Thread: Why i would never build a new house.

Originally Posted by Yasojack

I'm the first to admit i know nothing about construction work.

I have just had some workers change the roof, new staircase and change the bathroom door, this time i told myself not to get involved as it just gets my blood pressure going up.

For the past three days went and did whatever i needed to do, or sat on com oblivous to everything going on around me, i specified what i wanted done and left wife to deal with.

All went well until about 2 hours ago, or as well as i expected.

Last job was changing the door, we bought new door and frame, i could see they were packing up, so went on recon.

New door was hung,but still had old frame on duh, calls wife why we have old frame and frame is lose, oh she says they say if they put new frame up' wall with fall downseems the new frame was slightly bigger

whys that i ask? wall not strong, seems ok to me, men know job and say it will fall,ok i say tell them to do the frame if it falls my problem, can see she's going to go off on one now, well i tell them its ok, well i say its not ok,so ask them to do the job i asked them to do or you can pay for the job, [at][at][at][at] [at][at][at][at] [at][at][at][at] [at][at][at][at] and a few more expletives for good measure.

Well makes sense now the new frame was slightly larger than the old frame, so they had to chip away cement and straighten up bit more work than they expected so took the easier option, and bull shitted the wife.

Another day in paradise.

You guys who self build have my respect, I'd either kill someone or end up in the looney bin.

I saw no need to build a new house as Jan's was structurally sound (a farang mate who had been in the business for donkeys told me) but exceedingly basic to say the least , about a million baht later the Pad is unrecognizable and just as good as a new house , only difference being we lived in it and did it in stages over about 2 years with no noticeable stress or inconvenience at all , not so I'm afraid when building a new pad ,I've seen a couple of guys here tearing their hair out with frustration with their "Thai Builders" ,luckily for me the two guys who did my work came highly recommended , even so I asked my EX builder mate to check their work out , only when he give me the Thumbs up did I tell them to start phase 1 .

It's mostly a lot of fun and the Thai's (with experience) get it about 90% right.

I always do the finishing myself and for a bucket maker I think I'm the dog's bollocks.

ye when in the city, try it in the sticks

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

It's mostly a lot of fun and the Thai's (with experience) get it about 90% right.

I always do the finishing myself and for a bucket maker I think I'm the dog's bollocks.

Originally Posted by Yasojack

ye when in the city, try it in the sticks

Doesn't matter where you are Jack.

Got the tools..........got the talent...........say no more............

By the way if the jobs fvcked up only myself to blame...........as well as copping a bollocking from my missus.

Talent thats the Operative word

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

It's mostly a lot of fun and the Thai's (with experience) get it about 90% right.

I always do the finishing myself and for a bucket maker I think I'm the dog's bollocks.

Of course there are Cowboy Builders in the UK who charge mega bucks for crap work , I must have spent at least a couple of weeks asking and phoning round for recommended builders , I think the secret is don't grab the first Thai builder's you see but shop around and look at their last few jobs and talk to the farangs who had the work done , the two guys I had was spot on and always took their rubbish away every couple of days so it did not mount up , all in all I have no complaints whatsoever and would recommend these guys to any one

^ Good advice piwanoi.

Thai builders are messy especially when they have a paint brush in their hand or mixing cement.

Always make sure you have a lot of drop sheets on hand.............that they normally fall asleep on and still splash the paint everywhere.

Originally Posted by Yasojack

I'm the first to admit i know nothing about construction work.

I have just had some workers change the roof, new staircase and change the bathroom door, this time i told myself not to get involved as it just gets my blood pressure going up.

For the past three days went and did whatever i needed to do, or sat on com oblivous to everything going on around me, i specified what i wanted done and left wife to deal with.

All went well until about 2 hours ago, or as well as i expected.

Last job was changing the door, we bought new door and frame, i could see they were packing up, so went on recon.

New door was hung,but still had old frame on duh, calls wife why we have old frame and frame is lose, oh she says they say if they put new frame up' wall with fall downseems the new frame was slightly bigger

whys that i ask? wall not strong, seems ok to me, men know job and say it will fall,ok i say tell them to do the frame if it falls my problem, can see she's going to go off on one now, well i tell them its ok, well i say its not ok,so ask them to do the job i asked them to do or you can pay for the job, [at][at][at][at] [at][at][at][at] [at][at][at][at] [at][at][at][at] and a few more expletives for good measure.

Well makes sense now the new frame was slightly larger than the old frame, so they had to chip away cement and straighten up bit more work than they expected so took the easier option, and bull shitted the wife.

Another day in paradise.

You guys who self build have my respect, I'd either kill someone or end up in the looney bin.

Back home builders put lintels above doors and windows , to support the blockwork above the door/window .
I have noticed in Thailand that they lay the blocks on top of the window/door frame with no lintel .
Removing the door/window frame leaves the wall above liable to collapse, due to there being nothing there to support the wall .
If I were you, I would check the wall above the door, to make sure that its sound
If it is loose, then the door slamming could bring it down

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

^ Good advice piwanoi.

Thai builders are messy especially when they have a paint brush in their hand or mixing cement.

Always make sure you have a lot of drop sheets on hand.............that they normally fall asleep on and still splash the paint everywhere.

My Son and I did all the painting both inside and out , My Son who has his own Painting and decorating business by there in the UK insisted I buy the best paint that money could buy cos in the end due to its "lasting " qualities it works out cheaper , we used TOA "four seasons" 100% acrylic semi gloss exterior Emulsion for both inside and the exterior ,He said best to use exterior on the inside too as it covers better and is washable in case one gets stains on it ,and every bit inside and outside got two coats ,the whole job took about 3 weeks !

fluke

bit late they just cemented the gaping holes up.

Ty anyway

Pikey are you writing your memoirs.

Originally Posted by piwanoi

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

^ Good advice piwanoi.

Thai builders are messy especially when they have a paint brush in their hand or mixing cement.

Always make sure you have a lot of drop sheets on hand.............that they normally fall asleep on and still splash the paint everywhere.

My Son and I did all the painting both inside and out , My Son who has his own Painting and decorating business by there in the UK insisted I buy the best paint that money could buy cos in the end due to its "lasting " qualities it works out cheaper , we used TOA "four seasons" 100% acrylic semi gloss exterior Emulsion for both inside and the exterior ,He said best to use exterior on the inside too as it covers better and is washable in case one gets stains on it ,and every bit inside and outside got two coats ,the whole job took about 3 weeks !

Originally Posted by Yasojack

fluke

bit late they just cemented the gaping holes up.

Ty anyway

You should poke your finger into the hole, to make sure that theyve filled the void up properly , otherwise the wall above the door will be sitting on thin air

nah i'm sick of headaches

I'm thinking of joining Pikey in his Mud hut

LT hit the nail on the head.

Additionally, using exterior paint on the interior is something that I will look into.

Originally Posted by hillbilly

LT hit the nail on the head.

Additionally, using exterior paint on the interior is something that I will look into.

Billy ,its just that the exterior emulsion is better quality and at the little bit of extra cost its more than worth it according to my Son who has been in the trade for well over 20 years .

I'm going to try something new and my initial testing seems it will be a winner.

I purchased a 50 square metre roll of PVC adhesive Kodak photo sticker film which is 50 microns thick and 53cm wide. The film is solvent resistant and has a high UV rating and the job I was going to do went tits up and I was left with this redundant roll.

Yesterday I tried a bit on one of my interior walls and it looks absolutely fantastic, really glossy, hides all the hairline cracks and sticks like shit to a blanket.

You can run over the top of the surface with a marker pen and it just wipes off including my grubby hands.

I'm going to do the new kitchen walls with this film and I will let you guys know how it turns out.

By the way the 50 square metre roll cost 500 Baht and I bet if I purchased a lot I could get it for half this price. When you compare the square metre coverage price of ICI or Jotun top-line Paints I bet this material works out cheaper without the mess and it is stain-proof.

my mother in law took to painting my front gate last weekend. very nice of her to do so. It took me about 20minutes for me to open the fucker again...

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

I purchased a 50 square metre roll of PVC adhesive Kodak photo sticker film which is 50 microns thick and 53cm wide. The film is solvent resistant and has a high UV rating and the job I was going to do went tits up and I was left with this redundant roll.

Yesterday I tried a bit on one of my interior walls and it looks absolutely fantastic, really glossy, hides all the hairline cracks and sticks like shit to a blanket.

You can run over the top of the surface with a marker pen and it just wipes off including my grubby hands.

I'm going to do the new kitchen walls with this film and I will let you guys know how it turns out.

By the way the 50 square metre roll cost 500 Baht and I bet if I purchased a lot I could get it for half this price. When you compare the square metre coverage price of ICI or Jotun top-line Paints I bet this material works out cheaper without the mess and it is stain-proof.

good for a kids room i bet..

Originally Posted by armstrong

my mother in law took to painting my front gate last weekend. very nice of her to do so. It took me about 20minutes for me to open the fucker again...

I love it when they paint over the hinges.

Originally Posted by armstrong

good for a kids room i bet..

I'm the biggest kid in this family and I am going to see how it works on my mattress.

LT

sounds interesting what colour is it.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

I'm going to try something new and my initial testing seems it will be a winner.

I purchased a 50 square metre roll of PVC adhesive Kodak photo sticker film which is 50 microns thick and 53cm wide. The film is solvent resistant and has a high UV rating and the job I was going to do went tits up and I was left with this redundant roll.

Yesterday I tried a bit on one of my interior walls and it looks absolutely fantastic, really glossy, hides all the hairline cracks and sticks like shit to a blanket.

You can run over the top of the surface with a marker pen and it just wipes off including my grubby hands.

I'm going to do the new kitchen walls with this film and I will let you guys know how it turns out.

By the way the 50 square metre roll cost 500 Baht and I bet if I purchased a lot I could get it for half this price. When you compare the square metre coverage price of ICI or Jotun top-line Paints I bet this material works out cheaper without the mess and it is stain-proof.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

I'm going to try something new and my initial testing seems it will be a winner.

I purchased a 50 square metre roll of PVC adhesive Kodak photo sticker film which is 50 microns thick and 53cm wide. The film is solvent resistant and has a high UV rating and the job I was going to do went tits up and I was left with this redundant roll.

Yesterday I tried a bit on one of my interior walls and it looks absolutely fantastic, really glossy, hides all the hairline cracks and sticks like shit to a blanket.

You can run over the top of the surface with a marker pen and it just wipes off including my grubby hands.

I'm going to do the new kitchen walls with this film and I will let you guys know how it turns out.

By the way the 50 square metre roll cost 500 Baht and I bet if I purchased a lot I could get it for half this price. When you compare the square metre coverage price of ICI or Jotun top-line Paints I bet this material works out cheaper without the mess and it is stain-proof.

Thank you, good idea !

Originally Posted by Yasojack

LT

sounds interesting what colour is it.

Gloss white but I think you can buy it in any colour mate.

There is one wall where the rendering is shite and they have filled cracks with filler and when you paint over the top of it it looks even more shite.

When I covered the area with the film all the shite disappeared.

The trick I have found is to wet the walls first with a splash of water but with a drop of liquid soap in the solution.

This allows you to slide the film into position and to push out any air bubbles.

Air bubbles are not a problem anyway as you can take a small pin, pierce the bubble and push the air out.

All in all its a bit like wall-paper.

Be interesting to see, got a pic of it on the wall.?

will you get a grey join line in a few months?