Tofer

9 hours ago, smotherb said:

Welcome to misfunction junction.  A friend of mine hired a Bangkok architectural firm to design and build his home outside Hua Hin. Paid top baht for twice the time estimated to build and several cost overruns. Seems this professional architectural firm had neither heard about rise and run for the stairways nor realized the double-car garage needed to be wide enough to open the doors of cars parked therein.  Need I even tell you they never heard of a level?

They use the same misfits on site as any level of contractor, so highly unlikely anything will be better. I would however have thought the planning would have been better than what you describe. 

I thankfully, have 45 years experience in the architectural / construction management field, unfortunately I came down with a heavy bout of dengue fever for a month + just when they were building the structure, so did not get the opportunity to physically check their setting out along the way, hence my comments about out of square in my other post, and continuing efforts to resolve the follow on finishing problems.

10 hours ago, cryo said:

Its now become worldwide as I work for a large European gas/engineering company and getting any manager at any level to accept responsibility or make a decision is impossible. I wonder if its contagious as its no longer a far eastern trait :-) I have also experienced many of the above instances when in Thailand I just smile and think to myself TIT as if you worry about these things in Thailand you would put yourself in the Asylum :-)

 

Ken.

 

 

I was interviewed in BKK a few years ago for the role of technical manager on the new Swampy airport project. Not sure what the role they were describing so asked to see their hierarchy chart as to where I would fit in. It was one of a handful of managers to run the consultancy team of approximately 100 Thai "professionals". I told them thank you very much, but you couldn't pay me enough.... When pressed, I did pick an outrageous figure and package knowing they would not accept - phew, close shave....

I had a similar role on the new terminal 3 airport in Manila. One of my lads came to say his mate (on the contractor gang) was using his friendship to try to pass off poor workmanship, I told him to go back and tell him he is not much of a friend if he wants to get you in trouble with your boss for accepting shoddy work. Off he went with a smile on his face.

I have an electrician who thinks he's going to charge me 2 X the point price for a double socket. I made him take one off and showed him one conduit, one set of cables and one connection point on the back, same as a single socket. I was tempted to smack him round the head for insulting my intelligence.....

2 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Say what you want your just another one like others here comparing western views, not your concern you are a guest here.

I think it would be his concern and anyone else when they become a statistic!

Thankfully my wife is the worlds best back seat driver, and has saved a few candidates from the morgue in such situations. I sincerely believe I could drive blindfolded with her by my side....

What beats me though is their complete lack of any common sense, driving the wrong way, at speed, across an exit driveway onto a dual carriageway, i.e. traffic generally travelling in only one direction.

Exactly why I would never live in a high rise in Thailand.....

Very sad to hear of such incidents. 

I would hazard a guess that there are very many high rise buildings that do not conform to modern day safety requirements, and / or are not properly maintained in terms of fire safety.

All you guys living in such buildings should perhaps take time to investigate your condos safety measures. Do the management conduct regular fire drills and alarm system checks? Has a fire officer ever visited to make an assessment of safety?

6 hours ago, khunPer said:

I was joking a bit about water rates, however the price I pay is true enough.

 

Thanks for your suggestion and yes, I have filters. I live by the beach with very red water – it's always been like that by the beach, the local says, but getting worse during the last years – and I'm tired of cleaning 5 filters before a tank, and furthermore also a circulation filter inside the tank (together with air-mix, i.e. oxygen, and UV-lamp); and renewing 50 kg sand in the two big sand-filters once a year. So it's a nice relief having installed external water tanks, and having a truck to deliver clean water.

 

And looking at the bright side of life, I just have to think about how much money I save pr m³ compared to the going price for tap-water supply in my home country; makes me feel very happy to pay 125 baht only...

Quite agree, probably never be as expensive as back home. Glad you can still see a positive side to it.

Some of my neighbours have the same problem in Koh Lanta with the red water, don't know why because ours is a clear as a bell only 200m away, just a high PH reading (8.3) and a bit of grit.

I would still want the delivered water tested in case you need some filters for that even. 

Maybe as you said earlier, a move away might be on the cards.

7 hours ago, carlyai said:

Is it ground water coming to the surface? If so it must be fed from a river, so putting any foundations on top of it will probably be problematic.
Can you divert the flow thru pipes and pump back to the road or road side drainage?
If you can divert the flow you can then fill the hole in or watch it for a while and then install a fibreglass pool.

Seems a shame to have that hole in front of your place.

Have you contacted any plumbing engineers? (don't contact the local ones as with all their trips overseas to study drainage systems, they still put road drains at the top of the hills).

Sent from my SM-J700F using Tapatalk
 

Thanks Carlyai for your reply and advice.

We've had the odd surface bubbling in the very heavy wet season, but not seen it recently since we chucked tons of fill over the surface to raise the ground level a bit.

We are at the bottom of a mountain gorge and next to the sea and form a natural collection point / reservoir for the rain off the mountain. Thankfully the ground water remains quite high so we don't get the sea water encroaching on our fresh water wells. But there lies the problem previously noted.

It took us 3 attempts to get our septic tanks installed, the macro had to dig a bigger hole adjacent to the one for the tank to allow the water level to drop low enough to get it in and levelled and filled to stop it floating away.

All I can imagine we will be able to do is dig it out at the end of the dry season and set a pump running constantly until we can get a concrete base in for either a block wall or fibreglass segments, access would not facilitate delivery of a ready formed pool of the size we've got. I am concerned though that the fibre glass option might just pop out of the ground.

16 hours ago, Naam said:

you could from my pool!

OR, maybe a glass of water from our pool instead of the beer......

22 hours ago, Naam said:

to each his own. i prefer my 'unnatural' pool any time over a chemical free but dirty pond where all kinds of bacteria will find a home sooner or later in a tropical environment.

We don't have the option of a concrete construction as it's not allowed within our 30m zone from the sea front, Aor Bor Tor rules, and I'm not convinced a fibreglass solution would work because of the high water table on our land.

Anything would be better than this dirty hole in front of our terrace! Full it's a mud bath and empty it's a slime pit. And IF we can swim in it that will be a bonus! I don't mind the local wildlife sharing it with us, although my wife is not convinced. We'll see if you refuse a dip when you come round for that beer I promised you.....

We're certainly open to suggestions..... with the exception of above ground structures which would not help the issues we face.

Now managed to divert the run off rain water, so the lake is not so muddy, it's surprisingly quite clear.

11 hours ago, khunPer said:

I have, and I gave up after 9-years because of increasing bad quality – a really hopeless situation now, when having to pay for water, I need to cut back on something else, and even begin to drink water...

Sorry, hadn't read your later post before my earlier response.

Have you tried installing some filters to improve your quality?

Your water charges sound outrageous, our village water on a temporary (developers supply) is 10 Baht /m3, but then you have to consider where yours comes from.

For example, we have constructed a water tower with storage tank, to combat (frequent) loss of power, to maintain a constant supply and a reasonable supply pressure, 2 wells, expensive commercial filters and pumps to provide (claimed - not yet tested) drinkable quality water, a total approximate outlay of 300,000 Baht. That's before we even consider the irrigation set up for the landscaping.

Do you not think it is only fair to charge a premium for a reliable clean water supply, running and maintenance costs of pumps and filters etc? Our neighbours guests get no water at all during power cuts and low supply pressure on the mains.

PEA refused to connect our apartments separate from our house (only 2) with direct power supply / meters, instead we had to pay 250,000 Baht for a transformer. Fair enough that was our developers risk / expense. But it will certainly be taken into account if we sell instead of rent.

16 hours ago, khunPer said:

I'm also concerned about that, so I consider to sell my house and move...

Dig a well and get some tanks, probably cheaper than your water's costing you now depending on your consumption.

12 hours ago, IsaanFam said:

 

Ok, it is still a 1mb drop. And it is still crazy. I would be furious if I bought it a month ago. Wonder what happened there, might be that they producing it now inside Thailand instead of importing them.

Maybe they thought the succers who would pay outrageous sums for their precious ego / image are getting thin on the ground.....

12 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Highly recommend you seek out some of Krabi's superb hotsprings. And the Emerald Pool for freshwater bathing.

Nam Tok Nam Ron Pan Yung Hot Spring

      บ่อน้ำร้อนน้ำตกน้ำร้อนพานยูง

Hot springs OK, but the Emerald pool? Albeit very attractive at the high point / source, I wouldn't swim in the cesspit lower down, it's green alright, but not because of the name of the source....

26 minutes ago, carlyai said:

Guy in Bali tried a natural pool for the rudolf steiner school. Think the school is/was called Sunshine School. He had natural filtration, bigger and smaller sized areas so the current would circulate etc. So no chemical, no pump and result....no workee.
That was years ago. Maybe you can contact the Sunshine School and ask about the natural pool.
It looked great, and as I said there was 1 design flaw in that it did not work then.

Sent from my SM-J700F using Tapatalk
 

Thanks, I will try to find it. Always interested to see and hear of actual installations.

But you say they had no pump, the natural system I'm looking at has a pump system run on the air bubble lift / negative pressure principles which create a good circulation volume which is pulled through the filter beds.

There are a few examples shown on YouTube where the owners claim the water is of drinking quality, and do in fact gulp down glasses full of the stuff. For myself I would never swallow any water from any type of pool....

Take a look at Koh Lanta Yai, great beaches South of Klong Nin, unpolluted, family resort, so don't expect great nightlife. Very beautiful spot, away from the populated areas on the North West coast, and the current roadworks.

Only abot 2hrs drive from Ao Nang plus a ferry crossing.

I would give Phuket a wide berth.

18 hours ago, Psychic said:

Its going to be a few years for me.

But I'm looking at a natural swimming pool...cleaned by plants in an other pool area then aerated and replaced back in the swimming pond.

 

No tiling etc. Just a plastic liner. No chemicals/salt filter etc.

 

And they can look very nice and natural.

 

I might end up going with a fibreglass liner for the main pool just for simplicity.

 

There is a video on YouTube of someone in Thailand having one installed.

 

As always, the price will depend on size, aesthetics etc. But they should come in a good deal cheaper than a regular in ground pool.

I'm planning the same to convert an existing 220m2 lake to a natural swimming pond. Thought about the fibre glass option for the swimming zone as my wife doesn't fancy swimming in a dark liner pool where she might not be able to see the snakes.

Our problem is the ground water at only between 1.5 - 2m below ground level, so a fibre glass pool would just float as, according to David Pagan Butler on YouTube, you need about 3m depth to counteract the hot climate for comfort of water temperature. His air driven water pump system appears to be a very simple and cheap / maintenance free solution over water pumps.

My main concern is evaporation over such a large surface area, particularly in the regeneration zone (planted area) which is shallower than the swim zone and will get hotter. I suppose this applies to any pool in Thailand / hot climates though.

The videos on YouTube show an impressive reduction in cost over a traditional / chemical pool for which I'm told you would need to budget about 30k / m2 at 1.5m depth, but then we're on an island and everything is more expensive! 

Natural ponds are apparently much nicer to swim in and chemical free.

9 hours ago, IsaanFam said:

 

I would love to take opportunity to save money by buying a 2nd hand car but have absolutely no clue about cars so I stick to new cars and I am quite happy about, even if they lose 50% after I have driven them out of the dealer.

 

Cars are not assets (mostly), cars are consumables and I don't understand the obsession with a car's value. I don't check the value of my groceries and other consumables, too.

 

I agree they are not generally considered assets, but they do have an intrinsic value at any age, unlike groceries!

You don't need to be an expert to buy a second hand car, I never even test drove the one I bought, didn't want to sit in BKK traffic listening to the engine idling for a couple of hours, with only 6k on the clock and 2 years warranty remaining not much to worry about, and bought from a mature professional British expat.

If you are concerned you can always insist on a thorough check over at the nearest dealer.

We had earlier looked at one from a second hand dealer, he wouldn't allow a test drive 5 kms down the road to the Mitsubishi dealer to get it checked over, so told him where to stick it. He did us a huge favour, saw the one we bought on bahtsold a week later.

2 hours ago, maximillian said:

 

And Koh Lanta.

Large Muslim community and quite a few dogs.

15 minutes ago, HidyHo said:

Your numerous posts in this thread are also fairly irrelevant to OP's question on what car to buy!!!!

Yes they are - none at all!

6 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

My Wife and I were 'between' cars for 2 weeks... (after selling ours and waiting for the new one).... 

 

That nearly cost us our sanity !!...  The daily taxi of taking our son to school and picking him up, dealing with the UBER and GRAB can't find your address, late arrivals, taxi's refusing fair, breaking down, aggressive and angry drivers, swearing etc etc...  Then not being able to do the 'large weekly shop' and instead doing smaller shops... 

 

The convenience of a car, even in a city such as Bangkok cannot be beaten...  The ability to just nip out to Mega Bang Na (IKEA) or Cyrstal Park or any other shopping mall at a whim... and each time knowing that I'll be on the expressway, not chancing it my son in the car without a car seat, but in a strong safe, well maintained car, with correct tyre pressures, new tyres, with a proper isofix car seat... 

 

Oh.. and then we can get whatever we like, stop off where ever we like on the way home... dinner etc... yup you can do that in a Taxi, but its a pain in the backside and wears thin very quickly. 

 

It would seem that only those without cars suggest they are not needed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your criteria differs somewhat from mine. I don't have kids to consider, nor am I paranoid about the safety of the taxis, which I find to be generally quite good these days. I can remember the days when taxis were held together with coat hanger wire... Also, thankfully, I don't live in BKK.

But I should say I'm thankful to those that do buy cars in Bangkok as they are a great source of little used / low mileage second hand vehicles. I bought a second hand Pajero off a repatriating Brit, because I wanted the old model, not a fan of the new styling, and my wife persuaded me we didn't need a new car to get ruined dipping it in the sea to launch our yacht. Actually felt sorry for the chap as he only bought it because his company gave him a transport allowance on a 3 year contract, so he bought it for economic reasons in that he would have something of an asset at the end of his contract, but sadly it was cut short to 1 year, so he took a major hit on the first years disproportionate depreciation.

So, yes, I do have a car.

10 hours ago, Cranky said:

Hardly good advice.  Bit like advising someone to stay home and have a Barclay's rather than popping out for a BJ coz it's cheaper and safer.  Dude wants a flash motor, up to him.

I really don't get these wierd analogies, yours for sex and RS for food and wine, totally irrelevant!