PhayaoPete

I like it...I better...I live here! While it is not a Pattaya or a Phuket....it is very doable. Night life....there is some live music here and there, and of course the world renowned BM Pub (just kidding)....BM for bowel movement....hmmmm. Phayao is more of a relaxation place than a hip-get-laid place. But then of course, there is that as well...not too far from downtown. I love it here, but when I do need something specific...most of the time I have to resort to going up north to Chaingrai to get it. I think it is worth a visit if you're not in that super-party mentality. Come and check it out....PP

Will there be an outside Thai Kitchen component to this? If so, you might want to consider putting your oven outside. I did and am soooo glad I did! The newer ovens vent hot air right back into where ever you have it installed. Even if you are running AC, you will be running a lot more of it when you use your oven if it is inside. Food for thought. By the way....if I were you I would steer waaay clear of Hafele appliances....designed in Germany and made into sh*t in China. PP

Due to a tragic death in the family...the golden Brother-in-law (may he rest in peace) has left a major hole in the family's reality...I am going to become a tractor jockey to help out with the major loss. He left a Kubota L3608 tractor, which I am pretty sure isn't quite paid off, which is no big deal...I will gladly do that...but I need to find out a wee bit more about said machine and start getting in some steering wheel time. It came with the two main attachments for rice farming...a multi-blade disc harrow and what I think is a box tiller (?) of sorts. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I have operated various construction equipment in the past....back hoes, front end loaders and even a very large cherry picker (all hydraulic, no clutch types) Thanks in advance....PP

I was looking for this very item today, in Phayao...way up north. Didn't find anything here, which did not surprise me. I will have to go to either Chaingrai or Chaingmai to see if it is available at all, at least up here in the north. I would think it could be had down in BKK, but don't know for sure. You can go to Google.th and try there....Alibaba might revel someone that carries it. And yes, the window design here...well let's not call it design...it is beyond BS. They only think in the short term here. Good luck with finding what you need....pp

Mix one tablespoon of boric acid to half a cup of sugar, then add one cup of water. You will probably have to really work at getting the boric acid to dissolve, as it is hydrophobic...non-water loving. Keep mixing until you get it all mixed, then place it in bottle caps (if you have no pets or children that can get in it) and let a bit drip around where ever you put the mix. The ants will come and eat and eat and eat, and then take some back to the nest for the queen. In about 2 to 3 weeks, you will notice...no ants. This really works, it is what I used and it has been about 6 months now, and still no ants. PP

Personally I really like both places, but as my user name should indicate, I don't live in either! Probably why I love going to either for a nice weekend. I had a friend living in Phayao that really liked CM, and he moved there. Last time I talked to him, he hated CM. Go figure, eh? CM has more traffic than CR does....I think. I am sure someone from CR will let us both know the real situation there. Hell, at 5 ish, Phayao has traffic....now! Get outside the city and you should be okay....close enough to come in for when you want, and far enough out so you will still like living near....longer. Good luck....PP

I was watching the lightning show from Phayao and had my fingers crossed that it wouldn't come south. It looked like a war going on from down this way....actually it was amazing to watch...so much energy just exploding everywhere. I hope no one suffered roof damage. pp

Anyone ever use the graph paper (with all those lovely, evenly spaced lines), a metric scale and a little imagination? Okay...throw in a couple of those house idea books you can get at any bookstore here and come up with something that might be you? I did and am still loving every minute of it. I took my ideas to a so called architect (be careful with this one...seems like any Thai that can even sort of use a CAD program calls himself one) and got a working set of prints for it. I might add...I got a plethora of info from this very forum as well to incorporate into the dwelling. No regrets here. pp

I guess in reality...it would be to only slow them down and make a lot more noise trying to break in. Not too worried about bomb blasts...if I had to worry about that....well....I just wouldn't. It wouldn't matter. But to keep the majority of the honest people honest, and make the yaa-bah heads work a bit harder...I guess that is what I am after. Come on....even burglar bars can be breached. I would like to have a wee bit of reassurance that it wouldn't be a walk in the park to rip me off. I am in a very rural area and have the in-laws house in front...so it's not like living somewhere in a highly urbanized area. I have a music room/studio that I would especially like to secure...somewhat. Thanks for the input. pp

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing makes this security film for windows that is pretty amazing. I have seen test videos of it performance and would like to use it on my 1st story windows. Has anyone seen this product, here in Thailand? Does anyone know of a 3M store in TH? pp

Is the septic right near the well (point and non-point source), like I have seen in some houses? I hope not. If you do have it tested, and you should if you want to use it for other than washing, showering and flushing, be sure to sterilize the jars/bottles you take the sample in to have tested. Fecal coliform is a bacteria that you really don't want ingesting. Escherichia coli (e-coli) is one of these. We have lots of coliform bacteria in our digestive tracks to aid in digesting food. But any pathogens or disease producing bacteria or viruses which can also exist in fecal material is something to really be aware of. pe

Thank you all for your replies they are all very informative and I appreciate it.

I an interested in, and encouraged by in Kamalabob2's interior drywall closet, and the fact that he has no mold problems

but I am now concerned with the paper eating termite problem, I wonder how probable that problem is. Is it something that happens all the time , or is it a rare instance?

Has any one else used drywall for interior wall partitions? if so what is your experience with it?

I am also intrigued by Khun Lean's 4'x8' concrete boards,

I wonder, How thick are they? How do they compare in cost to a 4'x8' drywall panel? Drywall has a paper finish for painting, how are the concrete panels finished, and finally how does one tape the joints and finish the corners?

Again Thank you all

We have come across a problem with taping gypsum ceilings to chapped, masonry walls. It can't be taped in the gypsum sense...as it won't adhere to the masonry. It got overlooked, by me...so now we have a nice fugly crack along the perimeter of the ceilings in some rooms. There is a pliable, paintable sealant in a tube that should be used to "tape" this joint. It did not get used, thanks to the half-assed painter we had. He should have known about this, but....TIT. Make sure it is a paintable sealant...some are not. A fine bead of this will paint nicely and give somewhat, (earthquakes not withstanding). Good luck pp

Feed them Alka-seltzer.

There is a guy name Tony, at Tony's Place in Nan.

We now at Tonys place are curing our own hams, also supplying sausages,burgers, beef patties, whole lasagnas,authentic Indian curries,meat pies, pasties,chilli, coq au vin,chicken kievs, chicken cordon bleu, kebabs and all salad items.We can ship to you folks over the in chilled units via public transport to be collected at the bus station free of charge.

All inquires please contact Tony on 0837603469 or via email- [email protected]

There's a guy named Tony at Tony's Place in Nan....I believe. He does hams and will put it in ice and on the bus to ship it. Here is a link....

We now at Tonys place are curing our own hams, also supplying sausages,burgers, beef patties, whole lasagnas,authentic Indian curries,meat pies, pasties,chilli, coq au vin,chicken kievs, chicken cordon bleu, kebabs and all salad items.We can ship to you folks over the in chilled units via public transport to be collected at the bus station free of charge.

All inquires please contact Tony on 0837603469 or via email- [email protected]

Texas Ranger....you should have more than adequate head pressure for your shower from that height. I am drawing up a plan to have a tower of some sorts for back up when the power is out. It will catch rain water off our roof during the wet season and I will just use it for the bathroom water chores. pp

I agree with everyone. I bought a large loaf the other day and its been a while since my last purchase. The bread is really bad as it is full of holes and no flavour but it still looks and feels the same. Go back to using Macro Sliced White which is not the best but better of the two.

Yes...it still had the same look and texture....just totally tasteless. The same woman that is always there was there, so the place didn't appear to have changed hands...I guess the CEO wasn't making a big enough bonus and had to shave off here and there to compensate...who know? Oh well...RIP pp

Not too long ago, we had a total 2 hour blackout during a wind/rain event and when it finally came back on....only one of the three lights out on our gate, came on...they are all on the same curcuit and share the same power. The one lonely bulb glowing, wasn't glowing up to its fullest, but the others weren't glowing at all. Don't know about this one. pp

Supposedly....bugs don't like the color, yellow. I have gotten plastic yellow sleeves and put them on regular flourescent bulbs and it seems to work quite well. From what I have experienced, bugs love that bright white light the newer cf bulbs give off. pp

Look up swales...it is a way to do permaculture and uses contours to your advantage. pp

I had heard that the most wonderful bread to be had in Chiangrai had succumbed to way less than it used to be and I was hoping it was rumor or just a bad batch....but I was in town yesterday and went by there and got 5 loaves and brought them home. This morning, I was sooooo disappointed....it was totally tasteless....at least they waited to go way down hill, after I finally got my own oven! Fare thee well, wonderful bread of Tourist Inn...you will be missed. Thankfully I can get a fair amount of baking supplies in Phayao, enough to do breads and bagels, at least. RIP great bread of the past. pp

Our house took 9 months....just over 194 square meters. Total cost with me buying materials and paying out labor was just over a mil and a half. I did every cm of plumbing myself and also wrapped all the columns, piers and beams in plastic, myself... to insure proper curing...something that is not done here in LOS...usually. I can only tell you that you have to be on top of everything at all times, otherwise...it is a half-assed game of seeing what the workers can get away with while you aren't bird dogging them. Thankfully, I was a custom home builder in another lifetime and knew <deleted> was supposed to be done. I pity those that come here and have to rely on a Thai builder to get things done. I wish you lots of luck on whatever side of the fence you happen to be on. pp

We used one of those Cdn published, house idea books (written in Thai). Took the best of the 2 we liked, and did a bit of shuffling around and presto...had the design we wanted. It is good to get a working set of plans for your contractor to sort of follow. Remember...when they do the footings, it is a lot like throwing hand grenades...it will come back to haunt you when the roof goes on. If it is not square to begin with, it won't materialize out of thin air towards the end. Make sure...if you know how...to square the string lines, before they start digging the footings....other wise...you get what you paid for. And whatever you do....please do not let a so called Thai plumber do your plumbing...learn about it yourself and make sure it is done correct...some of it is usually poured with concrete all over it! Good luck...pp

Sorry I can't help with your request, but I just wanted to say...welcome...and that I haven't heard that expression, Fiddlesticks since I was a wee lad, growing up in the southern part of the USA. My mom was from Alabama and that was the word she used in the context of what evolved in to the other word that starts with f and ends in uck...and not firetruck...the Thai word for squash. Fiddlesticks....a great...handle? pp

Have you considered the Thai filtering systems using concrete rings (3 or 4 high) with different sized aggregates, all going into a separate tank of the same construction? We use this and I am very pleased with it, but we do have to clean the first layer of sand at least twice a year...

I would think there would be considerably less maintenance with something like this as opposed to all the challenges of making sure your underground tank is leach proof and leak proof. Besides, if you are only going for rain run off, remember we do have a dry season here...good luck....PP