The construction of Ms. Buad hai's house

[buad hai]

^ easy to clean?

Good point....

[WhiteLotusLane]

Easier to clean and keep clean I would think?

[Oops, got beaten on this before I submitted this post.. ]

[DrAndy]

yep, easy to clean, nicer than paint

not POSH at all, just effective

[buad hai]

First off, thanks to all for the comments on the kitchen; especially on tiling the inside floor of the cabinets.

We met with the kitchen guy this morning and he's clear on how to build the counter: Tile first and then the face frames get attached. He will tile inside floors of the cabinets. He sent us to buy the tile. As usual, this was an adventure.

We didn't have enough cash to pay for the tile so we stopped at an ATM. No luck. The screen was blank. Next bank. No luck. Power outage. So, we figure we can just pay with plastic at Home Mart.

Pick out tile. No luck. Out of stock. Pick another one. Four boxes at 109 baht each. Uh oh, minimum plastic purchase is 500 baht. Well, we always need a few tools, don't we. Bought a trowel (for the pond) and a hacksaw (we all need one).

Plastic works fine. Cashier needs to enter transaction from credit card machine into their point of sale system. Bad news. The guy who wrote the point of sale system includes a drop-down menu for the bank issuing the credit card but only includes Thai banks. Total confusion as my card is a US issued debit card. They finally settle on pretending it was a cash transaction.

We drop off the tile just as Khun Chang is discovering that the hole he made in the concrete counter top is just a bit too small for the sink. We'll find out later how he solves that one....


Ooops! The opening for the sink is too small....



Ms. Mortar just loves her new cementing mixing tub.

[WhiteLotusLane]

Living in Thailand is such an adventure.. Love it. And the pic of 'Ms Mortar and her new tub' is pretty priceless.

[buad hai]

Now that the kitchen is nearing completion we're thinking about the fridge. Due to a serious miscalculation on my part we need one that is no more than 65-70cm wide....

At The Mall today they had a 9.5 cubic foot Samsung narrow profile fridge on sale for 9,500 baht. A good price, but I know nothing of Samsung as a fridge manufacturer.

Any experience or opinions?

[WhiteLotusLane]

Seems there's little that Samsung DOESN'T make these days.

Personally when it comes to fridges and air conditioners I try to always go with Mitsubishi, tough they're not the cheapest.

If it's an ok looking no-frost model then I'd just go for the Samsung.

[Marmite the Dog]

Any experience or opinions?

It should be ok.

[Lily]

^I agree. I have a Samsung washing machine and have had no trouble with it, and fridges really aren't that complicated, are they?

[El Gibbon]

We got a Toshiba GR M24KT for about the same. 57 CM wide and frost free. Works like a charm and quiet.

E. G.

[buad hai]

Thanks. Greens where I could. Sorry EG, already greened you....

[WhiteLotusLane]

and fridges really aren't that complicated, are they?

Some have electric motors that generate a lot of heat and noise.

Some aren't really 'no frost' and you end up with icebergs around the freezer partition.

Some the white material on the inside peels off

Some have a 'water cooler' tap on the outside that however only produces a tiny trickle.

To name a few.

[buad hai]

^Care to make a recommendation then?

[DrAndy]

we have a nice Toshiba that works well

They are usually not wider than your hole, so to speak

[Thetyim]

I've had four fridges since I got here and the Toshiba was definitely the best one. Whirlpool was the worst

[WhiteLotusLane]

^Care to make a recommendation then?

Gave a recommendation earlier: Mitsubishi; but if it's much more expensive or you can't find the right size, then I'd go with the Samsung.

[NickA]

Whirlpool was the worst

Yep, I have a little crappy Whirlpool one.

My Hitachi is OK.

[TizMe]

we need one that is no more than 65-70cm wide....

Any experience or opinions?

If its the only one that will fit then it doesn't really matter if they are crap, its still the one that you have to buy!

[Spin]

Whirlpool was the worst

Had my Whirlpool for 2 years with no problems, at any rate a fridge is about 10k so if they do pack up it should not be the end of the world as we know it.

[buad hai]

If its the only one that will fit then it doesn't really matter if they are crap, its still the one that you have to buy!

There are plenty that will fit, but this one is about 3K baht less than all the others of the same size. On sale until the end of this month.

[DrAndy]

now you have changed your mind BH

Due to a serious miscalculation on my part we need one that is no more than 65-70cm wide....

as you say, there are lots that will fit that gap; now you just need to know the best one for your purposes

decide on cubic volume (get the biggest, more or less), if you need a freezer compartment, ice water dispenser etc etc, then look at the options

any of the big makers are usually fine

[buad hai]

Given the width limit, about the biggest we can get is 9 or 10 cubic feet. Anything bigger than that is quite a bit wider. Given that the one here is 6 cubic feet and never full, I think that 9.5 will be sufficient for out needs. I had originally thought of buying a Mitsubishi, but the Samsung is so much cheaper, that it seems hard to resist. I don't need anything fancy. Just a freezer with a separate door, ice cube trays, and auto-defrost. (The one we have now is manual defrost and I really hate it.)

[Thetyim]

Has the Samsung got two thermostats ?
One controlling top and one controlling the bottom.

If it only has one then forget it

[buad hai]

Thanks Thetyim. Advice I can use....

[NickA]

^^I think I'd pay a bit extra for the best fridge....if the Samsung is the best fridge then you're quids in as well