Loombucket's Paradise on earth

[Loombucket]

After promising a special feature on plumbing, you can imagine my dissapointment at missing 99% of it. Whilst I was in the local internet cafe, nursing a thumping head and fighting to concentrate over the roar of everyones games, and the T.V., building was quietly going on without me. In the afternoon, I popped up to give my baby trees a little tender loving care, and some Bufalo droppings. I noticed a few new things had arrived, so I went for a look. This was the Ceiling fairy's delivery.



Then I caught a wiff of that dubious aroma, associated with plastic water pipe. Thinking WTF, I rushed around the back and saw that the full team had been there all day, plumbing in the waste and water. I was a tad gutted TSTL but managed to get a few pics. Waste out, and water in go through the, afore mentioned, hole in the overhang, at the back of the house.



This is the full gaggle of pipes, waiting for some concrete to make sure that it doesn't wander off. Later, it will have it's own little wall, to hide it from the world. I'm going to call it 'Pooh corner'.



Here are the Boys digging a trench for the shower and kitchen waste water pipe, that has it's own tank next to the workers dunny. You can see that Loong is standing on one of the two soil tanks. These have been bridged together. Very soon afterwards, it was all filled in. Thank God I have planted baby trees, I thought.



This is the waste water drain tank. I forsee a wonderfull bog garden just down from here, with those plants that like to have damp tootsies, all the time.



Inside you can see the finished plumbing in LoomB's bathroom. They've even got the floor in! It doen't look fantastic, at this point, but the slope is bang on.



The bathroom next door has also been done and has a few glass blocks in the wall. This does not increase the level of light by a vast ammount but, at least, you can find your way out if the power fails. These were missing from the original plan.



As the team were getting ready to go, it was revealed that Khun Udom is in a hurry to finish, so that he can make a profit. No one had bothered to mention it to me, not that I am too important at this stage. When I asked about the farewell party, they said that it was very nice. You have to laugh.

[Loombucket]

Not wanting to get caught out like yesterday, I made it nice and early to the site. It was not early enough to catch Khun Udom, he had already jacked up the top 'floor' of the scaffolding.....



...to enable the welding of a few more supports, for the 'pretty bits' around the edge of the roof. That's a coil of fishing line at the left side of his head. Not sure why but I won't show my ignorance by asking. I won't understand the answer anyway.



Mr and Mrs. Brickie are the next to arrive and they start on the upstairs bathrooms.





Later on, the ceiling people arrive. They start in true Isaan fashion by eating a meal in the back of their truck,



....whilst the boys rumaged in the wood pile and soon knocked up this wonderfull horse and safety ladder.



These were soon put to good use as the boys did some serious marking. That's the red chalk line that everybody seems to have.



I had not seen this done before, so I was paying close attention. After a couple of pics, there was some discussion and the boss went and spoke to Khun Udom. "No like photo, cannot think", he said. Ok, I said and went off. Seconds later, one of them trys to cut his finger off and there is blood everywhere. I did manage to get these though. This is the edging and a slat, pinned to the wall.



This is the basic frame, nearly completed. The chap with the fancy shorts is still clutching his finger. I had to hide beneath the window, to get this, but the first 'burn' from above soon made me move.



There was no time for introductions, and there were people everywhere. They liked to have the radio up really loud and, what with the banging, it was a noisy place to be. This is Mrs. Ceiling banging bits of the trim with a piece of wood. She is making anchors to attach the frames to the cement. She had no sense of rythem though, prolly why she has so many kids. ** OLD JOKE WARNING **

[sunsetter]

lovin it loom, the ginger ceiling lady is a bit of alrite

[Loombucket]

Today Khun Udom is keen to get the 'pretty' edge of the roof done. This stuff is, basicly, cement with a little colour. It's low maintenance but a little on the heavy side. Khun Eek is juggling two drills and the wires and plugs. Loong is just hanging on.



At the back of the house, Mr. Brickie has walled in 'pooh corner' and is waiting for it to go off a bit, before applying some rendering.



Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the ceiling boys are still hammering along with the latest chart hits,....



...but are starting to make an impression on the house. This is the living room and it looks a little complicated due to the sunken middle bit.



Back at 'pooh corner', Mr. Brickie has rendered everything in sight to create the illusion of a dummy pillar and blend everything in together.



After lunch, the ceiling boys have made their way upstairs and Khun Udom has doen the front bits. The house looks in serious need of a visit from the paint box pixies, but otherwise, slowly starts to look like a home.



Then we have some bad news. Khun Udom has done something nasty to his left arm. He had tried to carry on using loong as a spare left arm but, as they weren't actually connected, physically or mentally, this did not work. Eventually, he sent every one home and drove off for some T.L.C. I keep a brave face but, deep down, I have an uneasy feeling.

[Loombucket]

Mrs Udom has phoned and told us that her husband has gone into hospital, with a serious muscle problem. We wish him the very best for a speedy recovery. That bad feeling is growing like the compound interest of a bad-ass loan shark. The ceiling boys have not turned up but there are some goodies hidden in one of the bedrooms. American breaker box, real three wire cable and an earthing rod.



Switches and sockets, by Panasonic, have also been obtained. I start to feel a little better.



It's Mothers day here, so I am needed elsewhere. Khun Mow is looking after the place in Khun Udoms absence, so I leave the place in safe hands. When I make it back in the evening, I am, however, a little dissapointed.



**Members please feel free to insert their own expletive**

Personally, I think that that looks f***ing awfull. Now I would love to make a scene, but now is not the time or place. Secretly, I suspect that this is the work of Mrs. LoomB and I have no doubt that she will shortly by seeking some ointment for her sore bottom. Without Khun Udom, or someone else who understands English, I am, for the moment, stuffed.

Sorry to end in a rush, we keep loosing the 'net. Probably too much rain somewhere.

[splitlid]

^ thai style house

[andy55]

i would have run the cables on the inside of the cupboard ,

[Loombucket]

thai style house

More like Thai style mentality

i would have run the cables on the inside of the cupboard

Yes, unfortunately, it's the downstairs toilet!

[Loombucket]

With Khun Udom still sick, Mrs. LoomB off visiting a sick relative and the ceiling boys A.W.O.L, I thought it was time to track down the Somchais' and ask a few pertinent questions. The first stop was the local School.



Here, for a small donation to the School fund, I was 'lent' an part time English teacher, for translation skills. The next thing was to find the address and, four or five telephone calls later, we were directed to a small building, in need of some repair.



Not surprisingly, the place was desserted. However, the old woman next door, confirmed that Somchai Senior had been born there and, sometimes, parks his pick-up truck out the front. Next stop is a small noodle bar behind the lake where Somchai sometimes has his dinner. The charming woman tells us that the boys have gone to Surin and then I have to get the Teacher back to school. I feel the need for some serious retail therapy and make a note to go to Korat city, first chance I get.

Meanwhile, back at the site and oblivious to all the fuss, Khun Torn is quietly getting on with things.



Despite the fact that the wires are not hidden in the wall, the workmanship and the quality of the materials is of a very high standard. Even the meaty cable has very little fat.



There is another chap coming tomorrow to help with the main feed and they seem to be making good progress. I just wish that Khun Udom was here.

[Loombucket]

Khun Udom is still sick and the ceiling boys have not turned in again. Khun Torn and his buddy have already got the power line to the house. First they put the cables in through the roof but Khun Mow, the caretaker, then arrives and is suitably horrified. He makes them do a better job, like this.



Then the boys decide to 'chase' the power cables into the outside wall, to make it look 'pretty'. Why bother, when the inside looks like a drunken rats nest, I thought. They start by cutting a channel,



...and then proceed to drill right through the wall, in several places.




Later, they manage to fill in the holes but the standard is not as good as their electrical work.



Again, Khun Mow makes them do it again untill it looks better than I could manage myself. Later still, they have a stab at cutting in the socket and switch boxes. Luckily, they were a good fit. Oh where is the inchworm fairy, when you need her most???



Now I realise that everything can be made good with a little more render, it's just that it's a little soul destoying to watch.

At this point, Mrs. LoomB telephones, to ensure that her wishes are being carried out. What wishes were they??? It was Mrs. LoomB that wanted the wires run down the wall after all. I shout and call her a lot of names, all of them true. I then close my telephone, roar off the site, like a loony, and ask a complete stranger to join me for noodles. The poor Thai guys ignore this display, of face loosing, and carry on ruining the walls.

I am tempted to send a private Ambulance for Khun Udom, my faith in everyone else around me is slowly being eroded. This is a sure sign that I have not adopted a detached enough attitude. Perhaps I need to get drunk?? I repair to the internet cafe to consider my options.

[Norton]

I repair to the internet cafe to consider my options.

You are entering the frustration stage of the project. The finishing bits.

Seems the biggest challenge is getting the wiring inside the wall. Only option now is to do what it appears you are doing. Cut out the rendering, put in electrical conduit, switches, outlets and then the wiring.

You are right all things "look" like they can be rectified with rendering but note the new rendering "finish" over the electrical conduit will not match the old. I.e., it will looked patched. The patchy look will be magnified when painted so make sure the rendering finish is as close as they can get it to the rest of the wall.

I mentioned in a previous post if you are using gypsum for your ceiling consider getting someone with experience to do it. The crew you have likely doesn't have the experience to do a good job with the taping and finish.

Anyway, hang in there as there will be more rework but make sure you get what you want on the finish work. After all this is what you will see everyday and the last thing you need is a daily reminder.

[andy55]

i can understand your frustration loomie
they seem to do everything backwards there, or have no foresight, when building houses
i visit new build whenever i,m in phuket , its the same there too
they finish the wall rendering --then knock it all to hell again for services, which should have been installed prior

if that happened in the uk one could give them hell
but the face thing in thailand prevents that!

that hole in the wall for the socket/switch box is ridiculous if that was done here, or the other damage too- the guy would be booted off the job !
it will all work out when the forman eventually gets back im sure

[Deck Ape]

Loombucket,

Think you're right. Get drunk and then spend a little time flirting with your favorite shopgirls.

DA

[dirtydog]

they finish the wall rendering

The main reason this is done is that they can then show that a main stage of the work has been completed and can then get paid, generally they don't break down the payments into small enough sizes to be able to do the brick work and install the cables etc and then render off, every big job we have done we have had problems getting payments when we are running all the electrics, weeks of cutting out bricks to run pipes and cables and the customer complaining nothing is getting done, found the best bet is to leave a few walls down and then halfway through the electric runs stick up a couple or more of walls and the customer is happy with the progress of work.

[andy55]

every big job we have done we have had problems getting payments when we are running all the electrics, weeks of cutting out bricks to run pipes and cables and the customer complaining nothing is getting done, found the best bet is to leave a few walls down and then halfway through the electric runs stick up a couple or more of walls and the customer is happy with the progress of work.-- un quote --
looks like thats whats happened to loomies place !

[dirtydog]

I don't think you understood what I posted Andy, may I suggest you actually read what I posted.

[dirtydog]

Let me explain it to you Andy in simple terms, the customer comes everyday and see's unrendered walls and people cutting channels into them, wire is extremely expensive and is listed as a seperate payment, the profit margin is not enough to do the wiring and finish the walls, you are in the situation where you are 3/4s the way through each section of the project, ie nothing finished so no payments due and the customer after all the excitement of seeing walls being boshed up at super speed now considers nothing is happening each day, people are visual animals Andy.

that hole in the wall for the socket/switch box is ridiculous if that was done here, or the other damage too- the guy would be booted off the job !

The reason why it is so big andy, shall I tell you? Here in Thailand walls are not plastered off, it is just a render finish, what would happen if it was cut to the right size and render was used to stick the socket in? The render would dry straight away and just crack, remember this isn't England, when I was working in Sri Lanka they finished walls with white cement, that was a nice finish, just as good as plaster and no humidity problems.

[SEA Traveler]

From a customers perspective, I can relate to wanting to see progress however, if it was explained to the customer that a certain phase of the construction would be more slow moving than the other portions than I would think that it would be understood why progress gave an appearance of being slow... What I think might drive the contractor crazy is the constant barage of questions from a customer who is in country and on sight every swinging day.

When I was not at sight during the construction of my place due to being out of country, I received pictures almost daily. I wanted to respond with comments and questions to each and every one of the pictures and found that I needed restraint to let things develop a little more before I actually asked the questions. But then, it became a matter of reworking the the issue in some cases because what I was saw the pictures and was hoping to see fixed later was on some occassions not and required rework.

[andy55]

all i know is -- loomie is really pissed off by the inbeciles/ village idiots- wrecking his house
do i get a green?

[Loombucket]

I mentioned in a previous post if you are using gypsum for your ceiling consider getting someone with experience to do it.

Cheers Norton. The crew that are putting up the frames for the ceiling will be putting the boards up, and making it look nice

Get drunk and then spend a little time flirting with your favorite shopgirls.

Thanks, I like to do that at every oppertunity.

Update coming.......

[Loombucket]

In the nick of time, Khun Udom's white charger vaults the boundry fence and trots lazily into it's stall.



The full extent of Udon's injuries are then revealed. He got a jolt from one of the drills and actually fell of the scaffold. He proudly showed me his needle marks and announced that he will have to go back to the Hospital later in the week, but he quickly sorted the blokes out.



Better!



Unfortunately, Khun Udom now does not have the strength in his arms to do any drilling, this duty was assigned to the most competant other and, very soon, they were back on the job of putting the edge boards up. I was wondering why they hadn't finished painting the ends of the rafters.



It was nice to see a few familiar faces.



They were using this weird screw thingie. Half drill bit, half self tapper, with a grip under the countersink. One whole baht each!!!



Here, Khun Udom shows how to cut the perfect angle. Not how I would do it, but about the only power tool that he could use. I was gratefull that he didn't fall off again.

[Loombucket]

The Ceiling boys are back and, this time, they bring their own boards and the usual trappings for a full day out.



Very soon, they are putting up the first boards in the kitchen. Mrs Ceiling starts putting the dinner together and I waste a lot of time trying to get a photo.



Meanwhile, up on the balcony, the reduced team are cutting tiles,...



...and fitting them in the roof.



The Ceiling crew are very quick, at their work. It is not long before the tape and white stuff are being put up. It looked pretty good to me.



After lunch, the 'Boys' are putting bits of fancy plastic into the gaps at the edge of the roof tiles. Stop Bird, they said. Can't be many left, I thought.



Not exactly Isaan style.



Here we have the shy, early flowering Ceiling Nymph. She is gazing adoringly at her mate, but probably thinking about dinner.

[Loombucket]

The Ceiling boys have arrived early today, before ten, and brought some nice shiney board for upstairs.



Khun Udom, Mow and Mrs. LoomB are in the kitchen, taking measurements and arguing semantics. I have already said my piece and I am just letting them 'get on with it'. The downside of this discussion, will be a trip to a large building type place. Fun on my own but......



Upstairs, they are making great strides in the bedrooms.



The Electric Boys take this oppertunity to sit on the livingroom floor and do some technical stuff. They are actually making boards to told the wires in place, down the feed pole.



Here is the man, up the pole, so to speak, with a strap around his waist and fancy spurs tied on to his plimsoles.



These spurs have little pegs that engage in the holes in the side of the pole, to enable safe climbing.



We can't actually connect the feed wires to the meter without another bit of paper, signed by the Headman. In true Isaan style he is off somewhere, with one of his minor Wives, and cannot be contacted on the phone. Khun Udom and the boys are having their own party, seems he has won 10,000 Bht on the lottery. He will drive home tonight to collect it. Good, he does need to be cheered up a bit.

[sunsetter]

progress is a wonderful thing!

[Chong Boy]

as always, great stuff loomie

always a joy to catch up with this thread