our house doesn't have a kitchen

[Gecko123]

Not a big fan of outdoor kitchens. All the back and forth, in-and-out of the house to check stuff on the stove?  The flies and mosquitos? God forbid you forget to turn off the light at night in the rainy season and the whole kitchen is carpeted with flying termites in the morning.

[Kerryd]

If/when I move "up country" I will have a proper kitchen inside, but on the patio I will have a BBQ and probably one of those gas burners that you see in assorted small shops. The kind that is designed to fit a large wok and nothing else and they crank up the fire and cook (whatever) in it at blazing high temperatures.
Screen doors are essential, especially in rural areas. Just have to look at the street lights on an average night to see how many bugs there really are flying around normally.

I used to have insect problems when I first moved into my current house. Lots of little holes and cracks for the critters to get in. Changed the bathroom drain to one of those kind that has the removable top and is supposed to let water out and keep "critters" from getting in.
Had the large open drain at the back on the house covered (the little patio area that they always build, then cover over but leave it looking like it was an afterthought) and installed one of those same kind of drains in there.
I modified the drain hose for the washing machine. It used to fit through the drain hole (when you took the top piece off of course) with plenty of "wriggle room" so I took some fine wire mesh, cut a section about 6" wide and 9"s or so long. Wrapped that around the bottom of the drain hose so it extended a couple inches past the end of the plastic, taped the upper part to the hose, then stuck it through the drain. Fits snug now.
Put a square of mesh around where the pipe entered the drain and taped that to the floor. Nothing comes up through there anymore and even if a rat makes to the bottom of the drain, it won't chew through the wire mesh to get at the plastic hose and then try to get into the house. I've also positioned the drain hose so that it is elevated just before the drain, creating a kind of "goose neck" that ensures a portion of the hose will always be full of water. That prevents any creepy crawlies from getting up the drain hose and coming out through the washing machine.

 

For the assorted small holes around the house (like where power or other cables go into the ceiling or air-con hoses come into the house) I used some Expanding Foam. A little squirt is usually all that is needed. Haven't seen any bugs try to tunnel through that stuff (yet) so maybe it's toxic to them (hopefully).

Used to have a minor centipede problem (though some of them were quite large). Traced it to cracks in the grout between some of the tiles in the bathroom, especially where the floor and wall tiles met. Seems there are dark, dank spaces under there that the centipedes like. Filled the cracks I could find with a filler and that solved most of the problem (and cut down on the odour that used to be in the bathroom as well). I think I've missed a couple small cracks though as I still see the odd (small) centipede in the bathroom, usually when I'm cleaning it and they get flushed out of a crack.

Once in a while (more than a year usually) I will get an invasion of ants. Once I figure out where they came in from, I'll soak the area in bug spray until it is dripping. Wait a few hours, sweep the area, wipe it down (or mop it depending where it is) and that will usually do it.

The little *******s will tunnel through the grout under the tiles or through the mortar between bricks for great distances (to an ant) before finally popping out some tiny little hole in the middle of nowhere. And when they do, they usually have a frikken legion of their buddies with them. The last invasion seemed to be coming out from a small crack between the wooden door jamb and the concrete of the doorway at the back of the house (leading into the "kitchen" area). I keep things clean and regularly sweep and mop the floors. Garbage is emptied twice a week, dishes are done 2-3 times a day normally.
But every so often they still stage an invasion. With the last one, I sprayed around the door jamb with the normal bug spray. The next morning there must have been hundreds of dead any corpses around the bottom of the door jambs and I still saw ants on the walls. Swept the area and then I took a can of different bug spray (has a small tube on it and comes out more "liquidy" than the other spray) and I soaked the door jamb, top to bottom, both sides, until it was dripping.

The next morning there were hundreds (maybe thousands) of dead ants at the bottom of the door jamb but no sign of any live ones anywhere. Cleaned the area up and haven't seen another ant since then (been a little over 2 weeks now).

Back "home" (in Canada) we had the same kinds of problems. Just different critters is all. Mice were the biggest nuisance followed by the common "house fly". Squirrels, garter snakes and those big black "Carpenter" ants could also be a nuisance so it's not like everything "back" home was all that great either (from a pest point of view).

A lot of people back there also have problems with things like termites, raccoons, opossums and other critters that we don't get in Thailand ('cept for the termites of course).

But as for the kitchen bit. I like to cook. I like to try to cook different things. I like to experiment. I've cooked normal roasts, I've made cheesecake. I've made spicy green curry and I've made Quiche Lorraine. I've made made assorted cakes, cookies and fudge in the past and I will try to bake some bread soon. Would love to have a BBQ but no room for it where I am now.
I wish I had a bigger, better kitchen in this house, as I am limited in what I am willing to try. I've even considered converting the "dining room" by taking out the wall between that and the "kitchen" to make a bigger area, but it may not be worth the cost.

If I have a house built "up country" there are two things that will definitely be in the plans. A large kitchen and a large bathroom. 2 Bathrooms in fact. One with a large tub (and TV in the wall), sink and toilet (I think the g/f will end up living in there) and another one with a shower, sink and toilet (where the shower isn't positioned to spray onto the sink or the toilet every time the water it turned on).

But it depends so much on the individual. Some people prefer their meals in glass bottles (i.e. beer) and styrofoam or cardboard containers. Some think making rice is too much effort. Others like to play around (or at least have the ability to do so). Whatever suits you best. 

If you have it and don't want it, you don't have to use it. If you don't have it and want it, then make it happen ! May as well enjoy life while you can.

 

(I now have the urge to go make a banana cheesecake and shrimp quiche with maasdam cheese and red chilies. So much for trying to lose weight !)

 

[sirineou]

7 hours ago, Kerryd said:

But as for the kitchen bit. I like to cook. I like to try to cook different things. I like to experiment. I've cooked normal roasts, I've made cheesecake. I've made spicy green curry and I've made Quiche Lorraine. I've made made assorted cakes, cookies and fudge in the past and I will try to bake some bread soon

 Same here. I love to cook every once in a while .  I like a broccoli soup thicken with a  proper Roux,  Baked stuffed tomatoes and peppers,  etc. Al things you really can't do at an outside kitchen. Also I like waking up in the morning shuffling to my kitchen in my pajamas and making breakfast. All things you can't really do at an outside kitchen.

  But most of out Cooking when in Thailand , it is done downstairs at our outside kitchen. IMO a combination of both is important for westerners living in Thailand, to enjoy the best of both worlds. 

[gaff]

yes, and you will also have to eat on the ground with rats ans cockroaches if you listen and follow all the Thai stupidity...

 

 

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, gaff said:

yes, and you will also have to eat on the ground with rats ans cockroaches if you listen and follow all the Thai stupidity...

 

 

Sitting on the floor to eat has been an Asian custom for thousands of years, that doesn't make them stupid. Pretty stupid comment if you ask me.

[gaff]

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

Sitting on the floor to eat has been an Asian custom for thousands of years, that doesn't make them stupid. Pretty stupid comment if you ask me.

 

 

yes, we know. thank you, and Thai also have perfectly clean and neat homes...

 

So many funny people who know nothing but keep speaking, I love them ❤️

 

 

 

 

[giddyup]

9 minutes ago, gaff said:

yes, we know. thank you, and Thai also have perfectly clean and neat homes...

 

Some do, some don't, pretty much like falangs.

[rickudon]

When i moved into my wife's family house we had a dining room and kitchen inside, but with an open ceiling between the 2 and just shutters in the dining room and wooden bars in the kitchen. Floor was boards (with plenty of cracks). As a result, plenty of wildlife and in the afternoon the tin roof turned it into an oven. 2 years ago we had it remodelled into a nice 50 square metre dining room kitchen with new roof and ceiling, windows with bug screens and tiled floor. five metre tiled work surface with cupboards underneath, a built in gas hob. Looked superb (wife designed it with local builder).

 

So now the family cooks outside in the rain, only the rice cooker, oven and water boiler are inside...... the gas hob has never been connected to a gas bottle, that is outside with another older hob. So why build a modern F'ing kitchen? For show of course, and do not want it to get dirty!

[shadowofacloud]

On 8/31/2018 at 9:07 AM, Spidey said:

I took great pains when designing and installing the kitchen that it would be bug proof. I don't want lizard crap, ants, cockroaches and even rats anywhere near my food.

 

I am sure it will work out just fine! ?