Thread: Aussie Style House Build

I have known Nyu for years and hope he recovers quickly. I am sure Pu will see he is well taken care of.

G'day Moose, We have tentative plans for rain water harvesting using poly tanks. Originally we were planning to use stainless steel but viewing TD posts changed my mind. Salt corrosion being a factor. We will probably end up with guttering and storm water as the village water reservoir is adjacent to our land. The risk being that with shorter rainy seasons the reservoir will be insufficient to cope with the village needs.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

With the heat in the attic space, from experience I would advice against recessed lighting .
If I build another house I would not use recessed lights again.

Hi Buckaroo, Your comment got me thinking about the recessed lamps being a heat source and minimizing heat transfer. I did some research and came upon this YouTube clip.

It has some good tips on LED cooling which work, recessed lighting or otherwise.

Originally Posted by peciacake

Hi Buckaroo, Your comment got me thinking about the recessed lamps being a heat source and minimizing heat transfer. I did some research and came upon this YouTube clip.

It has some good tips on LED cooling which work, recessed lighting or otherwise.

Thank you for that video, it looks interesting.
I have one LED that seems to be dimming, I will pull it out and give it a try fixing it.

Update on Progress

After the break for New Year holidays and a week or so to find a replacement Chang for Nyu work started on completing the roof. It went pretty smoothly without Nyu albeit there was a lack of urgency that Nyu has as part of his natural make up. Bluescope also let the team down when the measures eight of the corner section for the verandah 10 cms too short. Fortunately we only lost three days as they were able to source replacement stock quickly.

Below shows progress as @ 18.01.23





Renderers started today. Electricians completed cutting in the conduit on Monday. Looking forward to a busy couple of weeks

Originally Posted by peciacake

Looking forward to a busy couple of weeks

Will be down next week to help you. Help you drink a few beers specifically.

Looking nice and very Aussie! In the shade of the veranda looks like a great place to down a few tinnies.

peciacake
Its looking very nice, I am jealous. Its almost like you have broken all the Thai rules about how a house should be designed and as CalEden says it looks very Aussie outback.
Door openings on the east and West and up off the ground would have made it almost a Queenslander.
Good luck with the rest of the build.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

Make sure they put some sort of wire screen over the electrical conduit cuts before rendering, otherwise you might get hairline cracks in that area.

Hi Buckaroo,
The conduit channels along with window & door corners will have stainless steel mesh placed over them prior to rendering to prevent cracking around these areas. This being part of the normal process they use prior to rendering.

The wrap around verandah works a treat, particularly in the afternoon. With the the house aligned on an East - West axis and only one West facing window, plus good insulation we may just end up achieving our goal of a cool house.

Thanks for your comment Cal. I agree with you 100%, under the verandah on the Eastern side looks like the ideal spot to kick back and relax with a couple of coldies.

Thanks Ootai. The Queenslander influence is very deliberate. We've incorporated all the typical cooling features of the traditional Queenslander - so far it's going to plan.

Originally Posted by peciacake

Queenslander influence is very deliberate. We've incorporated all the typical cooling features of the traditional Queenslander - so far it's going to plan.

really coming along, i too thought Queenslander. Now do you thing your veranda is big enough for family meals? we eat outside most of the time.

Update on Progress 30.01.23
Rendering the internal walls commenced this morning after the edges were completed last Friday.
The team a lot more relaxed after the careful, patient job ensuring all the edges were square. Three rendering while the forth prepares the pre-mixed skim coat. She works hard too, as the three renderers are very quick. It's a pleasure to watch them after the tedium of getting the edges just right. The main bedroom, started at around 10:00 this morning will be finished today.

The image below shows two of the team applying the skim coat, smiling for the camera, but not stopping. The third member has the hard job, ensuring the finish is just right. The man in the corner is the Chang - he has worked for Khun Pu for over 10 years. He leads by example both in quality and output.




















































The below image shows the lady responsible for skim coat preparation; she can mix a load of concrete just as quickly as any of the men. She has a great temperament, quick with a smile and a laugh no matter what she's doing or what time of day it is.


















































This image shows where the render is mixed. Pretty windy today - not a pleasant place to be working but it didn't stop her from laughing and joking with the team. The image also shows the edge render on the columns and windows. Each one done with painstaking patience. Not a job for anyone wanting to do things in a hurry.


















































This image shows the Western wall of the house where the TV and stereo will sit, hence the four GPO boxes that will include cable & streaming / satellite TV. Note the stainless steel wire mesh. Pleasing to see the attention to detail - all window and doorway corners have mesh on them too.



































































It's pleasing to report the overall quality of the work remains highly satisfactory, albeit the Electricians caused an aberration when they cut in the conduit to quickly. Apart from this we are very satisfied with the overall job. Although we are on site daily, I'd be surprised if this makes any real difference. Since day 1 the different teams have all performed well, a testament to their Boss Khun Pu, who treats his team very well.

More to follow as the next stage occurs.

Originally Posted by peciacake

The below image shows the lady responsible for skim coat preparation; she can mix a load of concrete just as quickly as any of the men. She has a great temperament, quick with a smile and a laugh no matter what she's doing or what time of day it is.

I said it before and it bares repeating,"Women are the strength of Thailand"
When we were doing the perimeter wall, we had a husband and wife team. The woman worked harder than everyone else and lunch time she made them lunch to eat. Her son sat on his bike all day and looked himself in the mirror.
It makes me sick to my stomach. I would rather die than watch my Mom work while I sat there pruning myself.

The build looks great, I see that they are covering all the electric cuts and columns with wire mesh.
I guess you are not going to paint the house pink, accenting the columns purple ?

Looking really good Peciacake. Cheers

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

I guess you are not going to paint the house pink, accenting the columns purple ?

No Buckaroo, not that we've got anything against a purple on pink combination, but we'll be going with white on white. Guess that makes us pretty boring eh...

Thanks Stumpy. Appreciate the comment very much.

It's coming along nicely. No headaches?

Originally Posted by peciacake

No Buckaroo, not that we've got anything against a purple on pink combination, but we'll be going with white on white. Guess that makes us pretty boring eh...

brown and beige are my colors also
They say "you know you are getting old, when your favorite color is beige" LOL

Originally Posted by DrWilly

It's coming along nicely. No headaches?

G'day Willy, Nothing major with the build so far. The Electrician used by our builder is not at the same level of quality as the rest of his team. Apart form that, being on site makes it easier to resolve if anything is amiss. Plus we are not pushed for time to complete the build, so consistency and attention to detail are drummed into the team, who are generally very good to begin with.

The Obotor is a different question - we are finding one particular person (the elected representative) a real left hand thread. He is difficult. We take comfort from the fact that he's like it with everyone, including fellow staff.

Originally Posted by peciacake

he Electrician used by our builder is not at the same level of quality as the rest of his team

we got/get ours from the PEA, just ask in the local office and they can usual recommend or put you in contact with someone qualified to run cable inc earth who'll do it on the side.

Thank you for your advice Mike. Much appreciated. The builder has assured us the contractor who does his electricals will do the job satisfactorily. I'll be keeping a careful eye on them when they do the first fix in a couple of weeks time.

I brought light switches over from the UK (inc a couple of cheeky three pin sockets for my UK electricals) as i hate the Thai light switches, all channelled and rebated into the walls using boxes i brought over. I also understand why Thais have their sockets 3 - 4 foot off the floor but i hate that too - ours are all 1 foot off the floor.

I have read this thread and it is very informative, so thanks. Two questions please -what material have you used for the roof ? It doesn't look like tiles. Is it a form of sheeting, please?

One more - did you have any hassle regarding registration with the provision of the well?