Jonathon

Every time I use the BTS when it is busy I am obstructed by idiots using their phones, either standing in the way of moving slowly.

Why worry about it.... Nearly nobody in Thailand, except for falangs, eat any bread.... There is NO MARKET to talk about at all...

Forget it and save your money..

Glegolo

Lots of bread is eaten here by Thai kids, so probably a growing market.

I believe that the regs are only applied over 7-8 stories, but am not wholly up to date on that. I observed construction of one such building at close quarters from my condo last year and it was absolutely shambolic and dangerous to those working there. Normally a decent construction company would aim for 'right first time'. In that case it seemed like 'well we've done it 3 times already, it will have to do'. There was no evidence of supervision, the site owners just seemed to let the workers get on with it. They even tried to kill 3 or 4 of them working in an unsupported excavation which, as expected, collapsed.

Sorry for the rant, makes me very angry that these people treat their workers as disposable assets.

Difficult to suggest what to look for as obvious pointers such as cracks at beam, slab and column joints take time to develop. A more obvious sign is lifting of tiles owing to non-provision of movement joints. Also these building seem to have very poor quality fixtures and fittings (showers /taps / electical fittings/ door furniture etc.). Check also that doors / windows fit properly and open/ close easily.

High rise buildings generally comply with acceptable construction standards,although room sizes are often unacceptably small.

A lot of the low rise buildings are built without any engineering supervision and construction standards are shoddy.

Have a good look around any low rise building before making a choice, particularly if your stay is likely to extend.

Would a 8 floor building with 200 ish units count in that non supervised group?

If so what issues would you suggest to look for?

rijit

In an ideal world the bond would be held independently from the landlord; that is what would normally happen in the UK. It would be good if that could happen here but, unless tightly regulated, that would be a great opportunity for an even bigger scam.

I wonder if in the case of a condo the juristic person could act as a mediator? Mine accompanied me on an inpection and actually took some photographs. We will see what happens when we leave.

I would always, as others have suggested, mitigate this by not paying the rent for the last month of occupation.

One can almost guarantee that with PayPal the fees are a rip-off unless you are prepared to wait for your money. There are far better services about.

High rise buildings generally comply with acceptable construction standards,although room sizes are often unacceptably small.

A lot of the low rise buildings are built without any engineering supervision and construction standards are shoddy.

Have a good look around any low rise building before making a choice, particularly if your stay is likely to extend.

So people who strangle someone to death should have their hands removed? Someone who knives a person to death gets all sharp objects outlawed?

Baby, you just shot yourself in the foot (pun intended). Dumb@$$!!!

Dum@$$ analogy, (to borrow your term). Lets say guns were outlawed 5 years ago. Do you think the tens of thousands of murders that have occurred in that time would still have occurred but with a knife?

It would end up just like the UK, where only criminals are allowed to have guns.

As in most countries, but perhaps particularly here, the best solution is to do it oneself. If you don't have the experience,and assuming that you have the time, then now would be a great time to learn. I'm sure that you could find something on the web, or even find a repair manual for the vehicle in question.

Such failures can happen anytime, anywhere.

Amazing Thailand

Amazing alright. During songkran the banks were closed for five consecutive days.

I don't mind the branches being closed but their automated payment services are down too and often for a long weekend at the month end when one might be expecting an overseas transfer.

I appreciate that they will normaly do routine maintenance over the weekend but stopping auto payments for extended periods is not acceptable. All the banks seem to do it, time that they developed a customer service ethic.

Of course banks everwhere seem to be run by scoundrels....

Best place to apply for a visa in the UK is the Thai consualte in Hull. They accept postal applications and deal wit them quickly.

Sounds to me like there might be a 90 degr. bend where you pushed with your copper pipe. If that is the case the blockage could be before the bend. The bend might be there to make a water lock preventing smells to enter the bathroom from outside.

There should not be a trap in such a location but "TIT", They seem reluctant to have proper traps on the outlets in the house apart from the usual rubbish with a 10mm water seal. If there is a trap there it needs to be relocated.

If you are indeed hitting hard plastic then it might be a bend in the pipe (one of a pair) used to shift the pipe alignment vertically or laterally to avoid some obstruction, Dig it up and have a look. It could even be that your neighbours are connected too.

If that is the case then it needs to be got rid of. For a vertical offset consider replacing that section ( and downstream) with a larger bore pipe extended to ground level with an access cover for cleaning.

Do it yourself and you will certainly get a better job!

It is entirely possible that she has obtained a divorce in you absence by going to the court. Once the court has agreed the divorce they will issue documentation which has to be taken to the District / Amphur office along with a witness or two so they may issue the divorce certificate.

The divorce certificate is always issued in duplicate but they will not give your copy to your (ex) wife. So if you are in fact divorced then the certificate will be held at that office awaiting your collection.