thenewguy

Hi,

I am currently out of the country, but I do have a fridge for sale. It is located in the Hangdong area. It is an almost new, less than one year old, Toshiba. Good size for a western family, big by Thai standards (sorry, don't know the exact volume but it is about 26 x 30 x 66 inches). It has an upper freezer. If you are interested, you can email me at [email protected] and I can try to answer any questions, and/or arrange for you to see it.

thanks,

thomas

One band that I have been quite fond of is the band at Palad Tawanron (yeah, can't really spell) Restaurant. If you don't know, it's the one up the hill at the back of the zoo - use Suthep Road to approach. They play a good mix of American music -acoustic- including Neil Young, John Denver, bluegrass, folk, etc. Not much really current music, but the American music that seems most popular with the older (as in not teenage) Thai's. They also play Thai music. Seems that everyone, both farang and Thai, appreciate their skills.

Like I said, they are the house band, so it might be hard to hire them away for the evening, but you might give it a shot.

I don't really get out to many other venues, so this is the only real help I can give.

Congratulations on the coming wedding and good luck with finding the band,

t

Edit: I am aware that American music is not the only farang music and I did not mean to imply anything in suggesting this band or their style music, just trying to give a fair assessment of what they play.

Roger,

There are two leather shops out on the road to Borsang Umbrella Village. I can't recall their names or exact locations, but I will be out there this Sunday and will check into it for you. I will post the info on here as soon as I have it. I've been told that one of the shops is quite nice. What exactly is your wife looking for? I will probably be in both shops and could give you a better idea if I knew what you were looking for.

t

Peter,

I read your post and ProThaiExpats and would like toss out my observations. There are many "contemporary" houses here in Chiang Mai, many good, many bad. Most are just copies of Western style houses with a bit of "Lanna" added to them. They are not climate responsive, they are not in any way responding to the culture (other than superficially), they are not very good. You can see these houses in most moobaan's around here. Just go to the malls and look at the models. The good ones are difficult to find. They are behind walls, off the beaten path, and not in development compounds.

None of these houses is built with western construction techniques. It is too expensive. Most are not built to western standards of construction because nobody knows how to hold a contractor accountable. A house that can be built from six pages of drawings leaves too much up to the contractor. ProThaiExpat is correct; building by the local methods is your best bet. There is a reason that houses are built this way. The materials are inexpensive, strong, insect and moisture appropriate, and there are builders who know how to use them. The key is to get a builder that cares about quality. Secondly, the design, the finishes, and the details are what bring houses to what one might call a western standard. The Thai sense of space is very different from the western sense of space. We are culturally different, no way around that.

All that said, I would like to respond to your request for an English speaking architect. I am a licensed architect from the US. I have a Thai partner who is also an architect. We have begun working together and have several projects "on the boards".

We do not currently have any work under construction, and all previous work by my partner would not be of much interest (buildings for Thai clients who were interested in typical Thai buildings). Our current work is very much in the vein of contemporary, modern buildings which are responsive to their environment both physical and cultural. We work with a western sense of space and functon and quality and a Thai sense of scale, subtlty, and detailing/ornamentation. I would be happy to show you some of our drawings (projects we are currently working on) and discuss our ideas. You can PM me, post a reply here, or call me at 01 033 9784. If you don't think we are the right designers for you, we can at least have a lengthy discussion concerning design, materials, and expectations that might help you as you move forward.

thomas

Beanster1,

I work with a Thai partner in a small, young design firm and we are currently doing some branding and logo projects. While we are primarily an architecture firm, we are now designing a logo/branding strategy for a coffee company. We also have a relationship with a local signage company to perform all design services related to their event signage. Some of that work has been very high profile.

If you are interested, I could meet with you to discuss our work and your needs. You can contact me here or call me at 01-033-9784

thenewguy

Well, here goes my second attempt at help on this topic. If you want something really special in the duvet cover line (rather than quilt), you might want to have it made here. As you said there are wonderful fabrics and colors and patterns. Depending on your length of stay, I would suggest that you find some fabric you like and then have a cover made. I can't really recommend a good seamstress/upholsterer, but I'm sure there are others here that could. I do know an excellent tailor who might do the work, I'd have to ask if she was interested first.

Just remember to bring the dimensions so that you get the right size made. You might also want to figure out how you want it to close, whether you want internal ties to secure the actual duvet, etc.

Best of luck,

thenewguy

I'm not sure quite what sort of quilts that you are interested in. I haven't seen any at the department stores (I haven't really looked); and I would figure that those would be mass produced utilitarian models whose sole purpose is to satisfy the dreams of housewives and, of course, warmth.

If you are looking for something more "artistic", I have seen a few simple patchworks on Walking Street and some "traditional decorative quilts" at one of the Wat courtyards on Walking Street. I bracket both terms, because I didn't see them as particularly aesthetically appealing nor do I know if the decorative nature of them is particularly Thai.

Oh, my memory is a bit slow, but I also recall seeing some quilt-like objects at the same Wat that were made up of the fabrics that are associated with hill tribes. I'm not sure if they were actually quilted or just blankets, but they were the most interesting that I have seen.

Sorry that I couldn't have been more vague, but if you want more info I might make it down to Walking Street next Sunday evening and I could find out a little more, like the name of the Wat.

Oh, and to answer the rest of your question, it definitely gets cold enough for a quilt up here.

thenewguy

Having worked as part of a design team responsible for asbestos abatement, I know a very little bit about the material. Not much mind you, as it is not my specialty, but from what I understand, the asbestos is not used as a strengthening material for concrete board, but as an insulator. Remember those bunson burner pads from high school chemistry? Well, those are asbestos impregnated. Asbestos is an excellent insulator so it makes sense to use it in both roof and wall panels. It was (at least in the States we can use the past tense) also used in the manufacture of square vinyl tile and the mastic used to apply it. I can only assume that this was for thermal insulation of the floor surface.

Generally it is not a danger unless significantly disturbed, i.e. you can walk on it all day and scuff it with your shoes and it is not a danger. Once you start tearing it out, there is the possibility that fibers will be released. It, perhaps, should be considered dangerous at this point. I say perhaps, because all of the research that I have seen on asbestos and the resulting asbestosis, was conducted in the 1940's. This research was mainly conducted in shipyards where workers were spraying asbestos fibers within the enclosed hulls of ships. With milloins of fibers in an enclosed space, the chances of significant absorption in the lungs is significantly increased. In your home, if adequately ventillated, the minor distruction of a small bit of asbestos containing materials does not pose a significant health risk. Most post war houses constructed in America contain asbestos materials and there have been no significant problems. Again, I say significant because there are always exceptions.

As a general rule of thumb, just exercise some common sense. That seems to be the best advice I can give here. There may be specialist abatement contractors in Thailand if having asbestos containing materials really bothers you, but I tend to think that the cost of removal would outweigh any benefit. If you are involved in a renovation/construction project, I would suggest adequate ventillation and perhaps the use of a quality dust mask. Also, I would try to remove all construction waste as quickly as possible; at least daily.

toopeekaa,

Sory to get back to you so late, but my friend was in a meeting till after lunch.

A few things; first, the PunPun Community is not in Mae Jo, but in Mae Taeng community about one hour north of Chiangmai.

Secondly, my friend has no immediate contact info as the people up there evidently do not even have cell phones.

If you have more time later, I'm sure we could dig into it.

Thomas

A close friend and colleuge of mine worked with students from the CMU Faculty of Architecture on the construction of an adobe house last summer. When he gets in to the office today, I will ask him if he can provide any specific contacts.

Thomas

I might be able to offer some assistance. Without sounding too much like an advertisement, I am both an architect (registered in Georgia, USA) and a member of the Faculty of Architecture of Chiang Mai University. While I cannot legally practice my profession here in Thailand, I have been involved as a consultant on several projects. I work with several architects and engineers here in Chiang Mai and we would certainly be willing to discuss projects with any of you.

I feel that having both Thai and farang architects/consultants can be very beneficial for clients as we can provide direction to Thai constructors which insure that farang standards are achieved while staying within the limits of possibility of Thai construction methods and materials. This leads to higher quality construction with minimal increase in construction costs.

If I/we can be of service to any of you, please do not hesitate to contact me at 01-033-9784.

Thomas

Thanks for all the advice. I plan to explore all the areas mentioned as soon as we arrive. I'm not sure what to expect, so am going into this very open minded. I've been told I will have a Thai student to help me with looking for a house, so I'm hoping it will go fairly smoothly.

Again, thank you for the suggestions.

I have accepted a teaching position at CMU and am hoping to rent a house very close by. Would anyone have any leads and/or knowledge concerning housing in the area. We would like something within walking distance of shops, markets, restaurants, etc. as we will be living a fairly pedestrian lifestyle.

If it will help, the following are things we would like:

three bedrooms

at least one aircon

western style toilet

small garden

fully furnished

child friendly neighborhood (daycare nearby)

I would also like suggestions as to the rental rate for such a house. I was hoping to be in the 8000bt range. Is this realistic?

Thank you very much for your help, we certainly appreciate it.

I am curious about preschools or daycare in Chiang Mai. My family and I are scheduled to move to Chiang Mai in May and we will be needing daycare for our three year old. We would certainly like for her to begin learning Thai, but have no idea what might be available and/or recommended. We will be teaching at CMU and will hopefully be living very close to the campus (I'll be posting a request for housing info also).

Any feedback will certainly be appreciated.