The Costs Of Building A House

[chiang mai]

I would guess there will be quite a few members out there who are contemplating building a house somewhere in Thailand and who are uncertain about the costs involved. I’ve struggled with this uncertainty for a couple of years but I’ve now finally come to understand the details.

The house in question is for my mother in law hence the costs need to be kept under control and since she only requires a fairly modest dwelling this has been easily achievable – location is about thirty minutes outside Sukhothai. The house is constructed with concrete posts spaced every three metres that raise it some two metres above ground. The spaces between the posts are in filled with red brick and the roof is traditional steel and tile construction – 88 square metres overall and this is the cost breakdown, in thousands of Thai Baht, rounded:

Roof tile – 22.0

All steel – 57.0

Floor slab – 22.0

Cement – 36.0

Sand/stone – 11.0

Brick – 15.0

Windows 15.0

Wood trim – 1.5

Front door – 13.0

Other doors – 8.0

Door frames – 3.0

Paint – 4.0

Electric 11.0

Plumbing 2.0

Tile – 17.0

Sanitary ware – 5.0

Labour – 150.0

Water supply (well) 8.0

Ceiling – 8.0

Total – Baht 408,500 or £5,835 or $11,347

One of the most difficult parts of the construction process was the selection of a builder. The house is located in a very poor village and several builders operate from the nearby town. We invited a few of them to quote for the work and despite the fact that my handled all the meetings the quotes came in consistently above 1.0 million baht - the perceived presence of a farang in these matters seems to automatically double the price! We finally managed to find a builder who had already built three houses nearby and he was prepared to detail the costs in a realistic way.

Material prices were also difficult to pin down and quotes varied by as much as 100% also from shop to shop. The key for us in this project was patience and a willingness to spend a lot of time shopping around before striking a deal, it saved us a lot of money.

Finally, during the build process we allowed the builder to order supplies as he needed them based on our agreed volume estimates and providing he ordered from the places we specified. The family checked the quantities and the invoices as supplies were delivered and only then did we make a payment for them. The builder was paid in four parts with thirty per cent of his labour costs kept back until the house was finished.

I hope you find this information useful.

[londonthai]

you menaged labour for 150k (well below 1 million+ which you were quoted as a farang) - often it's as much as all the building materials (so some 258.5k) and more in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket.

were you paying your builder per job or per day?

[JimmyGreaves]

Very useful!

[ProThaiExpat]

I doubt anyone can do as well as you did on the price per sq. meter. While building materials are more or less uniform thoughout Thailand, labor certainly is no.

I felt I did well in Chiang Mai by holding the developer/builder to the sq. meter cost that he advertised his standard house for in his development less discount, which was 6500 Baht a sq. meter four years ago.

Clearly, your hands on approach and shopping around for materials was a great saving to you.

Congratulations

[ProThaiExpat]

PS. I have double paneled teak front doors 2.8 meters high in a pattern I chose and they cost 6500 Baht. I wonder why yours were so high?

[chiang mai]

you menaged labour for 150k (well below 1 million+ which you were quoted as a farang) - often it's as much as all the building materials (so some 258.5k) and more in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket.

were you paying your builder per job or per day?

The costs were based on the overall job rather than daily rates. I figured I ran a risk of getting suckered into an extended building project if I went the daily pay route.

[chiang mai]

PS. I have double paneled teak front doors 2.8 meters high in a pattern I chose and they cost 6500 Baht. I wonder why yours were so high?

You spotted my one big mistake - I let the wife and MIL go shopping for the door and was not too happy when they returned. They are normally really good about managing finance so I don't feel too bad about it. For two weeks we had a sign on the door stating that anyone who knocked had to wear gloves and they got the message real fast.

[Aussietraveller]

Thanks for the post.

Losts of really useful information.

Looks like the average Cost per sq. Meter is about 5000 - 6500 Baht.

I am looking at building in Phuket soon, does anyone have an idea of what i should be budgeting per sq. m for the build.

My initial figures would indicate between 7 and 9000 per sq. meter.

Would this be accurate?

[ProThaiExpat]

Aussietraveler: I would say your spot on with a 7-9K per sq. meter cost estimate for a Phuket build.

However, as you can appreciate, many costs that are later "added on" by the owner are usually included in western country constuction cost estimates.

In Thailand, cabinetry is usually not included. Granite counter tops are usually not included. Water tank, pump, garage door opener, electric gate, swimming pool and similar such items are not included. Built in closets as opposed to wardrobe furniture are not included. Sliding mirror doors are pricey in Thailand.

However, these items shouldn't drive the price up more than about 10% and a well managed construction job should bring your job in Phuket in for less that the 9K per sq. meter even with these addons, except for a large euro kitchen with expensive appliances.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

I was out asking for black granite counter, for my kitchen, one 2,3 meters and one 2 meters, with holes for sink and stove, 146.000 fitted. i did not buy it... i live in phuket

[hgvneil]

Any photos chiang mai ?

[Gary A]

A Thai friend of mine recently built a western style house. In fact it is not quite finished yet. It's over 80 square meters with a tile roof and the top end is all steel with no wood except some trim. It is built on a concrete slab. It's a nice little house and he has about 400,000 baht in it. He already had the land.

[old wanderer]

I am having a 150 sq meter( Living area) house built, with a lot of covered walkways, and an outdoor covered sitting area done at a resort about 2 hours outside of Bangkok for 1.9 million baht. Since I cannot be there I had watched the construction of a lot of other houses at this resort by the owner, and they turned out OK.

I figured I could sort out and re=do what ever I really could not stand. We paid about 1 million for the land last year.

Since I live in SoCal where it is hard to even find a house under $500,000 (USA) these prices seem pretty cheap for me.

Edited January 21, 2007 by old wanderer

[nikster]

Very useful info, thanks!!

I just built a house that went well over 20k/square meter. It did turn out a little gem (*), but I would find myself hard pressed to quote anything less than 10,000 per sq meter. Only the simplest of houses can go below, and only if somebody manages the building process as well as you did can you get 5000. Not to say it's impossible - obviously

This is in the north of Thailand. We pay more for materials here, labor is cheaper but also pretty clueless about modern houses.

My penny-pinching neighbor just built a little extra house for his mom, half cement half wood and it was about 500k for I would say no more than 80sq m. I am pretty sure he did as well as possible around here with that - wood is expensive.

Looking to build another small house for in-laws and will follow your route with that...

* The wood alone was well over 500k even though this is a concrete house with wooden floors and trimmings, we splurged on the bathrooms etc... let's

[chiang mai]

Any photos chiang mai ?

Will take some on the next trip down there and post.

[Thaicoon]

Hi

I was out asking for black granite counter, for my kitchen, one 2,3 meters and one 2 meters, with holes for sink and stove, 146.000 fitted. i did not buy it... i live in phuket

Hec more expensive than the uk, Phuket, says it all, i had a condo down there, now sold, when we were doing it up they quoted me crazy prices, as the old saying go's LOCATION, LOCATION,

So got the wifes family to go down with a truckload of stuff, worked out more than half the price, they also did all work as they are builders, drove down from Buriram

In Korat you can pick granite up for about 700 baht a metre, and the guy will also cut it out for an extra charge of about 2500 baht

I have enquired about this last week, as sending a high spec kitchen over from the UK, excluding worktops, as i can buy a high spec kitchen over here a lot cheaper than in thailand, and the wife has a box going over duty free.

[Nawtilus]

Thaicoon, any pics of this kitchen and what it should look like ? I have a nice kitchen here for 215k, so would be interesting to see the difference in your 'high spec' and similar priced one I got. Mine not include top either as yet as deciding on what to use.

[Nawtilus]

I do not hink you will get anywhere near the prices your thinking for phuket, firstly all the building companies are spoilt with over paying gullible foreigners and secondly they know what these properties they build are selling for, so they trying to get there cut.

Some prices mentioend might be achievable for very standard and basic finishings, excluding the mentioned items such as pool, built ins, kitchen, landscape etc etc etc. But it will still be a very very basic job, requiring extra attention all the way.

[paulsmithson]

215K baht for a kitchen---that is 3 grand UK money! Way OTT! I sense an excellent bussiness opportunity here. Uk a days wage for a tradesman about £150 thailand Baht 200 max.

Or is it a restaurant kitchen? Ana a bloody big restaurant at that!

[HDRIDER]

215K baht for a kitchen---that is 3 grand UK money! Way OTT! I sense an excellent bussiness opportunity here. Uk a days wage for a tradesman about £150 thailand Baht 200 max.

Or is it a restaurant kitchen? Ana a bloody big restaurant at that!

My Kitchen here in Phuket will set me back about 160K and its not big.

[Nawtilus]

Good luck with that business opportunity !!

Specially if you think you can get a skilled cabinet maker for 200 baht.

[Thaicoon]

I do not hink you will get anywhere near the prices your thinking for phuket, firstly all the building companies are spoilt with over paying gullible foreigners and secondly they know what these properties they build are selling for, so they trying to get there cut.

Some prices mentioend might be achievable for very standard and basic finishings, excluding the mentioned items such as pool, built ins, kitchen, landscape etc etc etc. But it will still be a very very basic job, requiring extra attention all the way.

sorry no pics as yet, but the room size is 32 foot by 15 foot, having the units straight on both walls with built in double oven on the tower and larder units, also a breakfast bar either side, will look good, the reason i bought in the UK, was the list price of this kitchen was over a million baht, with discounts in the Jan sales got it for 5000 GBP, and included free, was 2 hotpoint frige draws and a range worth 1400 pounds. i could not of bought this cheaper in thailand.

as i say before, i would not have bothered, but the wife has a 40 foot container coming over, so i have been advised to fill it with as much stuff as poss.

[Thaicoon]

Thaicoon, any pics of this kitchen and what it should look like ? I have a nice kitchen here for 215k, so would be interesting to see the difference in your 'high spec' and similar priced one I got. Mine not include top either as yet as deciding on what to use.

Here is the pics of the units, and what they will look like.

found them on the companys site.

[wolfmanjack]

Good luck with that business opportunity !!

Specially if you think you can get a skilled cabinet maker for 200 baht.

Try 400 per day ! If you can find any for 200 per day let me know. I can use them once you are done ? We trained a guy that started out at 150 per day. He got more skilled his wages went up. He asked for 200 per day and we gave it to him. Then he quit to go home and start his own business. Not to mention he got free rent, free water, free drinking water, free electric and he still quit.

[LivinLOS]

Apartments next to my villa are being sold for 12.9 million !! I figured the developer was dreaming but they already sold about half..

Phukets market is truly nuts IMO.

[Nawtilus]

Good luck with that business opportunity !!

Specially if you think you can get a skilled cabinet maker for 200 baht.

Try 400 per day ! If you can find any for 200 per day let me know. I can use them once you are done ? We trained a guy that started out at 150 per day. He got more skilled his wages went up. He asked for 200 per day and we gave it to him. Then he quit to go home and start his own business. Not to mention he got free rent, free water, free drinking water, free electric and he still quit.

Yeah that kinda sucks hey....

[chownah]

I doubt that any developer would tell anyone that they haven't sold any units yet.........half sold is probably a face saving statement....also no one wants to live alone in a housing development.....half sold for sure.

But I'm probably wrong on this.

Chownah