Thread: Our future home

Well, I've done a couple of posts, like the site. So why not start my own thread here on what I hope will in the next couple years be our new home..

Bit of background, been in Asia since '98, Singapore first, couple of detours to UK and USA and then settled down in Thailand in 2005.
Started a local branch for a now large recycling company and it's been growing little by little into a big business.
Enjoying Thailand, with my Thai wife and 3 kids, we now live in a double shophouse, one as the family home, the other one with my workshop and some extra bedrooms in Pathumthani, close to the expressway into Bangkok.
My company is now located in HiTech Industrial Estate, just moved there last year.

The plan is to retire in the next couple years. (hopefully, never know, but it looks good right now).
My wife's from Petchaburi, so we'll be hunting for land sometime late this year when Covid starts to slowdown.
Close to the family, the nicest and modest people I've met here, a bit further south to Chaam/Hua Hin.

I've also started posting this on CTH btw, where I've mostly posted about construction things over the last 10 years or so and where I've learned many valuable lessons on what to do and what not..
Anyhow, the house..

With all the houses I've seen built here and on CTH, I must say that it's been extremely useful in getting a plan slowly taking shape. Things to do and not to do, type of materials I want to use, layout. Let's start with a simple list of that:
- AAC-Block walls
- Colorbond roof
- Single level
- No hallways
- Light-weight construction
- Conwood where-ever possible
- Large windows, double glazed of course.
- Rainwater collection
- Solar water heating
- Solar energy
- Modular construction

I've always liked Mediterranean houses. White thick walls, colorful roofs, wooden pergolas.
At the same time, modern, straight lines, practical, low maintenance are important.
Overall, the design is efficient in its use of space, minimal hallways, mostly outdoor living space.

Now, I'm not really good with SketchUp, or other software to design a house, but I am quite ok with wood and tools.
So instead of the normal process flow: Find architect, explain ideas, let him doodle around, more input, more ideas, etc. I started working out my ideas in a model first.
Gives me a much better 'feel' for the size, layout, looks. It also made it much easier to get my wife understand my ideas and eventually agree to it. And of course, with my limited command of Thai, I was afraid I'd end up with the toilet hanging off the roof and the kitchen-sink inside the bedroom closet if I'd try to explain my ideas to the architect.
So off we went, started making some sawdust, glueing, painting and building my house.

Look forward to the project. Know the HiTech area well. Worked at a factory there. Also worked in PathumThani. Ahhh yes, brings back the flood memories.

Welcome to TD

JPPR2, yes, the flooding... memories indeed. We had just finished the Reno on our house. Lucky we decided on a concrete kitchen, so we just took out the wooden doorframes and equipment..
Our son was in Petchaburi and we decided to stay and take care the house, fish and stuff.
Amazing experience, especially how the few neighbors still staying in the village all banded together and taking care of each other..
Our company had a record 2012 because of the floods and many of those customers are still with us to this day..
It literally lifted our company to the next level and many of the staff we hired January 2012 to help clean up and restart are also still with us today.

First day playing around with 2 walls and floor space



Adding some paint and a to scale 2m stick to get a feel for the size of the house.


Backside added (laundry and bathroom. Visually separated from the main house by a glass block strip.


And to make sure sunlight on the front windows is minimal, a pergola added that will block most direct sunshine.

A friend of mine is making the first drawings. Received a message this evening with a rough first layout.

Estimated cost will be around 2-2.5m THB for the large unit, less than 1m for the bedroom unit.



Architect was laughing when he saw the model as it's totally the opposite of what normally happens.
Sure he was happy with it, making his job a lot easier.

He's discussing the plans with his contractor to get a first rough estimate on the construction cost.

That's all for now..
Cheers,
Luc

Originally Posted by Schuimpge

A friend of mine is making the first drawings. Received a message this evening with a rough first layout.

Estimated cost will be around 2-2.5m THB for the large unit, less than 1m for the bedroom unit.



Architect was laughing when he saw the model as it's totally the opposite of what normally happens.
Sure he was happy with it, making his job a lot easier.

He's discussing the plans with his contractor to get a first rough estimate on the construction cost.

That's all for now..
Cheers,
Luc

2.5m baht for a one bedroom place, and another million for the second unit, seems a bit pessimistic at first glance but when you go back to your list of requirements I guess it adds up :
AAC-Block walls
- Colorbond roof
- Single level
- No hallways
- Light-weight construction
- Conwood where-ever possible
- Large windows, double glazed of course.
- Rainwater collection
- Solar water heating
- Solar energy
- Modular construction

Do you have any idea how much the extras like solar energy and water heating, double glazing etc have added to the cost ? If the walls have been costed using Q-con prices rather than the equivalent TPI/Diamond blocks that could easily be 50% more for no real gain.
And of course the cost depends on the fittings you choose ...a toilet for a couple of thousand, or a hi-tech "Japanese" automatic one for 100x that !
Anyway, best of luck for the project,

Originally Posted by Schuimpge

First day playing around with 2 walls and floor space



Adding some paint and a to scale 2m stick to get a feel for the size of the house.


Backside added (laundry and bathroom. Visually separated from the main house by a glass block strip.


And to make sure sunlight on the front windows is minimal, a pergola added that will block most direct sunshine.

There was me thinking I was being creative for designing my build in MS Excel. This is on another level.

One of the things I have tried to do with my build during the design stage is close my eyes and sit inside every room and look for faults and items for improvement. But one really needs to focus the imagination.

With an actual physical model you can see and feel so much more and anticipate the build to the extent that surprises and disappointments are almost entirely eliminated – you could even switch the lights out in the room and move a lamp over the model slowly to replicate the sun's diurnal motion to see the silhouettes that will be made on the floor every day in the future by the pergola slats.

Inspiring stuff, buddy! I am looking forward to further entries in the story.

Looking forward to watch the progress of the build ... thanks for sharing

it is missing the workshop / mancave

Originally Posted by baldrick

it is missing the workshop / mancave

Good point. It's in the plans though, a 'bedroom' unit to be adjusted for that.
Once we've (finally) bought some land, I'll be able to put a more definite layout on paper.
There's some friends that have shown interest to take up units as well, and we're thinking to add a few bedroom units for a B&B to generate some income.
My target for land is about 4 Rai, which would also give me space for some aquaponics farming.
Becoming as much self-sufficient as possible is a target for the project.

Originally Posted by baldrick

it is missing the workshop / mancave

Yes, I had to add a shed to my plan. I don't really need a workshop but I definitely need a lot more space than I had thought for storage. There are brooms and brushes and kitchen hardware and similar items that remain a mystery to me, all of which need to be stored out of sight. And shoes, maybe I'll build a shoe cupboard next.

Will be an adventure and learning experience for you and interesting for us to warch the build progress. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Norton

Will be an adventure and learning experience for you and interesting for us to warch the build progress. Thanks for sharing.

Lol.. Indeed.. 'the experience'... Well at least, I did 2 full house renovations here, and learned many things I will try to avoid with building our house.
One of them being to use a construction company that knows how to build a proper house.

Currently, the plans will be reviewed and a cost/BOM done by a Bangkok based architect/construction company.
Some staff in that company and my friend where all in the same year/class at university.
Met 3 of them in Vietnam when I was at my Hanoi office for work, young and enthusiast guys.

Here's a reference from his company: House COVE(R) / TOUCH Architect | ArchDaily
To make it into Archdaily is always a good thing of course...lol.
Lots of nice ideas and projects shown in there for inspiration..

Time is on our side, but I'm quite impatient when it comes to taking up a project..want to finish something and then start the next thing.
Will be forced to learn to be patient though.. no choice..

Wow, a wooden scale model. Kudos to the OP! Best of luck in the build. Will watch this space. Cheers!

Originally Posted by katie23

Wow, a wooden scale model. Kudos to the OP! Best of luck in the build. Will watch this space. Cheers!

Well, gotta work with tools that suit you best.. It also helps me as I can adjust and change on the fly.
My original idea was to have a tile-roof at the front for looks, but I abandoned that due to space constraints for example.
The deck and pergola is another thing. It's close to scale, but normally the rafters are notched and fall over the supporting beams. A detail I didn't bother to add in the model.
With a poly carbonate roof and linen sunshade below it, it will be bright but at the same time shaded.
Battens on top also provide a nice light 'play' on the deck below.

Originally Posted by Schuimpge

that knows how to build a proper house

I would also suggest having active, neutral and earth pulled to all outlets and switches - not having the neutral at lights and fan switches can be a problem if you decide to fit smart devices later

and get cat6 run everywhere - much easier to do it during the build and it is cheap

Originally Posted by baldrick

I would also suggest having active, neutral and earth pulled to all outlets and switches - not having the neutral at lights and fan switches can be a problem if you decide to fit smart devices later

and get cat6 run everywhere - much easier to do it during the build and it is cheap

Good point on the neutral wires. Will keep that in mind! Thanks..
Cat6. yep, sure thing.. wireless is still crap..

Cheers,
Luc

Good luck with it!

I'm looking forward to sitting back and following this tale.

So... flat roofs - a couple of reasons why it may not be such a good idea:

1. water will sit on it rather than running away. if theres a place to leak in, that water will find it!
2. The roof sits, baking in the sun all day, and that heat radiating down from it has to go somewhere. With a flat roof, the roof void, if any will be small and heat will accumulate. a pitch roof / heat rises / vents and air flow through it can solve a lot of this problem. A pitched roof show less 'face' to the sun at any one time

Seems like you are giving this a lot of forethought what with your model n' all so maybe you already have a plan for heat and water ingress?

Anyway Schuimpge
...bring it on - we all love a build thread!

Originally Posted by Thai Dhupp

Good luck with it!

I'm looking forward to sitting back and following this tale.

So... flat roofs - a couple of reasons why it may not be such a good idea:

1. water will sit on it rather than running away. if theres a place to leak in, that water will find it!
2. The roof sits, baking in the sun all day, and that heat radiating down from it has to go somewhere. With a flat roof, the roof void, if any will be small and heat will accumulate. a pitch roof / heat rises / vents and air flow through it can solve a lot of this problem. A pitched roof show less 'face' to the sun at any one time

Seems like you are giving this a lot of forethought what with your model n' all so maybe you already have a plan for heat and water ingress?

Anyway Schuimpge
...bring it on - we all love a build thread!

Good points TD,.. roof is sloping to the back, though the minimum required for a colorbond roof.. Backsides will have gutters to collect rainwater.
Your second point is sure valid. Trying to avoid that with the PU-Foam backing, insulation materials on top of the ceiling and likely some sort of venting at the front.
It's still design phase, so those problems need to be tackled when we start with the constructions drawing and of course with input from the architect.
Might be as simple as an extractor fan that pulls the hot air into a pipe hidden in the 1m thick side walls. Then have that coming out at the back-side.

Cheers,
Luc

Originally Posted by Schuimpge

Good points TD,.. roof is sloping to the back, though the minimum required for a colorbond roof.. Backsides will have gutters to collect rainwater.
Your second point is sure valid. Trying to avoid that with the PU-Foam backing, insulation materials on top of the ceiling and likely some sort of venting at the front.
It's still design phase, so those problems need to be tackled when we start with the constructions drawing and of course with input from the architect.
Might be as simple as an extractor fan that pulls the hot air into a pipe hidden in the 1m thick side walls. Then have that coming out at the back-side.

Cheers,
Luc

If you can't get that natural airflow, that fan idea is a good back up.

So far for TD Towers, we have only the air flow through the roof void and it is working. However, I put the heat reflective insulation directly under the tiles AND had the insulation over the first floor ceiling joists (like one would do to keep heat in, in the west!) so that double whammy is probably helping.

It's a case of employing as many different methods as you can and hopefully the result will be a cool house interior.

As we all know, heat is the enemy. Another area it can be influenced is how you design in the windows. Massive picture windows to look out can be great but they will let in a lot of sunlight, heating up the interior. Also, where you place those windows in relation to the suns trajectory throughout the day will be a factor. Lastly, a decent roof overhang can cut out at least some of the associated sunlight ingress issues.

We went for 1m wide by 1.5m tall windows. single glazed, not double. All these windows open. for the days when you can make use of the air flow through. they are supplemented by working wooden shutters on the outside for security and light blocking as necessary. yes we are using them. The roof overhang is a generous 1.5m which does limit sunlight into the upper floor rooms. we are looking at the practicality of fitting something over the ground floor windows

With windows on all 4 sides on the house we cannot avoid that trajectory but... we have it rising facing the exterior of zone 1 and setting facing zone 3. this means the main living rooms - kitchen, dining and living rooms do not have intense sun when they are being used. Sun comes up on the side of bed 1 and 2 but by the time it could be an issue we are already up. those AAC blocks definitely help with heat insulation

The final heat influencer is...trees. What and where you plant them can shield the building walls from the suns rays. just make sure any root structure does not undermine your foundations. tree roots are pretty strong!

Hope this is useful.

Originally Posted by Schuimpge

few bedroom units for a B&B to generate some income.

Your inlaws could move in for free...

Originally Posted by TheRealKW

Your inlaws could move in for free...

Lol.. the average Falang nightmare..

We actually tried to persuade my wife's parents to move in with her sister a couple of times, but they refuse.
They're well into their 70's, still running some small business selling coconut deserts and they refuse to stop.
Aside from that, they have lived in the same small community for well over 50 years and enjoy their lives their.
Other relatives are all equally great people. Always welcoming and enjoying if we're heading down there.
Lovely people, as are the sisters and brother of my wife, all working hard and supplying for their own families.

We help with extras whenever we can, but not once has any one of them asked us for money or help.

I might be lucky on that front.. but sure appreciate having a great family.

Originally Posted by Schuimpge

yes, the flooding... memories indeed

My wife now and I had bailed out of the area but my BIL was stuck. I have some crazy pictures. We were wheeling in water and supplies to them with water coming in the door sils. At one point the only way to them was military 6Xs. I remember all the Pig and Duck farmers had moved their livestock to the over passes.

The company had gone 4 ft under water in HiTech industrial park. Millions lost in inventory.

Fortunately Hitech now has that big levy around it so if that deal should happen again, all in their is safe.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

My wife now and I had bailed out of the area but my BIL was stuck. I have some crazy pictures. We were wheeling in water and supplies to them with water coming in the door sils. At one point the only way to them was military 6Xs. I remember all the Pig and Duck farmers had moved their livestock to the over passes.

The company had gone 4 ft under water in HiTech industrial park. Millions lost in inventory.

Fortunately Hitech now has that big levy around it so if that deal should happen again, all in their is safe.

We where in Navanakorn at the time. Had about 120cm inside the factory, 2 meters at the gate. Went there 2x during that period. First time it took us a full day, 8am wading to the main road, long tail boat to Rangsit, 6-wheel truck to Navankorn and from there our security company had arranged a motor-boat to the factory (Free Trade Zone).
Sit on top of the fence/wall, pictures, go back again.. Sightseeing tour around Nava.. what a mess there..
Military truck back to Nantana Garden/Punsab Market. Back home 7pm.

We had electricity and water throughout the floods and our house was properly wired up during the Reno. ripped out all wires, replaced the breaker unit with an industrial unit, and everything properly grounded.
Otherwise we'd sure would have left as well.

When it comes to that flood wall around HiTech, I wouldn't place any bets on it. Can't even see it anymore, all grown over.
Navanakorn did a marvelous job. Sheet piling all around, 3 meters high and 4 meters into the ground.. And even then there where companies inside who didn't trust (or there insurance companies didn't) that and put in even higher sheet piling walls around their own factory..Looks like a giant prison..lol.

Rohm in Nava continued working throughout the floods. They had a bunch of pontoons to move stock, staff, supplies.
Their first floor was flooded, but 2nd floor was operational. Quite a feat.

And indeed, the express way next door, was one big parking lot.

Cheers,
Luc