Finding and Building a Residence for Mr and Mrs MTSINTERNATIONAL

[SEA Traveler]

Above Picture (removed): Toilet roll holder installed (edited by Whiteshiva) .

I take it you like your food extra spicy!

Nice thread - and a great project - thanks for sharing!

With all seriousness that it deserves Khun Whiteshiva, the water heater has a door where I can keep the corn cobs... no need for toilet paper....

Thanks for the kind words though.

Caio!

[SEA Traveler]

25 June 2008:

2 nice features that Khun recently included in the project are curbs to act as a forward stop point in the car port and stone face on the bottom part of the columns in front of the house. Here are some pics of those features.


above picture: car port curb to hinder forward movement of car further into the car port. there are actually 2 of them in the car port.


above picture: stone face placed on the bottom of the columns in the front of the house.

[BosseO]

^ Stop block, have to think about that, wifey says she want her own car. Thought about buying her an old banger to practice on, maybe an old house could have done as well.

[SEA Traveler]

^ Stop block, have to think about that, wifey says she want her own car. Thought about buying her an old banger to practice on, maybe an old house could have done as well.

Khun BosseO, I know exactly how you feel. Although wifey has a license, she has done all her driving outside of Thailand in Korea and the US where both the steering wheel and the lane in which people drive is opposit of that which is standard in Thai (most of the time anyway). Well she did drive when were were in Belize where it was Thai style but after severl time of having to remind her where we were and what side of the road to drive on, I took over all driving responsibilities... But other than that she is a pretty good and very safe driver...

Are you weels up yet from Den and have you arrived in LOS?

Ciao!

[SEA Traveler]

17 June 2008:

Pluming and painting of the pump house continues and the overall efforts of Khun to begin finishing up the details is starting to bear fruit. Here are 2 recent pics (complements of Mr. & Mrs Hino who get a green for this effort) of progress.


Above Picture: Pump house painted with the land where the garden will be in the foreground.


Above Picture: West side of the house with paint and trim started and the uncompleted pool in the forground.

[DrAndy]

It is looking very grand, good thread

[SEA Traveler]

It is looking very grand, good thread

Thanks for the kind words Khun Dr. Won't be long untill it is finished and I have a place to call home...

Ciao!

[Loombucket]

It is looking very grand, good thread

Agreed! You have incorporated some nice features in your grand design. The stop block is a nice idea but I would spend too much time falling over the thing. My idea of a carport is more of a workshop with a car half in it. I do like the stone facings on the pillars. I see them, sometimes, on Thai owned houses. They look like they have been done by the boy on his tea break. Yours look ok to me though.

'A place to call home', sounds good to me. Cheers.

[Marmite the Dog]

What's the betting the kerb is an inch too close to the wall?!

[SEA Traveler]

It is looking very grand, good thread

Agreed! You have incorporated some nice features in your grand design. The stop block is a nice idea but I would spend too much time falling over the thing. My idea of a carport is more of a workshop with a car half in it. I do like the stone facings on the pillars. I see them, sometimes, on Thai owned houses. They look like they have been done by the boy on his tea break. Yours look ok to me though.

'A place to call home', sounds good to me. Cheers.

Thanks Khun Loom. There may possibly be a few things that we find that would fall into the catgegory of Thai workmanship but Khun has kept a pretty good eye on things so I feel rather confident that things have been done correctly. If not, I'll get Khun to fix them when noticed.

Ciao!

[SEA Traveler]

What's the betting the kerb is an inch too close to the wall?!

Quite the cynic today aren't we Khun Marmite and almost a good catch but I think that you are mistaken this time? In this case the picture may be a little decieving when it comes to the distance you are talking about.

While at he home construction site back in March and April, Khun and I specifically discussed this concept and the distance between the carport wall and where the curbs were to be placed. We measured against actual vehicles. The curbs were to be placed no closer to the wall than the distance needed to clear the largest requirement as determined by our measuring the various vehicles. So, I have a high degree of confidence that we are safe in this case. That is not to say that Murphy isn't hanging around but I think we have him and the situation under control.

You will hear about me reworking this curb if I find out it isn't enough space. Thanks for the observation though, it is a valid one...

Ciao!

[johpam]

I think its a great idea to put in a kerb in there your garage/carport. I think I will do the same. How was it ankered (if at all) to the floor and at what distance was it placed from the wall, it looks like nearly 1 meter.
Thank you

[Travelmate]

should measure the distance in the carparks. They all seem to be spot on, regardless of which vehicle parks against the kerb. Not one ever seems to touch the wall.

[SEA Traveler]

I think its a great idea to put in a kerb in there your garage/carport. I think I will do the same. How was it ankered (if at all) to the floor and at what distance was it placed from the wall, it looks like nearly 1 meter.
Thank you

Khun Johpam, Greetings!

As this concept was something that I indicated to Khun that I wanted and we discussed it during my being on site in March - April, I can not tell you with profounf knowledge exactly how it is anchored. I is my perception and understanding from review of all the pictures that I have received from Khun and and Hino, that the curb is actually the red clay brick that was secured to the carport tile using cement and adhesive then had the smooth cemnet formed over the red clay brick. So, it would be just the cement and adhesive that secures it to the floor tile of the carport. I don't have a problem with that as when/if it ever needs to be moved, a chisel and hammer could do the trick. If I find that the some added anchoring is needed for the curb, a drill, a piece of rebar, and a little cement world surely do the trick. It isn't like I'm going to be using the curb as the stop each time I pull into the carport. It is more of a safety thing more than anything else.

Thanks for the comments.

Ciao!

[SEA Traveler]

should measure the distance in the carparks. They all seem to be spot on, regardless of which vehicle parks against the kerb. Not one ever seems to touch the wall.

Khun Travelmate,

I think you are probably correct about the 1 meter distance. After analysis and discussin with Khun about the correct distance needed, I did not commit that to memory as there were too many other number floating around inside my head. But 1 meter would not have been too far off.

Ciao!

[SEA Traveler]

30 June 2008:

In my absence, Mr. & Mrs. Hino were nice enough to do a home construction site drive by and take some pictures.

The exterior and internal Teak doors have all been stained and started to be installed. The double front Teak doors are pictured below and seem to fit in fine with the rest of the hose from both a color and design aspect. The office Teak door likewise fits in well and I especially like the beveled glass frames I had the door builder include.

The ceiling fans have also been installed in a few of the rooms and the pump house bathroom has been finished.

Things are starting to take shape.

Now, here is a question for the bathroom fixture expert. In the last picture below that I am including in with this series, I notice that the shower water fixture appeared wrong side up. Sure, the hose nozzle is facing up but the water fixture handle looks upside down. It is a Kohler brand faucet and it has a red hot and blue cold dot on the fixture to denote which is which so I asked Khun to check it out for me. I don’t think they reversed the hot and cold water lines. More on this later…


Above Picture: Double Front Teak Doors. One the drive way is cleaned and the lower front part of the house is painted with the trim color, it should all look rather nice.


Above Picture: Office Teak Door with beveled glass in the background wiht the living room in the forground.


Above Picture: From inside the office you get to see the finished Makha wood floor, the Teak Door with beveled glass an the newly installed ceiling fan.


Above Picture: Master Bedroom Makha wood floor and newly installed ceiling fan.


Above Picture: Swimming Pool Pump House bathroom.


Above Picture: The toilet is centered but as I discussed above and as you can see in this picture, the shower water fixture looks upside down. I'll report later on what Khun has to say about this. It just looks odd to me the way the handle faces up.

[sunsetter]

your getting there mate, loving it loads

[SEA Traveler]

your getting there mate, loving it loads

Thanks Khun Sun! Looking forward to it's completion so I can get on with things.

Ciao!

[Gao999]

Excellent House building report, thanks for taking the time to post regularly.

The house is looking very good as it nears completion.

Two questions, if you don't mind

1 have you decided to put rainwater guttering at the front of the house?

2 I haven't seen anywhere in the thread about the sewage system you have put in place. can you give details?

[jizzybloke]

House is looking great SEA T!

What sort of railing or barrier will you have on the verandah?

I don't mean on the central part where the front door is but to the right of it.

[SEA Traveler]

Excellent House building report, thanks for taking the time to post regularly.

The house is looking very good as it nears completion.

Two questions, if you don't mind

1 have you decided to put rainwater guttering at the front of the house?

2 I haven't seen anywhere in the thread about the sewage system you have put in place. can you give details?

Welcome to the Froum Khun Gao.

Putting the rain gutters on the Front North Side and West Sides of the house is something that we will probably do sometime during the dry season after we move in and have time to oversee that project and before the next wet season. Realistically speeking, I'm thinking next year February or March.

Ther are 2 septics tanks directly associatd with each of the 2 bathrooms and there is a third septic associated with the pool pump house bathroom. As far as size/capacity, I'd have to discuss this with Khun as I don't have a clue.

[SEA Traveler]

House is looking great SEA T!

What sort of railing or barrier will you have on the verandah?

I don't mean on the central part where the front door is but to the right of it.

Good question Khun Jizzy and an easy one to answer... "NONE", as I intend to use the the side patio French Doors when I have been partying and might need to be careful not to fall off the front terrace.

No, seriously, we made a conscious decision not to put up any type of railing as we wanted a totally unopstructed and open area. Don't anticipate any renegade children running around so there should not be any real issues
or potential for anyone to fall. It isn't all that high either. I'd say a meter at most.

Appreciate your observation.

Ciao!

[AZZZEY68]

Its coming on and looking excellent.

[a. boozer]

Putting the rain gutters on the Front North Side and West Sides of the house is something that we will probably do sometime during the dry season after we move in and have time to oversee that project and before the next wet season. Realistically speeking, I'm thinking next year February or March.

SEA Traveler,
Have just had to re-model our guttering, found a chap in Ban Chang, that provided a very fair quotation and did a good job. Will pass on details when you arrive back in LOS.

[SEA Traveler]

Its coming on and looking excellent.

Thanks Khun 68 for the kind words... and as with all successful efforts, it did not happen with a lot of up front planning and assistance from multiple sources.

Ciao!