#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Construction in Thailand >  >  Farm House near Nong Bua Lamphu

## LEGENDARY

We're building a one-room, one-porch elevated farm house in the middle of 9 rai of khao nio. I've begun posting pictures, video and stories about the build at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village. Here's how it starts:

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## misskit

^ Who dat?  :Smile:   Looks very much like a good friend of mine.

Looking forward to seeing your project through.

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## Nicethaiza

who in your pics^^ wait to see your house^^

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## LEGENDARY

I'm sorry. I'm not good with labels, sometimes. That's my wife Thiphawan (Thip), who spent a decade with me in Santa Barbara before we retired to her village not far from Nong Bua, three years ago.

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## LEGENDARY

Second installment goes into some of the history of shacks on our farm, what used to be 17 rai which is now down to 9: 

THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village: Bann Nah 2

Another shot of my wife with her motosai, on the pad. Cement posts at her feet, klong in the background:

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## Yasojack

Just out of interest why did you give your land to the temple?

Chedi- stupi

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## LEGENDARY

> Just out of interest why did you give your land to the temple?
> 
> Chedi- stupi


Thanks for your interest. Our head monk, who also is a family member, wants to build a chedi in honor of his father, a deceased monk. He was going to build it inside the temple compound, but there's just not enough room. Plus, it is customary for people to visit chedi's without necessarily visiting monks, so the monks' privacy would be somewhat disturbed by the stuppa being inside wat grounds.

So, initially my wife and I donated two rai our of 17 that we have, directly opposite the temple gates, across the road. The first picture I posted here shows the perspective well. In the distance, the red multiple roofed building center right is the temple.

We discovered that that would not be enough land for the chedi, so we decided to donate an additional two rai and sell four (at special temple prices) in order to have funds to relocate out into the rice fields and have some money to begin construction of what is turning out to be our country home. It was all upper land that we donated/sold, with a little bit of rice field, so the yearly family rice yield will not be lessened by much.

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## LEGENDARY

Third installment of the genesis and construction of our farm house in the middle of _khao nio_ paddies, features a video I shot and put together showing the take-down of "Love Shack II",  movement of the wood to the middle of the farm, and creation of the pad: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village

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## Yasojack

Good for you rep amongst the villagers.

look forward to the build, would love to live in the Paddies, though hate mossies.




> Originally Posted by Yasojack
> 
> 
> Just out of interest why did you give your land to the temple?
> 
> Chedi- stupi
> 
> 
> Thanks for your interest. Our head monk, who also is a family member, wants to build a chedi in honor of his father, a deceased monk. He was going to build it inside the temple compound, but there's just not enough room. Plus, it is customary for people to visit chedi's without necessarily visiting monks, so the monks' privacy would be somewhat disturbed by the stuppa being inside wat grounds.
> ...

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## LEGENDARY

Amazingly, the _nyoong_ population is not overwhelming out in the middle of the rice fields. I think they are kept somewhat at bay by the other insects who eat them. I have more mossies at my village house than I do on the pad!




> Good for you rep amongst the villagers.
> 
> look forward to the build, would love to live in the Paddies, though hate mossies.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...

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## LEGENDARY

Parts 4 and 5 are now posted. Part 5 includes a five minute video showing phase 1 of the power lines being strung out to the pad: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village

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## Wasp

Why don't you just post your build story here ?

A lot of people ( ME ) won't be prepared to go looking for it .

Honestly .

But a LOT of people will be interested .


If it's HERE !



Wasp

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## Stumpy

> Why don't you just post your build story here ?
> 
> A lot of people ( ME ) won't be prepared to go looking for it .
> 
> Honestly .
> 
> But a LOT of people will be interested .
> 
> 
> ...


I agree. Its easier for s to just browse from the TD window.

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## LEGENDARY

> Why don't you just post your build story here ?
> 
> A lot of people ( ME ) won't be prepared to go looking for it .
> 
> Honestly .
> 
> But a LOT of people will be interested .
> 
> 
> ...





> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> Why don't you just post your build story here ?
> 
> A lot of people ( ME ) won't be prepared to go looking for it .
> 
> Honestly .
> 
> ...


Good to know, thanks. Going forward, will copy complete contents here.  :Beerchug:

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## Stumpy

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> 
> Why don't you just post your build story here ?
> 
> A lot of people ( ME ) won't be prepared to go looking for it .
> 
> Honestly .
> 
> ...


Great!

Cheers

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## FatOne

I look forward to reading! I too am too slack to follow a link

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## Wasp

" Good to know, thanks .  Going forward, will copy complete contents here. "



Good Man  :Yup:   !!!!

Everyone likes a construction Thread .




Wasp[/FONT]

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## Neverna

( What does NBL mean ? )

^ Read the thread title and you should be able to work it out for yourself.

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## LEGENDARY

Out at our larger rice farm, once the pad was completed (November 2013), we let it sit. Normally, you dont want to build on a newly dumped dirt pad unless it has time to settle. In Thailand, that usually means at least one full rainy season and then some. When we were ready to move ahead, this past summer  eight months after the pads creation  it was still somewhat soft. Our head monk Lungpaw Boon Long suggested we sink column footers from the top of the pad to the bottom and thats what we did.

Lott and Naht dug vertical tunnels from the top of the pad to where the top of the rice field used to be, below; about six feet. Then, they wired-up rebar cages and sunk these into the holes. In the holes, they then dumped cement and gravel to create custom column footers nearly the depth of the pad.

Heres some video I shot showing some of the fabrication of the rebar cages, their preparation for transport, concrete and gravel mixing at the construction site, placement of the cages in prior-dug vertical tunnels and late afternoon rain clouds moving in:

2014-08_cfooters on Vimeo


On top of the column footers, the cement posts that would end-up supporting the house above ground were placed (viewable at: 2014-08_p-ceremony on Vimeo). Again using rebar, Lott and Naht wrapped the posts to the column footers and cemented over the area to effectively bond the posts to the column footers.




But, Im getting a little ahead of myself, here. Before the cement posts could be set ontop of the cement column footers, there had to be a ceremony

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## LEGENDARY

A little like a barn raising, the Thai-Lao Buddhist ceremony for raising posts on a new home is not only practical, but is also shrouded with religious ceremony. Its a chance to wish the future occupants well in the home that will be built. Since you already have a bunch of guys present to do the heavy lifting, its also a perfect time to eat and celebrate.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mJtD0G5FMoM/VGhtT7dedzI/AAAAAAAAJn0/FzPK_HvHe4w/s1600/2014-0813c.JPG

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OGE6o5dztN...014-0813l6.JPG

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ngRMa0Z6te...014-0813l2.JPG


Heres some video I shot, showing some chanting, placement of post and attachment of good luck symbols (fish trap for never going hungry; part of an old loom for always being clothed; sugar cane, banana leaf, coconut, flowers, bag full of money, etc.):

2014-08_p-ceremony on Vimeo


Once the monks and most of the invitees had left, core family and friends cracked open some Leos.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KEI7dyqZ7Q...014-0813s1.JPG

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TnLy4zbpkSc/VGhvlixhGHI/AAAAAAAAJoY/afFE9LW9fYU/s1600/2014-0813s4.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vwopp5UnPc...014-0813s6.JPG



THE ISAAN - THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village

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## Wasp

*LEGENDARY* .................

       Do you know that I ( and so probably others ) am not getting your photos ? :No:   :No:   :No: 

This is all I see .............




And it's a real shame . :Confused: 

terp and marty have come to the end of their builds so we are running short of construction stories .
 But the stories thrive on pictures and I for one am not getting any .


In case you don't realise .


My Good Wishes .



Wasp

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## peterpan

the yellow print doesn't come out in TD, so while it sounds like a subject that may interest me I cant read much of  it.

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## LEGENDARY

> A little like a barn raising, the Thai-Lao Buddhist ceremony for raising posts on a new home is not only practical, but is also shrouded with religious ceremony. Its a chance to wish the future occupants well in the home that will be built. Since you already have a bunch of guys present to do the heavy lifting, its also a perfect time to eat and celebrate.
> 
> 
> http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mJtD0G5FMoM/VGhtT7dedzI/AAAAAAAAJn0/FzPK_HvHe4w/s1600/2014-0813c.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OGE6o5dztN...014-0813l6.JPG
> 
> ...


How's that? Not sure what is meant by "yellow print." My text shows up black to me, with light blue for the links.

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## Wasp

Excellent !!!!!

Lovely smiles !!!

Plastic chairs !!!!

Concrete posts !!!!!!!

Everything a good Thread needs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



*
Wasp*

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## Wasp

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

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## FatOne

Yep, much better - photos

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## LEGENDARY

Still don't know how to embed the videos. Anyone know the tags and formats for those?

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## LEGENDARY

Just before the foundation posts ceremony, Sawt and his boys completed Phase 2 of the power lines project. That is, we had the rest of the power line posts installed, lines strung and power installed all the way to the pad, in the middle of our rice fields.


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1NpSey7EeL...2014-0807c.JPG


Heres the video showing some of the previous Phase 1: 

2014-07_electrical on Vimeo



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jsRCoLUdei...2014-0809h.JPG


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L3kLwD_WHI...2014-0809b.JPG

The following Phase 2 video shows Day 1, when the posts were put in and a late afternoon rain ran the linemen off. Day 2 shows Sawt and his wife Nui wiring the remainder of the power line run; installing the street light and light sensor. The video ends with an arrival by Thip  in temple uniform  fresh from the wat:

2014-08_powerlines on Vimeo

Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village

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## nigelandjan

Nice one Leg End  ,, you both look very happy together ,, hope it all goes well for your futures

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## Wasp

Nice clear photos , Legendary .

I'm looking forward to the whole forthcoming build  . :Yup:  :Yup:  :Yup: 






Wasp

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## LEGENDARY

Photos are easy. It's the video that takes time and real effort.

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## Stumpy

Cheers Legendary. 

Nice pics. Welcome to the build section. Good luck with all.

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## 9999

Legendary, to post videos, you can upload to youtube. You can make the vid unlisted, so only people with the URL can view it, or public, and just post the youtube URL here, which will automatically imbed the youtube vid. Hope to see more of your stuff, cheers.

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## LEGENDARY

After all the power line electrical work was done and after the post-raising ceremony, Lott and Naht set to setting the nine cement posts and bonding them to the column footers. Once this was done, they prepared the main horizontal floor beams at our village home. When they were done, we had the nine vertical concrete posts placed three meters apart and nine horizontal floor beams bolted to the posts.

Shots of the cement foundation posts being set:


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D4Qg62V5_1...2014-0814i.JPG


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uLlb7WkFqa...814h%2B(2).JPG


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPF9FGGRvC...816e%2B(2).JPG


Shots of the main floor beams installed:


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FdH9kkgok5...2014-0820a.JPG


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mJ8LanTjcy...2014-0825b.JPG


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gxRgg1c5Tn...2014-0825d.JPG

*Originally posted at: THE ISAAN*

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## fishlocker

Legendary, simply legendary.

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## nigelandjan

Bit of a slow thread this one

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## Wasp

Yes .... but nice clear pictures and an easy to follow Story.



Wasp

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## nigelandjan

Yes agreed , if you can keep awake

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## LEGENDARY

> Yes agreed , if you can keep awake


Imagine how i feel... two workers are slow, they get pulled away for temple work, harvest time... the list goes on... things will speed up soon.

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## Wasp

*Legendary* ............ you said that it's the videos that take up a lot of time and I thought you meant that posting them on a Thread takes a lot of time .

But I just watched one ....... it was constructing the column footers and then cementing them into the 6 foot holes .  
And I think you must mean that making the video , putting in labels and explanations is what is time consuming .

Probably it is --- but I'm grateful for your work .

I've never seen someone actually just sit and use a lever to bend the bar and make the cages like that . 
Maybe it has been posted previously but it's the first time I've seen it and I found I was sitting here murmuring " Ohh ! " .... " That's so simple and clever ."
It always looks simple when someone with experience does things .
Roger Federer hits a ball down the line at 160 mph and THAT looks simple too .

As for embedding the videos in Teakdoor ..... well I watched a lovely piece of music last night on Youtube . I "Copied" the URL for it and I put the URL in Teakdoor on my Thread .
I thought it would just show the URL - but it didn't ! It rather cleverly put the whole video into my Thread !
So if you put your videos into Youtube you would very easily make them appear here in Teakdoor .

Anyway .... cup of coffee and I'll look at a couple more of your instructional videos --- in VIMEO .

And thanks *Legendary* .

 :Rolleyes:   :Rolleyes:   :Rolleyes: 




Wasp

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## nigelandjan

> Imagine how i feel... two workers are slow, they get pulled away for temple work, harvest time... the list goes on... things will speed up soon.


Fair enuf mate , I do know a little of how you feel , this time last year we had a bungalow built , there is a thread on here about it , took 2 months from start to the day we moved in  :Smile: 

crack the whip

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## LEGENDARY

> *Legendary* ............ you said that it's the videos that take up a lot of time and I thought you meant that posting them on a Thread takes a lot of time .
> 
> But I just watched one ....... it was constructing the column footers and then cementing them into the 6 foot holes .  
> And I think you must mean that making the video , putting in labels and explanations is what is time consuming .
> 
> Probably it is --- but I'm grateful for your work .
> 
> I've never seen someone actually just sit and use a lever to bend the bar and make the cages like that . 
> Maybe it has been posted previously but it's the first time I've seen it and I found I was sitting here murmuring " Ohh ! " .... " That's so simple and clever ."
> ...


Thank you so much for checking it out. Yes, i had the same feeling. Thais are very capable. Poor in finish work.html

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## Wasp

Shots of the cement foundation posts being set:






*LEGENDARY* ............. for my " Construction for Dummies " Guide ........

I watched your workers digging 6 foot tubes into the soil . Then they made the rebar cages and lowered them into the holes . 
Poured cement . Capped the cement level . And now in this photo the posts are standing on those ' plugs '.

Are the posts simply standing on the solidified plugs ? ---- with maybe a pour of cement over the foot of the posts ?

Or are they tied into those plugs in some way ?

And how long did you leave the plugs to go solid ?




Wasp


OK now ....... if I had read more carefully I would have found this sentence  " Again using rebar, Lott and Naht wrapped the posts to the column footers and cemented over the area to effectively bond the posts to the column footers. "

But it doesn't help me .  In what way " using rebar " are the posts ' wrapped ' to the column footers ?
It looks to me like the footers are solid lumps . How can you tie the posts to that ?

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## LEGENDARY

> Shots of the cement foundation posts being set:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *LEGENDARY* ............. for my " Construction for Dummies " Guide ........
> 
> ...


After all the posts were measured true (on top of the column footers or "plugs"), rebar was wrapped around the top of the column footers and over the small feet of the cement columns themselves. After this was done, another cement pour was made to bond the column footers, rebar wrap, and cement columns themselves to make the bond. By the time it was all done, the cement bond was at the same level as the ground. Hope this helps.

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## Wasp

I'm just being clear here ..........

Like this ............. ?











.... and then a cement pour over it ?



Wasp

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## LEGENDARY

> I'm just being clear here ..........
> 
> Like this ............. ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Kinda, except that the rebar was actually drilled into the cement footers and then wrapped around the base of the cement columns.

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## Wasp

Gotcha .....


W.

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## LEGENDARY

While I was away in Lao, I had kept in close communication with Thip about the construction of “Bann Nah” (country home), on our 9 rai of Riceland. Upon returning home, I was happy to see that progress had taken place pretty much as I had imagined it.







I was actually surprised at all the preparation for both the teak posts and the main floor beams that had taken place. Lott’s and Naht’s attention to these essential and most-important parts of the house, along with what they had done with the column footers, boded well for the project overall.





Moving up from the main floor beams that had been bolted onto the cement posts that had been fused to the column footers, Lott and Naht had put the 9 main wooden structural posts in place (with the help of Sawt’s crew and their crane). These were bolted to the floor beams upon which they sat.

At last, work on the second story was now underway.



[Original post, with hyperlinks, at: THE ISAAN]

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## Wasp

Those uprights on the first floor ...........

I'm trying to see how they are fixed at their bases but can't see in these photos .

Can you take some piccies there ? Please ?



Wasp

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## nigelandjan

They look like mortice + tenon joints to me , presumably drilled and bolted through the  joints as well

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## Wasp

> They look like mortice + tenon joints to me , presumably drilled and bolted through the  joints as well


I see what you mean .

They make a sandwich at the end there don't they ?




Wasp

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## nigelandjan

yup...

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## Wasp

> yup...


It just looks odd to simple me that those posts are not aligned with the concrete supports .




Wasp

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## LEGENDARY

Yeah, I'll take a close-up of that very important junction. The posts are basically notched so that they fit inbetween the two floor beams and sit on top of them. Two bolt holes are drilled thru the floor beams and notch end of the posts, then bolted. Pretty standard construction in these parts.

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## LEGENDARY

Occasionally, I would time my inspection visits to the farm to coincide with the end of the construction work day. Of course, I’d bring along some Leo’s, the favorite beer of Isaan guys. Women do not generally drink alcohol.

Samlott and Samnaht (Lott and Naht) really looked forward to this, as all work crews do.



There is a bit of protocol to beer drinking in Thailand and Lao and they’re pretty much the same. Glasses are filled with ice, by the host or person buying, using a metal spoon or ice tongs (using fingers is considered loso – OK to do for your own, but not for others, unless there’s absolutely nothing else you can use). Beer is slowly poured into the glasses tilted at an angle to minimize the head of the foam. Once the glasses are filled, they are given to their respective drinker. Usually a toast of “Son Kiao” (Thai) or “Som Jak” (Lao) is made and glasses clicked. It is the Thai/Lao equivalent of “Cheers!”



After the initial set-up, anyone can fill another’s glass with either beer or ice or both. This is most always done, as it is a sign of respect and appreciation. To have someone’s glass go empty or even half empty (especially when making a toast) would be considered a poor reflection on how you “take care.” Once a 640 ML bottle is finished, anyone is free to open the next one and fill glasses – always others first.



(Notable in the picture above: top of the bed is split bamboo. Lott’s hand is resting on his “Mechanical Buffalo” and you can see the attached cart stretching out to the upper left. Sandwich-type grill hanging on the left; underneath is my bag that I carry with camera, phones, notebooks, money, lighter, glasses, keys, mosquito lotion and more).

[Originally posted at THE ISAAN]

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## nigelandjan

Are you in Nong Bua in Feburary Legend ?  

If so I will call round and see your build if thats ok ?

I shall be calling round that area anyway

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## LEGENDARY

> Are you in Nong Bua in Feburary Legend ?  
> 
> If so I will call round and see your build if thats ok ?
> 
> I shall be calling round that area anyway


Yes, I'll be here next month and you're more than welcome to come by. When you're ready, just post in this thread, I'll send you my cell # and we can arrange a mutual day/time.

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## nigelandjan

Ok mate will PM you later on , when I get my Thai sim number

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## LEGENDARY

With the structural posts installed on the second main floor beams, along with some wood cross supports and temporary eucalyptus scaffolding, the rafters went in so that the roof (lan kah) could be screwed on.

One note about the second story posts: these are attached to the main floor beams in much the same way as the concrete posts are. Both concrete and wood posts are notched and fit inside the main floor beams that are grouped in pairs, so that the notch fits inside the floor beams. In the case of the concrete posts, the floor beams rest on them and are bolted to them. In the case of the wood posts, they rest on the floor beams and are also bolted to them.



Within the past 70 years, roofs for homes in the Thai countryside have gone from thatch to corrugated tin and now to aluminium (aka aluminum) and concrete tile (C Pac).

We decided to go with corrugated metal, like we did with our first story roof at our village home, not only for the lighter weight, but also for the price and durability  choosing a thicker grade rather than the thinner.

Also, we opted not to go with color. It is my opinion that the enamel process in Thailand is not standard and that the painting process for concrete tile is not uniform, either. Looking at both color-enameled aluminum roofs and colored concrete tile roofs of more than ten years, I see various shades of tiles and roof sections. The Thai sun is, no doubt, merciless. I want a roof to continue to look good beyond ten years, even if it develops its own weather-beaten shade of duller silver.

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## Wasp

Do like that location .



Wasp

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## LEGENDARY

Thai and Lao people love multiple roofs and theres no denying that they look sway (beautiful). Sometimes they are structurally integrated  meaning, they are necessary the way they are designed. But, most often, its just for show. Its rare, for instance, to see a Thai Buddhist temple without a double, triple or quadruple roof.

Seeing our main aluminium roof go up, Lungpaw mentioned to Thip that it would look better with a little roof added on top to create a double roof effect.





So, because we respect Lungpaw and despite the added cost for something totally non-functional and the danger of water leakage as a result of cutting into the main roof, we had Lott and Naht install a lan kah noi (little roof) onto the roof of Bann Nah.



When our workers were nearly done with the roofs, they were needed back at the wat, for Ohpensa, the end of Buddhist lent (Vassa). So, work stopped. Then there was Boon Katin, when work couldnt be restarted. After that, there was a trip Lott drove to Thung Yai and after that the guys had to work their rice fields in order to bring in this years crop. Although they could have come back to work much earlier, they waited until after the end-of-year holidays. Total of down time: 3 months (October-December, 2014).

Welcome to The Isaan.

[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN]

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## nigelandjan

I think I would have them lay felt under there before putting the tin cladding on as you seem to think so do I , that is an invitation to cause leaks in that area now .

Ok rain falling straight down is not going to be a problem but once the wind starts howling ?

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## Ratchaburi

Great thread Legendary.
I came across this steel roofing clad with PU foam mould under side.

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## LEGENDARY

> Great thread Legendary.
> I came across this steel roofing clad with PU foam mould under side.


I checked that stuff out and was tempted, but decided against it for fear the glue would eventually fail.

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## LEGENDARY

> I think I would have them lay felt under there before putting the tin cladding on as you seem to think so do I , that is an invitation to cause leaks in that area now .
> 
> Ok rain falling straight down is not going to be a problem but once the wind starts howling ?


Particles of wood and silicone will fill in the gaps, but I'm not confident about it in the long run. A couple of years down the road, in a good rain with lots of wind... I can see some leaks a'comin' !!!

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## nigelandjan

Yup what with the intense heat of the day and the cool of the night shrinkage for sure will occur on the silicone and bingo ! 

The wife has now had the bright idea of building a kinda add on outside thai style timber kitchen to our house ,, now she has designed the plans and paid for  it all herself ,, now I am keeping right out of it , but all I can say is this roof she has planned is fraught with problems .

However it was designed by a Thai and is gonna be built by a Thai ,, so apparently its all gonna be perfect ,,, we will see

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## Ratchaburi

> Originally Posted by Ratchaburi
> 
> 
> Great thread Legendary.
> I came across this steel roofing clad with PU foam mould under side.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I checked that stuff out and was tempted, but decided against it for fear the glue would eventually fail.


I will put the sample that I have in the sun for 6 month to see what happens.
The foam is sprayed onto the back of the sheet as it is being formed.
So there is no glue involved, I have use PU foam in A & B liquid, it stick to every thing, that it come into contact with.

So lets find out if there a problem of it let go.  :Smile:

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## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by Ratchaburi
> ...


Great idea and much appreciated. I'd go with the stuff in the future if I could be assured of a solid bond.

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## LEGENDARY

> Yup what with the intense heat of the day and the cool of the night shrinkage for sure will occur on the silicone and bingo ! 
> 
> The wife has now had the bright idea of building a kinda add on outside thai style timber kitchen to our house ,, now she has designed the plans and paid for  it all herself ,, now I am keeping right out of it , but all I can say is this roof she has planned is fraught with problems .
> 
> However it was designed by a Thai and is gonna be built by a Thai ,, so apparently its all gonna be perfect ,,, we will see


Oh yeah, gotta have an outdoor kitchen Up Country! Things I've considered in the past: plenty of sunlight, drainage away from the structure, one or two wire upper walls for security (make sure those pots don't have legs) and movement of air.

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## Wasp

> Great thread Legendary.
> I came across this steel roofing clad with PU foam mould under side.



Is this on the cheaper side - hopefully ?



Wasp

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## Ratchaburi

> Originally Posted by Ratchaburi
> 
> 
> Great thread Legendary.
> I came across this steel roofing clad with PU foam mould under side.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not sure if it cheap or not but I was quoted 450 baht 2m for Zinc coated not painted & no transport.
As the sheets are very stiff then you can get away with less steel or timber under your roof.
I don't like the cement tile, I like tin roofs & will put this sample I have in the sun when this cold weather has finished. :Smile:

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## LEGENDARY

During the three months work stoppage between October and December 2014, I would occasionally go out to the building site of our country home (aka Bann Nah, Thai for farm house), to verify that no thefts had occurred, to clean-up a bit, and water some plants and trees Thip and I have already begun to grow there. I even did a bit of wood staining  the lightest stain possible, so to easily see the grain.



On one trip to Bann Nah, it struck me that since we were constructing our living space in the middle of the larger of our two rice farms, it was very likely that no one had ever lived in this spot before  at least since the introduction os rice cultivation into this part of Southeast Asia.

Rice agriculture is believed to have spread from southern China, in the area below the Yangzi, over the course of the Third Millenium BCE. Before that time, most of the rice fields of Southeast Asia must have been low-lying semi-swamp areas that thrived during the Monsoon Season and dried-up during the dry season. Or, just part of the once-vast Southeast Asian forest that hunter-gatherers moved about in search of food. Certainly, what is now cultivated land must have been low-lying since before the conversion to rice paddies and, as such, not really habitable comfortably.



What also occurred to me was that since we were at a spot that had fresh karma, so to speak, it was even more important to keep it a place where, along with the rice, only good, fresh karma will grow.



[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN

----------


## LEGENDARY

Most any man that plans to build a structure with his wifes active participation will attest: those plans usually escalate and can take radical turns in the process.

Our farm house (aka Bann Nah) is a perfect example.



I started out with a simple plan of slightly upgrading the former Love Shack II (built in 2012), which had been the successor to the original Love Shack (built in 2001). But, as Ive explained elsewhere, what would have been Love Shack III got upgraded to a full-on farm house with quality wood and craftsmanship part of the plan.





(Love Shack I, summer 2001)


My wife played a big part in this basic change from shack-to-home and Im not complaining. Although it has been frustrating at times, many of her ideas and reasons have been very good and solid. Other influences have been our head monk, Lungpaw, as well as various members of Thips family.



The most radical change of plans occurred when we decided to build a house for Thip and I, as opposed to just a shack to be used by family when working on the farm.



The second most radical change of plans was when Thip decided she had to have a kitchenette and bathroom up on the second floor. Gee, I wish you had told me that earlier! Thankfully, we were able to make that change before the second floor work had begun.



 and, now as I write this, it occurs to me that were only about 50% done and, certainly, more changes are acomin!

[Originally posted at THE ISAAN]

----------


## LEGENDARY

Slowly, after the calendar New Year had begun, our workers Lott and Naht returned to the Bann Nah worksite after a three month work stoppage.

They had their reasons, most of which were legit. These included: 1) being called back to the wat (temple) in preparations for the end of Buddhist Lent (Khaopensa) and Boon Katin; 2) the rice harvest season (Giao Khao); 3) miscellaneous family projects and; 4) end of year/beginning of new year celebrations.

Even so, they could have come back for short bursts of time  especially in December. But, I feel Thip and I were partly to blame. By the time of the work stoppage  and, at that time we had no idea it would go on for three months  we had already paid our workers in the range of 75% of the labor cost agreed upon (to that point) and the project was only 40% completed  at best. So the incentive really wasnt there. It was probably Lunpaws instruction and encouragement  more than anything  that actually got them back working for us again.

While Lott and Naht were away, I had taken note of how simple but effective the structural strength of the building is.

As you may recall, we started out with the construction and sinking into the building pad nine column footers of cement, gravel and rebar to a depth of about five feet.

This was followed up by fusing the column footers to the nine above-ground cement posts that the structure sits upon.

After that, the bolting in of the main floor beams not only laid the base for the floor, but also provided a way to bolt the building support posts to the base.



Lastly, bolting the roof supports onto the building support beams, screwing the aluminium roof onto the support beams, and X-bracing in the attic made for one solid Bann Nah.



We call it Bann Nah (farm house), but is will really end up being more like a cabin on stilts.


[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village

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## nigelandjan

Blimey , thats gonna be one hot house under that tin roof

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## BKKKevin

^^^ I would recommend this (got it at HomePro)

????? ?????????? ???????? 10" HATARI HT-VC25M1(G) | DirectToShop.com by Homepro

Install it in the ceiling of the bedroom... it will suck the air from the room into the attic area... drawing cool air into the room and forcing air to flow out of the attic side vents... I install it in my upper level townhouse stairwell ceiling and it really keeps the upper level from turning into a oven ;-)... Also that white grill comes off and can easily be spray painted brown to match a wood ceiling - or dusky pink if your wife is so inclined ;-)...

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## LEGENDARY

> Blimey , thats gonna be one hot house under that tin roof





> ^^^ I would recommend this (got it at HomePro)
> 
> ????? ?????????? ???????? 10" HATARI HT-VC25M1(G) | DirectToShop.com by Homepro
> 
> Install it in the ceiling of the bedroom... it will suck the air from the room into the attic area... drawing cool air into the room and forcing air to flow out of the attic side vents... I install it in my upper level townhouse stairwell ceiling and it really keeps the upper level from turning into a oven ;-)... Also that white grill comes off and can easily be spray painted brown to match a wood ceiling - or dusky pink if your wife is so inclined ;-)...


Thanks, guys. Remember, only half of the structure is contained. The other half is porch. For the contained section, we will be relying on windows and, initially, a "swamp cooler," later to be replaced by air-con.

----------


## LEGENDARY

The first thing Lott and Naht set about doing, in the New Year, was to iron the redwood floor boards. This meant that each piece was machine sanded and made to be the same thickness. We had bought 50-year-old floor boards from a torn down Isaan family house and it was amazing to see how beautiful the wood was, once sanded.





http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kxuxpBoZMy...113_131325.mp4

(the machine used for sharpening the sander blades)


The redwood floor boards were later cut to be a standard width  straight and true  which is important for tongue and groove assembly.




Because the mai daeng (red wood  not related to the redwood of California, Oregon or China) was so expensive, Thip and I decided to camp out at the construction site to act as night watchmen.


Although used wood, six square meters of the flooring amounted to a couple of thousand U.S. dollars (USD). People told us not to worry, that our karma would protect us from theft, but I wasnt so sure. Besides, it was a break from the routine of our village life to camp out at the farm. It was cold, though!



[Originally posted at THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

----------


## toddaniels

Well, after checking the relative humidity in Nong Bua Lamphu Province, I dunno how effective a 'swamp cooler" is gonna be, but at least it'll move the air.. 

Just a question, why was that ไม้แดง so expensive? It's a easy to find, sold in almost every lumber yard country wide, for almost any application, decking, ceiling, flooring, railings, stairs, etc... 

A quick google of ไม้แดงปูพื้น showed pics of it banded and stacked to the ceilings at most lumber yards in common sizes like 1x4, 1x6 (thinner stuff for ceilings) and available up to 4.5 meters long. The prices didn't seem all that expensive either. Plus it's pre-sized & pre-tongue-&-grooved. It also appears old stock or recycled material is not that hard to come by either.  A lot of the places advertised ไม้แดงเก่า.

It's a durable wood although it sure looked like your workers ground a LOT of it into sawdust running it thru the joiner.

No disrespect intended or implied.. Just honest observations...

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Well, after checking the relative humidity in Nong Bua Lamphu Province, I dunno how effective a 'swamp cooler" is gonna be, but at least it'll move the air.. 
> 
> Just a question, why was that ไม้แดง so expensive? It's a easy to find, sold in almost every lumber yard country wide, for almost any application, decking, ceiling, flooring, railings, stairs, etc... 
> 
> A quick google of ไม้แดงปูพื้น showed pics of it banded and stacked to the ceilings at most lumber yards in common sizes like 1x4, 1x6 (thinner stuff for ceilings) and available up to 4.5 meters long. The prices didn't seem all that expensive either. Plus it's pre-sized & pre-tongue-&-grooved. It also appears old stock or recycled material is not that hard to come by either.  A lot of the places advertised ไม้แดงเก่า.
> 
> It's a durable wood although it sure looked like your workers ground a LOT of it into sawdust running it thru the joiner.
> 
> No disrespect intended or implied.. Just honest observations...


Yes, quite humid, here. We'll have to see how it goes. Aircon will happen, but probably not this year.

Not sure why it was so expensive. I'm sure we got the going rate, as all our larger purchases are double-checked by the monks of our temple who buy from the same sources.

Maybe it seems like the price was high by the way I worded it. We not only had red wood stacked on the ground, but also yellow and maijic. Total price for the old redwood was approximately 830 USD (27K THB).

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## LEGENDARY

By early February 2015, the old red wood floor was completed. I regret not shooting some video of the work, as it once again surprised me how simple but effective Lott and Nahts approach to the task was.





Thip and I were pretty busy and had been for a while, helping her daughter Kulthida test for, interview for and finally getting her and her husband relocated to Sa Kaeo province upon her pssing of the government tests for accountants. It was not only a big deal for Kulthida and her husband, but also for our Thai-Lao family. Although many Thais want to enter the civil service and see it as a way to financial security, relatively few successfully test their way in. Our village is pretty typical and it is riddled with failed test takers. So, my wife and all of the rest of the family are justly proud.

After the resanded old red wood floor boards were put in, Lott and Naht worked on the eaves, the roof trim and applying chemical to all termite-prone wood in the attic. The chemical work is pretty nasty and I wonder why they hadnt done it when the wood was on the ground; when it would have been much easier and coverage of the wood more thorough.





The fancy trim transpired the overall look of the structure, as it continues to take on a character of its own.




*[Originally posted at THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]*

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## LEGENDARY

As far as materials and over-all look of Bann Nah, we have tried to use natural wood (stained, not painted) wherever possible and practical – some of it we’ve even harvested from our other properties.

Exceptions, in chronological order, have been the cement and rebar column footers and posts; the main aluminium roof and lancah noi; smartboard under the eaves; and, lastly, Shera imitation wood exterior walls.

After I returned from my tenth trip to Lao, the push was on to get the exterior walls put up – all of which were drilled and screwed-in, not nailed.




We opted for imitation wood exterior walls for three reasons: price, imperviance to termites and appearance. We had had decent results with the imitation wood put in when we had a new roof put in, in our village home, back in the rainy season of 2013. As with most building supplies, there are grades of quality and cost. We had gone with a brown wood texture pattern imitation wood that was a little more expensive, but also looked a lot like real wood – especially from a distance.


We followed the same approach with our country home, picking a higher grade of Shera imitation wood; this time choosing more of a walnut color that is seldom seen in these parts – probably because it doesn’t look “new”. It flows well with the building posts and other woods used in the construction of our “cabin on stilts”; maintaining a certain look I have wanted to maintain – that is, an overall “light” natural color to the structure.


[Originally posted at THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village

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## LEGENDARY

Shera imitation wood planks are fibre cement composites of natural fibres, bonded in a silicate structure. The sidings are autoclaved wood-grain.

I discovered  quite by chance  that there are packs of the autoclaved wood-grain patterns that, if you have all the packs in your color/style, you can apply so that the simulated grain seems to transition from one plank to another, without a break in the design. I dont think most builders in the Isaan know this. I tried to find special markings for each wrapped pack of planks, designating them, but could not find anything. Of course, I cant read Thai, so that is probably why. But, I was looking for numbers more than anything, which would have been the easiest way to designate one type of pack from another.

The only reason I found out about this was because, after I explicity showed our workers how it was not good to put the same packet design next to each other, or ontop or below each other (because it would be too repetitive), they inadvertently put two planks close together that were from two different packs, which which were designed to go with each other perfectly.



The standard application, of course, was to apply the pieces randomly and this is how our workers did it.



(Eastside finished, 'cept for the windows)


If I had had the time and inclination and it was that important to me, I would have sat with them for the two weeks they took to put up the outside walls, but random was OK for me and easiest for them.



[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

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## Dead Metal

Excellent build. Plumb-bob, haven't seen one of those for while now ! I like the idea of Shera-wood. I will be going for total insulation when we build ! Does seem to be rather high off the ground ? well done, thanks for sharing.

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## LEGENDARY

> Excellent build. Plumb-bob, haven't seen one of those for while now ! I like the idea of Shera-wood. I will be going for total insulation when we build ! Does seem to be rather high off the ground ? well done, thanks for sharing.


Thank you for your appreciations, DM... It appears high off the ground because in the photos, the horizontal cement supports are not laid in, yet. These will be concrete and rebar to add further support to the structure in high winds.

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## runker

Are you planning any sort of treatment for the outside and inside corners where the planks meet?

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## LEGENDARY

> Are you planning any sort of treatment for the outside and inside corners where the planks meet?


Absolutely. The corners will be covered over probably with what they call "mawp", here. Basically wood strips, same as you can see on the strips that are immediately adjacent to the fancy trim, underneath the eaves.

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## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by runker
> 
> 
> Are you planning any sort of treatment for the outside and inside corners where the planks meet?
> 
> 
> Absolutely. The corners will be covered over probably with what they call "mawp", here. Basically wood strips, same as you can see on the strips that are immediately adjacent to the fancy trim, underneath the eaves.


runker, I've been thinking about this some more since you asked the question. To tell you the truth, my mind is not made up about it. The ridges caused by the lapped imitation wood cause a bit of a problem.

I'll keep my mind open to options and we'll see what happens!

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## BKKKevin

You might go to a big tile outlet like Sukapan and check out the plastic corner moldings they sell... They have many colors and the 
Anger ones might do the trick on the outside

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## Dead Metal

> Thank you for your appreciations, DM... It appears high off the ground because in the photos, the horizontal cement supports are not laid in, yet. These will be concrete and rebar to add further support to the structure in high winds


...yes, makes sense now, thanks.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## LEGENDARY

> You might go to a big tile outlet like Sukapan and check out the plastic corner moldings they sell... They have many colors and the 
> Anger ones might do the trick on the outside


I was actually thinking that a plastic or sun-tolerant rubber stripping would work best. Did not know about plastic corner moldings, so I'll definitely check it out. Thanks much!

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## Loy Toy

Thanks for sharing your experience with us and I hope you and your wife have many happy years in your new home.

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## LEGENDARY

> Thanks for sharing your experience with us and I hope you and your wife have many happy years in your new home.


Sometimes, I get the impression I'm just building it for family... you know how Thai families go... but, hopefully I have another 20 or so in me, we continue to have memorable moments there and it will be my final resting place.

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## LEGENDARY

I grew up in New England and the North Shore of Long Island, New York. Nearly every wooden surface was painted. Only exceptions were the school’s gymnasium floor and our elementary school desks which, when I got to junior and senior high, were replaced with metal.

The first new church my father helped design and oversaw the building of had a lot of stained wood in it and I think this is my first memory of how beautiful wood gain is and what a shame it is to point over it, most of the time.

As I grew older and was exposed to many more and different buildings, my appreciation for stained wood only grew. So, it is only logical that given the chance to design my own home, I lay strong emphasis on being able to view natural wood grain. At Bann Nah, there is not a painted surface on the building except for the smartboard under the eaves.




It does not come easily, however. I have stained most every surface at our country home, so far. The ceiling and inside wall teak alone have taken months to do – you know, not an 8-hour/day job, but several hours most days.

The time it has taken me to stain could have been cut in half, but my wife talked me into a gloss coat when I would have preferred a flat – or matte – coat. She wanted glossy because all Thais feel that if something is shiny, it looks new.

In my mind, a non-glossy coat for inside teak walls and ceiling is better because the surface shine (actually, the lack thereof) looks uniform. To get a uniform shine with a glossy coat, where some sections of the wood soak the stain in differently, requires you to brush the stain in twice, in two separate sessions; sometimes more.

The Thai tendency to highly value “shiny” got me one day at Bann Nah.

Our workers had completed putting up the outside imitation wood planks and, I guess, were excited about that. I had visited the job site in the morning, just as they were finishing up. It was looking good! When I returned in the late afternoon, Lott and Naht proudly pointed to their finished, “shiny” job. They had polyurethaned the imitation wood to make it look more “new.”

I looked sideways at them and, while Thip translated, I asked if they’d ever done this before?

Oh, sure, many hi-so homes in Bangkok that they had worked on (and probably never saw again).

I told them that the polyurethane was made as a protectorant for wood, not fiber cement (which is what the Shera wood planks mostly consist of).

They assured me that this way, the “new” look of the Shera would last longer and protect it from the sun.

What if it starts peeling? I asked them.

Oh, it won’t peel, they said.

I immediately thought about Bann Nah’s wooden posts; how they had been polyurethaned before they had had a chance to dry and already the polyurethane was peeling off; and that’s with a protectorant designed to work for wood.

OK, I said with a laugh. If it starts peeling, I know where you guys live.

Oh, it won’t peel, they assured me again.

Thankfully, our workers had applied the polyurethane on the eastside of the building, facing the klong, which is the least visible side of the structure.



(east wall on right)


Later, I reminded myself that this is yet another example of why I couldn’t leave, this year, for my trip back to the USA to visit family:

You gotta watch these guys!

[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

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## LEGENDARY

When I got back from my 11th trip to Lao, in early June 2015, I discovered that Thip was busy employing some of our family members in the making of an outdoor Thai kitchen at Bann Nah. They all joked about how they were doing this while I was away so I couldnt shoot the idea down, ahead of time. Although it was a joke, like a smile, I could interpret what I heard in a number of ways. I think there was some truth to that joke.





Anyway, I thought it was a good idea, actually. Soon, the family will be spending large portions of the day at 9 Rai, at the beginning of the rice planting season, and will need to have a place to prepare food, protected from the rain and sun.

While three or four family members helped Thip put the kitchen together, our workers Lott and Naht had finished the interior wall and ceiling supports and were ready to nail-gun in the tongue and groove teak slats I had stained twice, glossy.

I showed Sam Lott and Sam Naht how I basically wanted the pieces to go. There is a technique to laying in teak slats which I do not profess to know, but which probably builds on the fact that there is both light and dark areas to teak. In my mind, the goal is ideally to have transitions from light to dark go more or less seamlessly. That is, for instance, a slat with a dark center and light edges matched next to another slat that is more or less light or also has light edges. When nailing one slat next to another on the non-grooved edge, you want to ideally match the design of the board youre up against. Another important consideration is: you dont want too much repetition of the same kind of board in one spot. You want to spread the light and dark wood out more or less evenly.



(spot the gap gay [tokay] who's already moved in)

Work like this requires a good eye for design which, in my experience, most people do not have. So, I worked with the guys when they first started working on the ceiling, to make sure they had understood what I wanted. They caught on quickly and did a pretty good job.



[originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

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## baldrick

> She wanted glossy



glossy is easier to clean

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## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> She wanted glossy
> 
> 
> 
> glossy is easier to clean


True... I'll get used to it.

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## LEGENDARY

It must have been a Sunday, because our workers were away and it wasnt during one of their frequent and usually long work stoppages. I was just hanging out at the construction site, doing what I do. I clean-up and transport water in and trash out; water the plants; but mostly just lie around in one of the hammocks and day dream or write. Increasingly, I find myself at Bann Nah. Thips spending more time there, too.

As with most Isaan storms, you get an idea of whats coming ahead of time. Air movement picks up and the skies go gray; bombs explode far off in the distance  kind of in that order. Later, youll see the lightning off toward the horizon and a bit later hear the thunder. Soon afterwards, the winds pick up even more and then the rain is upon you.

While the storm was coming in, Naht drove the temple tuk-tuk to the pad to retrieve some of the wats scaffolding that we had borrowed in order to screw-in the outside walls. I thought it was poor timing and was surprised he was even attempting it, actually, because it was clear that we were gonna get dumped on. He was down on the ground when the storm rolled in. I had already gone upstairs because I knew this would be my best shelter and that I would need it.

The hard wind drove the rain in at what I estimated was around a 40-degree angle. I huddled in the most sheltered corner of our new homes interior while Naht first huddled next to the samlor and then, finding little protection there, moved to the lee side of one of our cement posts. I dont know why he didnt come upstairs, but given the strength of the wind and angle, Im afraid he thought the house might come down.

To tell you the truth, it soon became a consideration of mine, too. I dont know what the wind speed was, but it was the strongest wind Id ever been in and the side angle is what made it doubly worse. The structure upstairs was definitely swaying; how critically, I dont know, but I began to assess what wall support would hold me best, in the event the ship went down.

Then, the wind shifted directions and I had to find another corner to shield myself and a different wall support to hold on to if worse came to worst. The shift in the wind may have meant that the storm was overhead or passing by.

As with most storms in Northeastern Thailand during the East Asian Monsoon Season, this one didnt last long; an hour or two, at most. There are some storms that come in and can last all night, but these are generally not strong, just prolonged.

At any rate, this second storm convinced us that we shouldnt wait to put in the horizontal ground supports for the cement posts. These had originally been planned for after the wood portion of the construction was over. To be safe, we had to further support the cement posts as soon as possible.

So, Lott and Naht interrupted their work on the interior ceiling and walls to do some ground level work with cement, sand, gravel and rebar.








[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

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## LEGENDARY

I’ve written about how strong our farm house structure is. That storm that blew in when Naht and I were at the building site shook our confidence a little. Consequently, Lott and Naht shifted from nail-gunningthe interior walls and ceiling to buiding horizontal ground support for the structure’s cement posts – the posts the structure actually sits upon.

This had been planned all along to do. But, when we had started the project back in November 2013, we had no idea that we’d still be building it on through the Monsoon Season in 2015. Given the length of time the building of the building had already taken (about a year, so far), it no longer made sense to wait until all the wood work was finished before we put in the horizontal support.










[ Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village ]

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## LEGENDARY

Well Drilled no, Im not referring to the time I tried to keep up with my wifes brothers, drinking on New Years Eve 2013. And, no, Im not going over the Rescue Party once again. Im writing about tapping into the aquifer under 9 Rai.

Sometimes, you gotta grab your opportunities when they present themselves. How many times have I said that before and not? Well, there are times when you just cant and its usually because you dont have the money or feel that you cant part with what you have.

Well, this time I followed through on our opportunity. I really didnt have the funds, but found some, anyway.

The temple was going to have a well drilled on the land Lungtah Mai donated for the construction of the chedi, next to the land we had donated. In addition, also next to our 9 Rai rice farmland, our neighbor Lungtah Mais daughter was going to have a well drilled on her land. So, we got in the queue with them, as family members.

It was part of a Thai government program that cost a third of what it would have if we had used a private driller. That was a big plus, along with the fact we could get it done rather soon. Usually when you get in such queues it can take weeks before it actually happens.



Drilling a well on the Bann Nah pad was another one of those things that we had planned to do after the wood portion of our cabin on stilts was completed. But, here was the opportunity, now, so we took it. This turned out to be a very good move for many reasons. First, there was the baht savings and quickness of time to get it done. Second, this rainy season had started off as the driest in 10-to-30 years (depending on information source). Having a well would give us more security for the 9 Rai rice harvest should the rains not kick in. Third and lastly, with running water at Bann Nah, it just made being out there so much easier. I had been porting water between the village and Bann Nah several times a week. The distance was only about a mile, or 15 minutes by tuk-tuk, but having a drilled well alleviated me of work more effectively done by local pumping.

(below: some videos of the first stages of drilling)







[ Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village ]

----------


## LEGENDARY

When you stop to think about it, civilization as we know it would be difficult to achieve if the planet was not endowed with aquifers throughout its subsurface. Certainly, the Earths population levels would be much lower if everyone had only drinkable surface water and rains to depend on.



I found the well drilling process interesting and was impressed with the simplicity of the machinery/tools involved and the dedication of the drillers. As with most things, theres more to the process than you might imagine.

After greetings and verification that they were where they were supposed to be, an inspection was made on the proposed well site. I had not considered the overhead electrical lines, so it was suggested that the spot I had wanted be moved over a little further from the high voltage lines. Made sense to me!

Some of the drilling crew set about placing the drilling truck, leveling it, and then securing metal pads to the ground to take pressure off the wheels. The huge air compressor was likewise positioned close-by.

Meanwhile, the head guy made an offering to the spirits of the land, with candles, incense and a bottle of lao khao (rice whiskey). This bottle, incidentally, mysteriously disappeared about the time Thips brother Sawt and his cousin Peh joined us for the post-drilling party.



There are two main components to the drilling rig: the truck, itself, and the portable high-pressure air-injector. From the truck, a drill head with holes for air to be blown out from the injector is attached to an increasing number of drill rods until the aquifer is reached.



If a rock or hard spot is reached, at some point along the line, the drill head is brought back up and a special rock-cutting drill head inserted. This special head is then brought down to the level of the drilling and when successfully through, brought back up and the original head put back on. In order to do this, each section of drill rods need to be unscrewed and then rescrewed and again unscrewed and rescrewed. This takes time and patience.



Mud starts to come up before the aquifer is reached. We hit our aquifer at about 40 meters (approximately 131 feet down). Once the aquifer is reached, the drill goes down slightly lower to make a clean hole into it. Its exciting when water starts to be blown out by the air compressor.



Once the hole into the aquifer is verified as a clean tap, the head and rods are brought back up to the surface, one-by-one. After they are up, PVC pipe is inserted down to a level of about 3 meters, from ground. Once in place, our own smaller circumfrance PVC pipe is lowered down, one section screwed onto another, with the head being grated to prevent large pieces of anything from being pumped up to the surface. The pipes go down to the same level as the drilling, with a tubular, internal electric pump not far from the end of the piping. This is the device that actually pumps water to the surface.



(Thip's looking pretty happy about it all...)


[originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

----------


## billy the kid

> and it will be my final resting place.


keep that to yourself or you'll be giving folk ideas.    :Smile:

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> and it will be my final resting place.
> 
> 
> keep that to yourself or you'll be giving folk ideas.


I know what you mean. Not that it would come to that, but I'm sure my wife's family would reap more benefits with me out of the way.

----------


## LEGENDARY

After the government workers finished drilling our new water well, it was time to complete the paperwork and make payment. Thip did the former and I did the later. Cost for the well was 11,500 baht.

We had some problems with obstructions in the well on the following day and needed to call the guys back. We were fortunate that they hadnt left the area; had other jobs around to do. They came back, cleaned out the well and even drilled a few more meters down into the aquifer. They wouldnt take payment, but accepted a 1,500 baht gratuity that probably covered their beer for a couple of nights.

During those subsequent days, we had Lott and Naht build a concrete/rebar pad for the well and finish up the PVC work. By the time everything was done, we had spent an extra 6,000 baht on PVC, cement, rebar and labor. The pump  we already had it from when 9 rai was 17 rai. So, total cost for all well-related expenses -- including food for the drillers and ourselves that first day   totaled about 20,000 baht (about $600 USD).




On the first day, after the drillers left, everyone was in great spirits. The well would mean running water for our farm house and another source of water for rice field irrigation.

So, we proceeded to have a mini-party for the rest of the afternoon, hanging out in the outdoor kitchen area. Women prepared and bought more food and I bought the beer. It was a family affair, but Thips family is large and extended, so we had no shortage of visitors  usually for short periods, but some for the duration. Most of the guys drank Leo beer, but a couple (as previously noted) went for the stronger stuff (lao khao).




A rain squall came in, but didnt shutdown the festivities. Actually, it was a pretty low key affair and reminded me a lot of just a larger version of an after-work Bann Nah relaxer. The usual protocols for beer drinking were observed, along with eating a diverse number of different Isaan dishes. Of these, I partake a little, to be polite, relying on my wife to pick the foods she knows I like and/or can handle (i.e. lean, well-cooked meat; no MSG; no sugar; low salt; nothing exotic, etc.).

Once the squall had passed and the sun set, it was time to leave. I usually make it a point to be the last to leave Bann Nah, so I can take a final look around in case things are forgotten (like tools left out or trash down low where dogs might get to it).

Several days later, everything was completed and we now have running water at Bann Nah.



[Originally posted at THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

----------


## LEGENDARY

The Monsoon rains finally kicked-in from mid-July to about mid-August. It was, by far, a late start to the rice growing season and of very short duration. Usually, you can count on rain for the rice crops for a solid four-to-five months (May-September).

During the time the rains fell every day, we continued to suffer significant rain damage both inside the rooms at Bann Nah and on the porch, especially. Rather than address the problem of rain water continuing to soak into the tongue and grooves of the upstairs floor boards, our workers proceeded to build the cement support posts for the stairs and then put in the roof for the stairs-to-be. I did my best to Keep My Kool, but I wasnt happy about this seemingly illogical progression to the building.









Only thing I can think of is that Lott and Naht wanted something dramatically visible for Lungpaw to see, when viewed from the temple or chedi site, so that he felt confident progress was being made. After all, when our workers werent working for us or themselves, they were employed regularly at the temple. Lungpaw had recommended them and we had donated and sold land cheap for the chedi, so there were stakes to consider.





[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

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## Dead Metal

Looking like home now. Hope you have many happy years in it, thanks for sharing .

----------


## LEGENDARY

Ive never seen so many people so happy about so much rain. I have to admit, so was I. Our Thai/Lao familys bounty of rice for the year depended on it, so everyone wanted the rain to fall.



During the one-month period it rained every day, a portion of the Bann Nah porch floor buckled  just as I had predicted it would. As I mentioned in the previous post, I wasnt happy with our workers failure to address the on-going rain damage. But, we left them free to organize their work, so we bore some of the responsibility, too.

On top of this, I should have never let myself be talked into a tongue and groove porch floor. But, my wife had wanted it and our workers had assured me it would be fine and look better. My feeling now is that  maybe not this year, but possibly in 2016 or 2017, I will need to have the tongues and grooves of the porch floor sawed out, so that we dont have an on-going problem with the floor boards every Monsoon Season. After all, this was a very dry rainy season. Again, I take responsibility for the buckling, as I should have stuck to the original design.

To forestall the same kind of damage happening to the inside room floor, Lott and Naht finally installed our windows: three standard sliders and 3 small.

[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

----------


## nigelandjan

Are you thinking of ever living here full time mate ?  and if so what will you do with your time all day ?

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Are you thinking of ever living here full time mate ?  and if so what will you do with your time all day ?


Thank you, Dead Metal and Nigel for responding and your well wishes.

My wife keeps asking me the same thing, Nigel. I tell her, "let's see what happens." My feeling is that we will be living in the new house and our village house will end-up being a storage facility. There will probably be pressure from the family for members to move into the village house, but we already have one brother and his wife living in one of our houses at our other farm and it's become very difficult to try to move him out. He keeps coming up with excuses why he should stay. So, I don't want to get into another situation like that. Better to leave it vacant or lightly used.

Once living in "Bann Nah," I'm sure my daily routines won't be much different than they are now. Mornings I sometimes go to the temple, but most of the time is spent writing, gaming and on the Internet (before it gets too hot). Afternoons I do physical work like brush cutting, road repair, tree trimming, planting, etc. We have about 17 rai, all tolled, so just looking after the land keeps me plenty busy. Night times I'll relax with some beer, either in company or alone.

----------


## terry57

^

I really like your House mate, it's great.  Add, Internet, hot Water and A/C things are good. 

Hope you do not have mobility issues in the future, getting up and down would be a real Bitch.

Good luck with it.

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## nigelandjan

> Once living in "Bann Nah," I'm sure my daily routines won't be much different than they are now. Mornings I sometimes go to the temple, but most of the time is spent writing, gaming and on the Internet (before it gets too hot). Afternoons I do physical work like brush cutting, road repair, tree trimming, planting, etc. We have about 17 rai, all tolled, so just looking after the land keeps me plenty busy. Night times I'll relax with some beer, either in company or alone.



Well thats answered my question fully thank you  .  I have to say I take my hat off to you , it seems you have settled well into the Issan simple lifestyle indeed . I only wish in some ways I could as we to have a rather nice bungalow in remote Issan but short spells there are all I can manage before I begin to hanker for civilisation . Personally I drink very little these days , however I have to be 100% honest with myself and say I would end up drinking everyday if I was there full time.

Its looking evermore like Spain for us and mabe 2 months over winter in our Issan home . I shall look forward to meeting you in Nong Bua when we are over , indeed I believe there is a ( plan )  :Smile:  for a month in March next year .

Its great to see someone like yourself very happy in such a simple lifestyle enjoying what is naturally around you in the environment your living in .

Good on ya mate , all the best to you and your wife I hope your both very happy there

----------


## LEGENDARY

> ^
> 
> I really like your House mate, it's great.  Add, Internet, hot Water and A/C things are good. 
> 
> Hope you do not have mobility issues in the future, getting up and down would be a real Bitch.
> 
> Good luck with it.


Thanks, Terry. All those things will be going in, along with others. Once the wood portion is complete, we will have house warming ceremonies and move in (after the rice harvest, probably around the time of the US Thanksgiving). After that, the order of business is roughly: internet > bathrooms > water tank > hot water > AC.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> Once living in "Bann Nah," I'm sure my daily routines won't be much different than they are now. Mornings I sometimes go to the temple, but most of the time is spent writing, gaming and on the Internet (before it gets too hot). Afternoons I do physical work like brush cutting, road repair, tree trimming, planting, etc. We have about 17 rai, all tolled, so just looking after the land keeps me plenty busy. Night times I'll relax with some beer, either in company or alone.
> 
> 
> 
> Well thats answered my question fully thank you  .  I have to say I take my hat off to you , it seems you have settled well into the Issan simple lifestyle indeed . I only wish in some ways I could as we to have a rather nice bungalow in remote Issan but short spells there are all I can manage before I begin to hanker for civilisation . Personally I drink very little these days , however I have to be 100% honest with myself and say I would end up drinking everyday if I was there full time.
> 
> Its looking evermore like Spain for us and mabe 2 months over winter in our Issan home . I shall look forward to meeting you in Nong Bua when we are over , indeed I believe there is a ( plan )  for a month in March next year .
> ...


Thanks, Nigel. I'm a pretty adaptable guy and have lived in basic situations before, so it's not too hard for me to live similarly to Khon Thai. I actually pride myself in that, so thank you for your recognitions, also.

I drink a little too much beer and I'm working on that. The main problem is that if the scheduling were all up to me, I would be doing better in that department. But, I can't foresee when my wife's brothers will show up -- always separately, but then together -- and they like to drink my beer. It tastes better, I guess!

Some weeks I don't even make it into the provincial center 7 kilometers away. Partly because I don't have a driver's license, so I'm limited to the back roads which I prefer, anyway. I let my wife do the running around and focus myself pretty much in the villages and on the farms.

I've never been to Spain (song?!), but I once read a travelogue that impressed me greatly about walking through Spain earlier in the previous century. The title was something along the line of: "As I Went Out Walking" - You may know of it, but if you don't, I recommend searching on the string and checking it out.

March 2016 is when I plan to go back to The States for a couple of months to visit my sons and parents and falang friends. I'm sure we will meet up, though, at some point.  :Beerchug:

----------


## Mas Gib

Hi and good luck, Hope all goes very well for you both. Look forward to seeing your posts.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Hi and good luck, Hope all goes very well for you both. Look forward to seeing your posts.


Thanks, Mas. It's not the grandest, but it's not meant to be. A simple structure, built with quality (a rarity, here in The Isaan) and fantastic views!

----------


## nigelandjan

> Thanks, Mas. It's not the grandest, but it's not meant to be. A simple structure, built with quality (a rarity, here in The Isaan) and fantastic views!


Good philosophy to have in life in general  mate ,  what you have here is what makes YOU and your missus happy and content in your lives . That IMHO is where happiness + contentment is found in life. That is the path I have always followed , some people laugh at some of  the cars I drive , I just smile inside , its all mine and I have made them chuckle along the way .

Unfortunately so many people are caught in that bloody rat wheel to have the biggest , the latest to vainly try to impress OTHERS .

My boss who is a multi millionaire tries to carry a happy persona about himself BUT the reality of it is he is only one sentence away from an exploding fit of rage .

He once said to me " why are you always so bloody happy Nigel ?"  " am I paying you too much ? "

----------


## thaimeme

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> Thanks, Mas. It's not the grandest, but it's not meant to be. A simple structure, built with quality (a rarity, here in The Isaan) and fantastic views!
> 
> 
> Good philosophy to have in life in general mate , what you have here is what makes YOU and your missus happy and content in your lives . That IMHO is where happiness + contentment is found in life. That is the path I have always followed , some people laugh at some of the cars I drive , I just smile inside , its all mine and I have made them chuckle along the way .
> 
> Unfortunately so many people are caught in that bloody rat wheel to have the biggest , the latest to vainly try to impress OTHERS .
> 
> ...


 
Nicely sais, Nige.......even though most never live as they're dreamy philosophies promote.

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## Ennis

> Thanks, Nigel. I'm a pretty adaptable guy and have lived in basic situations before, so it's not too hard for me to live similarly to Khon Thai. I actually pride myself in that, so thank you for your recognitions, also.
> 
> I drink a little too much beer and I'm working on that. The main problem is that if the scheduling were all up to me, I would be doing better in that department. But, I can't foresee when my wife's brothers will show up -- always separately, but then together -- and they like to drink my beer. It tastes better, I guess!


Hey mate we are all different - Personally I prefer to live "bush", but that's me. These days I am so busy that I crash about 9-10 at night. Don't consume alcohol, dead animals, or smoke (anything). Again that is how me and my beautiful bride choose to live. But hey, our life is full and rewarding.

You can always get in touch with Bill W, he is online and been known to help fellows who over imbibe... Just a suggestion, please don't read anything in to it. Never know it can change your life.

Good luck mate. 
Regards Ennis

----------


## LEGENDARY

Thanks, Guys. We try to live as simply as we can. Sometimes, people tell my wife we have money and she always retorts: see where I live.



I always congratulate her on this, as I purposely have not improved the outward look of our village house on purpose. I mean, who's going to break into a house that looks like this?!

Of course, the building of Bann Nah is putting a little kink in this grand scheme...


Thanks for the suggestion, Ennis. My wife just came up with the directive that i now cannot drink on Buddha Days (every 8th day, more or less in conjunction with the moon phases) and the day leading to it and following. So, that's gonna slow me down or speed me up, depending on how you look at it.  :Beerchug:

----------


## Wasp

Surely you would at least want to take down those rusted  corrugated  tin sheets ?

They are pretty dreadful .



W.

----------


## runker

There are people in the US that would love to have those rusted corrugated sheets on their interior walls.  Dennis Hooper's house was sided with corrugated steel sheets.

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## LEGENDARY

> Surely you would at least want to take down those rusted  corrugated  tin sheets ?
> 
> They are pretty dreadful .
> 
> 
> 
> W.


Ha, Hah... I know what you mean, Wasp, but think about it:

If it were you or any other rational falang, you'd want a facade that was pleasing to you every day and maybe even demonstrate your success. I don't want either. In fact, it suits my purposes to keep it the way it is. My wife's very large family is poor and the pressures on us to help them out of their very poor financial decisions are substantial. Using visuals, we can easily keep them in line. Hate to say this, but it's true.

Also, I am reminded of the story I once read on a falang forum a number of years ago. The guy built a beautiful home and had to then build a substantial fence around it to protect the assets within. He was eventually robbed, quite effectively, by robbers who used the fence to hide their entry into the building. Man, I don't need any of that.

I'm fine. You drive by some time, take a look and cringe. But for me, I'm happy.

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## Wasp

What I mean is - if you picked up some old timber to match the timber that you can see on the front .  It wouldn't make the  house look suddenly "salubrious " . Suddenly worth robbing .
I just think there's a level that is too far down and those rusted sheets are just about at the bottom .
Missy's mum had them too . And I just thought " For Christ's sake NO !  Too much !!! " .
Plus they were bloody hot all the time .
If there's one thing that's going to help  with their life it's removing corrugated sheets from the roof and  walls .  

imnhaao.


Wasp

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## Wasp

Where are you Legendary ?

We need a nice photo of the completed job .



Wasp

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## LEGENDARY

> Where are you Legendary ?
> 
> We need a nice photo of the completed job .
> 
> *I'm hoping we can have a house warming ceremony in December, but I've given up on predictions with this project. It's Ohpensa, which means another work stoppage. Then it will be Boon Katin; stoppage still. Both followed by the rice harvest. Don't see getting much time out of our workers this month going forward. Plus, my wife doesn't want the ceremony unless there's a bathroom for people and the monks to use, as necessary (could be porta potty time). Bottom line is, I can't move in and sleep in the structure until the Buddhist ceremony is done.*
> 
> Wasp





> What I mean is - if you picked up some old timber to match the timber that you can see on the front .  It wouldn't make the  house look suddenly "salubrious " . Suddenly worth robbing .
> I just think there's a level that is too far down and those rusted sheets are just about at the bottom .
> Missy's mum had them too . And I just thought " For Christ's sake NO !  Too much !!! " .
> Plus they were bloody hot all the time .
> If there's one thing that's going to help  with their life it's removing corrugated sheets from the roof and  walls .  
> 
> imnhaao.
> 
> Wasp


*Yeah, I know what you mean, Wasp... Eventually, I suppose. Right now, the focus is and has been for the past two years, the building of "Bann Nah" which would be better called a "cabin on stilts." Then, we'll have to see what our usage is in both homes when we are free to use them both at the same time. If family ends up occupying our village home, there's no sense in me upgrading it for them. If we continue to use it, even if only partially, then, yeah, the front metal's got to go, as well as the broken smartboard.*

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## PattayaPetey

Nice house. Contgrats on the build

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## LEGENDARY

> Nice house. Contgrats on the build


Thanks, Petey. Really beautiful with a low-slung sun.

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## LEGENDARY

Continuing to address the rain damage issue to the porch – even though the East Asian Monsoon Season was just about over – our workers Sam Lott and Sam Naht put together the lancah noi (little roof) on the west end of the porch.



This was part of The Plan, but a design deficiency that only I am full aware of. Back when Lungpaw Boon Long suggested we put a lancah noi on top the main roof for aesthetics, I should have changed the plans for the porch roof to be an A-frame – essentially establishing a 3-roof effect. It would have been more expensive, but look lots nicer. As it is, the west side roof (along with the stairs roof), now help create a look to Bann Nah of being a little like an open box with the flaps hanging to the side. Oh well, it’s done and, as I say, I’m probably the only one fully aware of it or who cares.



As with the rest of the building, the little roof on the west side of the porch was built with quality by Lott and Naht, who made sure not to have it too low so we will maintain a good  view of the chedi, once it is built.



(Thip, Naht and Lott taking a break at the outside kitchen)


[ Originally posted at: http://the-isaan.blogspot.com ]

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## Mozzbie47

I envy you so much mate, enjoy.

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## LEGENDARY

> I envy you so much mate, enjoy.


Thank you for reminding me how lucky I am, Mozzbie. With a build, it's easy to focus on the things that are not quite right and you lose sight of all that IS right!

----------


## LEGENDARY

In October 2015, the Bann Nah porch teak ceiling was cut and nail-gunned in. I again was staining up to the every end, and sanding, as well. We had run short of the grade A slats and I had to work on the grade B stuff  slats I had originally rejected  to bring them up to useable quality. Its amazing what one can do with a belt sander!



Sam Lott and Sam Naht (Sam being a title of respect, much like mister is in English) did a good job matching up the slats and even got creative in spots.

The porch ceiling now looks so good, that roof sections like the porchs west side roof and stairs roof  both without ceilings  look notably plain. Im now thinking that somewhere down the line  maybe in a year or two  we might put mini-ceilings on these, too.




[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

----------


## LEGENDARY

We had had a more extensive after-work party than usual, following the installation of the porch ceiling. Then, again, we had another good one when the stairs pad was completed.




But, these progressions marked an end of an era, in a way. With the growing demands on Sam Lotts and Sam Nahts time  to work at the temple and also help build the chedi  I knew we would now see them hardly at all, at Bann Nah. After all, it was this time last year that we had a three-month work stoppage due to Ohpensa, Boon Katin, Thung Yai trips and Giao Khao. And last year, the chedi wasnt even in its building phase, yet.








You know that feeling you get when you watch someone leave you and you wonder when will you see them again  knowing, deep down, that it could be a very long time? Like, when you see someone off at the airport?

I had that distinct feeling as Lott and Naht drove off on their motorcycles, down Bann Nahs long dirt road



(our road on the right; chedi site in the distance; rice paddies in the foreground)


[ Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village ]

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## terry57

^

Very interesting stuff mate, good luck with it.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> ^
> 
> Very interesting stuff mate, good luck with it.


Thanks, Terry... The rice harvest is winding down, so I expect we'll see our workers next week. I hope!

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## mykthemin

I doubt, it sugar now just started

----------


## LEGENDARY

> I doubt, it sugar now just started


Hah! I had a laugh when I saw this... no, neither worker or his family or the temple owns sugar cane (oi), so I'm betting on my guys!  :Slomo:

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## PeeCoffee

Great OP and threads , Leg. Sincerely. You have a very good attitude and understand the family parameter pressures succinctly. I salute you for your realistic and pragmatic outlook, vision and fortitude.

If someone told me , "P'Coffee , you see that home over there in the field ? That dude is from Santa Barbara." I would look them straight away and say , "You are so full of shyte. Nobody from SB is moving into that."
Leg - YOU PROVED ME WRONG. I truly am amazed.

It's not for everyman but it doesn't ever need to be - it's only about what you want and where you're at. In the end that's all that matters in life.

I wish you all the best on the road less traveled.
I wish you do get a real staircase as I for one couldn't play the ladder each and ever day.
(You truly must be young of heart and body. God bless.)
Question: As this is truly a 1-bdrm , will you be putting an outdoor shower , toilet away from the structure or directly under your home ?

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## dustybookend

> I've never been to Spain (song?!), but I once read a travelogue that impressed me greatly about walking through Spain earlier in the previous century. The title was something along the line of: "As I Went Out Walking" - You may know of it, but if you don't, I recommend searching on the string and checking it out.


I think you are talking about As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee, a story related to the Spanish Civil War that would arouse the wanderlust in many. Well, I could be wrong.

Congratulations on a really interesting thread.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Great OP and threads , Leg. Sincerely. You have a very good attitude and understand the family parameter pressures succinctly. I salute you for your realistic and pragmatic outlook, vision and fortitude.
> 
> If someone told me , "P'Coffee , you see that home over there in the field ? That dude is from Santa Barbara." I would look them straight away and say , "You are so full of shyte. Nobody from SB is moving into that."
> Leg - YOU PROVED ME WRONG. I truly am amazed.
> 
> It's not for everyman but it doesn't ever need to be - it's only about what you want and where you're at. In the end that's all that matters in life.
> 
> I wish you all the best on the road less traveled.
> I wish you do get a real staircase as I for one couldn't play the ladder each and ever day.
> ...


P'Coffee - I originally read what you wrote while I was travelling in Lao, last week. It made me feel so good and still does, upon re-reading it. Thank you for your recognitions, appreciations and your own philosophy. I'm having a great time in the Isaan and love to share what I'm doing and share my take on things... Yes, the ladder is not so easy, especially since it is a homemade one, built by our workers, and the distances between the rungs are not uniform... I'm in pretty good shape, but my knees are weak and I always have to watch where and how I walk, especially on floor tile and muddy walkways... Good question about the building appendages. A water tank is to be erected, feeding the grounds and bathrooms. The bedroom has a small room for a toilet and sink to be installed, but the main _hong nam_, with a shower, will be in a separate building from the main structure and be built of cement block and rebar. Although building it under the main structure would add greater strength to the building overall, neither my wife or I care to have a bathroom under our bedroom, as it will be used by others besides ourselves. We're confident of the structural integrity as is... Again, thank you so much for your encouragement!

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> I've never been to Spain (song?!), but I once read a travelogue that impressed me greatly about walking through Spain earlier in the previous century. The title was something along the line of: "As I Went Out Walking" - You may know of it, but if you don't, I recommend searching on the string and checking it out.
> 
> 
> I think you are talking about As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee, a story related to the Spanish Civil War that would arouse the wanderlust in many. Well, I could be wrong.
> 
> Congratulations on a really interesting thread.


Yes, that's the one. Not only a great read, but the writing is so good. Thinking about it makes me want to read it again! Thank you for filling in my memory loss and following this thread!

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## Dead Metal

Do we get an update prior to the Christmas break legendary ???

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## jimbobs

Good luck legendary it looks great.
You have a great character and the right outlook on isaan living.
I am by Roi et and.though I'm a city boy I love the village life.
I built my house over 2 years 3 including the garden and I got down at times with the progress but we got there and the kids are happy.
So I hope you have many happy wonderful years in what ever home you choose to live in great thread

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## LEGENDARY

> Do we get an update prior to the Christmas break legendary ???


Well, it's like I feared in my last Bann Nah post, when I saw our workers drive off and wondering when I would ever see them again... mykthemin actually called it right. Even after the rice harvest season, the sugar harvest kicked in and one of our workers answered the sweet call. If one worker can't work, the other won't because they're both getting paid as a team.

The good thing is that we went through a three month work stoppage this time last year, so I was mentally prepared for it. Also, with the crew away, my wife and I have been planting and watering and generally cleaning up, so we've been having fun out there hanging out by ourselves.




> Good luck legendary it looks great.
> You have a great character and the right outlook on isaan living.
> I am by Roi et and.though I'm a city boy I love the village life.
> I built my house over 2 years 3 including the garden and I got down at times with the progress but we got there and the kids are happy.
> So I hope you have many happy wonderful years in what ever home you choose to live in great thread


Thanks, jimbobs. I'm baw pen yong about it. But, I guess I wouldn't be if I didn't have another house to live in!

HEY, GUYS, JUST GOT A CALL FROM LOTT AS I WAS FINISHING THIS UP. A CHRISTMAS PRESENT! THE BOYS ARE BACK!!!

----------


## PeeCoffee

Of course they're back (wink , wink) ....it's coming up to New Year. 
Just buy lots of alcohol and beer ;-)

In retrospect , Leg...in 2010 I may have actually passed through Nong Bua Lamphu 'central' after proceeding north-north-west off the Highway 2 in Khon Kaen. 
The undivided , winding highway skirted a huge (totally huge) Ubonrot (sp?) reservoir before heading north again. (Looked like cattle country to me.)

----------


## Dead Metal

Thanks legendary, Happy Xmas to you and yours.

----------


## fishlocker

I'm not usually long on words but I must say I have enjoyed your blog and posts here on TD. Good luck in the coming year. Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

----------


## RPETER65

> After the government workers finished drilling our new water well, it was time to complete the paperwork and make payment. Thip did the former and I did the later. Cost for the well was 11,500 baht.
> 
> We had some problems with obstructions in the well on the following day and needed to call the guys back. We were fortunate that they hadnt left the area; had other jobs around to do. They came back, cleaned out the well and even drilled a few more meters down into the aquifer. They wouldnt take payment, but accepted a 1,500 baht gratuity that probably covered their beer for a couple of nights.
> 
> During those subsequent days, we had Lott and Naht build a concrete/rebar pad for the well and finish up the PVC work. By the time everything was done, we had spent an extra 6,000 baht on PVC, cement, rebar and labor. The pump  we already had it from when 9 rai was 17 rai. So, total cost for all well-related expenses -- including food for the drillers and ourselves that first day   totaled about 20,000 baht (about $600 USD).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Is the well your source of drinking water? If so did you have it tested or put in potable water quality filtration?

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Is the well your source of drinking water? If so did you have it tested or put in potable water quality filtration?


The Bann Nah well is not for drinking, although I've drunk it with no after effects... I do not know of anyone who drinks untreated well water in our area, any more, but I'm sure there are some. Most everyone drinks bottled water, now. Some use filtration system on well water. Our temple does both.

----------


## LEGENDARY

Approaching the New Year and looking back on this building thread, I want to thank you all for participating -- coming up with good questions, ideas, encouragement, philosophy and humor. In your way, you've all contributed something to the building of Bann Nah! 

- In Appreciation, 

Malcolm Gault-Williams

----------


## David48atTD

Thanks for posting the build, interesting to say the least.

But I'm confused, by many things.


Initially I saw that you built the pad up and judging by the grass on it and the weathering, you left it for a rainy season for it to settle?

Why on earth have you built it on what look like 5' stilts/stumps?

Not high enough to build under, way to high to walk up the stairs to get to where you sleep (you're not getting any younger).  Given that the remaining plot, after selling to the Temple 4 Rai (from memory) it isn't that large to own a lot of Farm Machinery, if any, so I'm scratching my as to it's intended use.

How do you plan to get a vehicle, car/truck/or bike to the house/salsa?

Who will be working the Rice Paddy?
Do you get one or two harvests a year?

If not you (working the Paddy), do you plan another out building for them to sleep under?

A tin roof will be the noisiest option I could think of during the monsoon rains.
Why not Fibro-Cement tiles?

Where will the toilet be?  In the dwelling, or on the ground floor?

----------


## Wasp

Malcolm ...... you write as though you have reached the end of this story . 

Will there not be a staircase up to your cabin ?  Or any hand rails ?

I ask so I can put the building into my Gallery of builds - but surely you're not using a ladder ? Your plans showed a staircase .




Wasp

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Malcolm ...... you write as though you have reached the end of this story . 
> 
> Will there not be a staircase up to your cabin ?  Or any hand rails ?
> 
> I ask so I can put the building into my Gallery of builds - but surely you're not using a ladder ? Your plans showed a staircase .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wasp


Thanks for including Bann Nah, Wasp... the story continues and is far from over. It will be a record-setting build for length of time it's taken, per meter, but I'm good with it.

Yes, major components to the project in order to move in are: water tank, stairs, rails, one inside wall, bathroom (in separate building to be built on the ground) and house warming ceremony.  :Beerchug:

----------


## PeeCoffee

Slow and steady as this isn't a Formula 1 race.

Better to go slow and steady than to allow a "quickie fix" by Thai workers that one will never see again to repair what went wrong on the first go.

Khun Legend doesn't require a move in until his bathroom and stairs are built to his preferred specs.

The ant will win the race. No house warming mash up until the job is finished hence it will get finished.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Thanks for posting the build, interesting to say the least.
> 
> But I'm confused, by many things.
> 
> Initially I saw that you built the pad up and judging by the grass on it and the weathering, you left it for a rainy season for it to settle?


Yes, we let the road and pad settle for about nine months.




> Why on earth have you built it on what look like 5' stilts/stumps?


Actually, the cement posts are bonded onto six foot column footers. Some detail on that is contained at: THE ISAAN: Bann Nah 6 - Column Footers and THE ISAAN: Bann Nah 9 - Foundation and Beams 




> Not high enough to build under, way to high to walk up the stairs to get to where you sleep (you're not getting any younger).  Given that the remaining plot, after selling to the Temple 4 Rai (from memory) it isn't that large to own a lot of Farm Machinery, if any, so I'm scratching my as to it's intended use.


The cement posts under the house are tall enough to build separate rooms down below the porch and bedroom, should we ever decide to do that. The stairs will be easy for me to navigate.




> How do you plan to get a vehicle, car/truck/or bike to the house/salsa?


We built a road from the government road to Bann Nah which takes about three minutes to traverse on a motorcycle. We have delivery trucks that come out there all the time. The road itself is six meters wide.




> Who will be working the Rice Paddy?


Family members work the rice paddies at 9 rai (where Bann Nah is centered) and our other farm, which is 8.5 rai. I wrote a little bit about this year's harvest. Part 1 of 4 begins here: THE ISAAN: Giao Khao, 2015 - 1




> Do you get one or two harvests a year?


Family harvest sticky and jasmine rice once a year.




> If not you (working the Paddy), do you plan another out building for them to sleep under?


The current hangout spot is the outdoor kitchen (THE ISAAN: Bann Nah 23 - Interior Walls & Ceiling) and the hammocks we have strung under the house. I expect once we have the area under the house cleaned up, it will also be a center of activity especially during the heat of the day and when it's raining.




> A tin roof will be the noisiest option I could think of during the monsoon rains. Why not Fibro-Cement tiles?


Yeah, it gets loud up there (also at our village home), but the main considerations were cost, durability and color.




> Where will the toilet be?  In the dwelling, or on the ground floor?


There will be a small bathroom next to the bedroom, upstairs. The main bathroom will be in a separate cement building, on the ground, that will also house a laundry room, utility closet and kitchen.

Thank you for your interest in Bann Nah!

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Slow and steady as this isn't a Formula 1 race.
> 
> Better to go slow and steady than to allow a "quickie fix" by Thai workers that one will never see again to repair what went wrong on the first go.
> 
> Khun Legend doesn't require a move in until his bathroom and stairs are built to his preferred specs.
> 
> The ant will win the race. No house warming mash up until the job is finished hence it will get finished.


You got it right, Khun PeeCoffee... sometimes I think I'm gonna die before those stairs are built, but they'll be the best stairs I've ever had in my life!

----------


## Wasp

> ... the story continues and is far from over. It will be a record-setting build for length of time it's taken, per meter, but I'm good with it.


In Post 149 you were thanking folks like you were signing off .

So I thought that was it !




Wasp

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> 
> ... the story continues and is far from over. It will be a record-setting build for length of time it's taken, per meter, but I'm good with it.
> 
> 
> In Post 149 you were thanking folks like you were signing off .
> 
> So I thought that was it !
> ...


We got lots more to do, Wasp. The main building is the biggie, but there's also the building to be built on the ground (kitchen, bath), water tower, plumbing, etc.). I expect after all that, my wife will have additional add-ons, as well!

----------


## LEGENDARY

Building stairs from scratch is not easy, especially if youre using wood youve harvested, along with other milled wood  and all of it hard.

I had been correct about expecting a long work stoppage after Ohpensa. It turned out to be the second longest in the year and a half that weve been building: two months.




When Lott and Naht came back briefly around Christmas time, they resumed work on the stairs pad and began shaping the main support beams (stringers) and steps (treds). The stringers are made of teak (mae sot) and the steps are made of mae doo  both woods we cut from our farms.



(Steps [tred] Trimming)



(Steps [tred] Ironing)


Mae sot is a protected wood in Thailand, so in order to cut it  even if you own the trees  you have to get permission from the government. Even when you get the go-ahead, you are limited to the amount you can cut in a given time. All the main support posts and the stairs stringers are teak from eleven of our trees. Other teak, for the walls, ceilings and railings, were purchased. We just couldnt cut enough of our own wood to cover all our needs.


(Mae Doo tred in-process)

[originally posted at http://http://the-isaan.blogspot.com/]

----------


## PeeCoffee

Staying the course. Forward...one step at a time. Wow- teak staircase. Amazing Thailand.

----------


## LEGENDARY

A temporary fix, we installed a 2,000 liter water tank on a metal stand about five feet high. Thip designed the stand, red oxide painted the metal and we paid a local crew to weld it. I connected the PVC from the well to the tank and created ports for multiple use. Our workers were away, so we are now in a mode where we are trying to do as much of the work at the farm on our own.



Eventually, we will move the tank to a much higher tower so that we will be able to have water pressure to the second floor of Bann Nah. The tower will have a roof to shade the tank, as well as a lightning rod.

The temporary tank set-up now gives us the ability to easily water plants and trees that Thip has put on the pads periphery; mango, papaya, doolean, mak mee (jackfruit), palm nut, coconut and other trees Im not quite sure what they are. Shes doing well with the trees, but struggling a bit with the vegetables due to the exposure of the pad to the sun; little to no shade.

Having pressurized water also makes it easier in preparing and cleaning up in the outdoor kitchen.



This winter of 2015-2016 was not an exceptionally cold one, but it lasted far longer than previous winters Ive experienced in the Isaan. For example, I estimate winter season, last year, went for about two months. This year, it was a solid three.


[originally posted at: THE ISAAN]

----------


## mykthemin

Just install a pump so much easier??

----------


## Neverna

> The stringers are made of teak (mae sot) and the steps are made of mae doo – both woods we cut from our farms.


Hi there, Malcolm. Just a question/comment about the wood. Is "mae sot" a particular kind of teak or is "mae sot" just a mistake? I ask because in Thai, teak is  'sak' สัก (or ไม้สัก 'mai sak'/'my sack' - teak wood). 

Do you know the English name for the other kind of wood (mae doo)? Or could you get your wife to type it in Thai?

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> 
>  The stringers are made of teak (mae sot) and the steps are made of mae doo  both woods we cut from our farms.
> 
> 
> Hi there, Malcolm. Just a question/comment about the wood. Is "mae sot" a particular kind of teak or is "mae sot" just a mistake? I ask because in Thai, teak is  'sak' สัก (or ไม้สัก 'mai sak'/'my sack' - teak wood). 
> 
> Do you know the English name for the other kind of wood (mae doo)? Or could you get your wife to type it in Thai?


Apologies for the late reply on this, Neverna. I've been away in the USA for a couple of months, followed up by half a month in Lao.

"Mae Sot" is probably a mistake on my part. That's what teak is called, here in the Isaan, as far as I can tell. My wife used to call it "sik see" but that's not it... I'll see if I can pin down a more accurate identification of the mae doo. It's a lot like mae daeng, but is really only red in the center.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Just install a pump so much easier??


Probably, mykthemin. I really haven't set a firm plan on permanent water flow at Bann Nah. Right now, gravity fed works fine and is cheap. When and if we get to the point of taking water to the second floor, I'll have to revisit the options and cost.

----------


## LEGENDARY

While I was away visiting family and friends in the USA, our workers finished up the one remaining inside wall of yellow wood and did the trim work for the entire inside.





When I returned to Thailand, Sam Lott and Sam Naht had completed all the inside work and had moved on to working on the porch handrails and balluster, which, like the stairs, were partly designed by our head monk, Lungpaw Boon Long.







One problem that they had encountered was that the mae sot (teak) originally bought for the balluster had split badly when it dried. I suspect the wood pile should have been placed in more shade, but what was done was done.

Once the porch railings and balluster went in, the beauty of the porch was even more enhanced. Not only that, but the railings were super strong. Combined with the inside trim work, Bann Nah was really shaping up and I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for Phase One (the main house) construction.




[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN]

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## PeeCoffee

Beautiful handcrafted woodwork. That's something that is not to he found in most home projects.
Something that you and your wife will enjoy for many years to come (as long as you can still walk up the stairs ;-)

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## Neverna

> I'll see if I can pin down a more accurate identification of the mae doo.


( ไม้ประดู่ ) mai pra-doo perhaps? If so, it is Pterocarpus macrocarpus, the Burma padauk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus_macrocarpus
http://samakkeetimber.tarad.com/product-th-796508-3936340
http://www.banpansiwareewood.com/535545/




> mae daeng


Mai daeng (ไม้แดง)

Perhaps Pyinkado - Xylia xylocarpa?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylia_xylocarpa
Xylia xylocarpa - Useful Tropical Plants
http://samakkeetimber.tarad.com/product-th-796508-3936259
https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/แดง_(พรรณไม้)

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## Bettyboo

That's a bit special, I didn't know my tiler also did woodwork!  :Smile: 

Very interesting thread with lots of great pics, and some really nice woodwork.

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## LEGENDARY

> Beautiful handcrafted woodwork. That's something that is not to he found in most home projects.
> Something that you and your wife will enjoy for many years to come (as long as you can still walk up the stairs ;-)


Thank you for your appreciation, Khun PeeCoffee... We may be able to move in there within a month or two.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> 
> I'll see if I can pin down a more accurate identification of the mae doo.
> 
> 
> ( ไม้ประดู่ ) mai pra-doo perhaps? If so, it is Pterocarpus macrocarpus, the Burma padauk.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus_macrocarpus
> http://samakkeetimber.tarad.com/product-th-796508-3936340
> ...


Yes, good call on the mai doo which is sometimes called here "pah doo" (or "pra doo," depending on inflection). Not sure about the mai daeng. It is the local equivalent of "red wood." Both woods are nail benders and usually have to be screwed rather than nailed. Thanks for the links!

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## Mozzbie47

> That's a bit special, I didn't know my tiler also did woodwork! 
> 
> Very interesting thread with lots of great pics, and some really nice woodwork.


I didnt realize my x brother inlaw did work for you, actually, looking at that, he slowly getting the hang of it. :smiley laughing:

----------


## Mozzbie47

^^^^^ All bull sh-t aside, I do envy you, it was my dream for years to have my own home in Thailand

----------


## Pranburi10

Look forward to seeing more pics on your build.

Good luck. :Smile:

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by Neverna
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> ...


Also, Neverna, I did write "mai sot" incorrectly. My wife pronounces it "mai sac."

----------


## LEGENDARY

> ^^^^^ All bull sh-t aside, I do envy you, it was my dream for years to have my own home in Thailand


Thank you. It is fun, rewarding and frustrating all in one. It is not a process us Westerners are used to... BTW, the detail work looks better at a distance!  :Smile:

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## Happy Dave

> Blimey , thats gonna be one hot house under that tin roof


 ::chitown:: 
Having lived in the tropics (Australia) since the 60's  and 'roofed' at least 3 houses, there is no way in the world that i would put a roof on any house without some kind of under tile insulation, in fact i think it is asking for trouble to do so.

----------


## LEGENDARY

A number of features of our new farm house did not originate with me; like the lancah noi (little roof; Lungpaws suggestion); the build out of supplemental structures on the south side (Thips idea. I had wanted them on the larger section of the pad to the north, away from the best views); and the tongue and groove porch flooring (Thip)... Our stairs can also be added to this list.

I had had a very unassuming, fully functional and inexpensive stairs designed, originally. But, my wife didnt like it and wanted to get our head monks thoughts on a design. Well, of course, when he came up with something completely different, more expensive and totally outside the symmetry I was trying to create, I wasnt thrilled. But, I was stuck with it because you dont ask a monk for their thoughts and ideas on something and then not follow through. Besides, Thip would never go counter to Lungpaws advice.







Now that the stairs are nearly completed, I must bow to Lungpaw Boon Longs design. It is beautiful and welcoming. Sure, its not as cheap or as well protected from the rains as mine would have been, but the beauty and strength of it is impressive.







Through this very long period of Lott and Nahts building the stairs -- and constantly conferring with Lungpaw in the process -- Ive learned something very important about stairs. If youre going to have them at all, they need to be inviting. You have to build them in such a way to cause people to want to climb them, not take them on as a chore. In a way, stairs are portals. They need to be attractive enough so that people will jump through them.





The stairs are not done yet. The other railing needs to go in and the rail posts -- technically called balluster -- need to firm up the rails. None of this work is likely to happen any time soon, as it is now rice season and everyones out working their farms. Sam Lott is working his familys land and while he is away, Sam Naht is back to working in the temple.





[originally posted at: THE ISAAN]

----------


## terry57

^

Mate I love your little gaffer but i really hope you get a decent Air Con put in before the next hot season hits.

If not you may die in it.   :Confused: 

Anyway, all the best with it eh.

----------


## Nicethaiza

Your home in Nong bua lamphu? Very very nice home...That is my dream home ..I want to have one in my issan home

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## LEGENDARY

> ^
> 
> Mate I love your little gaffer but i really hope you get a decent Air Con put in before the next hot season hits.
> 
> If not you may die in it.  
> 
> Anyway, all the best with it eh.


Thanks, Terry. Wanted to get it in this year, but the project's been taking so long, there was no need... definitely before Somkrahn 2017!

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Originally Posted by nigelandjan
> 
> 
> Blimey , thats gonna be one hot house under that tin roof
> 
> 
> 
> Having lived in the tropics (Australia) since the 60's  and 'roofed' at least 3 houses, there is no way in the world that i would put a roof on any house without some kind of under tile insulation, in fact i think it is asking for trouble to do so.


Yeah, I know what you're saying, Dave. You'd be surprised at how much airflow there is in the middle of a bunch of rice paddies, but next year will be the test. If there's too much heat, we can always put in insulation.

----------


## terry57

^

Air-cons are cheap in Thailand so no biggy.

Make sure you get an Inverter, you will be using it a lot out there for sure. 

I run mine a lot in BKK and power bills are quite cheap. 

Only have one in my small gaff and rarely hits over 1500 BHT PM went cranking it up.

Mine is a big one where you will only need a small one. All good for you.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> ^
> 
> Air-cons are cheap in Thailand so no biggy.
> 
> Make sure you get an Inverter, you will be using it a lot out there for sure. 
> 
> I run mine a lot in BKK and power bills are quite cheap. 
> 
> Only have one in my small gaff and rarely hits over 1500 BHT PM went cranking it up.
> ...


We'll be installing a solar energy component to the mix, next year also, so that will keep the cost down as well.

----------


## Conche

How far do you have to run the electric to get to your place ?

----------


## LEGENDARY

> How far do you have to run the electric to get to your place ?


The power lines to the pad go about 15 rai deep into the rice fields. This post has some video that give you a good idea of the distance: THE ISAAN: Bann Nah 5 - Power Lines

This post contains a video (the second one, toward the end of the post) that shows the run lower down toward the pad: THE ISAAN: Bann Nah 8 - Power Lines

----------


## Stumpy

Cool place you have there. 




> You'd be surprised at how much airflow there is in the middle of a bunch of rice paddies,


I had our house built on pillars as well for the same reason, we always have a nice breeze in morning and night and on and off through out the day. Its very comfy underneath. But I wil say when the breeze stops it can get hot very fast.




> We'll be installing a solar energy component to the mix, next year also, so that will keep the cost down as well.


I am looking into this as well. I have a nice big roof over my car park/shop area that is not visible to the front of the house but gets sun all day. I want to add solar to run some lights and the fans in the shop. I have been doing some calculations on surface area required. Its free power. I already have solar lights on the house and around the property.

One thing however here in Thailand is power is relatively cheap so the ROI is not such a big driver. Convenience is the bigger driver if you do not want to pull power to the location. Depends on what one plans to use and do.

Again nice place.

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Cool place you have there. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by LEGENDARY
> 
> ...


Thank you, sir. Our wat has solar and not what I would consider to be a lot of panels. Yet, they drive the entire complex and only use the gov't electricity to be politically correct.

----------


## Conche

Thanks for that video link Legendary , very interesting to watch

----------


## LEGENDARY

> Thanks for that video link Legendary , very interesting to watch


Thanks, Conche. I love doing them and used to spend lots of time on them. With increased use of the smartphone, I've gotten lazier.

----------


## LEGENDARY

Counting our donation of nearly half of our original 17 rai of farmland to our temple for the building of the chedi (stuppa); then moving out to the remaining 9 rai and putting a dirt pad down, the Bann Nah project has been nearly three years in the making. Whenever it is referenced, however, most people consider its only been two years underway because thats when construction of the house began.

Well, the stairs alone have taken a year to complete. Of course, our workers worked on other things in tandem with the stairs and also took a good number of lengthy breaks to do other things like tend to their harvests, work in and for the temple, etc. Even so, the stairs have taken a long time to get done. Ive posted a little bit of the progression first starting with stairs pad; the stairs roof; stringer and tred; and finalizing the tred.



(Thip is ecstatic)


Please dont think Im complaining. As Ive explained before, the stairs have turned out far better than I ever imagined they would. Moreover, they have become a major stylistic element to the whole mix; a dominant, beautiful element for sure.




And even though they are not completely done, they are basically finished except for the bottom concrete step and some final finishing with wood preservative, filler, sanding and stain.




The stairs are made up of about four different types of wood, most notably teak (mai sak), mai deng and pra doo -- all hard woods. Here are some details on the woods used the most:


mai sak:

Tree Latin Name: Tectona grandis
Local Lao/Thai name: Mai Sak
Trade name: Teak

Particularly valued for its durability, abundance of oil, and water resistance. It is used for boat building, exterior construction, interior walls and ceilings of cabins and temples, veneer, furniture, carving, turnings, and usually small wood projects.


mai daeng:

Tree Latin Name: Xylia xylocarpa
Thai name: mai daeng
Trade Name: Pyinkado

Even though a direct translation would work out as 'red wood' it isn't, neither is it rosewood. Pyinkado is actually the Burmese trade name but it covers all wood in Lao and Thai. It is a VERY durable and tough wood which has twice the hardness of teak. Used for railway sleepers, piers and other sub-aqua purposes (15 years life untreated) also excellent flooring. With these properties it is also very heavy when green over 1000kg per Cu meter and also hard to work. It has a very decorative pink-red in color when newly cut, but deepens with age.


mai doo:

Tree Latin Name: Pterocarpus indicus
Thai name: mai doo
Trade Name: Narra

A beauty wood used mainly for furniture, windows and doors but also used for instruments. An open grain with distinctive scent when working -- relatively hard and termite resistant; red-orange in color, with the grain close to the exterior being blond.


A list of available wood types in Thailand, with their Thai, trade and Latin names:

Mai sisiet nua = Akazie (Acacia catechu)
Mai makha = Monkey Pod Tree (Afzelia xylocarpa)
Gaang luang = Coffin Wood (Albizia chinensis)
Mai krabak yai = Krabak (Anisoptera costata)
Mai saake = Brotfrucht (Artocarpus communis)
Mai kanun = Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
Mai ngiu = Flamboyant / Flame of the Forest (Bombax ceiba)
Mai chayapruek = Laburnum (Cassia fistula)
Mai ma prao = Kokos (Cocos nucifera)
Mai daang = Rosenholz (Dalbergia parviflora)
Mai ma klua = Ebenholz (Diospyros mollis)
Mai yang = Yang / Gardschan Balsam (Dipterocarpus)
Mai yukalip = Eukalyptus (Eucalyptus sp)
Mai ni krot = Banyan / Feigenbaum (Ficus bengalensis)
Mai dton bo = Bodhibaum / Feige (Ficus religiosa)
Mai para = Gummibaum / Rubber wood (Hevea brasiliensis)
Mai takhien = Takhien (Hopea odorata)
Mai tong bung = Kempas (Koompassia)
Mai ma muang = Mango (Mangifera caloneura)
Mai champa = Magnolie (Michelia champaca)
Mai dton son = Pinie (Pinus kesiya, merkusii)
Mai pradu = Nara Wood (Pterocarpus indicus)
Mai ching chun = Siamese Rosewood (Pterocarpus macrocarpus)
Mai gong gang = Mangrove (Rhizophora mucronata)
Mai cham churee - Chamchuree (Samanea samana)
Mai daang = Burmesischer Sal Baum (Shorea obtusa)
Mai rang = Thai Sal Baum (Shorea siamensis)
Mai gong gang = Mangrove (Sonneratia sp)
Mai makam = Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
Mai sak = Teak (Tectona grandis)
Mai daeng = Ironwood (Xylia xylocarpa)

[above list courtesy of Buriram Expats Forum]

[This chapter in the construction saga originally posted at: THE ISAAN

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## PeeCoffee

Enjoy many happy years living your dream.

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## LEGENDARY

> Enjoy many happy years living your dream.


Thank you, PeeCoffee!

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## LEGENDARY

As our three year-long farm houseproject was slowly drawing to a close, I started getting sad thoughts about how much Id miss not having our workers Sam Lott and Sam Naht around. The feelings/thoughts reminded me of when I used to lifeguard in the summers of long ago. You knew summer would come to an end and you knew you wished it would last forever.






This was an unnecessary sadness, I had to remind myself. To be sure, there will be continued construction at Bann Nah and Lott and Naht will most likely be the ones to get the work done. Not only that, but soon theyll be working daily at our Kamattan temple just five minutes away. I will be very surprised if they do not become semi-regular after-work visitors at Bann Nah. During those days-to-come, I imagine well do the same as we do now: crack open some bottles of beer Chang, eat, talk and listen to Thai Luktung. The song that was most often played this past year (2015-2016) was Sai Wa Si Bor Thim Gan ( ไสว่าสิบ่ถิ่มกัน﻿ ):




As I understand the song, it basically says: you promised to be with me forever. For months, I looked trying to find this song thinking it was entitled Sai Woosy.

Anyway, the number of things left to do in this wrap-up of Phase One of the Bann Nah Project I could now count on one hand, as Lott and Naht finished up the trim work and began the final staining. Its amazing how much trim makes in beautifying a building!



[originally posted at THE ISAAN

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## LEGENDARY

While Lott and Naht were finishing up on the wooden structure (Phase 1), we had them do one Phase 2 task before they would leave us for a while -- maybe a long while. We had them put in the concrete floor downstairs.






Whenever family or friends in The States ask us why we built Bann Nah so high off the ground -- and is it because of flooding? -- we have an opportunity to explain a little about our Phase 2 plans of enclosing the downstairs eventually. I always like to throw in the part that it is traditional to build on stilts in Southeast Asia.

The reality, though, is that these days most SE Asian housing is now built from the ground up -- almost always using a concrete pad. In the very distant times, bamboo construction of living quarters demanded structures being built above ground (probably not much more than two or three feet) to ensure that the bamboo stayed mostly dry. Elevating the structures also protected occupants from things crawling or slithering on the ground.

As time went on and wood and nails replaced bamboo in home construction, homes were still elevated for the same reason when it came to other ground creatures, but now it incorporated a little greater height so that people could have a living space underneath the house in daytimes -- to block from rain and sun.




When I first met my wife, this was the state of her family home. They even had chickens and ducks living underneath the house, which I didnt think was sanitary or a good idea, but then again it wasnt my house.




After Thip and I married, we had the family house elevated further so that the entire house could be built out, underneath. This involved jacking the whole house up, putting in support posts and beams, concrete block walls and a concrete floor which was tiled over. Many Thai houses have had this done to them. Chances are, when you see a Thai or SE Asian house that is wood on the second floor but concrete on the first, that structure is that way due to evolutionary change, not by initial design.



[originally posted at: THE ISAAN]

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## LEGENDARY

Phase 1 of the Bann Nah project is finally finished, after 2 years and 3 months duration.

Phase 1 was essentially the main building construction, mostly of wood.

Phase 2 will begin sometime next year, I imagine. Depends on the wife and our financial resources.

I've written about the "final" days (is anything ever final?) at THE ISAAN 

Thank you all who have read about this project, here at TeakDoor. A big "Thank You" goes out to those of you who took the time to comment, make suggestions and lend your encouragement. Very much appreciated!

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## PeeCoffee

Thank you for taking the time to post up your thread with all the pics.

 Chock dee mak mak !
May the good lord shine his light on Thip and you too...keep on living the dream. Surf's up.

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