Razr

2.4 In the case of tourists:

Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 30 days at a time but not exceeding 90 days in total, counting from the entry date.

does this mean tourist visas are now 30 days iso 60?

why get a visa then if you get 30 days on arrival anyway?

The order outlines the rules for visa extensions, not visas themselves. What this means is that you can get a 30 day extension on a 30 or 60 day TR visa. The change here is that you used to be able to get 30 + 21 + 7 day extensions on a single TR visa.

Am I reading case 2.24 right. You do not need any type of temporary visa (i.e. you can come in on a VOA) to get an automatic 60 days if you are an alien visiting your Thai spouse.

The order is discussing visa extensions, not visas on arrival. In the case of 2.24, the English translation above is incorrect,

this:

shoud in fact read like this:

Hi,

Does anyone have any information or links to something along the lines of a Thai Tenant Act - i.e. a document outlining the rights and responsibilities of both Tenants and Landlords?

We have a tenant (Thai) who can no longer afford to rent our property, but is trying to extend their stay under the premise that they can substitute the security deposit for rental payments. We need to evict these people sooner if possible, because there is *definitely* damage to the property that their deposit will have to cover.

What can we do?

Hi,

We'll soon be relocating to Bangkok (though Pattaya is also a possibility), and our primary consideration is decent, affordable schooling for our kids - an 11yo Thai girl in Prathom 5 with limited but functional English skills, and a 3.5yo girl who speaks fluent (well, as fluent as 3.5yo gets) English and Thai.

Ideally we'd be able to find a school that could cater for them both, which means a Bilingual school (pure English is *not* an option for our 11yo) that handles Kindergarten and Prathom at least. Mattayom is not required as there's a very strong possibility we will be relocating to the West within the next 2 years.

We've arguably been spoilt by inexpensive and good quality education in Chiangmai, so please don't shock us too much with pricing! As a guide, 100K per child/per term is simply out of the question.

I'm posting here because IMHO most expat parents here just aren't worth listening to when the topic of schooling comes up, and I really don't need people telling me if I can't spend 1M Baht year on education, my kids ought to just go to a public school or that I'm some sort of peasant.

From looking around the posts here it seems you teaching folk are somewhat hesitant to post names, so please do feel free to PM me with your thoughts.

TIA!

Check out Chiangmai - as far as "proper" cities go, it's easily the cheapest - a small 2 bedroom house in a moo-ban 10K's from the city center can be rented for as little as 4000 Baht/Month, getting around in Songteow's is cheap and plentiful, food is way cheaper than other tourist places. All the major retailers are there, there's plenty of farang oriented food and entertainment available.

You will have to deal with (IMHO) pretty bad air quality though.

If that's not enough, and you can't be bothered with the math, here's a really simplistic way of looking at it:

Why would anyone invest in a rental property if not to make a profit?

'nuff said?

I would expect a condo renting for 10K/month to be worth more in the 1.2-1.5M Baht region (if foreign owned) or 1'ish M Baht (if Thai owned).

The other thing you're not taking into account at all is the fact that over 25 years property values, and conversely rents, MUST rise. Else, break every historical record known to man

As another poster pointed out, it all depends on your length of stay. If you're planning on being here for the term of a 20 to 30 year mortgage, there's absolutely no doubt that buying is smarter than renting, so long as you're talking about living in an area where typical Thai city rental ROI's are achieved (i.e. 8-15%).

Could I please know what are the fees that your Thai bank charges for the salary being deposited in your bank account?

My bank (Siam Commercial) charge 0.25% of the converted amount, with a ceiling of 500 Baht per SWIFT transfer. Sending the money from OS costs me $20 a transaction at the originating end, so for each transfer I'm looking at ~1100 Baht in fees. Then again, you do get the absolute best possible rate when transferring funds using SWIFT, so the sending & receiving costs still work out less than the costs of say doing ATM withdrawals or CC purchases.

e.g. right now the TT/SWIFT rate for the USD is 31.2 Baht, so SWIFT'ing $5000 = $4980 x 31.2 x 0.9975 = 154,987 Baht. Conversely, the ATM rate is 30.6 Baht, so $5000 = 153,000 Baht LESS your ATM fees on top of that. By SWIFT'ing your salary over here you'll not only receive more Baht, you'll also gain a big advantage with the banks when talking finance, as there's no need to investigate/question your supposed income.

The downside of course is that you can't juggle your transfers around the exchange rates, but then again, what you lose, you win - by dribbling your money across like this it all balances out in the long run IMHO.

> Does this work if you work overseas?

I do in fact work for an overseas employer (I telecommute), but have my salary transferred directly into my Thai bank account (have been doing so for >3 years now), which the bank was really happy to see. See below..

> What if I have a collateral piece of property (overseas)?

They are not at all interested in my assets abroad, nor my money abroad - all they care about is what I can show here in Thailand. Note that they're also not at all interested in anything other than Thai property as collatoral (i.e. cars etc mean nothing).

> What do you think of the Bangkok Bank terms I posted?

Definitely different to the story I was given, but that's not surprising either.. TiT afterall Sounds a lot more reasonable than it used to be.. It's all about what works for you in the end I guess.

1) Purely because of this fact, should I get a little strapped for cash, would I be correct in thinking that the juncture/compatibility/possible need for steel problems will not apply in MY build and that the use of red brick on some/all internal walls will be OK if cash necessitates PROVIDED I do not mix the the two types between pillars.

I cannot find a wall that is not between a pillar (either inside or outside).

2) I understand it is important a thick normal width layer of mortar goes between the wall floor base and the FIRST layer of Q Con block resting on it (to iron out irregularities of the base). Would this be normal mortar or a thick layer of the special Q con thin bead mortar.

ALSO

am I correct in assuming that this thicker layer is required a the top between the top layer Q con block and ceiling and ALSO between side pillar and Q Con block ends.

3) do builders ever use a small layer of red bricks for any small gap between top Q Con block and ceiling or should they always cut up a Q Con block to do this if there is a gap.

1. If that's the case, by all means use the red bricks on walls where it doesn't matter as much.

2. In my case it was regular cement, but then again it also wasn't *that* thick.. in fact in some cases it was only a couple of mm at most. I guess it depends on how flat the floor/beam they're resting on is.

3. In my case they always cut the Q-Con to close the gap.

Here's a pic showing both the top & bottom of my walls:

1) How many Thai standard red bricks (allowing for the mortar in between) equal the size of 1 Q con 60x20 x7.5 block and,

2) do you know the exact measurement of a Thai red brick and approx. price per brick.

1. Don't know unfortunately, and it is also quite variable depending on how thick the mortar course ends up. I've seen houses built with 20+mm of mortar, others with ~10mm of mortar.. However, according to the AAC manufacturers, you'll need 8.33 20x60cm blocks for each sqm of wall, as a guide. Maybe someone who's building using Thai bricks can do some counting for us?

2. Price was ~1 Baht/ea last time I bought them, but that was a few years ago now.

Sorry, I'm out of touch here!

I'm looking for a studio for one month (possibly longer), starting from this coming Friday (21st Mar) or Saturday (22nd Mar). My basic requirements are as follows:

* Must have reliable in-room internet access (Wi-Fi preferable). No Dial-up thanks.

* Must have a basic kitchenette with coffee making facilities, fridge and microwave.

* Must have a balcony with table/chairs.

* Ideally would have a clothes washing machine.

Preferred budget is up to 15K Baht per month.

Anything you can recommend?

Thanks Razr, SO QUICK and SO helpful!!

With regard to the ground and first floor base. Is it OK whatever my builder uses as he won't be connecting bricks/blocks but laying that all down before any brick work is done?

When you say fibre filled batts (please excuse my ignorance on building terms) do you mean something similar to some padded "silver foiled" sheets on both sides I saw today with an R rating of R14, R16 and R 19. (seemed about 1 inch thick). Or other stuff I saw stuff seems like fibre glass "feel" inside silver material 4 ins or 6 ins thick?

Dave

The construction of the foundations, flooring, pillars and lintels for my AAC based house was identical to the construction methods/materials used in previous houses I've built using regular Thai bricks.

The only non-fiber filled insulation I'm familiar with is stuff that's really quite thin - at a guess it's ~3-4mm only, It looks pretty much the same as bubble-wrap used in shipping, and was R12 for memory. The only "fill" in it was air. My last construction project ended 15 months ago though, so I'm probably out of touch with what's available now on that front now I'm afraid.

Here's a pic of the tile insulation installed in my last house, JIC it can be of help:

I don't have any paperwork handy to verify, but 27 Baht per block for the Q-Con *sounds* about right.

Notes:

* The mortar used for the 2mm course between AAC blocks is NOT the same as the mortar used for regular Thai bricks. Make sure your builder and supplier understand this clearly. The AAC mortar is more expensive, but then again you're using 80+% less product if applied correctly.

* Make sure your builder understands how to lay the AAC blocks, and also that they will only need half the rendering mortar compared to using Thai bricks. This is quite substantial both in materials and time.

* Everything from a fitted Italian kitchen to huge 24,000 BTU aircon units have been installed in my house, using whatever regular fittings the Thai tradespeople had at hand, and nothing is loose or falling off the walls.

* I've never heard of Global's "Smart Ex4" block, but it's worthwhile seeing if it also licenses Hebel's technology @ 18 Baht/ea.. As noted earlier, it's a gimme that Hebel are licensing both the technology and a minimum quality standard. Last time I was at a Global they were flogging Superblock, but as I wasn't building I didn't inquire about price unfortunately.

* For the upstairs ceilings you really should consider using the foil backed gypsum for additional insulation. It's only a couple of Baht extra per sheet over regular gypsum, but note that it's not moisture rated, so can't be used in bathrooms. Info here: http://www.siamgypsum.com/en/P0004.asp?p_t...1&p_id=0004 Of course additional insulation over and above this is never a bad idea, but as noted just stay away from fiber-filled batts (even the foil wrapped ones) otherwise you will have Ratatouille and friends as permanent guests

* The roof tile insulation (sisalation paper) we used was also a Siam Cement Group brand (signified by the Elephant Logo they use on everything). The labourers at our house installed it doubled-over (i.e. two thicknesses under the tiles). Wish I could tell you more, but I cant

My Builder has quoted on a large number of windows. Too many IMHO even allowing for desire good light (i.e. bedroom 4m x 4.5m or 4.0 x 5 with windows on TWO walls measuring 2.5metres x 1mtre high each) seems high for a bedroom to me and just asking for overheating during the day via roof and windows.

It all depends if they're sun-catching windows or not.

In my last house, some bedrooms ended up with 2.4m x 1.8m windows (the ones out of the sunlight), which gave the rooms just fantastic light and ventilation. Windows on sunny sides were limited to approx 1.2m x 1.2m however. I also substituted windows/doors for 2.4m x 2.1m double sliding glass doors in many places to improve light and air flow.

I would definitely do this all again - it worked out fantastic.

Just a little more on efficiency..

Fact is, most heat enters your house through the windows, so positioning of the house in relation to the sun, window locations and sizes, and window treatments (tinting and curtains) should be your primary point of focus. The best window you can put in a house will still underperfom a thai brick wall for insulation.

Once you've got your windows out of the morning/afternoon sun, the next point of focus is ventilation/cirulation. Which may mean bigger windows, substituting windows for sliding doors, optimizing the layout of the internal rooms/hallways for better flow-through ventilation. Heat rises, so in a two storey house you want to be thinking about how to expel the heat coming up the stairwell - very few designs I've seen address this well. I used a row of hopper windows at celing height in my last construction, and it worked fantastically - whilst on the stairs you could feel a very noticable breeze running from downstairs, up, and out - enough to move your hair at times..

Once you've got all that sorted out, it's time to think about bricks.. But as you can see there's no too many people here advocating the use of breeze blocks or Thai bricks though

Razr and Doctor Naan. Regarding Superblock and Q Con. I note they are both AAC but different makes. Are their any real important differences between these two products (think Superblock is slightly heavier)

1) quality.

2) properties.

3) Prices.

Most responders seem to refer to Q Con and my Builder seems more aware of Q Con and its availability than Superblock.

Q-Con has been around longer, and is manufactured/sold by the largest buling materials Co. in Thailand (Siam Cement Group - who retail as Home Mart). I only started seeing Superblock on the scene towards the end of our last construction - I had definitely not heard of it before we started building.

I can't comment on the differences in quality unfortunately, as I've never used/inspected the Superblock product. I do know that it is *marginally* cheaper, and apparently licenses the same AAC technology from Hebel in Germany. You'd imagine that the license agreement would specifiy a minimum product quality standard, but that of course wouldn't limit someone from producing a higher grade of product.

Actual costs to the site will vary, just like everyhting does in Thailand (i.e. a standard 19cm x 39cm breeze block costs 5Baht/ea in Isaan, vs 3.5-4B in the BKK area).

As a tubby ( kilos) who uses Air cons in the summer all night and needs them during some of the day I am getting the strong impression that even if I pay for the more expensive AAC blocks (single layer of 7.5 cm), compared to the red brick and even if I could not convince the Builder he should offset some of the price for less mortar and labour time I would still get my money back fairly quickly due to reduced Air con generated high electricity bills.

Would you both agree with that or am I underestimating the cooling effect Vs extra costs of the blocks?.

I would agree that it will save you money, if properly implemented. It will also presumably improve the longevity and value of the house too.

As for construction costs, there's just absolutely no doubt that your builder will be absolutely blown away by how much quicker, and better his construction work will go down when using AAC blocks. Thai builders can be somewhat funny when it comes to Farang giving them advice.. The best way to play it would be to ask him (or get the Mrs to ask) to remain open-minded, and I definitely would NOT be asking for a fixed quote until he's actually worked with the product. If you do that it's almost 100% guaranteed he'll overquote the job.

Is there any value in using Q con for exterior walls and not internal or would that be false economy. I ask because I do have to keep an eye on my expenses as I have used 80% of my resources on a new car, land and for this house (cheap for what I am getting).

The only real problem I can foresee with mixing it up is purely compatability. You'll lose the benefit of the inherent interlocking between the blocks on wall junctions. IMHO you'd need to tie junctions together using steel, which would no doubt end up costing more, and taking a considerably longer time to construct. I vote false economy.

i too build my house with "Superblock" but not in my wildest dreams i would have used 7.5cm for any outside wall because of the minimised insulation factor.

I have to say that the last house I built (as shown in the pics) stays noticeably cooler when compared to the other houses I've built using Thai bricks - a very noticeable difference indeed. Still, a cool house comes from a number of factors - positioning in relation to sunlight (especially the afternoon sun), ventilation, and then construction materials/insulation of course.

Given my mileage, I'd certainly opt for the (substantially cheaper) 7.5cm AAC blocks again, as I fear the thicker blocks will just fall victim to the law of diminishing returns. YMMV though

I am going to speak to my builder about his knowledge and ability to use/lay them and what extra pricing if any for the build quote.

There is a fair chance your builder hasn't actually worked with them yet, as Thai bricks are still very much the "standard" here.

The bottom line should be that the labor charges are much cheaper - the Q-Cons measure in at 60cm (w) x 20cm (H) a piece, weigh practically nothing (you can easily carry one between your thumb and index finger), and only require a super-thin 2mm mortar course vs. the standard 10-20mm the Thais end up using with the red bricks.

The last house I built in Thailand was bricked using Q-Con start-to-finish in < 2 days with 3 (unskilled) workers. I'd expect the same thing would take 1-2 weeks using Thai bricks given the added weight of the product, and substantial difference in mortar and render mixing quantities, and the general difficulties of working with such a sub-par product.

If I want all my electrical cables to be in plastic conduit IN the wall (and not run running along the outside what thickness of Q Con block would I need to avoid weakening the blocks after the groves have been cut into them for the conduit.

I ask because if talking of 7.5 cm single layer of Q Con blocks (and many have said rendering can be thinner over Q con blocks) then it seems to me 7.5 cm is too thin if conduits are to be placed in these blocks (BUT I am an ex office worker not a Builder).

My builder who is NOT used to Q Con is wondering about the strength of the blocks anyway, (despite the printed blurb) and certainly if groves are cut into them for the conduit)

Regards

Dave

There's no problems at all - here's some pics of the last house I built using 7.5cm Q-Con blocks, showing chased-in plumbing and electrical:

Need a Lawyer.

Who needs one, and why?

At 33 (assume that's you), I assume you are confident of your ability to live in Thailand long term? (married to a Thai is not a water-tight reason to get a year-round visa - though it usually works).

Don;t get me wrong, I'd like to own a place here. I'm just not prepared to jump through all the hoops, take out an 8 years mortgage with 70,000 Baht per month payments only to find out a year or two later I can't get a new job to cover the payments..Of corse if you're rich it doesn't matter (and never has - the whole thing becomes moot).

TG2.

Yes, I'm the 33yo.

Actually, I've been in Thailand for 7 years, was married to a TG for 4 of those (no issues with property settlement when we divorced - perhaps I got lucky), and am quite familiar with visa extensions based on marriage (easy stuff). Yes, Thailand is where I've decided to stay, and I'm confident of my ability to do so.. I'm just going to be doing it with someone else now

I may have mentioned this before, but Siam Commercial Bank have offerred us a 30 year term, however we must of course be married first.

When calculating the maximum term it apparently came down to the lesser of 30 years, or 60 minus my spouse's current age - i.e. if your spouse is 30 or less you can get 30 years, if she's 40 you will get 20 years, etc. The amount they'd let us borrow is based around the monthly repayments - from what I can gather that works out to be no more than 25-30% of my salary, and all they need to see in regards to proof of income is an official letter from my employer and the last 6 months of banking history. They do make it seem quite straight-forward, but of course this is based around 50% down, so there's not a whole lot of risk on their side either.

I'm surprised to hear you're able to rent for less than repayments on a 25y mortgage, especially given the 50% down requirement and the normal rental ROI's I see in Thailand (8-15%).. If that's the case, and the wife is happy not to be a land owner, all I can say is Lucky You

why bother when it's cheaper to rent and park you investment elsewhere - out of harm's way?

Because Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.. Once in a serious relationship (sometimes well before though ), all women want to start building a nest. The good husband is the one who facilitates this, even if he doesn't GAF about owning the place he lives in So long as it's all manageable financially and there's some level of protection built in in case things go awry, it's all good. You also have to remember that at our ages (33 and 20), it's highly likely kids will be on the horizon too, which places a different perspective on it all.

A "best" option is different for everyone. I can only tell about my experiences and plans and hope they are helpfull.

So true. I'm also a big fan of the KISS principle, and bank financing with inherent shared marriage assets looks pretty good on that front.

I have heard of >50% mortgages before, but it required more property as security. In that case it was finance for a 3.6M baht house, with a 2nd 2.5M (clear title) house also put up as security. That meant that the bank would now finance 50% of 3.6M + 2.5M, or 3.05M of the 3.6M required.. Unfortunately that can't apply to me as the girl nor her parents have anything of value to put up as extra security on the loan.. It would be absolutely ideal of that could be done though

I have heard Q con/Superblock bricks are not as easy to work with for fixtures and fittings, due to the need for special plugs to be sued before screwing items to walls.

How true is this, how easy are these special items to get in rural Khon Kaen and how strong/secure are say loaded kitchen cupboards. Is there a danger of the drilled hole just getting bigger as the item is screwed to the wall Or later pulling aways as the plug surround crumbles due to the cupboards pulling on them.

My builder is NOT keen on the Q con idea (I suspect mainly as suggested by Razr that he and many builders in Thailand know little about them) and he does not know how to save money using them.

My concern is that if he does not know how to properly fit, mortar/use the AAC bricks that he may cause problems in the structure of my house that may outweigh my heat/sound resistance gains. I ALSO suspect his mind is closed to less labour costs vs more expensive bricks (does not seem to get the logic -maybe he's paying his builders peanuts anyway ).

Regards

Dave

No such special fittings or fixtures were required to mount anything in the last house I built using Q-Con. Furthermore, AAC blocks are just soooo much easier to work with when chasing in plumbing and electrical. Sounds like an urban myth/wive's tale to me.

There's apparently a Global House at: 77 Moo 21 , Maliwan Road , Tambon Banped , Amphur Mueang Khon Kaen - Suggest you go see them and get some ideas before doing anything. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what you find there, including AAC blocks and the expertise to teach Uncle how to use them.. You might even find a contractor to give you a competitive quote

Less labor costs = less profit = not good for bottom line. Could be an uphill battle if the "force" isn't on your side.

Edit: That he's paying his builders (well, labourers) peanuts is a gimme.

I am going to speak to my builder about his knowledge and ability to use/lay them and what extra pricing if any for the build quote.

There is a fair chance your builder hasn't actually worked with them yet, as Thai bricks are still very much the "standard" here.

The bottom line should be that the labor charges are much cheaper - the Q-Cons measure in at 60cm (w) x 20cm (H) a piece, weigh practically nothing (you can easily carry one between your thumb and index finger), and only require a super-thin 2mm mortar course vs. the standard 10-20mm the Thais end up using with the red bricks.

The last house I built in Thailand was bricked using Q-Con start-to-finish in < 2 days with 3 (unskilled) workers. I'd expect the same thing would take 1-2 weeks using Thai bricks given the added weight of the product, and substantial difference in mortar and render mixing quantities, and the general difficulties of working with such a sub-par product.