steveolevi

I have been living at a guest house in Chiang Mai 2 years and taking care of garden etc. I dont pay rent to the owner, I live their to keep the place up because she lives in the US. The place has rooms to rent but so far no one has come to rent a room.  I am registered TM 30 at the condo unit that I own, but I sleep and eat etc at the guesthouse. What if Immi shows up at the guesthouse , asks me for passport, and see that I live at the guesthouse but I am registered at the condo? There is no money (rent) exchanged between me and my friend? My friend, the owner, is Thai.

Looking for a good glossy sealer for a concrete driveway / foot path that was poured 5 years ago. I originally applied TOA brand "A-100 acrylic sealer" but it turned cloudy quickly. I want some product that will provide a glossy finish with UV protection.

Service truck came out and did exactly what you had done (empty the septic and tell them to suck from the toilet bowl ). They knew right off what the problem was - a child's plastic toy was stuck in the toilet preventing flushing. It cost me 1000 baht for fixing the problem and emptying the septic tank. I am not complaining about the cost I reckon that I got two problems solved in one shot.

There is no dirty backwash from the septic tank. So I think that is not the problem.

As I originally stated: When the snake is pushed in the toilet and up the line the toilet will flush. I dont fell any obstructions. I am thinking that maybe the mechanism inside the cistern is faulty

Toilet wont flush so I used a snake (closet augur) inserted about 2 -3 m. I wiggled it around, pushed it in and out and couldn't fell any obstructions.With the snake still in the line the toilet flushes now. All the water goes out and then gurgle, gurgle. When I remove the snake and try to flush the flush begins but never completes - the water tries to go out but doesn't empty out completely. Any help?

Thanks much for the report scd.

I talked to an immigration officer today who called his friend, and fellow officer, at Mae Sai Border check, and was told the same thing - 1 out and in. He advised me to do the same as you have suggested - seven day extension, and pay the overstay at CNX airport before my flight back home.

What time is advisable to go to CNX immigration to do the 7 day extension? super early and get in the que? Can I mosey on in at 10 am and go to the information counter and get it done?

Thanks scd

@scd

Please report back on the run to Mae Sai. I have gone in and out one time, and I want to do it once again before I leave to go back home.- I was thinking of driving up on Saturday the 17th.

My only other option is a 7 day extension and then pay a couple days overstay at the airport when my flight leaves on June 2nd.

What's going on with border runs at Mae Sai?

I have one entry and only want to go out one more time before I exit the country to go back home. I just ended a teaching contract. What are the chances?

Primary school teachers in Thailand need any degree but also take the exam that a lot of government workers have to take, a kind of proficiency test, not sure if this can be done in English though.

The exam you mention is for Thais only no matter if you speak, read, and write Thai fluently.

...local education commission...

What is this??

I just finished a teachign contract and my one year visa ended March 25th. I went out and got 30 days (G7) and came back overland. My new tourist visa expires May 24th. I have afligth going out of Thailand on June 2.

What can I do between tourist visa expiration (May 24th) and my flight out (June 2).

Just tried to switch the ceiling fan to a lower speed and the chain came out of the housing! there is a light kit beneath the fan motor and on inspection I can see that there is indeed a very small plastic switch that the chain goes into inside the wire housing beneath the motor. The switch is an odd shape something resembling a tape measure with the chain coming out where the tape would come out. The plastic switch extends through the housing to the outside and there a metal threaded cowl screws on and the chain droops through this for the operator to pull.

I cannot attach the severed chain to the switch because it broke inside the switch. I can remove the switch in order to replace it but where in Chiang Mai am I going to find a new switch??

What other options? I thought about shorting the wires inside the switch, but then it will always be on high. Another option would be to install a rheostat type switch at the wall controling juice to the fan, but what about the light kit beneath the fan motor?

My non b visa ends on April 30th. If I go up to Mae Sai and walk across the border before April 30 th will I get an additional 90 days? Is it really just extending my 1 year visa. I am american (G7)

I had a local guy replace most of the tiles and it came out really bad. I have only a few that I have to re-do so your method would be good. It seems that most of the de-bonding is around the edges of the tiles and I think I can do the job myself.

I think I know the art place in CM that you mentioned. Is it near McCormick hospital? Can you tell me exactly, please?

I think I will put thick tape on the tiles about 5-10 cm from edge and drill through the tape using the tape to keep the drill bit from wandering and scratching the tile surface. I would like to make the holes as small as possible, of course. I'll have to hunt for the syringes. What tip diameter did you use? Did the mix flow easily out?

I have seen a product on the internet (STICKIT) that has a pump bottle with chemical included and uses a 2 mm syringe tip, but the cost is $80 + shipping.

Thanks for your help.

Thanks Cheery,

Can you give me some details such as where you bough your materials, and how you prepped and mixed? I have porcelain tiles and I dread drilling holes, but I've already had a worker come in to replace tiles and the result was poor. I think I would be more careful doing it myself.

I just finished the rest of the project today. Approx. 60 sq ft. in all. Today I used a hand pump spray bottle (1L) to apply the lacquer thinner. It works great! very easy and does the job well. Much faster than applying with a brush. I found that a lisht coat will melt the acrylic and bring back the shine, but a heavier spray of thinner really leaves a good glossy finish. i am very happy with the results and it cost me about 1/4 of the price to recoat with A-100 or similar sealer. The hardware shop owner was very surpeised at the results. I gained much face for my cleaverness.

There is no 10 year teaching license in Thailand. 

I am going to try lacquer thinner to re-melt the A-100 sealer to let the air and moisture out, and then let it re-dry. I am going to post pictures to clarify what I am attempting to do here..

examples of what I am talking about. notice cloudy areas and the other areas which are shiny again after being brushed with LACQUER thinner. No scrubbing just brush it on. It melts the acrylic sealer and then allows it to re harden. I cannot explain it but it works.

The coloring of the cement is done by adding ferrous oxide (bought at a pool supply shop and a tiny bit of Sulphuric or Hydrochloric acid - home made acid stain)

in a properly designed septic system the solids never built up but are broken down, diluted and flushed out. there's also no need to add any "additives" sold in shops nor is it mandatory to add a dead cat or sheep as it was suggested in several other septic tank threads.

important is to avoid (as mentioned above) harsh chemicals which destroy the bacteria, e.g. toilet cleaners which contain acid or flushing down matter which is not biodegradable.

This makes sense. The question is if the builder included a leech field.

What happens if they did not?

It has been 5 years and average of two people using the system daily would have filled the tank by now ( I imagine there is a formula for this somewhere)?

I have not noticed any smell or overflow. I want to make sure that the bacteria are still active. Where can I buy the bacteria?

I am going to try lacquer thinner to re-melt the A-100 sealer to let the air and moisture out, and then let it re-dry. I am going to post pictures to clarify what I am attempting to do here..

OK, So maybe I don't have to pump out the tank. I have used a bacteria additive in the past by just pouring some down the drain of the shower and toilet and letting it do its job when it gets washed down into the tank, but the shop I got it from has closed. Are you familiar with this bacteria "additive"?

Being "stingy" and a DIY'er, I dug out the grout using a hacksaw blade and carefully lifted all the offending tiles. I chipped out the old adhesive, which sometimes came out as a complete slab, and re cemented the original tiles back down.

What did you use as "cement" when you re-cemented the tiles back dow? Was is regular cement? or grout? or what kind of adhesive?

The problem is that the product that I used promotes itself to have a glossy, protective finish. It has turned cloudy and I am looking for a way to regain the glossy finish. So the question is:

Strip the sealer and start over with a different product. (suggestions please)

or,

Apply something else on top of existing (cloudy) sealer to regain the original glossy finish.

Both the footpath and driveway are cement. I applied TOA A-100 acrylic sealer to get a protective, glossy finish. Now the sealer has turned cloudy and looks bad. I want to know should I remove the sealer? with what? or just apply a new coat of sealer? If apply a new coat, I want to know of a product that will work on top oif acrylic and not turn cloudy.

This is not a tile question. I am talking about outside cement; driveway and footpath

No food stains.

I am just trying to fix a job that looks bad.

My other threads are seperate questions.