canopy

I recall qcon and I imagine the others have a special patching mortar to fill bigger gaps which is a common need to fill chases after the conduits go in. Their normal epoxy mortar for laying blocks can be at most 3mm thick. From the literature I have seen you never use a regular mortar when working with these blocks if you want the job done properly.

Any thoughts you ask? Well yeah. Why don't you saw the entire bottom off completely. Great idea and it is amazing no one else thought of it. You are a genius. Please post pictures so the rest of us can have a good laugh because we read the instructions that come with the tank saying it is important to fill it with water all the way to the top immediately after installation.

Yes, I have used Monier Occitane clay tiles. They are high quality, german engineered, double locking, water tight tiles that will outlast concrete and never fade and can be had with no glazes or paints. What I don't like is they our outfitted with the exact same shoddy steel fastening system used for concrete tiles. So while the tiles will last many lifetimes, the fixings are your usual Thai junk. It doesn't make them worse than concrete tiles, but just dumbs them down.

It seems all tile manufacturers claim great insulative value, but without a reliable benchmark or certification what does it really mean? I once saw the silliest demonstration. One manufacturer put a very small light shining on a tile and measured that the tile was not increasing in temperature because it was able to dissipate the tiny heat applied. It's kind of like having a big army tank parked in a garage and holding a tiny flame from a lighter to it and exclaiming "see, the frame of the tank is not increasing in temperature, steel is the greatest insulator and stays cool!". But of course park the tank in the sun for a while and you can fry eggs on it. I brush aside all claims without unbiased verification.

Did you ever consider the Monier genuine clay tiles?

Realistically it is too much to ask for most people to make their own septic tank. People don't know how or why a septic tank works and there are too many things that can be done totally wrong because they just winged it. And then even a small leak will drain the entire tank and ruin its ability to treat waste. Unless you use very good and comprehensive specifications and have workers capable of following them to the letter, why take these risks? Right, so get a pre-made tank of the correct size, thickness, and multiple chambers. DOS and Cotto are brands that make some good tanks. Not only by size, they can be ordered in various thicknesses. They are more expensive than the run of the mill and so you usually won't see them laying about a building store, but stores typically have a brochure for ordering. Say no to the run of the mill tanks everyone else is buying unless you like your tank too be too small to effectively treat waste, too thin to prevent leakage, and just have one chamber. Cheap or good, that's the decision.

If the intention is to keep people and dogs from slipping through there should be no more than 20cm between strands.

About 18C at night and 24C or less in the daytime. That's because it is the normal temp this time of year in my area so the climate is the air conditioning. It's why I chose to live in the mountains.

Global House and Thai Watsadu carry these in my area. I haven't looked at load capacity on come alongs, but these outlets also have 1-5 ton chain hoists.

Unfortunately it is just really hard to know whether honey being sold is anything other than sugar water faked to look like honey. Oldest trick in the book is someone on the street sells sugar water with a few honey combs nearby or dropped in to make it look authentic. Occasionally you see the same thing with orange juice where they have a stack of oranges nearby even though the juice is all chemicals and sugar water. Even in Tesco I wonder how much honey there is real or fake. I really wish a consumer advocacy group would do a test of all the brands. Buying the stuff they import from Germany that goes for over 1000 baht a liter looks like the only safe bet today.

It would be good to mention where any farang restaurants are or links to sites since most farangs from Phetchabun and Phichit go to Phitsanulok periodically for visas or shopping and would likely be interested in adding it to their day trip. I know I am.

This could sort of for electrical geeks, but a UFER ground is attractive because it is simple, compact, and makes a great ground. If Thailand hasn't caught up in their electrical codes you can do both--make a classical ground rod to panel following all Thai specifications, then add an additional wire from rod to UFER. So why do both? Well grounding in other countries is more stringent than Thailand for safety and the fact households pull much higher loads. Where in Thailand you may see one little rod placed arbitrarily, in the west you may see 8 rods in key areas linked together each well over 2 meters long of solid copper attached using special acorn clamps suitable for burial. And now UFER is such a good ground it is quickly becoming a requirement for new builds as it is better than the rod system. So attaching a ufer to a Thai style rod can enhance the ground to a very high quality--if you care, and most here won't. Following NEC (USA) specifications for UFER, no rebar welding is needed, but you must attach to rebar something like at least 20' long, there must be 2 contact points, and special clamps are needed which I doubt you will find in Thailand.

An overflow pipe in the yard is a terrible idea. Think about the stench coming out and the mosquitoes. Pouring human waste in the yard is a health hazard and disgusting and probably illegal even in Thailand. Putting a drain field on a cesspit overflow is also a terrible idea because it will be plugged up quickly unlike a septic outlet. It always amazes me that even in the internet age where good answers are a click away that people with no knowledge feel the need to dream up something that doesn't work and suggest it to the community.

Even if you don't care about the environment remember a real septic system is designed to go many years with no pumping whatsoever. It's not a waste container like the Thai style, instead it's doing a good job treating and eliminating waste with very good drainage all along. It is mind boggling to see the standard is a stone age pit in lieu of such an elegant system. I think the problems with this approach is it costs more which makes it dead in the water and secondly there are a lot of simple steps that must be followed precisely to get it right and as anyone who has built can attest, Thai workers aren't good at following other peoples instructions precisely.

For completeness there is ultra cheap and simple solution to your pumping woes. Use a composting toilet. There is a big misconception about them, but rest assured today's composting toilets produce no smell, you don't see other peoples waste, and do not attract flies.

A true septic system is just so much better for the groundwater. First you get good primary waste treatment in the septic tank itself, especially so if you choose one big enough and with multiple chambers. Then you get an astonishing additional 40% secondary treatment in the drain field biologically in the gravel and by plantings pulling the nitrogen out. And finally this twice treated waste water is dispersed over a large area somewhat close to the surface.

Now compare that to a cesspit where you have raw, untreated sewage acutely seeping into the ground at one pinpoint spot several meters deep in the earth. You just could never do that in developed countries. And then there are the waste pumping trucks trolling around looking for their next victim. It is a sad system all around.

What puzzles me is what the normal level of sewage is supposed to be

A cesspit performs virtually no waste treatment so the level is not important. Think of a cesspit as a storage container that needs pumped out frequently and pollutes the ground water with concentrated waste seeping out the bottom. So all you do is pray the water leaches into the ground quickly and if it doesn't then it's time to pump again.

As stated, the best fix is to switch to a septic tank and drain field. I suspect it will be difficult to find someone to do it because Thai's typically know nothing about how to size a septic tank or make a drain field and if they do, they may not know enough and botch the job. For instance, a drain field needs the proper type of rock, set at the proper depth, with an appropriate cover, pipes pitched appropriately, correctly perforated pipe, and many, many other aspects to work correctly. Best to read up on how to make a good system online then hire someone to do it and make sure they follow procedures that will result in a working system.

Some safety tips. First of all follow all electrical guidelines and do everything Crossy advises. I would go 60cm deep minimum, deeper if there is sloping to keep it as far away from landscaping and heavy machinery as you can. Put an inch of sand all around the cable to allow for movement. For warning tape, which they don't sell here anyway, another option is to use an empty 1/2" pvc pipe. Thai's won't stop digging when they hit a tape as they will think it is just some buried junk as they aren't familiar with this practice, but they might stop and ask questions if they go through a pipe.

If using AAC block near bathrooms, run a couple of courses using regular masonry block on the floor

Don't do that. Just like a typical Thai builder, you made something up instead of following the directions of the AAC manufacturer. It has been said many times in this thread it is worth saying again: a big problem with AAC is not many builders know how to build with them. AAC manufacturers offer wonderful fact sheets for design & installation, but most builders would never stop to read those.

Doritos does seem to be experimenting with flavors customized for the locals. It makes sense they would cheapen them. No Thai I know would spend 1 more baht for doritos versus anything else on the shelf. Some time ago there was a burgundy red color pack I thought were terrible but a Thai told me they were good. Now the stores have a red and a yellow bag and I don't like the taste of either and won't buy them again. In my area there is a tops market that has real imported doritos and not marked up nearly as high as say villa so they can be found.

Different Home Pro's are different sizes and the breadth of stock varies between stores. For instance, only the biggest Home Pro headquarters location in Bangkok carries the best wood finishing products which cannot be found at any other location across Thailand. It will be interesting to see what we end up with in Phetchabun. For comparison the new Thai Watsadu offers an amazing selection of items not available in Phetchabun before, but not quite as much variety as the one in Phitsanulok. My guess is HomePro will be similar--a good store to have around, but not quite as good as the shop in the bigger town nearby. We'll see.

Rumor has it Central is now being constructed in Phetchabun. Would be great if they put a Tops super market inside just like Phitsanulok. Wonder about McDonalds too.

double walls protect better from the heat...I was really set on using the 20cm q-cons but not sure now

Ask your architects look up the facts and send you the data comparing the two so that they can learn the truth. I have looked it up and a 25cm block has 3 times the r-value of a red cavity brick wall.

red bricks are stronger to put up built in furniture

There is no real world strength advantage of red brick that I have seen. You can hang heavy cabinets with q-con and use the thick blocks for load bearing walls! q-con blocks are a German design and built to exacting quality specifications to withstand real world needs. So this whole strength argument is like saying don't use red brick because a half meter thick reinforced concrete wall is stronger. Yeah sure it is, but it has absolutely no real world strength benefit.

99% of the people would be so much better off if they just followed the recommended mixture nicely illustrated on every bag of cement for each type of application. But most don't read the bag and just make something up. Proper curing is critical because it impacts every single attribute of concrete. Those first few days are awfully important and will make or break a job. I like to start with a week with forms still on and keeping it covered with burlap bags kept continually wet. If you want to learn more than you would ever want to know about curing, see ACI 308 "Guide to Curing Concrete". It covers different strategies and timelines for getting your project cured optimally.

Yes I notice too Sao Aek generally has the best prices, but their selection is limited compared to the other big stores. Their prices are so low on building materials I would think you could build a house 15% cheaper in Phitsanulok than from the cheapest places in Phetchabun which would be a sizable bundle.

As far as real yogurt my experience is Tops sometimes has it, but it's hit or miss as they don't stock much of it. The brand they carry is the same as I have seen in Villa in Bangkok though can't recall the name right now--Lolas? But hey, I skip that altogether because Lotus Extra trumps them with Farmers Union yogurt imported from the US with usually a plentiful stock and in up to 1KG containers in either plain or greek style. I usually have 10lbs of it in my fridge. Lotus Extra also has a unique selection beers from Belgium, England, Germany, and the US though quite expensive. But if you have a craving for a Bud, they have it. Of course Chiang Mai stores should have more farang offerings and I wouldn't expect otherwise. And Bangkok and Pattaya probably the most. But let me tell it wasn't that long ago I needed to go to Bangkok for certain groceries, but now I can get everything I need in Phitsanulok and don't compromise too much and it's getting better all the time.

Even though I live in Phetchabun it's worth going the extra kilometers to shop in Phitsanulok. Between their new Tops and Lotus Extra there is a surprising amount of farang specialty foods that can be had. Let me give a few examples. Unsweetened organic soy milk and in nice containers, how nice. And real yogurt instead of being limited to sugary thai style yogurt full of additives with no active enzymes. And in Big C there is even a Mr Sushi spread, something that used to be in Phetchabun but went out of business. In just every way I look, p-lok is one step ahead of Phetchabun and moving forward all the time. For DIY, the p-lok gamut of Global House, Watsadu, Home Pro, Sao Aek, and a few lesser knowns is bliss. It's nice Phetchabun finally added a Watsadu (and a HomePro on the way, yeay), but here again the selection is not quite as good as the same store in p-lok.

However I am a bit skeptical about Phitsanulok being immune from the smokey time of year. It's endemic and if like Phetchabun next door won't be anything near as bad as you see in the far north. But it can get bad enough to give a little burn to the eyes and throat even if visibility isn't severely impaired. I've driven from Phetchbaun to the northen tip of Nan during the worst part of the burning season before I decided where to live and as far as I could tell every province is full of fires with smoke getting progressively worse as you go north. I'd have a look at the government air quality index data if it is a concern. Right now their database is on the fritz or I would post it.

One thing I am curious about is if there are any restaurants with a farang menu in p-lok and directions please. And to start off what is the topland buffet like and is it only on Wednesdays?

When arrested or found by the police, they are mostly deported.

That's good already so why change it make them a burden to the Thai people? Best they go back to where they came from and have a better chance of breaking out of this cycle.