Thread: Japanese House

There's a truck in the house!

Came to deliver cement.
We're finishing this small house for new farm workers, Palongs.

Brilliant stuff.

This is the season of fruits, now should be a period of degustation, and I'm leaving!
Well, I have to get back to take care of businees, things like this require money, but it will slow down after completion. I'm thinking of staying all June next year...


A very small Palong girl, attracted by the smell...

Soon, we'll eat avocados


Dragon fruits are starting the flowering stage, bees are participating, very activly.

It's springtime!

We're preparing the soil for corn for pig feed.
First, cut the long grass, rain has activated it a lot!

Then, prepare for the machine because of steep hills or holes for soon coming papaya tree plants. then, rototiller.
Then finish with a Palong with a tool going to places not accessible for the machine, mostly because of the presence of pipes.

Here is a view of what's been already worked on.

The rest of the walls have been pretty much straightened, at some spots with the help of small red bricks.

It's starting to look like something.

The filter zone

monster project

The tile in the pool is what often cements the experience. I wonder what the Old Monkey has in mind...

as long as they are chosen carefully and not in haste.....or by his wife!

Originally Posted by hillbilly

The tile in the pool is what often cements the experience. I wonder what the Old Monkey has in mind...

Tiles have been chosen, essentially blue. Under water, their utility at the bottom will be to draw visible lines lenghtwise for the swimmer with his face in the water.
The first place where the foot will rest will be slipproof. Deeper, it does not matter.
I did not pick the pool special very small and bright tiles because of their price, I'm stretched financially at this stage, and they were 3 to 6 times more expansive. When you think that there is around 370 square metres to cover...
So, their first and most important function is to cut the concrete from the water so that cement released chemicals like phosphorus and others will be minimized and not feed algae.
The special shape of the pool will be accented by them. Mostly it will be lines lenghtwise, pale blue 30X30 with contrasting dark blue 20X20.
There are only 4 different ones all together.
I hope to please the ever present Dr Andy with my choices, but I will not loose sleep over it...

Originally Posted by Old Monkey

I hope to please the ever present Dr Andy with my choices

OK I will go away and leave you to it

Thanks for a brilliant blow by blow construction OM. You have a very nice Ponderosa there old boy.

Once when I was rich I built a pool like yours, somewhat smaller I might say, on a similar slope. We had this Italian craftsman use ochres to create the rendered pool walls like it had been cut out of sandstone and weathered. Bloody lovely. This was in a very temperate climate and would be totally unsuitable in your area as the rough surface made a great home for algae.
However, what he did suggest, and we accepted, was that on the high flat wall he cut foot rests and handholds in the cement. He knew we had young kiddies and thought that it was a hazard to have nothing to hang onto in that deep water. Turned out a great idea as the kids used it all the time. Even myself, a finely tuned athlete, sometimes stopped over there on my daily laps.

Keep up the great work. I get a headache even thinking about such a project. Time for my nap.

Originally Posted by Johnny Longprong

Thanks for a brilliant blow by blow construction OM. You have a very nice Ponderosa there old boy.

Once when I was rich I built a pool like yours, somewhat smaller I might say, on a similar slope. We had this Italian craftsman use ochres to create the rendered pool walls like it had been cut out of sandstone and weathered. Bloody lovely. This was in a very temperate climate and would be totally unsuitable in your area as the rough surface made a great home for algae.
However, what he did suggest, and we accepted, was that on the high flat wall he cut foot rests and handholds in the cement. He knew we had young kiddies and thought that it was a hazard to have nothing to hang onto in that deep water. Turned out a great idea as the kids used it all the time. Even myself, a finely tuned athlete, sometimes stopped over there on my daily laps.

Thank you for this, this is a very useful intervention and it's just at the right time. The boss suggested I put stainless steel foot rest and hand holds at the right level. One metre deep and right above water level.

Filling behind the block wall.

This part is almost complete and ready to waterproof and tile.


And so is the in-between wall. Well, still needs another day of straightening.

Another fruity reason to stay longer in Thailand.

Here they say champoo.

Old Monkey, you are an asshole!

I sat down with my wife and viewed your entire project with my wife and now she wants to know why I did not do the same thing.

Beforehand, my wife thought I was pretty good with construction projects...

^^
Backhanded complement? Great stuff OM and I can see why you need to go make some more money. It will all be worth it from the looks of your project.

Yes a backhanded compliment. This morning my wife wakes up and the first thing she started talking about is "why didn't I plan more like Old Monkey".

The last sidewalk, right on top of the pool. I'm thinking of putting a rail, but my Lisu brother-in-law sais "No, people will want to jump in from there! 1,5 metre and a bit more! We'll see.

It's on top. Today, while this sidewalk was poured, the tall wall was also started to be staightened. I plan to have it covered with tiles I went to get in Chiang Mai. 100 boxes, 100 metre square, weighing 15 kg each. The pick-up took it graciously, malgre its age! One color, a bit watery pale shiny cloudy blue, cheap at 132 B, at Global. I also decided to add one skimmer at the corner to be poured, the last one. We had some winds coming from the North a few times lately. Just in time...

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Yes a backhanded compliment. This morning my wife wakes up and the first thing she started talking about is "why didn't I plan more like Old Monkey".

Well, you can tell her thanks, but I must tell you that I do not plan so much, I improvise a lot! Besides some drawings I made for the floor plan, and some I made to explain an idea here and there, it's pretty much a day to day thing.
There is never a blueprint type of plan like a real architect would do, and that the actual builders have to follow within one milimetre. This is very good for those who want to use them, in fact, I suppose they are indispensable in most circumstances. But, my way of doing leaves more freedom for creativity, while all the time respecting basic principles of structure, sometimes overbuilding. It helps to having done it before. I have an idea of the dimensions, I walk the place, I adapt to what's already there, like the trees for example, and I don't mind if the kids' swimming area is a foot too large or a foot too small.
Now, I have a lot of convincing to do for my foreman to make the shojis the way I want them, one hour this afternoon. He's never made anything with wood so small! It will not be solid, he will loose his name! More than five months that I tell him, that I show him pictures, 1/4"X3/8"... Japanese have been doing it for hundreds of years! I will not pay him if I don't see one before I go away, complete with glass, shoji squares and rice paper!
Today, he had almost completed the first door when I came back. "What is that?" "A door..." The squares were 1 1/8"X1 1/4"...
With my relative as interpreter, we arrived at a compromise. I went to Chiang Dao, 30 km, to get a good 60 teeth 8" sawblade and we will work together after he has ripped a few lenght of 1/4"X3/8".
See, not such an asshole, hillbilly, not so much planning...

The little employee's house starts to look better.

There'll be a sidewalk around. We even put a ceiling up.

My wife on Skype wants to put a roof between the house and the outside toilet, I won't do it. We'll paint it white, inside and out. I bought some oil paint to transform the cement column int trees. Old Red Cedar color. I'll add some black lines, some pink and red.