MHayward

Hi, I have been to Udon many times and stayed in plenty of places there. The best by far is the Irish Clock Pub, very central but quiet. The place has around 7 huge rooms, big comfortable beds and a large bathroom with shower.

All inc breakfast for 850 baht a night - excellent. Food is possibly the best in western style Udon as well, but a little pricey lol.

I havent been for about 6 months and believe the place may well be under new ownership, so I hope the standards have been maintained as I wouldnt like to stay anywhere else.

Enjoy it and let us know if its as good as it should be.

Cheers, MH

Thanks for all the replies and help here

Build is progressing well, now at the fitting out stage, all good.

MH

I am also looking for a decent supplier in Surin Area we are near to Sangkha.

Considering White Powder Coated Aluminium, but has to be good quality, so far I have only seen riveted rubbish around and also it seems that Double-Glazing is pretty much unheard of.

If anyone knows of a decent Company to Supply/Fit good quality Aluminium Double Glazed Units I have a reasonable sized project to complete.

I have also asked for quotes on uPVC from two Pattaya Companies as it seems that they are the only ones recommended here and at least they understand Double Glazing too.

Thanks, MH

Hi Folks,

Having trawled through every page of this excellent Forum I already have gained some really good tips and ideas ideas for the house.

We are building a 140 sq m Floor Area Single Story 2 bed/bath House half way between Surin and Sisaket, currently approaching the 'completion of walls' stage.

So far everything has gone really well as we seem to have an excellent Builder, he built the place next door and from what I see, it is all good so far.

My Family are in the Building Trade in the UK, although I didnt choose the same career path, I have done moonlighting work on enough sites and done enough DIY to have a pretty good idea, whether it be structural, electrical or water - I will have a go at all of them.

However, Wood is some thing I never did get the hang of, my Father being a Joiner for nearly 50 years was most disappointed in that !!

Things have been easy to keep an eye on from a distance as my lady is there with her Laptop, Webcam and a good digital camera to keep me appraised on a daily basis.

The builder is working to my sketches and simple plans produced on Google Sketch-Up and understands exactly what we want.

Any issues are quickly transmitted and a decision made, the poor guy is still at a total loss as to how I seem to know everything that is going on - Internet hasnt reached the people there yet.

I am on my way up there next week and will have to decide on Doors and Frames (Custom made Wooden), Windows (Alu or UPVC - Double Glazed), Electrics and Plumbing.

Apart from visiting the usual Home-Depot or Global Places around I really want contacts for good possibly locally made/stocked gear.

I am sure our Builder can put us onto reasonably good tradesmen and they will know where to find stuff etc, but I would also like to have a decent choice too.

I need good Wooden Front Door and Frame to go into a built gap of 1500mm x 2200mm and a Wooden (stable Type) Back Door to go into a built gap of 1000mm x 2200mm We also require decent Sliding Glass Doors to fit a W 2500mm x H 2200mm pre built gap, but matching the Windows if possible.

We have only three types/sizes of Window required., all Gaps are prebuilt with reinforced Lintels and Pillars in place to the following sizes, Big ones (x 2) are floor to ceiling approx W 2000mm x H 2500mm (big I know !!), Medium ones (x5) are W 2000mm x H 1200mm and small (x6) are W 1000mm x H 1200mm

Electrics will if possible be 3 Phase Supply, from what I see in photos it looks to be available right outside, but until I get back up there I cannot confirm same. At present the place has a temporary 5(15) basic meter for the builder to use his tools off. Plenty of circuits and lots of safety will be the key.

The septic tanks x 4 are already in, I didnt get much choice as the builder was already doing them when my Lady arrived to do her management (spy) job. It would appear to be simple 2 tanks per bathroom, regular empty etc, but maybe i will change that when I get there.

Behind the house we have a piece of land that has been cleared and levelled with topsoil, it is approx 2m below the level of the house and stretches 40m x 12m to another small road which also has Electricity and Mains Water Supply. (very handy)

Main house has street water and the Communal Borehole is also right out side too, the Manual Pump is in use by the Villagers.

At the rear I plan to put in a 3000 Ltr Raw Water Storage tank feeding a Filter and RO system providing Clean Water to another 1000 ltr Storage tank. I havent decided whether to go Solar Water Heating yet, but If I do, then I will put in yet another 1000 ltr Water Tank and have a Heat Exchanger and Solar Panel on the roof of the Patio (8m x 8m). I would then have two pumps, one hot and one cold feeding the two lines to the house. It all sounds complicated, but i have plenty of space, time and ideas to experiment a little.

Once this is done, then i will commence the Swimming Pool and finally the 2 bedroom house for guests at the other end by the small road, but that is some months off yet. I am planning in advance, knowing that my Power Demand will rise sharply when the Swimming Pool is in etc.

So Gents, I need to know where I can find all this kit, good quality at a reasonable price of course. I dont mind driving to look and place orders, provided that the supplier will make and fit accordingly. I spend plenty of time both in Pattaya and even up as far as Udon, so anywhere will do so long as it is a good deal.

As I say, we are half way between Surin and Sisaket towns, in the middle of nowhere so anyone with experience of building up there, point me in the right direction please.

Thanks for the help.

MH