Loombucket's Paradise on earth

[Loombucket]

Another year older and we've got off to a good start. We had three teams up at the site today, team one were working on the fence. Here is the problem. We have dumped so much earth on the soi side of the land, it appears that the fence has dropped. As you can see, a little digging found the bottom strand of wire.



The posts need to go up by, at least six or seven inches. Here, the local lads are straightening the guide post. This was about the right hight but not quite in the right place.



Meanwhile, at the entrance to the soi, someone was digging a trench and complaining bitterly. He was the Headman's assistant and he wanted to be elsewhere.



Back at the site, the boys made frames for the shuttering........



........and the girls made more of those metal frames. Khun Orn made sure that every twist of wire was well tight.



Back at the entrance to the soi, another chap was hard at work. He did everything possible to avoid having his photo taken, including hiding in his van. I managed to get this by 'borrowing' a small van and hiding in the back myself.



Shortly after this, we had one of these. A Thai style water meter with more counters than an English Gas meter.



I decided that my workers were all working very hard and deserved an ice cream. We have two guys that ply for trade, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They just drive on to the site and wait. Here, the girls enjoy a home made cone. They actually had one each but they don't last long in the heat.



Last one, for today, is Khun Ard. The colour of his outfit gives you some idea of how far down he is prepared to dig. Seen here tickling the bottom of a post.


I hope he comes back tomorrow, those posts are bladdy heavy. Cheers.

[SEA Traveler]

I decided that my workers were all working very hard and deserved an ice cream. We have two guys that ply for trade, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They just drive on to the site and wait. Here, the girls enjoy a home made cone. They actually had one each but they don't last long in the heat.



.

Yup! Always recommended to treat the workers the way you would want to be treated. It helps the moral and desire to not want to intentionally do a bad job.

My payback to the workers was a few cases of Chang or Leo after hours on a Saturday evening.

Good postings Khun Loom.

[Loombucket]

I think that this is day seven. To be honest, I am slowly loosing track.

Seeing as I missed the Architects measuring equipment, and his red and white pole, you can imagine my joy when this little gadget came out. The trusty plumb bob. Here, Khun Udon checks his figures, one last time, before the pillars are extended to mate with the ground beams.



The fence boys had, indeed, returned and had done a first class job of lifting the posts. My estimate of six to seven inches was a bit off.



It's nice to see so many happy faces on the site. Here Khun Erk give a demonstration of the barbed wire stretching tool. I think he put that bit of grass there on purpose.



It was very hot today. So hot that the boys put up some shade to stop the cement going off before they could use it.



Mere mortals, like us, repair to the local noodle bar for something very cold and wet. Khun Orn, however, has a dip in his own plunge pool. It's technically next door, so I haven't managed to catch him actually plunging, but he always comes back dripping, with a big smile on his face.



When we got back from lunch, the team had managed eleven of these and went back to frame making and metal work.



Tomorrow they are threatening to start laying out the ground beams, if it doesn't rain.

[sunsetter]

nice one lb, great pics

[Loombucket]

Right on cue, it starts to rain. Then it hammers down like crazy. I thought that things were going a little too well . This was the scene that greeted us this morning.



It did stop for a while and the gang did manage to finish raising the rest of the pillars.



Unfortunately, the rain then returned with that sort of vengance that make one seek the shelter of solid objects.



This was how it looked at about half past three and we all went home. I pity Khun Orn, as he has to sleep there tonight. The shed was, not exactly, waterproof. I think I will get him off the icecreams and on to the Leos. That will warm him up a bit.

[sunsetter]

been getting a lot of rain in the uk lately, but not quite the same as that tropical stuff, whats the long range forecast lb?

[ChiangMai noon]

This was how it looked at about half past three and we all went home. I pity Khun Orn, as he has to sleep there tonight.

building in the rainy season is guaranteed to slow it all up a bit.

think we only lost half a day through rain building January through march.

[Loombucket]

Khun Orn, the phantom plunger, has dashed off to BKK, as his wife has just given birth to their first child. We wish him the very best and hope that he comes back ASAP. Meanwhile, the sun had done it's best to dry out yesterday's soggy mess. The holes were all filled in and the land was roughly made flat again.



Small trenches were then cut, into the soil, linking the exposed uprights. Next, a layer of sand was laid down to make a surface that could be accurately leveled. The redundant top binder was also removed, from each 'pillar' and the tops cleaned off.



Now it starts to look like something. While the team got on with this little chore, the Boss was hard at work on more shuttering. I've noticed that he actually whistles all the time he has a hammer in his hand.



Time for a cool one before the big lift. Actually, they are drinking 'Bebsy' and that vile green Fanta, with lots of ice. I suppose it's a sugar rush thing.



Now it is time to see if the first groundbar will fit in place. Without Khun Orn, doing most of the work, the others struggle but manage to lift in in place, bit by bit. Must be bladdy heavy!



Here is a closeup of the union between horizontal and vertical. It was a pretty good fit, ATASTTB.



One down and about eight or nine to go. They will be supported on bricks and wired to the uprights. Next they will be shuttered, that is, have a little wooden wall all around to support the cement. The cement truck is due, again, on Monday. That gives us just enough time to make some sort of pathway, capable of supporting the weight of the loaded truck. I don't want a repeat of last time.

[DrAndy]

It is always great when the foundations are laid and you can get on with the real bit of building

keep up the nice pics and good luck

[SEA Traveler]

Step by step... good progress Khun Loom!

[Loombucket]

Please excuse this early report, as I have a kids party to attend this Pm. We will have a clown, some silly games and, probably, some bad singing but that's enough about me. This was the scene today with most of the pre-made ground bars in position.



All of the remaining pieces had to be threaded through and then wierd together in situ, without the benefit of any shade. The two with their backs to us are in, what will be, the lounge. The hight of the beams will be, about, the hight of the floor.



Now Khun Udom, the Builder, decided to put the remaining uprights in position. I thought that they were a bit short but there are smaller bits that will go on top. First the 'bottoms' are pinched together and tied off.



Then the upright is placed on top and the 'pinch' is released.



Then everything is wired together and 'Bingo'.



It looks a bit wobbley, at this stage. It will be supported during the cement pouring, to ensure that it stays in the correct place.

[SEA Traveler]

Good reporting and picture taking Khun Loom. I like seeing, what appears to be, all the open farm land surrounding the area where you are building. Keep up the good work...

Cake and Ice Cream at the Bday party??? What about cold liquid refreshment?

[Loombucket]

Cake and Ice Cream at the Bday party??? What about cold liquid refreshment?

They were all Thai kids, so it was more of a crisps and fruit fest. I was on the iced water. It doesn't do to be 'wobbly' at these sort of events. Besides, I take my responsibilities very seriously.

[SEA Traveler]

Cake and Ice Cream at the Bday party??? What about cold liquid refreshment?

They were all Thai kids, so it was more of a crisps and fruit fest. I was on the iced water. It doesn't do to be 'wobbly' at these sort of events. Besides, I take my responsibilities very seriously.

Not exactly what I ment but like I said, "cold liquid refreshment"... Water it is...

[Loombucket]

With Khun Orn still at his wife's bedside, and the two boys off fishing, it was down to the Builder and the lazy one to find enough wood to shutter all the ground beams. Here is the first one. Notice that it was been covered in some sort of black goo, that smelled a lot like Wintergreen oil. It stops the cement from sticking, I was told.



Everything and anything that is vaugely flat is pressed into service and then nailed together. Pole and rods stop the whole thing from falling over. Measurements are taken, against the blue string, every time Khun Udon moves.



This was the picture at 13.00 today. Not pretty, not ugly, just art.



That is going to be a tough course to navigate with heavy buckets, if the truck gets stuck again. This taken yesterday, under a threatening sky, shows the site looking more like a pirate radio relay station.........



......."Well good evening folks, you are listening to Radio LoomB, broadcasting on fourteen hundred meters and ten fagocycles. We'll be right back to our program, The Mahavishnu Orchestra plays Alvin Stardust's greatest hits, but first a word from our sponsor".....(hiss....crackle)....

[SEA Traveler]

Notice that it was been covered in some sort of black goo, that smelled a lot like Wintergreen oil. It stops the cement from sticking, I was told.



This was the picture at 13.00 today. Not pretty, not ugly, just art.

Good call on explaining the Wintergreen (whatever) oil/tar. It sounds reasonable.

"Good", "Bad", or "Ugly" looks does not matter at this point. It is what the end product looks like and the assurance of the specs being followed.

Now, if it was a woman we were talking about, that is a whole new discussion about what it looks like but even then, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder".

Good job Khun Loom. I am enjoying reading and following your house construction project.

[Loombucket]

Sorry about the brief lull in reporting guys (and gals). We have a small, ongoing, computer related problem, at this end, and will be back with you shortly.

[Loombucket]

Where was I...

Cement is now arriving a day early! There is now some semblence of panic in the camp and we are still one man short. Khun Udon whips out a, previously unseen, circular saw and starts cutting up everything in sight. Note the enthusiasm of the man holding the job steady.



A little shower, signals a return to the shed, where the girls get on with making beam binders for the next floor. Always a good standby job this, as you can never have enough, or so it seems.



Now we are close to getting there. Soil is ramped up, from the floor, to hold the botton of the shutters in place.



Here we are ready to go. Even the mark-out frame has been sacrificed for the all important planking.



Every one is very tired and they get to go home early. I am knackered and have done nothing but watch. I water the plants around the lake so that I can, at least, say that I have done something.

[cimboc]

^ Is that flicking a switch on the retic?

[Loombucket]

They started without me again and I was half hoping that the truck would get stuck. We have a big truck first and a smaller one after, same as before.This time the soil has been built up and driven over, a few times, just in case.



Today we have one or two extra people, but there was no time to get a clean shot of them as they beaverd away. We employed the same tried and tested bucket chain method as before. They made it look easy.



Here is Khun Udom with a bit of metal, working the mixture into all the corners.



Here he is again filling in the odd hole and making sure that the tops were nice and smooth. Note the short metal bars. These will be bent over to help with the bonding of the flat cement areas outside and in the downstairs Hong Nam (toilet).



That's both trucks on site and unloaded but I knew, in my heart, that it couldn't last. The same driver both times and he does his cleaning and then empties his water tank in the same place. Then he drives backwards behind a tree, so he can have a leak. Then he got stuck. Unfortunately, everyone had just gone home.



The rest of us watched him for about twenty minutes, as he slowly dug himself out. I didn't mind the holes in my garden that much, at least I found out where the good soil was.

[Loombucket]

They are taking the shuttering off already and trying to salvage any decent wood. The cement has been stained by the 'Wintergreen oil' and looks a little ugly. This will be the lounge, with a door here and one on the left at the back.



Most of the team are back in the shed making up the beams for the next floor.



We are now up to date and this will be the view from the kitchen window.



I'm off for something cold and wet and I don't mean a Dog's nose.

[cimboc]

When someone at our work gets the company vehicle bogged its a carton straight up

[SEA Traveler]

Every one is very tired and they get to go home early. I am knackered and have done nothing but watch. I water the plants around the lake so that I can, at least, say that I have done something.

There is nothing more relaxing than watching someone else do all the physical labor... but even too much of this is enough to make the best of us tired.

Enjoying the post Khun Loom and the house is coming along nicely.

[Loombucket]

Even great men, like our Builder, need to take a day away from things. So, today, camera shy Khun Mau is keeping a watchful eye on the site, the rest of the rebar and our last five bags of cement. With no one working, and thus no noise, the place was alive with Butterflies. Unfortunately, they don't pose for photos and are far too quick for me! Anyway, here we can see the shutters all gone and ready for the next stage.



This end is going to be the stairwell. The extra rods will give a decent key to the stair assembly and the small landing. Note the Thai style safety features. The one on the left is Khun Udons's personal mug and the one in the middle was the nail pouch.



Blocks and wooden poles are next on the list, I suspect, we seem to have enough beams to keep us going a while.



That's all for today.

[DrAndy]

hooray, looking good

move in soon