canopy

18 hours ago, connda said:

Or in other words, keep the prices paid to farms so low that they are forced to burn to make a profit.

Yeah and you know why all the farmers are addicted to smoking cigarettes? Big agriculture and profitability. No, no what utter nonsense! Big agriculture has nothing to do with any of this. Fact: burning is bad for farming because it depletes the soil and promotes erosion. Yet we can plainly see that whatever a thai farmer grows, he burns it. We have even seen that when farmers are forced to sell green cane they go right back to the fields and burn them off as usual--so much for the "extra labor" excuse. The sad fact is farmers burn merely because they get enjoyment from it much like they do from smoking cigarettes. If you are not convinced, simply ask a few. This is very easy to verify. They won't tell you some story about nail biting profits--that's utter nonsense made up by people like you. Rather they will tell you it's their damn land and they do as they please and if you don't like it, tough. Same with the guy next door burning his heap of plastic.

6 hours ago, Airalee said:

 Hubbell hospital/medical grade

Judging by the home page, the site you linked specializes in US spec plugs & sockets. The type used in Thai residences are different accepting round terminals. Best stick to the local standard whenever possible.

Jung is high quality, much larger product range and colors, and much more expensive. But they are in Bangkok.

https://www.facebook.com/jungthailand/

I have a problem with systems where people at higher levels get paid more than the people beneath then. Sometimes the people in the trenches doing the real work are far more valuable to a company than the people watching them.

10 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I have no interest in discovering why my sliding windows work as well as my casement windows. They do.

This would defy the laws of physics so I must stick with what Dario, a window expert from the company you bought from, told me. There is nothing wrong with your window choices, I would expect they are strong in every single area. I however am in total agreement with the OP when he says the four words: "the quieter the better". In Thailand that's crucial because noise in many ways is getting worse year by year as the population increases and the country develops giving morons more money to blow on noisy technology. The following is not directed at you SWW, but at others: a quiet house is paramount to have the privilege's of concentration, sleep, and a peaceful, low stress environment anytime you wish it. Noise is harmful to human health, it's not something you should ever "just get used to". I know an expat who didn't do anything for noise with his house. He spends his days cursing each time those super loud motorcycles go whizzing by (which year by year keeps going up in quantity and volume) and on nights a nearby resort throws a party with speakers blaring he has no option of sleep until they shut down.

On 2/7/2021 at 8:09 AM, sometimewoodworker said:

You seem obsessed with professional lab tested results

In developed countries this testing and its disclosure would be mandatory to help consumers make smart choices. So this is not an obsession and on the contrary you'd have to be nuts to make such important decisions solely on what some guy you never met before on an internet message board said.

By the way it seems you bought from prime asia, very good. There is a gentleman there named Dario who is pretty sharp. He can explain why your sliding windows are not as good for noise as his other window types. And you could try to get to the bottom of the odd acoustic data points you acquired. Prime asia even sell 8 point locking windows. Superb.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

an order to survey and delineate 6.3 million rai of land in forest reserves for use by the nation’s impoverished

It may sound good in theory to most people. In practice consider there will be another 6.3 million fires every year. And when looking around we can also see the impoverished can't seem to find a way to make a decent living when given a tiny parcel of land. This idea will shackle these people in poverty, contribute to worsening air conditions, and depletes millions of acres of precious forests the world needs more of. Everyone loses.

9 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Well your Google search must mean that my observations of a decibel meter in my house with both kinds of windows fitted are clearly wrong!!!

There could be many other variables in your house that are influencing your test results for instance (but not limited to) sound coming in from other rooms. I would look at the professionally tested and certified manufacturer sound transmission ratings when available. Without that, the expert advice is that sliding is the noisiest type of window. It's common knowledge.

There are other important downsides to sliding windows. I know someone who has sliding windows and the several nights of the year with flying termite blooms he complains they can work their way into his house through the brushes; no idea how common this problem is. Nothing can get through the solid rubber weather stripping used on casement windows. Casement also keep the house tighter which is good for lowering AC bills and keeping out PM2.5 particles when running an air purifier. Another reason to avoid sliding windows is they typically have 2 panes but only one can be open meaning half the window opening area is lost and thus ventilation is cut in half. Casement is much better for ventilation as you open the entire opening area for maximum ventilation and on top of that the open sash acts like a sail directing the breeze from outside into the house. I would never use a sliding window in Thailand; they carry all of the big disadvantages.

Note there are several types of windows that fall in the sliding category such as double hung. There are also several types that fall in the casement category like tilt and turn. I prefer tilt and turn because they open inward so don't interfere with security systems, are a breeze to clean even on a second floor, and have two different and useful opening modes.

10 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Is "Hevta" the brand name?

Hevta is the company I went with. When I visited their showroom in Bangkok I was immediately impressed the frames were super solid and heavy duty and they use genuine GU stainless steel hardware from germany. Hevta also emphasize good service. There are also good or possibly even better window brands out there, arc or prime-asia for example. If you want to know prices, ask any of them for quotations.

2 hours ago, unheard said:

What are sound blocks?

These are in wall building blocks specifically designed to dampen sound such as cylence zoundblocks. I recommend going to any SCG center, tell them what you want, and have them design it. SCG make AAC blocks, sound blocks, many other acoustical products, and has design engineers at each location that give free advice.

2 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

With our windows and doors we have both casement with multi point locking and sliding windows, there is no noticeable difference in sound performance

That does not correlate with what the manufacturers and independent sources have to say which can easily be verified by a simple google search. It is known that the tighter the window, the better it performs against sound. Sliding is not as tight as 4 point multi locking a sash to weather stripping. Personally, I would never risk using a sliding window in a noise sensitive area unless the manufacturer could prove it through certification and I don't know of any that could. That's why all of my windows are double pane, varied glass thickness, argon filled, double laminated, double weather stripped with high quality rubber, 4 point mushroom locked, stainless steel GU hardware to lock them down, and all warrantied. When I close my windows I don't even know I'm in Thailand anymore unless I look outside. I use Hevta.

Double pane glass is only part of the equation. You also must have full weather stripping or there will be noisy gaps. Good windows have double weather stripping surfaces. The window type also makes an enormous difference. Sliding windows are among the worst for noise because they slide along brushes being the only barrier to the outside. Casement with 4 point locking are among the best since they clamp down tight on all 4 sides to rubber weather stripping.

AAC blocks help with noise, but you may want to consider things like using the thick blocks (thicknesses available range from 75 - 250mm), a cavity wall, and the addition of sound blocks and gypsum depending on how many db you want to reduce.

19 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I wanted to avoid bleach products to avoid toxic fumes

Apply bleach in the evening, close the bathroom door, and in the morning remove the bleach. No fumes in the house to deal with. It's just not a big deal for something you do so seldom like once a year.

Everything has disadvantages. If you discard an idea because you can think of a single disadvantage there will be nothing left. Bleach is excellent for a cheap price, ease of effort, and long lasting results which are the main areas most people want. Of course bleach has disadvantages like you probably shouldn't wear your favorite outfit when applying it, but again this doesn't necessarily mean it isn't a better solution for the job when comparing to far worse disadvantages of other products.

11 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

The Duck brand cleaner...

The thing I hate about Duck is it requires scrubbing. You scrub off mold as long as it takes working all the tiles, grout, corners, and everything until it reaches an acceptable level and call it a day. The mold is not all gone, it's just down to a visually appealing level. Then the mold comes right back and repeat. Bleach is not like this. You pour on the bleach and do no scrubbing whatsoever. Just let it deep penetrate as shown in the video leaving it completely alone and you're done. In my case I only need bleach treatments about once a year. This is cheaper and easier than Duck which furthermore has hydrochloric acid in it and can stain or corrode various materials and is not so friendly going down the drain either. After learning the bleach method, I threw Duck in the garbage and never looked back.

15 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

why are you posting a video about removing mould from silicone

I have found bleach works equally well on grout and tiles as it does on silicone and one application a year is sufficient. But you are welcome to waste your money on commercial cleaners and all the scrubbing and for no benefit. Boy has the big chemical companies managed to brainwash so many people.

Unbelievable, why on earth are you guys still talking about scrubbing with brushes??? It's stupid. It's a waste of time, waste of effort, and a waste of money. Watch the video I posted. 

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

There are also custom products that supposedly work the same way without scrubbing...which doesn't appear to be sold in Thailand

It is sold in Thailand. It's called bleach. That's right, plain, simple, cheap, old bleach you can find anywhere. Bleach is the simplest, easiest choice ideal for lazy people that removes 100% of mold with no scrubbing and no tools whatsoever and is so long lasting that I find only needs performed once a year.

You know why they always choose to do these studies this time of year? Because in the coldest months humans experience hair regrowth automatically and in hottest months humans shed to hair loss automatically. This is natural yearly cycle. Thus, they need to baseline the results versus a group that received a placebo instead of the miracle oil. Besides, when I look at those photos I don't see any demonstrable progress, just trying to hide baldness using various combover techniques.

Laos is now pushing forward with many more massive mekong dams despite objections from Thailand. Laos even has the audacity to dam up the mekong with the Sanakham dam project a mere 2 km upstream from Thailand!!! Talk about a threatening location. Thailand has counter threatened not to buy hydroelectricity from Laos and is looking at solar farm technology as a future alternative. The Laotian dream to become the battery of asia is waning, but it may be too late to save the lower mekong from the juggernaut of Laotian dams.

There are over 200 dams planned along the mekong and its tributaries in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. If it's true Laos has decided to shut off the mekong at the Xayabury dam, it simply doesn't matter what China is doing because Thailand won't be getting a drop. Ironic as Thailand backed building this dam.

2 minutes ago, UbonEagle said:

for outdoor work they usually don't give a 2nd thought to getting the water away,

For sure. The number of women that spend their time sweeping water off low spots with brooms after each rain is mind boggling because it is is all so unnecessary and avoidable if just the slightest thought went into the job. But it's just normal and accepted here.

HomePro would supply this to your specs.

1 hour ago, adexbe said:

aluminium is aluminium and i there is no difference in any frame

How much money will you give me if I prove you wrong?