Coast of build this home?

[sirineou]

Will be retiring in Thailand in a couple of years, looking to start building soon in property me and my wife own ( I know about Thai ownership laws).

I have talked to a couple of builders and I am getting what i consider high quotes for the plan we have. I have not lived long term in Thailand for about five years (had to go back to work in US) so I am out of touch with price changes . I would appreciate any input and or recommendations.

I am looking for midle of the road quality, with Supperblock on the outside walls, don't care if interior walls are red brick. 

Below is the plan , and below the plan I will note any changes we propose.

 

The buddha room, (small room in living room) will be deleted,  The bathroom in master bedroom will be deleted and moved downstairs,  the read stairs will be deleted, the small rear balcony will be deleted, and the room squared off. The home will be made one meter longer, leaving all the rooms the same size but making the front balcony one meter longer (front to back).

CPAC Monier roof.

 

Downstairs where the closet is, we will build a bathroom instead. and under the front stairs , half under the stairs half outside in the front a small fish pond.

Basically the home at the YouTube video below, without the  extra kitchen below.

       Please no comments concerning the virtues of renting VS owning, or Thailand foreigner ownership laws.I have being married to my wonderful Thai wife over 10 years,  together longer, and coming to Thailand even longer.

 

 

 

[Jip99]

Better than any dowry.

 

 

what quotes have you received? Those with building experience will then be able to comment.

[sirineou]

As you can see living space is about 100 sq M, but it has a lot more of work and material than a conventional , flat on the ground build,  including a very large area downstairs that is tiled.

as I am typing this , The builder I liked the best, whose work I visited in Two different location and looked at  one finished home, and I was very impressed with the finish. ( I work in the highrise construction industry in NYC over 30 years and have extensive experience)

Just called me with a quote of 1million seven hundred, I buy the countertops.

What you all think?

[Alantct]

Hi, I would be happy to price that for you. I will drop you a pm.
Regards
Al.
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[generealty]

I am in the construction industry and think 1.7mill is a fair price in today's market. It is not as cheap as it was and everything has gone up especially steel and cement being the two largest items in construction.

I always ask what standard do you want. 3 prices, cheap, reasonable and high end.

Cheap = 1.4mill

Reasonable = 1.5mill

High End = 1.7mill

[r136dg]

1.7 seems pretty reasonable to cheap, but I can only reason that from my recent build. Having experience, you're not going to like what you see from the start of your project & you'll probably be drawn into it (getting your hands dirty). I would suggest a lot of research first & look into everything you want (materials/toilets/doors/electrical/ect.) Maybe meet with some of the generals subs, there will be a lot of details to address. They will work to their normal standards and believe me, they won't even be close to yours.

Good luck & the DIY forum will be a great asset to you!

[steven100]

That's about 17,000 baht / sqm ...  and that's living space as in the down stairs tiled installation is included.  So the 1.7m is about the rate.

5-10 years ago it would have been around 12-14,000 / sqm but things are alot more expensive now so hence the increase.

[Andyfez]

Have you ever lived here?

The house you show is all very nice by western standards, but with the constant heat do you really want it to be so un-open plan?

The rooms look so small and box-like......

I remember I designed (and built) one or two rooms like this in our house 20 years ago.

We never used the rooms because they were so small and stifling.

 

Just my two-penny worth.....

[markeewan]

Here is a link to Bangkok prices

[Jeffrey346]

15 minutes ago, markeewan said:

Here is a link to Bangkok prices

I find your chart much more realistic then the prices quoted above. My wife's uncle just built a new 120 sqm house, for 1.2M. All walls are insulated concrete, bathrooms and tiles are #1. I was impressed with the builders work. And he finished on time...

[lucjoker]

10 y with your wife ......that is normal.....they can wait 20 years for a house.

But ones the house is finished AND in their name.........

btw i did build 12 houses and 1,7 milj bht is a good price for a house like that.The builder will like it, it is very old style and the termites gone love your wood.Sorry i like a joke ....no serious now: it is a very nice house and your wife and family will  love you,but...keep the buddha -room.....maybe you will need it .

[Denim]

By the time you have added fixtures and fittings , air con , insulation etc , you can expect to spend about

2 million baht give or take a few hundred thou.

 

Your design is similar to our own build which came in at 850,000 baht before fixtures etc. It is 12.5 meters x 6.5. This was three years ago.

 

Getting a quality builder is obviously vital. Ours was not a quality builder but was at least better than some others in our area.

[sandyf]

This is the plan I used. About the same size but a bungalow, cost around 1M 7 years ago.

[ajcnx]

If you are giving a contract to some builder it will be something in between 8000-10000 baht/sqm. it includes everything from zero to full finished project.

if you are doing it of your own like just paying for the construction cost and buying your own raw material you will be paying around 6500-8000 baht/sqm . it will be a hassle for few months but you will be more satisfied as you bought everything by yourself. this price does not include surroundings and fence wall or outer gates . giving a contract for the whole thing you can negotiate few things as for your parking space or garden it depends. 

[pumpjack]

2 hours ago, generealty said:

I am in the construction industry and think 1.7mill is a fair price in today's market. It is not as cheap as it was and everything has gone up especially steel and cement being the two largest items in construction.

I always ask what standard do you want. 3 prices, cheap, reasonable and high end.

Cheap = 1.4mill

Reasonable = 1.5mill

High End = 1.7mill

yes this seems like a decent quote.   

i built a hi end bungalow in isaan 7 years ago for 460.000 baht and that included labour costs and furniture !   

buy all the material yourself ,  do not trust the thais !

do not pay all at once, pay installments in every 4 weeks or so.

do not build on land near her family home if you dont want screaming kids and nosy neighbours coming in uninvited

 

be prepared to walk away from it as its never yours and what if she throws you out ....nothing is guaranteed and everything is a sr=trong possibilty of future failure ! 

[Alantct]

Here is a link to Bangkok prices

I don't see what's included on that chart?
Is it the bare bones 4 walls and a roof or does it include all tiling, bathroom suites, painting, insulated ceiling, kitchen units etc. Etc. Etc?



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[lockyv7]

this may be of some help, up to date with costs. 

 

http://www.thaiappraisal.org/english/the2001/default.php

[lockyv7]

sorry, looks like it was already posted. 

[sirineou]

48 minutes ago, lucjoker said:

10 y with your wife ......that is normal.....they can wait 20 years for a house.

But ones the house is finished AND in their name.........

btw i did build 12 houses and 1,7 milj bht is a good price for a house like that.The builder will like it, it is very old style and the termites gone love your wood.Sorry i like a joke ....no serious now: it is a very nice house and your wife and family will  love you,but...keep the buddha -room.....maybe you will need it .

Thank you Lucjoker.

 Wife is a wonderful girl ,  love her to death and trust her with my life.

   Today for some reason jetlag caught up with me and I slept late, Several Leo beers at the BBQ in the new night market in KK last night might have something to do with it also

Good time to do this it is cloudy and looks like rain all day today.

   I have read every single reply up to yours so far and I must say , a wealth of useful information and pleasant banter,

I will like to take this opportunity to say'

"Thank you all"

Difficult to reply to all of them individually , so I will try to address as many  reply concerns as I can in sigle replies.

  I am aware of the termite problem, and though I like the look of wood , I don't need any more pets. Also when I go tits Up , I dont want to leave the wife with a high maintenance home.

So , all wood windows are out. Brown  Aluminum windows , and metal rails painted to look like wood.

Someone commented about the design and small rooms upstairs. 

I had the same concern also and I have made changes in the design that I believe have addressed that concern. 

  The removal  of Master bedroom bathroom and balcony, Have significantly increased its size to 4x5.5 meters.

  A door will be installed from the master bedroom to the bathroom between the two bedrooms.

  The Plan has being stretched by one Meter   making the balcony one Meter longer and creating a one Meter balcony in front of the small bedroom, the front window to that bedroom will be replaced with a sliding door.

Opening the front door and sliding door to small bedroom  will in essence  open the front side of the house , and having removed the buddha room plenty of flow though ventilation. Where the Buddha room was there will be a serving counter. 

  Buddha can go build his own house . lazy  bastard alway reclining 

We are simple people  don't need much, give me a few beers, a couple of sorts to wear , food to eat , good people to inflict my poor attempts at  humor apone, and projects to keep me occupied and keep  my mind and mouth from getting me in to trouble, and I am happy.

Hence the open downstairs where I will be spending most of my waking hours, fish pond to play with, and narrow house to give me more garden space where me and my brown thumb can kill plants.

Again Thank you all , going out to lunch now, will read the rest later. keep them coming.

 

 

 

 

 

[zyphodb]

I would say between 1.4 and 1.7 is about right, the lower price if you buy your own materials & don't get ripped off by the builder.

ALWAYS  make stage payments, I suggest 4 & assuming you buy the materials never pay upfront for anything. Expect to sack at least two sets of builders if you want to get decent quality and if you don't know much about construction, learn because the standards here unless you are very lucky are awful...

[Paul Laycock1]

Don't pay anything up front. Make stage payments on completion of satisfactory work. I agree with other posters, buy all materials yourself.

Good luck.

[khunPer]

Construction prices are really depending on finishing materials – like tiles, and roof tiles, and wood, and doors and windows, and marble bathrooms, and electric fittings and lighting, and brand name bathroom hardware, and Europen-style kitchen, and… 

Area or location has also influence on the price, i.e. on an island it’s more expensive, in tourist areas often also, whilst rural Isaan normally is considered little cheaper.

 

I would think that for the basic cement construction, including pluming, you shall count between 10,000 baht and 15,000 baht per square meter. That is based on my own house build some years ago, where the basic structure was just around 11,000 baht per square meter; since then some prices and labor costs has gone up; but also size of “feet” in foundation, and number of columns affect the price, as well as type of brick-stones. For the latter you should consider if comfort Q-block, i.e. aerated concrete blocks, is worth spending the extra for, having a better temperature control and save a bit in aircon power.

 

Your open, typical Thai ground floor is more difficult to judge for me, as I have no experience in that kind of construction; but columns, and cement deck, and bathroom may average at some 5,000 baht per square meter. Your area seems to be around 100 square meters, plus stairs and balcony.

 

My quick bet would be around 1.5 million bath for basic construction – 2 million if in tourist area or island – and about same for average quality finish; which is really relative to materials and finish, it can be anything from 500,000 baht and up to several millions baht.

 

Most people today seem to count from 15,000 baht per square meter for construction with modest finishing, and up to 30,000 baht per square meter; whilst high-end is 50,000 baht and up per square meter.

 

So between 2 million baht and 3 million baht, I think is a fair bet, depending on materials and fittings.

 

For roof, it’s worth having a quote from SCG, rather than include the roof construction in the building construction contract – i.e. have them to quote the roof work, steel and tiles, separate – as SCG can do a galvanized steel construction and tiles laid with a proper water membrane and heat isolation for a competitive price. In many Home Mart stores they have a roof-center, where they free-of-charge will do detailed drawings and give you a quote. On top they’ll give you a 5-year warranty, which may be worth more than a guarantee from a building constructor you cannot find, when the roof is leaking one year later (had a friend up Isaan with that problem, my SCG-roof never had any problems, still going strong on 8^th year now, whilst my neighbor's roof on high-end luxury house of same age has been leaking again-and-again for years, but that was made by his building constructor).

 

For wood construction you shall check about termites in the area. Hard wood can be expensive, but fiber-cement is a reasonable alternative (if not all over, then at some places), that can be made to look extremely wood-alike. Also be aware that some Thai carpenters just bang a hole in the cement and stick the wood in there with composite glue, which can cause the wood to rot quickly.

 

For doors and windows, aluminum or uPVC may be reasonable options to wood; and if you choose wood, it has to be (very) hard wood, as you otherwise may have problems in both rainy season and dry season, i.e. doors getting too big, and too small. A cheap wooden door can cost a few thousand baht or less, whilst a good quality hardwood door easily can be 10,000 baht or more.

 

Wish you good luck with your project...

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, Paul Laycock1 said:

Don't pay anything up front. Make stage payments on completion of satisfactory work. I agree with other posters, buy all materials yourself.

Good luck.

Have not signed a contract yet, but I expect to pay 20% to start, 10% when concrete structure is finished 20%  after roof,  the rest upon completion.  what do you all think, reasonable?

I will not be here for the build, Got to go back to work. I am a construction professional.

I wish I could stay and buy all the material, but If I had to stay here then I would do it myself. 

Wife will stay to supervise with my guidance over skype. Will buy my own fixtures , if they find them too expensive, will pay the difference from their allowance for the item. all else will be specified, and wife will be instructed to supervise adherence.

I am mostly concerned with the basic structure and structural integrity,

I dont wan't to have to, but anything else I can fix.

I know, not the best situation, but it is what it is.

When it is all said and done I also fully expect it will cost at least 2 m.

Will start a thread when the time comes and document the failures and triumphs  

 

 

[free123]

I wanted also to build the house that size and with first floor BUT my wife rejected first floor so now we only build it about one metre above ground... why... she said if u have an accident or if u aren't so fit in the future to get up the stairs every day will ruin ur life quality u will not be able to get up there anymore... she is a physical therapist... and yes I met arious falangs aged about 65 who had severe spin and backe issues  (from garden work)  and they sleep downstairs ..think about it ..our price about 1.2 mio bhat

[Alantct]

Stick to surin farang alan.....if there are any members left 55555

 

Your confusing me with Alan the builder mate, that's a different guy. We build everywhere in Thailand.

 

 

 

 

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[Alantct]

Thank you Lucjoker.
 Wife is a wonderful girl ,  love her to death and trust her with my life.
   Today for some reason jetlag caught up with me and I slept late, Several Leo beers at the BBQ in the new night market in KK last night might have something to do with it also:laugh:
Good time to do this it is cloudy and looks like rain all day today.
   I have read every single reply up to yours so far and I must say , a wealth of useful information and pleasant banter,
I will like to take this opportunity to say'
"Thank you all"
Difficult to reply to all of them individually , so I will try to address as many  reply concerns as I can in sigle replies.
  I am aware of the termite problem, and though I like the look of wood , I don't need any more pets. Also when I go tits Up , I dont want to leave the wife with a high maintenance home.
So , all wood windows are out. Brown  Aluminum windows , and metal rails painted to look like wood.
Someone commented about the design and small rooms upstairs. 
I had the same concern also and I have made changes in the design that I believe have addressed that concern. 
  The removal  of Master bedroom bathroom and balcony, Have significantly increased its size to 4x5.5 meters.
  A door will be installed from the master bedroom to the bathroom between the two bedrooms.
  The Plan has being stretched by one Meter   making the balcony one Meter longer and creating a one Meter balcony in front of the small bedroom, the front window to that bedroom will be replaced with a sliding door.
Opening the front door and sliding door to small bedroom  will in essence  open the front side of the house , and having removed the buddha room plenty of flow though ventilation. Where the Buddha room was there will be a serving counter. 
  Buddha can go build his own house . lazy  bastard alway reclining 
We are simple people  don't need much, give me a few beers, a couple of sorts to wear , food to eat , good people to inflict my poor attempts at  humor apone, and projects to keep me occupied and keep  my mind and mouth from getting me in to trouble, and I am happy.
Hence the open downstairs where I will be spending most of my waking hours, fish pond to play with, and narrow house to give me more garden space where me and my brown thumb can kill plants.
Again Thank you all , going out to lunch now, will read the rest later. keep them coming.
 
 
 
 
 

You can also get upvc windows here if you don't want aluminium but yes definitely stay away from wood


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[natway09]

Where are you going to build ? 

[sawadee1947]

5 hours ago, Andyfez said:

Have you ever lived here?

The house you show is all very nice by western standards, but with the constant heat do you really want it to be so un-open plan?

The rooms look so small and box-like......

I remember I designed (and built) one or two rooms like this in our house 20 years ago.

We never used the rooms because they were so small and stifling.

 

Just my two-penny worth.....

I agree. These are really small boxes. Change it to open plan living. In our house the bedrooms are between 20 and 40 sqm. Spacy and airy.

[khunPer]

30 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I am mostly concerned with the basic structure and structural integrity,

You could demand the constructor to use water-proof cement-mix all over, as it will reduce cracks, which is a problem in the Thai heat and sun; it's only a few hundred baht extra per cubic meter concrete. Also use water-proof additive in the plaster mix, which will prevent most of the fine cracks (I did that with great success). Dig down to (very) hard soil for column feet, to avoid settings; eventually make large thick feet covering two or more columns (my constructor that, no setting cracks at all). Furthermore make sure that all columns are wrapped in film immediately after casting molds being taken off, and cement deck duly watered within the first 24 hours, whilst beams preferably shall stay in their casting mold for at least three days (open top watered with first 24 hours).

 

A number of posts share one thick foot.

[marquis22]

The front stairs need to be in the middle of the house not at the side ... good luck apparently

My guess will cost over 2mill baht easy.