Thread: Aussie Style House Build

Norton, do you have RO? They are fairly cheap these days

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Norton, do you have RO? They are fairly cheap these days

No, it's jut the way his shorts hang.

Originally Posted by ootai

I thought you were/are an Aussie, if you are then don't call a bore a well leave that to the ignorant Yanks.

Hey Ootai,
I'm as true blue as you: no need to correct me grammar. To be fair, I wrote "well" to ensure others understood. Even the Thai's call it a well.
Imagine the kerffulfe if I used dam instead of pond or reservoir. No one would have a clue what we'd be talking about.

Your point about the depth of the bore pretty much lines up with Yuri's uncle's advice. He's the village water driller and tells us it will need to be a minimum 30m deep.
The original well for the village is on our land and the uncle knows approximate location - he's confident he'll only need to drill one bore.
Thanks for the tip on the pump specs. We're planning on installing a grundfos demand pump after the colloidal silver lined water tank, where our filtered water will be stored.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

drill the bore at the end of the dry season

Thank you for the tip Mike - much appreciated.

Originally Posted by peciacake

Hey Ootai,
I'm as true blue as you: no need to correct me grammar. To be fair, I wrote "well" to ensure others understood. Even the Thai's call it a well.
Imagine the kerffulfe if I used dam instead of pond or reservoir. No one would have a clue what we'd be talking about.

Your point about the depth of the bore pretty much lines up with Yuri's uncle's advice. He's the village water driller and tells us it will need to be a minimum 30m deep.
The original well for the village is on our land and the uncle knows approximate location - he's confident he'll only need to drill one bore.
Thanks for the tip on the pump specs. We're planning on installing a grundfos demand pump after the colloidal silver lined water tank, where our filtered water will be stored.

Agree with you on the use of terminology but how are we going to educate the rest of the world if we just give in to their idiotic use of words.

As for your Uncle being confident he will only need to drill 1 hole, it shouldn't matter to you as all the water drillers I have heard of here give a guarantee of no water drill next hole for free until you get water.
So the only person who would really gain from 1 hole being drilled is him. Both from a cost point of view and reputation/pride.

As for you using a "demand" pump I am not really sure what you mean. Do you mean a pump that starts when someone opens a tap? If that's the case then both the Lucky Star pump on our house bore and the Mitsubishi pump on our tank are "demand" pumps. The submersible on our deep bore is controlled by a couple of mercury switches in one of the bulk containers. All six containers are linked together so the water level is the same in all of them. The Mitsubishi hooked to them is also a "demand" pump. Are using a grundfos pump because would be stainless steel for the filtered water?

Originally Posted by peciacake

Previous view of the Eastern boundary:

As for the removal of mature trees along this boundary its one of the things that pisses me off around here as well.
In the past I believe they used to plant trees to indicate where their land boundary was so the trees were always placed right on the boundaries.
Now when people are starting to use fences they have to get rid of the trees as in your case if it was up to me the trees would stay and the fence incorporate them.
In saying this what happens then is you can't clear the fence line and it becomes a jungle. Then nobody goes near it in case they interfere with the neighbours land so you end up with a 2 meter wide patch of unusable land.

It can be annoying but it is also what makes living here so interesting some times seeing how they operate!

Are you going to post us a picture of what the boundary looks like now?

Originally Posted by ootai

using a "demand" pump I am not really sure what you mean. Do you mean a pump that starts when someone opens a tap?

Over on the other side of the continent, opening a tap creates a "demand." Hence the name. Maybe W.A call it something else.

Grundfos based on recommendation from a mate at BNE Water & Pumps Systems. He also spec'd up the filter system for me.

Originally Posted by ootai

Are you going to post us a picture of what the boundary looks like now?

After shot of the Eastern boundary. Tree stumps mark our boundary. Obotor tell us it will be concreted when funds are available. Not holding our breath.

Originally Posted by peciacake

Over on the other side of the continent, opening a tap creates a "demand." Hence the name. Maybe W.A call it something else.

Grundfos based on recommendation from a mate at BNE Water & Pumps Systems. He also spec'd up the filter system for me.

I honestly didn't know what they are/were called, if you had asked me I probably would have said a "pressure pump" i.e. when the pressure drops in the bladder the pump starts.
But now that i have been educated I will call them a "demand pump".

If you can post the specs your mate did for your filter system that would be fantastic. I am still trying to convince the missus to put one in although as it has been over 10 years now I am not at all hopeful.

Originally Posted by peciacake

After shot of the Eastern boundary. Tree stumps mark our boundary. Obotor tell us it will be concreted when funds are available. Not holding our breath.

Looking at the picture of now and then going back to check the previous one I really don't see why he/they had to knock down the trees along your boundary. Along the edge of the reservoir probably needed to be done but not your side. I reckon he must have been paid for the timber. I would have told him to piss off, if he can't leave the trees and build the fence then pay me do it and I will show him how its done.

Back in about 2004 we bought a block of land here and the main reason I wanted to buy it was because it had a lot of big old trees. I came back from work (in Indonesia) one day and the missus had cleared the bloody lot. Nearly ended in divorce. Her reasoning, you can't grow stuff on the land if its covered in trees. So now its mainly cassava with some rice down the lowest end.

Originally Posted by ootai

Her reasoning, you can't grow stuff on the land if its covered in trees.

Originally Posted by ootai

I really don't see why he/they had to knock down the trees along your boundary

Yep, our thoughts exactly. We protested long and loud to the lady from the Obotor but she refused to listen to us. We pointed out that trees were left in place on the other side of the reservoir that were closer to the edge than ours - not even interested in listening to us.
We kept the timber off the trees they knocked down - the excavator operator even moved the stumps off our land after we cut the trunks off. The only silver lining is we've got the opportunity to plant a grove of tropical hardwoods in place. Small consolation though - the old trees were all at least 12 metres tall.

Originally Posted by ootai

Back in about 2004 we bought a block of land here and the main reason I wanted to buy it was because it had a lot of big old trees. I came back from work (in Indonesia) one day and the missus had cleared the bloody lot.

That is tragic.

Cassava is classic monoculture, usually a wildlife desert. There are a few cassava areas along my lane and there is nothing to see at any of them as I take my morning constitutional.

My gf talks about growing lemons for the market, or papaya, or whatever. She is clueless, never farmed anything. It just seems the limit of her ambition, to take fruit and veg to sell at the market. I am planting trees, just random mixed trees. I doubt I'll be here to see my efforts in their full-grown glory, that isn't the point.

Originally Posted by ootai

If you can post the specs your mate did for your filter system that would be fantastic.

Here you go:
1 X 500 litre Silver zeolite titanium tank for filtered water storage
2 X spin down filters 50 & 125 micron
2 X sediment filters (cartridge type) 5 & 25 micron
1 X activated carbon block filter (large floor standing filter). This can be back-washed to clean
1 X resin filter (large floor standing filter) Use a salt bath to clean
1 X 400W demand / displacement pump

All up approx 50,000 THB.
If you don't want the cost of replacing filter cartridges just use the spin down filters (available on-line)

Originally Posted by ootai

Agree with you on the use of terminology but how are we going to educate the rest of the world if we just give in to their idiotic use of words.

I was born in Australia but have been drilling water wells in Thailand for the last 50 years. I call them wells because that seems to have more universal understanding. Strangely enough, the Thai word is "bore nambadan".

On a side note for Teak Doorers interested in groundwater resources in their area, there is an android app called Badan4Thai that will list information of all the wells in their vicinity on the government register. Unfortunately it is all in Thai though.

Back to the house build, I've built a couple of houses over the years in Thailand. One issue that has turned up many years after the build has been leaking PVC pipes under the ground slab. Some of these have been the non-gluing issue and others are due to the PVC pipe breaking away from the fixtures holding it to the concrete (if they were ever there). The pipes can rest on the ground but if you get any subsidence over time, the weight of water causes them to break. If I ever do it again (God forbid) I would spend a little extra and do all under house plumbing with flexible HDPE pipe leaving slack in it for any stretch that may occur. The HDPE is extremely hardy. I have some I have been using for temporary movable water lines for about 30 years and most of the failures have been due to bushfires or running over with crawler tracks.

Originally Posted by Shutree

I doubt I'll be here to see my efforts in their full-grown glory, that isn't the point.

Well done for foresight, they say in the UK you plant a tree for your great great grandchildren. They grow quicker in Thailand and your fruit trees will be producing well in 5-10 years so hang in there

Originally Posted by ootai

Agree with you on the use of terminology but how are we going to educate the rest of the world if we just give in to their idiotic use of words.

Originally Posted by Shy Guava

I was born in Australia but have been drilling water wells in Thailand for the last 50 years. I call them wells because that seems to have more universal understanding. Strangely enough, the Thai word is "bore nambadan".

On a side note for Teak Doorers interested in groundwater resources in their area, there is an android app called Badan4Thai that will list information of all the wells in their vicinity on the government register. Unfortunately it is all in Thai though.

Back to the house build, I've built a couple of houses over the years in Thailand. One issue that has turned up many years after the build has been leaking PVC pipes under the ground slab. Some of these have been the non-gluing issue and others are due to the PVC pipe breaking away from the fixtures holding it to the concrete (if they were ever there). The pipes can rest on the ground but if you get any subsidence over time, the weight of water causes them to break. If I ever do it again (God forbid) I would spend a little extra and do all under house plumbing with flexible HDPE pipe leaving slack in it for any stretch that may occur. The HDPE is extremely hardy. I have some I have been using for temporary movable water lines for about 30 years and most of the failures have been due to bushfires or running over with crawler tracks.

Shy Guava
My comment about well versus bore was a tongue in cheek comment to get a response from the Americans on here. I really don't care one way or the other however I always ask for clarification.
As a reference I always think that a person can climb down into a well but not a bore, or a well is dug while a bore is drilled.

50 years drilling here in Thailand, have you lived here all that time? That's 2 life sentences bloody hell you need a medal.
Have you taken up Thai citizenship?


As for the water pipes I would raise the house to at least a metre off the ground and run the pipes vertically up through the floor, this would give good easy access should there be any issues.
If I had to build on the ground then I think I would run the pipes on the outside of the house and make all the drain holes close to the walls so the drain pipes would all be short.

Originally Posted by ootai

As for the water pipes I would raise the house to at least a metre off the ground and run the pipes vertically up through the floor,

Not quite a meter but this is what I did. Pipe from pump enters the void with pipes distrbuting to bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room. Each pipe supported every meter wìth a strap to prevent sagging from weight of water. So far so good as nary a single leak.

Originally Posted by Shy Guava

do all under house plumbing with flexible HDPE pipe

Got some good advice from malmomike77 - don't run the pipes under the slab.
Any that do have to go under the slab (island bench in the kitchen) will be a pipe-within-a-pipe so it can be replaced without cutting into the floor.

^ i think a few have suggested it or as Ootai and Norts suggest a raised slab but either way - as Shy says the longevity of the pipe or connections will eventually cause issues.

One other consideration is the pipe from the road to the house, depending on size at the meter it may be worth transitioning to a larger diameter thicker walled pipe when you run it underground (Depth?) and of course make sure you have markers from and to the house entry points and don't let somchai take a route like he does on his moped after a lao khao session.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

One other consideration is the pipe from the road to the house

We've specified Class 13.5 pipe - thicker wall section than standard blue pipe. Yuri's shop stocks the thick pipe. Given the dust on it we'll be the first to buy it in a long time. Marking the pipe location is a given Mike. I'm going to make a map of all the water pipes and keep it handy. We already had an instant when the Taxi Driver masquerading as a tractor driver dug up the line from the town reservoir. Not his fault though - the FIL was supervising at the time, and he laid the pipe originally.

The builder's price includes a 20M run from the town supply to the house. It is over 60M so I'll cut the trench myself - 50 cm minimum depth.

Sounds like you are all over it. Speaking of straight, i have seen some unbelievably wonky cable runs, some 8 inches astray from top of the wall to the bottom. You have to keep you eye on then when they are running the channels

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Speaking of straight, i have seen some unbelievably wonky cable runs

Yikes, 8" makes me seriously consider using profiled cable ducting rather then run the risk of re- rendering.

The Result of a Taxi Driver Operating A Tractor


Readers who saw an early post about the pitfalls of working with a recalcitrant father in law may be interested to see the effect on the water supply system he has had.

When we began levelling the soil infill he immediately offered to supervise the work, telling us he "knew just the man for the job." Subsequently a tractor arrived and after a short conversation with the father in law, he set about spreading dirt in every direction, accompanied by a lot of arm waving and shouting by the father in law. After watching this for 5 minutes it was obvious the tractor operator didn't have a clue. He managed to create a series of mounds and hollows while "levelling" the dirt.
The image above is an example of his competence as a tractor operator.
We found out later he is actually an unemployed taxi driver living back in the village during lock down in Bangkok and had never driver a tractor before...

Further, after repairing this pipe we began testing the system, only to find six more leaks. These the result of the father in law laying the pipes without any glue.
To cap it all off the pump wouldn't draw water from the town reservoir. Various remedies were tried (foot valve replaced, new check valve fitted) but still no suction.
While scratching our navels and wondering what to do next, the brother in law switched on the pump while I was standing beside a recently constructed fence around the reservoir (see earlier post on the Water Buffalo Wars). Low and behold a gurgling sound came out from under the fence post I was standing beside. The fence contractors had managed to pierce the inlet pipe. More digging through 50 cm of red clay ensued before cutting out the damaged section and replacing it with 3 metres of new pipe.

The upshot is we are now connected to the town water supply, with the best pressure in the village courtesy of our block being adjacent to the pumping station, and we have reinstated the direct feed from the reservoir to use for irrigation and as a back up for when the town water supply goes down for maintenance / repairs.