A hillbilly shack in the jungle...

[Ken May]

This thread is so good that it brought me out of hibernation. Hillbilly, when you gonna get your boat on water? Let'a drink copious scotch an shoot Dirty Dog's guns at innocent creatures.

[Fingers_in_pies]

Great thread, really enjoyed reading and learning about the thai way of construction.

[hillbilly]

^Thanks for the compliment guys! I'm not sure about DD's gun tho.

Anyway, here you can see how the tile work for the porch and sidewalk is coming along. We had the sidewalk built 2 meters wide and it will eventually snake around the land.


Let's take a look and see how the eating table is coming along. The wood cost about B10,00 and I am paying my 73-year old carpenter B200 per day. He is slow but I think worth the wait.

[hillbilly]

The final coat of varnish has been applied to the table. You can see the refurbished old style Thai kitchen cabinet to the left of the table.


Our sofa is also coming along slowly. Soon, we will buy a pad of some sort to rest my big butt on.

[hillbilly]

This is a look at the kitchen table under construction. This job has seemingly taken forever.


Almost done. The only problem that I can see is that the counter top is a somewhat different color than the cabinets. My fault as I wasn't there.

[hillbilly]

A look through part of the kitchen into the bathroom.


My next project is getting underway this week. The landscaping! The cost is unkown right now. It won't be that damn much as I don't have any money left. However, I do know that today the landscape boss cost me B30,000. For 3 trees...!

[Eliminator]

Hillbilly, I love the thread and all that, but what the heck trees are you putting in that cost 10K a piece?

[KID]

MY thoughts also, you can buy almost any tree here in the states for that kind of money. I though the cost's in LOS were a lot cheaper????

I noticed you have a tree growing in the tile at the end of the stairs. won't the roots grow and crack your concrete and tile all up???

[hillbilly]

Actually, the landscape boss said that a tree never dies. What this actually means...?

Anyway he has designed some of the top golf courses in this area and some expensive and fancy gardens, so for now I say 'mai ben lai'.

[hillbilly]

This landscape guy is a top-notch expert. I checked his credentials and his jobs are rather impressive. Way beyond my means...

Will the trees die? Probably.

[Begbie]

10,000 baht seems a lot for a tree. I once paid 1200 baht.

[friscofrankie]

B12,000. So, basically we worked out a deal with the same landscape boss to buy 3 more treees about the same size for B10,000 a piece.

Price is delivered and in the ground right?

[ceburat]

Great thread. Beautiful house. I am very happy for you that the river went back down.

[Lily]

My favourite thread. Good work and a beautiful house.

[hillbilly]

There have been some questions about a B10,00 tree. Pictured below is a tree we bought for B12,000. So, basically we worked out a deal with the same landscape boss to buy 3 more treees about the same size for B10,000 a piece.

Why this might sound expensive to some, I have friends that have bought trees for B40,000. However, these trees were about the size of giant Redwoods.

[hillbilly]

I noticed you have a tree growing in the tile at the end of the stairs. won't the roots grow and crack your concrete and tile all up???

Good question and I hope i have the answer. I believe with careful pruning and luck, that this tree will invite people into my ying/yang home.

In reality, you are probably right. But sometimes it is fun to try something different...

[Marmite the Dog]

Will they give you a refund if the tree dies within a year or so?

[dirtydog]

1 Months garauntee usually, have you ever tried to kill a tree within one month?

[hillbilly]

Update on hillbilly's land. The river has not breached the still.

Wait till you see hillbilly's latest project...

[hillbilly]

Since I have had some time on my hand the past week has been spent upcountry at hillbilly's shack. Somethings went good, some went bad, but it was all expensive.

Come on in and let's look around.


The tile on the entrance has finally been laid. Looks good, I think. However, with the next shot you will see that I will have them TRY again to make it right. (Hint-look at the sign)

[hillbilly]

I lost the argument on having a spirit house. Here is a small one the wife decided on that is progressing along. Notice the comforts hillbilly provides his staff.


The workers are always pleased to see me and my camera!

[hillbilly]

1 Months garauntee usually, have you ever tried to kill a tree within one month?

We were lucky! We got a year warranty on our landscaping. More on that later.

[hillbilly]

Hell, it's hot out. Let's check out the inside of the shack. To me one of the most important rooms is the kitchen.


Then we have our eating table. Notice in the left background an old style Thai dish/food pantry.

[hillbilly]

Our Teak couch. With labor and material, I think the cost ran about B10,000.


Everyone has to sleep. The wife wanted to sleep on the floor like in the old times. We settled for this B25,000 Serta bed. Crank on the ceiling fan and snooze away!

[hillbilly]

Now we all know the bathroom is one of the most important rooms in a home. The directions of many of families take place in this sacred place.


I insisted on a modern shower. The wife likes the old way of dip and dunk.