drum roll.......
OK... attempt no.2... i think i got it this time.
drum roll.......
OK... attempt no.2... i think i got it this time.
Sorted!
...now i can start the photo story too
^ Jayzuz! Is that you?
Oops, sorry. That just slipped out.
A very handsome man. Looking forward to the house build pics now.
MEET THE TEAM
OK, to get this out of the way at the start, I will do a little intro of us - always good to put a face to a name
Its the original 'Beauty and the Beast', I think. Obviously, I'm the beauty in this team...
I am a middle aged construction professional, with experience of mega-projects, heavy building materials, water and utilities, infrastructure, etc. both in the UK and 10 years in the Middle East. I have worked in UAE, Qatar and Oman. As previously mentioned, I'm currently building the new Abu Dhabi International Airport. It is an epic, lots can (and does) go wrong (!) but when finished it will be an iconic development. Besides direct involvement in construction, outside work i am a traveller and photographer (the perfect combination), my photography covering travel, sport and portraiture, and I'm complete with a client list and website. Fishing whenever i can, mainly fly-fishing while in UK, of course thats not available in the Gulf.
Princess Joy hails from BKK where she worked. we met while we were both vacationing, and hit it off immediately. She is a great, really great cook and home maker - perfect for me of course. She had not travelled abroad before we met but unlike a lot, she embraced the opportunity fully, sampling the culture, trying and enjoying the food, and generally 'living the life outside Thailand''. Like me she likes to fish, unlike me she's really good at it. We go twice a week here, so she's never without a fresh catch.
For sure, shes the darra, me...im not a big fan of lakorn!(all the storylines seem to be the same), but that does mean that i have a ready made model every time i want to try something new with the camera!
OK... thats us... we will be project managing the build - she is fearsome when needed so I do not envy the builder once we get going, if it deviates from the plans!! Since those plans are 100% mine, I also have a good idea about what should be going where.
Last edited by Thai Dhupp; 17-04-2017 at 03:38 PM.
Cool, looking forward to the updates! Welcome to the forum
Good job getting the pic thing sorted
Thought it was gonna get painful there for a sec
Looking forward to the build
Originally Posted by Thai DhuppLet the games begin.Originally Posted by Thai Dhupp
You can start a new thread or ask the mods to title change this one.
Good day happy campers...
Ok, we covered the background to why i am building in Thailand, and we've done the intros, so today's post will be about the land itself....
FINDING LAND
So, once we had decided on the build option, we had to decide where we wanted to live.
I favoured the idea of Ayutthaya or the like, something with history, or some of the coastal areas down South. She wanted peace 'n' quiet, without dust, engine pollution and noise, away from the city. (Actually, I want that too!!). Neither of us are really city-dwellers despite my job and current living arrangements.
The direct coastal areas were far too pricy for very small plots, the premium for the sea view. I figured I was not that bothered about the sea view but I was bothered about all the tourists flocking to the view and getting in my way! Too far South was a bit remote, same for too far North - I wanted to be more central for exploring Thailand, and reasonably near to BKK Airport for the travelling abroad. Bangkok itself...too pricy for single house plots, plus we already lived in the suburbs there for 3.5 years and thats enough.
We looked in a lot of areas. We wanted rural, but within reasonable range for shops and entertainment, so we started looking South of BKK and East of Pattaya, which is how we came to look in Chonburi province.
While looking there, we came to hear of some plots in the area and my ‘chief negotiator’ enquired more. Yes, plots were for sale and different sizes and prices, so we discreetly looked at what there was, where it was, etc. and settled on a long strip shaped piece. After a bit of haggling, much to her amusement we secured the plot.
And that was that…
Or was it?
Another plot we wanted, with road frontage was previously ‘sold’ but then became available when the original purchaser dropped out. Some more haggling (again anonymously through my negotiator) and suddenly we owned 2 plots!
THE LAND.
OK… plot 1 currently has about 120 well-spaced rubber trees on it, is thoroughly overgrown, and at the top of a shallow hill. There is no chance of flooding. It has water and power and road access.
Plot 2 is smaller, and v close to plot 1, with road frontage, power and water. Although a little bit lower, it drops v gently down to said road, and on the other side of the road is open farmland between 0.5 to 1.0M below the road, so I’m not expecting a flooding issue on this land either. the locals confirm there is no flooding.
There is further expansion potential though as to the right of this second plot there is a plot covered in mango trees and apparently abandoned, and to the left is a further plot which the original purchaser wants to sell as he too bought a second piece nearby.
This location is easily drivable to Pattaya, to Bangkok and south to Reyong. Although rural and quiet, it is within very easy striking distance to 3 or 4 big golf club complexes, and that got me thinking for the long term future for a resort on plot 1.
That’s for another day though!
This is a shot of plot 1
...and, another photo, looking towards where the first photo was taken...
You can see the rubber trees, and the general overgrown nature of the land.
yes... I know we are not building this house on this plot, but since I mentioned it in the 'finding land' posting, I thought I would illustrate it
...and I know how you all love pictures, so... any excuse to post!!
OK...now to plot 2, which we will be building on.
This is looking from the road, towards the very overgrown hedge - it needs a lot of cutting back...
Now looking the other way, down the road towards that outcrop of trees. Those are on the 'mango tree' plot adjacent to ours, where, at the moment, no one can trace the owner
Here is photo 3, near to the power cable post (you can just see the same cable post in photo 2, on the extreme right. The plot extends right back to the end of the line of trees
Last photo is looking back up the road, and showing the lower level farm land on the left. The photo is a little deceptive as the car is definitely higher up than the place where I took the picture! its all very rural and quiet.
Someone said, if we were lucky, we might even find the odd snake on the plot when we were cutting it back.
Looks a nice spot. You planning on land fill to raise level higher than road?
How close to the nearest good grocery store, gas station, town/city? It is good that you are on a paved road.
Hi Norton... well, we will have some small leveling to do for the footprint of the build itself but I was not planning or raising the whole plot up. I suppose it could be done, did not think it was necessary as there has been nil flooding over that ground since records began.
Im planning for the house to be approx half metre above the surroundings after the small amount of levelling has been completed.
we have owned the land for 2 years now, and have been there at different times of year, including during and after prolonged and heavy rain - never any flooding on the plot.
I will check how much a load of fill is in these here parts, and then see if its a viable option to do it all.
although you cant see it in the pictures, there is a small access road at the back of the plot too, which i believe would channel any field run-off away from us.
The raising of your footprint allows for good drainage of water during the yearly rainy season. Unless you want water running across your yard, which can cause foundation damage, I would recommend raising your building plot. I thought I would not need to, but after four rainy seasons, I am glad I did. Fill dirt is cheap in Thailand.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)