Thread: New project in Korat

Originally Posted by happynz

I assume those fellers shimmy up those poles set at 45 degree angles. Wow!

They use the poles vertical to the front door.

Living the high life: The secretive Korowai tribe who live above the forest in treehouses… and didn't know other people existed until the 1970s

Hi James. Both water and power are within easy access. There is water supply to the outlaws house and the electric pole is next to the driveway on the road 20 metres from the build site. However I don't think that either are 100% reliable but it is Thailand so I will make provision for a water tank in the roof space to maintain a pressure head and buy cheap back up generator for emergencies. At least that was my idea. I'm sure that that will ''generate'' some feedback...........
Thanks Best Regards Mike

By the way, anyone know if an Amazon Echo works in Thailand ?

David..I am no expert at plumbing but I have a hot water cylinder which is about 2 metres above the shower outlet and the water pressure is adequate. The cylinder gets fed by pump.

Hi again.
I understand pressure and head (?) pretty well . I am a Precision hydraulic engineer with my own company manufacturing and designing control systems for power stations, so pipes and pumps are second nature to me. Only needs a small lift pump if Mr Thai's Water Company can't push it all the way up with a float switch as a cut off or a proximity sensor to trigger a circuit if you want to go posh !! And yes you are correct when you say that more height gives more head pressure. No jokes about tall Thai ladies please...............
My ideal would a fully enclosed tank with a sintered breather( to keep out the creepies) ,spotlessly clean on installation, and a good set of filters just after the lift pump with a less fine filter before the pump to prevent ingress of crap and crud knackering the pump innards. Then I'll be ready for anything I reckon .It will never be drinking water but it should be better than the shitty stuff that stains my toilet and shower red in Phratumnak.
Best Regards Mike

OK, last post from me, I'll leave you to it.

Mex, from Mike's post, there was no hint of a pump being attached to the storage pump, hence my comment.

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Mike, your comment "Only needs a small lift pump if Mr Thai's Water Company can't push it all the way up" is again folly.

What you are doing by that is 'sucking up' the water into a storage, the limit being a float switch.

The implication being that you are sucking up the water along the pump lines.
Not many Thais have one way valves in their plumbing which may mean you are sucking it out of their system. YUCK

Then only time you try and 'suck' water is from a well.


What many people have is a storage tank which is fed from the town supply.
That storage is then pressurised and fed through the house.



Hot water is usually supplied by an instantaneous heater at the Shower.

There is no logical reason to place the storage tank in the roof.

Some guys place a very small one in the roof to supply some warm water, but as the main storage for the house, is just BS.

1 litre of water = 1 kg
A decent water reserve is a couple thousand litres ... do you want a couple thousand kgs of weight in your roof?

As I said earlier, last post from me.

Good luck with it all.

Ok...you have misunderstood my point. I have the arrangement pictured but from the pump it feeds a hot water cylinder in the roof. The head of water from the HW cylinder is +- 2m to the shower head and the pressure using only the hot water for the shower is adequate.

I am trying to establish that if you have about a 2 m head of water above your highest tap/shower etc the pressure should be ok.

I agree that any storage tank should never be in a roof..if only for any leakage problems. The loading is too much.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

The implication being that you are sucking up the water along the pump lines.
Not many Thais have one way valves in their plumbing which may mean you are sucking it out of their system. YUCK

I do not think that anybody would have such one-way valve (they call it here check valve) on his incoming pipe, it would further reduce his precious pressure. A pump sucking directly from the municipal water system is not only unhygienic for all neighbours nearby, it is surely not allowed.

Yes, the correct way is with a storage tank as shown on the diagram.

No nothing about pumps and water tanks, we have a well and one of those yellow pumps, no tanks.
Shower is electric, not great pressure, but I am the only one that showers, everyone else, wife, kids, outlaws and adopted niece do bucket baths, 2 bathromms 2 big blue water containers and they pour water over themselves.

Being a soft white man, I just like to take the edge of the cold water. so again, no need to spend on towers and water tanks that won't be used.

Oooer ! opened up a can of worms here didn't I?
Maybe it's best to have the tank underground and have a better pump on standby in case the town water fails.
You guys are so helpful with your ideas/experiences. Wonderful to read. Saves an awful lot of going down blind alleys. Thank you all so much.
Best regards Mike

Good luck, Ling Noi.
Keep the updates coming!!

Originally Posted by ling noi

Oooer ! opened up a can of worms here didn't I?

Naaah Not really. There will always be debates. I have a 1000 liter tank filled from city water with a Hitachi pump to pressurize the house . To Jamie's post, my father never uses the shower, does bucket washing's (Old school Thai). My wife and I shower and have point of use electric hot water heaters in each bathroom and typically only use them in morning and in what we will call "Winter" here. The other 10 months are pretty much ambient temps from the tank which is hidden in the shade.

I never even considered an elevated tank. It would make sense if I was well only and did not want to have to do a mid line pump but it would be away from the house on a stand. We have 2 wells for the property upkeep and watering

Originally Posted by ling noi

Maybe it's best to have the tank underground and have a better pump on standby in case the town water fails.

Why not just put a 40Gal bin in the shower room filled in case of such an event?

Someone will surely tell me if a 1,5/2 metre head is sufficient pressure?

Can of worms No. 2
Hi Mex
With a roof tank, surely the pressure that you achieve at the shower head is somewhat irrelevant . It's flow rate that's as important as anything. Isn't that why we have 22mm pipe for hot water (low pressure but higher flow rate) and 15 mm for cold ( mains pressure) . I certainly don't want pummeling to death by shower water. That's what my wife is for ..........aah the joy of a good massage .
Lets see the response to this . Promises to raise a few more interesting views I hope.

Anyone know how they pump water up to the top floors of a block of condos without pulling dirty water out of all the adjoining properties pipework on the town water supply ? Not strictly relevant to my build but I'm just curious.
Best Regards Mike

Originally Posted by ling noi

Maybe it's best to have the tank underground

Not really practical since you will have to empty the tank after some time and clean it.

A usual plastic tank have 2 outlets: one some 10 cm above bottom for the intake to the pump, another one at the bottom level for draining.

Hello Ev.
Having listened to all the sagacity and wisdom so freely imparted on this here forum, I have decided to investigate the possibility of building a two bedroom property.
I think the one nugget of golden advice that turned my mind boiled down to the old adage '' Location location location '' . It would be stupid to build a palace in a low value area, with never a chance of recovering the build cost . No one could afford to buy it locally, no matter how good it may be.
Many thanks to you all .
I'm am still gonna build though . That's for sure.
Best Regards Mike

Originally Posted by ling noi

Can of worms No. 2
Hi Mex
With a roof tank, surely the pressure that you achieve at the shower head is somewhat irrelevant . It's flow rate that's as important as anything. Isn't that why we have 22mm pipe for hot water (low pressure but higher flow rate) and 15 mm for cold ( mains pressure) . I certainly don't want pummeling to death by shower water. That's what my wife is for ..........aah the joy of a good massage .
Lets see the response to this . Promises to raise a few more interesting views I hope.

Anyone know how they pump water up to the top floors of a block of condos without pulling dirty water out of all the adjoining properties pipework on the town water supply ? Not strictly relevant to my build but I'm just curious.
Best Regards Mike

Isn't flow rate also dependant on water pressure?

Hi Mex.
Static head pressures are exactly as David48 stated - 0.1 bar (1.45 psi) per metre drop from the surface of the water in your overhead tank but I really think that a three metre (10 ft ) drop using 22mm pipe will deliver enough water to shower under. As i said ,I don't expect a power shower using gravity alone. My point about flow and pressure is water coming down doesn't need much help - like a waterfall - but water going up needs loads of assistance.
Here in the uk I have a tank in my attic for hot water which can supply a bathfull of hot water . That's all I want in Thailand. Enough for two or three showers if used sparingly. The main water tank will obviously be outside the property because of weight/size considerations . From this tank I can top up my attic tank as required. That was my idea. So when the mains water fails we can still shower even if the electric fails at the same time . In my wifes' village this has happened twice to my knowledge . Hence my attempt at belt and braces.
Best regards Mike

Thanks for the advice!

Hi Everyone.
Just spoke to the wife and guess what ? The mains water has failed again today. Can't believe the coincidence. Maybe I should post something about winning the lottery............
Best Regards Mike

Welcome aboard Mike - love your enthusiasm, hope it continues. I'd stopped reading these building threads, but yours is going to be both entertaining and informative I feel.

Try to stuff it up real bad OK? - I'll be a newbie builder soon, don't want to be remembered as THE worst one ever.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

Pink makes good points. It will all boil down to research and planning.

Also to note. Bringing in mature trees after the build is done is cheap. We brought in a few.

Roofing materials are a huge debate. I think attic ventilation is more important. We have roof vents on all sides. We used a reflective ceramic tile roof which has been fantastic.

The OP shouldn't be in a hurry. My wife and I spent a year plus designing our home and researched materials and environmental items. Wind. Sun and of course Feng Shui stuff..

Mature trees - good idea, noted.

Wind - does anyone know of a website that gives accurate Thailand wind info? We're planning on building and living in a carport / shed combo first, and I'll spend a year or two contemplating the actual house / orientation etc. But a website would be nice.

Hello everybody again.
Well I have safely arrived here in Thailand, staying until the end of October. I've tried to be productive so far and I've reached the conclusion that I've failed. I've been running around on errands etc. with herself, back and forth to Korat twice and so on.
BUT, on a good note, I have managed to get the hire car out of the flood/mudslick (don't ask -sore point) and paid 180 baht to have it fully valeted, and have visited two completed projects by the builder from Kam Sakae Saeng. The finish looked better than I expected. The first was a newly completed single storey house but the second was a house completed three years ago that I scrutinized quite closely.There were no cracks or signs of movement anywhere and all the doors opened and shut easily. There were no cracks in the rendering anywhere. I have no doubt that the usual stories apply to the electrical and plumbing installations but the owners of the house reported no problems of any sort since moving in three years ago. We were shown around by the owners relation (aunt) who teaches English at a local school which made asking questions so much easier than when wife does this because somehow things get lost in translation !! - because I no unnerstan Thai way...............
Anyway, I liked the majority of what I saw, so I have a better feeling now that the basic construction will be sound. All that remains now is to decide on a design (again- as the first plan is now consigned to the rubbish bin) and what I think that I can comfortably spend my time in without getting cabin fever.
As more information becomes available I will update you all .
Best Regards Mike /Ling noi
Oh by the way village water has died three times in one week and the electric supply twice so the advice on TK becomes more and more valuable, so thank you all.