Thread: Building a house in Nakhom Pathom

^^^

LOL, I think I was there to pick out the lantern lights and the exterior lights on the east side of the house. The rest were picked out by my wife, as I was back in the USA. So it wasn't an issue of not having what I wanted, but I had no real say...

At least I was able to choose the bathroom tiles and granite. I really like the formal look of our bathroom, even if PD House forget to caulk 3 tiles, failed to clean up all the paint splatter, etc. in the bathroom. I like that bathroom.

My wife picked out the wood floor, although I think she did ask me what color I liked. We've gotten a lot of compliments on it and I like it, so I guess that was a very good choice.

And the exterior colors are the same as the finished house we toured. It wasn't a pc image or anything like that.

Steve

Workers were busy setting up tables and a stage.





And a little bit later on...





A temporary kitchen was set up in the adjoining rice paddy. Both the owner of that land and the farmer were invited to the party, so all was good. It turns out that all the tents, tables, chairs, plates, glasses, etc were "rented" from the local Wat for a mere pittance. A really good deal and something to remember if we hold another big party.







About 6 pm, things started happening. Tables started filling up, whiskey started pouring.













At most tables, Red Label was poured. Except at my table, we had the good stuff and a big bottle of it too !! (That frowning lady usually was smiling)




It was a beautiful sunset, with a sliver of the moon that my camera really didn't capture.




The talent came out to sing and she was a cutey.




The village "head" saying a few words, with my wife and her mom on stage.






We had a nice breeze, so the bugs were not much of a problem. It was a pleasant evening that went on until ~ 1 AM.




The singers did a good job, the heavier set one had a really good voice. And yes, some folks did get up and do some singing. Some folks asked me if I wanted to sing a song and I told them I would spare them the agony...




All in all, it was a very good party. We had very nice weather, the food was good, plenty of drink (every table we went to, I had at least 3 glasses of whiskey thrust at me) and a good time (sanook) was had by all.

So it's officially now a house. Still, really a shell with much to be done inside, but it's now a home.

Steve

Crickey Steve you don't mess about I intend never to finish my house so I don't have to go through that.

Originally Posted by bankao dreamer

Crickey Steve you don't mess about I intend never to finish my house so I don't have to go through that.

But BD did you not see the entertainment.

Well done Steve...the house looks fantastic mate. Congrats on getting through it all and now the outside fun gets earnest with you developing a garden

^^^

Thanks very much rob, but we still need to kit out the interior, build a security wall, install a paver driveway and build a wing out on the east side for the outside Thai kitchen. Much to be done.

But I am looking forward to greening up the place.

Steve

Steve, after looking at the pics of your party, I consider myself lucky. We only had about 30 people including some village elders to celebrate our new house. The only entertainment was the BIL and SIL getting into a brawl which ended with the BIL wheeling a brick over his head ready to clobber the SIL before I stepped in.

The total damages were under 10,000 baht and I have to thank the wife for keeping it a small occasion.

Congrats on the completion!!

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Steve, after looking at the pics of your party, I consider myself lucky. We only had about 30 people including some village elders to celebrate our new house. The only entertainment was the BIL and SIL getting into a brawl which ended with the BIL wheeling a brick over his head ready to clobber the SIL before I stepped in.

The total damages were under 10,000 baht and I have to thank the wife for keeping it a small occasion.

Congrats on the completion!!

Thanks Rick, but as I said before, the house is just a shell. Still much to be done, inside and out.

The party reminded me of a Western style wedding reception. Everyone was sent invitations (~200 were sent out). At the party, we would walk around to each table and while the guys were giving me their glasses of whiskey to drink, envelopes (with cash) were passed to my wife.

Later that night, when things were winding down, my wife and her sister sat down with a calculator and a note book to document who gave what and how much. We actually made some money, more than I expected !

Hell, if we get that amount every time, I'd be willing to throw a party once a month !!

The flip side however, is that if we are invited to one of these folk's parties, we'll be expected to cough up some Thai baht in return.

But still, it was a helluva night and I was very pleased with how nicely things worked out, especially with the weather and minimal bugs. It's a good piece of land to hold parties.

Steve

^
Steve, living in the northeastern countryside means that you will not receive any cash since they are dirt poor around here. If I had thrown a large party like yours with entertainment, maybe a few baht would have come my way. In the end it looks like I paid much more than you did for the housewarming party.

OK,
Not much has been happening since I am back here in the States.'m trying to get some more money earned, to continue doing everything I want to do in the house.

However.....

My wife sent me some pics, about 8 days ago, of some rather disturbing "cracks" in the exterior walls. It looks like they did not wait long enough to let the walls "cure" before painting. Or at least, I think that was what someone suspected before.

Interestingly, these are all on the east wall, which does get a bit of sun in the morning.










They did have some workers at the house the other day, so I will post some shots of some of their repair work soon.

Steve

These are some pictures my wife sent me, the other day, of PD House workers fixing the external walls.













Steve

And then some pics, I received this morning, from PD House.

It looks like the "cracking" was even worse than I thought. I didn't spot that many, but at least it's getting taken care of. And we'll get a second coat of external paint, which I think always helps.




Crikey !!! This looks horrible !













Allright !! My solar powered security light, brought from the USA (Harbour Freight- LOL) is still there !!! My wife's family was very impressed by it. I'm curious to see how it holds up in the tropics. I want to put 4-5 more around the perimeter.

















I'm still bothered by the missing fan vent cover. I'm hoping I can find one somewhere, cheap, that will fit. Don't think it will be a problem.



Steve

Wow.....never seen anything like that before. Some rendering cracks are normal and very common but somebody must have screwed up the cement mix and application big-time to get that much cracking. Good that PD are fixing it....and you get an additional coat of paint. Hopefully that takes care of it.....

^^^

I'm not real familiar with this stuff, but I think others have commented that they should have let the original application dry more thoroughly and fix any cracking then, before painting. Looks like someone rushed it, or so I believe.

A lot of issues I have found with the house relate to attention to detail and just plain sloppiness. There's a lot of paint splatter and what not from what seemed a rush job to paint. They forget to apply caulk on 3 tiles in the master bathroom. Hot and cold water connections were reversed at the jacuzzi. A lot of paint smears in the master bathroom, etc...etc....etc....

I did ask them if they would be proud to show a future customer our house as a sample of their work ? I think that is helping things, a little.

This is just a start.

Steve

Originally Posted by stevefarang

I'm not real familiar with this stuff, but I think others have commented that they should have let the original application dry more thoroughly and fix any cracking then, before painting. Looks like someone rushed it, or so I believe.

The cement mix with the sand was too high and the render went off to quickly.

I always ask the renderer to continue to spray water on the wall after rendering and to slow down the curing process.

In fact when I pour columns I wrap the exposed column in plastic film which slows the curing and stops any cracking.

Looks a nice home anyway Steve and I hope all enjoy it.

^^^
Thanks for the clarification Loy Toy. Hopefully this will fix the problem once and for all.

Steve

That's an unpleasant problem to be dealing with on such a fine house .

What PD don't realise is that it makes you check around with that much more of a beady eye and you end up making them rectify tiny things that you might have previously let go .

Only one thing would I change there Steve .

The satellite dish .


I'd even perhaps give it its own plinth away from the building with a cable under the garden to the house .

I hate them . I do . I do .

But a fine build yerr honerr gizz a silver coin.



Wasp

What PD don't realise is that it makes you check around with that much more of a beady eye and you end up making them rectify tiny things that you might have previously let go .

When the house was finished, didn't you have to check the whole house with their foreman, write down their mistakes and sign for it?

Wasp,

That satellite dish was installed while I was not there. In addition, they ran cable from the dish through the wall to both the downstairs family room and our master bedroom. But there's a connection already in the wall at both locations. I was ready to yell at my wife about that, but figured in her "delicate state", I'd take the high road and not say anything.

So, when PD House reps were out inspecting all the deficiencies I had noticed, I asked about the tv cable connections. It turns out there is a junction box, for the satellite dish, somewhere up above the upstairs ceiling. So sometime down the road, I'll have someone run the cable to the junction box, as intended, and fill in the holes in my walls !!

This was not a PD House problem. I would think the guys installing the satellite dish & cable would have noticed the connectors in the wall. Or maybe they were too lazy to go up in the attic to find the junction box ? (hmmmm...)

As far as going around with a beady eye, I've been doing that from the first time I was there after construction started. I caught a wall in the wrong spot, that turns out PD House said was due to a wrong beam used when they framed the concrete "erector set". I'm still peeved about it. If you visited, you would never see it, but it changes the layout of the upstairs family room by a few cm.

I've caught a cracked Q-con block installed in a wall. Fortunately, they had just started, so we had them remove the block and replace it with a new one. Unfortunately, there still one in a wall upstairs. PD House insisted the repaired it, but the pic they sent me was for a block at a different location. They never got back to me on that one.

And Terry (I think is his name here) pointed out the issue with our exterior lights and their missing gaskets. That's an issue that I'm making a stink over. If they are not fixed by the time I get back there, I'll get the silicone sealant and do it myself (after replacing the CFL bulbs with LED's).

I'm dealing (by e-mail) with a woman, at PD House, who seems to speak some English and is usually good at replying in a timely fashion. I've already told her that I do not want to talk to their local office manager anymore, as he has made too many unfulfilled promises to me and I do not trust him anymore.

They've got about 4-5 pages of issues I have identified. Some minor, but many are strictly attention to detail failures. And I always ask them if they would be proud to show the house to a future PD House customer.

Still a ways to go. But I'm glad to see PD House people finally out there working on fixing the exterior walls.

Steve

Originally Posted by Koetjeka

What PD don't realise is that it makes you check around with that much more of a beady eye and you end up making them rectify tiny things that you might have previously let go .

When the house was finished, didn't you have to check the whole house with their foreman, write down their mistakes and sign for it?

I was not there, when PD House said it was finished, so i could not do a walkthrough and make a punch list at that time. And my wife is not one to go around and check things like I do. PD House wants their final 10%. I want these discrepancies fixed before paying that last 10%, plus there is a warranty on the house.

Steve

Originally Posted by stevefarang

I was not there, when PD House said it was finished, so i could not do a walkthrough and make a punch list at that time. PD House wants their final 10%. I want these discrepancies fixed before paying that last 10%, plus there is a warranty on the house.

Steve

After these discrepancies are fixed I'd give them 5% and tell them that because a lack of trust now exists and because of promises and assurances not being met along with you fully expecting to find other discrepancies you will pay the other 5% in 12 months time - subject to you being satisfied with the work.

Or summatt like that - yerr nobleness .



Wasp

After koman's problems I'm definitely down on Thai " professionalism " at the moment.

Steve what are all those blue pipes sticking out around the perimeter of the house?... Is that for the termite guys to inject more spray?...

Originally Posted by Wasp

Originally Posted by stevefarang

I was not there, when PD House said it was finished, so i could not do a walkthrough and make a punch list at that time. PD House wants their final 10%. I want these discrepancies fixed before paying that last 10%, plus there is a warranty on the house.

Steve

After these discrepancies are fixed I'd give them 5% and tell them that because a lack of trust now exists and because of promises and assurances not being met along with you fully expecting to find other discrepancies you will pay the other 5% in 12 months time - subject to you being satisfied with the work.

Or summatt like that - yerr nobleness .



Wasp

After koman's problems I'm definitely down on Thai " professionalism " at the moment.

I don't think I can get away with that, since it's not in the contract. However, when I go back I will give them an ultimatum. Either I hire and pay guys to do the work properly, deducting it from the final 10% or they get it done pronto. I can't sit around and wait, for weeks on end, for a PD House crew to come out and fix things.

I just want it finished and PD House out of my hair.

Steve

Originally Posted by BKKKevin

Steve what are all those blue pipes sticking out around the perimeter of the house?... Is that for the termite guys to inject more spray?...

Yes, those small, capped blue pipes are for the termite killing stuff. I don't know if it's a spray, tablets, or what.

Steve