Finding and Building a Residence for Mr and Mrs MTSINTERNATIONAL

In this series of pictures on the progress of the construction of the MTSINTERNATIONAL Home, you will see that the exterior walls are double width Q (Super) Block and the steel roof trusses have had rust inhibiter applied.

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Above picture is from the inside of the Master Bedroom looking out into the pool patio area.


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Above picture shows the front entrance where double teak wood doors will be installed. There will also be a stained glass window put in above the door.


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Above picture is a wider angle viw of the front of the house. What is not visable at this point in the construction are the archways across the whole front of the house.


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Above picture shows the unrendered Q (Super) Block and the pool patio area.


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Pool patio area.


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Above picture shows the front of the house with the nearly completed roof trusses installation.


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and this above picture shows the beginning of the wall rendering and application of the roof dress.

Coming together nicely, wondered where you had been.

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Originally Posted by jizzybloke

Coming together nicely, wondered where you had been.

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Yea, no excuses I know. But I will have to say that during the 6 weeks in Thai while I was still living out of a hotel and/or a relatives house, limited my access to a computer to download pictures and post updates. Additionally, all the time spent at the work sight and working the details of the project left me with a decision of posting to this fourm or having some great Thai food with some cold refreshment. Need I say what my choice was. In any event, I'm back at in the daily grind but no complaints as I have something to look forward to and retirement to Thai NLT 3 Jan 09 is just around the corner.

I'll be posting a lot more here in the days to follow and the posting will be progressive as to follow the development and progress of the house that I was involved in during those recent past 6 weeks.

Thanks for the interest in this report. Glad you are enjoying as it is an experience for me as well.

... and the swimming pool is coming along as well. It was well into March after the rebar was place in position and while I was on site when the forms were built and put into place. There was plenty of reinforcement and support to the forms and the concrete pour was scheduled. For anyone who has never witnessed the process of the pouring of a concrete pool, it is really something to see. I the case of the my pool construction, the concrete was brought in by truck by CPAC, poured into a large 150 gal or so industrial concrete bucket which was lifted by crane over the roof of the house and into position where the labor released the concrete into the designated position. The walls were poured first and since the forms for the walls were built with a 15 - 20 cm space at the bottom of the walls there was some desired and planned seepage of the concrete into the pool floor area. When the concrete pour of walls were completed, the pour continued into the pool floor. Here are some pictures of the completed rebar of the pool, the forms prior to the concrete pour, and the concrete pour process.

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Above picture: pool rebar and forms prior to concrete pour.


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Above picture: pool rebar and forms with supports prior to concrete pour.

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Above picture: pool rebar and forms with supoorts prior to concrete pour.

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Above picture: pool rebar and forms with supports prior to concrete pour.

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Above picture: pool rebar and forms with supports prior to concrete pour.

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Above picture: pool rebar and forms prior to concrete pour.

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Above picture: CPAC truck pouring concrete into industrial bucket.

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Above picture: creane lifting industrial bucket full of concrete over the roof of the house to the pool construction site location.

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Above picture: pool construction workers guiding the bucket full of cement into the desired location for pour into the forms.

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Above picture: pool constructions making the concrete pour into forms.

ello mate nice to see you hard at it again, looking forward to your updates, hows the patio/pool coming? woops, i see its coming along nice

Back at you SUNSETTER. Yes progress on the house and pool are progressing just fine. That is not to say that I don't have to keep my eyes on things but that is to be expected. House contractor is fantastic and is keeping close tabs on the workers. The pool contractor is technically proficient but we have a hard time having him stick to a schedule and letting us know when he might not be bringing his crew to the work site. I think we got that fixed thoug now that holidays are over. I'm up to about early April with my posts and am trying to post an update at least once a day but sometimes there just isn't enough time. Especially since I've just left Thai and am currently back home. The 6 weeks away from work does not make it any easier to catch up. Anyway, I'm in the middle of posting some more pictures so hang on...

cool, cant wait for the pics, been busy then?

the concrete pour went along without any mishaps. I can say with all honesty that I am really thankful that the crane operator who was mechanically lifting and moving that bucket full of concrete over the roof of the house had steady hands. Actually he did a great job and there was no damage at the worksite at all as a result of the concrete pour process. These next few pictures show the pool after the concrete pour after the forms were taken off, during the wall rendering process, and while the pool contractors were building the steps and spa.

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With completion of the welding of the roof steel supports into place and the smoothing and rendering of the walls being initiated, it was time to begin the laying of the roof tiles. And lots of roof tiles there were. Three truckloads full to be exact. The contractor advised me of exactly how many roof times and the associated weight that went along with that large quantity of roof tiles but that number currently escapes me right now. I used the two tone light brown CPAC tiles, they were slightly more expensive but well worth the small extra expense in my opinion. CPAC specialized roofing workers did the job. They first came out to survey the job and when they came a few days later to begin the work, they came with the tools of the trade to properly do the job. Anyway, there were roof tiles everywhere. Here are some pics prior to the roof tiles as they were placed as they were taken off the truck and before actually being placed on the roof.

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and I mean the tiles were everywhere... on the front terrace, on the living room floor, on the office floor, on the ground outside the front of the house, and elsewhere... now, for anyone who has not seen how they get the roof tiles positioned onto the roof, that is quite a sight to see. I don't imagine that it is done like this at every work sight but at my house construction work site, the roofers threw each and every one of the tiles from the base floor level to the roof level where another roofer caught each and every single one of the tiles and once he did, handed them over individually to another roofer who placed them in a pile in a designated location on the roof. This was done endlessly until after about an hour when they got tired and then started handing them up via a ladder. It wasn't long before they got back into the throwing mode though and I did not see any, not one tile dropped or miss thrown. None were broken as a result of getting them up onto the roof this way.

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Above picture: roofers taking a rest from tossing the tiles up and now handing them singularly up the ladder to next individual to be staged on the roof.

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Above picture: tiles staged ready for being layed.

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Above picture: here are the nice neat stacks of the staged tiles.

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Above picture: here the tiles are all neatly staged and ready to begin the laying of the tile.

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Above picture: after staging the tiles on the roof, they started laying the tiles.

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Above picture: here, the water proofing and insulation foil is visable. personally I don't think there is much of an insulation factor with this type of foil and I may find myself adding some additional insulation at some point down the road.

I had already made the decision to go with PVC windows and wanted the steel reinforced ones, not the aluminum framed PVC windows. In my opinion, the maintenance free aspect of the PVC along with the secure fit and insulation factor, added security, and general ease of cleaning was worth the added expense. So, with the roof and wall rendering completed, I contacted EURO PVC windows for them to install the windows and French Doors for the patio. I went with a mix of sliding and encasement type windows depending on where the windows were located. I had retractable roller type fly screens were included in the contract. In any event, the windows were installed over a 3 day period and I had the installation of the fly screens suspended until the house was completed. Here are a few pictures of the house and pool as it was at the end of April.

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Above picture: Office PVC Window.

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Above picture: Living room PVC Window.

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Above picture: Office PVC Windows.

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Above picture: Inside looking out of the French Doors.

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Above picture: Ourside lookin in at the pool patio French doors.

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Above picture: Front of House, April '08.

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Above picture: Front of House, Apr '08.

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Above picture: Front of House, Apr '08.

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Above picture: Front of House, Apr '08.

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Above picture: West side of House and Pool.

looking good mate

...and here is a close up view of the pool as of the end of Apr '08.

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Originally Posted by sunsetter

looking good mate

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Thanks Sunsetter. Yea, it isn't an easy process as you might realize but it is a rewarding experience... most of the time.

you sure know how to keep us hanging!
so when it due for completion? oops sorry carry on please!

We added a few nice features to the house that are not usually found in a typical Thai house and grounds. Strangely enough, our contractor initiated the first enhancement which was digging a hole and laying block and concrete around the base and perimeter of the hole for the storage water storage tank. After the storage tank was place into the hole a removable concrete lid was installed. I have never seen this before. Anyone else hear or seen anything like this before. I’m really not sure what the benefit is, guess I’ll have to ask. Not noted in the following picture but a 250 watt pump will be installed to ensure sufficient water pressure of water going into the house from both the city water and the storage tank when necessary. The contractor also installed a water drainage ditch around the house and the Mrs. Made a nice modification to the plans by adding the 2 arched windows in the car port and the 3 glass block windows in the storage room area. There were numerous other enhancements, to include electrical, but I just don’t have pictures of this. I will mention though, the electrician used conduit and junction boxes throughout the house, had grounding wires and installed a grounding copper rod, and included or otherwise used other electrical practices that are mentioned on this web site. The circuit box will be one that can accommodate 3 phase electricity so I guess that is a plus. I was fortunate enough to have a U.S. friend with an electrical background that took a look and we got the thumbs up so that was a plus. The one item that may be an issue is the amount of electricity coming into the soi. 3 phase is scheduled but not yet there. I will not discuss now as the item mentioned is being worked on and may have favorable results.

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Not noted in the following picture but a 250 watt pump will be installed to ensure sufficient water pressure of water going into the house from both the city water and the storage tank when necessary.

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You won't have a pump directly from the mains supply to your taps of course, unless you want to suck in all kinds of shit from the broken mains pipies.

Nice thread though, the place is looking good.

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Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Not noted in the following picture but a 250 watt pump will be installed to ensure sufficient water pressure of water going into the house from both the city water and the storage tank when necessary.

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You won't have a pump directly from the mains supply to your taps of course, unless you want to suck in all kinds of shit from the broken mains pipies.

Nice thread though, the place is looking good.

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Understood MTG, thanks for the insight...

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Understood MTG, thanks for the insight...

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Is that short for Marmite the God?

Works for me... :)

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Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Understood MTG, thanks for the insight...

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Is that short for Marmite the God?

Works for me... :)

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My Father always advised me to avoid having religious conversations with people... so will not go there. I'll leave it up to you to be a legend in your own mind. :p . Thanks again...

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

I'll leave it up to you to be a legend in your own mind.

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ST: you obviously know our Marmers well then...

house is looking good and from what we can see it has progressed hassle-free!!

[quote=klongmaster;613891]

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

... house is looking good and from what we can see it has progressed hassle-free!!

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Thanks Khun Klong! As with any project, there are it's challenges and this one is no different but generally speaking, the project is proceeding as planned, ahead of schedule and with only very minor disturbance... nothing that a little common sense, discussion, and a case of Leo would not solve. I atribute this to up front advanced planning but, the project is not yet completed and still keeping a close eye on the effort to ensure successful completion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Strangely enough, our contractor initiated the first enhancement which was digging a hole and laying block and concrete around the base and perimeter of the hole for the storage water storage tank. After the storage tank was place into the hole a removable concrete lid was installed. I have never seen this before. Anyone else hear or seen anything like this before. I’m really not sure what the benefit is, guess I’ll have to ask.

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It gets the tank out of the way and it isn't an eyesore, also it makes your water feed the lowest in the street so you will be the last person to stop getting water if the mains gets turned off, ie everyone elses water tank feed is 2 meters higher than yours.

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Originally Posted by dirtydog

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Strangely enough, our contractor initiated the first enhancement which was digging a hole and laying block and concrete around the base and perimeter of the hole for the storage water storage tank. After the storage tank was place into the hole a removable concrete lid was installed. I have never seen this before. Anyone else hear or seen anything like this before. I’m really not sure what the benefit is, guess I’ll have to ask.

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It gets the tank out of the way and it isn't an eyesore, also it makes your water feed the lowest in the street so you will be the last person to stop getting water if the mains gets turned off, ie everyone elses water tank feed is 2 meters higher than yours.

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Thanks for the insight DD. I'll read this to be that it is a "good thing" that the contractor did what he did. Heck, I'm just one happy camper right now. Any other constructive suggestions? I've go 100 wha to play with as a garden. I'd like to have some fruit trees (mango, papaya, lime, and some others that can be controlled and don't get too big) and some flowering stuff but nothing too big. I want to limit the maintenance of the garden. I also have what I believe will be an eye sore just outside my wall. After I had my plans, broke ground, and started construction, a local (in my absence) and who I was unable to locate a year prior when I wanted to buy up his 50 wha started building a 1 floor bungalo. Even with my 2 meter wall I suspect that I be able to see the roof. Any eye soothing recomendations? Heck, my clear view of the mts will be blocked so some kind of flat banana leafed tree might work. Any suggestions?

5 May 08:

Happy Cinco be Mayo!

With progress on the interior of the house planned, I thought I'd include a few pics of the before scene before it is OBE (overcome by events). The interior is rough so don't be too critical. Also, understand that I desired and have an open floor plan as it relates to the general living areas (office, bedrooms and bath rooms excluded).

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Above picture: looking into the kitchen from the dining area.

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Above picture: looking into the living room area from the kitchen. From this view, one can also look into the office area and out onto the patio.

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Above picture: Master Bedroom.

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Above picture: Office.

Not included in this photo shoot are pics of the guest bedrooms, bathrooms, walk in closet, and Thai kitchen.