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  1. #76
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    Progress

    We had four days of basically british weather during which nothing happened but there has finally been a break in the constant drip..drip...and things have got moving again.

    This picture is looking across what will the living room and terrace and it seems we have most of the rebar down for the ground floor foundation beams done here. In the distance you can just the markings of the foundations for the guest house so it is good to get that part going as well.



    This is just to the left of the picture and will eventually be the kitchen. This is slightly further behind as it was started after the main building.



    Incidentally this is the end of the first month of a 8 month project and we feel we could have been a little further ahead than we are today. We feel we got off to a great start with the electrics, water, camp all going in quickly. But then a week of constant rain brought a halt but that also then compounded the problems with our road.

    We have now just about fixed the road. We wanted to get stones down to prevent it from becoming total mud but the stone people didn't want to bring their truck in till the road dried and until the stone stuck came in...the cpac truck wasn't going to come in. So for the past couple of weeks the concrete has been mixed by hand but hopefully now with road fixed, stone down we can get a couple of cpac trucks in and finish off the foundations reasonably quickly.

    Next week we are buying, concrete slabs, roof and plumbing materials - which will be a fairly big cash outflow - but hopefully within the next six to eight weeks we can get the roof and be a little more constant in workflow regardless of rain.

    I am by the way using Nigel's super technique for larger pictures - thanks for the tip.

  2. #77
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    Blue Sky Above

    Finally...some blue skies and warm sunny weather which has allowed the surface to dry out and us to get the access road fixed properly. Here is the bulldozer doing its job and we will lay stones on top of this shortly to ensure this works long term. In the next day or so we then get a concrete truck in to do the pour for the foundations.



    Here you can the see formwork being placed ready for the concrete. This is actually quite exciting / nervous as we can start to get a sense of the shape and size of the house and how it will feel to live in it. The front and middle rows of formwork here are showing what will eventually become the terrace. Between the middle and far row of formwork will be what will eventually become the living room / dinning area.


  3. #78
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    Quote Originally Posted by nigelandjan View Post
    BTW Dave I dont know if this helps you but I see your using the TD gallery to post pics , do you know if before you post them , if you click it one more time it will go to a better size before copying the image address to post it ?

    sorry not trying to be clever , just trying to help , mabe you like the pics small , but IMHO the bigger pics are better to look at ,, mabe its just because I am an old barsteward and wear glasses

    Or hit this button ->

    Then paste that data WITHOUT hitting this button ->

  4. #79
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    Mate, what's holding all that rebar off of the ground?

  5. #80
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbyron
    Certainly at the moment we do trust our builders; they came very highly recommended and we have seen some excellent villas they have built which are wonderful quality and in the style similar to that we want to recreate.
    Coming along nicely, Byron.
    What is the name of your builder? I am planning on a build in Nong Khai in a year or two and am looking around for quality work.

  6. #81
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    Dave was kind enough to send me the coordinates for look, but know where its located and the weather now, I will reserve a visit for another 6 months time.

  7. #82
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    Might well see you there PP as I hope to pay him a visit around that time ,, it sure looks a biggie now its beginning to take shape ,, lets hope the weather holds so some good progress can be made.

    PS Thanks for the bigger pics Dave and all the best ,, keep em coming mate
    I'm proud of my 38" waist , also proud I have never done drugs

  8. #83
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    our builder

    Quote Originally Posted by MrG View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by davidbyron
    Certainly at the moment we do trust our builders; they came very highly recommended and we have seen some excellent villas they have built which are wonderful quality and in the style similar to that we want to recreate.
    Coming along nicely, Byron.
    What is the name of your builder? I am planning on a build in Nong Khai in a year or two and am looking around for quality work.
    Hi Mr G,

    We do believe we have a good builder, though also at the high end of salary range, and happy to connect you both. He is though a man of few words and generally Shanana deals with his wife (who is also delightful) rather than with our builder directly.

    If you pm me with more details about your project and timing I will ask Shanana to sound him out and then we can figure out the best way to connect you all.

  9. #84
    Thailand Expat MrG's Avatar
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    Thanks, Byron.
    I will do that as we get closer to the build date.

  10. #85
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrG View Post
    Thanks, Byron.
    I will do that as we get closer to the build date.
    MrG. No problem at all. I also have an excellent mother/son project manager team available from February if interested. Admittedly also at the higher end of the salary scale but amazing negotiators to cut down on material price whilst maintaining a complete eye on detail and always doing full quality checks. This is the son part of the team road testing the family trampoline they are selling in the new Udon Thani Thai Watsadu to see if it meets standards - a level of attention to detail hard to come by these days so if you need quality oversight just shout.


  11. #86
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    Update 1: Our road.

    Our road is finally fixed. This is something that we always knew would need doing at some point but I had in my mind that we would do a temporary make do solution now and then put a proper solution in once the house was finished and our finances weren't being so strenuously sucked...by that point we would also be more concerned with not getting stuck inside or outside through heavy rain and deep mud and so fixing the road would be something we had to and would want to do regardless of cost.

    With the hovering cloud over our build from mid to end of June, this option ceased to be possible. The trucks we were using to bring in the soil to do the temporary fix were just churning up the mud as they were coming in and creating an impasse. The Cpac people simply told us no way were they getting a truck in. Till now we were using hand mixed concrete but this was slowing us down and adding to the labour costs so getting Cpac in was becoming quite important.



    Finally we got in enough soil to fill holes, used a bulldozer to flatten and fix the road surface, then we bought a total of 70 trucks of stones to build the road surface at a cost of 50,000 baht. There are many ways ways I would have preferred to spend 50,000 baht but in planning the build the one thing I have always underestimated is the distance from the main road to our land - it is actually over 1km - and to remind myself of this I have started walking to and from the build by foot rather than just sitting in the car which is what makes it feel so much shorter.

    We do now have a stable, wide path from the main road to all parts of the site. Not just trucks can come in but you can actually walk around the site now without losing your shoe in mud.



    This also means we can now move on a lot quicker than we were doing...this is the first CPAC truck coming in to do the pour for the foundations - which incidentally Shanana paid for at 7-Eleven - and I think you tell from the dust it is throwing up that it is not moving slowly either.


  12. #87
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    Update 2: The foundations

    The first Cpac came in about two weeks ago which was also, coincidentally, the same day the hovering cloud disappeared. The omens are all more positive, blue sky abounds with only the odd break for an evening thunderstorm and so progress has been quick. In fact quicker than I can upload pictures here. We know we didn't probably start at the best of times and the aim has always been to get the roof on before the worst of the weather comes. To make up time we even agreed with our builder to bring in four more people so we really are racing now.

    This is the pour going in the main part of the house.....



    This is the foundations having dried and the formwork taken off...can you see that blue sky?



    And this is the start of the columns going up....



    From an emotional point of view these are very pleasing days as we can see the house starting to take shape and we are still doing basic things like foundations so nothing has gone wrong yet or at least nothing that we can see.

  13. #88
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    Update 3: Door and windows

    Another area where we decided to opt for eternal poverty rather than compromise was doors and windows. I have sadly already spent too much of my life in badly lit offices (something I regret immensely but which at the same time is paying for the house). So in the design of the house we put in as many glass doors and windows as possibly to give the house an open feel. Many of the doors and windows are also bi-fiolds to allow us to open up the inside space with the outside. This did push the cost up, though fortunately no where near as much as we thought it would, but it is just how we wanted the house to be: open and airy with as little inside/outside boundaries as possible.

    We looked at many places for our doors and windows and in the end we went to a doors and windows shop opposite Global House. Its not actually somewhere we would normally have looked...being a shop with an open front to the road would have made me question the quality (but I guess they all come from the same factory) and being opposite Global House would have suggested to me they would be upping the price due to proximity to the main thoroughfare. We actually went in there only by chance having been looking at tiles and granite in the shop next to it.



    Initially we just bought a front door from them but in the end we went back and bought all our doors and windows from them which was chiefly because they were quite reasonable on price with us but also because they were very nice people willing to sit down with us and talk through all the different options and costs - as first time DIY house builders this willingness to answer 100 questions is a main selection criteria. I think we spent 3 maybe 4 hours with them till we finalized everything.

    The first piece to come out was the front door. As a symbol of love and gratitude to my project management team I had given them complete decision making and unlimited funds on the front door.

    And as a symbol of love back Shanana created a phoenix and dragon design for them to work off. Her family have long been devoted practitioners of feng shui and she wanted a phoenix and dragon design because apparently:

    " The dragon & phoenix pair is a classical feng shui cure for keeping (or attracting) the energy of harmonious communication in a marriage.

    The dragon is the most powerful and majestic creature in Chinese folklore, thus much revered by the followers of classical, or traditional feng shui schools. Power, indisputable authority and fearsome majesty are mostly masculine (yang) qualities, and the dragon is the true Yang part of the Yin-Yang energy of the dragon and phoenix couple.

    The symbol of the phoenix, on the other hand, seems to evoke the same energy across a multitude of cultures, with always the same meaning - the power of rebirth and deep transformation. The phoenix is the queen of all bird symbols in feng shui, the most revered one. In Chinese folklore, the mythical phoenix is also attributed the qualities of beauty, inspiration and genuine grace (feminine, yin qualities), so the phoenix is the perfect Yin counterpart to the Yang energy of the dragon.

    Because a harmonious marriage is a balanced partnership were both husband and wife can fully express their unique energies, the yin yang energy of the dragon & phoenix couple came to be a feng shui symbol of good luck and harmony in marriage. In most representations, the dragon & the phoenix form a dance, or a circle of two energies that resembles the yin yang symbol"

    so this is what our front door will look like:







    Since we have had the door finished we have noticeably argued less so maybe the feng shui is working already but either way I adore the door because I know how much time and thought my Shanana out in to it.

  14. #89
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    Absolutley brill door design Dave ,, great to have a one off .


    Quote Originally Posted by davidbyron
    Initially we just bought a front door from them but in the end we went back and bought all our doors and windows from them which was chiefly because they were quite reasonable on price with us but also because they were very nice people willing to sit down with us and talk through all the different options and costs

    A man after my own heart ,, I would have done the same in the circumstances .


    ( Just a little aside to illustrate the above in reverse ) In the butchers today in front of me an old retired couple asked for 6 chicken kebabs ,, the butcher retorted " Only sell em in dozens love sorry " they felt embarrassed and paid for 12 ,, I wont be going back there again . BTW this is in take it or leave it UK

  15. #90
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    I wonder how the door will look in a couple of years, all twisted and warped I expect, never never use wooden doors or windows here, look great at first but then really go crap, the wood here is not seasoned so just warps, cracks and shrinks.

  16. #91
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    The issue I put up with now, every time i open my two front doors, they have to be forced apart, lazy design because the builders, (dream up house builders) are two fucking lazy and the company owner too miserblel to spec properly.

  17. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by peterpan View Post
    The issue I put up with now, every time i open my two front doors, they have to be forced apart, lazy design because the builders, (dream up house builders) are two fucking lazy and the company owner too miserblel to spec properly.
    Quote Originally Posted by mykthemin View Post
    I wonder how the door will look in a couple of years, all twisted and warped I expect, never never use wooden doors or windows here, look great at first but then really go crap, the wood here is not seasoned so just warps, cracks and shrinks.
    All your points on wood doors and windows are noted. Its an issue we hummed and haared over for some time. Some of our doors and windows will be aluminium especially hot areas like kitchens but at the end of the day I love the wood look and feel and we will deal with the maintenance, repair and if necessary replacement issues as they come up. We have gone for the hardest possible wood / reclaimed wood where we can and with the exception of the front door we will be doing all the treatment ourselves to make sure that is done properly.

    Nor are we fans of Dream Up Houses...or Dream Up Prices as we like to call them on the basis the price they quoted for our project was over twice the cost of what it will cost to do DIY. We assume they over inflated the price because we wanted a traditional style curved roof and they thought we wouldn't know better about the real cost of that. They were actually the second main factor in deciding to go DIY (the first being we simply couldn't afford a managed project without compromising on the plans).

  18. #93
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    Update 4: termites

    We will be putting wood floor boards down, though probably not on the ground floor. We also have many items of wood furniture as well as wood doors and window, so we are concerned about termites especially as we have heard several horror stories even on reclaimed wood.

    We considered pre and post construction and in the ended we opted for both. From what people have told us pre-construction is not a definitive and permanent barrier to termites but also isnt costly. So we decided to put pre-construction in in the first instance and use additional methods after that. I think if I remember correctly that pre-construction was only 12,000 baht (though do note they sell in on a m2 basis) and given the cost of the wood floors alone that seems a good value for money insurance policy.

    We are also treating all our wood with Chaindrite before installing.

    We used PST on recommendation though I know there are others. Excellent service and, as you can see from their logo, they clearly take on the eradication of termites with some relish.....



    They came and did a survey of the site and then just liaised for the right day to come for installation. These are the pipes they laid around the foundations which took two people less than a day to put in...



    And these are the pipes where the poison will actually go with the first poisoning to come in the next few days.



    Beyond termites though...my biggest worry is spiders as I have a very irrational fear of even the tiniest ones. Snakes, sharks, scorpions I have always found rather cute and cuddly but spiders are a big issue in my life. I was looking at a friends pool pump house and was horrified to see that a hand sized (and a large hand) spider had made its home in there. I am worrying that at the sight of the first one we will be moving out and selling up rather than tackle it head on. At the moment my spider defense system is citrus juice and warnings signs saying 'spiders will be mercilessly prosecuted'.

    http://http://www.wikihow.com/Make-S...ellent-at-Home

    I welcome all thoughts on spider eradication.

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    Update 5: the roof

    Our roof is starting to come along. It will be a while yet before it actually starts going up onto the house as we still have beams and top level columns to do.

    We have built a little painting hut so that the we can get the steel primed through any rain along with a little air compressor so they can spray paint rather than brush paint - the cost of the compressor is nothing compared to labour cost saving.

    This is our little compressor....



    This is our painting hut with the red iron oxide anti-rust paint on it. These will be painted black soon even though I quite like the colour anti rust paint.



    We have ordered our roof tiles and they should be arriving soon now that we have fixed the road. We found many places selling terracotta tiles in Udon Thani but none were as cheap as going to the factories directly. We paid 5 baht per tile (as compared to 7 baht or 8 baht per tile as were being offered in UT) for normal non-gloss orange tiles though I think that cost does not include tax and didn't include transportation from bangkok.

  20. #95
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    Update 6: The Plumbing

    This is my last little update as the posts and the construction are now in the same time zone.

    My family - especially my two year old - are both very committed pooers so plumbing is important. We had originally opted for a single solar panel heater for our hot water but what we then found was that the cost of the copper piping to carry the hot water was prohibitive. So we are essentially going for a cold water system with separate heaters in the bathrooms and kitchen which comes out at about two thirds of the cost.

    This is the first stage of the cesspit.....we have two if these one for the main house and one for the guest house.



    The is the first stage going in. I had though that with all the land we have we could have moved it a little further away but the project manager says its okay and its only next to the car port anyway.





    These are our concrete rings which will be the second stage of the cesspit.



    And these are the first pipes sticking out of our foundations. Actually we did have a little worry on the plumbing at first as we did think that our builder had forgotten it but once the form work starting coming off we could see that they had made all the necessary holes.




    The next few days are quite exciting as the concrete slabs will be arriving and we will be getting the floor down which is another quite significant stage for us as we can actually stand on our own house.

  21. #96
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    I agree with you Dave the old cess pit does look close to the house ,, especially as you have no one next to you so to speak . I think ours is going at least 10metres away on our build .

    Is that pillar supposed to overlap the foundation slab like that ?


    Quote Originally Posted by davidbyron
    I am worrying that at the sight of the first one we will be moving out and selling up rather than tackle it head on.

    I hope you are joking there mate .


    We had a huge spider come in under our door when we stayed in a little resort hut one night , I actually saw it come in as the head of the bed was next to the door and I was facing it ,, just doubled up me T shirt in me hand and lifted him back out the door , then put a towel in the gap so he couldnt come back in .

    I then put a huge jelly like spider from my case on my now wife,s pillow ,, I let you guess what happened next

  22. #97
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    As far as treating the wood, forget it, the problem is that there is too much moisture in the wood now, and whatever you do will make not a jot of difference.

  23. #98
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    I can take a look at your doors for you if you want later on this year PP , mabe I can do something for you to sort it

  24. #99
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    Quote Originally Posted by nigelandjan
    Absolutley brill door design Dave ,, great to have a one off .
    I must admit to thinking it looks really naff, but as long as the owner is happy, that's all that matters.

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    spiders v sharks

    Quote Originally Posted by nigelandjan View Post


    Quote Originally Posted by davidbyron
    I am worrying that at the sight of the first one we will be moving out and selling up rather than tackle it head on.

    I hope you are joking there mate .


    We had a huge spider come in under our door when we stayed in a little resort hut one night , I actually saw it come in as the head of the bed was next to the door and I was facing it ,, just doubled up me T shirt in me hand and lifted him back out the door , then put a towel in the gap so he couldnt come back in .

    I then put a huge jelly like spider from my case on my now wife,s pillow ,, I let you guess what happened next

    Thanks Nigel....and your poor wife. You are though more than welcome to come around and be our official spider turfer outer person. I will offer 150 baht for the big ones and 300 baht for the really big ones as I genuinely do have a problem with spiders.

    Big scary things like sharks - no problem. Happily leap into the water with over sized sharks and have done so on numerous occasions.

    Here are oceanic white tips I swan with in the southern part of the red sea





    And hammerheads in Indonesia



    Reef sharks in Malaysia



    Sharks, poisonous centipedes, scorpions, snakes I am perfectly comfortable with but spiders for some reason are beyond me. I am proud to say that I am getting better so those little leggy spiders that seem to love our bathroom I can cope with now but the spiders we saw living in my friends pool pump house were something like this:





    If these come into the house I am not even going to pretend to be brave...just going to move on out till rent-a-kill have given me the all clear.

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