Pools In Khon Kaen

[khunandy]

Hi all,

Its getting to a stage where I am thinking about a pool and have surfed and searched to try and locate a builder near Khon kaen city (although I am 100 km west) but havent had any luck.

There must be someone out there who has had a pool built recently in the area who can offer some advice or leads.

I may have to go down the owner/builder track but havent had any experience and the DIY sites seem to only explain the American way of construction with the spray crete.

Any info gratefully recieved or even some working plans, drawings, DIY experience, perhaps some home drawn guide by an owner builder or someone with time on their hands to put together a step by step guide for us guys in remote locations.

I know there would be a demand for working drawings in English using Thai construction methods as there appears to be a lot of potential DIY type of people enquiring about pool construction.

I am just thinking about a basic 8m x 4m rectangular job.

Also, my wife did get a quote from a guy recently who wanted to drive 30 odd piles in the ground first, is this standard practice? The ground has been built up but after excavation the bottom of the pool would be on original surface. It seems excessive to someone who knows nothing about it. Me!

Thanks in advance

Khun Andy

[Chaichara]

Hi Khunandy,

Totally excessive. He obviously just wants your money. An in-ground pool like you have envisaged can be built for around 300,000 baht inclusive of all the latest state-of-the-art pumping, filtering and water treatment. Piles are absolutely unecessary if you have firm groound below your infill and the pool is a relatively small one (about 5 x 11) A builder will usually quote around 650 - 900,000 for the same pool. The Western builders are ripping you off and the Thai builders just don't know any better.

if you want some free, but professional sound advice how you can do it yourself in Isaan, or at least take overall charge of having it done, and save all that money, take a look at THIS article.

[Khutan]

I had a local builder from Surin who does them for 500k. He also says he is happy to have examples of his work shown, mostly in Patty, but some in Surin also. He has done some other work for me and his standard is higher than anything I would have expected, particularly from a loal Surin Tradesman.

He quoted 500k including the pump, filter etc. It will be a project for next year. Though I think his price -about 12K USD it too low, though I think I could do it for less myself its a little low.

To give an example of his work, I got him to build me a Gate 2 meters High and 6 Meters wide. We got him down, measured everything, and gave the exact spec that we wanted. He sent the track about a week later for a different Tradesman to do, and the gate turned up on the day exactly to specification working exactly as expected. BTW the quoted cost was 18,500 and he never asked for another satang.

[Chaichara]

One of the disasters often facing pool owners are the Thai workmen who always say "Yes, I can do that;" I have just had 40,000 bahts worth of new polished granite floor slabs ruined by my tiler. Oh yes, the bathrooms were fine. I just wish I had followed the advice of the shop who told me "This needs to be laid by a specialist."

Wrought iron gates and swimming pools do not habve much in common - be absolutely sure to visit a pool your man has built and has been in service for at least five years and you are able to talk to the owners. This business of sinking piles for instance, they all do it, but they don't know WHY they do it. They saw it done somewhere once and now they believe it has to be done all the time.

Ask him some questions about pump/filter matching and capacities, and filtration cycles and test him on the differences between skimmer systems and balance tank systems. If he knows all the answers to you trick questions on water chemistry, and knows what a salt water chlorinator is, then maybe he IS your man.

Be sure to get an itemised quotation and follow up the quotes to see how much profit he is adding. Sometimes they whack a huge 100% onto the pumps, filters, maindrains, lights, skimmers and bull's eyes. Other times they just supply double the capacity required to boost their profit. For a 5 x 10 pool, those tricks could cost you up to 60,000 baht more than if you had read the BoQ and fetched the stuff from a pool shop yourself. A lot of money for a retiree like this poster.

Finally, always get a second opinion from a source you can trust.

Remember that in Thailand 1 pool project in 19 ends in total disaster and leaves its owners in tears and short of anything up to one million baht.

BTW: 2 high by SIX metres wide is one heck of a wide gate! That's about the width of a main road. But you can't argue with 18,000 baht if it was all stainless steel with lots of curly bits and includes the 15 x 30 footings for the runners, and the concrete posts either end.

Edited March 25, 2007 by Chaichara

[peterjackson]

Hey

I have built several pools myself. Both Spray Concrete (Gunite) and Fiberglass.

Never use a main drain in the pool. They are dangerous and serve no purpose in todays modern pool building.

If you are having a rectangular pool built, make sure you have 2 skimmers (water to the filter) and 4 returns (water from the filter). This will give you adequate cleaning and circulation ability.

My last pool was a 45 x 16 fiberglass pool, with solar. If you want any specific answers or pics. of my lastest pool, let me know.

This time, I went for High Intensity LED Lighting. Although expensive, they offer savings on electricity useage and the lamps are guaranteed 10 years minimum and they offer 12 lighting colours and sequences. They are also much brighter than a standard 300 watt pool light.

Kind regards

Peter

[Chaichara]

Gunnite or Shotcrete are rarely used in pool construction in Thailand. Most in ground pools are built using both block, and vibrated CPAC. According to the client's budget, numerous finishes are available from standard tiles to glass fibre to horrendously expensive Bedecrete.

Skimmers have a logical propensity to recycle mainly the surface and near-surface water. Main drains are a necessity as much as they ever were in designs made by professionals. The deeper water always being cooler than the surface water, may not rise sufficiently to be captured by the skimmers or a balance tank trough alone.

However, many countries now require by law, a minimum of two interconnected maindrains at least one metre apart, with scientifically designed grids to avoid vortex building.

Some countries also require the addition of a suction surge cut-off for extra safety.

Far more efficient than skimmers is the balance tank system with an all round collection gutter (which still only takes the surface water, but is of course not concerned by any prevailing winds directions). Water is then pumped from the tank. Water is only drawn from the maindrains during an intensive friltration to ensure that the deep water is also recycled. This is done when no bathers are in the pool.

Although properly matched pump/filter combinations for the pool size are designed to pass the equivalent of the pool volume within (an optimal) total of 6 hours per 24 hours, it can take MANY cycles before ALL the water has in fact passed through the filter.

Some years ago, a group at the Technical University of Berlin did some postgrad research on water flow in swimming pool systems using coloured water. Several German federal states (Länder) based their new Construction and Use regulations on it. I used to have a copy of the reseach paper but I think I left it behind in Berlin in 1988.

Edited March 25, 2007 by Chaichara

[Naam]

If you are having a rectangular pool built, make sure you have 2 skimmers (water to the filter) and 4 returns (water from the filter). This will give you adequate cleaning and circulation ability.

Peter,

skimmers are hardly ever used in Thailand. nearly every pool is built with an overflow that skims the surface in a much more efficient way than half a dozen skimmers. it looks like this:

[Seewolf]

Hi all,

Its getting to a stage where I am thinking about a pool and have surfed and searched to try and locate a builder near Khon kaen city (although I am 100 km west) but havent had any luck.

There must be someone out there who has had a pool built recently in the area who can offer some advice or leads.

I may have to go down the owner/builder track but havent had any experience and the DIY sites seem to only explain the American way of construction with the spray crete.

Any info gratefully recieved or even some working plans, drawings, DIY experience, perhaps some home drawn guide by an owner builder or someone with time on their hands to put together a step by step guide for us guys in remote locations.

I know there would be a demand for working drawings in English using Thai construction methods as there appears to be a lot of potential DIY type of people enquiring about pool construction.

I am just thinking about a basic 8m x 4m rectangular job.

Also, my wife did get a quote from a guy recently who wanted to drive 30 odd piles in the ground first, is this standard practice? The ground has been built up but after excavation the bottom of the pool would be on original surface. It seems excessive to someone who knows nothing about it. Me!

Thanks in advance

Khun Andy

I am 60km west from Khon Kaen and i finished my pool 6x12m last month by a local builder and it is overflow with salt chlorinator.

They did the same with 15 or 29 concrete columns in the ground as it was recommended to be more stable.

If you need more details i can send you also pics.

[Chaichara]

KHon Kaen - Udon Thani: there are basically two firms that operate in this area, one is the Thai firm Interwater which tends to be very expensive , the other is SiamConsulting, a British consultancy in Isaan that designs pools then builds them for a reasonable price using local labour and their own techies. A lot depends on the distance, but it is nearly always much cheaper than getting a BKK or Pattaya firm to come.

[Seewolf]

KHon Kaen - Udon Thani: there are basically two firms that operate in this area, one is the Thai firm Interwater which tends to be very expensive , the other is SiamConsulting, a British consultancy in Isaan that designs pools then builds them for a reasonable price using local labour and their own techies. A lot depends on the distance, but it is nearly always much cheaper than getting a BKK or Pattaya firm to come.

I have checked on my construction pictures and there are 15 columns (not 29 as i mentioned before) to reinforce the pool on / in the ground.

I got 2 cotations before by Thai builders from Bangkok and one from Pattaya. The first was 1.6 million and the second 1.7 million Baht so i came back to the builder of my house and i've payed 1.2 for 12x6m tiled, with pumproom and slatchlorinator equipment and one additional pump for the 2 spa seats, toiletroom and shower outside and not to forget the wall at the end with Farmerpicture and two lionheads.

It is still more expencive if i compair with prices given by other peoples in this forum.

Anyhow i just give the information.

Rolf