Building a House in Issan

[kamalabob2]

The permit to build cost 30 baht plus 25 stang per square meter as I recall.  It would be a HUGE home to be 500 baht.  

Or Bor Tor issued building permit license

Construction License, Building Alteration License, or Tearing Down Building License

No. 00000/2555
License is given to _______-_______ the owner of a building, residing at __-__ Alley/Soi - Road ___-___ Moo __-__ Tambon/Kweang _____-______ Amphur/Khet ______-_______ Province ______-_______ 
Clause 1 To construct a building (green area ___) At - Alley/Soi - Road - Moo - Tambon/Kweang - Amphur/Khet - Province - in Nor.Sor. 3 no xxxx which is the land of ___________-____________ 
Clause 2 To be a ...................................... building 
Type ............................ amount ............. to be .................. with an area/length of .................. - square meters. A parking, a u-turn area, and an entrance/exit for.................. car(s) with the area of - square meters.
Type ............................ amount ............... to be .................. with an area/length of ................. - square meters. A parking, a u-turn area, and an entrance/exit for ................. car(s) with the area of .......................... square meters.
Type ............................ amount ............... to be .................. with an area/length of ................. - square meters. A parking, a u-turn area, and an entrance/exit for ................ car(s) with the area of .......................... square meters.
according to an area plan, a blueprint, details of a blueprint, and details of a calculation no ...........................
Clause 3 Mr. ............................... is the foreman 
Clause 4 A licensee shall follow conditions below:
A licensee shall follow principles, methods, and conditions according to ministerial regulations and/or local registrations; section 8 (11), section 9, or section 10 of the Building Control Act B.E. 2522. The building(s) is calculated by Mr. ___-___ In case of a blueprint violates other relevant laws, a licensee shall follow those laws.
This license is valid until ............. month ............. B.E. .............
Issued on .............. month .............. B.E. ..............
(signed) ............../s/...........
(Mr. ...................................)
Position ...........................
(official seal being affixed)

[Cashboy]

13 hours ago, kamalabob2 said:

The permit to build cost 30 baht plus 25 stang per square meter as I recall.  It would be a HUGE home to be 500 baht.  

 

 

My house design is 265 m2 of floor area x 30 bt so on your basis => 7950 bt

 

And your definition of a huge house would be 500 bt / 30bt =>  16.7 m2 area house ?

 

Have you made a mistake in your statement or am I not getting something?

[Cashboy]

15 hours ago, sirineou said:

I understand that many places in Thailand things are not done totally to code. But for your house and for your own good you want to try to get the best possible result.

As far as Thread width concerned , you are right Thais do have smaller feet , but you are not Thai and you will be using these stairs more than any visitors ,

Trust me, you will not be happy stubbing your toe on the riser because the thread is too narrow, especially if thy can be made the proper width very easily. 

As far as riser variation is concerned , OSHA suggests no more than a 1/4 of an inch, and there is good reason for that. When you go down the stairs you expect the next step to be about the same as the one before, and if it is not you will have a higher drop than expected and you could injure your self, the same when you go up the stairs, You don't look at every step to calculate how much you should raise your foot, and if one riser is significantly higher than the one before you could trip and fall. 

I do it manually , but plenty of stair calculators out there that you input the horizontal distance and the vertical height and it will give you the number of steps and the  thread and riser dimensions.

Here is one:http://www.calculator.net/stair-calculator.html

PS: you are doing well , I am also building a house right now in Thailand  and I also ironed out most of my issues by having conversations like this ,  consider what is suggested and based on your own particular situation, and preferences either implement them in your design or reject them,

Good luck

 

Thank you for the calculator.

The stair calculations took me a bit of thinking and working out using Excel.

I looked at a few houses in the villages and tried to remember running up the stairs of the condo I lived in in Bangkok.

And as I was doing these drawings in the UK looked at my staircase in the house.

I actually ended up making the design of the house one metre wider because I needed 0.5 metres more space for the stair risers. I did not want to do what most Thai builders seem to do which is come out an extra 1 meter in the stair area which complicated the roof.  I wanted a roof on the top of the house to cover the whole house and I wanted the roof to sit equally on posts in the centre of the house.

 

The purpose of this thread is to give people that are interested in building a house an understanding of what is involved and hopefully don't make the mistakes and believe some of the crap they are told.

 

 

[Cashboy]

OVER HANG OF ROOF ?

 

What would you recommed as the overhang of the roof in Thailand.

I was thinking 1.2 metres because of the sun and when it rains at an angle.

 

Some of the builder engineers have asked "why not 1 metre, 1 metre is normal?".

 

So questions:

1) what would you think was the correct overhang on a house with walls of 7 metres high from the ground?

2) What wold you think was the correct pitch (angle) for a roof in Thailand?

 

 

 

 

[Cashboy]

On 12/19/2017 at 5:08 AM, kamalabob2 said:

Cashboy:  CPAC tiles in your photo are not clay. A good cement tile and seriously consider the advise given to you by Carlyai.  Diamond is another quality roof tile that also offers professional roof installation services in Isaan. I see Thai building contractors cut down the spec on steel for roof support, floors and anywhere they can pocket money. SD40T is not the same as SD40.  Better yet SD30 is not the same strength as SD40 rebar. Weight matters when you buy steel. There is unacceptable building procedures done in Buriram and there are top quality home builders in Buriram. Go in person and bring a ladder to get up and see welding and roof building.  

Regarding tiles on the roof; I am recommended CPAC - Monier and am contemplating them.

What do you believe them to be made of if not concrete or clay?

Roof_CPAC_Monier.pdf

[farmerjo]

2 hours ago, Cashboy said:

OVER HANG OF ROOF ?

 

What would you recommed as the overhang of the roof in Thailand.

I was thinking 1.2 metres because of the sun and when it rains at an angle.

 

Some of the builder engineers have asked "why not 1 metre, 1 metre is normal?".

 

So questions:

1) what would you think was the correct overhang on a house with walls of 7 metres high from the ground?

2) What wold you think was the correct pitch (angle) for a roof in Thailand?

 

 

 

 

Everyone has different tastes,my preference would be a roof that extends out to over an outdoor living area.

Especially after a rainy season like the one just past.

[bankruatsteve]

3 hours ago, Cashboy said:

OVER HANG OF ROOF ?

 

What would you recommed as the overhang of the roof in Thailand.

I was thinking 1.2 metres because of the sun and when it rains at an angle.

 

Some of the builder engineers have asked "why not 1 metre, 1 metre is normal?".

 

So questions:

1) what would you think was the correct overhang on a house with walls of 7 metres high from the ground?

2) What wold you think was the correct pitch (angle) for a roof in Thailand?

 

 

 

 

Soffits are usually 1.2 m in length so you would be OK with that.  Most builds use 90-100 cm.

[sirineou]

5 hours ago, Cashboy said:

Regarding tiles on the roof; I am recommended CPAC - Monier and am contemplating them.

What do you believe them to be made of if not concrete or clay?

Roof_CPAC_Monier.pdf

CPAC Monier .Silver gray is what Iused in my buid and I am very happy with the choice. Make sure they use the reflecting foil underneath,it will keep the attic significantly cooler and might help by caching minor leaks.

We used 1m overhung and it deem to be adequate.

[kamalabob2]

It is 30 baht for the document. Then 25 stang per square meter. That was three years ago. The price is the same in ALL provinces of Thailand for a permit to build. Best you print out the permit from the internet and you can go in person with your plans. Each and every page needs to be signed by that government office.  The permit to build will also list the OWNER of the house structure.  Once you have the permit to build document there is far less delay on permanent electricity from the PEA, less delay on the water meter, no delay with Internet, etc.  In this country, when you are not holding proper paperwork you are at the mercy of corrupt officials, who can put you on a slow track. It all changes if you have the right paperwork. Not much different than Immigration. I've observed countless people not bring in all the paperwork to get a Visa, and then they get angry at the denial, delay or offer of under the table payment. Never a person who had all the paperwork in my observation. Heed my advise when a Thai builder says "This is normal" or "This is Standard", then you will be disappointed in the results. 1.5 meter overhang is not hard to accomplish. Everyday you have less sun or less rain on your windows or covered veranda you will be thankful.  CPAC Monier is a wonderful concrete roof tile as long as the Dry Fix system is used. SCG has a ton of instructional booklets for Thai builders. I attended a free roof installation seminar at the Surin Home Mart near the railroad tracks where Thai workers were given hands on training to use SCG products for roofs. Diamond and Shera also make and sell a quality concrete  roof tile in Thailand. You can buy Shera concrete roof tile that has the color all the way through the tile, not just baked onto the top. 

[Cashboy]

On 12/24/2017 at 12:33 PM, sirineou said:

CPAC Monier .Silver gray is what Iused in my buid and I am very happy with the choice. Make sure they use the reflecting foil underneath,it will keep the attic significantly cooler and might help by caching minor leaks.

We used 1m overhung and it deem to be adequate.

Nice house.

A few questions.

1)  What are the distances between your concrete posts; I guess 4 metres supporting 4 metre pre-cast concrete beams?

and what guage mm of raw bar was used;  16mm ?

 

2) I see that your roof ends have openings which is more complicated than simple hips.  Why have you done this?  Is this for circulation of air or something?

 

3) I see that you are using turbo blocks; what thickness are you using.  I see a lot using 100mm thick but on one house using 150mm thick.

I am certainly going to use 150mm for insulation but wondering would 200mm be even better?

[4MyEgo]

Depending on what part of the country your building, it can get pretty hot during summer.

 

When I built a couple of years ago, I went for a single level 300m2 house as opposed to a two level 300m2 house, the reason for the single level is for obvious reasons, stairs, hotter upstairs and costs much more to build.

 

The first thing I did is build the bedrooms all on the opposite side of where the sun is going to be, because the last thing you want is hot bedroom walls or rooms when you go to bed, suffice to say every room will require an air conditioner, whether you like them or not, summer is a killer, and maintained between 26-27 degrees the room will be just nice to sleep in.

 

Thermal reflective insulation is a must, although expensive, it does its job in delaying the heat coming through into your attic, around 60,000 baht for 250m2 and can be purchased at places like HomePro: http://www.polynum-insulation.com/index.php?goto=bep

 

Add to that a few whirly birds to suck out some of the heat, although you will get conflicting advise on this, although best advise is stand under one when you have installed it and feel the hot air being sucked up and out, they do work, contrary to what others say and cost about 1500 baht each.

 

Insulation is up to you, I haven't put batts in yet as haven't had the need, although might once I see how we go next summer, considering the rats they come during the rice season, which leads me to electrical wiring, make sure you have your wires in either pvc piping or that aluminium coils type piping as the rats might like to nibble on the wiring.

 

Most of your heat will enter through your window panes, so less is best, or wider eaves, i.e. 900mm - 1200mm with vented soffit boards for under your eaves to allow the air flow into and out of your attic.

 

Depending on the roof you put on, you want to allow a high clearance to move around in and allow that air to move about with front and rear vents in a hip roof for example, if a gable adding to the whirly birds, you really want to do everything you can to keep that hot air out of your attic.

 

Bricks, well suggest a cavity brick wall system, the big blonde bricks with the high heat rating are good to use and easy to lay.

 

Getting your materials from the local suppliers can be a little more expensive that the bigger ones like DoHome, Global house, HomePro etc etc, so best to shop around and factor in deliver costs as well.

 

A couple of 1,000 litre water tanks with a pump will assist when the main water gets shut off in the village, as will a hand full of plug in generators for when the lights go out, especially in the rain season.

 

If you find a local builder, he can do a rough sketch of the plans as ours did, no need for plans, and you buy the materials as you go, you will be far better off, we negotiated a 500,000 baht fee for our builder, and the materials costs us around 1,000,000 baht excluding air conditioners, it pays to have your Thai partner to be a good negotiator and not afraid to snub the local hardware places off if they are not prepared to match the prices of the the big guys (within reason), try to support your local community of course, but money better in your pocket if they are going to try you on for size, same day free delivery also helps.

 

Also you should be able to pick up steel from local steel suppliers.

 

Lots of trees to shade the walls from the sun will also help.

 

When it comes to payment to the builder, only pay as you go as you mentioned, nothing up front, because sooner or later you might find yourself out on a limb as the work slows and they start to ask for advance payments, which is a definite no no, changing the balance of power ($) can leave you in trouble.

 

Good luck and happy building, remember the golden rule for what its worth, i.e. only invest as much as your prepared to lose. 

[sirineou]

11 hours ago, Cashboy said:

Nice house.

A few questions.

1)  What are the distances between your concrete posts; I guess 4 metres supporting 4 metre pre-cast concrete beams?

and what guage mm of raw bar was used;  16mm ?

 

2) I see that your roof ends have openings which is more complicated than simple hips.  Why have you done this?  Is this for circulation of air or something?

 

3) I see that you are using turbo blocks; what thickness are you using.  I see a lot using 100mm thick but on one house using 150mm thick.

I am certainly going to use 150mm for insulation but wondering would 200mm be even better?

The distance between the columns varied (see footing plan below)

  

 

for the most part they were  3.5 m with 16 mm  rebar.  The plans called for 12 mm at places where the load decrease as in the upper floors but I asked the builder to use 16 mm throughout and I would pay the difference for the price in steel, as it turned out it was only $400 usd more . Money well spend IMO.

Larger spans can be achieved with additional engineering . In the west we no longer use beams . they are engineered into the slab  (thicker slab , more steel) we only use "transfer beams where the columns change location from the ones below. The column and slab pore is monolithic (poured together at the same time).  

      The roof design was for the most part to achieve the traditional Thai look, and at the same time provide a place for attic vents,  which they are trying to talk me out of , builder says they often leak , especially when the rain is driven sideways by the wind (I have seen it) , I am still thinking about . What do you all think??

     The block goes by many different names, (aac, superblock, turbo block etc) depending which part of the world you are from, I guess the correct term is "Autoclaved aerated concrete ,AAC  "

Originally we were going to use 15 cm for exterior walls and  7.5 cm for interior walls.At the time  there was a shortage of 15 cm block and we would have had to wait a couple of weeks to which I suggested and the builder agreed , that we use double 7.5  and create a cavity wall , thus hiding the columns. Same effective thickness and R value with the additional R value of the cavity .

 

 

[Cashboy]

7 hours ago, sirineou said:

The distance between the columns varied (see footing plan below)

  

 

for the most part they were  3.5 m with 16 mm  rebar.  The plans called for 12 mm at places where the load decrease as in the upper floors but I asked the builder to use 16 mm throughout and I would pay the difference for the price in steel, as it turned out it was only $400 usd more . Money well spend IMO.

Larger spans can be achieved with additional engineering . In the west we no longer use beams . they are engineered into the slab  (thicker slab , more steel) we only use "transfer beams where the columns change location from the ones below. The column and slab pore is monolithic (poured together at the same time).  

      The roof design was for the most part to achieve the traditional Thai look, and at the same time provide a place for attic vents,  which they are trying to talk me out of , builder says they often leak , especially when the rain is driven sideways by the wind (I have seen it) , I am still thinking about . What do you all think??

     The block goes by many different names, (aac, superblock, turbo block etc) depending which part of the world you are from, I guess the correct term is "Autoclaved aerated concrete ,AAC  "

Originally we were going to use 15 cm for exterior walls and  7.5 cm for interior walls.At the time  there was a shortage of 15 cm block and we would have had to wait a couple of weeks to which I suggested and the builder agreed , that we use double 7.5  and create a cavity wall , thus hiding the columns. Same effective thickness and R value with the additional R value of the cavity .

 

 

Thank you for that information.

My opinions.

Cavity:

That makes sense to purchase 2 x 7.5cm thick blocks as opposed to a 15cm block or even 20cm block to hide the concrete support posts and the cavity should give you a higher R value.

Most thai houses seem to use only a single 10cm thick block and i was going for 15cm but shall now consider your method with the cavity.

The only downside could be when chasing the electric cables into those walls and then later on fixings for say wall cupboards.

I would definately prefer to use stainless steel wall tyes every two high blocks but saying that there isn't much morter between those blocks for the thickness of the tyes.

I can see that you retain the blocks against the concrete posts by inserting steel raw bar into the concrete posts and chasing out the blocks.

By the way;  did you use a damp course on the concrete ground floor and a damp course between the concrete foundation wall and the aerated blocks?

 

Roof:

The reason I was putting a roof on the top covering the entire building is to avoid leaks from one roof overlapping another roof and sideways rain.

I also want to try and build everything to be concrete non combustable materials.

Regarding your roof; if you look at my drawing you would see that I purposely put the posts in such a way that the steel structure should be simple.

In fact I am thinking of getting the roof put on by CPAC by simply giving the drawing because they manufacture in factory steel trusses, deliver, put on, insulate the roof and tile the roof.  I have seen so many poor roof designs and steel roof structures in Thailand on houses being built.  CPAC similarly works out cheaper and give a 5 year warranty.  I have to get the Thai girl to get a quote for that to do a comparison.

I would have thought that there would be vented ridge tiles available so the air would pass through the eaves vents through the top of the roof.

 

Just so you know, I am no civil engineer or builder.

I am a self employed qualified accountant / business consultant but have a mechanical engineering degree that I have never used but used to do a lot of labouring on building sites from the age of 14 to finishing university at 21.

 

I am also interested in building construction in Thailand because I am looking at starting a small construction company in Kumpawapi - Udonthani Province to build houses for farang.  I have seen and read so many failures and overprised constructions for farang in Thailand.  

I can already see that when the engineers come round and give quotes for "their builders" to construct the building that they just assume that I am a farang and therefore have money to blow.  They forget that some of us came from poor families, had nothing and studied and worked hard, took business risks to have what we have and therefore not going to throw it away.  

 

 

 

 

[sirineou]

7 hours ago, Cashboy said:

Thank you for that information.

My opinions.

Cavity:

That makes sense to purchase 2 x 7.5cm thick blocks as opposed to a 15cm block or even 20cm block to hide the concrete support posts and the cavity should give you a higher R value.

Most thai houses seem to use only a single 10cm thick block and i was going for 15cm but shall now consider your method with the cavity.

The only downside could be when chasing the electric cables into those walls and then later on fixings for say wall cupboards.

I would definately prefer to use stainless steel wall tyes every two high blocks but saying that there isn't much morter between those blocks for the thickness of the tyes.

I can see that you retain the blocks against the concrete posts by inserting steel raw bar into the concrete posts and chasing out the blocks.

By the way;  did you use a damp course on the concrete ground floor and a damp course between the concrete foundation wall and the aerated blocks?

 

Roof:

The reason I was putting a roof on the top covering the entire building is to avoid leaks from one roof overlapping another roof and sideways rain.

I also want to try and build everything to be concrete non combustable materials.

Regarding your roof; if you look at my drawing you would see that I purposely put the posts in such a way that the steel structure should be simple.

In fact I am thinking of getting the roof put on by CPAC by simply giving the drawing because they manufacture in factory steel trusses, deliver, put on, insulate the roof and tile the roof.  I have seen so many poor roof designs and steel roof structures in Thailand on houses being built.  CPAC similarly works out cheaper and give a 5 year warranty.  I have to get the Thai girl to get a quote for that to do a comparison.

I would have thought that there would be vented ridge tiles available so the air would pass through the eaves vents through the top of the roof.

 

Just so you know, I am no civil engineer or builder.

I am a self employed qualified accountant / business consultant but have a mechanical engineering degree that I have never used but used to do a lot of labouring on building sites from the age of 14 to finishing university at 21.

 

I am also interested in building construction in Thailand because I am looking at starting a small construction company in Kumpawapi - Udonthani Province to build houses for farang.  I have seen and read so many failures and overprised constructions for farang in Thailand.  

I can already see that when the engineers come round and give quotes for "their builders" to construct the building that they just assume that I am a farang and therefore have money to blow.  They forget that some of us came from poor families, had nothing and studied and worked hard, took business risks to have what we have and therefore not going to throw it away.  

 

 

 

 

These are some ridge vent solutions available in the CPAC monier system. Not having any experience with them other than what I have read , and having being advised against them from the builder who has a lot of experience with them  , I opted to go with the gable vent solution  (something like showed in the green gable above) My reasoning being that if indeed I had a problem with rain entering the system it would be a lot easier to fix.

PS: as far as starting a business in Thailand is concern, I have being given the following advise. " It is easy to be worth a  million Dollars in Thailand , just start with Two million  !!" LOL

[thoongfoned]

have you thought about using the "tin/metal roofing from say bluescope? we have built 2 houses, one about 12 years ago with the c pack tiles you mention and then 6 years ago with a cheaper thai "bluescope" type roof. if i were to build again i would go for the metal roof against the c pac tile.  those c pack tiles are very heavy = use alot of steel to hold it up.  with the c pack tiles we have a 1 metre over hang, with the "tin" we  have a covered sitting area....

[sirineou]

3 hours ago, thoongfoned said:

have you thought about using the "tin/metal roofing from say bluescope? we have built 2 houses, one about 12 years ago with the c pack tiles you mention and then 6 years ago with a cheaper thai "bluescope" type roof. if i were to build again i would go for the metal roof against the c pac tile.  those c pack tiles are very heavy = use alot of steel to hold it up.  with the c pack tiles we have a 1 metre over hang, with the "tin" we  have a covered sitting area....

All good points! A choice between  functionality and appearance.

For the traditional look of my build a tile does IMO look better but as you said a metal roof would not be as heavy,   and it would certainly have less of a chance for a leak but it could be a lot noisier in the rain . Not sure it will be that much less expensive. 

Another issue is the wife. You come and convince her that a tin roof is better.  and then stay here and explain to all the  relatives and friends she wants to impress .  

[Cashboy]

On 1/8/2018 at 8:16 AM, thoongfoned said:

have you thought about using the "tin/metal roofing from say bluescope? we have built 2 houses, one about 12 years ago with the c pack tiles you mention and then 6 years ago with a cheaper thai "bluescope" type roof. if i were to build again i would go for the metal roof against the c pac tile.  those c pack tiles are very heavy = use alot of steel to hold it up.  with the c pack tiles we have a 1 metre over hang, with the "tin" we  have a covered sitting area....

I decided to build this house for me to retire to.

I even designed it so the house can have three seperate condos  (2 upstairs and 1 downstairs)  if I get cheesed off with the Thai girl..................................LOL

 

You are correct in that the roof will weigh a lot with those concrete tiles.

I notice that most of the builders are using what they call "Steel C" to support the tiles on the roof.

These "Steel C 2 are just screwed in to the steel rafters.

 

I shall be using steel instead and weld them to the rafters like this.Another thing I notice is that they do not seem to overlap the tiles very much in Thailand and with the rain in storms and capillary action might get water coming in.

I shall be asking the builder to make the tiles overlap more even though the qualntity of tiles will be more and the weight more.

[Cashboy]

An update:

 

The architect came and looked at the site.

I had the drawings prepared by the architect that works at the government planning department from my drawings at the beginning of this thread.

He had a structural engineer do the appropriate structural drawings and calculations.

Government passed the drawings in the same week.

I feel that I might have paid over the top for this but was content that I had someone in the government prepare and have the drawings signed off.

 

Costs:

 

Architect Drawings                                   10,000 bt

Civil engineer and Town Planning            4,000 bt

Application Fee to Government                5,000 bt

Total                                                            19,000 bt

 

I have seen and heard too many problems with builders not using the right quality and gauge of materials.

I also believe that they will take short cuts to make extra money.

I therefore have decided to buy the materials myself and pay a "building technician" and his workers to build the skeleton and roof.

He has quoted me 300,000 bt labour.

 

I am making a randon guess that the materials:

concrete

raw bar

hire of moulds

wood for shuttering and props

steel for roof

insulation for roof

roof tiles

sofet boards

gutters

 

will come to about 1,000,000 bt  

That is on the basis that I had a quote from an architect / builder that he would do it for 1,600,000 bt

 

My total budget is 2,500,000 bt complete.

That is a lot for a house in Isaan !!

 

 

 

 

[Cashboy]

Update of some pictures:

 

First problem is that the water table appears to be high:

 

That explains the reason the old toilet septic tank fills up so quuickly in the old house.

 

[sirineou]

Looks nice.

Good luck with your build, looking forward to seeing more of it.

[jimmym40]

Hi, I didn't read all posts to this thread.    I did look at your drawings.    I've had built 6 houses in Thailand in the past 20 yrs, all of witch I designed myself.    I've learned a great deal throughout  all the builds.     One recommendation just from what I saw from your house plans is that your windows seem to be a bit small.    I would recommend all or most all of your windows to be 2 meters wide by 1.10 meters high.

 

Good Luck on your build.....

[Cashboy]

21 hours ago, jimmym40 said:

 One recommendation just from what I saw from your house plans is that your windows seem to be a bit small.    I would recommend all or most all of your windows to be 2 meters wide by 1.10 meters high.

 

The window and patio door sizes are not set yet.

The reason I was thinking of smaller windows is that most of the heat is lost through windows in houses in cold countries so gather that all the heat coming in in Thailand would be through the windows.  I therefore thought smaller windows would make sense.

The only problem I see with dark areas is that mosquitos like dark areas.

I am condsidering installing one air conditioning unit in the lounge and hope not to have to use that and only use fans.

[Cashboy]

[Cashboy]

[sirineou]

 Looks good!

Always an exciting time when you first start.  Keep the pictures coming

[GarryP]

If the water table is high, wouldn't you want to drive in piles to a fair depth?  I am not an engineer, but is seems you would get greater stability. 

[Cashboy]

40 minutes ago, GarryP said:

If the water table is high, wouldn't you want to drive in piles to a fair depth?  I am not an engineer, but is seems you would get greater stability. 

Actually just digging with the machine they hit rock so the ground is supposedly an excellent foundation base.

 

[Cashboy]

5 hours ago, sirineou said:

 Looks good!

Always an exciting time when you first start.  Keep the pictures coming

So far I am impressed with the "Technician" and his labour.

He has quoted me 240,000 bt labour only for the construction of the skeleton and roof.

The Thai girl goes with him to buy the materials and she pays for the materials directly to the merchants.  She tells me that he takes her to a huge builders merchant and checks the quality of the steel because there are immense difference in the quality.

There are three different grades of concrete; "normal",  "220" and "240" and he has been grading up because he says it is much stronger.

I feel this is the best way to be assured you really have the real materials in your building because it doesn't effect his pocket and it is probably easier to build with quality materials.

My "Technician" has no qualifications as such but was manager for ItalThai PLC in Thailand on large commercial structures (bridges and those BTS structures and shopping malls)

He can clearly read drawings and knows what he is doing as has advised us to up some of the gauges of the steel and as said used higher grades of concrete.

 

Early days but so far the Thai girl is happy working with him and the project has run smoothly.

We haven't paid him any labour yet but wants an installment when the ground floor concrete beams connecting the columns are completed I understand.

 

 

[Cashboy]

The Thai girl was talking to the "Technician" on the way to the builders merchant today and they were discussing the roof.

He said:

1)  Don't get SGS to make and instal the trusses.  There have been problems.

2)  Don't use those aluminimum strips with screws to hold the roof tiles.  Weld your own steel battons for holding the roof tiles

3)  Don't use the insulation below the roof tiles.  He says it falls off and damages the suspended ceiling after 3 years.  He states to leave the tiles exposed underneath.

[sirineou]

10 minutes ago, Cashboy said:

So far I am impressed with the "Technician" and his labour.

He has quoted me 240,000 bt labour only for the construction of the skeleton and roof.

The Thai girl goes with him to buy the materials and she pays for the materials directly to the merchants.  She tells me that he takes her to a huge builders merchant and checks the quality of the steel because there are immense difference in the quality.

There are three different grades of concrete; "normal",  "220" and "240" and he has been grading up because he says it is much stronger.

I feel this is the best way to be assured you really have the real materials in your building because it doesn't effect his pocket and it is probably easier to build with quality materials.

My "Technician" has no qualifications as such but was manager for ItalThai PLC in Thailand on large commercial structures (bridges and those BTS structures and shopping malls)

He can clearly read drawings and knows what he is doing as has advised us to up some of the gauges of the steel and as said used higher grades of concrete.

 

Early days but so far the Thai girl is happy working with him and the project has run smoothly.

We haven't paid him any labour yet but wants an installment when the ground floor concrete beams connecting the columns are completed I understand.

 

 

You seem to be doing everything right.

Keep am eye, that they vibrate the concrete when they pour, that they use spacers to get proper coverage on the steel, and that the concrete trucks don't add too much water in the mix.

When they pour the columns make sure they wrap them so that they don't loose too much moisture to the air while curing and lose straight.

If it is very hot and sunny when they pour the slab, spray some water on it a couple of times a day for a couple of days , it will give you a stronger slab and diminish cracks.