canopy

have you actually seen that in Thailand?

Yeah I have, at my place . To do this method you'll need thicker walls than the usual 7.5cm block though even in that case face mounted screens can be used. Here is why you want your screens outside:

• You can open and close the windows without bugs, geckos, mosquitoes, and flies jumping in
• similarly, never waste time fiddling with screens to open and close a window
• The security screens protect the glass from balls and flying objects in strong storms
• The security screens are visible as a deterrent where inside they are invisible and the house looks totally unprotected

Great to see a picture of what you were describing. I have never seen a sill designed like that and it is not correct for shedding rain. If wanting the screen on the outside that properly sheds rain, here is one method:

The diagram shows a gap between the screen and window, however they should be flush against each other if possible. Another solution is some screens can be face mounted on the exterior wall.

Slanted so water flows towards the glass? And a screen helps keep water out? This is not making any sense. Can you make a picture of what you are talking about?

Screens on the outside are what you want. As mentioned you can open and close windows without inviting all waiting flies, mosquitoes, and geckos to jump in. Security screens placed outside also protects your windows from balls and flying objects from heavy winds. Security screens are uber expensive; probably way more expensive than your windows. majestec.co.th and winmasterthai.com sell them.

Building standards are a set of minimums. Meeting the standard can be like earning a grade C on a scale of A-F. Typically if you meet all the standards you will have something decent. But if you want real high quality then you need to exceed standards--go above and beyond. On high voltage electrical situations that is worthy of consideration.

I have a cable of a type suitable for burial that is 4mm2, 3 core, not in conduit, buried 50cm underground. I would like to splice into this cable so it can go to an additional location. How can an underground T connection be made safely? Concerned about water intrusion.

I have seen many Hatari fans and they all seem to have one thing in common: as they get older they make more and more annoying vibration noise resonating from the frame in various places. Try as one may to reassemble the fan just right is of no help. The Hatari plastic frames were just never designed with quietness in mind and it doesn't seem they will ever care about this.

Home automation I think is the operative word here. See jungasia.com (German hardware) and venzo.co.th (Italian bticino hardware). Ballpark pricing for a complete system maybe 300,000-600,000 baht. I too would also be interested to hear about any other sources / experiences / suggestions.

Earth is free

Earth is the best heat- cold- isolation

Earth is very easy to use to build a house

Earth is the best wau to protect from floods , earthquakes and bombs.

Earth is free

Earth is free and an on-site material and that's a fantastic attribute for sure. But note it usually needs mixed with other things that aren't free like sand and straw.

Earth is the best heat- cold- isolation

On the contrary If you compare the r-value of different building materials you will find earth is one of the very worst. Big heavy earth walls also create a thermal mass that absorbs and shift heat into the structure later in the day which is great for a desert climate but bad in the tropics where you don't want extra heat added to your house. Thus earth use should be minimized in favor of lighter materials like straw if a comfortable house is intended.

I gather their operating procedure is not to capture as much water as possible because dams like this are used as buffers to stop flooding downstream in Bangkok. They often bleed off water if the expectation is heavy rains. So when the rains don't come they get caught with their pants down. Last year they attempted to use cloud seeding upstream in an attempt to get the level sufficiently high, but it failed.

When I was at Thai Watsadu the other day I was surprised that Mitsubishi pumps have a 30 day warranty and Hitachi have a 5 year warranty. Kind of fits along with what people are saying about the two.

I like what I see with Grundfos. How to select the most appropriate model? I see 500-900 watt versions plus other differences between the models.

I have read the archives on choosing a water pump but I still don't have a clear picture of what I need. Setup: 2 story house with pump positioned next to water tank. Desire to have at least a bit of residual water during power cuts. Below are several styles of pumps I have seen though I don't know when to choose one over the other. No budget cap so will pay more if something makes a worthwhile difference. Appreciate any help pointing me to some suitable ideas.

If doing it the Thai way you often don't even get 3 years. I know how they do it and that's why I am asking to see if anyone has gone beyond this. I get more than 3 years out of grass thatch panels and will mention some ideas for longevity for people's reference:

1. A high roof pitch sheds water more quickly increasing longevity. People advocate anywhere between 36-55 degrees absolute minimum for thatch. So 55 degrees would be the smallest pitch that would satisfy everyone. Higher is always better.
2. Space the thatch rows 5-20cm with denser always being better.
3. Notch the rafters to fix the panels from slipping and sliding in the wind. This keeps consistent thatch coverage otherwise there will be thick and thin areas.
4. Panels are laid with just enough column overlap so that the tie around the rafter can tie down both panels. No more and no less. Otherwise you are just wasting thatch with thick and thin areas around the columns.
5. Each panel has minimum 3 points of attachment--at each edge and center. This is achieved by properly spaced rafters. This prevents panels from breaking over time.

The first two items require more thatch to achieve longevity. The last three items are just about optimizing what you have to work with. A final note is there are other types of thatch that last longer. I have heard one called something like yaak (?) can last 10 or 20 years. It's a broad leaf.

Good plan. OTOP was one of the good Thaksin initiatives so now to see it being leveraged by the current government hand in hand with TG to achieve greater potential is a big positive for Thailand. It is not surprising OTOP is in high demand by international customers. I favor buying products with the OTOP label over those without. And improving quality is a welcome direction versus cheapening the products.

Common in Thailand thin strips of bamboo with a wind and tuck are used to fasten thatch panels to bamboo rafters. After just one year, some percentage of these bamboo ties start to break. After 2 years maybe half break. After 3 years almost all are broken. It seems a contributor to the failure is the winding part creates a weak spot on the bamboo tie where it is bent at sharp angles. Is there a way to fasten thatch panels that lasts more than just a few years? Looking to stay with natural fasteners--no plastic or steel.

As for a price reference, a reasonable labor cost for laying blocks alone is 15 baht / sqm. And before anyone says anything, yes of course it certainly could be done for much less with efficient workers. The high speed and thus low labor cost of laying blocks is a big advantage of q-con. Just think about it: laying a single q-con block covers the same area as laying 24 red bricks!

Plastic is required unless the walls are at least 70cm above grade. See below video at 2min mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbHcfbG7FRk

Some of the ideas discussed here are cringe worthy. There is simply no need to make anything up in a vacuum because q-con does such a great job providing how to docs, videos, training seminars, a call center, and site inspections. And their processes are sound being from a German product. My experience is if you contact q-con for any arbitrary question they will immediately dispatch representatives to your job site to help make sure all is being done correctly for free. Couldn't believe it when they brought out brand new mallets, trowels, paddle mixers, and q-con shirts not to sell, but just handed them all out for free.

Great job caring for the owl. It's great to know there are people like you in Thailand. In California I knew someone with a Ph.D in animal nutrition. She very much advocated the importance of organ meat. It might be good to add things like liver and whatever other innards you can to the owl's diet in proper proportions. This should be very easy to find as Thai's use assorted innards for making laap. The more closely the diet resembles what an animal gets in the wild, the better. It might also be good to search some other sites on this topic, though I suspect you already have.

No rain in the North until July? Am I reading that correctly? Wow.

This news story is confirmation that the air in northern Thailand would be filth perpetually if not for rain. It is now clear that burning takes place year round which dispels the myth perhaps made up by the government that it lasts "only" a few weeks. If we look back the north has been plagued with air pollution to one extent or another since October of last year because the rains stopped then and the forecast is bad air will continue into May only because rain is expected then, otherwise burning would just go on and on along with the associated air quality problems.

In summary the rains in dry years mean just 4 months out of the year with decent visibility. It is unimaginable why anyone would want to live there or plan to visit it during the other 8 months if they knew the truth about how deep and long the problem has become.

I am considering visiting Chiang Mai, but am concerned about the smog problem. Are there specific weeks/months when I should not go?

Views are typically limited to one extent or another by air pollution from October to May when it typically dry and burning is rampant. The pollution reached harmful levels this year starting in February and appears will continue to May. Not everyday reaches the harmful level, but some days during this period it triggers government warnings to stay indoors with all doors and windows shut, no exercising, and wear face masks when outside. If you want the best air quality, go during the rainy season months. I would recommend staying away from the area until July or August perhaps being the best month. The reason being that waiting until the rainy season has been underway for a while not only beats the smoke pollution out of the air but also means the greenery is much better.

It is appalling that some living there describe the burning time lasting just a number of weeks. This can be independently debunked in 2 easy ways:

1. Bad air has been in the news this year as it always is. It's already well longer than these locals would have you believe the burning season lasts. And if the government predictions are right about when the rains will arrive, it's going to be bad air for more than a month to come.

2. Look at some time lapse photos of each month of a year at a viewpoint. It is plain as day that at up to 8 months out of the year the visibility is reduced by smoke pollution. Not talking about fog here, but smoke pollution. Sure, you could quibble that the air quality is not hazardous in every one of those months, but none the less it is still impaired by smoke.

Sorry but I have little sympathy with those "bothered" by smoke

It's a strange comment because not many expats care about the smoke if the interest in these topics is any indicator. I wonder if you have sympathy for the millions of thai children who don't have a choice where to live. Not only does the smoke in their lungs effect every single one of them, but it also teaches and conditions them at a young age it is totally acceptable behavior to ruin the only air source for everyone else.

In my observation burning ramps up a few days after the rains stop and that in turn causes visibility to diminish rapidly. This can be October. The situation worsens and peaks around February/March when it's the driest time and people know that and so burning becomes a frenzy. This is when the air becomes redline hazardous to human health and perhaps is the six week period you are referring to. Consistent rains may not come until May that will restore full visibility in the atmosphere. So in my observation, smoke pollution definitely can last 8 months out of the year.