Finding and Building a Residence for Mr and Mrs MTSINTERNATIONAL

23 July 2008:

DOORS:
As the detailed work of the house construction project are being finalized, the sliding doors from the master bedroom to the dressing room and from the master bathroom to the dressing room have been constructed, stained and installed. Here is what they look like.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.jpg
Above Picture: sliding door from Master Bedroom to dressing room.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.jpg
Above Picture: sliding door from Master Bathroom to dressing room.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.jpg
Above Picture: Master Bedroom door and sliding door into dressing room.

Strewth, Khun Sea, you nearly have room for an indoor five-a-side, Hocky match, in that kitchen. Will you be cooking whole annimals? :)

Is that your way of suggestion Khun Loom that I call for "pig roast" when we have the move in blessing?

Actually, we planned for and have a wide open living space plan. The Western kitchen, dining room, and living room areas are all open and not restricted by having any walls so it gives it a feeling of being slightly larger than the actual size. Likewise, the camera's wide angle set up may prove to inhance the actual size as well.

In the end though, there will be a little extra room in the house to accommodate the occasional family member visit and friend visiting from the throughout the world.

Ciao!

28 July 2008:

Progress continues on the finishing details of the house. Khun estimates that he will be completed in not more than 10 days. There are a few details that he is saving to finish up on until I get over to Thailand for a final inspection. He explained that he wanted to make sure he places the towel racks in the exact place I want them and a few other things he wanted me to make decisions on. The kitchens and bathrooms granite top for the counters still needs to be placed and I have asked Khun to redo the Tahi Kitchen Outside Patio as the Mrs did not really like the left over multi tile mosaic that was used (see below picture). Grass sod and a few trees will be placed in this week and then it is basically just the swimming pool that needs to be completed but that is another story. Possibly I’ll get more into that in a week or so.

Got a little bad news yesterday. The 48K BTU ceiling AC for the living room will not be able to function until the govt utility office finalizes the 3 phased electric for the area. So, the 4 way dispensing unit that has already been installed in the ceiling will remain there for the time being and the compressor was returned. I won’t be paying for unit at all and will just install the AC once the 3 phased electric is run to that area. It is on the books to be done this year but I highly suspect that it will not be for another 18 months. We all know how things in Thai go…

Anyway, below are some more updated pics (complements of Khun Hino and others) of the finalized detailed work being done. It is all over but the shouting now…

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Guest Bathroom shower room with glass enclosure and door. Mirror with stained frame also in place now.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Master Bathroom Shower room with galss enclosure.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Master Bathroom w cabinets, mirror and staind frame installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Dressing room mirror and cloths hanging rails installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Front Entrance with the "Stained Glass" window on top of the door. The Mrs will be pleased to see this as it was one of her many contributions to the design of this home.

The work certainly does look good in the pictures, but I can assure you that it looks better in the flesh!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by a. boozer

The work certainly does look good in the pictures, but I can assure you that it looks better in the flesh!

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Thanks Khun Boozer for the kind words. We are anxiouse to get over to see the completed product. We will be there soon enough. Best to Mrs Boozer!

Looking good ST.

Hope you sort out all the little things and before you pay the final payment transfer.
Be meticulous and when checking all the wood features in your house (doors, drawers etc) and as from my experience things change over the next 3> 6 months. Wood swells but mostly shrinks causing cracks and misalignment and what at first looked beautiful turns into a disaster.
Good luck with the electrical problem and travel safe back to your new home.
Look forward to your next post Khun ST and take care! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Looking good ST.

Hope you sort out all the little things and before you pay the final payment transfer.
Be meticulous and when checking all the wood features in your house (doors, drawers etc) and as from my experience things change over the next 3> 6 months. Wood swells but mostly shrinks causing cracks and misalignment and what at first looked beautiful turns into a disaster.
Good luck with the electrical problem and travel safe back to your new home.
Look forward to your next post Khun ST and take care! :)

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Khun LT, got it! be meticulous in the final inspection. understood and will follow the experienced advisement. I'm confident that the electrical issue will be worked out in time and as with everything else, that also will be worked out one way or the other. Thanks for the safe travel blessings.

More updated photos later today. Ciao!

29 July 08:

Although slow, daily progress is visible and the finalizing of the detailed work around the house is quickly winding down. The Kitchen Island is now completed with the same granite top that will be put on the kitchen counter top and as you will be able to see from the below picture, the front top has a slight overhang of approximately 10 cm. Not the 25 cm that I was looking to have but none the less, enough space to allow for sitting and using as place to eat noodles.

The bedroom and office Makha wood floors have now had several coats of stain and varnish applied and are now complete.

The Storage Room door is shown in a picture below to provide a visual that it is slightly different than the other teak doors in the guest bedrooms, office, master bathroom, and the Thai kitchen doors.

I now have a different angle of the Front Entrance doorway and the stained glass window above the door and have included them below as well.

I suspect that pictures of the completed kitchen counter top with the granite installed and the landscaping will be able to be provided this weekend and if I can ever get the swimming pool contractor to resume work I’ll send some pictures of that as well. In the mean time, Happy Building!

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: completed Kitchen Island with granite counter top and a slight overhang from the front. The Island is not fixed so it may be moved around as the circumstances dictate. I'll have to locate some stools for this island now. Any suggestions?

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: from thhis angle a 10 cm overhang of the island counter top is more visible.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Counter Top, cooking surface and tiled wall above the counter is about all that remains to be done in the kitchen.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Master Bedroom Makha wood floor with the multiple coats of varnish really give it a shinny luster. I'm just hoping that the varnish is hard and aids in retarding scratches. Any suggestions for what the best product on the Thai market might that can be applied to a finished wood floor to stop scratches?

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: The Storage Room door installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: a close up view of the stained glass window above the front entrance door.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Front entrance view from outside into the kitchen...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Any suggestions for what the best product on the Thai market might that can be applied to a finished wood floor to stop scratches?

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Carpet? :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gusG

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

Any suggestions for what the best product on the Thai market might that can be applied to a finished wood floor to stop scratches?

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Carpet? :)

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Thanks Khun Gus but that will defeat the purpose for the wood floors to begin with. Possibly a small Persian rug would do the trick... Ciao!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

the front top has a slight overhang of approximately 10 cm. Not the 25 cm that I was looking to have

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25 and it would have been too easily broken without support.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dirtydog

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

the front top has a slight overhang of approximately 10 cm. Not the 25 cm that I was looking to have

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25 and it would have been too easily broken without support.

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Thanks Khun DD for the advisement. I did not realize that granite would break so easily. I always thought that the hardness of granite would have prevented it from breaking. So, in this case, it is a good thing that Khun did not extend the overlap by 25 or 30 cm without support. I am pleased to know that. The fact does remain though, that if I would have been able to remain on site for the duration of the project as so many TD'ers have advised on this forum, I could have provided advisement on my original drawing of the kitchen island that had support undernieth of a 30cm overhang. Fortunately I have Khun as my Project Manager and his wisdom and experience saw me through on this one. Good discussion DD. Thanks. Lesson learned. CIAO!

Walk with bare feet and NEVER NEVER slide anything on the wood without protection

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

I'll have to locate some stools for this island now. Any suggestions?

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Stainless Outdoor Furniture | TreeMounT Outdoor Furniture | Stainless Steel Outdoor Furniture

They're in Thailand, not Switzerland.

Nice stained glass, Khun Sea, I've always been a fan of it. I am going to have to settle for a few small bits that hang up. Well done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HINO

Walk with bare feet and NEVER NEVER slide anything on the wood without protection

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Khun Hino, the bare feet won't be a problem and over the years, I tried very hard not to have to move move any furniture around once place so I may be in luck there. Will just have to be careful about the sliding of things around. Protection? condoms on the feet of the tables and chairs???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

I'll have to locate some stools for this island now. Any suggestions?

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Stainless Outdoor Furniture | TreeMounT Outdoor Furniture | Stainless Steel Outdoor Furniture

They're in Thailand, not Switzerland.

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Thanks Khun Marmite! Will have a look. Ciao!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loombucket

Nice stained glass, Khun Sea, I've always been a fan of it. I am going to have to settle for a few small bits that hang up. Well done.

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Thanks Khun Loom. Last evening when I was showing the wife the pictures, she looked at the closeup of the stained glass window and commented on the fact that she thought the design on the glass was ment to be verticle rather than horizontal. I had noticed that previously but just didn't say anything as it still looked ok to me. My response to her was "good catch, you want to have Khun change it?" but in the end, she seemed content so it will remain as it is. A conversation piece and the story behind the story. Ciao!

We went by today, merged two pic's and got this.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...13603/mts1.jpg

Not a 100% perfect join, the roof looks a bit funny.

The crew was painting the ceiling and fixing floor. One of them took a p against the wall behind the pump house when we arrived.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BosseO

We went by today, merged two pic's and got this.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...13603/mts1.jpg

Not a 100% perfect join, the roof looks a bit funny.

The crew was painting the ceiling and fixing floor. One of them took a p against the wall behind the pump house when we arrived.

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Thanks for the picture Khun BosseO! You did a good job at joining the pictures. About the guy who took a p behind the pump house... "Stupid Is As Stupid Does"! Stupid shit, I hoe he gets some sort of fungus on his dick and it falls off. I guess I could consider myself fortunate that he did not p on the floor of the farlongs house. Stupid shit!

Thanks Khun B. Ciao!

Looking good. You have a roof tile not sitting right above bedroom, third row up in valley

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maily

Looking good. You have a roof tile not sitting right above bedroom, third row up in valley

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I'll have to check this out Khun Maily. Thanks!

About stools, I know a place that sell handmade stools, swiveling or not, in solid teak and/or makha.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BosseO

About stools, I know a place that sell handmade stools, swiveling or not, in solid teak and/or makha.

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Thanks Khun BosseO. Sounds like it might be just what I am looking for. We will get together to discuss in a month or so. Ciao!

Yoyr kitchen look very nice, can I ask you what the cost of all the cupboards and island bench were please?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maily

Yoyr kitchen look very nice, can I ask you what the cost of all the cupboards and island bench were please?

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I'll send you a PM with some of the details Maily. Ciao!

Thank you Sea Traveler

Is this house your own design or was it something that had already been built?

I like the design, it looks very spacious

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maily

Thank you Sea Traveler

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No Problemo for another TD'er. Ciao!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BosseO

We went by today, merged two pic's and got this.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...13603/mts1.jpg

Not a 100% perfect join, the roof looks a bit funny.

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Well done BosseO. I wish that I could master some of this modern gadgetry, but my "Box Brownie" is a little too old fashioned - a bit like me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by a. boozer;707261 ......[COLOR=lime

but my "Box Brownie" is a little too old fashioned - a bit like me![/COLOR]

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YUP! I agree w Khun Boozer on this one.

1 Aug 2008:

I title this submission “THE GOOD – THE BAD – and THE UGLY” for good reason as you will see from the pictures.

“THE GOOD”: Kitchen granite counter to installation has begun. The black granite with white specs in it looks as nice on the counter top as it did hanging on the wall, even without being cleaned up and shinny it still gives off a very sharp reflection. I like the contrast or the black counter top with that the dark cherry colored cabinets. Come the weekend, the counter top, sink, and cooking surface installation should all be completed.

The granite counter top is also being installed in the 2 bathrooms. Although a totally different color than what is in the kitchen, the dark cherry red with black specs in it complements the color of the cabinets quite well. Interesting thing about the sink that will be going in the counter top. No one can find the water faucet. I let Khun wonder about it for a day until I wrote him back ad advised that we had not yet purchased the faucet but only identified it by company code number. It was a relief for Khun. So, since neither Khun or my wife the note keeper no longer had the model code for the faucet, I, from the US, did some surfing of faucets on the internet and sent Khun some pictures of 2 styles of acceptable faucets from which he could look around the various Thai construction supply stores to find one that looked similar. I know that some brands are probably better than other so if anyone has some insight as to what makes one faucet better than another and wanted to offer this information, it would be appreciated. Anyway, I did advise Khun to make sure that the faucet should not come more than ½ way into the front of the sink. I don’t particularly want to be spitting tooth paste onto the faucet when brushing my teeth in the morning when trying to spit in the sink. Here is a picture of the faucet design I’m looking for. I’ll report more on the faucet once it is installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...6/Faucet_1.jpg

“THE BAD”: The face of the side of the front door has a lip on it so I realize that putting the lock on the door could be tricky. However, one does not have to look too hard to see that the dead bolt lock on the front door is not flush with the face of the side of the door. This not only looks bad but it could scratch someone or tear someone’s cloths. Anyway, when I pointed this out to Khun via e-mail and pictures, he had already identified it and had called his carpenters back to make the appropriate adjustment. I’m not sure what that adjustment will look like but I’ll show you an after an adjustment picture later when it has been completed.

“THE UGLY”: Like the “BAD”, “THE UGLY” needs no clarification. In this case, in an effort to save me a few baht, scarp tiles left over from the job were used for the Thai Kitchen outside patio. Now I know everyone’s intentions were good and they were trying to save me a few baht but give me a break. The effort just did not look good. It looked “UGLY”. Khun has purchased new tiles identical to those on the Thai Kitchen outside stress and to those used on the driveway. I suspect they will be installed before the weekend is over.

So, all in all, things are looking good and I’m content that Khun has both identified those things that were just not right but has taken action to correct and when he is done, I’m sure it will be “ALL GOOD”..

Here for your entertainment pleasure are the pictures, (complement of Khun Hino and wife) of “THE GOOD” – “THE BAD” – and “THE UGLY”:

"THE GOOD"
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.jpg
Above Picture: Kitchen Counter Top with black with white specked granite.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.jpg
Above Picture: Master Bathroom dark cherry red with black specked granite counter top.

"THE BAD"
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...2C_July_08.JPG
Above Picture: Front door dead bolt lock that just doesn't look just right. But keen Khun had already identified it and had called his carpenters back to adjust.


"THE UGLY"
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...C_July_08_.JPG
Above Picture: Thai Kitchen outside patio... need anything else be said? UGLY. But it it is in the process of being fixed along with the steel rebar handle that will be recessed into the cover. Would have hated to take a fall on that some late evening.

CIAO!

problems with the post. not sure of problem. will try again later.

2 Aug 08:

“THE GOOD – THE BAD – and THE UGLY” revisited to see the corrected action. Much better as you can see from the below picture where the adjustments was made.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

what makes one faucet better than another?

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I think that it is the thickness of the chrome and the quality of the 'bits' inside. Tap washers are pretty much the same, but the screw mechanisms can vairy quite a bit. I am no Plumber, but I have changed a few taps over the years.

The ones with a ceramic washer are the best, and easiest to use

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loombucket

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SEA Traveler

what makes one faucet better than another?

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I think that it is the thickness of the chrome and the quality of the 'bits' inside. Tap washers are pretty much the same, but the screw mechanisms can vairy quite a bit. I am no Plumber, but I have changed a few taps over the years.

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Thanks Khun Loom for the insight. As with all us happy home owners, we have gained experience from "DIY" and "Honey Do" projects. Besides, it is enjoyable handling all the associated "man tools" for completion of the projects. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrAndy

The ones with a ceramic washer are the best, and easiest to use

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Thanks for the advisement Khun Andy. Do you know if the ceremic washers be purchased seperatly and used to replace a non ceramic washer to increase performance?

4 Aug 2008:

Wrapping up the posts on the rework and correction of the “BAD and the UGLY” efforts pointed out in previous posts, pictures of the front door dead bolt lock and the guest bathroom shower hardware after correction are posted below. Thanks Khun Hino for the fine pictures of final days of construction effort.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: front door dead bolt and lock reworked.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: guest bedroom shower hardware made straight.

New effort in the finalizing of the details on the house include the installation of the Western kitchen sink, installation of the Western kitchen wall splash tile, installation of the cooking surface, and installation of the Thai kitchen wall splash tile and sink.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: Western kitchen sink installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: Western kitchen granite counter top, sink and splash tile installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: cooking surface and splash tile installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: Western kitchen cooking surface, granite counter top, wall splash tile, and portable island installed.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: Western Kitchen.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: Thai kitchen granite counter top, wall splash tile and sink installed.

Additionally grass sod has been delivered and will be placed and watered on Tuesday.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%2C_Aug_08.JPG
above picture: delivered grass sod that willneed to be layed and watered.

looking damn fine my man!! cant wait to see the garden