Quote:
Originally Posted by dennis4558
The documented experiences of TD posters suggests prejudice against 'Thai standards' in building is just...prejudice. :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dennis4558
The documented experiences of TD posters suggests prejudice against 'Thai standards' in building is just...prejudice. :)
lol could be!Quote:
Originally Posted by cyrille
Mind you, there have been some excellent builds from Thai building 'crews' as well.
And one totally sh1te estate construction I had the misfortune to inspect as part of my NEBOSH qualification which was seriously a safety hazard never mind the lax construction standard.
..and that disaster was at UK prices
As i have said, yes... i spent some time choosing K.Pot to do mine but I'm the first to admit..we have been very lucky with him.
They are not all like K.Pot but most of the threads here have turned out pretty good at the end and every one is satisfied.
Oh...and there is still plenty of time for him to make a fcuk-up or for us to fall out with him big time. (we have had 2 'confrontations' so far, both resolved in our favour, btw...)
You are calling him to build yours, Dennis, or to buy the one he finished? i guess the former!Quote:
Originally Posted by dennis4558
That's what i did - took my time choosing the builder, got to know him through meetings saw his work elsewhere and spoke with the owners, checked he could actually do everything (!), etc.
its not 100% guaranteed but you have a far better chance at it turning out good, in my opinion.
Dont rush the process... be sure in your own mind that the one you end up giving the contract to has ticked all your boxes!
Good luck.
I never went to Roi Et, the furthest 'north' we went was around Chiang Mai when we were on a temple run. we will explore more once i am permanently there, though.
Actually Runker, those are tiles!!Quote:
Originally Posted by runker
He's not done the Mae Daeng yet - this was in Bedroom 2
'Interesting process', lol - Im not totally happy - he should have staggered them. This is what can happen when the boss is elsewhere and the no.2 thinks he can crack on with something.
i think K.Pot has been in, read the riot act and is / has changed the layout already - I await confirmation of that.
Yep. Didn't comment above because kinda a too late thing. Make sure they fully understand the Mai Daeng must be staggered. Mine is half board length and looks good imho.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thai Dhupp
Yours does look good, Norton...its why I'm going own the same route!Quote:
Originally Posted by Norton
He knows about staggering the Mae Daeng, and has put in the runners to fix it to at 50% length intervals.
least.. I think that's why hes done it.
umm.. better send PJ a telegram... shes chosen this moment to do 3 days 'merit' in the temple, complete with 3 kids in tow and she got up this morning at 0230 for the first prayers.
Dressed in white and eating only veggies. Tis the season to be holy, fa, la, lala...Quote:
Originally Posted by Thai Dhupp
My wife and I had an outstanding general contractor for our home. They did everything to specs we agreed upon. There were no delays or stoppages and it was done on time. Been about 4+ years now and zero issues.Quote:
Originally Posted by cyrille
I believe Thai builders receive the usual bad rap out of pure stereotype.Quote:
Originally Posted by JPPR2
I, too, have known numerous contractor types that are quite worthy and steadfast - without the predictable issues.
A variety of experiences and exposures might loosen up those negative senses that many have chosen - based usually on limited situation.
I agree wholeheartedly. Sure there are bad ones but that exists everywhere. I think in general if one does their homework and they personally understand basic build techniques they will have a successful project and be happy for many many yearsQuote:
Originally Posted by HuangLao
Got it in one!Quote:
Originally Posted by Norton
Well TD, I'm posting in your thread to record the fact I finally finished going through the entirety of it over the last week. Amazing, thread, info and house. I am but an amateur in comparison. Regards, BiP
Lol... no amateurs here BiP... building colleagues and friends with a common goal... getting place to live in LoS.Quote:
Originally Posted by BoganInParasite
We all help each other to achieve our dreams.
I have certainly been helped massively with advice and encouragement and i am grateful for that!
Hey TD, awesome thread :approve:.
Long time lurker here & first post. I've been following your thread & just noticed you lived in Bath so thought I'd say hello, we're in Bradford on Avon.
Currently building in Udon Thani from the UK which is good fun :laugh2:
Keep up the good work
Niggle
Confirmation of what i was saying, JPPR2... there are plenty of good to great building teams out there and like anything a few crappy ones that spoil it for all.Quote:
Originally Posted by JPPR2
Some of the biggest building company operations seem to be the ones who caused the most heartache judging by a couple of threads on here so company size is no measure.
Again, some of the smaller Sub-cons used by my builder rely on repeat business so have upped their game to match K.Pot's standards. They have to, but have benefited from it. win win.
Seems like your was a real winner though - did you research much before choosing him?
Welcome aboard NigglyB and thanks for 'breaking your duck' on my thread!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Nigglyb
With nearly 70 pages its less a thread an more like novel, but hopefully the storyline is good, the action sequences are exciting, the cast are all characters and the love interest is... spoken for thank you very much!!
haha .. yeah was over in Bath, worked for wessexwater for a while, but all that now a distant memory, been 'middle easting' for 10+ years and looking forward to spending more time in the LoS.
Udon to UK... that is some long distance project managing. when will you finish, and... why not tell the tale on these pages?
As you rightly mention, the key is 'doing the homework' before embarking on the project.Quote:
Originally Posted by JPPR2
You have forever to regret, if you don't
you could be right but..Quote:
Originally Posted by HuangLao
...on the other side of the coin... its important we speak up on the forum IF there is a genuine 'bad'un' to warn other TD members .
Part of what the forum is about, I think...
Ha, I've got plenty of pictures to tell the tale which I'll do a bit later. There's still time for it to go horribly & expensively wrong though which I wouldn't make public, yet.
I have to confess, my intention was not to do it this way but circumstances sort of overtook & here we are. We've got an English construction company with an English site manager who I speak with just about everyday. It was really important to get a full set of plans I agreed with well up front & I can see they're following the detail. It seems to be going really well so far so fingers crossed.
We should be up to snagging early Feb 19 so a bit of time to go yet.
English construction company? English site manager? ... don't tell me you are paying English prices too!?Quote:
Originally Posted by Nigglyb
What are you actually building, if I may ask?
(and don't say 'a house')
I originally got 6 companies to quote on my design, 4 of which were solely Thai owned & operated. The company I selected was admittedly on the high end of the quotes but I liked the "prospective customer experience" in what I suppose was the tendering process. I saw a lot of their work & being able to converse freely in English is a huge benefit. Its not much higher than the solely Thai quotes so i'm happy with the agreed price. I'm a complete construction cretin so I wanted to be nursed through the build which is exactly what I'm getting so far.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thai Dhupp
Its a two & a half rai plot & we're building a bungalow with landscaping front & rear. I'm planning on getting old & infirm there so lots of flat areas & low, wide steps if needed :)
This is a really great account and story! I have spent the last few days reading through and learning a lot from your project as so many others have already said. I was wondering if you made any changes to the original contract that you posted at the start as I am now planning my own build in Thailand, looking to begin in the new year as now at least there is a) the building permit and b) a (very steep!) freshly built road up to the land.. so pretty much (sic) ready to go!!
hi Knowsitlike and welcome. I see you have just joined up, and here on this great forum is the place to get all the advice and support you wlll ever need!!Quote:
Originally Posted by knowsitlike
With regards to the original contract, no.. clauses remain as they were at the start. I forgot to include one for the termite control but my builder did it anyway, at no charge as we had spoken about it at one of the meetings pre-contract.
There have been a few items not in the contract that we have done - the duct bank under zone 2, the external window detailing (i have not yet posted those pictures), and additions to the budget for, say the wall and floor tiling, where we changed out minds nearer the time. There has not been too much of that though.
We wanted to retain control of the kitchens and bathrooms - others might want all that written in to the contract - but by keeping it separate, we keep 100% control of what goes in. No compromises. We might still have k.pot build part of the kitchen, not decided yet. What we did put in was the labour part in the contract- whatever we buy he fits, if required. We will definitely use that clause for the sanitary ware, definitely not for the AC, and maybe for the kitchen!!
Keep your options open
very nice!Quote:
Originally Posted by Nigglyb
With 2.5 Rai, never mind the 'wide steps' for getting old- you better budget for a ride-on mower too.
I have future-proofed TD Towers with space for a lift unit if i ever need it!
lol way i feel at work just now, i think i might give K.Pot the instruction to go- ahead!!!
TD, evening as i assume it is out there. Sorry to be a pedant but isn't it PJ Towers?
Cheers Thai Dhupp, and thanks for posting that contract certainly a good starting point even if it blinds the local construction firms into a daze at least you feel you have all the points down you want to make before the going gets fun.
The duct bank you refer to was that the under foundation piping for cable runs across the footprint you laid early in the build? not sure I remembered that right.
I appreciated your thoughts about rain water harvesting as this is something I want to do from the beginning, my land is far from a reliable official source and at the top of a hill. There is an option to dig a well further down and pump up but with a flat roof area and usual rainfall it looks feasible to do it from collecting, I heard in the same neighborhood that someone else already did this to good effect but it does take a huge tank setup, probably around 20k liters to make sure you have enough for a dry month even in a smaller house. I am ok to have a decent treatment plant post the storage of needed as this is more about supply than cost but will keep you posted on my learnings there.
Have a good weekend, tell you what using this site with a mobile ain’t half a mither hey
Knows, whilst you're waiting for TD and assuming you have read lots on here before you'll know options also exist for a pond, land size dependant, but if your plot is big its a possibility and its sounds like you won't want to but a well is a goer - dug at the end of the dry season local rates (40-70K maybe) vary and the ROI is loooooong but in the end its about stability of supply and you can use it for your house of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by knowsitlike
Hello NamPik, thanks for the suggestion and I was thinking about doing a couple of small holding ponds/dams in a gully that runs down the plot- more to see if it works at all to collect runoff through the year but I am not so hopeful on that. As mentioned and from talking to others in the area they have to deepwell (100-150m) quite far down the hill to make it work and so ideally I would avoid that if the rain collection is viable. Might end up doing all of the above! even collecting off the road (private) for planting etc as major issue there is water, the usual supply is from a small waterfall but so many people are tapping that it is starting to run dry and is a source ;) of problems in that community..
Anyhow back to TD’s thread, would be good to see the roof guttering and how he might later build in a water collection storage as my calculations are it needs a big volume.
Knows, just a word on water storage before we move on, mozzies, you need to account for them in whatever storage or you'll end in a nightmare. Open Storage ponds the solution is fish + a food source. Over and out.
So...what's all this then...?
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2018/10/601.jpg
Stair rail infills?
In her mind maybe, but the reality is somewhat different.Quote:
Originally Posted by NamPikToot
She owns the land.....
The house is mine, and I got a lease on the land
Good guess, but ...noQuote:
Originally Posted by NamPikToot
[QUOTE=knowsitlike;3839991]The duct bank you refer to was that the under foundation piping for cable runs across the footprint you laid early in the build? not sure I remembered that right.
Yes... just some access arrangements from front to back to avoid digging it all up in the future
Sorry a joke, the give away is the angle, they part of the balcony areas?
Ok...i went over it earlier in the thread and I am going to do it but not as part of this build. the guttering was not part of the contract as I want a specialist in for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by knowsitlike
Basically, water harvesting is... making use of all water that enters your plot.
You can use waste water from say, showers and washing machines for watering the garden, even flushing toilets, as long as it is thoroughly filtered
you can use rail water for all of the above, plus drinking (through the correct filters), inputting the washing machine, even input to the shower or bath.
If you design the pipework to cater for the future (I did) you can add any or all of this at a later date.
You need a harvesting method, say a gutter system, a storage capacity to suit your needs (tankage) a pump system to circulate the collected water and input it back to your domestic use.
if you want toilet flushing, shower use and drinking water, you can't have a single tank if you are using both sink waste water and rain harvesting.
If you decide to use the sink / shower / washing machine water solely for irrigation (good idea with all those phosphates) life is easier. The rainwater supply can achieve as much of the other options as you want, depending on supply volume of course.
Just my ramblings, not cast on tablets of stone...
No..its a fair guess as we WILL be doing that and the pieces look 'similar'Quote:
Originally Posted by NamPikToot
Not part of the balcony area either, but nearer to their fixing place!
There are 10 of them...
Right, Red wine time:)
...there are 10 of them.....
and there are 10 windows.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2018/10/594.jpg
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2018/10/595.jpg
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2018/10/596.jpg
yes... Lanna style window detailing.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2018/10/597.jpg
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2018/10/598.jpg
The idea came from window research... the ones we found were very ornate, with the detailing running up over and around the shuttering.
Then we found this simpler one:
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2018/10/599.jpg
So my version is a 'tip of the hat to tradition' without going too OTT.
Wish I could.. I'm at work!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by NamPikToot
Feel free to drop a bottle off!!