Building in Korat

Panthip
Dirty Dog is correct in his short wire list. But to be really sure you must look at the name plate of the cookers and water heaters and if in kw convert to amps.
for example a 1 point water heater for just the shower is usually 3.3 kw so 3300 divided by 230v= 14.35 amps so you would be tempted to save money and use 1.5 wire which is rated at 15 amps, but because of voltage loss over long runs due to resistance and solar impact as you are running the wire in the attic it is much wiser to use 2.5 wire w/ a 20 amp breaker . I use the name plate amps and then multiply x 120% which would be 17.22 amps..a common practice in usa.
Most Thai electricians don't know the proper size breaker for the wire. Do not trust them. I encounter these problems every day.

P
if you google thai yazaki wire (local mfg) you can read all about the wire sizes, amperage and special uses
p

P
one more thought...the panel..most people use square d here . A great company .
But Siemens, Bitcino, Legrande have a din rail unit (like Europe) and it is much better as you can buy modular (cheap and easy to replace) surge protectors.
Also you can feed what are called ground fault breeakers in usa (RCB in Thai) from the main to individual breakers allowing you to use one unit instaed of 5 (they are expensive). You need to use this on the kitchen, bathroom and outdoor circuits as there is a good chance it will save a life. In usa they are required by law. Here (BKK) they use one big ugly unit for the entire house called a Safety Cut...it is not as effective for many reasons..but cheaper..most din rail panels have to be ordered from Singapore or Europe. Square D at your local store.

P
Another common mistake here is to use the neutral wire as the switch leg. This means the hot wire is constantly on your light so when you change a bulb you risk serious shock if you don't turn off the breaker which is probally labeled in Thai. So make sure your guy does not do this! It will also turn your flour fixtures into dimming glowing night lights as the current is still there!

Apparently I was wrong concerning when the casting was supposed to take place. Here are some shots I received yesterday.

I’ll let the images speak for its self.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2079.jpg

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2087.jpg

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2091.jpg

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2097.jpg



https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2104.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Panthip

Hallo Smeden.
Jeg har jobbet der på Gullfaks A. Den gang for Kværener Engineering som piping engineer. Nå jobber jeg hos Aibel som feltingeniør på Veslfrikk. Reiser hjem i morgen:)

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hello i will travel via korat in december i will come and take a look at your house i will bring some cold beers :)

Khun Smeden,
Nice of you to come visiting but I’m afraid you have to drink the beer yourself. We are not due in Korat before the end of January. Another time for :beerchug: perhaps?

we will find a time we both are in thailand i think i go back mid january :)

Yesterdays pictures showing the installation of covering boards for the pillars.
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2117.jpg
From back to front


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2118.jpg


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2121.jpg


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2127.jpg


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2128.jpg
From front side towards the back side

Khun Panthip,

I'm with you on the difficulty and frustration on trying to manage the building of a house from a distance. It surely is not easy to do and make sure that things remain on track. Seems like your doing the best thing and that is staying in communication with the contract builder. Keep up the good work. Ciao!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by panthira

Hi. Building a house here seems easy but as you have probally heard the knowledge of the builders often is not on the same level as your own country.
A site I've found very informative is : (I was'nt allowed to post it) .Check it out. Non -commercial just helping fellow expats.....As an licensed electrical contractor from California for 20 years and 2 Bkk projects (Q Bar/Bed Supper Club) lighting design, I have some experience in electrical and will offer some sugestions if you like.
I also have a Thai company here that does specific electrical projects: surge protection, grounding, lightning protection, access control, video/audio intercoms, etc. I hope I don't come off as a self promoter as this is a friendly chat sight, so I won't give any of my info..but feel free to ask questions.
80 % of the resedential electrical panels in LOS are not grounded properly..don't be one of them!

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Just curious...what "electrical rules" does your Thai company use for specific electrical projects?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by some tosser

80 % of the resedential electrical panels in LOS are not grounded properly..don't be one of them!

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80 percent of whores don't have stds tests...

You are a real class act Dirty Dog

Dear mayli,maily ,,mae lee,i try to answer you not being able to download your plans on TD,but it take me 3 days to convince my pc that my camera was USBedded & ON ,so i'm not the 1 to be asked;i answer here because there is a new dog collar about 20 posts,i was happy to neare the tens(7)to see all those
teen's promised when i sign ha ha i promise to not to be nasty as well and i forget
how i reply you last time.so i hope you will read this POST # > 8 < yeeesss Mr.. paul

i start as pone from .....beach on KO someting,then BKK,now Pat'hia peach,all wrong;right now in West Indies and in about 5 weeks it gona bee
TAPIOCA COUNTY!!!
seen a nice big elec wire,2 feet long going in & out of pavement,5/8 "dia.,a lot of amps the other day in Front street (walking) near cruise ships taxi boat pier,
Philipsburg:was it grounded ?standard stolen street lamp?if not broken don't fix!!

^smilebla

Electrically it is a minefield of bad work here. One favourite i have seen in many homes here is for the light circuit for a room to be teed off the rooms power circuit, Circuit breaker earthed but there it ends with only live and neutral running to the outlets.They rarely identify the circiuts in the control unit too.

Sorry to disturb you gents but I have received some new images I want to post. I hope you don’t mind.
There have been several days with rain and that has halted the progress at bit but today it was possible to do some work again.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2136.jpg
The scaffolding is rather quick to build it seems.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2137.jpg
The good stuff is on its way.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2140.jpg
The conveyer link is in place and running. One of the lads looks like an executioner.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2141.jpg
The good stuff is poured in.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2143.jpg
The top man is waiting for another bucket.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2150.jpg
Some of the pillars are nearly completed.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2152.jpg
To work here one must be able to do some climbing.

:)good stuff mate, keep up the good work:)

Looking good Panthip, keep it coming. :)

Thanks a lot for your nice replies. Here are some pictures I received today. Do I deserve a star now or how many posts does that require?:rolleyes1:
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2163.jpg
The builders are preparing the casting of the last pillars. The scaffolding structure is still eminent. One do not waste any time on erection of railing and comfortable access.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2164.jpg
The completed pillars are wrapped in plastic to avoid desiccation of the concrete.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2162.jpg
The pillars have to be wrapped up for 1 or 2 weeks.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2161.jpg
Stonehenge skyline? Same same but different.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2165.jpg
Khun shutterer removes the rough boards.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2166.jpg
Concrete for the last pillar is handed up.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2167.jpg
The rough boards are fine tuned, I guess.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Panthip

Do I deserve a star now

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How many do you want?

Cheers mate, I was only hoping for 1:)

Panthip: really impressive/ i'm jealous!

Mike Hunt: NEC & IEE....depending on the situation..also have an electrical engineer that knows his s--t here. There are so many variables tho...each situation is special.

Here are the images I received late last night, showing the activities of September 2nd.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2170.jpg
The building process is moving into another phase.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2171.jpg
Now one can sense the dimension of the house. According the drawings there is 3,25 meter up to the second floor.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2172.jpg


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2174.jpg
Dirt is filled back into the foundation.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2176.jpg
Measurements for the posts are being taken.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2177.jpg


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2179.jpg
Another gallows is ready for installation.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2180.jpg
The rough boards are being prepared for recycling.


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2181.jpg


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...8/PIC_2182.jpg
That was all for today. Tomorrow I’ll go back offshore but I’ll try to keep the tread going when I receive new photos. It depend how busy my work will be but I hope to have some spare hours in some evenings.