Joinaman

so where is the load bearing on a small 4x4 extension ? Two side walls will be tied to the existing building , with only two corners to form the front wall the only load onto the new walls would be on the front wall, which would have a wll plate fixed to fasten the lightweight steel mono pitch roof to , with the high point of the roof fixed to the existing building, so no load on the side walls from the roof are you saying 100mm oe 125mm blocks are not strong enough to stnd up and the bonded corners are not sufficient ? Surely the bonded corners ar as strong as the clip or nails the use to tie the blocks in with ?

thanks 100mm is stock where i am, but could go to 125mm , just creates more problems around the door and window, which are 100mm not sure what you mean by ring beam for roof ? Its a mono pitch, fixed at the high point to the existing building, with the only light load being on the front wall, which would have a steel wall plate strapped down, which would spread the light weight on the full width why the need or a concrete beam ? where is the load bearing , apart from the front wall? which will have minimal load ?

thanks putting lintols over openings is a given, standard practice used foam before with windows, due to fixing problems in the cheap concrete blocks But rof will be a lightweight mono pitch steel roof, fixed to existing house wall, with steel wall plate at the other end+ its an extension rather than a separate building, tied two sides to existing building and one front wall with door and window +size is 4mx4m max, so not a large unit or large spans I have built a couple of dwarf walls using these blocks with 45 degree angles and surprised how strong the actually are when impacted

100mm is standard bock size in many countries. especially the UK. So not sure why the need for a post on the corner when it would be cross bonded, which would be as strong, if not stronger then butting up to a post each side ? Ant the roof would be lightweight steel, mono pitch, bearing on to a steel wall plate, so spreading the light load ? No wind shear to factor in, wil be built between existing buildings, so sheltered from sun and wind

they are reasonably solid, unlike the cheap concrete hollow blocks, and are bonded with adhesives rather than sand and cement

Hi there thinking of building a small 4m x 4m room using the lightweight blocks , 100mm thick , build off a concrete slab Any reason why i need to use concrete posts on the corners, instead of just bonding the corners? The roof will be a lightweight steel frame with steel sheets over, so no weight on the walls Seems to be the norm to use either standard concrete posts, or to form reinforced posts on the corners and intermediates Thanks

so more tourists to rip off with their ridiculous fares and to an island that is struggling to provide enough water to the existing population ?

had quite a few speeding tickets over the years, had about 12 under my desk Told by Thais not to bother paying them so never did even the roadside stops, would argue no photo, no pay and again not paid one for years have no problem taxing my motors , was taxed only last month but they are still registered to my old address, so not sure how many they get through the post now where i am, there are no speed limits, no signs, no cameras and very few police, so no worries here ,

maybe because its often cheaper to drink water than a smoothie or a coffee, plus it a nice cool, long drink ?

so is it illegal for me to take or pick up my friends from the ferry, even though i do not charge ?

Hi there will be flying out of Don mueang airport on Wednesday Can i get a re entry visa from there, and if so, where do i need to go n the airport and how much for single entry Thanks

most people i speak to say that the prices charged are a rip off and much cheaper ti fly Surat Thani Im flying out in a couple of weeks, will save over 8.000 baht by using Surat thani, which is a pity because Samui is a nice airport

Hi there looking to fly out of Surat Thani airport and was wondering if there is still free parking ? Will be away for around 10 days Thanks

Hi there couple of questions im on a non O retirement visa im leaving the country for a few weeks next month Is there an office in Don Meung airport to purchase a re entry visa and if so, where is it ? My existing visa is due for renewal in March , does this still keep the same after i return, or does the new renewal date become the date i actually land back here ? if so, does this mean i have another year before renewal ? Thanks

seem to have lots of weed shops here, still keep opening up, and paying very high rents too but they are complaining there is too much competition and not making enough, surprise surprise

yup, but unlike the mainland the delivery can be a long time and very expensive i used to have all my stuff delivered when i lived in Isaan, but they didnt have to spend 9 or 10 hours round trip to deliver them either

not enough vehicle traffic ? not enough seaworthy boats to cope with the traffic How many boatys have Raja lost lately ? one caught fire, one sunk, one got wrecked in the port and if you manage to catch one to the mainland, they xan take up to 1 to 1.5 hrs longer than advertised due to the bad condition pf the boats Yup, Seatran if they can. they are more expensive, but much better condition and more reliable yup, i suppose i could go asking how much they would charge for transport and paying their price to bring it, but a bit pointless when im already there buying how much would they charge to go back to the mainland and then to here , 5 hr trip minimim ?

yes, unless you want to help carry a couple of toilets, sinks, wash basins, wall and floor tiles, and lots of large tubs of paint , plus many small items too not easy to fit and carry in a backpack unfortunately

its the humidity that kills me here on Koh Phangan was 37c at 08.15 this morning , riding the bike was like having a hot hair dryer in your face But even worse, we have very little water here. The turn it on about 6am and then off again about 9 am, then no water till around 17.30 till around 19.30 9r 20.00 if we are lucky but because everyone is filling there tanks, filling buckets, having showers, the water is just a dribble most of the time, have to crouch down to get enough water out of the shower The property is rented and has no tank system so not good , not in this heat

Anyone else tried taking a vehicle from Koh Phangan to Samui lately ?? need to go catch Raja ferry from Kho Phangan to Samui, taking the car Seems Raja ferries have now stopped going to Samui from Phangan with no idea if or when it will resume Told to catch boat to Donsak, 3 hours, then another boat to samui, 1.5 hours now have to go shopping in Surat Thani instead, 3 hour boat, plus 1 hour drive each way think its time to get rid of Raja and its old boat wrecks and get someone better

i agree wood is very expensive here , which is why when building new internal walls, metal stud with gypsum boards is a quick and reliable way to divide rooms see it used more and more on commercial buildings, but they do have limited sizes and fittings s how do you make an old timber house more habitual if not lined internal ? if not gypsum board what other boards to be used ? brittle cement boards, plywood ? but it seems the Thais prefer to run all their electrics on the surface rather than internal, Im in a concrete house at the moment, recessed sockets, but surface wiring

not sure where you live, but there are thousands of timber houses in Thailand, mostly made out of hardwood, so less problems with termites, although they do get them but to fit sockets and switches without using clip in back boxes means lots of noggins and timbers, but it seem that's got to be the way these boxes are pretty standard for stud walls in the UK, can even buy the UK boxes on Lazada, but they don't fir Thai sockets unfortunately But thanks anyway

hi there do they do plastic clip in back boxes for plasterboard/gyproc walls ? am rewiring and re boarding a timber frame house and would save me fitting a lot of timber noggins/studs

went to do a TM30 last year, from Pattaya to Kho Phangan last year told to go away and do it in Pattaya, not Samui wouldnt let me do a 90 day report either told him to stick it and have never been back HE problems with Samui

driving too fast using phone while riding stoned on weed or yabba drunk while riding no licence riding on a prohibited road choose one or more and will be correct