Thread: Building in Khonkaen

Good luck Mantadive..

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

it is a special aluminum design that looks like wood.

any info on these ?

I need to replace the front and back door and what I see at homepro looks pretty sad

exterior doors need to be solid for security

I have checked out most of the Hardware shops in Khonkaen Global has the best range of doors

The job is coming along nicely with most of the lower walls bricked and the roof structure started today, The septic and storm water systems are in
More photos soon.

Originally Posted by Shutree

Rebar chairs were discussed elsewhere and a picture of a plastic chair was posted. Maybe someone more competent than I usuing the search engine can find the links.
I remember someone suggested cutting up those small red bricks to use as chairs. Seemed to be a practical solution.

Red bricks are a realy realy , really bad idea, you might as well use sponges.
The problem with steel not having proper coverage (being too close to the edge of concrete) is that moisture will get to it , it will rust, expand, and crack the concrete, allowing more moisture to infiltrate the system , further rust the steel, more steel expansion , etc etc. It creates a vicious cycle.
Red brick is water permeable, and eventually disintegrates.
Plastic chairs are impermeable and a good option , steel chairs with plastic shoes

are the standard in the industry but the problem with them is that often the plastic shoes fall off, and you and up still having steel near the edge, and creating a possible moisture pathway to the rebar. But that's what we use in the high rise industry because of expediency, (when you are on a two day cycle and have thousands of sq ft of slab you don't have time for litle concrete cakes"
IMO as a professional in the industry, the litle concrete cakes are the best, because they consist of the same material as the rest of the concrete creating a plug of the same consistency.

It's looking good MD... mine's slowed down to a crawl so its good to have yours to keep me going until i am there next month.

Agree with the last poster... the concrete cakes, or 'chairs' as they are known are the simplest and most effective., but anything that keeps air and water away from your re-bar is a good thing.

You don't want the slab rusting from within!

Good luck for the rest of it...

Hi mantadive, I'm just sorting out my house build in khon kaen, would you mind giving me your builders contact details please.
many thanks
essexboys

Originally Posted by Essexboys

Hi mantadive, I'm just sorting out my house build in khon kaen, would you mind giving me your builders contact details please.
many thanks
essexboys

MantaDive's builder has also build our house and the house of a few other friends
and did a reasonably good Job. Except for the front door, that I need to replace. I am happy with the rest of the job
His info is:https://www.facebook.com/dooktanakorn7772/

Thanks buckaroo banzai, I will be giving him a call,
many thanks
essexboys

The works are progressing slowly at present, the roof is on. I opted for a zinc alume tin roof for the following reasons:
I wont be seen
In one years time I will have it painted with a solar reflective paint
I had insultaion foil installed under the sheeting
It is the thickest roofing metal 0.42 mm same as Australia,s standard material, which menas that you can walk on it without fear of damage
I am installing 75mm foil cvered batts at the ceiling level.
I am also instaliing a couple of whirlybirds to extract the heated air - these work on natural convection.
The soffit sheets will be ventilated.
The external walls are cavity bricks, so in theory the warm air between the walls rises into the ceiling space and is vented out.
I had to show the roofers how to weather the ends of the sheets which is stanard practise in Aus. This involves turning up the ends of the pans at the ridge line. This stops wind driven water from entering.
On the 5 degree roof we also turned the bottom pans of the sheets down to stop capiiary action of the roof water.

Brickwork is at approx 70% complete. the brickies/blocklayres are doing a reasonable job.
I have ensured that the QCON blocks are reinforced according to specs and that the correct glue/mortar was used.
I also bought some cavity ties to tie the inner and outer skins together.
I am glad that I made the decision that all of the external walls would be cavity, especially in the current heat, I had originally drawn the plans with only the western wall cavity.

While the blockwork is a bit rough, it is better than some brickwork in Aus when the brickie knows the house wil be rendered.
I had one occasion in Aus as the Building manager of a large building company (300 + homes a year) of making a brickie pull down all of the brickwork on a two storey brick (rendered) house because it was so rough.
It was reasonably true and straight but the perps and joint beds were no where near standards. they basically stand back and throw the bricks at the walls. The brickie didnt argue just went ahead and replaced all of the bricks walls at his expense.

I find that most of the workers are skilled labourers rather than tradesmen. TC Builders has a good team of people. I find that he (Dook) is easily approachable, will always meet on site, and understands English.
I have to visit the site every day to ensure that the quality is kept up and I am introducing them to some new practises and ways of doing things. I always try to explian the reasons for this.
E.G. I made sure that we installed a moisture barrier under the slab as well as a dampcourse layer under the external walls.
I ensured that the drainage had the correct falls, that P traps were installed where required as well as venting the system correctly. I also had an ORG (Overflow relief Gully Trap) installed. This was a new concept to Dook but he understood why.
So hopefully - no rising damp and no smelly drains inside the house. and if the drainage system blocks up the s_ _ T will be outside by means if the ORG.
I also had an inspection port fitted at the head of the drainage line in case of a blockage. The system can be rodded clean from there.

Originally Posted by Mantadive

I am installing 75mm foil cvered batts at the ceiling level.

I've wondered about this in other build threads.
I don't know, I'm just pondering: In temperate and cold places, we insulate to keep the heat in and thus put the insulation on top of the ceiling. But in the tropics we want to keep the heat out, so would it be better to have the ceiling uninsulated and stick all your batts under the roof. With proper ventilation, the space should not get too hot.

^ After retro-fitting the ceiling batts into my house in Australia where it gets at least as hot as here in Thailand (many days each year of over 40 degrees C ) I can assure you they work both ways. Internal summer temperatures were cooler, and warmer in winter. In the tropics the sun is overhead during the hottest part of the day so the vast majority of heat transmitted into a house is via the roof and then through the ceiling if not insulated.
Of course, when building from scratch a combo of both under tile and over ceiling would be best of all options.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

I've wondered about this in other build threads.
I don't know, I'm just pondering: In temperate and cold places, we insulate to keep the heat in and thus put the insulation on top of the ceiling. But in the tropics we want to keep the heat out, so would it be better to have the ceiling uninsulated and stick all your batts under the roof. With proper ventilation, the space should not get too hot.

The bulk insulation will stop the conductive heat transfer so being on the ceiling works ok.
I installed reflective foil to the underside of the roofing iron, this reflects the radiated heat and to a small degree the convection heat.
I also installed foil wrapped bulk insulation to the ceiling
The relective insulation on the ceiling does the same job, the bulk keeps the conductive/convection heat in the roof space allowing only a minimal amount thru to the rooms below. Thus it is important to ventilate the roof space. I am installing whirlybirds and vented soffit sheets to accomplish this.

I used a product in Australia called Anticon:
https://www.bradfordinsulation.com.a...ations#current
Bulk insulation with foil directly under the roof helps to resist heat transfer as well as noise transfer, so it is a good idea. I could not find a 1200 wide long roll of a similar product here in Thailand.
The drawback with Anticon is that it is installed between the roof battens and the roofing iron. anything thicker than a 50 mm batt would push the iron back up, so you tended to use more screws to force it down. (every rib every batten) also the batts were squashed at that point.

Go here for an explanation of different types of heat transfer
https://www.greenteg.com/heat-flux-s...heat-transfer/

Originally Posted by Mantadive

The works are progressing slowly at present, the roof is on. I opted for a zinc alume tin roof for the following reasons:
I wont be seen
In one years time I will have it painted with a solar reflective paint
I had insultaion foil installed under the sheeting
It is the thickest roofing metal 0.42 mm same as Australia,s standard material, which menas that you can walk on it without fear of damage
I am installing 75mm foil cvered batts at the ceiling level.
I am also instaliing a couple of whirlybirds to extract the heated air - these work on natural convection.
The soffit sheets will be ventilated.
The external walls are cavity bricks, so in theory the warm air between the walls rises into the ceiling space and is vented out.
I had to show the roofers how to weather the ends of the sheets which is stanard practise in Aus. This involves turning up the ends of the pans at the ridge line. This stops wind driven water from entering.
On the 5 degree roof we also turned the bottom pans of the sheets down to stop capiiary action of the roof water.

Any photo of the roof please ?

Some recent Photos
as you can see not much of the roof to see.
will take more tomorrow as the job is progressing
Scaffolding is going up (well the Thais call it scaffolding, I call it absolutely scary external bush sticks. )

Originally Posted by Mantadive

Roofing profile is

Are you going to install louvres to the vertical face where the roof lines join?

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Roofing profile is

Are you going to install louvres to the vertical face where the roof lines join?

I will be installing whirly birds on top of the roof, They actually work with natural convection. I will put some venting in that face, it will all help.

^ So you won't be having a vaulted ceiling?

It will be a ceiling void?

Originally Posted by David48atTD

^ So you won't be having a vaulted ceiling?

It will be a ceiling void?

Yes I will have a flat ceiling with a roof space. I have a couple of raised areas with recessed strip LED lighting

I had a discussion with Dook re the construction of the roof, They had only made a truss at each end of the roof structure, so rather than fotce the issue myself I got the engineer to inspect and we put 2 more truss units in to stop the main support truss from rolling. I personally would like to see more but I will abide by the engineer. The ceiling is suspended on metal battens.
I am used to building with timber framing.
I did make them adjust a fair bit of the roof as it was not straight or plumb in a couple of areas,
Always chedking

Originally Posted by Mantadive

In one years time I will have it painted with a solar reflective paint

Moving along nicely, good that you are getting along with your builders and they are open to improvements.

I have a flat roof area that I coated with reflective paint, made a lot bigger difference than I expected - product made by "Three Bond" they make some good products though on the pricey side.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

Red bricks are a realy realy , really bad idea, you might as well use sponges.
The problem with steel not having proper coverage (being too close to the edge of concrete) is that moisture will get to it , it will rust, expand, and crack the concrete, allowing more moisture to infiltrate the system , further rust the steel, more steel expansion , etc etc. It creates a vicious cycle.
Red brick is water permeable, and eventually disintegrates.
Plastic chairs are impermeable and a good option , steel chairs with plastic shoes.

A fair point. I hadn't thought about the permeability of the bricks.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

Red brick is water permeable, and eventually disintegrates.

Do you truly believe that the red bricks disintegrate during the concreting process? Then, will create an empty space there?
BTW, when looking around, in this and/or in the old world either, we see so many red bricks exposed for centuries to the changing weather, I would not classify them as "disintegrated" (almost)...