annexe is now nearly 6 inches in height !

Taj mahal ? 
Huh !!  
We spit on you .

The interesting question now is " Will they copy the wall behind and go in straight vertical lines or will they follow the despised ' fallang ' ziggy-zaggy routine ? "

My guess is they will go straight because ziggy-zaggy can mean cutting bricks .

It can mean WORK .

And we don't want that .

Let's delay decisions . 
I enjoyed that 'ole . 
Let's go and make another one . :Bigeyes2: 






Not sure what this one is for . It's outside his kitchen but they've never been known to care about where slops or water go to .
Usually out the window .

But it all looks to have some purpose .

Now .... they've finished having a bit of chat with the chap who knows a bit about a bit of sand .
Sand has been purloined and the levelling equipment ( a spade ) has been borrowed.

SO ........... a bit of levelling labour using a bit of sand and some knowledge from the guy who knows a bit about a bit of sand .










That's snooker-table level that is  !!!

OK ..... let's tidy up this site and get all of the building equipment inside .

More Leo lads ?

" Hang on ..... there's a bit of cement left . Let's spread it on the outside of this wall hence putting it to no purpose whatsoever .

Good . 

Who's got the bottle opener ? "




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
So it's getting serious now .

The Indolent Brother asked Missy to ask me how long the compacted ground might need before they could build on it .

I told them of building Threads on here where people have left the ground to compact for 2 years .

Then again others have driven tractors all over it to speed it up and left it to compact for only 6 months .

He decided 20 minutes would be enough .

Now it's time to think about putting up some roof structure .

What I like about this picture is the way they were thinking only about the kitchen ( a half a metre away ) so mentally they had to move EVERYTHING tidily into the kitchen area .





Scattered on the ground of course .



Wasp

----------


## koman

Ground that has not been compacted;  foundation walls without re-bar.......

Hopefully they will be using ultra lightweight blocks and Marmite approved roofing.... :Smile:     Good to see a kitchen going in.....puts him ahead of BB..... :rofl: 

Is that a stress crack forming a bit to the left of that wooden peg in the center foreground.  Oh well, stress cracks are common enough with new construction... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Looking at your avatar .

Is that a Penguin with a false beak - a helmet - and a gun ?

How is that a koman ?


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Good to see a kitchen going in.....puts him ahead of BB.....
> 
> Is that a stress crack forming a bit to the left of that wooden peg in the center foreground.  Oh well, stress cracks are common enough with new construction...



That crack is a deliberate attempt to make the structure fit in with the overall ambiance of the main structure .
It takes some skill does that.

We got a guy in specially - well the first bloke walking along the road - knowing that anything he did would produce that cracked appearance .

It's quite popular y'know .

You'll see it all over Thailand . 


Wasp

----------


## patsycat

Is there going to be a new Frankie?

Can you put a couple of sphinxes in front of Koman's doggie home?

----------


## BKKKevin

Ah!... The safety flip flops to prevent a grounding!... I bet welding of the roof beams is to commence...

----------


## Wasp

:rofl:

----------


## Wasp

I gotta get away from all this building stuff .

Not me at all .

Have a look at this instead cozz it's excellently funny ............







Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
So the flip-flops have ensured the electrical safety of the construction and it's time to put in all the roof support .

Meaning five pieces of metal .






Two diss way .... and three datt way please .


If there's one thing I do like it's a nice clear working area .

It just feels less claustrophobic . :Confused: 





Yes that's low enough .

Now one the other way .





.....and now sudden progress !!!!






With a doorway too .





..... and I was ( a bit ) wrong with the brickwork .

They went for minimalist ziggy-zaggy .








Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Progressing .........



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

The wall of the loo reaches the roof beam .....





Riveting stuff dontchathink ?



Another angle ............. trying hard to line those bricks up .






Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
*
Of course we should have anticipated the brother's building skills .

I was away and I paid him to make a bridge for me to get to the fish farm .

Here it is ..............





Wunderbar !!!!

3000 Baht that cost me !!! :Evil: 



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
*
Running short of photos now ....... so this whole story is finally coming to its end.

However ..... I know there is a photo somewhere of some interesting furniture that the brother acquired and placed in front of his house .
Acquired from this tree ---

In this picture from a long time ago you can see peeking in on the left --- a tree .

 


That tree was pretty much slap in front of that gate that was going in .

Here's that area with the tree ......






This was the only entrance for a vehicle as LadyPig was being as obstructive as possible .
But access that way depended on the goodwill of the neighbours .

It was possible to get around the tree .

Missy had begun to give up on sour old LadyPig who always said that when Yeesipp ( her brother ) died she would build a wall across her path .
So Missy was taking the problem more seriously and was making some arrangement to get a road built up to that blue gate .

And the tree --- had to go !











In that pile of detritus there are some fine bits of wood .

Before Roobarb could swoop in there with several pickups the brother selected pieces and set them up outside his den - where they look good actually !

The pictures are in emails somewhere so I have to go through and look for them but I'll post them next .


Incidentally ... Yeesipp's old wife ( Missy's grandma ) stood silently and just cried and cried as this tree came down . :02:  :Sigh1: 



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
*







Some lovely pieces for me .












All cleared for car access .




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
*

Well I'm buggered if I can find the one lovely photo of these tree sections being used as tables and chairs .






Basically it's just the tree being cut in sections .......





...... and the sections being cleaned up and arranged outside as seats and tables .






But this is not the photo I was looking for .








Wasp

----------


## bobo746

Love the bridge mate 3 grand well spent :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

._
♪♪  ♪      Like  A  Bridge ......  ♫♫   Over Not Much Water At All ...♫ ♪  ♪...._


There must be about an inch and a half of sludge down there .

I meant for the damn thing to get my moatybike across but it's a bit shaky if I'm just carrying a packet of biscuits and a Crunchie !.




Wasp

----------


## BKKKevin

You should have showed your brother this photo when you handed over the three grand...

----------


## Wasp

Well that one's broken at the far end  !!

It's pretty but it's not much good is it  ?

I think my shit one's better ....... as long as I don't carry anything heavy .

Such as an apple .



Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

Well worth the wait   :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Well worth the wait


Thank you bankao .

I have a teensy weensy tiny bit more and then that's it .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

_W_ell ...... almost the end .

And it ends poorly .

Because all my photos have been pretty clear and colourful but there is a clue in the name of The Indolent Brother and it's not the word " brother ". Getting him to send a few photos of his accomplished dwelling has been difficult and they are crap .

But to end the tale .............

His rendering of Yeesipp's old Rice Refuge ...............



The left hand side has a wall and has become his loo . ( You don't really want to see his loo . ) 
The right hand side has a half wall and is now his kitchen .

And he started painting .................











Even painting in a Roman King to look authentic .





And that's it !!!

Disappointing isn't it ???

More interesting is that it has indeed attracted a not-so-indolent female and of excessive interest is that the Indolent Brother finds it's quite interesting to get up and do things so now he wants to move OUT !!!!!

Missy has some other land and he wants to go and build there ... renouncing his 50% claim to all the other land that they are inheriting .

Which is actually quite a good deal for Missy .

And the brother will have to grow up . The lady will make sure of that I think .


I have an Epilogue for this Thread of Missy's redevelopment so I will put it together in one more Post and then that's the end . :lam: 



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Mentioned that the  Indolent Brother would renounce his 50% inheritance claim and this is a good deal for Missy .

Well one other piece of inheritance land was a rice paddy .
Missy and her dad wanted to change it into a fish farm .

So in came a big digger ...............











 


The digger's work cost 80 000 Baht ......the idea being to give Dad an income different from his Rice work which has been producing less and less income .
It was another business idea which went wrong.

_W_hen the ' farm ' was ready Missy put in a few hundred baby fish . 
They grew very well ....... and then the rains came . The waters rose over the height of the 'fish farm ' and the fish swam away !
_T_he result ?  
People around the area ate fish for a week .... for free .

Maybe we'll get it right later . If anyone can suggest a brilliant fish to raise - we'll do it.

_O_n the way to this farm there's a decent river which runs through Missy's village . 
And you might be familiar with the odd type of boat that Thais use on these rivers . It's a kind of hollowed out tree .

I fancied trying one . Missy was too wise to travel with me . She supervised from the side of the river .









_W_hat she DID mention however is that these things are very expensive . If I sink it I pay for it .

And I sank it .

There's a rope attached to the front and I hung onto it but the thing is very VERY heavy and was taking me down . Truly .
_A_nd knowing that ' expensive ' meant 10 000 for a Thai but probably 100 000 for a fallang I was never going to let it go .

I was drowning .

Missy thought I was arsing around .... but from the bank of the river she showed her real concern .

" What is your PIN ? WHAT IS YOUR PIN ? "


Little shit .


_Epilogue_ .

   And that ....is it .

I've wrung every single diadem out of this story and there just is no more .

There's the future of course . The first time I used Teakdoor it was to ask about sinking concrete columns into water .

It was just an idea . I asked my nephew to design me something and he designed this ............




Just a bit of a dream . But if you've followed this story you'll know that LadyPig went though a remarkable transformation ...... and LadyPig has land --- on the river ---which she might sell ......To Missy !!!

So I might get .................. this .......





Then again it may stay a dream .

Something that is definitely in the future is some alteration to Missy's house .
Bringing the ' bikini ' forward a metre , putting an extension on the end and changing the access to an outside staircase .
I've done it in Photoshop .





_S_o although I'm winding up now maybe about next March we'll be back to do that build .

I've really enjoyed the interaction with you people .


But there is no more to tell ............


So



_Goodbye_ :Wavey: 






from .....  Wasp

----------


## terp80

Great thread Wasp. :tumbs: 


I enjoyed it immensely, as I'm sure did many others. :Lmao:  I trust you aren't leaving us, i.e. will still grace us with your pertinent and impertinent comments? :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## FatOne

Brilliant thread Wasp! Your story telling is superlative, thanks for providing an interesting diversion to our dry building dramas.

Marty

----------


## Wasp

To terp and to Marty ....

Thank you very much fellers !

Thank you a lot .

I'll watch what you guys get up to and I will indeed be ready to help along with a rubbish comment or two . 



Wasp

----------


## Roobarb

Wasp...

A superb tale and brilliantly told.  I'm saddened that it's come to an end.

There is of course the house on the water, which would be a housebuilding thread and therefore lose some of this one's magic, or perhaps the future extension to the bikini for us to look forward to???

Thanks for sharing.

----------


## BKKBILL

Well I for one can't wait for the edifice on the river. Great thread my friend.  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> Roobarb;Wasp...
> 
> A superb tale and brilliantly told.  I'm saddened that it's come to an end.
> 
> There is of course the house on the water, which would be a housebuilding thread and therefore lose some of this one's magic, or perhaps the future extension to the bikini for us to look forward to???
> 
> Thanks for sharing.





Roobs  , you were very nice to me the first time I kind of finished .
But then I found I missed writing this nonsense so I got onto even more ancillary stuff such as LadyPig , Lady KinnYoww , Yeesipp and the Brother .

But there is no more left at all .

I can show you a church that looks like a duck if you like .................






But even I can't quite link that to Missy's renovations .


The house on the river --- probably won't happen .

But the extension will .

At some time in the future Roobs I hope you'll invite me to your house because I think it's superb .

Thank you again for the comments .





Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Well I for one can't wait for the edifice on the river. Great thread my friend.


Bill .... you have indeed been a friend all through this  .

Thank you for the kind words .

I mean it .

Thanks .



Wasp

----------


## biff

Hi Wasp. miss your stories..
Perhaps you could start a thread about how you would design a river house..
With your Roman columns.   .Egypt: The Columns of Ancient Egypt
Without actually building anything , the thread could last for months.

----------


## Wasp

> Hi Wasp. miss your stories..
> Perhaps you could start a thread about how you would design a river house..
> With your Roman columns.   .Egypt: The Columns of Ancient Egypt
> Without actually building anything , the thread could last for months.




Hi biff !

Thank you for the kind words.

I would like to carry on in some way .... but I do fear becoming a bit of a pain dragging out a Thread .
I mean ... this Thread lasted almost 5 months and it wasn't even an actual house build !!!

So based on the next plans I could  probably continue - but sometimes it feels like it's just time to step away and let the more serious builds be at the forefront .

When I started there were some notable Threads being written . Bettyboo , Roobarb , koman , bankao and it was a very active funny time . But they too have finished .

And there's another problem . 

People want photos . They want an interesting read broken up with photos . And I don't have much left in the locker to be showing .

When I _was_ thinking about carrying on I looked at the readership figures and in 2 weeks my numbers went up over a thousand . But I only actually got 2 messages.
 Which were encouraging messages ...
but I don't know what the thousand others were thinking .I wish I knew .It does encourage you ... gives you some energy ... when people write and say they are still enjoying the stupid stories which have nothing to do with construction . 

So thank you , biff .
Though if I do start up again after a big Goodbye there might be a few loud sighs and rolling of the eyes !!!

And I don't want that .

I will think about it . :porlao: 

Regards :

Wasp

----------


## terp80

> When I was thinking about carrying on I looked at the readership figures and in 2 weeks my numbers went up over a thousand . But I only actually got 2 messages.
>  Which were encouraging messages ...
> but I don't know what the thousand others were thinking .I wish I knew .It does encourage you ... gives you some energy ... when people write and say they are still enjoying the stupid stories which have nothing to do with construction .


Wasp, well I certainly don't speak for others, but I think you have a real talent for humor and wit. Your threads are simply very entertaining, and perhaps like the others, I don't often (if ever) have any worthy comment or repartee to add. Now don't go getting a big head, but a couple times, and I cannot now remember which times, your writing reminded me of Mark Twain, one of my favorites, so it's no wonder why so many of us read your stuff. On second thought, I think I speak for everyone in saying you should start another thread - even if you have to make up some fake house build.  :bananaman:

----------


## koman

I agree with all of the above.   Waspie; you must create another "construction" thread.   You do have a unique, distinctive and very entertaining way of telling a story, and I, along with many others have enjoyed your non-build thread,  and village tales very much.

You do of course come out with some incredible bollox about granite floors; the dangers of pond water,  and bathroom closet doors......but other than that....... :rofl:

----------


## Wasp

terp80 : Wasp, well I certainly don't speak for others, but I think you have a real talent for humor and wit. Your threads are simply very entertaining, and perhaps like the others, I don't often (if ever) have any worthy comment or repartee to add. Now don't go getting a big head, but a couple times, and I cannot now remember which times, your writing reminded me of Mark Twain, one of my favorites, so it's no wonder why so many of us read your stuff. On second thought, I think I speak for everyone in saying you should start another thread - even if you have to make up some fake house build.

How will I make up false photos though ?

This is a very generous thing to be saying terp !  Thank you very sincerely . 
I've never read any Mark Twain but I promise I will . Is Mark the one that built that lop-sided houseboat on a klong just outside Wanon Niwat ?

When I write this rubbish I do see influence coming from someone and its mostly a guy named Spike Milligan . I think you might not know him but honestly ..... look around for a little book by him  called " Adolf Hitler : My Part In His Downfall " 
That book has me crying laughing sometimes .

When you say you have no repartee ..... I'm not looking for repartee . I am no good at repartee . 
Some of these guys come back at each other very quickly and are very funny about it . I can't do that . About an hour later I might produce a good answer - but that's not exactly repartee .

Or maybe it's the slowest repartee in the World .

I think I just need some assurance that I haven't become dull ...... then again I do read your stuff and many times I don't say anything so I am doing exactly what I get unsure about . 
I read everything in bankao's , koman's , Bettyboo , yobbo , Marty, yours et cetera and enjoy it and say nothing !

But if I wanted some motivation then you ( and biff, bkkbill and roobarb ) have certainly sent some .

Thank you again terp .



Wasp

----------


## biff

Hi Wasp,
Good of you to post..its makes good reading.
What about if you did a prototype  of a "house on the water"..as you seem to be a good researcher, I am sure others would contribute, offer opinions, structural advice.
It would make a good retreat, as a lot of people in Thailand have places near water, or could dig up some land , make a pond, build, even a conservatory, play music, look at stamp collection..etc.
All that would take at least 6 months, and no, you are certainly not dull.

So my first question would be, upon building "smoke ..I mean house on the water, how high would you make the first , or ground floor from the water?
Me, I probably would make it about 2 metres, case of floods, crocodiles and snakes.
What do you think? :Aussie:

----------


## biff

Hi Wasp, as for photo's , I am sure there are plenty of pommie ( I mean English) people who have houses on the water..

Just a thought.

----------


## biff

Wasp ..a few pond pictures..well links..

File:Stiltsville.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:Puente en zona de palafitos en Nueva Venecia-Sitionuevo-Magdalena-Colombia.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:Fragaria washington.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

----------


## Wasp

> I agree with all of the above.   Waspie; you must create another "construction" thread.   You do have a unique, distinctive and very entertaining way of telling a story, and I, along with many others have enjoyed your non-build thread,  and village tales very much.
> 
> You do of course come out with some incredible bollox about granite floors; the dangers of pond water,  and bathroom closet doors......but other than that.......


__________________________________________________  ____________________


Now just you look here Mr. K fromadodgypartoftheworld , I have a Masters degree and a published thesis " On How To Suffer Massive Skull Pulverization And Resultant Haematomae and Subdural Hygromas Caused By Inappropriate Use Of Overpolished Granite In Floor Locations In New-Build Thai Homes " .

It didn't sell well .

The degree was in ' Domestic Stinginess And Pecuniary Shylockiness As Evidenced In Inappropriately Purchasing Shit Cheap Crap Plastic Doors ' .
Which when published sold surprisingly well at Wanon Niwat's Tuesday morning market .


So you see I know what I am talking about .






Or perhaps not .



But thank you for your encouragement .
I got to admit I decided to draw the line even though I had two more strands pencilled in .

Seriously !

When I follow Missy's build but see an offshoot I give it a title so I can come back at a more useful time .
For example " The Indolent Brother and Palazzo Filth " which sat there for several months but I always knew what it was about just by the title .

Then when I came to what seemed a natural end ( because of a dearth of photos ) I still had two strands unused .
One was all about the avatar names that people choose .

The other thread was called ' Quasimodo and Olivia Newton John ' --- but I'm buggered if I can remember what that was all about and the title doesn't help. :Confused:  :swimfish:  :swimfish: 

However with your encouragement here I'll muse some more because I really do appreciate your words .


Up to a point .



Wasp

----------


## bankao dreamer

> Missy thought I was arsing around .... but from the bank of the river she showed her real concern .
> 
> " What is your PIN ? WHAT IS YOUR PIN ? "
> 
> Little shit .


 :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl: 

What can I say ? brilliant thread no more than brilliant its been an escape from cock ups and Somchais and I really look forward to the river house.

----------


## Wasp

> Hi Wasp, as for photo's , I am sure there are plenty of pommie ( I mean English) people who have houses on the water..
> 
> Just a thought.





Hi biff .

You're very enthusiastic biff ! At least if I write a book I'm pretty sure I'll sell at least one copy .
But I appreciate very much what you are saying .

Those photos you sent are terrific . The one in Nueva Venecia in Colombia does indeed look like Venice . 
Biff ..... and anyone else reading ...... if you have never been to Venice --- GO .   Before you die . Cozz it's crap after you die......... and I swear to all and sundry that if I had to pick one place - just one place - that I think is unmissably fabulous it is Venice .

But get away from the tourists .

I am taking your advice to heart and I'm writing stuff again in my head .

But I want to ask you - and anyone else - a serious question .
That house design on the river .

Do you like it ?







I personally love it . I keep mulling away at the idea of buying a whole stretch of river front from LadyNotQuiteSoPiggyTheseDays and building 4 of that design . In order to sell them to farangs .

But would they go for them as enthusiastically as I like the design ?
Or would the last thing they ever want is to be living next door to another fallang ?

Or maybe more traditional design would be a quicker seller .

I gotta thank you once again for your positive comments biff .

Regards ,





Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Wasp.....Missy thought I was arsing around .... but from the bank of the river she showed her real concern .
> 
> " What is your PIN ? WHAT IS YOUR PIN ?  "
> 
> Little shit .
> 
> 
> What can I say ? brilliant thread no more than brilliant its been an escape from cock ups and Somchais and I really look forward to the river house.





Can only say  ' Thank You ' bankao .

Thank you very much.

Sincerely. :enough: 

There's no doubt you have taste .



Wasp

----------


## biff

Hi Wasp,
I like the design, but would probably, just have one level.
Me, personally, like open plan living, quite happy with one very big room, separate kitchen , bathroom.
Don't think it matters who you live next to, as long , as noise is kept to normal hours, not parties at 2 in the morning.
Like the idea of having stairway down to water.

----------


## Wasp

PPS



I have to add this Post Scriptorial Post Scriptum because it explains some language difficulties peoples can have .
And I only found out yesterday after 8 years of it .

A chunk of this Thread told of Missy's misunderstandings of English . ( Think " Harry Potter " et cetera ).
Always understandable errors .


So ..........we live in Camberley - right next door to Bagshot .

And we have to go to Bagshot frequently . It's the access to the M3 . It has a good pizza place . It has an old pub .

Missy - in her silence - has been thinking for 8 years now that all the World's great televised football and golf takes place in Bagshot ! 
Whereas Bagshot has just one feeble cricket team that can rarely put a whole eleven players on the park .

And suddenly yesterday she asks : ' Why very very big footbon and gorrf iss alway in Bagshot ? I never see . '


" No footbonn in Bagshot.  No gorrf .
 Pizza , Pub , M3 ..... dassitt sweetzee pieface . "

" Orrwayss torkinn aboww Big Speshull Gorrf in Bagshot !  Orrwayss big speshull Footbonn . In tv ann I never see . " 


What induced this chat was that I was looking at some Golf on tv - from Wentworth .


Clearly there's some link here going on in that Thai salad of a brain . 

" Diss same . Torkinn aboww Bagshot agenn . "


So I waits , my preshuss . 
 I waits maybe 20 minutes and Shane Lowry hits a very poor drive off to Left of the fairway .

The commentator says " Oooo ..... bad shot . "

" SEE !!! ...........  DERR !!! .  

He in Bagshot !!! 

I no stoopidd " :Confused: 






I quite like her.




Wasp

----------


## malcy

I had a mate whose Thai wife would wai at all the bird tables outside the garden centre thinking they were spirit houses  :rofl:

----------


## Wasp

malcy
I had a mate whose Thai wife would wai at all the bird tables outside the garden centre thinking they were spirit houses

 :smiley laughing: 

 :smiley laughing: 

 :smiley laughing:

----------


## FatOne

You just have to love 'em, don't you!!

----------


## Wasp

There's lots of nothing that's not going on in the Construction area.

All is unnervingly quiet as we wait for terp to finish .


In fact I'm reduced to watching Ratchaburi and kelantan squabbling because they _both_ like Kurgen's Pool ...... ???? :Confused:   :Confused:  :Confused:  



So I sit here with not much to look at ....... and idly flick onto the Comments section .

And I have Greens !!!!!!  And nice comment .

So ........ Thank you Bettyboo  ,  Koojo ,  Dillinger , Ticketiboo and  beerlaodrinker .

But can I ask Bettyboo please ......... 
You say Missy can do it online for next to no money .

Apart from any smutty dirty filthy appallingly disgusting and quite interesting suggestions shame on you all ........ but do _what_ on Line ?

( No helpful suggestions from Dillinger please ) .


I donnunnerstann .


thanks all again



Wasp

----------


## svendiederik

Wow what a great story. I really enjoyed this. One question came to my mind, well several did but this one was not answered later on in the story. Why did Lady Fruit start a law suite about the passage to Missy's Granddad land ? According to the plan (post #340) the passage is not near Lady Fruit's land. How did she become a party to this dispute ? Is she a good Lady or was it all a cunning plan to get 50.000 bath from Lady Pig ?

_Lady Pig took it as far as building a wall across the path. But another sister - Lady Fruit - objected and took the matter to Court !
........ Where Lady Pig lost ._

----------


## Wasp

Thank you very much svendiederek.



I always fret about whether people are reading my efforts or maybe they have had enough of the nonsense.

So I do appreciate your comment .



Your Question ....


..... Missy's parcel of land is bigger than the others but this is offset by the awkwardness of having no proper access .

I showed it as one piece of land but really it's not even her land as yet ... and its several pieces . 
Yeesipp owned it as one piece but he passed on and its in 4 pieces which I didn't show.

LadyTiny gets a piece . Missy's Dad gets a piece ( hence Missy and her indolent brother ) .
LadyChang gets a piece and Yeesipp was conned into promising a fourth piece to the two-faced lying toad of a piece of shit who is LadyFruit's son .

LadyChang moved away a long time ago up North and has never contributed to the family or any taxes,costs et cetera and she gifted her piece to Missy .

Leaving Missy with half .

LadyTiny had the bright idea of borrowing money from the Mafia at 2% a month and lending it to everybody in the World at 3% a month .
Such a cracking idea from someone who can only add up to ten - unless she takes her shoes off and then she can add up to twenty.

Inevitably LadyTinyBank collapsed and she owes the Mafia .
Nobody that she loaned to has any intention of ever paying her anything back .

So she adopted Thai tactic number 1 for when you owe money.
Departing on a 2am bus to some new secret place ( Hua Hin ) after borrowing some money from Missy and renouncing her land .

Missy moves up to 75%.

Leaving the little gobshite prick of a son of LadyFruit. ( LadyFruit was very nice ).

When LadyPig was announcing her intention to build a wall and stop access to the land it was for this gobshit son's interest that LadyFruit took it to Court .

And won .

Shortly after which _GobShite_ borrowed 85 000 Baht from Missy against his share of land on the promise he was setting up an a/c business and would repay with monthly interest .

So far he has repaid zero bahts .
Over 5 years .

_Game Set and Match to Missy_ !!


Thank you again for your very encouraging comments ! :rolleyes5:  :rolleyes5:  :rolleyes5: 




Wasp

----------


## katie23

Hi Wasp, thanks for the story. FYI, I just read this last page - can't be bothered to back-track. Maybe next time, I will.  :Smile:  I just came from a LONG holiday, saw family, friends (old and new), and am now back to work, and back to my regular programming of watching/reading news and reading the construction threads. Hope all is well with you and yours. Cheers!

----------


## Wasp

Have you mixed Teakdoor with Facebook , katie ?

Sorry you " can't be bothered to back-track " .

But there really is no need to tell me that you can't be bothered.

Fortunately we can be bothered to write the stuff . :Tired: 



Wasp

----------


## Dillinger

Hey Wasp, finally got to see the other halfs, erm,house.

What can I do with this ?

----------


## palexxxx

> Hey Wasp, finally got to see the other halfs, erm,house.
> 
> What can I do with this ?



I like it.  How do you get that 'random patina' effect?  It has a certain naivity about it.

----------


## Wasp

Dillinger : Hey Wasp, finally got to see the other halfs, erm,house.

What can I do with this ?




 Hi Dilly .



It's strange really because I know you hide your more caring side from people ..... but you have a caring side and  I'm sure you must look at this house and think first of all  Bloody Nora  but then look a little sadly at how people are living .


This house is in fact quite tidy when you look at it - although the materials are just a few steps above using cardboard boxes .


Once in my life I was in Calcutta - where I saw a family that had found a downpipe on the outside wall of a factory so they jammed their big sheet of plastic into the downpipe and stretched it across to some bricks .

That was their home and it makes this other half's house look quite palatial.

Then again - look at what koman is building for a garage and we should all feel guilt .


It must be bloody hot that house .

I used to think Thais were just happy , gregarious people sitting outside their houses and smiling away .... that is until I went inside and realised why they sit outside !!!

What can you do with this house ?

I had twenty different images spring into my mind --- all of them a bit supercilious really and maybe patronising .

What can you do with this house ?

Rip off all the corrugated iron .
 There'll be no shortage of folks wanting to take it . And replace it with ANYTHING that's very cheap and very much cooler .



I'm sure you had more jokey intents when you looked at this house - but I think you're a good man really Dill ... with a deliberately sour persona on here .

What can you do with this house ? :Scratchchin:  :Scratchchin: 

Be your natural good self .




Wasp

----------


## Dillinger

> I'm sure you must look at this house and think first of all Bloody Nora but then look a little sadly at how people are living .


I did really, the Missus has her brother, his wife and a child (I think just the one) living in there. I'm gonna do something with that house, maybe a wooden house on stilts.

I should get some more pics tomorrow of the land. To my knowledgedge, through trying to kop a deaf one while her family was trying to sell me it all, I think there are like 5 plots of land, all belonging to the Missus and her siblings and at the bottom of the land there are rice paddies.,

----------


## Wasp

Dillinger ...........

 I would think you know far more about Thailand than I do .

But in my little experience I've met 3 guys who built replacement houses and who never felt the expenditure was appreciated .

That in fact it was better to disturb the present arrangements as little as possible and that _transformation_ was a) vastly cheaper and b) proprtionately far more appreciated  by the Thais .

Hence ripping off corrugated roof ...... tearing off corrugated walls ....... using Shearawood fake plank replacements ...... buy a fridge ..... buy a good tv .

MUCH cheaper and far more appreciation for your bucks .


One idiot German friend spent 4 million making a whole new home and its a disgrace and a stink to go into .

200 000 spent on the old home would have got a better result .



Wasp

----------


## Dillinger

> I like it.


Make an offer  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

Good use of Jack Nicholson there .

----------


## Dillinger

> it was better to disturb the present arrangements as little as possible and that transformation was a) vastly cheaper and b) proprtionately far more appreciated by the Thais .  Hence ripping off corrugated roof ...... tearing off corrugated walls ....... using Shearawood fake plank replacements ...... buy a fridge ..... buy a good tv .  MUCH cheaper and far more appreciation for your bucks .


I like your thinking Wasp  :Smile:

----------


## katie23

> Have you mixed Teakdoor with Facebook , katie ?
> 
> Sorry you " can't be bothered to back-track " .
> 
> But there really is no need to tell me that you can't be bothered.
> 
> Fortunately we can be bothered to write the stuff .
> 
> 
> ...


Hmm, are you being cantankerous again, Wasp? I just came to say hello, how do you do, and this is the reaction I get? Hmm... If you do remember, I did read the previous 10+ pages of your thread, even though I didn't get to "start" it during the thread's birthdate. I will clarify, that I can't backtrack now, because I'm tired from a long day at work, am just relaxing, and am not in the mood to look back through several 'net pages. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. And FYI, I don't have an FB account (yeah, I'm one of the few young people who don't have it). And in case you might be wondering of my origins, I wasn't born with a silver spoon - am not of the hi-so crowd. I worked hard and took a well-deserved break! Maybe I'll take a break from TD as well... sigh... hope all is well with you and yours...

----------


## palexxxx

> Originally Posted by palexxxx
> 
> I like it.
> 
> 
> Make an offer



I said I liked it,  didn't say I loved it.  I'm not that stupid.   ::spin::

----------


## Wasp

OK Forget this one .

----------


## Wasp

Dillinger......  from Wasp  " tis better to disturb the present arrangements as little as possible and  transformation is far more appreciated by the Thais . ..... and you'll get far more appreciation for your bucks ".

I like your thinking Wasp  :Smile: 




Here you are Dill ............

Get rid of ALL the corrugated iron especially the roof .  Bit of cosmetic . And maybe a GOOD toilet and fridge.

Looks OK !!!





That idiot German built for a German's taste . Not a Thai's.




Wasp

----------


## palexxxx

^  lookin' good

----------


## Wasp

Kobb  Khoon palexxxx.   :Yup:  :Yup:  :Yup: 
.
.
.

----------


## BKKBILL

> ^  lookin' good


Be careful xxxx you soon will be putting the price out of reach.  :Smile:

----------


## svendiederik

> Missy 
> Yeesipp 
> LadyTiny 
> Missy's Dad 
> LadyChang
> LadyFruit's son
> LadyTinyBank 
> LadyFruit
> LadyPig 
> ...


What a colorful bunch. It keeps getting better. Forget about starting a new house building thread, just start a chronicle of life in ??? (forgot the name of that little village Missy lives in). I am sure it could be several hundred pages. 

Thanks again Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Generous words again svendiederik .

Thank you .


You omitted LadyKinnyoww and LadyBed from your list but astonishingly also The Indolent Brother !!!

He will be totally .................... disinterested. :Doh: 


Thanks again .




Wasp

----------


## Brunswick

Hi Wasp.

I haven't been checking for a while but today I looked and I'm pleased to see you're still posting .
And as funny as ever .

Cheers. ::chitown::

----------


## Wasp

Thanks , Brunswick .

It's just as encouraging as ever .

And appreciated .    

 :Rolleyes:  :Rolleyes:  :Rolleyes:  :Rolleyes: 



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Have to add an outstanding P.S. to this .


A feature of the whole story was Missy's misunderstandings of the English language . Most notably with Harry Potter being in our garden .

And all the Roman Kings of course .

Several weeks ago her friend and friend's family stayed at Legoland which is not far from home in England .  They invited Missy to come and look around .
Missy and I did look around . It was vastly overpriced rubbish .

Move on to the more recent last few weeks and I have been watching anything at all from the  World Cup in Brazil.
Whereas Missy has only a passing interest in the football ever since I told her Thailand had been thrown out of the tournament for having six Katoys in the team .

But she's aware of teams progressing and I simply didn't realise just how confused she had become . 
She listens to the commentary as best she can and just couldn't believe when we got to the semi-finals that Legolands was still in the tournament and was playing Argentina !!

" Legolands has footbonn team derr ? " :Confused: 

" ........... Yes ! Staff from Legoland has good team . You remember man working bar ? Name Mr Robben . "


All in all she's mightily impressed that a tiny country like Legolands got so close to the Final .

 :Eek13:  :Eek13:  :Eek13: 




Wasp

----------


## Brunswick

Ha !!!

Another nice little anecdote Wasp.

I know this is a Construction thread but I like a break from Q-con bricks.

She'll be well impressed the " Legolands " even beat Brazil 3-0 !

----------


## Wasp

Thanks Brunny .

She's been waiting patiently outside Legolands to see the team returning .





I might tell her in a week or so .




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Thanks Brunny .
> 
> She's been waiting patiently outside Legolands to see the team returning .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I might tell her in a week or so .
> ...




LEGOLANDS ............ NETHERLANDS !!!


W.

----------


## Wasp

OK Dear Folkses ..............  I stuff around as much as anyone in these Threads but I need a moment's seriousness .

If you have read this Thread you know the Indolent Brother is a character much known for his sloth . As suggested in the name .

But I would like to get some work done about now and I believe if I tell him EXACTLY what to do he might be able to do it .

And I need to ask for your help .


This is the house as it was left 2 years ago ( with a bit of fiddling around to remove a motorbike and the inevitable dog . )





And the first change I want to make is to bring that whole balcony out 1.2 metres so it will look like this ............




Which means posts going under the extended balcony . Four of them.
But there won't be a lot of weight going onto the posts . Just the balcony itself and of course 2 people occasionally walking along it .

And a dog .

The ground has been compacting for 200 years or so .
How far down do I tell the Indolent Brother to dig in order to put in these supporting posts ?
How wide all round should each of these base ' plugs ' be ?

..... And a totally totally separate question .....can any of you more engineer-minded people show me how I can support this balcony apart from the posts ? 

Clearly there will be beams running along the length of the bikini on top of the Roman Kings but what about Front to Back ?

Mille Grazie for your wisdoms .



SeriousWasp

----------


## Wasp

*
*
Well ..... I didn't get a huge batch of replies to that question and then I went and got into a new Thread .


HOWEVER ....... a lot of the questions on that Thread are now relevant on this Thread because I'm back to the question of building a bit near a boundary ..... and this is a build that WILL be happening !

The boundary question on that other Thread was for a " maybe " build .
Which _might_ happen in order to sell that land .

Well despite all the nice suggested plans the build on that Thread will not be happening .... because WE HAVE a serious-looking buyer for the land !!!!

And after all the artistic efforts from blue and Roobarb this fine human being wants to park buses on it !!!!!! 

He might put a tiny workshop on it but it's to be a Bus Park .
So no copies of the Parthenon will be built there . 
Just a Parkeebus !




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

So ...... bearing the photo above in mind ^^ of missy's house ...... we have the question once again of buildings and boundaries .

You can see the upcoming changes on this plan ..... on the far side of the present building .



You can also see at this side right down the back end there is a plan to move the roof up as the kitchen is a bit claustrophobic.

I'll post a few more views of that far-side extension but it's not quite done yet.



Wasp

----------


## 6kon

Nice to see you back on track  :Smile: 
Luckily I don't know anything about this so I can't give u any advise on this  :Smile: 

6kon

----------


## Wasp

OK ....... another view .

The difficulty is that I had always assumed that there was just no regulation of building or extending homes .





We talked about this regulation situation on the other Thread ...... but the plan to fill that space at the side of this house was formed long before that discussion .

To the extent that I was even considering incorporating the boundary wall into the house ..... so we would be bang on the boundary !!   :Yup:  :Yup:  :Yup: 

Can't do that now of course.   :No:  :No:  :No: 




W :Omfg: sp
.

----------


## Wasp

.
The Boundary and ThatOldFavourite The Indolent Brother


Folks of some familiarity with this Thread will know where this extension is going .

It's going here ............





.... and I have been blithely carrying the thought around in my head that the space is maybe 5 or 6 metres wide .
I can however see the value in having lots of photos ready ( in England ) to show to the worker bees when I get to Thailand .
And that means I must have plans that are accurate .

In view of all the advice about appropriate gaps between a construction and a boundary I must have plans encompassing proper measurements .
But I'm not in Thailand to measure.

Who IS there ? ....... 


The Indolent Brother !!!! . (   :Squint:  :Squint:  :Squint:  :Squint:  )


So I asked *TIB* to measure exactly from the metal shutter you can see in that photo up there  ^  straight across to the boundary wall ... which is to the Left and only just out of the photo .

Answer from TIB..... " Not have longy number spingy ".....

Apparently this translates as " Terribly sorry but I am somewhat lacking in the tape measure department ."

So Missy supplied enough Bahts to purchase a tape measure and at the speed of a dying slug he bought one . 
A second-hand one that was going cheap and it took him about 3 and a half weeks to track down the guy ... leaving him with enough saving in the Bahts to buy 2 bottles of Leo and a small 16 Baht bottle of poison for the Dad .

So everybody happy then !!!

No. :No:  :No:  :No: 

Getting him now to walk around there and measure the space ( which I repeat cannot be more than 6 metres and is probably less ) is proving as difficult as anything that is very difficult.

He wanted beer to undertake the task !

Remembering his own particular little Palazzo Filth is all of 35 metres away and on Missy's land .
The only objects physically impeding him in the hazardous journey from his bed to the metal shutter are some dogs ( his ) some chicken cages ( his ) some moateebike engine parts ( you will have spotted the pattern by now ) an appropriate hammock and a huge splat of utter idleness . 

" Three bottell Leeyoww peas " ( though I don't remember him saying ' peas ' for anything ever . )

Three bottles of Leo to walk a round trip of perhaps 80 metres though he'll probably use his Suzuki fz50 for part of the journey !

120 Bahts were supplied to give him strength for the adventure and to encourage him on his way .

Money supplied 4 weeks ago .

Beer consumed 3 weeks 6 days ago .





Still waiting . :Squint:  :Squint:  :Squint: 



Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

Good to see you "_back in the saddle_" Wasp
 Wondering if Google earth has made a new pass over Missy's abode possibly giving this mystery measurement way. If not this reno is not starting off well.

Everybody needs parking lots good luck with that sale.

----------


## Wasp

Hello Bill !

Yes I could do some estimating ...... but it should be a very simple matter to get a certain LUMP to move his bum just a few metres around the empty bottles and do a usefulness that would take less than 5 minutes .

Wouldn't you think ?  :No:   :No: 

However his character does give me the chance to rant . :Yup:  :Yup: 



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Now while we wait for the indolent one to send a few electric currents through his synapses to tell his paucity of brain cells to maybe possibly consider thinking about moving his legs 35 metres and back ....... there is also a plan to make a change at the back of the house .

When the first work was done we extended the low roof to make space for a kitchen .
Here's the work done ..........





Those airbricks denote the kitchen area.
But of course it's one of the Laws of Physics or Architecture or God that as you extend a sloping roof it gets lower and lower .

.......... and by the time you walk from the door to the kitchen it has become rather low .

Too low .

So part of this new work is to take the roof up and then put in some sliding doors to create a more spacious area .
And there will be an outdoor kitchen for that violently acrid cooking they go in for so much .

Here's that plan ................... 







Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Returning to the front we have another angle.





There's a couple of walls not on there yet . That supporting wall is actually the boundary wall built up somewhat and with opaque glass bricks .
Even if I have no windows in the first-floor walls I'll have to come back a metre won't I ?  :Yup:  :Yup: 


Still waiting for a certain waste of blood vessels and sinews to move .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Control your excitement .... but I think the Somchai Thaimes will be out tomorrow .


Reserve your copy .




EditorWasp

----------


## Roobarb

Wasp - on the 1 meter from the boundary thing:

If you are not planning on selling the house and the neighbours are OK with whatever you do then you can probably build pretty much how you please.

The only time it may be a problem is either if Missy chooses to sell the place or if either of you really annoy someone in the village who then decides to have a crack at making your life tough.  Even then you'll probably be fine.

The only reason this distance from the boundary thing came up in the other thread was that you were looking at building a house specifically to sell, and the concern was that any purchaser might struggle to get bank finance on a new build that was not fully legal.

The greater concern is how much do you trust your BIL's accuracy with a measuring tape.  The distance from the metal shutter to the nearest fence post may be six meters, but the distance to the actual fence is only five...

You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?

Well, do ya Punk?

----------


## Wasp

Hello there Roobs !

Isn't it quiet again around here ?

The silly thing with the plans is that the neighbours across the wall have always been 20 metres set back from that wall and over a road !
If we did incorporate the boundary wall they would still be another 20 metres away .

But onboard I do take that we cannot tell what the future may bring .
There seems to be a rash of oldies passing away and their land passing down to siblings who live in Bangkok , have no interest in returning to the properties of impoverished rice farmers , but get very aggressive seeing the chance to extract money from people who over the years have casually or accidentally moved too close to boundaries ..... or have ignored the boundaries completely.



SurveyorWasp

----------


## Wasp

.

" So what's going to happen around the back of the extension there , Waspy ? " I hear nobody at all asking .


And I look down the bottom and there's only one person reading and his name is Wasp !

Well anyway this is what's happening round the back...........







Might even put a roof or two on it .
But I don't want to do any more drawing unless I have a couple of accurate measurements . 
Even if ' The Sloth ' is several hundred millimetres out I'll be able to draw it up with a good idea of how it would finally look .
And  ( once again ) there's a huge difference between a 6 metre width and a 4 metre width . :Yup: 





MathematicalWasp
************************

----------


## FatOne

Only me reading at the moment! But at least I thought I'd let you know you're not alone, and I love stories about your BIL!

----------


## Wasp

Thank you Marty .

You might not feel so kindly up there in Jamjar when The Somchai Times comes out.





 :Scared:  Today.  :Scared:  :Scared:  !!!





Journalwasp

----------


## Wasp

*
**
*** Winter Issue ........ The Somchai Thaimes ***








Wasp

----------


## terp80

:rofl: Haha. Well done (again) Waspie! But you can't believe everything you read in the newspapers . . . except my story does look pretty accurate. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

----------


## BKKBILL

I clicked on the headline wanting to get the full story of the restaurant failure but nothing happened.

Is there a paid subscription fee?

My internet has been acting up lately maybe that is the problem and it will fix itself by the morning.

Oh also saw 2 members and 3 guests viewing so that part is working.

----------


## Wasp

BKKBILL 

I clicked on the headline wanting to get the full story of the restaurant failure but nothing happened.



Didn't the Restaurant Failure show you the menu ?
And then under that I think there are two more articles ?


W

----------


## bankao dreamer

Excellent edition of the Somchai Times, and I feel honoured to have 2 items. Well done again old bean and I especially like the miniature swimming pool.  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

> ............and I love stories about your BIL!



_INDOLENTOGRAM_




An earthquake in Issann !!!!!! 

Some movement from  the Blob !!!!! 

We have a communication from he-of-little-movement . 
He has acquired a device of incredible accuracy and has managed ..... without any serious damage to his personal self apart from some weariness ........... 
to move the necessary 30 metres  !

And after some minimal training and encouragement he has used ' long number spingy ' to measure the distance I need from the shutter to the boundary wall.

And the answer is ...........

It is 6 metres .



Or 6 metres 70cm .



He can't remember .



He didn't write it down.   :No:   :noob: 





W :Saroll:  :Madfawk:  :Crying:  :Salook:  :Sigh: sp

----------


## Wasp

Of course it's improbable that we can get another measurement out of him this side of New Year .  :Headache: 



He's unlikely to be passing that way .






W :Zx11pissed: sp

----------


## Wasp

So there is *Missy*  ....... looking for songs on Youtube .
And only looking for the stuff she knows .
Which is of course " Hotel California " and " Bohemian Rhapsody " . .

Can you imagine someone who has never heard of all the wonderful artists that you and I take for granted ? Never even heard of The Beatles !!!

And she loves guitar riffs .

So I introduce her to *Led Zeppelin* .

" Stairway To Heaven " .     Fabulous ....... and she's air-guitaring away like crazy.

" *Stairway To Heaven* "   " *Stairway To Heaven* " . 
She knows the name and she loves the track .

And I ask her 3 days later what the song is called.


" Walk Away Up , Up Up !!! "  ::smile11:: 



Well she tries.




Wasp

----------


## BaitongBoy

Heh...Stairway to Isaan...Gotta love it...

----------


## Wasp

> Heh...Stairway to Isaan...Gotta love it...



Asked her again today .

Answer ...." Walk To Buddah !!  Up , Up , Very High "

She's getting closer so I rewarded this with Bonny Tyler ' Total Eclipse of The Heart ' .
Which she thought it was sensational !!!

" But what is eecripss ? "

Try that one for yourself , *BaitongB* .

Find yourself a sweet , uneducated Thai and explain what an eclipse is !
Fortunately I did buy 4 boxes of Paracetamol yesterday and they were all needed as the conversation descended into vampires and Draculas !



Wasp

----------


## FatOne

HaHaHa, I love these stories of Missy's learning. My darling loves western music and Thai music, she has an app on her Samsung phone that will give her the name of any song she listens to, and another app that lets her download any song for free. Play Take me to your heart by "Michael learns to rock" for her, she will love it!!!!

----------


## Wasp

> Play Take me to your heart by "Michael learns to rock" for her, she will love it!!!!



Will do , *Marts* !

It gets scarey here when she decides to sing along with the lyrics even though she absolutely does not _know_ the lyrics .
Because she does pick up the odd phrase and she's so pleased with herself she screams the words .

Hence in Bohemian Rhapsody we suddenly get treated to ... " No! No! No!! No!!! No!!!!No!!!! NO!!!!!!   Mamma Mia  , Mamma Mia , Mamma Mia  , Let Me Go !!!!! "

Vishmilla ....      NO !! WE WILL NOT LET YOU GO !!! "


Bloody Nora !!   The neighbours must be reaching for the phones .


And with " Totarr  Ecripss O De Harrrr  "  we get  *Missy* screaming  " I REALLY NEED YOU TONIGHT !!!! " which simply makes my naughty bits shrink .



Wasp

----------


## FatOne

You've gotta love 'em

----------


## terp80

^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^ etc.

 :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:

----------


## BaitongBoy

> Try that one for yourself , BaitongB . 
> Find yourself a sweet , uneducated Thai and explain what an eclipse is !


I would probably cheat and tell her it was something hot and nasty which all women are bound to perform for their man, and this one is simply really wanting to do it again tonight...Maybe...

----------


## Neverna

> Find yourself a sweet , uneducated Thai and explain what an eclipse is !


A picture is worth a thousand words (they say). A dictionary is worth it's weight in Thai baht.

----------


## Wasp

I've given up on the "*eecripss ."
*
Told her they are internet crisps .


We could all do these stories about language confusions .
 I'm sure of that .
 But *Missy* just seems to have confusions that are so believable .
And another one during this past week .  Mercifully she has moved on from *Totarr Ecripsses o Derr Harrrr* and is addicted to " Halleluyah " " Halleluyah ..... " 

The downer about this is she only knows one word so it's  " *Halleluyah ! .....  Halleluyah ! .....  Halleeluyah ! ...... Hallelooooooooooooyah*  -- Mumble Mumble Mumble Mumble Mumble ---- and back to strings of over-enthusiastic *Halleluyahs* again ..... 

This week's big confusion is her friend showing off to Missy because this friend has just bought a new car from *ALDI* .

Now for those of you who don't know ... *ALDI* is *CostCo* . 
It's a shit crap store which actually does have some bargains but it's at the bottom end of the food ladder in the UK .  

*Waitrose* and *M&S* at the top ....... *ALDI* and *LIDL* at the bottom .

So the friend is swanking away about this car they bought from *ALDI*.
And to be honest I didn't know *ALDI* sold cars .

*MISSY* is decidedly unimpressed . " Iss RUBBISS shop ha ? " ..... " Iss same Piemark ? " ( Primark ) .  "

So this must be one majorly crap car .

And just today we have to go for a drive to a Thai food market for her treats .


And on the way she sees a big car dealership near Guildford .
" Look !!! ......  Iss crap car shop for crap cheap car !!!  Huh !!! "




 
{ It's AUDI !!! }  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  

 :Headache:   :Headache:   :Headache: 



Wasp .  :withstupid: :

----------


## Wasp

Well .............  I have another *construction* to report on .

An actual complete construction/renovation to rival anything that skanky old *splitlid* can throw together ...........

But before putting it all together I want to ask Roobarb , Bettyboo , Bankao , bkkkevin , Dillinger , katie , splitlid , loombucket , baitong , ootai , marty , terp , koman , bkkbill , 6kon , svendiederik ,  biff , stevef ---- all that collection of extremely dubious characters to look at something for 4 minutes .


Because it's *beautiful* . ( Connect to some good speakers ).



This ................. 


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






Wasp
.
.

----------


## FatOne

Very Nice Waspie

----------


## terp80

"Because it's beautiful "- indeed Waspie. Thanks for a nice break for my head.  :Smile:

----------


## BKKBILL

Thanks for the tune Wasp got all tingly ...... but it could have been anticipating that complete construction/renovation thingy.

----------


## Wasp

> Thanks for the tune Wasp got all tingly ...... but it could have been anticipating that complete construction/renovation thingy.


 :Lmao:   :Lmao:   :Lmao:   :Lmao:   :Lmao: 



The build won't make you as tingly as the song .

I promise you.




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

*Billiam* ........  if you found that song to be tingly you should look at the original video that was with the song .





..... and if you like the music enough then play the cd which is also on Youtube .

They are Pink Martini . Best CD would be  ' A Retrospective ' .

I just think they are a very classy set-up.




Wasp

----------


## BKKBILL

Thanks Wasp did enjoy that one.

----------


## Wasp

Had a change of mind.



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Ive stolen stuff  !!!!

From *LEGENDARY* .



I have said from time to time that although I'm clearly something of a Design genius this Thread about *Missy*'s home is all about a Renovation.

Not a Build .

So I don't have the experience of constructing the fundamentals . 
And this in turn has meant asking very basic questions of you more serious builders from time to time . Especially the issue of putting a solid ' plug ' into the ground on which to stand the supporting pillars.

Now ..... in January I'll be in *Thailand* again after a 3 year absence and though I have strong doubts about living there I did promise to do an extension for *Missy* .

So I have to start with one of the very simplest of tasks ... making footings upon which to position posts .  
And if I am planning the wrong thing please do tell me . 

But I have been following  LEGENDARY s work and he has a video about constructing  Column Footers which is so clear that even this Dummy can understand . 
So my credit to Him as Ive stolen his material .

I'll refer to this stuff myself when I'm in Issan  In fact that's why I'm putting it here. But maybe someone wants to tell me its not the way to go . 

So how to make a solid Footer for a pillar to go onto .  


1.)  Get some reinforcing bar and get a handy Thai who has his own 'crowbar' and he will bend the bar into loops and bends .



2.)  Your handy Thai will then shape the bars into cages .





3.)     The cages are attached to a square of more rebar and then the whole thing is inverted into your hole in the ground .





4.)    Pour your cement /stones / concrete mixture into the hole .





5.)   Then cap it all off with a lovely level concrete topping .






 See !!  I can be serious . It IS a construction Thread ( sometimes ) .
But have I got things right and will this support a balcony and maybe a Q-Con room ? I think LEGENDARY went down 6 feet.


And at the same time ........ you peoples ..... I remember folks talking about different types of rebar . It wouldn't have occurred to me that there could be high and low quality rebar . All looks the same to me .
 So if an expert ( splitlid ? ) is able to tell me specifically what to insist on as spec for rebar then I'd be full of grate .




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Marty !!!!!



   You were wrong .






Wasp

----------


## FatOne

What? Where? How?

Anyhoo - that looks pretty much the way they did the footers for my house, so I guess it will work just fine. Ask me in 10 years if mine has fallen down.

----------


## Wasp

Marty " .....  Play Take me to your heart by "*Michael learns to rock*" for her, she will love it!!!! "


She didn't .



She's a tomboy. A thug . She only likes " Steps Up To Buddha Up Up High " because of the screaming vocals and guitar riffs . 
Not for its Romantic slow intro .
" Take Me To Your Heart " is a very Thai-style song ..... sweet and sentimental .


Wasn't a success .

I'm surprised she's not tattooed yet .




Wasp

----------


## splitlid

his put those in upside down ya know.
anyway, really the only person who can tell you what steel to use in your footings and what type are required will be the engineer who does the calculations for the house.

not having seen your final floor plan :Smile: 

the engineer will probably recommend something like.

dig down 1m or to solid ground.
insert steel footing 1.2m x 1.2m using 12mm rebar@200 cts.
add 200 x 200 columns using 6 x 12mm rebar with 9mm ring ties @ 100cts,
 pour concrete for footings, shutter columns to bottom of beams. Pour concrete.
and go from there.
but.......he could suggest something completely different.

----------


## Wasp

You're a good man *splitlid* .

Thank you .

*Missy* has only ever used ' cousins ' before ..... none of whom are engineers . They plant rice , catch frogs , catch fish , go cock-fighting , and build houses using string , estimation and nails to attach concrete masking pieces.

Thanks for this .



Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Waspy,

Sorry, my wife introduced me to "Michael Learns to Rock" - apparently they were huge all over Asia, so I thought most would love them. Maybe Stairway to Heaven is more her style

----------


## Wasp

This is the last Somchai Thaimes . 
It takes too long to do .... because there are not so many current Threads now .
Been scraping around to fill this one ( as you will see ).
So bye now to this idea .

Necron will be pleased .








Auf Wiedershein !!!






Wasp

----------


## 6kon

Wasp: thank for the news  :Smile:  and Merry Christmas to you. I think the sweede sounded more french though as in "Allo  Allo"  :Smile: 

6kon

----------


## terp80

:rofl:  Haha. Wasp. Again, well done, well done. These are great! When you say, "the last one", make it like Cher's "final" tours. Also, I'm happy to be an involuntary contributor to this fine publication.  :Very Happy:

----------


## cnx37

Wasp, after a holiday, you will be back for more.

How about a thread on renovations or improveements. If I was going to build again what would I have done differently?

----------


## Wasp

*6kon* ..... yes you're right .
But I've never met a Sweden person so I wasn't sure . 
Sounds like a Dutch Holland Netherland person to me .


*terp* .... Thank you .  But that's the end of The Somchai Thaimes . 
It takes me about 2 thousand and 6 hours to compile an issue and only 4 minutes to read it . With a readership of about Eleven I think .
And it bothers Necron and Neverna.
So no more .

cnx ..... I meant no more Somchai Thaimes. I still have a bit more to write in the Thread .





Wasp

----------


## BaitongBoy

Happy Holidays to you and yours, Wasp...Love the Christmaschai Thaimes...

Keep on keeping on!...

----------


## Wasp

Thank you *BongBoy*.

You're one of the Eleven !

My very best to you and yours for the *New Year* .


Anyway - What IS a Baitong ?
 I put it in Google Earth and its a Thai restaurant in Norfolk !!!!!




Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Hi Waspy, I'm one of the eleven!! Thanks for a good chuckle! Merry Xmas to all!!

----------


## BaitongBoy

Baitong is that game the Thais play in their sandpit with the metal balls they toss at a smaller object ball to see who ends up closer to score points...Kinda like bocce, which would be the Italian version...You can buy special sets of balls...And they would make a great weapon for "Prey-Youth" to throw instead of a banana...Heh...

Throwing balls toward a target is the oldest game known to mankind. As early as 5000 B.C. the Egyptians played a form of bocce with polished rocks... 

The Thais get very serious about this game and they are incredibly good at it...The spelling and pronunciation of baitong may vary...

Happy Holidays...

----------


## BKKBILL

Hey Wasp another one of eleven checking in, hope you had a great Christmas and all the best for new year. Seems that newspaper is increasing it's circulation. Good stuff

----------


## koman

This is very distressing news......the end of Somchai Thaimes???    Surely not...

I think the readership is much higher than you think.

Hope you and Missy had a great Kriss-mas.. and wish you a happy new year......full of possible, maybe, or maybe-not...non-construction... :Smile:

----------


## Ratchaburi

> Baitong is that game the Thais play in their sandpit with the metal balls they toss at a smaller object ball to see who ends up closer to score points...Kinda like bocce, which would be the Italian version...You can buy special sets of balls...And they would make a great weapon for "Prey-Youth" to throw instead of a banana...Heh...
> 
> Throwing balls toward a target is the oldest game known to mankind. As early as 5000 B.C. the Egyptians played a form of bocce with polished rocks... 
> 
> The Thais get very serious about this game and they are incredibly good at it...The spelling and pronunciation of baitong may vary...
> 
> Happy Holidays...


So it AKA Bocciboy  :smiley laughing:

----------


## BaitongBoy

^Whatsa matta for me?...Whatsa matta for you!...Heh...

----------


## stevefarang

Ha !   I spotted my pic right away.

And you don't want try those "fallang fish and chips" in Nakhon Pathom. They hard, like concrete !!   :Very Happy: 

Happy New Year Wasp !

Steve

----------


## Wasp

...........
If this morning you wandered out into your palatial gardens and set your eyes in the direction of Noble Issann you might have seen an almost ethereal glow in the sky .

For the Indolent Brother has been moved to be a bit more ‘ dolent ‘ and do a bit of work ! 
He was down to his last 3 Baht and an egg costs 4 Baht . So some drastic action was needed . And sadly that involved movement.

As it happens - some time ago *Missy* sent me an inspirational Skype message ….

  “ Chikkinzz eat man nexx door ”

    “ Man no happy ”

I remember feeling some sympathy for the consumed ‘ man nexx door ’ but it turned out he had not met a pecky death after all ! 

*Missy*’s gargantuan flock of about 5 ‘ chikkinzz ’ had wandered into his land and pecked at his ‘ veggybills ’ .
We solved the problem at that time by combining Missy’s flock with _his_ veggybills to produce a week’s worth of Tom Yam Chikkin . 

Everyone  was happy with that . Except maybe the chikkinz .

But since then IndolenceOnLegs has somehow acquired 8 chikkinz - probably for some work that he didn’t do.  
HeOfLittleMovement did help himself to one chicken for a crunchy sandwich and he counted the remains of the flock . ‘ Six ’ .  “ That’s about right ” ( Not a mathematician this brother --- not really much of anything .) 

Even HisSlothness was dimly aware that all was not right with the chicken numbers. 
The immediate neighbour Soonappalappachakkalakkaboomboomnapptingtongduttya  pointed out to TIB that she has a calculator……  and by judiciously inputting the data they realise that if you deduct from a flock of 8 chickens the one chicken used for a scraggy sandwich there should in fact be 7 chooks remaining . 


*Interruption* .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

....................  This mathematical discovery and the immense amount of brain juice expended in the maths operation made the God of Indolence take to his hammock . Where – during a brief spell of lucidity – it dawned on him that there really should indeed be 7 fowls a-laying and that the 7 had dropped down to 6 only after an unwelcome neighbour came awandering through the land .... not gathering Winter fuel at all but going to the shops , coming back through the open land to get home …… and being complicit in the disappearing of a chook !

Scandalous !!!

He almost tutted .
PLUS …the 6 remaining beasts have been smorgasbording on the veggybills nexx door again . 

In this way it has come about that we are spending 30 000 Baht on a wall to protect a flock of potential sandwiches worth about 720 Baht  !

It’s all of  doubtful value . 
The scurrilous toe-rag neighbour steals maybe one bird a fortnight so *Missy* will need to stop about 6 years of fowl thievery to recover the cost of the wall .  
And as HeWhoMustBeIndolent will have a hand in the wall’s construction its doubtful if the wall will even _last_ 6 years !  

But she wants the wall .
“ OK ….. Lessgo !! ” encourages Missy . “ Wott Your PIN agenn ? ”

And so it comes to pass that SiblingRigorMortis gets sent to poke some holes in the ground if he truly wants to reach his Dreams …… fulfil all that potential ……. be all that he can be …….. and get out there and buy that 4 Baht egg !






Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Wasp

The pictures are bigger than I wanted .



...............   and ......   _ Happy  New  Year  !!!!!!!_
.

----------


## Wasp

What can I say ?

It's a wall .




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

..... It's the bits and pieces left over from this wall that made us top up the wall at the side .
( Hence the two-tone wall and the desire to paint it . )
This wasn't a chikkin escape route or a pilfering neighbour pathway .











And the chikkin wall at the back got topped off .









For those of you who remember ..... the 'two-tone' wall is the one that ends way down there in a blue sliding gate that is the entrance to Wat Wasp from the neighbour's land.






..... and a Happy New Year again from us .





Wasp



**************************************************  **************************************************  **************************************************  **************************************************

----------


## BKKBILL

Seem simple enough paint it

Oh right that's the plan!

----------


## Wasp

Why izz you shouting at mee Guillaume ?

I smick you face wizz my froggy legzz .




LeWasp

----------


## BaitongBoy

> Soonappalappachakkalakkaboomboomnapptingtongduttya


I think you spelled it incorrectly...Heh...

----------


## Wasp

Well I'm glad you're paying attention there *BB* !

You're absolutely correct too !! I omitted a ' y ' .



Very Best Wishes for 2015 .



( *Missy* went to a tickets-only disco with 2 Thai friends . Expecting to get her face kissed off at midnight . 
There were about 2000 young women there and not a single bloke ! Laughed I did ..... until I actually felt sorry for them . 
Some nonentity pretty guy from a tv Soap Opera was appearing - hence the females and the total non-interest from the blokes . )

Best to you again .


Wasp



**************************************************  ******************

----------


## Wasp

Accident.

----------


## BaitongBoy

Happy New Year, Wasp...

Best wishes...

----------


## Wasp

Next week I'm going out to Thailand after a 3 year absence .

And limited money means I can't do much .
If you would like to lose all YOUR money just follow ' Wasp's Guide to Frenetically Casting Away your Savings ' .
This consists mostly of sitting around thinking about what to do with your small pool of liquid assets .
After much consideration some years ago I decided to be safe and just buy some shares . Nice , safe , solid shares . A BANK !!

*Barclays* .

Which yesterday in one day alone went down 1.8% !!

Anyhow, *Missy* is there already and she has been on Skype to tell me I needn't worry about having things to do because the house is falling apart !

So ...... repairs . But I have 2 questions for you good folks please .

1.   The balcony that the cousin built .

I spend a goodly amount of time here . But I wasn't there during its construction .
I know the Ground floor pillars were formed with rebar and shuttering before having Roman Kings wrapped around them .
However .... the pillars on the balcony which support the roof do not align with the Ground Floor pillars .

Is it possible ? Is it done .... that at the balcony level the pillars are simply standing on the floor WITHOUT rebar coming through from the pillars underneath ? Just standing roughly over the Ground Floor pillars and transferring the load down but not connected ?

They don't align ..... they just roughly align . Out by as much as 6 inches .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

And Question Number 2 is this .

During this visit I might be able to spend a few Bahts starting to go out at the side .
The most logical thing for me is to do the supports for the Front part and maybe even put a floor in place .







This however creates difficulties --- because ( much ) later I would want to continue out the back there .
Those cement floor slabs are usually hoisted into place by a great big hoisty thing .
And it would have no access .


So QUESTION ...... despite the inconvenience ...... is it feasible to offload such panels and carry them through to lay them in place ?  
AND - following on from Question 1 - do I need to leave rebar poking out of this floor here for future use or is it perfectly OK to simply stand preformed posts directly above the Ground Floor posts .


All of these decisions should be taken by the builder . 
But I have to ask because I was never happy with the quality of the work we got from *Missy*'s cousin and it's pretty difficult for her to insult her family and get someone else in . 
Even though she's now seeing the results of poor work.

So I'm going to be directing any work ( YES ! ME !!  Waspy The Builder !! Can he do it ? Well there's some doubt about that . ) ... and I want to know every little tiny bit before asking someone to dig a single hole .



Wasp

----------


## Stumpy

> Is it possible ? Is it done .... that at the balcony level the pillars are simply standing on the floor WITHOUT rebar coming through from the pillars underneath ? Just standing roughly over the Ground Floor pillars and transferring the load down but not connected ?


Waspy,
You could attach cement pillars to the next level floor by using the likes of hardened L type brackets and anchor bolting into both the column and the floor. HOWEVER it would not be the best most robust option. You can pull it off with wood because you support the wall with headers and other base supports. my concern attaching in the way I mentioned above is you have a roof bearing load on the column with little support/strength being they stand alone. What type of load will be on the columns?




> following on from Question 1 - do I need to leave rebar poking out of this floor here for future use or is it perfectly OK to simply stand preformed posts directly above the Ground Floor posts .


Yes on rebar. This way they can attach the upper post securely to the floor assuming the rebar is properly laid out on the cement floor. 

In the end the best approach is to have one column built with connecting rebar top to bottom. 

Hope that helps Waspy

----------


## Wasp

It does help .

If we get the side started there will be pillars supporting a roof . Not a heavy roof . Probably the lightest I can find . So probably aluminium .

Your guidance --- I appreciate .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

So I start the side . The first four columns are just supporting a floor so the y just get built whole .

The next four must be Double height as later there will be a room there .
I shutter and Concrete these up to the new floor and I leave about 8 feet of rebar pointing up to the sky until much later when we can complete it .

For how long can I leave that rebar waving around ?

Meaning .... will rust ruin it ?




CluelessW :Confused: asp

----------


## Stumpy

No worries on the rust Waspy. Rebar builds an oxide layer on it almost immediately after it has left the factory. Rebar is primarily made of unfinished tempered steel. Rust will pit it, make it look ugly but it would take years to degrade it to a point of not being able to be used.

----------


## Wasp

I hope one day I can buy you a beer *JP*.

Thank you .



A lot .




W.

----------


## Stumpy

> I hope one day I can buy you a beer *JP*.
> 
> Thank you .
> 
> 
> 
> A lot .
> 
> 
> ...


My pleasure Waspy, we all help each other in the build forum. Hopefully we can meet up some day.

----------


## Wasp

.
.

This thread ended 11 months ago after using every single photo that I could find .
To my great surprise I’ve found one more photo today – which was buried in an automatic Dropbox Upload – and it's worth putting in as it’s interesting.  :No:  :No:  

Well I think so . :Yup: 

Those with good memory will remember that Missy wanted a bikini built onto her home . ( A balcony ! ) . 
 I wasn’t there when they did it . 
My Bahts were there as my representative but I personally was absent and so I didn’t get to see how they did it.
 In this  one photo I can see they constructed some beams and then used a dirty big thing to lift precast panels into place . 






( This meant that the columns below did not continue on up through the second stage so they more or less ( heavy emphasis on ‘ less ’ ) aligned _freestanding_  Roman Kings sort of generally in place above the lower ones . Some were only as little as 4 inches out of line.) 




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Writing just to express my anger somewhere .

In that picture just there * ↑*  in the middle crouched down is our main man on the build .

Teep.


News from Thailand today ........ do I want to come out to Thailand for a wedding ?

Teep's daughter Oyy is getting married in 2 weeks time . 
 The wedding is the full thing ... Buddhist priests and too much noise and alcohol .


Oyy ..... is lovely .  Very very sweet and very pretty . 

The ( Thai ) groom is 18 .


Oyy ............................


is 14 .


FuriousWasp

----------


## splitlid

Shotgun wedding. Is she pregnant?

----------


## Wasp

No .  She's not pregnant .  And probably I should write about this elsewhere .
 She's 14 and she " loves " her boyfriend and if she marries him he gets to move into her room at home so she is going ahead and marrying .

Teep is dead against it .    Many tears .  But she'll walk out . And it seems to me that Thais will never ever throw a family member out so " What can we do ? "

If you or I touched  a 14 year old in Thailand we would be in jail very swiftly.

If I was the dad I'd use a machete on the guy and accept the jail term !


OK         I'm angry enough and it's not about construction so I'll leave it alone now.




DesultoryWasp  :Masked:  :Masked:  :Masked:

----------


## FatOne

Hi Waspy, I guess we can't judge the Thais by our standards, in our village many of the girls seem to get married and have kids at a ridiculously young age, or maybe it's the other way around, they get pregnant first, then get married! But it seems to be the norm, my neice in law recently became pregnant at 14, my wife was first married at 14. It's crazy, these children getting pregnant, but in most cases the grandparents bring up the children.

----------


## Wasp

This is such a particularly nice girl. 

You make me think though Marty . Maybe in a country where lots of people die in their 50s if you work back then 14 seems fairly OK.  
In England we don't blink at an 18 year old having a child. 
But if I disregard statistics -  this is a girl I actually know and she truly is a little girl who happens to look very nice . Mentally she's still a child . 
She comes and swims with us and she has a nice body. But it's not the body of a _woman_. She's just not a woman and I hate the thought of her becoming pregnant: a mother at 15 : and probably deserted at 15 too.

That's exactly the cause for so many girls going to the bars in Pattaya .

Missy - was arranged into marriage very young ( with her cousin - it's  like bloody India ! ) and she duly  had her daughter and her husband shipped himself back off to his mum .  The only work he does is when people drain their mini lagoons and he turns up to slosh around in the mud helping himself to a few fish which he'll sell to get cash for the cock-fighting . 
A professional mud slosher around.

So Missy had to wait until she was 30 before she could do the things that a 16 year old wants to  do ......Buy nice clothes instead of crap at Nakhon Nik Nik market  . Drinking Budweiser at a bar in London . Shopping in Guildford . Discos. Casinos ( with restricted cash allowance ). And she was lucky she got the chances.

And this girl will hand her babies over to her mother at 17 to go and get on the bus to a bar in Soi  Cowboy .

But it's such a well-trodden path and it's watered with many tears and loneliness.



Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Yes Waspy, it is a shame. And so often turns out badly. At that age how do they expect to know about love and life? By the time they are 20 something they have changed so much their husbands wouldn't recognize them. So many Thai men take mistresses or just leave. My stepson has just found out his girlfriend is pregnant, he is only 18, not sure how old she is but around the same age. Still way too young!! My God, have a bit of a life first!! My wife is not at all happy, apart from the fact she doesn't like the girl very much, but at least they know they have a refuge. They can always live at our place and we will look after them. Right now they are working in Bangkok.

----------


## Wasp

> They can always live at our place and we will look after them.


..... and that's a big part of the problem isn't it ? 

You can be as reckless - as stupid -- as you like in Thailand and the family will still always provide for you .

If I was 18  and my 18 year old partner became pregnant I know my dad would say " You made your choices . You made your bed - now lie on it "

I'm not saying it's right to be as harsh as that but I always knew that certain behaviours were unacceptable and that I would be left to deal with it myself . I created it myself so that is fair enough .

But in Thailand there are no punitive consequences from your family so the cycle of irresponsibility and its broken results continues. 




W :Mad: sp

----------


## Wasp

I used to stay on Soyy Buakhoww in Pattaya and I talked with a lot of bar girls ( Yeah Yeah Yeah !!! ) .  And I liked them . Those that hadn't been there too long were nice . They had mostly experienced the same story . A baby . A husband who took off . And they decided ( at maybe 17 )  to give up their life for their baby's future . With the hope of winning the Jackpot of marrying a German and moving to Hamburg.

Nowhere in their lives had there been any aspiration to avoid pregnancy , finish school and get a decent job.

Then again ...... Missy finished school at 12 years old .
One time we walked around _Big C_ and there you could see clean and tidy Thai females in company attire restacking shelves.
 In air-conditioned pleasantness apart from the music loop .

I memorised the lyrics of that bleeding loop : ♪♫"  Chann chann Cheeerr ..... Chann chann Cheeerr ...... Charr Geebunn  Dahh Stahhh♪♫ "♪ over and over .

I said to Missy how that would  be a nice simple job for her .( Stacking the shelves - not singing the blooody music loop. )

" Cannot work diss . "

" Why not ? "

Turns out only University Graduates could apply !!!!!!



Wasp :Nervous:

----------


## FatOne

At least he is prepared to try and be a man. He and his girl broke up after she argued with my wife. Then she went to Doc and found she was pregnant. He has now taken her to Bangkok, found a job and is taking responsibility, much to my wife's disgust! I still admire him for doing the right thing, or at least taking responsibility for doing the wrong thing! My wife is heading to Bangkok tonight to make sure they are OK. I have pleaded with her not to get into ant argument with the girl. You know how Thais are about respect for elders, she was OK with this girl, who has apologised, head on feet Thai style, but my wife still hasn't forgiven her.

----------


## Wasp

Marty .... I can see that my words can be read as referring _specifically_ to  you and your stepson .

They weren't .

The general situation where families close up as a safety net for any family misbehaviour is something I condemn . 

If the threat of unpleasant consequences is removed then what controls behaviour ?

Generally I mean.


Wasp in contrition.

----------


## Wasp

Well !!!


Surprisingly ...... there may be a  Thread coming !

A small one .

A Threadette .

And that will only mean something to those historic patrons of this Thread who know all about LadyPig and LadyBed and LadyMango and there's another one but she's LadyDead now  .... and the difficulties of having a house which is landloocked by hostile family.   
For you see LadyPig doesn't have a pig to her name any more and she wants a pig so she wants 10 000 Baht with which to purchase this pig .

Which means we have final clearance to make a cement road into Missy's property through the land of LadyPig and LadyDead as long as we front up a loan of 10 000 Baht knowing bloody well we will never see a Baht come back.

Still ....... scope here for a Thread on the construction of a 20 metre SuperHighway which has the added Bonus that the work is being assigned to  ...... - _THE INDOLENT BROTHER_ !!!!

♪♫♪ Hoorah Hoorah ! ♪♫

Let's see how this goes then !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Definitely looking forward to another of your wonderful building threads Waspy

----------


## Wasp

He quit on the second day !




Wasp

----------


## 6kon

> He quit on the second day !
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wasp



Did you pay him in advance?  :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

I'm surprised he lasted that  long !!

I didn't even pay him afterwards .



Wasp

----------


## draco888

amusing read!

----------


## Wasp

:Ponder:  The  Threadette  may not have entirely expired  after its one day .

It appears the useless brother has inserted two white sticks into the ground to mark his survey.  
One is a painted broom  handle so its about 4 foot  long  and the other is a painted stick from a Magnum . 

And now he wants 19 000 Baht for a guy with a digger to come and dig up a trench !

But I am suspicious .  :Suspect: 




Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Suspicious because it's such an odd amount .

You would think 20 000 Baht .

Or 15 000 .  Or 12 . But not 19 000 .   I mean what's that  ? 
Also - it's a trench that might be 4 metres long . 
Two guys - two shovels or whatever those Thai things are called . One day . 500 Baht each . So 1 000 . And some drinks . Total 1250 Baht . 
Maybe 1500 on a generous day.

Not 19 000 for an unnecessary digger .



Wasp  :Ponder:  :Ponder:  :Ponder:

----------


## FatOne

1000b for the digger, 18,000b for indolent bro in law

----------


## Wasp

I do remember this digger guy . 

Our ' builder ' was Theep ...... a self-taught builder who was absent  for most of his lessons and played truant for the rest of them .

I recall that on the day that the digger was coming we found Theep down on the ground with his ear pressed into the dirt .  
I thought he was listening for the rumble of an approaching heavy dirt digger.  
Was quite impressed with the ethnic skills ....  " Keemo Sabbay - big whiteman magic coming .  Heavy . "

But no .

He was judging whether the ground was level . He didn't own a Spirit Level yet.




TheLoneWasper

----------


## Wasp

OK ... There's not a lot going on in the Construction area .

But have you seen what's going on in the Thai Space Programme ?

It's phenomenal !!!!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/pD_yQZ4iNjY?rel=0



Wasp

----------


## bindog

^ That. Is disturbingly impressive.   :Scratchchin:

----------


## Wasp

:Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

Continuing an old theme that used to be a feature of this Thread ....... *Missy* has to work today so she's gathering a collection of music for background enjoyment .

I ask ..... " What is your number one song that you love ? "

" Stay Away Too Heavy ! "



Seems to be into heavy Rock.



Wasp

----------


## fishlocker

Has she heard The Long and Winding Road?  Lots of Asians love Beatles. Maybe they dig up a few on the path to your plot as it takes a twist and a turn around the family land.

I like how your threadette is taking off. Keep up the due diligence, wouldn't want you to feel the sting of the swarms.

----------


## Wasp

Village Life

One aspect of village life which I always have hated is the number of dogs .

The noise . The crap . The being bit by the slavering stinking beasts.

Always wondered why these dogs are so popular .......... but here is one reason .

This big snake found three days ago near the shack of the indolent brother .





........ and apparently killed by one bite from one fearless dog !

It provoked some movement into the indolent brother who instantly saw several meals in the deceased snake !  Yuck !







Wasp

----------


## Pragmatic

Not really worth starting a new thread so I thought I'd slip this in here. Today I came across a different way in which Thais do the foundations of a new build. I always believed/saw them brick the outer foundations before filling with soil and then concreting over for the floor. 
The way they've done it here is to form the footings in reinforced concrete up to 60-80cm above ground level. The front has been left open to allow trucks to tip in the soil which will then be finished off level by tractor then hand.

----------


## Wasp

.
_..... and a bit more village life_ -








Wasp

----------


## Wasp

_..... and the sadder side of village life ._



I wasn't sure where to put this .

Maybe in the recent fredwiggy nonsense . It's not really a Gallery of House Builds item . So maybe in this short village life section .

And it's an old story .  It's outside our village...... but within range of the shrieking temple funeral laments.  

Fallang spends money building a house . Finds family life and village life are not idyllic after all .
Big break-up .

House with furniture and air-conditioning goes up for sale.




2.6 Million.







But it's kind of nowhere.



Wasp

----------


## Pragmatic

I've seen it before. A guy, ex poster on here, built 2 houses here in the village determined to make it. Now lives in Pattaya in rented accommodation.

He built his first house but didn't like it. So that's why he built the second. Then he didn't like that.  :Confused:

----------


## Wasp

What I find sad is ' Who is going to buy it - really ? '

The Thais can't afford it and with that money they wouldn't build this house .

And a fallang can find a house like this anywhere he looks in Thailand . He's not going to come and live in this area so many miles from any familiar area - unless by chance he's already interested in this area .

And how likely is that ?


So it will fall apart under the tender auspices of the Thai family and the fallang says " bye " to his money .



Wasp

----------


## JohnG

I mentioned one of my neighbours doing something similar in Fredwiggy's thread.

Farang built dream house for self and b/f in his village on over 30 rai of land for 30 million baht - swimming pool, sauna, the works.

They split up, b/f went to France, farang fell on hard times and tried to sell.

No interest at all at 30, 25, 20, 15, 12 or 10 mill.  Finally one interested viewer at 5, but even if he had been interested a sale wasn't possible as it was still in the b/f's name and all he had was a non-transferable lease.

Eventually the b/f's family offered 3 mill rather than waiting for him to die and he took the offer.  3 mill for 30 rai plus what used to be a beautiful house.

Even in our area there's no shortage of locals who could afford 2.6 mill for a house, but unless its where they want it they're not going to buy it.

We're spending far more than we could ever hope to get back on our house, but it's what we want, where we want so re-sale isn't really a condideration.  An other farang's building a house for probably around 250,00 baht, and that's probably around what it would fetch if sold.   It all depends what you want to do with whatever you've got.

----------


## Wasp

I put this house in the Property Sale site ..... as its appropriate there .

I was asked how far from Korat is this house so I wrote a perfectly innocent answer .

And it got blocked !!!!!!

Writing now just to see if the same happens here for some strange reason.


Wasp

EDIT :  No . It showed up as usual .

So why does a Post saying " 20 km North of Korat " get blocked ?

----------


## Wasp

> ^ Heh...Those are a few interesting questions, Wasp...How have you been doing lately?...


Hello BB .

Lately ....... don't know. Feeling less inclined to return to Thailand I think . Doubting why I would want to be there . It could be the same place but expensive and I'd have no wish at all to be there .  So the attraction is still it being cheap .

People say " Ooh - it's a lot more costly now " . Well yes . But all that means is that someone labouring for you wants £10 a day now instead of £4 .   
That's still cheap though .

So going there just because it's cheap ?

No.

I need to have something to do every day . A purpose . And that's not drinking Leo all day.

So doing much thinking BB .   Maybe too much .



Wasp

----------


## Pragmatic

> So doing much thinking BB . Maybe too much .


 Farang tink too mut.




> I need to have something to do every day .


 I'm the same even though there's naff all for me to do. But it all boils down to the person. I always find something to do. Get a dog(s). Have children. Built a workshed. Go for walks. Go cycling. Etc etc. No such thing as 'nothing to do'.

----------


## VocalNeal

^^ One needs a mate nearby. Two guys can do nothing better than one?

----------


## Wasp

> I'm the same even though there's naff all for me to do. But it all boils down to the person. I always find something to do. Get a dog(s). Have children. Built a workshed. Go for walks. Go cycling. Etc etc. No such thing as 'nothing to do'.


☝☝ You're right of course . No such thing as nothing to do .  But I need more _shape_ to what I'm doing. Not wandering finding things to do .

Added to this is the heat which induces a lethargy so I see myself taking a book to the shade and snoring away the afternoon.  Like an old fallang ! 
And not at all what I want . 

And I apologise pragmatic but I hate dogs . All dogs . Every single last one of them .
 And children even more !

The workshop appeals .

The cycling and walking also as long as its in the grounds of the wat .The roads have too many pickup lunatics and teenagers on Honda Waves. 
We received some photos today of a pickup and a moateebye. 
The moateebye driver half way into the window of the pickup and his leg 3 metres away wearing a flip flop.


"_ farang tink too mut_ "


Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> ^^ One needs a mate nearby. Two guys can do nothing better than one?


☝☝  A mate nearby would be terrific . 
But there's only what you find there and there are a very few fallangs around .
Unfortunately they are alcoholic or recluses. 

Mostly both !



Wasp

----------


## JohnG

> Originally Posted by BaitongBoy
> 
> 
> ^ Heh...Those are a few interesting questions, Wasp...How have you been doing lately?...
> 
> 
> Hello BB .
> 
> Lately ....... don't know. Feeling less inclined to return to Thailand I think . Doubting why I would want to be there . It could be the same place but expensive and I'd have no wish at all to be there .  So the attraction is still it being cheap .
> ...


My God that's depressing!

If the only reason you'd like to be in Thailand is because labourers are cheap then you're in the right place  -  somewhere else.

After travelling the world (courtesy of HMG) I'm in the one place I want to be with the one person I want to be with, and in a month or two it'll be in the exact house we want to be in.

Most of our dogs haven't made it due to old age catching up on them, but we've still got one of the Bassets and a terrier and once we're settled in we'll get a couple more.

Farang neighbours?  Fortunately very few, none within walking / cycling distance, and none that I can't easily avoid ever seeing.

I sometimes wish I'd done some things a bit differently, but I'm glad I didn't because however much some things could have been better it would have meant I wouldn't be living with the most important thing in my life.

Some things could be better, particularly for Thailand at the moment, but  nothing's perfect and this is about as good as it gets (one of my favourite movies).

----------


## BaitongBoy

> So doing much thinking BB . Maybe too much .


I'm gonna do some more thinking before I get back to you on that, Wasp...But for some reason John McAfee's "exile" in Belize comes to mind...

An excerpt:

But the methodical pace of Adonizio’s scientific research couldn’t keep up with McAfee’s enthusiasm, and his attention seemed to wander. He began spending more time in Orange Walk, a town of about 13,000 people that was 5 miles from his compound. McAfee described it in an email to friends as “the asshole of the world—dirty, hot, gray, dilapidated.” He liked to walk the town’s poorly paved streets and take pictures of the residents. “I gravitate to the world’s outcasts,” he explained in another email. “Prostitutes, thieves, the handicapped … For some reason I have always been fascinated by these subcultures.”

There's a lot more to his story, but the place which he initially described as paradise ultimately drove him mad...

----------


## fishlocker

Unfortunately they are alcoholic or recluses. 

Mostly both !



That's believable. It's a wonder I can get along with myself.

----------


## FatOne

Dear Waspy,

I am very much looking forward to retiring in Thailand. I am sick of the rules and regs in my current home in Oz. The Govt gets involved in bl..dy everything. Sure we have good roads and footpaths because if someone trips or crashes they sue the council or govt, but I'd rather walk around the odd little shop sticking out on the path and not have the rules. I hope to travel a bit around surrounding countries and around LOS, good thing is travel is also much cheaper there. I am also pretty happy with the company of Thai and Farang friends in the village.Plus not only is the labour cheap but smokes and grog is so much cheaper. I look on LOS as similar to the Oz I grew up in, more easy going, less overbearing government etc

----------


## IsaanMan

@ Wasp

Enjoyed your Trials & Tribulations greatly.

Good luck building the M1 to the road - my wife's Grandparents (now deceased) house in the nearby village is also "house locked". In fact the photo of the lane-way looks almost identical. They never did mange to get it concreted (and the new Rellies in it use a wheelchair - donated by me after an unfortunate incident involving Leo and pavements). The Isuzu Dmax just fits through the house-gap (you can even leave the mirrors unfolded it is that wide....)

----------


## Wasp

> Enjoyed your Trials & Tribulations greatly.


Thank you Isaan Man .




> Good luck building the M1 to the road - my wife's Grandparents (now deceased) house in the nearby village is also "house locked". The lane-way looks almost identical. They never did mange to get it concreted


I fear unless I go out there and pretty much do the work myself it will never get done too.

Ladypig stopped Missy having a road and it came as a big surprise when she abruptly changed her mind .

I said " GET INTO ACTION --- NOW !!!!   Before she changes  her mind again ."

Bahts were distributed . Builders ( ??? ){ Relatives !!! } were engaged .  Standing around and drinking Leo was done . Food was purchased . 
The guy next door was looking over the wall giving suggestions. 
This guy has never been employed by anyone and for good reason - but he is always moaning he has no work and no money. So he was taken on board to hold the cigarette lighter.

A few duct things ( drain-water channel things were obtained ). 

Missy assured me her indolent brother would oversee things when we left .

I should have known better.

I bloody DID know better .

Now - two years later - those water ducts have disappeared as they were never cemented into place .
The only work done was that the ambitious village cretin from next door took his broom and moved maybe 20 small stones gracefully aside. 
He also used that company broom to thrash ( and steal ) a chook belonging to LadyPig who then transformed into *LadyMad* until we paid her the cost of a chicken and some whisky.

Funds have been disbursed - and it all looks still the same. Minus one chook .
I would add that someone somewhere has a nice new drain-channel in place but that is unlikely . Far more likely is that someone somewhere has a small pile of broken concrete drain channel units.

Read everything , Isaan Man .  Everything !



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Anyone who has read the early days of this Thread will know that the big negative about the location is that it is surrounded .

It's landlocked .

Originally it was a huge plot on the corner of 2 busy roads . 
When somebody or other died it was left to the children to share ( or subdivide ) and the dirty greedy daughters staked out plots all around the edges . 
 Leaving poor old Yeessipp with this larger plot but no access out of it !

*B*y convention ( and later by Court Case ) it was granted that access must be allowed ....... but if you are a shitty sister you can still make life bad by - for example - deliberately building a fire across the access entrance every morning . 
Burning off all the crud that your tiny Pig farm produces .

And that is what happened .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

Anyway ...............

............ with all of its difficulties Missy has still been able to get delivery vehicles into the place .
But it's not the greatest position to be in .  And all the shit neighbours causing problems --- are FAMILY !

However - an opportunity has come along . 

One of those surrounding plots has now come up for sale .  
The old lady there has died. Their only son decided a few years ago that driving his 49cc moatybike into a Sugar lorry might be an interesting activity . Leaving the old man wanting to clear off and live out his days alone by his fishing pond somewhere .

And it produces a question for you - please ?

I remember people in here saying you can get a decent price for an old Thai timber home . People want to take them and strip them down for the timber content .

It is relevant to our buying this guy's land ..... how much can you get for such a house ? Attaching here is a photo of a very similar house . 
I haven't got his house but this one is a bit of a twin .
It's quite large .  

I know no-one can give me a price just like that - but before we proceed it would be useful to get the roughest of a rough indication of a likely(ish) value .

*A*nyone ?





With Appreciation .

Wasp

----------


## Norton

Dated but this might help.

https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...ml#post2313459 (Traditional Wood buildings)

----------


## Wasp

> Dated but this might help.
> 
> https://teakdoor.com/construction-in-...ml#post2313459 (Traditional Wood buildings)


Thank you Norton .

I had a look . 
I see that 5 years ago Ben paid 125 000 B for a rice barn just to get all that timber and the posts .
Mind you he had to go through a Middleman so maybe the seller got 100 000B.

Now - in 2017 - I would think that's not expensive for someone to buy this . 

I'll keep that figure in mind for a little while .

Thank you.


Wasp

----------


## Norton

Monks at local wat built 3 dwellings using reclaimed wood. I'll check tomorrow where they got it and what it cost. Think much was donated.

----------


## crackerjack101

> Anyway ...............
> 
> ............ with all of its difficulties Missy has still been able to get delivery vehicles into the place .
> But it's not the greatest position to be in .  And all the shit neighbours causing problems --- are FAMILY !
> 
> However - an opportunity has come along . 
> 
> One of those surrounding plots has now come up for sale .  
> The old lady there has died. Their only son decided a few years ago that driving his 49cc moatybike into a Sugar lorry might be an interesting activity . Leaving the old man wanting to clear off and live out his days alone by his fishing pond somewhere .
> ...


I bought something a bit, I say again, a bit, similar, about 10 years ago and had it transported 10km to our land and rebuilt.

Cost us 60,000 to buy the houses and a further 60,000 to have it rebuilt on site.

About a week spent negotiating with the various authorities to permit us to move it from one village to another.

Also point to note, it was quite good quality wood.

Some of the older members might remember the construction thread that once existed.

So firstly, what kind of wood is it and what kind condition is it in?
Secondly, is it planks, panels or what? When they dismantle it to move it what will you be moving? If it can be taken down in panels it's good.

n.b. remember to soak the entire structure for at least 48 hours before you start dismantling. If you don't it'll split and crumble.

Now, assuming you've got your permissions, official or otherwise, who's going to break it down and, more importantly, are you going to rebuild it or use it in pieces?

If you're going to rebuild it see if you can find the old fella who built it the first time. If you can get him onside to oversea the dismantling and rebuilding you're on a winner.

If your using it as "wood" i.e. taking it to pieces and using the lumber I'd strongly recommend your wife/partner/trusted relative/close personal Thai friend is there to oversee and account for every bit.

Did you know that wood has the capacity to become invisible, warp the time continuum and vanish. Reappearing mysteriously in an unknown garden months later only to be sold back to you at an inflated price.

So, after all that, are you just going to buy the land and flog off the wood?

or, are you going to make something of the house?

Over to you, i'm babbling..

pip pip

----------


## crackerjack101

I've just had a closer look at your photo.

I'm sorry to say that I doubt it's worth very much at all.

What are the floor planks like?

----------


## Wasp

> I've just had a closer look at your photo.
> 
> I'm sorry to say that I doubt it's worth very much at all.
> 
> What are the floor planks like?


Well - thank you ... especially for the longer answer . 
I didn't know there was so much trouble involved .

I'm not there right now so I can't testify to the quality  of the wood or lack of quality . They all look the same to my eye . Bloody awful .

The intention would be to buy the land and immediately sell off the house . Break the wall between the two plots. Clear everything so we have a full clean plot leading from the present site out to a four-lane main road . 
I'm going to guess its maybe 20m wide frontage onto the road . 30m from the road to the present wall . 
Logical to put a commercial premise on the front as there's a major Bus Stop outside ...... and of course a sealed lane through to the present house. 

Returning to the timbers ..... these people have never had money so I would guess it was cheapish wood when they built .
But I had the impression that its an in-demand product now . Trim the ends , plane it clean et cetera ?



Wasp

----------


## crackerjack101

> The intention would be to buy the land and immediately sell off the house . Break the wall between the two plots. Clear everything so we have a full clean plot leading from the present site out to a four-lane main road .


Excellent plan.




> these people have never had money so I would guess it was cheapish wood when they built .


Not necessarily true. Back in the day teak and the like was what they had and that's what they used. If, by any stroke of good fortune, you've got a few decent planks it's money in the bank.

Anyway, regardless of the house, from what you've described it would seem that buying the plot is an absolute necessity. 
What kind of title has it got?

Regardless, in your position I think I'd be buying so as to consolidate the property and then sit on it for a while and let the dust settle.
I probably wouldn't knock down the wooden house for a while. Just let things settle in the minds of the folk around you.

Slowly slowly TIT.

----------


## Wasp

Don't know any details . 

Missy is out there and she was negotiating to put a sealed surface onto the path that we presently use .

It's that gap there between awkward LadyPig and stroppy LadyMango .




It became urgent to get on with this . The path becomes a mud slop trail when the rains come.
Also it's looking like LadyPig will soon become LadyDead so Missy wanted to do the work . 
But now she has been approached by the old guy offering to sell his block . And he wants 3 million ........... because it's direct onto such a busy road .

And I'm humming numbers in my head . 

It's Issan . It's not the most gorgeous part of Thailand . But it's a very busy road and there's the Bus Stop .

Is that worth 3 million ?

Thank you *crackerjack* .


Wasp

----------


## crackerjack101

bloody hell! 
3 million! Seems extortionate.
how big is it? 
what kind of title has it got?
what would be the size of the combined plots?

----------


## crackerjack101

> It became urgent to get on with this . The path becomes a mud slop trail when the rains come.
> Also it's looking like LadyPig will soon become LadyDead so Missy wanted to do the work .


Could you actually get a vehicle down there?
Could you get a truck down there if you're building?

I might have this wrong but I believe you have to leave a meter gap from neighboring buildings. Now, if that applies to road building you're stuffed.
Might be worth checking out.

Mate, I hate to say it but I think I'd be looking elsewhere.

----------


## crackerjack101

> Also it's looking like LadyPig will soon become LadyDead


Could you get her plot?

----------


## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> It became urgent to get on with this . The path becomes a mud slop trail when the rains come.
> Also it's looking like LadyPig will soon become LadyDead so Missy wanted to do the work .
> 
> 
> Could you actually get a vehicle down there?
> Could you get a truck down there if you're building?
> 
> ...


*Y*ou can get a pick-up down there . Tight but it does turn the corner at the end .

We can get a truck onto the land by going across one decent friendly neighbour 's land .

The point here though is that Missy and her Dad are well-established in this location . So this plot is of interest only for two reasons  . 
It opens up easy access from their landlocked plot and it's a chance to build where there are hundreds of people passing so Missy gets to ask every one of them where they are going or where they've been . 
At present there's no passing people for her to harass in that way .

We wouldn't look elsewhere. 
We would simply put in a nice solid road between *M*ango and *P*iggy . String up some lights . Couple of lamp posts . Really piss them off !



Wasp

----------


## crackerjack101

sounds good mate. Go for it.

----------


## bindog

Three million seems waaaay over the top.  My wife's sister had a gambling debt and my wife bailed her out - bought her chanoted little Isaan village house off her for the going rate, which was 50k baht.  (Wifey is letting her nephew buy it back in instalments)

Wifey's village land is a lot smaller than "dead lady's", but I reckon 3 million is very much the Farang price. I have heard that they can really screw you down though when you need to buy land off them for access, you don't have to be Farang for that. 

We're thinking of selling eight or nine rai at the front of our land for about that much actually.  Just outside Buriram, has a deep pond, and the back half is well tree'd and shaded.  Govt electricity has just reached the land too.   I'd sell it to you Wasp, but, well, having a Farang next door would impact on the reclusive alcoholic haze I have planned for my retirement.   :Nana:

----------


## Wasp

> Three million seems waaaay over the top. 
> 
> 
> We're thinking of selling eight or nine rai at the front of our land for about that much actually.  Just outside Buriram, has a deep pond, and the back half is well tree'd and shaded.  Govt electricity has just reached the land too.   I'd sell it to you Wasp, but, well, having a Farang next door would impact on the reclusive alcoholic haze I have planned for my retirement.


*M*issy has just returned from her first ever trip to Buriram - and she liked it .


*H*ow can I ever know what is a fair price ?  People next door to that block valued theirs at 7 million !!!!
But you can value it at 200 Million if you want to . Doesn't mean anyone's a buyer for that . 
Its the location of course . A great location for _say_ a 7/11 .... a diminutive one .


*T*wo years ago someone local here heard how I like taking a canoe thing out on the river just for the exercise . 
And how farangs like having a house on the water .


 " Can buy my land next water ".

 "_ OK - How Much ?_ "

 " 60 Thousand ."

 " _Yes . OK . I will buy it ._ "

 " Ohh !!!  Too quick !!  Iss money more . 100 Thousand ."

 " _OK OK - but that's it . No more ._ "

 " Hmmm - no want to sell . "

_FFS !_



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

.............  and this came to an end .

With abruptness.

Found out that the owner - not all that long ago - had to sell up for quite different reasons and he sold it for 1.5 million Baht . Just enough to clear all his debts .

The Chinese new owner immediately put his price of 3 Million on it . Hoping to get perhaps 2.7 .

So I offered him his 1.5 and he put the price up to 3.4 !!! 

Missy is giving up on this . 
Fortunately to one side there is a completely decent neighbour who has always said we can use her land to enter. We are thinking she will be pleased to allow a roadway if we also build her a wall . We'll extend the roadway up to her house so everyone will do ok out of it all.







Wasp

----------


## FatOne

Sounds like a better ( and much cheaper) plan,mate

----------


## Wasp

> Sounds like a better ( and much cheaper) plan,mate


*T*he thing is , Marty ..... ownership .

If that plot was acquired it would be the end of the small but annoying dependence on other people  .
You can see a red dotted path on that rough plan ( and a photo of it in Post #643 *↑*  ).

*T*hat's the entry for a pickup at present and we had to get legal confirmation . But it doesn't stop the old Pig from dumping her crap all over it and blocking it.

You're right that  we should now go for that neighbour's kindness - but she won't sell us the strip .  
We can make a concrete road and have access but the ownership is still missing . Always dependent on good relations.

See that LadyMango land ? 
The same strip moved 3 metres right would be perfect there and we would close the dotted route . 
MangoFeatures owes a lot of money to a lot of people but she will NOT sell us a short strip there !

Out of bloodymindedness.



Wasp

----------


## crepitas

hmmmm:

..think it is law that you must have a right of way to your property..not that ...
As to the muddy 'road', perhaps a few tonnes of sand/gravel and rocks may answer? Graded to runoff to miss piggy's property..55

----------


## FatOne

Family! Who needs 'em?

----------


## Wasp

It's been a long time .........

----------


## Wasp

*3* years since I was in Thailand .  
I've requested 4 times that this Thread of mine be deleted because bloody *Photobucket* removed all the photos and destroyed the story .  The mods simply would not delete it and I still don't understand why .

*A*nyway ....... next week I'm going back for a while .

Last year Missy was there and though she is thoroughly Thai she was phoning  and moaning that it was too hot .  
So it will certainly be too hot for me .  And though we can buy ' things ' ...... even air con ..... it's not a good expenditure because as soon as we depart the *Indolent Brother* will do a Lazarus and move at the speed of a Solar Photon ( which is quite quick ) and he will remove any such stuff to his fleapit .  He will break it of course . 

The biggest source of heat problem is one particular wall facing straight at the sun for all of the hottest part of the day .
So I've been thinking about this ......... putting wooden battens on the outside of the wall , placing big sections of insulation foam between the battens - and then covering it all with those compressed planky-looking things that resemble strips .

An alternative is to do all of that on the INSIDE of that wall and covering it up with Gyprock panels and plaster .

Which would be more effective ?  In anyone's experienced opinion ??
What I'm thinking is that it's much easier to work indoors but that wall will get just as hot so the insulation has a battle .
Whereas its more work on the outside but the wall will not get so hot ....... so which way wins ?



Wasp

----------


## Klondyke

> putting wooden battens on the outside of the wall , placing big sections of insulation foam between the battens - and then covering it all with those compressed planky-looking things that resemble strips .


This is definitely the easiest, cheapest and fastest way. I did it on a single wall exposed to afternoon sunshine, it can be finished within 1 -2 days. 
And no mess inside/outside. And it really has helped, the inside block wall temperature equivalent to inside wall of a double block wall with a gap in-between, hence Cool Thai House.

----------


## Neverna

How long are you going back for Wasp? It's the cool season now so it's not hot so if your holiday is fairly short, you don't need to spend lots on trying to keep cool. It's pleasantly warm during the day time and pleasantly cool at night. No need for air-con.

----------


## HuangLao

Some never acclimate to tropical climes, regardless.
Think too much. 

Occasional part-timers need not apply.

----------


## Wasp

> How long are you going back for Wasp? It's the cool season now so it's not hot so if your holiday is fairly short, you don't need to spend lots on trying to keep cool. It's pleasantly warm during the day time and pleasantly cool at night. No need for air-con.


*W*ell *Nev* my best oldest buddy , you must be *well* acclimatised .
I'll be there 7 weeks . The only other times that I was there was always the same ...... January February . And I find it unbearable from 10:30 am until about 4 o'clock .   I have probably 6 cold showers a day and I drink maybe 12 cans of chilled tonic water .
 If they came in Packs of 14 I'd drink 14.
Even *Missy* was Skyping me back in England last January to say she couldn't sleep because of the heat .
There's a window in that wall . 
Put your hand on it in the afternoon and you can't keep it there it's so hot .  The walls are* s*ingle block and they keep the heat a LONG time .   If I was staying I certainly would have at least a room set aside with air con or maybe the whole house . 
So if this is the cooler time in Thailand I wouldn't get through the hotter times .



Wasp

----------


## Wasp

> Some never acclimate to tropical climes, regardless.
> Think too much. 
> 
> Occasional part-timers need not apply.


*Nothing* to do with thinking too much .
Everything to do with there being a lot of heat and no breezy winds to move it around.

----------


## Wasp

> This is definitely the easiest, cheapest and fastest way. 
> I did it on a single wall exposed to afternoon sunshine, it can be finished within 1 -2 days. 
> And no mess inside/outside.   It really has helped .  The inside block wall temperature is equivalent to the inside wall of a double block wall with a gap in-between, hence Cool Thai House.



*Thank* you for your answer *Klondeee* .

Applying my mind to this I did think that there might be more effect by putting this on the outside .... just as you say . 
*D*isadvantage being it is exposed to torrential rains and plagues of locusts . Next time there is such a plague .  
It just FELT that preventing so much sunshine getting onto the wall might be more cooling than letting the wall get hot and having a barrier on the inside .

If you did exactly this ...... how thick is your insulation material ?


Wasp

----------


## HuangLao

> *Nothing* to do with thinking too much .
> Everything to do with there being a lot of heat and no breezy winds to move it around.


Some are easily annoyed by seemingly exotic surroundings.

Why bother.

----------


## Wasp

> Some are easily annoyed by seemingly exotic surroundings.
> 
> Why bother.


*Nothing* to do with exoticism .
*Everything* to do with a stultifying heat that the Thais also dislike .

----------


## Klondyke

I used just 1" thick polystyrene white foam in-between 1" thick wooden batten. And the WPC planks. Even if the rainfall gets on it - the roof is well overlapped and it is not watertight - the water will flow thru. 




BTW, the disadvantage of Thai Cool House: Last week the temperature has dropped under 10 deg at night, so the walls do not let any heat in from the daytime sunshine  :Smile:  . To the double-block wall a double sweater is needed...

However, it does not bother me: I have my fireplace in full steam every evening...

----------


## Wasp

Hmmmmm .......   Insulation PLUS air conditioning I see !

I can quite understand the one disadvantage of occasionally being a bit cool .  Which is fine by me but* Missy* certainly don't like cool .

Thank you *Klond* .


Wasp

----------


## bindog

My local (government) hospital here in Oz has recently opened a new wing, several stories high.  On the outside of the walls they have some steel / alloy mesh stuff, with space between the mesh and the actual walls.  Some non-conductive attachment material in there too I'd imagine to avoid heat transfer.  The air in the gap - and it would be a 300mm - 500mm gap from memory - would act as a buffer / insulation against the sun shining on the wall.  

Quite clever I thought - simple method that would save a bit of electricity for the aircon.  Sounds like your wooden battens?  

I'd give you a Google link to the hospital but Streetview is not up to date, it only shows the beginnings of a construction site.

----------


## Wasp

> My local hospital here in Oz has recently opened a new wing.
>  On the outside of the walls they have some steel / alloy mesh stuff, with space between the mesh and the actual walls.  Some non-conductive attachment material in there too I'd imagine to avoid heat transfer.  The air in the gap - and it would be a 300mm - 500mm gap from memory - would act as a buffer / insulation against the sun shining on the wall.  
> 
> Quite clever I thought - simple method that would save a bit of electricity for the aircon.  Sounds like your wooden battens?



Hi *bind* .

     I can't picture that system but it sounds interesting.     But it's not like the wooden battens .  The battens would be flat on the wall .
 No 300mm space behind them to the wall.   I would love to SEE it .   But you make me think . 
 Maybe just have a Venetian Blind system well away from the wall .

*Klondyke* said he had an occasional time when the permanent cover on the walls made it a bit TOO cool so Maybe I need to be more flexible .

Thanks again ....... and Happy New Year also !!!!


Wasp

----------


## bindog

> Hi *bind* .
> 
>      I can't picture that system but it sounds interesting.     But it's not like the wooden battens .  The battens would be flat on the wall .
>  No 300mm space behind them to the wall.   I would love to SEE it .   But you make me think . 
>  Maybe just have a Venetian Blind system well away from the wall .
> 
> *Klondyke* said he had an occasional time when the permanent cover on the walls made it a bit TOO cool so Maybe I need to be more flexible .
> 
> Thanks again ....... and Happy New Year also !!!!
> ...


Happy new year to you too.    :Smile: 

Yeah, my Isaan in-laws have been bitching about the cold recently - posting LINE app photos of themselves wrapped in blankets.  But it has been pretty chilly.  

I grew up in Northern Australia.  Winter was the two weeks of the year we wore long pants.  BRRRR!   :Very Happy:  

Dropped in to my local hospital to take photos of what I meant, but it is not as I remember.  I must have seen the framework in place prior to the cladding going on.  What is there looks identical (same colour even) to the 'Exterior Sunshade Terracotta Ceramic External Wall Tiles' provided by this manufacturer:  


https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta....37b8834k2mV75


What I was remembering was more like this: 


I worked in an office complex that had similar to the latter, they are effective and don't effect the outlook much at all - we soon got used to looking "though" them.  I've seen similar small-scale slightly-off-the-wall shade devices for houses somewhere too, might have been on an "eco house" website or similar.  It was more a mesh / arty / feature wall type of thing attached to the west-facing wall, not so much the "industrial" one as in my photo.

Well, I cannot get the formatting right after adding the photos, it's all over the shop.  Meh.

----------


## bindog

The 'Houzz' website is a good source of ideas, so many photos.  I can just never seem to pin down my search terms.  Again, meh.  

Searched for 'exterior sunshade'.  Lots of shade sails etc., but there are some cladding-type ideas.  Some of them ugly enough to be right at home in a Thai village too!    :Wink:  

https://www.houzz.com.au/photos/quer...unshade/nqrwns

----------


## Wasp

*TWO* WEEKS wearing long pants !     Poor you .   I grew up in Northern England .  *M*ore like TEN MONTHS wearing long pants with long pants underneath !
Used to wake up and find ice on the INSIDE of the windows .    And I loved it !  I can breathe .  It's the same feeling you get when you are in Thailand and you walk into a chilled 7/11 .*  Lovely* .    The heat just makes me drink and sleep .

These pictures ..... EXCELLENT .

Thank you for going to the trouble .  *T*here's no point asking people and not listening so when Klondike ( and your family ) say they get a bit cool I must allow it can happen and I'm inclined now to these Venetian Slat things .

Thank you again .


Wasp

----------


## Neverna

What's the roof like, Wasp? A lot of heat can come through the roof in Thailand.

----------


## Norton

> exterior sunshade


Trees and shubs work well for me.  :Wink:

----------


## Wasp

> Neverna[/COLOR];3688763]What's the roof like, Wasp? A lot of heat can come through the roof in Thailand.



I haven't given any attention to the roof .

That wall to which I refer ..... is as hot as a brick pizza oven and the glass windows are phenomenally hot .

Obviously the glass does cool ...... but the brick wall stays hot well into the night.

My logic says to me that surely any heat on the roof is going to rise up , up and away ?
Inside the room there is a rather nice false ceiling of plasterboard with spotlights so there is a gap between that and the roof . 
The roof is not metal .... so all in all I'm not thinking to do anything there .        
Do something about the wall and window and then see how things are , I think .


Wasp      PS   Re: Trees and Shrubs .   This is all on the 1st Floor .  Trees and shrubs are not possibles though they'd be pleasant.

----------


## HuangLao

> Trees and shubs work well for me.


And the wonderful advantage of a huge variety to select from....

----------


## Klondyke

> My logic says to me that surely any heat on the roof is going to rise up , up and away ?
> Inside the room there is a rather nice false ceiling of plasterboard with spotlights so there is a gap between that and the roof . 
> The roof is not metal .... so all in all I'm not thinking to do anything there . 
> Do something about the wall and window and then see how things are , I think .


Wasp, you are quite right about the heat of the roof, but not entirely: Once the roof is of a ceramics material (waves or the earthen tiles) it absorb the heat from sunshine radiation (even if cloudy) and forward it kindly downwards as a infra-red heating (unlike the metal sheets that reflect the radiation away).  

I was once surprised when climbing under the roof early morning and the heavy tiles were already very warm, heating up also the steel construction, cannot touch. Of this could be made use by installing water pipes leading to bathroom and kitchen closely to the roofing, thus getting the water warmed up under its way.

So, the heat radiation from the roof contributes to the heat in the room since the plaster ceiling does not insulate much. And once there is not much air exchange under the roof, the heat is locked up there quite long till late evening.

A simple remedy (I did also): get old cartons from the waste collecting shops (or directly from the shops 7/11) and install the cardboards easily under the roof tiles, using bamboo sticks inserted under the roof steel construction. Or something better such as polysterene foam. This helps a lot, the difference can be felt on own body when standing there under the insulation and under no insulation.

Then, an additional improvement: old newspapers (once read already - does it still exist in the family - or only Internet?) can be spread up freely onto the ceiling - not just one sheet, once folded package they are very good insulator. Then it is advisable, not to smoke there nervously when escaping from the wife and hiding there... :Smile:

----------


## Wasp

*I* remember reading in other threads how people installed extractor fans to that space .   *D*idn't remember why *t*hey did it .   Now I understand .

*In* standard Thai fashion I'll be very surprised if they left any* a*ccess to the ceiling space .  
I'll be there next week so I'll have a look and if it's possible to get it up there I think I'll buy some insulation with a reflective side and put it up there . *Pr*esumably reflecting upward ?  Must feel the ceiling at the height of the day too and see if its hot ..... and must see if there is any air exit vent . 
Or snake entry . I know there's a big fat gecko thing up around there who appears in the evening . You speak to him and he says something that sounds like 'Fuck Off' .   Not a very civil gecko that one.

*I* don't really want to go back .  I convince myself that I don't really like Thailand then when I go I usually have a better load of fun there than here .
I've had air tickets and simply not gone - twice .   But I'll go .   If there is enough work to do I'm OK.

Thanks *Klondyke* .



Wasp

----------

