Building a home in Surin this year. Any tips?

[SurinMel]

I'm a retired building contractor from USA, marrying a Thai woman from Surin, Isaan. I plan to build a home on the family land near Rattanaburi, and need to familiarize myself with how this is done in that area.

 

Surin City is our best nearby building materials location, with HomePro and Thai Watsadu outlets, as well as SCG. But we're a long way from Bangkok, so choices seem limited. I plan to use a pre-cut steel frame, AAC concrete exterior wall panels, and in general try to not have any wood where subterranean termites can get at it. 

 

I'm looking for a supplier for sprayed polyurethane foam wall and ceiling insulation near Surin City.

 

I'd like to share construction notes with anyone in this area.

[robjak]

I'm a retired building contractor from USA, marrying a Thai woman from Surin, Isaan. I plan to build a home on the family land near Rattanaburi, and need to familiarize myself with how this is done in that area.
 
Surin City is our best nearby building materials location, with HomePro and Thai Watsadu outlets, as well as SCG. But we're a long way from Bangkok, so choices seem limited. I plan to use a pre-cut steel frame, AAC concrete exterior wall panels, and in general try to not have any wood where subterranean termites can get at it. 
 
I'm looking for a supplier for sprayed polyurethane foam wall and ceiling insulation near Surin City.
 
I'd like to share construction notes with anyone in this area.

Go on the surinfarang forum Surinmel. Alan the builder lives in surin he'll give you some pointers.

[Crossy]

Welcome to the madhouse of building in Thailand.

 

Post any general construction stuff in the Real Estate or DIY forums https://forum.thaivisa.com/forum/59-real-estate-housing-house-and-land-ownership/  or https://forum.thaivisa.com/forum/124-diy-housing-forum/

We also have a specialist electrical forum for those sparky issues https://forum.thaivisa.com/forum/191-the-electrical-forum/

 

Generally stick with the post-and-beam construction with a steel roof truss, pad or pile foundations dependant upon your ground conditions (we have 16m driven piles on Bangkok clay). This is what the local contractors and labour are used to.

 

Great that you're in the business but trying something "new" to the locals is fraught with danger and $$$.

 

A blow-by-blow account of your construction would be appreciated if you have the time ????

 

[NanLaew]

The forum at coolthaihouse is a veritable bible for home builders and home owners nationwide.

 

OK, maybe it's only a treasure trove.

[DepDavid]

Just remember to have patience. Also know that there is a consumer protection law that dictates what terms shall be in the contract. Regardless you are going to be frustrated as you know what you are doing and the standards here are far different. Get a copy of the builders work permit and passport. Take photos of money exchanges and have builder give you written receipts for each draw. Good luck with the build.


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[DepDavid]

Oh as far as materials check out Ruangsangthai in Buriram. They have a foreign sals desk with English speaking staff. As always compare prices but Bob at Ruangsangthai will work with you on big orders and they do deliver. They also service and repair most tools they sell.


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[Liverpudlian]

On the family land ! don't eat any mushrooms served up.

[youreavinalaff]

7 hours ago, DepDavid said:

Oh as far as materials check out Ruangsangthai in Buriram. They have a foreign sals desk with English speaking staff. As always compare prices but Bob at Ruangsangthai will work with you on big orders and they do deliver. They also service and repair most tools they sell.


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Are you sure about delivery? Looks like their is 120kms between where the OP is building and the merchants you speak of.

[DepDavid]

Not sure about the distance but it might be worth exploring if the price difference outweighs any delivery costs.


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[JIMMY56]

Hi contact Alan the builder, an English lad, Building contractor lives in Surin

www.alanthebuilder.com

<removed contact by PM for contact info>

 

[emptypockets]

On 3/11/2019 at 7:35 AM, DepDavid said:

Just remember to have patience. Also know that there is a consumer protection law that dictates what terms shall be in the contract. Regardless you are going to be frustrated as you know what you are doing and the standards here are far different. Get a copy of the builders work permit and passport. Take photos of money exchanges and have builder give you written receipts for each draw. Good luck with the build.


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Why would a Thai builder need a work permit?  Or a passport for that matter? 

[emptypockets]

On 3/11/2019 at 7:14 AM, robjak said:

Go on the surinfarang forum Surinmel. Alan the builder lives in surin he'll give you some pointers.

And meet some of the most bitter old expats that exist anywhere in Thailand. 

Avoid surinfarang like the plague. 

[khunPer]

On 3/11/2019 at 1:03 AM, SurinMel said:

I'm a retired building contractor from USA, marrying a Thai woman from Surin, Isaan. I plan to build a home on the family land near Rattanaburi, and need to familiarize myself with how this is done in that area.

I agree with @Crossy that one should primary stick to Thai building traditions that both building constructor, and foreman and crew, are used to, and only do minor adjustments to how one might build a house in another part of the World.

 

My girlfriend is also from Surin, and I have friends that build houses up there, whilst I had my own house build in the south. I did all the drawings in details myself – and had an architect firm to transfer them into the computer drawings and calculation needed for a building permission, which the firm also did for me – and limited everything to what was normally used in building construction here, instead of how we use to do it in my Scandinavian home-country; I spend long time looking at others, and got numerous good information from the book "How to Buy Land and Build a House in Thailand".

 

Its a difficult balance to tell a local Thai building constructor, or sub-contractor, how to do things in another way than the Thai-way-of-doing-things – remember, Thailand is number one – however it can be done if carefully considered first. I did it with some parts, and the workers thanked me from learning something new; one sub-contractor even gave me an unsolicited discount, because they learned so much.

 

SCG/Home Mart, and HomePro, can supply you with most common available materials needed, and lots of equipment (sometime its worth investing in prober equipment, like tile cutter tool, instead of the Thai's preferred grinder tool, and later enjoy the look of nice straight tile cuts.

 

A few things I used with success when building my house was Q-con blocks for better heat insulation, it's really worth the extra cost in long term calculations; double walls to avoid visible posts, double walls also insulate from heat; make a proper foundation with huge feet under the posts, and dig down to solid hard ground; as little wood as possible (be aware of termites), and when wood is used, use as hard wood as possible (woth it, even it might be two-three times the cost of cheap soft wood); instead of wood fiber-cement planks and plates can be used many places, and in just little distance it gives a fine impression of wood; consider to sub-contract your entire roof construction to SCG Roof Center, they can manke your roof with galvanized steel beams, and with prober tiles, and a five-year warranty (SCG Roof Center was cheaper than in any of the three specified building constructor quoted I had); consider aluminum doors and windows for best performance, and easy maintenance/replacement by local workers, choosing thick frames can give you a fine quality, but it's not cheaper than for example vinyl doors/windows on steel frames (for example Windsor Vinyl from SCG, or Hoffen); use wide pipes, like 3" or 4", for normal drains, especially kitchen drains, instead of 2" pipes, and think carefully about maintenance planning (being able to flush and/or manually clean blocked pipes), plumbing is often a problem in Thailand; Use water-proof cement to avoid cracks in posts and beams (a few hundred baht extra per cubic meter), and also in plaster (you can completely avoid cracks doing that); Use a high quality paint, and wait one to three month before painting on plaster walls, outdoor walls should have primer twice, and semi-gloss paint three times (the gloss will soon disappear, but make the paint better weather resistant), you would hate to repaint your house after two years, so it's worth the extra money (I did it, whilst neighboring houses build at same time looked awful after less than two years, my paint still last after nine years); inverter aircons, even up to 50% more expensive to buy, pays off quickly in reduced power consumption.

 

In general, make sure you have considered as much as possible in advance – its really worth it, if you should use some extra month for investigation and planning – so you don't need to make (any) changes during construction, and let the building constructor know all details in advance (preferably in some kind of writing or notes), then you could have a smooth and successful co-operation with constructor, sub-contractors, foremen (very important) and crew; I talk from positive experience with an almost problem-free construction now nine year old.

 

Wish you good luck with your project...????

[Tilacme]

Before you even think about building, raise the land so its higher than anyone else and give it a few months to settle.

 

[CGW]

On 3/11/2019 at 7:03 AM, SurinMel said:

I plan to use a pre-cut steel frame

I have never seen a steel framed house here, for some reason - most likely as concrete is cheaper - they never use it, I tried to get a builder some years back to use steel supports for a room, but it was too much for him and I didn't have the time to get involved.

I have had a few houses built here, two things to bear in mind, its hot & its noisy, insulation is your friend! good quality windows, preferably double glazed (the delta to heat is not great but they keep out noise & also no sliding doors or windows. AC walls or equivalent and lots of insulation.

Raise the land as above, if the footings are going deeper than the new soil (most likely) there's no need to wait.

Good luck.

[4MyEgo]

1.  Cavity walls if you can, if single walls, build roof covered areas to the side, front and back of the house so that the sun doesn't hit the windows or walls as the sun's rays will enter the windows (forget window tinting) and will also heat up the brickwork and enter the house, if you don't want to build outside covered areas to shade the walls, at least put up some 90% UV shade cloths at an angle to knock the sun's rays out

2.  Concrete roof tiles

3.  Steel roof frame 

4.  Build bedrooms on the side that the sun won't touch them

5.  Wide eaves 1200mm, although I have 900mm as the sun doesn't touch the house due to covered outdoor areas, excluding the bedrooms 

6.  Reflective Thermal Isolation http://www.polynum-insulation.com/index.php?goto=bep

7.  SCG Stay Cool roof insulation batts with an R rating of R-38. Buy from either HomePro or SCG for about 400-425 baht per roll of 600 x 2.4 

8.  Whirlybirds towards the rear of the house, and at front put in vents (saloon door looking) which will create a wind tunnel and the whirly birds will suck out the air, ours spin 24/7 and when you stick your head into the roof space via the manhole, you will see what I am talking about

9.  Lacquered concrete floors, cheaper than tiling

10. Fill in land if below road level to be above road level, especially if in a 1/100 flood prone area

11. Put wiring in PVC tubes to stop the rats/mice from chewing through, and get those circuit breakers along with the safety switch, hopefully they will earth it for you...lol

 

Do the above and you will enjoy a cool house, only ever having to use wall fans or portable fans, AC's while they are cheap to run, are not healthy for you, and if you have one here and there which isn't a bad idea, only turn it on for say 30 minutes before bed and your bedroom will stay cool all night.

 

I did the above and have no regrets, the house is as if it is air conditioned all day, the difference in temperature from outside to inside, some will say BS, is 10 degrees ????

 

Good luck, bargain with suppliers for a discount, free delivery, etc, etc, you will be surprised how much you can save, others might say they won't bargain, well, we saved heaps, so give it a go and only invest as much as your prepared to lose, i.e. about 10% of your net worth, that's my rule anyways.

 

 

[tso310]

Superblock/Qcon is definitely the way to go. 

[DepDavid]

Why would a Thai builder need a work permit?  Or a passport for that matter? 

A Thai builder doesn’t. Foreign builder yes. And when the foreign builder fails to complete the job the consumer protection board wants those documents.


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[taichiplanet]

On 3/11/2019 at 7:03 AM, SurinMel said:

I'm looking for a supplier for sprayed polyurethane foam wall and ceiling insulation near Surin City.

Doi 099 268 1416 he is based in Phitsanulok but does all over Thailand. He doesn't speak English.  Just finished spraying a house in Surin and another in Kon Kaen. Seems to do a good job. THB 250/m2 for 1 cm thick or THB 700/m2 for 3 cm thick. Though for the 1 cm thick it doesn't fill the hole between the steel rafter/purlin and the steel roof corrugation.  He does basic protection for over spray but guess will do more if asked.

[BJM1950]

G'day, I too am and old retired builder but from OZ. I am planning a few room extensions to a property here in Chiang Mai.

I agree with most of what you have said, but want to try a few things.

Build wide reinforced footings 400X250 mm. 

75 mm reinforced slab with thick plastic underlay,  with 150 mm edge thickening as per Aus method. Damp proof course on slab stepping down to outside brick / block. Maybe a perimeter black poly pipe termite barrier injection system that can be charged  once a year. If this is on op of the dpc, in the cavity, the first couRse of external blocks should absorb it.

Cavity wall construction, building inner skin first and spraying with 30 / 50mm polyurethane foam. This gives good insulation and waterproofing. May use AAC blocks internally, but worry about any fixings, as they have no tensile strength. Epoxy grouting bolts may help. Make galvanised wire cavity ties to tie the two skins together.

I like the idea of waterproof cement for mortar and render, will see where I can get it here.

Steel roof construction. either cellulose fibre or metal sheeting with 900 mm eaves overhang. Polyurethane spray to the underside 50 to 75 mm thick.

At the moment trying to find a polyurethane resin supplier. I will have the spray equipment set up. 

Whirly birds in the apex of the roof and good insulation on the ceiling.

And yes, good quality paint all round.

Please, anybody with suggestions let me know.

Thanks ONE ARM

 

[Patriot]

Just to reiterate 4MyEgo’s post ... Roof Insulation!!!!

 

[David B in Thailand]

The OP could consider attending the Buriram Home Builders Expo and speaking English with representatives from a dozen building materials companies. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/buriram-house-building-tool-expo-2019-tickets-59660192241?aff=ehomecard

 

He might also attend the much larger Architect Expo in late April and early March at Impact in Bangkok. Over 800 booths with variou shome building materials suppliers. 

 

Easy to register on line:  http://asa.or.th/architectexpo/index-floorplan.php

[robjak]

And meet some of the most bitter old expats that exist anywhere in Thailand. 
Avoid surinfarang like the plague. 

You are right, I just got banned off suringfarang for a joke post that someone did not like.

[Guitarzan]

Lots of great info in this thread.. last month my wife (Thai) and I, of 10 years (we live in the USA now) began building a house in Ubon Ratchathani. I built a solar Adobe with a catch water system in Taos, New Mexico USA back in 1995.  I’m quite familiar with how to make a house, however, I find it quite interesting the way the Thai’s approach it. 

 

We were in Ubon last month and decided to go for it, rather spontaneously ... basically got a piece of paper met with the builder — my wife’s sisters husband — and drew it out. I was pretty much out of the loop as my wife took over the communications, and I realized I knew nothing about building in Thailand.  I just kept repeating the word insulation, insulation!  I basically just sat on the side-lines and trusted they knew what they are doing.  So far so good.  

 

I want to do nice tile work inside the house, also two bedrooms with bathrooms, and a modern indoor western kitchen. My wife doesn’t want to sink a lot of money into it because she wants to live in Hau Hin or near there perhaps Cha am most of the time.  She acknowledges she will get bored in the country and too many family members around. We are thinking to spend around $30,000. I’ll also build a large workshop, and guest houses later.

 

At this point I feel pretty helpless in offering any detailed in-put other than what I already said. They stopped working for a few days because of Songkran, but they tell us it will be finished in another month. 

 

[kamalabob2]

Guitarzan:  You are setting a fine example in your community to sit back and allow the Thai craftsmen to put in premade support columns with no pesky rebar steel, to go with the flow and use 6 baht grey wall blocks, a metal roof in the color your wife likes. Plenty of time to go to HomePro or HomeMart and buy insulation later. No need to bring your wife to the Architect Expo in Bangkok later this month to see most every USA and European style home building product is in fact available in Thailand and energy efficient building products are available by special order in Ubon Ratchathani.  Just go with the flow, let the Thai people do what they already know as they have proven they know how to build quality homes for 930,000 baht in your village. No need to ever put a Infrared Handheld Non-Contact Thermometer on those grey wall blocks which you can buy for 379 baht on Lazada. Just let them build they way that is easier for them. Easy to see the fine craftsmanship on the welding in the photos. Why cause marital strife over your crazy farang ideas of energy efficient autoclaved wall blocks. No need to remind them to look at the pitch of the roof on your plans, just let them build with less steel and a different slope. Certainly in the USA you would allow folks with a 9th grade education to be your construction project manager. Following house plans is so burdensome and you want to get along with those highly educated workers. It is their money and they will be paying the PEA monthly bill so no need to worry.  http://asa.or.th/architectexpo/  In truth you have time to source some energy efficient home building materials in Ubon Ratchathani.  Home Hub has a Diamond Building Products PC, SCG staff must be at your Home Mart, all the energy saving items are already in Ubon Ratchathani. For 930,000 baht you deserve a nice COMFORTABLE home. 

[Guitarzan]

10 hours ago, kamalabob2 said:

Guitarzan:  You are setting a fine example in your community to sit back and allow the Thai craftsmen to put in premade support columns with no pesky rebar steel, to go with the flow and use 6 baht grey wall blocks, a metal roof in the color your wife likes. Plenty of time to go to HomePro or HomeMart and buy insulation later. No need to bring your wife to the Architect Expo in Bangkok later this month to see most every USA and European style home building product is in fact available in Thailand and energy efficient building products are available by special order in Ubon Ratchathani.  Just go with the flow, let the Thai people do what they already know as they have proven they know how to build quality homes for 930,000 baht in your village. No need to ever put a Infrared Handheld Non-Contact Thermometer on those grey wall blocks which you can buy for 379 baht on Lazada. Just let them build they way that is easier for them. Easy to see the fine craftsmanship on the welding in the photos. Why cause marital strife over your crazy farang ideas of energy efficient autoclaved wall blocks. No need to remind them to look at the pitch of the roof on your plans, just let them build with less steel and a different slope. Certainly in the USA you would allow folks with a 9th grade education to be your construction project manager. Following house plans is so burdensome and you want to get along with those highly educated workers. It is their money and they will be paying the PEA monthly bill so no need to worry.  http://asa.or.th/architectexpo/  In truth you have time to source some energy efficient home building materials in Ubon Ratchathani.  Home Hub has a Diamond Building Products PC, SCG staff must be at your Home Mart, all the energy saving items are already in Ubon Ratchathani. For 930,000 baht you deserve a nice COMFORTABLE home. 

I'm not trying to set any example in my village, I prefer not to stand out.  While I appreciate any positive insight, I dont particularly like your condescending derogatory delivery. You could do much better than that. 

If I were actually over seeing the building of this house I'd have a lot more to say, but, between my wife not wanting to sink a lot of money into it, and my communication problems speaking Thai construction dialect, I have little control.  

As I said, my wife unlike most farang's young wives in Issan doesn't want a Taj-Mahal.  This house is mainly for her mother and is a huge up grade from what she has now. We decided we want to live in Hua Hin area, and will either buy a condo, or build our Taj-Mahal world heritage house there. 

[kamalabob2]

Please accept my sincere apologies. I did not realize you were not living in that home. It is much nicer home than my Mother in law currently lives. She does not have glass windows. Good luck in a safe and timely build. If the roof does not leak and no one dies while building the home then it is successful by anyone's standard. I apologize.