Bauhaus In Thailand

[CBDK]

Hi Nikkijah,

I'm actually building my own house a bit of the style you are looking for.

On the other side of the river to Bangkok, about 200 sqm living, 70sqm terrace, two floors, two square "boxes" set togeter and some glass sliding doors to main two main terraces on each south and north so I can change from or to sun or shadow all day long. I have placed some canteliver roof to protect from the sun here and there but also to add it a touch of extra style. Plan to finish in 2 - 3 month.

House is build in double super block wall to have a good insulation, its flat roof but I very much trust my contractor. Final finish to be a cement look, aluframe windows with double glass most places. Wood floor, simple design, big rooms - not to many details that can brake either physically or aesthetic. I designed the house my self - I'm a Scandinavian interior designer so I thought I could take my drawings and turn them inside our to exterior. Anyway, the final result will show in a few month - scary!!

Approval of house to land office to a recordspeed of only 1,5 day! It took 1 year, visit to more than 20 contractors and a bunch of nearby heart attackt to find the the right guy to build it. Well, found him, speaks English very well, honest and not tricky at all. All the bad stories about contractors doesn't apply to this guy (did to the 19 others!) - absolutely recommendable. Hi's actually an architect and does a bit of Bauhaus style himself but has a construction company as well. Build his own private house and office as well. Looks very cool as well. Never have problems with workers, serious building issues or very delayed time schedules. A few mistakes and delays here and ther always happens anyway.

Hope you can use above - you are welcome to visit our construction site if you want - let me know here. Pictures shows the house about a week ago (hope I did it right with teh picture - first time I use this forum).

Thanks.

CBDK

[Nikkijah]

Hi Nikkijah,

I'm actually building my own house a bit of the style you are looking for.

On the other side of the river to Bangkok, about 200 sqm living, 70sqm terrace, two floors, two square "boxes" set togeter and some glass sliding doors to main two main terraces on each south and north so I can change from or to sun or shadow all day long. I have placed some canteliver roof to protect from the sun here and there but also to add it a touch of extra style. Plan to finish in 2 - 3 month.

House is build in double super block wall to have a good insulation, its flat roof but I very much trust my contractor. Final finish to be a cement look, aluframe windows with double glass most places. Wood floor, simple design, big rooms - not to many details that can brake either physically or aesthetic. I designed the house my self - I'm a Scandinavian interior designer so I thought I could take my drawings and turn them inside our to exterior. Anyway, the final result will show in a few month - scary!!

Approval of house to land office to a recordspeed of only 1,5 day! It took 1 year, visit to more than 20 contractors and a bunch of nearby heart attackt to find the the right guy to build it. Well, found him, speaks English very well, honest and not tricky at all. All the bad stories about contractors doesn't apply to this guy (did to the 19 others!) - absolutely recommendable. Hi's actually an architect and does a bit of Bauhaus style himself but has a construction company as well. Build his own private house and office as well. Looks very cool as well. Never have problems with workers, serious building issues or very delayed time schedules. A few mistakes and delays here and ther always happens anyway.

Hope you can use above - you are welcome to visit our construction site if you want - let me know here. Pictures shows the house about a week ago (hope I did it right with teh picture - first time I use this forum).

Thanks.

CBDK

That sounds like an absolute dream CBDK, you are a very lucky man!

I once had a simple gazebo built to house a pool table on Koh Chang some years ago, all I needed was a cement base, 4 posts and a roof, I asked for a quote and got B35,000! So I asked them to go away and come back with a better price - back they came with a price of B30,000 after substituting the coconut posts for cement posts - I thought this was still too much so I asked them to rethink it once more...

They came back with a price of I think around B26-28,000 which I thought was reasonable enough

So, off the went, they came back a few days later will the materials and started work... After a week they came to me and told me they needed more money!! I asked them what for, they told me that seeing as I wanted a cheaper price they just simply hadn't priced for enough roof tiles!!! I was obviously furious! How stupid and sneaky can you get!? If they were not able to bring the price down any more then they should have just said that to me! Anyhow, the build took 3 weeks in total which I thought took the piss a bit so I have a little bit of experience with builders of the normal quality

I will definitely contact your contractor some time in the future, he sounds great.

Nikkijah

[CBDK]

In case anyone need a good contractor / architect in the style that Nikkijah is refering too, the guy who build our house is recommendable. You can contact company SitePlan, Bangkok based. The owner speaks very good english and I do recemment to pay his office a visit if you are into Bauhaus and concrete finish!

He has some excelent house designed by himself but is VERY flexible to individual design, either to let him do it or if you have ideas yourself. He has been very critical when building our house using the good materials for both concrete, steel, dimensioning etc. Though nobody is perfect we found that his quotes may dropped in a little late and the best way to comminicate was by phone and not email.

SitePlan has an office staff at about 10 - 12 people and construction staff at about 60 workers.

Please contact Khun Chachai direct at 08 1828 7705 - you can mention reference from "Claus" - though I don't have any stocks in this company!!

Hi Nikkijah,

I'm actually building my own house a bit of the style you are looking for.

On the other side of the river to Bangkok, about 200 sqm living, 70sqm terrace, two floors, two square "boxes" set togeter and some glass sliding doors to main two main terraces on each south and north so I can change from or to sun or shadow all day long. I have placed some canteliver roof to protect from the sun here and there but also to add it a touch of extra style. Plan to finish in 2 - 3 month.

House is build in double super block wall to have a good insulation, its flat roof but I very much trust my contractor. Final finish to be a cement look, aluframe windows with double glass most places. Wood floor, simple design, big rooms - not to many details that can brake either physically or aesthetic. I designed the house my self - I'm a Scandinavian interior designer so I thought I could take my drawings and turn them inside our to exterior. Anyway, the final result will show in a few month - scary!!

Approval of house to land office to a recordspeed of only 1,5 day! It took 1 year, visit to more than 20 contractors and a bunch of nearby heart attackt to find the the right guy to build it. Well, found him, speaks English very well, honest and not tricky at all. All the bad stories about contractors doesn't apply to this guy (did to the 19 others!) - absolutely recommendable. Hi's actually an architect and does a bit of Bauhaus style himself but has a construction company as well. Build his own private house and office as well. Looks very cool as well. Never have problems with workers, serious building issues or very delayed time schedules. A few mistakes and delays here and ther always happens anyway.

Hope you can use above - you are welcome to visit our construction site if you want - let me know here. Pictures shows the house about a week ago (hope I did it right with teh picture - first time I use this forum).

Thanks.

CBDK

That sounds like an absolute dream CBDK, you are a very lucky man!

I once had a simple gazebo built to house a pool table on Koh Chang some years ago, all I needed was a cement base, 4 posts and a roof, I asked for a quote and got B35,000! So I asked them to go away and come back with a better price - back they came with a price of B30,000 after substituting the coconut posts for cement posts - I thought this was still too much so I asked them to rethink it once more...

They came back with a price of I think around B26-28,000 which I thought was reasonable enough

So, off the went, they came back a few days later will the materials and started work... After a week they came to me and told me they needed more money!! I asked them what for, they told me that seeing as I wanted a cheaper price they just simply hadn't priced for enough roof tiles!!! I was obviously furious! How stupid and sneaky can you get!? If they were not able to bring the price down any more then they should have just said that to me! Anyhow, the build took 3 weeks in total which I thought took the piss a bit so I have a little bit of experience with builders of the normal quality

I will definitely contact your contractor some time in the future, he sounds great.

Nikkijah

[RAZZELL]

CBDK

If you don't mind me asking...what sort of £'s, $'s or €'s are we talking for the construction?

RAZZ

[CBDK]

It all depends on how you count and what you count! I.e do you count price per sqm or the the full amount? If per sqm does it include driveway, terrace, fence etc. How many materials included - electric, kitchen, floor finish (huge difference of solid wood floor and tiles). 4mm single glass or double 6mm? My walls are double super block - cost a lot, but save me a lot in aircon later. I could have build this house cheaper if I lowered the standard of all spec.

Anyway, to give you a direction, houseconstruction and terrace only, construction with 21m driven piling (cheapest and best, but not always possible to make them driven), aluframe windows, doors, gypsum ceiling, wall paint, wood floor in 60% of the house is about 3.3 M baht. This is not included electric plug (but the wireing is included), no kitchen, tiles I provide my self, but installing is included, same goes for glass block, door hardware, toiet, fauctes, sinks, underground but water and waste tank includeded, no fence, drive way, fish pond, aircon etc. This quote given a year ago but should I have it today, my guess is that we are 5 to 10% due to raising material cost.

Hope this can be helpfull.

CBDK

If you don't mind me asking...what sort of £'s, $'s or €'s are we talking for the construction?

RAZZ

[Nikkijah]

Thats a lot of money CBDK but I do understand that the quality must be very high

Does that include the land?

Apart from the land what has been your most expensive purchase for the house? I mean was it workmanship or cement or windows?...

Nikkijah

[Orangutan]

Hi all,

Interesting discussion, with some good references. I also am a fan of modern building design and see no problem with integrating those concepts with a Thai point of view. I hope to build my own house in the Hang Dong area outside of Chiang Mai in the future.

To keep connected read Dwell Magazine, available in most of the bigger Bangkok bookstores.

http://www.dwell.com/

-O

[CBDK]

Agreed a lot of money, but I bet you the house around the corner won't last a long as mine and that house is for sure not as energy saving as mine is.

When asking contractors for quotes I got very different replies: One guy quoted 1 million for the driveway which is about 3.3 x 15m but a local guy around the corner charged me 55.000 bath for the same job! Well, he had to redo a few things a couple of time which I didn't pay extra for. Same guy quoting for the million was asking 6 million for the house and a building periode of 2 years as against 10 month now, another guy 4.5 etc. Two contractors totally redesigned my house so the quote was not compareable. Many of them spec'ed the house totally wrong i.e with wood frame windows, tile floor or what ever they had on stock that day. This being both Thai and farang companies. They didn't read the brief at all. Thats why I really enjoy working with SitePlan. Not that they don't make mistake, we all do, but they are at a minimum.

The price is not included land. I cant 'point a finger of what is most expensive. Building with super block is more expensive than brick wall, but no way I would build a house with that - just too hot in the long run and you expose all columns at the interior due to the thin wall. Building a double exterior wall cost not only double up on block and labour but also requires a stronger structure. One thing often affect another.

Overall I did find it if not cheap, then "cheaper" than if I had to build this house in Scandinavia. Good planning, good brief to contractor, good design and avoid making too many changes while building is some of the ingredience for a good house and to keep cost control.

About design - as a designer my self I do find that all those "cool" thing out there doesn't have to be expensive. It's all about being creative and think things to an end. The stones I have for most terrace I use the same as the Bangkok sidewalk. They are made of grey cement, 60mm thick, 300x300mm and cost only 28 bath each. They fit perfect with a cement rendered house like this. No need to spend a 1000 bath per sqm for a fancy Italian finish floor. For the shower and toilet, add them all close together, vertical as well as horisontal so the piping gets shorter and les complicated. Etc... All those things come to good design and can save you a lot of money. Hope you get my point here...

Thats a lot of money CBDK but I do understand that the quality must be very high

Does that include the land?

Apart from the land what has been your most expensive purchase for the house? I mean was it workmanship or cement or windows?...

Nikkijah

Edited January 20, 2007 by CBDK

[Orangutan]

Good planning, good brief to contractor, good design and avoid making too many changes while building is some of the ingredience for a good house and to keep cost control.

CBDK,

I like your project and the first hand information of your build. Will you share a copy of your brief to the contractor, product-sourcing contacts, as well as post some photo's of the interior rooms. I know this is asking a lot, but I feel there are many people that would benefit from your experiences.

Thanks - O

[CBDK]

Hi Orangutan!

Hmm, thats a big job and rather easier said than done! My brief was many things:

- First, a lot of drawings! Plans, elevations, section - done by my self as I designed the house too. Before this I read a lot of magazine (including dwell!), I spoke with architects about gridlines, construction methodes etc., and my skill as a product / interior designer made it easy to make estimate of interior heights, window dimension, switches, room, size for toilet, bedroom, you name it, I had already drawned it! So - to give you the brief as for the drawings we are talking 50 drawings. Just to difficult to issue here - and might a bit to private too! Anyway, if anyone wants to visit the site, you are welcome. I'm usually there every Saturday morning to lunch and always bring all drawings.

- Next, spec of materials. I didn't spec all yet but again I read many magazines, had a little background knowledge and then I visited every fair and show room I had time to. I think later this year Impact will have a fair called "Architect 07". Good time to source for both materials, contractors and technology. Architect 0X is the best and biggest of them all, but I also went to smaller ones in Sirikit Center where I i.e. found a very good solar water heater. Anyway, collect all items from grease trap to lighting, toilets etc and copy it into a book you can share.

- Last is the brief it self - I will include it hereafter (it's long), but note that this is with references to my drawings.

After I overhanded and agreed contract, not many items was changes, but again this was due to some very hard work in the beginning. You shouldn't only consider the house, but also the location. Where is north and south, your neighbours etc? We are building our house in the middle of the land as we have terrace both front and back. In this way we can chose to have sun or shadow all day long, not regarding the suns position - we just change terrace!

Did I mention that the construction company said they had never ever seen such a prepared work before! Well, less can do it, but as I'm really into details, I chose to do it this way. After all I have to live there!

If you are not really sure how to do the things I suggest you do consult a designer or ask am architect / contractor (i.e. SitePlan) to help you develop the house from scratch. Just note that my experience is that most of them want to sell you one of their own standard houses!

Anyway - you asked for the list - here it comes with all type mistakes, changes and whatever ever... ...no edit has been done:

Budget overview:

House construction / architect / engineer according to contract, all construction insurance (including piling to neighbor). See “Construction house” for what is further expected including in this price.

Garden, gate, exterior wall not included in above budget, though electricity should be feeded garden light and cold water for garden watering (2 places for water supply).

Entrance slab drive way not included.

Filling up land not included.

Gate, signage and fence not included.

Upon signage of contract a written time schedule is to be issued to client.

Architect / construction company should allow small changes / adjustment within budget (5 to 10%).

ALL PRICES MUST INCLUDE VAT AND ALL TAXES!

Construction house:

Should include the following:

Legal architect stamp, engineer and insurance fees.

Site visit during construction, average two times per month, preferable in weekends.

Drawings to be approved by clients signature prior building and approval to bank and government. Main drawings preferable (if possible) in both English and Thai.

Client to approve by signature all finish and materials (such as doors, window frames, paint, lacquer, wood floor etc) prior purchase and installation.

Piling and construction (no beams or columns in wood allowed, all steel to be fire and rust proof sealed).

Q-con or similar min. 75 x2 (double wall) + render both sides on exterior walls and red brick wall or light block with insulation on interior walls.

Canopy ceiling + upper main terrace 205, to follow as cement slab, to be built in cement (slab). Terrace on 2nd floor should be simple polished floor finish.

Roof to be cement roof.

All exterior walls to be skim coat cement with clear sealer.

All windows and glass sliding and folding doors in good quality aluminum, all anodized aluminum color. All glass, clear, 6mm, on 1st floor and terrace door to corridor and master bedroom laminated glass. Some exception will occur in toilet and washing room.

Upper front terrace fence 207 in rustproof treated steel and redwood frame.

All interior and exterior electric wires cut into wall and / or lay under flooring. Should also include wire from street (inside perimeter wall), main board, antenna, installation of switches. NOT included the single switch and outlet interior, antenna them self, but including wires, pipes, mainboard etc. Breaker to aircon in mainboard.

Installation of all light. Not including lighting fittings.

***All interior doors in plain, flat plywood with veneer, white semi gloss painted wood frame, 35mm more frame (than standard) plywood door, size 900x2200. Doors to bath room moisture proof. NOT including handles and locks but all other fittings.

Cat doors, one to exterior, one to master bedroom – details to be explained by designer.

Exterior doors (3) in flat and plain solid / core wood min 40mm, frame in solid wood to match door, size 1000x2200. NOT including handles and lock (double) but all other fittings.

All glass sliding, folding and swing door to be with inside lock with key including all hardware. Window in 104 / 109 to be with key lock on inside.

Skylight over stairway 110 in guest bath room, 202 + 204 with ventilation (incl permanent mosquito net).

Closeable access to canopy / roof from upper main terrace.

****Skirting in all room in spray painted 1/4”x2” solid wood where wood floor and 50mm high tile skirting where tile floor.

****Both terraces 108 / 207 to install solid wood (teng or teak wood) louvers in ceiling, oil treatment or epoxy, weather resistant, not include solid wood louvers and treatment.

Viva board, 9 – 12 mm ceiling on main terrace ceiling 111 / 205.

Installation of tiles on two front balconies 108 / 207 including drain and drain grove. Not including tiles.

All roof, canopy and terrace to have drainage. Exposed drainage in round good quality zinc. All other drains to be concealed in shafts.

All interior ceiling to be min 9mm plain white painted gypsum board, moisture proof in baths, toilet, washing room and storage room.

All interior walls to be painted white, moisture resistant paint and wall treatment (exterior quality) in bath, washing room, toilet and storage room or otherwise treated to stand extra humidity expected for such areas.

Installation of all bathroom equipment including drain, electric fan, tiles, WC and steel support for cabinets. In master bathroom 204 installation of solid wood counter (wood delivered by client, but need cut, installation and underneath steel support. Cement counter in toilet 105. Hardware, WC, tiles, shower head, electric fan, sink, tap etc is supplied by client.

Aircon, all compressors on roof – aircon unit is not included in this budget, but preparation (piping for roof via shafts and final installation and test of units, cassette model 220V) for such is (living, kitchen, master and guest bed room). All breakers at main board.

****Makar wood floor 4”x1000mm in living room including raised platform at entrance, corridor, master bedroom, guest room including Polyurethane treatment (good quality finish work).

Stair from 1st to 2nd floor according to drawing, painted and rustproof steel, wood step (to match flooring finish, but not size) and single rail in stainless brushed steel.

Installation of tile floors in all bathrooms, toilets, kitchen, storage room and washing room. Not included tiles.

All drains to floor, toilets and sink to be big dimension.

Underground water tank 3000 liter including pump that has automatic dry run stop. To service following;

Solar water heater 300l on roof, tap for washer roof

Room 105, sink, hygienic washer, toilet, tap for floor wash water

Room 107, sink, tap for floor wash water, washing machine

Room 109, sink, dish washing machine, fridge

Room 202, sink, hygienic washer, toilet, tap for floor wash water, shower

Room 204, 2x sink, hygienic washer, toilet, tap for floor wash water, shower

One tap each two sides of house, exterior.

Solar water heater on roof as follow:

Installation of hot water piping from roof from solar water heater (NOT including solar heaters, delivery by client). One heater 300l to service following:

Room 105, sink

Room 107, sink

Room 109, sink + dish washer machine

Room 202, sink, shower

Room 204, two sink, shower

One underground tank for toilets waste 3000 liter (all including).

Installation of glass blocks in walls – miscellaneous places. Not including glass blocks.

***Installation of kitchen appliances, hood and hub (gas), preparation for dishwasher, water connection, air ways etc. Not including cabinets, hardware, sink, hub, hood, tap etc.

Positions and dimension of gutters to be discussed with architect.

All wood, floor, cladding, cabinets and joinery to be treated for worm and termites before installation, interior and exterior.

Installation of pipe under construction / house for termite protection.

Under house protection from moisture (contractor architect to advice).

Contractor to advice cement roof construction and general items.

IMPORTANT: No other exposed columns than shown on MP01 and MP02 must be added to the construction.

Good planning, good brief to contractor, good design and avoid making too many changes while building is some of the ingredience for a good house and to keep cost control.

CBDK,

I like your project and the first hand information of your build. Will you share a copy of your brief to the contractor, product-sourcing contacts, as well as post some photo's of the interior rooms. I know this is asking a lot, but I feel there are many people that would benefit from your experiences.

Thanks - O

[Orangutan]

CBDK,

Thanks that was a fast reply. I have two friends that recently built houses in Thailand, both projects were a disaster. They were left with inferior dwellings starting from the lack of good design, to the substandard building materials, and shoddy craftsmanship. My friends were detached from the process. You don’t have to architect, or a carpenter, but you should try to learn as much as you can, and monitor what’s being done to build your own house.

Developers and homeowners usually seek out the easiest and most inexpensive solutions to maintain a structure, rather than focus on preserving the integrity of the original design.

I agree that the supporting drawings would be great to see in addition to the text you have provided, but it is a great read. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences.

-O

[CBDK]

You are welcome! Just stop by if you wanna have a look at the drawings... Sad to hear about your friends - its a bit gambling to build your own house, no matter where you do it, but in Thailand there might be a higher risk du e to the different understanding of quality. You get what you pay for, so to speak.

I will see if I can shoot some interior photos next Saturday and issue them here. Still all grey cement render inside!

CBDK,

Thanks that was a fast reply. I have two friends that recently built houses in Thailand, both projects were a disaster. They were left with inferior dwellings starting from the lack of good design, to the substandard building materials, and shoddy craftsmanship. My friends were detached from the process. You don’t have to architect, or a carpenter, but you should try to learn as much as you can, and monitor what’s being done to build your own house.

Developers and homeowners usually seek out the easiest and most inexpensive solutions to maintain a structure, rather than focus on preserving the integrity of the original design.

I agree that the supporting drawings would be great to see in addition to the text you have provided, but it is a great read. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences.

-O

[Orangutan]

CBDK,

Anticipating viewing the interior pictures.

-O

[CBDK]

Hi again...

Okay, got a few shots from the interior and are posting them here as promised. There is a number in the upper right corner - please refer to this:

Pic 1

Shows the master bedroom from upper north terrace. The big opening are to be panoramic windows / sliding doors. All glass to be clear glass - really don't like this tinted stuff. Like wearing sunglass all the time - I leave that to the movie stars...

Pic 2

Same bedroom but facing the other wall. You can see some glass block on the endwall - this facade is facing the neighbour. Using frosted glasblock here to get the light in without disturbing privacy. The tall glass block wall to the right is is going into the shower. Shower is facing south-east so I will get a bit of morning sun in this way as the shower has both window and skylight.

Pic 3

This is the entrance to our 2nd bedroom. This facade is facing the other neighbour and concept is the same - get som sunlight in without disturbing privacy.

Pic 4

This is our ground floor north terrace which can be access from living / kitchen room. The big opening to be filled with panoramic glass doors again. The living room and kitchen is in one room, total 68 sqm which I consider quite big. Then, with the open view to the terrace it will feel even bigger.

Pic 5

Here I changed position to be on the ground floor north terrace and is now looking into the living room (at left) and kitchen (at right, but not easy to see). Living room will have a step down level at about 100mm from the kitchen level.

Pic 6

Inside the living room I'm shooting this picture towards the kitchen. The two metal beams are gonna be the stair to 2nd floor. Stair is very open, but will still shadow a bit to the kitchen in case there's a bit of a mess. Also, the stair is a good platform to sit and chat with the people working in the kitchen. Over the stairway there is a big skylight to bring some sunlight down to the kitchen.

Well - all for now - hope this can be of inspiration.

[Orangutan]

CBDK,

Thanks for the preview, looks like things are progressing in a orderly manner by the appearance of the photos. The scale of the interior appears massive with plenty of light, I imagine you have not sacrificed privacy either. The descending stairway into the kitchen/living room area looks put together, and inviting. I’ve always liked glass block, it's strong and functional. The double super block leaves a nice window detail, and adds to the overall look of the interior. What are you doing for ceilings?

Looking forward to seeing updates as things progress.

-O

[CBDK]

Thanks for the kind words.

Yes, its gonna be very spaceous house - on the cost that we then only have 2 bedrooms. Ceiling on the interior will be plain gypsum. I have a few coves here and there to hide some blinds and at the entrance I plans to lower ceiling a bit as this area is very small. Inside a few wardrobes and storage room I take the ceiling all way to the slab to create more space.

Exterior ceiling on canteliver roof will be wood. I was first thinking about making Viva board but then I thought it would be too many grey colors.

Anyway, I keep you updated as things progress. A few weeks and windows should start to mount.

CBDK,

Thanks for the preview, looks like things are progressing in a orderly manner by the appearance of the photos. The scale of the interior appears massive with plenty of light, I imagine you have not sacrificed privacy either. The descending stairway into the kitchen/living room area looks put together, and inviting. I’ve always liked glass block, it's strong and functional. The double super block leaves a nice window detail, and adds to the overall look of the interior. What are you doing for ceilings?

Looking forward to seeing updates as things progress.

-O

[Nikkijah]

Looks nice CBDK, would love to see some pics once completed, any idea when completion is?

Nikkijah

[Orangutan]

To add to this interesting subject/thread here's a link to a prefab site:

http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/.home.htm

There are many references and sources to Bauhaus style architecture. Check out the shipping container habitable structures...although not logical for Thailand unless you bury them in soil.

-O

[Orangutan]

CBDK,

Just wondering how your house is comming, and if you're going to post some more photo's?

Go kindly,

-O

[CBDK]

Hi O,

I will post some more, but right now they seem a bit behind schedule. At the moment installing insulation in ceiling, windowframes (no glass yet), leveling floors before wood and tiles goes in so no "visual" news yet. Let me see by next Saturday if there is anything worth posting (I hope).

:-)

CBDK

[frango]

Hi there

I have only recently subscribed to your great site.

I am a journalist in London, and have been commissioned by Escape magazine to do a feature on 'building your dream home in Thailand@

I have written several articles on other aspects of living in Thailand, but for this one the editor wants traditional style Thai houses, and high resolution images 1 mg plus of both the interior and exterior.

If there is anyone out there who feels able to help me with this, info and pictures, I would be very grateful. I can be e-mailed at [email protected]

Thanking you in anticipation,

frango

[CBDK]

Promised to send more pictures - well, better late than never. Very busy building the house now. Expect to move in before Songkran. Time will show...

CBDK

[jumbo]

Promised to send more pictures - well, better late than never. Very busy building the house now. Expect to move in before Songkran. Time will show...

CBDK

Nice picks, what did you put on the floor??

J

[CBDK]

Hi J,

I have wood floor 4" x 100cm in most room, however the kitchen (which is open to the living room) has black slate tiles - raised about 10cm. Bath- and washing room are tiles as well and out door terraces are the same stone as the Bangkok pavement.

CBDK

[jumbo]

Hi J,

I have wood floor 4" x 100cm in most room, however the kitchen (which is open to the living room) has black slate tiles - raised about 10cm. Bath- and washing room are tiles as well and out door terraces are the same stone as the Bangkok pavement.

CBDK

thans for the info, thought it was wood looking at the picks, anything between the wood and the cement??

J

[CBDK]

thans for the info, thought it was wood looking at the picks, anything between the wood and the cement??

J

No, only glue. I thought there should be an extra layer of wood but contractor kept saying no to this.

[Orangutan]

CBDK,

Did you use any penetrating concrete sealer, or preservative that will permanently seal out moisture on the exterior of the house?

-O

[CBDK]

CBDK,

Did you use any penetrating concrete sealer, or preservative that will permanently seal out moisture on the exterior of the house?

-O

Yes we did but only on the roof and between soil and slab.

On the roof covering the house there was some kind of green colored sealer layed on top of the concrete, like a mix of sheets and some liquid. Not sure what product they used. Hereafter they tested the roof to check its water proof. The hole thing looked like a tennis court. Herafter more concrete was held out on the roof and all looked cement grey again.

The cantelever roof got another mixture of cement to water proof it. Not sure what that was either.

Under the slab against the soil a layer af plastic was added before they casted and layed the slab.

The exterior walls didn't get any special treatment against moisture but the walls has been given a grey render and handpolished with sandpaper all over. Above all glass doors and in skylights we added some ventilation grills to get a natural flow of wind and to avoid moisture problems.

CBDK

[teej]

any progress pictures? I really like this project.

[CBDK]

any progress pictures? I really like this project.

Hi!

I will issue some new pics during Songkran. Things are starting to look very good - paint is on almost all interior walls, half the wood floors has been sanded and polished, doors and windows start to arrive, batthrooms are reaching 50% etc. But - very busy coordinating all thing. I have a break at Songkran to arrange an updated.

Thanks for your interest.

CBDK