TravelerEastWest

Wow - what great responses - I am very thankful gentlemen - I feel like you have given me an early Christmas present.

This project is for a driveway that will have very limited use and my budget is as low as possible that will get the job done if it starts to crack within one year - not OK - if it starts to crack in 3 or 4 years then OK.

One other thought I want my small kids to be able to ride their bikes on this driveway. So only gravel alone might not work?

Note building is going on now with lots of concrete trucks etc so the current "driveway" is quite hard. the ground is a mix of black clay and red mountain earth.

The weaker the Thai Baht, the more Foreign Tourists will come here and spend money to keep Thai Nationals Employed.

Plus the weaker Thai baht means lots more exports again keeping workers employed.

The weaker Thai baht encourages expats to live in Thailand.

The moisture has to leach out. I'd give it a month, unless you like painting and want to do it again.

You should also apply a coat of sealer to the render prior to painting - this is standard practice back home but I don't know if it's done here.

I am not overly concerned the contractor would paint again not me... smiling.

Thank you!

What should the cost be of a very basic concrete driveway 200 meters long?

Two weeks is appropriate at this time of the year as the weather is cool and dry. A month may be needed during the rainy season.

Interesting that is exactly what the contractor said.

Someone else told me when the walls are dry they will be white.

After the walls are finished how long do you have to wait to paint?

I ask because the paint shop (ICI Paint) says one month, while the contractor says more like two weeks as he knows when the paint is dry enough.

Why would you change 1.5 to 1.8 in your calculations?

Statman78,

You have received lots of good advice about work permits and visas etc on this thread.

Enough to get you thinking.

Here is another thought:

1) If you are an employee you will need to pay social security taxes in the US unless you are paying them in Thailand. Thai social security as I recall is lower.

2) If you work for a large company you are most likely going to be offered what has already been mentioned an "equalization package" US CPAs at large firms are good at this and your company will typically pay for everything.

3) If your company is small and leaving you to take care of everything - find a small American CPA firm that specializes in Expats and a small Thai CPA firm.

4) Unless your company is paying for school expenses as well as transportation and housing etc 50.000 baht will not be anywhere near enough to live on.

Costing this year single storey THB 6,000 sqm, 2 Storey THB 9,500 sqm. Basic Thai rooms, in this case was 50% more per sqm. Approx same cost with three quotes.

Very, interesting!

I had no idea that the cost goes up for each additional floor.

In our case the roof is quite expensive so I thought there might be savings there...

Actually the one floor example does not have a kitchen and the 3 floor example will also not have a kitchen. (There will be a separate open air type kitchen eating area outside.)

The one floor example has large footings but no pilings.

The number of bathrooms per floor will be about the same.

Does 3 floors cost about 3X the first floor or less?

In this case a basic concrete construction with almost no wood.

One floor costs 2 million baht with a CPAC roof and concrete footings but no pilings.

With 3 floors the plan would be the same quality roof but I presume pilings wood be needed.

Note this is in Chiang Mai so pilings would not need to be as deep as Bangkok.

It seems that the extension process is not so bad but the big challenge is that different offices ask for different documents - and to some extent have different rules in different years.

I have what may be an overly simple approach - prepare the basic required docs and photos and then dress professionally with a tie and be very polite, and having young children helps.

Using this approach I have never had a problem or needed witnesses or home visits etc - even in my first extension year about 6 years ago. I have aslo used 3 different immigration offices as we moved.

Note every now and then there will be a bad apple in some offices then sadly maybe nothing helps....

stick the ground rod near your septic tank if you have one it needs moist soil.

That will be easy we will have two septic tanks - thank you for the advice.

Thanks all,

Step one cancel my friends idea

Step two I have printed out the downlaod

Step three study the photos

Step four find a Thai speaker to help me.

Grounding a new build for a novice (I am the novice - not the electrician - hopefully)

A good friend told me the other day:

1) Ground rods in the ground under the house (not sure how many or how deep)

2) Connect the rods to the metal in the concrete slab

3) Connect the metal in the concrete slab to the metal in all the columns

4) Connect the metal in the columns to all outlets.

Do I understand the basics or am I way of?

If you have a link to a good tutorial in plain English that would be great!

As a side note I think that I own a Toshiba refrigerator bought in Thailand about 6 years ago with only a two prong plug.

Customs can be a complete nightmare here.

Many times had costs for customs clearance confirmed prior to shipping, and then find they pull a figure out of the air when it arrives so you can't plan anything in advance. It gets a bit ridiculous when the costs for the customs "bribe" costs more than the product and shipping. When they get difficult, I tell them I don't want it and 9 times out of 10 they deliver with no extra charges. Easy to get a refund most times as it hasn't been "delivered".

Have also had Thai people talk to them who were shocked by their thievery and it also made no difference how "helpful" you are with them. Bunch of thieves.

I have at least 2 imports per week for the last 8 or so years and not a single problem and not a single time asked for bribe.

If all documents are correct everything will be cleared correctly. No problems at all.

With wrong invoices, wrong tariff numbers you get problems.

All I can say is that you've been incredibly lucky. This is NOT the experience I have received nor anyone else I know of, Thai or foreigner. And the documentation is always correct by the way.

My imports are not quite as often as H90s but basically the same from the Post Office and thru Couriers no bribes - the correct duty no delays and no lost items.

I had a problem once but I had a made a mistake with the paperwork so I take responsibility.

This is the same experience of everyone i know who is careful to do things correctly.

Mistakes can be made and are daily in all fields of life but courier companies are simply following the law and collecting for customs not themselves. The fees that they charge for customs clearance can be avoided if you clear customs yourselves.

And unless your time has no value you probably don't want to clear customs yourself.

As for mistakes DHL etc are like going to fast food place low fees for low quality service. Go to a high quality broker or do it yourself don't blame others.

I have had many problems with DHL etc but I don't have extra time to do it myself and no interest. Sometimes for a larger shipment like your person household belongings I use a good broker and it is a pleasure. (no duty at all when we moved to Thailand)

I may be wrong but i think if you import personal affects within one year of moving to Thailand, there is no custom charges. How long after you moved here did you bring in your personal belongings?.

Nontabury,

You sound correct we moved to Thailand and had our personal items sent in the same container as business items but with separate invoices and packing lists.

The packages came about 3 months after we arrived we paid no tax for lots of personal items and very little for everything else.

We did pay an upcountry delivery fee for a truck.

The key point is that we did everything correctly with the help of a large shipping company.

I would never dream of using the post office for a large valuable shipment.

I smile when I read about people who complain about a 300 baht clearance fee - they must have a lot of free time if they want to clear themselves.

I have a family and work long hours let the couriers clear and let them make a good profit.

Mistakes can be made and are daily in all fields of life but courier companies are simply following the law and collecting for customs not themselves. The fees that they charge for customs clearance can be avoided if you clear customs yourselves.

And unless your time has no value you probably don't want to clear customs yourself.

As for mistakes DHL etc are like going to fast food place low fees for low quality service. Go to a high quality broker or do it yourself don't blame others.

I have had many problems with DHL etc but I don't have extra time to do it myself and no interest. Sometimes for a larger shipment like your person household belongings I use a good broker and it is a pleasure. (no duty at all when we moved to Thailand)

I forgot to mention that we applied for a building permit about 45 days ago and they keep telling us the people who need to sign are out of town etc.

Up to now we were not ready to build - rain etc so no problem - but I really prefer to not make extra payments - I can afford to give a small gift - but not my style.

Am I wrong - As in do in Rome as the Romans do?

"Op if your anywhere near Khon kaen, I've got good tradesman if you need any."

I am in Chiang Mai but you are very kind and I thank you sharing good tradesmen is like sharing treasure.

As an update on my project we have finished the land fill and are about to put up a barbed wire fence - 2 meters high, 7 strands about 20 cm apart concrete piles 2 meters apart.

The piles will be dug about 50cm down and have poured concrete. Every 7th pile or so the piles will have reenforcements.

The quote for about 500 meters is 103,000. The quote is by a village chung (not an engineer) who has 30+ years experience.

He also wants to build the building so this will be a good chance to see how he works.

Why not set up a Thai Ltd Company you having 49% your girlfriend 51% there need to be 3 shareholder so if you have a sister/brother you could make them the other shareholder your 49% would be preferential shares so you could never be voted out and you would be the person only allowed to sign for monies/bank you could even run it as a business and pay a few taxes there are loads of businesses that can be run from home Laundry service/ironing service/ translation service the list is endless and it would allow your GF to earn money Just a Thought !!!!!

I like your idea but I am confused - I always thought that common shares have the voting power. Is it different in Thailand?

Unless you get a good feeling that everything is cool with your contractor, do it in phases like: foundation/footings, rough in for plumbing, rough in for electric, etc. If at any point, the feeling or the work/product is not what you want - then STOP. Say what you do not like, maybe work it out, maybe fire that one and try again. What you pay is what you know it should cost or you don't know so don't worry about it.

More good advice.

Regardless of how you come into contact with them, always, always take the number of a good sub-contractor and a good foreman or supervisor (assuming of course that you've seen their finished work up close).

Sounds like very good advice.