Encid

You need an LDPE pond liner... check out this company... also this website. Many people around who have a backhoe (and operator) for rent... just drive slowly around the villages after 6pm and see who has one parked in their yard. They could excavate your pond to your desired length shape and depth, and then get it lined before filling it with water.

And the cement rendering is nearing completion...

The plumbing work in the bathroom has started, extending the 1" (D32) PPR filtered water (FW) supply piping to the 1/2" wall outlets. There are four outlets... 1 to supply the sink, 1 to supply the toilet, 1 for the bum gun, and 1 for the shower. We are planning to install an electric water heater/shower combination set (either Hafele or Stiebel Eltron) which is why the FW outlet for the shower is buried in the AAC block wall and will be hidden by the wall tiles. The FW piping and the PVC sink drain piping will be concealed in the cavity behind a half-height AAC block wall, and will be pressure tested before the wall is built to ensure that there is no leaks.

Two days later and the door opening heights have been rectified. It looks much better now.

Not the biggest battery ever... Gargantuan 1.4 GW / 2.8 GWh battery approved for NSW The New England megaproject just became even more mega, and is now set to house a 1.4 GW / 2.8 GWh battery – taking the crown for Australia’s biggest battery. Developer ACEN Australia says the NSW government has approved its expanded battery proposal, which is set to go in next door to its 720 MW New England Solar project. Read the full story from PV Magazine here.

That actually makes a lot of sense. The columns and beams are steel reinforced concrete whilst the walls are cement rendered AAC blocks. Both are likely to have different thermal coefficients of expansion. Our West facing wall will be subjected to the full force of the afternoon sun, as there are no overhanging eaves or roofing above like all other sides of the house. As you can see there are 6 vertical etch lines in the rendering on that wall. Even though this particular wall is a double AAC block cavity wall it is our intent to plant a garden along that side to break up the monotony of the blank wall somewhat, but we do not want anything that grows higher then the roof line. Perhaps a trellis structure that could suppling a climbing fruit or vegetable bearing vine of sorts? Any suggestions out there from you gardeners out there?

It is purely for the hidden gutters and drainage. The builder wants to get them finished and waterproofed and tested before the roof goes on and they become difficult to access.

Progress photos from 26 May show the rending continuing. I'm not sure why they etch a groove in the external rendering at the column edges and the floor beam and roof beam edges... but it looks OK and you probably won't notice it anyway after it has been sealed and painted. Does anyone know why this is done? Photos follow: The electrician has also been on site and has installed conduit inside the double AAC wall dividing the bedroom from the living room and mounted electrical GPO sockets and light switch sockets where needed before the rendering was completed for those rooms. The photo below is the bedroom... one light switch just inside the door @ 1.35m above FFL (finished floor level) and 3 GPO's @0.30m above FFL. The other GPO on the RHS of the photo will be used to provide power and light for a built-in vanity table and mirror, where the missus can "make herself look beautiful" for me! As you can see from the damp floor and bottom of the walls the rain is having an effect on the progress. The sooner the rendering is complete, the sooner the roof can go on... and that will provide shelter for the ceiling installation and electrical work that comes next.

And from 24 May: I had an issue with the size of the door opening in the final photo above as they are not the same height... it just looked wrong! I got out my tape measure and checked. The workers on site noticed my interest and concern and one of them said "Thai style" as if I was supposed to accept that. I ignored him. Rather than talk with the onsite workers I called the builder who was on another site in Khon Kaen and sent him the photo and asked him to check the drawings. Sure enough... the drawings showed that both doors were supposed to be 2.2m high, with the left door leading to the bathroom to be 80cm wide, and the right door leading to the bedroom to be 90cm wide. He promised to get it rectified.

Well it's been a few weeks since my last update as we have been very busy. We still do not have a roof... the cement wall rendering is continuing but is suffering interruptions due to rain. We had a meeting with the electrician and the builder and confirmed where all power sockets and light switches should be and at what heights (and types). We also discussed how may circuits there should be, and what amperage breakers should be in the consumer unit. At our meeting on site I expressed my dissatisfaction to the builder about the amount of building rubble and debris around the site in general and reminded him of the clause in the contract that specifically mentioned housekeeping and safety. He agreed with the "safety first" principle and promised to get it cleaned up the following day. Otherwise I expressed my satisfaction in the quality of the work (except for a few minor issues that he will correct) and asked him to amend his building schedule so I can deliver the "owner-supplied" items to him in a timely manner. So we have also been busy shopping for floor tiles, bathroom tiles, sanitary ware, sinks, gas hob and range hood, water pump and filters etc. So here are some progress photos (from 21 May):

As a new AIS customer (I have been a DTAC customer from over 20 years now) I wanted a complete hardware/software/networking solution, so it make sense to buy from the AIS shop where everything could be explained and setup and working properly before I left the shop. The product package I bought also came with a 1 year warranty which is supported by any AIS shop anywhere in Thailand. I am happy with my purchase... the compact size of it, the portability, the performance, the coverage (even when mobile), and the support. And instead of being a know-all and posting misinformation and unhelpful baiting comments to members of the forum, you should really get a Thai person to translate the Thai language fine print associated with those Lazada 20 Mbps packages for 300 baht... for 4G coverage (which is what I wanted) you get 20 Mbps for the first 70GB downloaded, then it reverts to 1 Mbps download speed for unlimited download capacity for 30 days. 1 Mbps download speed is practically useless for my (and my family's) needs, so I remain happy with my purchase.

And this is exactly why I was interested in this topic... where we are building in Isaan the DTAC coverage is very poor and the signal quite often drops out entirely. AIS has much better coverage in the majority of Isaan. Fiber Cable or Broadband services are not available either where we are building so a 4G solution is what I was looking for.

Those packages are not available at the AIS shop. They probably expire at the end of 30 days which means that you will have to buy a new SIM and reset your router and wifi user/password accounts every month.

There is no 30 day 20Mbps package for 300 baht. The package I bought was the 30 day unlimited download volume internet at 6Mbps download speed. I don't need faster at this time... maybe later, and then I will probably upgrade the pocket router to a full sized TP-Link router that can support my home mesh wifi. Check it out here and click on 30 days to see what is available. I am a new AIS customer... the SIM was a new purchase, not a top up. How do I check how many GB have been used? And why would I? There is no limit on this package!

I just bought a 30 day package 4G pocket wifi from AIS and am most impressed with it. This is the device I bought: And of all these 30 day internet plans available I chose the 850 baht/month 6Mbps unlimited package: I tested the download speed in the AIS shop (in Central Festival Pattaya) using testmy.net to Japan and I got 4Mbps... good enough, so I thought. I went home and I connected to my home TOT (now known as NT) fiber based network wifi and got 8.7Mbps download speed from London. I then connected to the AIS 4G Pocket wifi and got 28.6Mbps download speed from London. Very impressive!

Have another look at the photo from STWW's post: See the lugs on the sides of the tek screw above the thread? That prevents them from being over-tightened (in theory anyway). Those particular Fix-Green STL-1 Metal Sheet Roofing Screws in addition to being able to work with standard metal sheets such as Bluescope have a maximum clamping distance of 31 mm, making it ideal for use with 25mm PU foam coated steel roofs. They can also be purchased in longer lengths suitable for use with 50mm PU foam coated steel roof sections. No matter which metal profile sheet is used, it can firmly hold both purlins and roof sheets and the EPDM waterproofing seal ensures no leakage. Sadly I must agree with you... hence the need to ensure that the builder and his team fully understands why using the correct fastening method is so important.

I discussed this with my builder on site yesterday... he will be using plain unpainted galvanized metal sheet cut to match the profile of the white coloured BlueScope "sandwich roof" with overlapping tabs that can be rivetted to the roof steel and sealed with silicone so birds (and other rodents) cannot make their way inside the PU foam. The "sandwich roof" itself is to be fastened to the supporting steel members by use of the self-drilling "tek screws" with a fitted neoprene washer as shown in STWW's post above. These screws are self-tapping and self-drilling, which means they feature a drill tip with a small carving piece so that there is no need for pre-drilling the supporting steel member. However, care must be taken not to over-tighten the tek screws, as this can lead to head stripping/damage and will result in a dent forming in the roof sheeting. A dent can allow water to pool, which could lead to a leaking roof. Many Thai builders like to use impact drills for convenience and speed instead of pre-drilling a pilot hole in the roof sheeting before using them... however this is NOT recommended by screw manufacturers as the screws are not designed to withhold the force of impact drills. The only other thing to be careful about using tek screws (as far as I can recall) is to be sure to drive them into the supporting steel as slowly as possible for proper vertical alignment. Getting these issues across to your builder and his team is very important, as it is an often abused shortcut for careless builders. Anyway, enough about roof fastening! I'm sure that others have similar ideas/experiences. Our gutter design is such that the metal sheet will be formed so that it fits under the BlueScope metal steel roof, and also sealed with silicone. Formed sheet metal flashing will be installed along the non-gutter sides of the roof (West – North – East sides) and also sealed with silicone. All this should make the roof as weather proof and rodent proof as we possibly can... plus of course there will be no trees anywhere near the house so leaves and other wind-blown nesting materials should be minimized.

My experience with Mazuma water heaters is completely the opposite... never had a problem at all and found them very reliable. At our house in Najomtien (near Pattaya) we have an underground water tank, so the water temperature is always cool... even chilly in the cool season. We installed 3 x 8kW Mazuma Redring water heaters 15 years ago (3 bathrooms) and have never had a problem getting piping hot water whenever we want. We mounted them under the bathroom sinks so both the showers and the sinks have a hot water supply (essential for shaving). When the weather gets warmer and the ambient temperature of the water in the tank rises, we turn down the heaters for a couple of months so we can enjoy cool(er) showers. Sure they use a bit of power when you want a nice hot shower, but it's worth it. Our Mazuma demand water heaters are now over 15 years old, and we've never had a problem with any of them. Based on their reliability I will be installing similar in our new build up-country soon.

Not yet. The actual roof is still a way off, as the roof structure needs to completed first, then all the walls (both inside and out) will be rendered before the roof goes up. We did specify BlueScope "sandwich roof" which has 50mm of PU foam and a metal backing sheet, similar to this:

Here is a pretty cool solution for cleaning your dirty panels... and only 3,800 baht including delivery:

Check it out here Basically it applies to their StayCool products and it is valid from now until 1 June. I want the 150mm thick product so will be checking to see if this is included in their "Privilege 1" deal as it is highlighted on their webpage...

Whichever make/model you decide to buy, do a price check against this shop. And remember that although HomePro may be one of the most expensive, their pricing usually includes installation. The most popular and reliable brands in Thailand are Mitsubishi Electric (not Mitsu Heavy Industries) and Daikin.

Mauritian researchers have developed a solar tracker prototype that increases current by around 37%. The device uses a simplified and mechanical tracking system. Researchers at the University of Mauritius have designed a tracking system that can be used with portable, lightweight PV systems for use in remote areas in tropical climates. The scientists describe the tracker as a low-cost device using a simplified and mechanically driven tracking mechanism. It can be connected to one solar panel and is able to orientate its linear displacement at each of the four corners of the module itself and make it rotate along the three principal axes. A power screw arrangement driven by DC motors enables the movement of the tracker. You can read the full article from PV Magazine here.

I heard that the NT monsoonal wet season 2022-2023 rainfall was above average for most of the Top End, so you must be looking forward to the barra fishing during the runoff. Good luck! And yes, I do miss the Darwin lifestyle (and seasons)... it is a unique way of life in Australia. Where else in the world can you legally drive a car on the public roads with an open tinny or stubby (beer) in your hand?

ThaiWatsadu have several HDPE mesh types available... all supposedly UV resistant, but I don't know what their real service life would be like.