Finding and Building a Residence for Mr and Mrs MTSINTERNATIONAL

[SEA Traveler]

18 Mar 2009

Word from the shipping company indicated household good arrival will be 18 May 2009. Something to look forward to.

Ammended container arrival date is now some unknown time period in June. Container got hung up in Germany and apparently everyone forgot it was there because it was left in Germany for about 20 days. I'm told the container left Germany on 20 May and will arrive in Singapore with onward movement to Thailand. Thai agent is attempting to nail down the date when container will arrive and subsequent delivery to the house but nothing firm yet. In the time being we are finishing up the landscaping.

[SEA Traveler]

Upon return back to the new house after being away for about 6 months, we had some landscaping voids that required immediate attention. So, we made the acquiring of some foliage and ground cover our number 1 priority.

Spouse and I both like the looks of the cocktail palm trees so we got some of those for around the interior perimeter. A few dwarf mango trees, a small papaya tree, a banana tree and some sort of Hawaiian flowing bush were added to the grounds. Additionally, in a large bare area near the pool and rear wall, we decided to split it up between a rock garden and some grass sod. To top it all off, we placed a “sala” near the pool as a place to provide some shade and have some afternoon refreshment.

Following are a few pictures of our accomplishments during the past 2 weeks. Not sure what might need to be done in the future but for now it is time to sit back and wait for the container… and some swimming in the pool while waiting.

[jandajoy]

Looking very very nice mate.

[SEA Traveler]

Thanks Khun JJ. I'm posting some sala pictures to follow in a few moments.

[SEA Traveler]

Now, any one who thinks getting a “Sala” from the location purchased to the residence location is an easy task, they have got another thing commin. 1st of all, there are power and phone lines to consider, openings of the gate, having enough labor to maneuver the “Sala” into position, and most importantly of all, a means of transportation that can haul the “sala”….

Now this isn’t any old “Sala” I’m told. Yes, it is a new “Sala” but the wood is more than 100 years old. The 4 corner pillars came from the main support pillars of an old traditional Thai house. The benches and roof all came from other parts (wall panels, shutters, etc) of the same house. Parts are teak and other parts are some sort of other wood, I’m not sure at this time exactly what. There are some nails used here and there but there are also some wood stakes used as nails and some large screws holding this “sala” together. It is one heavy piece.

The following few pictures show the movement and placement of the sala into position at the residence. I am happy to report that there were no physical injuries, no broken lamps on the perimeter wall, no sala pieces broken, and no damage at all for that matter. There were some phone lines knocked down off the pole but they were quickly tied back into position by a Thai guy who climbed the pole like a monkey and did the one handed tie back of the wires. No harm no foal. Anyway, here are the pictures.









That's me in the above picture... far left in yellow tank top T shirt. Had to make sure the job was done right the first time...

[jandajoy]

will you put any shade over the pool mate?

[SEA Traveler]

will you put any shade over the pool mate?

Good question but I made a conscious decision about that and "Mi Chi" about the shade over the pool. The pool was meant to have sun into the early evening and I'd hate to have any shade trees blocking the warmth of the sun during the day. Besides, shade trees around the pool yield unwanted leaves into the water. There is enough shade under the patio as well as what the sala provide so, no additional shade for the water area of the pool.

[Loombucket]

Just caught up with this. Lovely sala mate, we saw similar things for sale in Khorat. Just a bit too small and far too expensive. Garden is looking a treat. Well done

[Fuzzy Bob]

Very, very nice place.

[SEA Traveler]

Just caught up with this. Lovely sala mate, we saw similar things for sale in Khorat. Just a bit too small and far too expensive. Garden is looking a treat. Well done

Khun Loom, there are many places building and selling "salas" and there was a lot of looking around for me before the purchase was made. As for the size and cost of the "salas" up in Khorat, I'm sure they have some larger and less expensive ones that are available at a different maker/shop/road side location than what you might have stopped at and talked to. It is like anything else, your time will come. I figured I got a good price for the size we needed for the particular location we wnat to place it at. I'm sure you will find yours as well. Ciao.

[SEA Traveler]

Very, very nice place.

Thanks Fuzzy Bob. Much appreciated. It wasn't accomplished without a lot of ups and downs though. Ciao!

[BKKBILL]

Sawatdee Khrab Khun Sea T, Just finished reading your build story and I must say you have done an outstanding job. Hope all goes well with the final move-in.

[SEA Traveler]

Thanks BKKBILL. Stand by for the update with pics of the move in. I writting and posting pics of that event now. Ciao!

[SEA Traveler]

After almost 3 months from the date of packing and loading into the container from my US residence on the East coast in the States, the container arrived at my Thai residence in Ban Chang, Thailand. It was with some consternation on my part when I scouted the route that the truck would be taking into the soi to reach my residence and noticed the somewhat low hanging electrical and telephone wires. I took some measurements from the road surface to the height of the wires and converted them into cm. The distance was approximately 420 cm. Hummmm. So I advised the Thai agent that the driver of the truck carrying the container would need to be cautious when entering the soi and I requested him to also provide me with the height of the container on the truck. The response back was 435 cm or something close to that. The Thai moving agent indicated that they could place the container on a truck that when the container was on it would only reach a height of 380 cm or so. That was the best option and that is what we decided on.
At 0800 on the scheduled day last week, the truck with the container arrived ahead of the scheduled 0830 time and passed into the soi without any difficulty. Upon examination of the container, all looked well. OK, good start.


At 0830, the Thai moving agent arrived and we discussed the final payment due. I paid the balance of the move due and it was the exact balance as the Stateside agent indicated it should be. I paid the additional port fees that were about 4500 baht and a customs charge of 340 baht or something like that. I asked the Thai agent what this was about and he indicated that the Thai customs officials indicated that the used bicycle was not considered to be a customs free personal item that the spouse was entitled to ship customs free. I was not about to question that small charge since I often heard of others paying considerable customs taxes or 10,000 baht to make the customs inspection just go away. I considered this small fee insignificant and was pleased to get away with that.
At 0830, the labor to move the contents of the container arrived. The container was opened and much to my satisfaction, there was no evidence that the container had been anything other than opened. Nothing had been moved as the bed mattress and box springs were still at the entrance of the container doors and the tie downs had not been unlashed. Additionally, the double plastic wrap of the mattresses and box springs had no rips in them and there was no mildew. Fantastic.

The contents of the container were completely unloaded and the inventory of the boxes against the manifest was conducted. Everything present and accounted for.

Those items requiring assembly such as bed, patio furniture, Bar-B-Q, book shelves, china cabinet, TV stand, coffee table, etc were place aside and all other boxes were taken either into the kitchen, the office, or the 2nd guest room as we directed them to based on contents. As we decided to do the unpacking ourselves this seemed like the best option. The larger pieces of furniture were placed in the location that we wanted them. Assembly of those items requiring to be put together was started and that took considerable time as there was a bunch of stuff to be assembled.
At 1700, they had completed the assembly, clean up of of boxes and packing materials, and were ready to go. Great, no damage to any of the shipped. Now the real work was to begin. Unpacking the contents of the 60 or so some odd boxes with books, kitchen stuff, cloths, personal items collected from our world travels and all the other stuff that people lug around with them selves. Believe me, we did a big purge of stuff prior to leaving the US and we kept a lot of things at our residence that we kept there. After about 4 days of unpacking and putting things away, about al we have left to do is hang a few pictures on the wall. We have identified the locations where we are going to put most of the pictures but just need to find a way to accomplish this effort in a way that we find acceptable. At first thought, drilling a hole, putting a plug into the drilled hole and then a screw into the plug to hold the picture just does not seem like the way I want to approach this endeavor. Not as the 1st option anyway. Some of the pictures we will be hanging have a nice brass hanger attached to the top of the picture frame and to hang that on a screw where the screw can be readily seen just does not sit well with me. For those pictures with a chain or string that hangs on the back that goes from one side are ok for placement on the screw. Anyway, I on the hunt for a viable solution.
In the time being, here are some pictures or the results of the move effort and the placement of the furniture into the new house. All in all, a good move and now it will be time to enjoy the simple life. The good life. And as so many back home accuse me of doing, “LIVING THE DREAM”. Hey Tee Lak, can you bring me another pitcher of Margaritas? Thanks.

Above: entrance looking into living area (kitchen, dining, living room).


Above: looking into dining room and living room.


Above: living room and entrance.


Above: Dining room and Kitchen.


Above: Guest Room #1.

[SEA Traveler]

I'll have to figure out how to reduce the size of the pics. My appologies. HEre are the remaining pics.



ABOVE: The Workshop.



Above: The Workshop take 2.



Above: The Office.



Above: The Office take 2.

[patsycat]

Lovely!!

[Loy Toy]

Absolutely wonderful ST and you have not only created a nice house but finished it off as a warm and inviting home.

You must be congratulated and have a green from the Loy Toys!

When is the house warming party then?

[SEA Traveler]

Lovely!!

Thanks PC. Much appreciated.

[SEA Traveler]

Absolutely wonderful ST and you have not only created a nice house but finished it off as a warm and inviting home.

You must be congratulated and have a green from the Loy Toys!

When is the house warming party then?

Yes Khun LT, a home is where your loved ones are and mine has followed me around the world so now it is time to provide her with the opportunity to refamilarize herself with the home land. It also doesn't hurt have a few of the material things that one cherishes to make one feel comfortable. Thanks for the compliment.

House warming party date has not been set but will advise accordingly.

[a. boozer]

House warming party date has not been set but will advise accordingly.

Hope that I am 'back on the beer' by then!!!!


Congratulations and Celebrations!

[Panthip]

Congratulation Khun Seatraveller. Your place really looks wonderful. I must say that I envy you the possibility to stay and live in LOS when you are still a relative young bloke:-)
I still have to struggle through a few more years of Nordic weather and gales before I can follow suit.

By the way if you don't' use Photoshop or similar programs you can always get yourself an account at Photobucket for free. Load up your images there and reduze them before posting at the web.

Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

[johpam]

Looking very good and well done

[SEA Traveler]

A little over 1 year since the house was completed and it's still standing. I've replaced a few tiles in the driveway that cracked, patched a few small exterior areas of the wall rendering that got scraped, and performed the rountine maintenance but no negative issues to report. I'm content with the build and keep on truckin. Ciao!

[swedmark]

I just read the hole thread, and I must say you did a fantastic job, and ended up with a beautyful house.

Congratulations

[SEA Traveler]

I just read the hole thread, and I must say you did a fantastic job, and ended up with a beautyful house.

Congratulations

Complementary comments are appreciated "swedmark". And welcome to the forum. We are enjoying our semi-retirement, our home, and the simple life we are now leading. Still plenty of things to do around the house and planned small projects to make continual improvements. Most recently, I've almost completed the picture hanging of various pictures of our travels around the globe, applied "Berger" wood protectorant on the sala, painted two pine wood pool chair with enamal paint, replaced a few driveway tiles, and repaired several small impediments on the exterior wall rendering. Oh yea, the simple life. Possibly I should add a few more pics of the various projects completed and in the works.

OK, thanks again for the kind words and look forward to your contributions to the forum. Ciao!