kamalabob2

Kuhn BenQ: Good advise. "Elongated" is the term in the Cotto Sanitary Ware catalog. The distance from the wall to the front of the toilet is not an accurate dimension, but Cotto Toilets have dimensions from the toilet seat bolts to the front of the bowl. 440 mm is not the size most expats would select. 475 mm or longer would be noted as elongated.

When Sanook 1 refers to a "normal" toilet I'll recon he means a 2 piece or one piece flushing toilet and not a "pail flush" toilet. I paid 500 baht for two men of Buriram Ruangsangthai Builders Merchants to come to my house in a small town in Buriram Province in early 2014 and take out an American Standard Champion model flushing toilet that was made in China and install a Cotto Toilet with soft closing lid that was made in Thailand. The Cotto C1480S cost 2300 baht in Buriram at Ruangsangthai and includes soft close toilet lid and a flange set. That was an appropriate toilet for the maids room but is too short (375mm) for most expats.

My wife paid four hundred baht labor plus materials in 2005 for two local village guys to take out a squat toilet and install a Korat Brand flushing two piece toilet that did not include a flange set for the rental house we lived for two years. They also installed a valve for a personal sprayer and a 2nd 1/2" Sanwa valve for the flushing toilet supply.

Consider if a shop will guarantee the installation and if the shop stocks flange sets and wax seals. You could pay 1499 baht for a Sannix brand two piece flushing toilet that is made at the Lixil factory in Thailand, and labeled as a Lixil product (same firm is American Standard Asia Pacific) in Buriram at the store downtown with the large American Standard sign. The Sannix flushing toilet does not come with a flange set nor a wax seal. A high volume Cotto dealer may in fact offer you a low cost installation with a warranty if you buy a Cotto toilet and the proper fittings. My personal experience was that American Standard will send warranty repair service to Buriram province one Tuesday a month the 2nd week of the month and no other days. However my personal experience in 2008 with Cotto sanitary ware experience is that the dealer phoned the service center and two days later two trained Cotto men came from Khon Kaen and fixed a Cotto bathroom basin problem caused by the house builders inexperienced staff. Easy choice for me which brand to recommend to friends and fellow expats in Thailand.

http://www.americanstandard.co.th/customercare/index-en.php?hl=1

In Buriram City, to the rear of the Buriram Builders Merchants store Ruangsangthai I have bought ready mix concrete in January 2015 in both large delivery cement trucks and the small concrete ready mix delivery truck, with a slump test and printed batch report. The concrete ready mix trucks did not drive more than 20 kl from the Buriram concrete batching plant so the cost might be higher if the delivery trucks were to travel a greater distance in Buriram province. The cost I was quoted in English in person at Ruangsangthai Builders merchants was 1499baht per cube for 180 KSC or 1649 for 210 KSC concrete, 1699 baht for 240 KSC ready mixed concrete, 1749 baht for 280 KSC ready mix concrete or 1849 baht for 300 KSC ready mixed concrete. That was for a similar large order as Robert24 mentions in his original posting. The batching plant is less than one year old and has computers inside that control the mix. Plasticizer and other additives were offered if needed at this Buriram concrete batching plant. The prices must be similar at other lower overhead high volume family owned concrete dealers in Isaan and other Provinces in Thailand. I did get a price quote from CPAC Cement in Buriram to compare prices prior to placing my order of ready mixed concrete.

Today I noted the 12 year warranty and after the sales service sign for VRH stainless steel taps and Stainless steel faucets in Buriram. This same brand of made in Thailand moderate in cost bathroom taps and kitchen faucets are sold in stores large and small, modern trade and family owned all over Thailand. I.Q. House nor HomePro in Buriram do not carry this brand, but Global House, Home Mart, Thai Watsadu in Buriram do stock VRH kitchen mixer faucets, bathroom sink taps, and shower faucets. While Ruangsangthai Builders merchants does sell bib washers for leaking faucets they also are the warranty center for free replacement or repair of VRH kitchen faucets and bathroom fittings. I know they honor and facilitate the VRH real warranty as my 7 year old VRH kitchen mixer was replaced free of charge via Ruangsangthai and VRH. Perhaps other building merchants in Buriram and other provinces will honor the faucet warranty and provide actual repair services for a brand such as VRH. I went to park my Toyota across from the Buriram PEA office but a large Home Expo Open Day tent was erected at this builders merchants. I was amazed they would start to prepare for a home and garden show two weeks in advance in Buriram and not just a day or two i advance.

There might be a high volume retailer of Mitsubishi Water Pumps in your area. That same dealer could elect to fix your water pump under the terms from Mitsubishi. The high volume water pump shop to install or repair your Mitsubishi Water Pump would have a repair team such as the Builders Merchants in Birirram. Training teams arrive to teach local Buriram repair people new technology and procedures to explain to the Thai Citizen. The same shop would fix your MP-255- QS in a short period of time.

I was buying a Cotto toilet with a wax seal and flange set today in Buriram and noted they stock and sell bib washers at Ruangsangthai Builders Merchants. I had this same store arrange for a free replacement VRH kitchen faucet on Sunday that was 7 years old. It was still under the 12 year warranty and I had saved the receipt so there was no confusion on a free replacement. Only one part had a leak, there was no pitting on the stainless 304 kitchen faucet. The other VRH kitchen faucets and bathroom taps are in showroom condition after 7 years. The washers I viewed in the plumbing fittings and parts department in Buriram were 2 baht. I only wished my house builder had installed shower floor drains with a built in drain flap. Certainly any full line Cotto dealer will have parts in stock, including bib washers, for a bathroom faucet in your part of Thailand. The family owned plumbing dealers must have the incentive to stock 2 baht items to build customer loyalty by having spare parts and repair services.

The store that sells the copper hot water pipe might be a good start in your search. They would know what local tradesmen buy this product on a regular basis and pay their bill on time with the store. I had green PPR pipe installed in the house I built for my wife in Buriram Province. Same plumber from 7 years ago was at my home today to change out a kitchen faucet that was provided free under the 12 year warranty. You must have good quality water to consider copper water pipes if one believes this Bangkok firm's web page: http://www.cosmothai.com/HOT%20WATER%20SYSTEM.php Do you mind me asking, why did you select copper hot water pipes rather than PPR hot water pipes in rural Thailand?

Cornishcarlos: I seldom disagree with any forum members on thaivisa, but I take exception to your reckoning regarding pressure washers in Thailand. If you had never used a razor blade but bought a Gillette Sensor you might think that was a useful razor. But if you could buy a German made Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razor you would be amazed at the difference in your experience. Yes the Gillette Fusion proglide which is made in Germany but sold in Thailand, costs more baht than the Gillette Sensor razor blades but the user experience is very different.

At any good Karcher pressure washer dealer or any Zinsano power sprayer dealer in Buriram Thailand you can test and try a pressure washer near the repair department and spray a job site concrete mixer or back up generator that is in the tool repair department. You need not put a pressure washer nozzle in some plastic box inside HomePro or Thaiwatsadu or Home Mart to test a Karcher pressure washer or Zinsano power sprayer prior to purchase. Buriram Makro or Buriram Big C are nice modern stores, but hardly the place to test a Zinsano Pressure washer.

I've only owned Toyota vehicles in Thailand so I can not comment on other brand dealerships. All but one service on my Toyota car, Toyota truck and previous Toyota Fortuner were done at the Buriram Toyota near the Buriram Makro. Next year Buriram will have two different Toyota dealerships. The current Buriram Toyota has several saleswomen who do understand and speak English. Mr. Tanasap Tribunyatikul the owner of the Buriram Toyota dealership will go over any service questions in English with me prior to my signing any service work order if I have any questions. His saleswomen or other service staff do not hesitate to drive me to a destination in Buriram and pick me up if I do not want to wait at the dealership for a repair or service. The same family owns at few other Toyota dealerships including the Korat Toyota dealership near the Tesco in Korat. I would not hesitate to recommend the Toyota dealership in Buriram to any expat who would rather not bring his spouse to the dealership as a translator. I would not buy my tires from the dealership as they charged more than the Toyo tire dealership in Buriram.

I have seen both Karcher and Zinsano High Pressure Washers being repaired in Buriram at Ruangsangthai Builders Merchants. I was told by the woman in charge of the tool repair department that not all of the parts she would like to have in stock are ever made available to any dealer by the distributor of Zinsano or the Distributor of Karcher. However she is willing to have her staff attempt most any repair on a Zinsano Pressure washer or a Karcher power sprayer. She has the tools to open the machines and see if the components that have failed. Some Karcher or Zinsano high pressure water cleaners do in fact entail a boxed shipment to the respective service center in Bangkok. The owner of Ruangsangthai and the woman in charge of the repair department assured me they do everything they can to fix the item at the store and a trip to Bangkok is a last resort. The regional manager of Zinsano pressure washers will be at Ruangsangthai at one of the 32 vendor booths on February 13th through February 17th to demonstrate pressure washers and answer any questions in Thai or English from guests at the Buriram Home Show Expo. This week I bought my wife a Karcher Window Vac at Ruangsangthai in Buriram for considerably less baht than was quoted on the phone by KTW for the exact same Karcher cleaner. Slappy might call the distributor of Zinsano for the phone number in his province of the best repair facility for Zinsano pressure washers. Buriram can not be the only province with a proper tool repair facility which aims for same day tool repairs and the management can understand and speak English. Here is the location of the tool repair facility in Buriram that has fixed my power tools, lawn mowers and water pumps, brush cutters, hedge trimmer for several years.

https://www.google.co.th/maps/dir//Buriram+Ruangsangthai+Tools+Water+Pumps,+114+Highway+2074,+Chum+Het,+Muang+Buriram,+Buri+Ram+31000/@15.03011,103.102611,17z/data=!4m12!1m3!3m2!1s0x3119be18d1968423:0x514fa2766aa22373!2sBuriram+Ruangsangthai+Tools+Water+Pumps!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x3119be18d1968423:0x514fa2766aa22373!2m2!1d103.102611!2d15.03011?hl=en

The distributor contact information is: โทร. 02-888-2777

จันทร์- ศุกร์ 8:30-18:00

In my observation Mitsubishhi, Hitachi and Grundfos are all quality water pumps if you buy the right type of water pump for your application. The knowledge and experience of what person or persons who install your water pump makes a real difference. The warranty of the installation makes a difference. A simple question to ask before you buy a water pump is how long is the warranty and EXACTLY what will happen in your case in your province if there is a problem with your new Hitachi Water Pump, Grundfos Water Pump or Mitsubishi Water Pump. Does the actual shop sent their own employees to your home to fix the water pump at your location at no charge during the warranty? Does the water pump shop have a full time repair facility in your province where the water pump can be fixed? Ask the shop where you are considering a purchase to confirm a price of any spare part that you might need AFTER the warranty period and how long they will take to get that part. Ask the shop if they will provide a free loaner water pump while your Grundfos, Mitsubishi or Hitachi water pump is being repaired. I bought a Mitsuibish water pump and a Hitachi inverter water pump in Buriram from Ruangsangthai located on highway 2074. There must be similar water pump installers in every province of Thailand that will have lower installation fees than HomePro home services charges in Buriram. You might be better served at your home by a water pump shop that on a daily basis installs and maintains commercial water pumps for resorts, apartment buildings, hospitals, government medical clinics, sports stadiums and the homes of Thai businessmen. There may be a shop where the owner speaks English and has actual years of experience of installations and repairs of water pumps for homes, farms, resorts and multi story buildings in your province.

You can buy petrol chainsaws in Buriram. In fact you can buy gasoline chain saws with an extension arm for cutting tree branches from the ground. Size of the blade in the box is one issue but saw blades can be changed. Every province must have two or more family owned stores that sell and REPAIR chain saws. Hitachi makes an inexpensive reciprocating saw that is available to any Hitachi Power Tools dealer in Thailand. A independent high volume Makita dealer in any province in Thailand could offer you a lower selling price for the fine Makita 3050T reciprocating saw than the price posted at a chain store.

William Cave: I see Milwaukee Heavy Duty Sawzall reciprocating cordless models in Buriram at Ruangsangthai hardware on Highway 2074. If a family owned builders merchant store can sell Milwaukee Power Tools it should be easier in Bangkok to find a proper hardware store that is a DeWALT, Bosch or Milwaukee full line dealer. In Buriram I have also seen the DeWALT DW304PK reciprocating corded saw at Ruangsangthai. You could contact the Bosch Tools headquarters in Bangkok and ask them what dealers in your province carry the Bosch reciprocating saw you desire. DeWALT in Bangkok is distributed to authorized dealers by SPE Group at 02-938-1938. There are 50 current DeWALT power tool models sold in Thailand and not every dealer stocks every model. But any authorized dealer can order any of the 50 tools if it is in the warehouse of the distributor. Waiting for a tool to arrive from another country is not an exact science in my observation.

Mr. Pipat Singhasemanont has been helpful for me to find Bosch Power Tools.

Tel. 02 639 8565

This evening the Buriram Homepro had Slyvania circular ceiling LED lights for about 1100 baht and a "new" brand made in China which looked attractive on the end cap display for under 700 baht. My Panasonic Inverter ceiling lights are still working great after 7 years, but the new led round ceiling fixtures would be what I would use I a new home. Eve Lighting might have LED lights at various stores in Pattaya. NKT Led lights can come in either warm light or "daylight" for exterior fixtures.

Waters: I live in a Buriram Province home built with 7.5 AAC block interior walls that separate each room. In my ground floor office the large Daikin Inverter a/c unit is attached to 7.5 interior wall. The compressor is on a 2nd floor balcony, but bolted to the tile floor of the outside shaded balcony and NOT onto the 12.5 thick AAC exterior wall. The 32K Mitsubishi a/c unit in the bedroom is mounted to an interior 7.5 thick aac wall. The large compressor unit is bolted to the tile floor on a balcony. The drain of the interior Mitsubishi a/c unit drains under a counter in a bathroom near a floor drain all hidden from view. All of the air conditioning cables and pipes were hidden in the 7.5 autoclaved blocks or the 12.5 autoclaved blocks. Now the Wall Profiles. These metal strips are NOT expensive. Diamond Building Products makes these in Thailand. That is the same Diamond Brand as the better quality stainless steel water tanks sold all over Thailand. The metal strips go on every 3rd block working up from the floor as I recall. You can ask the representatives from Q-Con or Super Block or Diamond Block who speak and understand English any questions about the light weight autoclaved blocks. I made it a point to ask questions to the Diamond Building products sales manager who was fluent in English at the Buriram Home Show Expo. She told me she would return in February 2015 to Buriram to spend five days at the Home Show Expo. If I was building a 2nd home in Thailand I would certain use AAC blocks for all interior and all exterior walls. It has proven a good way to keep the house cooler. My wife is a very good cook, but she likes to sing karaoke near where I watch Farang TV. The interior AAC walls and a thick glass door help with the 2nd issue.

My wife has a decent size fruit and vegetable garden on a plot of land behind her Father's home in a Buriram Village. Not the place I choose to live. But with the Schaefer Legend submersible well pump from Franklin Electric I stepped up and bought a "garden kit" from Netafim at Ruangsangthai Builders Merchants in Buriram. Frankly her family are not always focused on watering but this Netafim FDS 500M system made it easy for the kind hearted village relatives to keep the vegetables and fruits watered. The Netafim representative in Buriram understands and speaks English. He was willing to go to my wife's plot of land and prepare an irrigation plan. It is not the least expensive I had seen. It seems however superior in build and function to any drip water system I had previously bought at Home Depot, Costco or Lowe's. The Netafim irrigation representatives will be at the February 13 through February 17 free "Buriram Home & Garden Expo" held inside Ruangsangthai builders merchants. It might be an option for those expats to bring a general plan of your garden and obtain a sensible price from the Netafim man who will have Garden kits and other Netafim products at the Expo Booth. Khun Sutouch of Netafim Drip Irrigation has been very helpful to my wife on her organic fruit and vegetable garden venture in Buriram. I have a Super products small kit for her house in Buriram and it is not a challenge to clean out the drippers from time to time. I had not seen Netafim prior to buying the Super products home flower garden kit or I might have weighed the long term costs.

http://www.netafim.com/Data/Uploads/140402%20FDS%20500.pdf

To Bcallinv: "In California I have a well that pumps water into a pressure tank which has a air bladder in it and it works great. I think that would work well here but don't think they are available here in Thailand" I am from California, but I never gave water pressure or water supply a 2nd thought. My how priorities can change living in rural Thailand. I have a blue pressure tank at my wife's two story home and it works fine. I had a grey colored pressure tank for 7 years at the same house and it also worked fine. Great PSI and water flow in all bathrooms, no problems with the Stiebel Eltron multi point water heaters operating in the kitchens or bathrooms. I have seen large blue pressure tanks in Buriram Province at a water pump specialist store that installed and maintains my Mitsubishi water Pump and Hitachi water pump for the house and the Calpeda Italian swimming pool pump for the swimming pool. The same Buriram Builders Merchants sold and installed the Franklin Schaefer Legend Tri-Seal submersible well pump on my wife's village garden plot of land. I am of the opinion that every Province in Thailand has a family owned "water pump shop" that is the "go to source" of water pumps, irrigation pumps, booster pump systems, water filtration systems, pump installation, and water pump repairs for hospitals, resorts, small factories, sports stadiums, community shopping centers, apartment buildings, University buildings, and Thai home owners who value dependable water pressure in their homes. Expats in Thailand can look for the repair company sticker at any government hospital or hospital small clinic that is placed on the water pumps or ask the Thai owners of a resort or prominent business what shop they rely on for proper water pump installation and repairs. I would wager it is not the air conditioned high overhead store that sells jacuzzi bathtubs, bathroom granite topped vanity sets made in China, or Global Crate toilets made in China. The same water pump specialist would repair Grundfos Water pumps at the store, such as the Buriram Builders Merchants. The same shop might be the Netafim drip irrigation dealer for your province and they will understand and sell a pressure regulator so that you can use drip tape or other low water use irrigation for gardens and crops. Proper and cost effective Netafim drip irrigation has been a game changer for my wife's garden in Buriram Province. I am no longer at the mercy the Brother in law to water the fruits and vegetables.

I am of the opinion that it is better to have only urinal and toilet waste go into a proper septic tank. Safe Band and DOS septic tanks provide an instructional manual in both Thai and English languages with photos and drawings, to show anyone how to properly install a septic tank. A good builders merchant in Buriram province or most any province is able to have the "PC" or "company salesman" who has some product knowledge of that particular septic tank, go directly to the house you are building to show your house builders in Thailand the proper method of installing and connecting your septic tank. That same septic tank salesman can show the contractor you hired to build your house in Thailand how to properly connect the septic tank outlet to the grey water system. It could be PVC pipes, it might be concrete pipes, or it might be a channel with a grate on top, to have the overflow depart your property or drain into a "French Drain". Several of the better house building contractors I have noted in Buriram province take the time to have the DOS septic tank or SAFE brand septic tank technical representative come to the actual building site to give real advise and help to the house builders. I obverse the family owned builders merchants who discount septic tanks and deliver septic tanks on a high volume basis have the ability to quickly, often the same day, get a septic tank company representative sent to your house building site at no charge whatsoever. The slope of the waste pipes, as done by some house builders in Buriram is a different topic. The original contractor who built my wife's home in Buriram Province used cheap cement pipes for waste water that came out of the DOS septic tanks and flowed to a series of round cement rings in other parts of my wife's property. A few years later I hired a more professional firm to replace the now broken cement pipes and install thick walled PVC pipes and connect in a proper fashion the grey water from showers, dish washer, clothes washer, sinks, and outflow of the septic tanks to the municipal sewer system. In my opinion that was baht spent wisely. Proper water supply connections and proper waste water outflow was beyond the actual expertise of the Buriram House Builder I had hired in 2006.

For those home owners in Buriram Province who might have been told to put a Grundfos water pump in a box for shipment to Bangkok for repairs at a "chain home center store" with plenty of salesmen, but no actual repair staff, I noted that Grundfos Water Pumps and Metabo Power Tools were being repaired across from the Buriram Provincial Electricity Authority four story office building inside the service department of Ruangsangthai Buriram Builders Merchants. They seemed to be repairing a Stihl petrol chainsaw the same afternoon and I had my Makita hedge trimmer sharpened.

I bought three separate one thousand liter DOS septic tanks from Buriram builders merchants Home Mega Mart in 2008. Each 1000 liter DOS septic tank receives the fluids and solids from two toilets and one urinal. I have never had to have a tank pumped. This evening nine people are in our home, some days two, some days 12. However last year the white square lids on the DOS septic tanks did crumble and go brittle. They have been exposed to excessive rain and of course the sun. I was able to buy a new septic tank cover at the Buriram Thaiwatsadu for about 800 baht. I took that brand new DOS septic tank cover to Ruangsangthai builders merchants in Buriram and the welders fabricated two new metal covers to the exact same specifications. They painted the DOS septic tank covers a color that better matched my home and the total cost for two new septic tanks covers was 400 baht each. So far all three "new" square covers for the DOS septic tanks are fine. I am of the belief that any fabrication shop can make a square septic tank cover if your local DOS water tank and DOS septic tank dealer does not have the covers in stock or wants a price that is not worthwhile for you.

You might reconsider the importance of steel. You can have a "clear view" of rice fields if rain water is not directed where you wish in combination of a fence with no steel. Or perhaps the OP already knows the price of steel and is looking for labor costs. The fence is not the fence my family had built, but rather a fence on a parcel where the house builder included the fence in his total contract price. The home buyer did not have to "worry" about sourcing any materials for that house, since the builder saved him of that trouble. The home buyer did not have to hire an architect since the house building contractor provided a design at no charge and no need for that pesky list of actual materials. No need for those pesky rain gutters or down spouts in Thailand. Beautiful house, nice guest house, but the guest house was near a wall and the wall fell one evening due to water from the guest house pushing against the base of the fence over the course of three years. The home building contractor will not take any real responsibility for this failure and did not seemed fazed by the news that no steel was used in the construction of the property fence.

Water storage tanks are readily available up to 10,000 liters in Buriram at the COMOS roadside shop across from the new Robinson shopping center. Granted those are blue tanks, but they have in stock 4,000 to 10,000 liter above ground water tanks at very fair prices. The cost per liter seemed to get higher after 5000 liters when I obtained prices and the walls of the larger blue water tanks were much thicker than the 2000 liter water tanks. Down the road in Buriram at the Taweekit shopping center the underground water storage tanks are 30,000 liters each. The local Buriram Building contractor hired by the owner of Taweekit shopping center dug the hole and bricked in the walls for the two underground water storage tanks bought and installed by Ruangsangthai Builders Merchants in Buriram. Those blue tanks are "Safe Tank" brand which is available all over Thailand. Stainless steel diamond brand red label are a good water storage tank for those people who have good quality water. Four or five thousand liter stainless steel tanks are readily available and have much thicker bottoms and walls than say a 2000 liter stainless steel water tank. The brochures of any water tank sold in Thailand will have English for specifications. Safe Brand blue water storage tanks are inexpensive and available at dealers all over Thailand. Note if they are a brass outlet and how many outlets on any brand of water storage tank in Thailand.

Anthony5: I have lived for seven years in a home with a single wall AAC blocks. No water has seeped into the 12.5 wall blocks. They had proper render when built. I had wall tile on every wal in every bathroom up to the ceiling. My builder only did a Primer, not a sealer when it was time to paint. One coat of primer, next day a coat of quality paint and the day after a 2nd coat of paint. Granted I have decent overhangs and eves, yet there are parts of the wall that take a beating from the rain. I am of the opinion that AAC blocks, Q-con or other quality brands, if they have the proper render applied, and then you wait a month for the sealer and/or coat of primer from a reputable Paint company and decent grade such as Dulux, Nippon Paint, or TOA higher grades of paint, not Supermatex, then with two coats of paint you will not have any water problems. Weber or Lanko or other reputable companies can send a technical rep to your home to instruct the people who build your home with AAC block the proper methods of chapping a wall in Buriram or other provinces in Thailand. I've seen Diamond Brand AAC autoclaved wall blocks send technical reps to a house being built in Buriram Province to instruct the house building construction staff on proper wall block methods. The AAC blocks with tile on the interior or exterior walls have proven strong for kitchen cabinets, VRH safety bars and Seimens cooker hoods to be attached. Not a single failure or leak in 7 years through the AAC blocks. CPAC roof tile failures that is a different subject.