Quick update:

We filled up the lot with dirt. The builders came out to measure, we are all set for our auspicious start date of August 19th. See pics attached.

Some items in this house design; outdoor whole house water filtration, external 3-phase generator, solar, a workshop with roll top door, external Thai kitchen, double exterior walls, security cameras, multiple Access Points, an electronics room, a lot of grounded outlets, and a urinal in the primary bedroom ????

 

We went with an interior designer to build out the inside. They have some really nice drawings - see attached PDFs

Library.pdfHongPra.pdfHomeTheater.pdfGiantCloset.pdfEntryWay.pdf

 

The one thing I want to add in the future is a pool - but first, get the house done.
 

 

 

Your money, your choice, but a urinal in the bedroom...................really?

Sorry to say but that fill looks like reactive clay so expect some cracks in the walls. And Thais never consolidate fill like they should. A tractor will not consolidate that depth.

How long has that fill been settling?

 

If it's new make sure that builder digs down to the old ground for your foundations to avoid issues.

 

Our fill is now 11 years old and it's still settling (house is on driven piles so not moving).

 

1 hour ago, GreasyFingers said:

Sorry to say but that fill looks like reactive clay so expect some cracks in the walls. And Thais never consolidate fill like they should. A tractor will not consolidate that depth.

Yep looks like heavy clay content fill to me too. Gotta compact any loosed material brought in. Lay 300 to 400mm then roller-compact (if no roller-compactor available then the slog of shallower layers of fill then around and around with a few plate compactors day after day), repeat, and repeat until base URL achieved. Unless you do this, even if you pour a perfectly engineered reinforced slab it will stand a very good chance of cracking as the soil compacts and shifts, let alone the ground subsiding on the side of the house which carries the most weight of the upper structures. 

The alternative is to level the fill and let it sit/settle for 12 months (if concrete slab construction). The wet season is the true test of stability and you will see where the water goes. 

 

Thai builders love to fill. We filled about 1 metre (settled at 750 mm). Now a new development is going in next door (up to last week it was a nice forest) and they are filling to 2 metres. There is no problem with flooding in this district, but it seems everyone has to fill higher than their neighbours. I'm waiting for the first really heavy rain to see what happens to our concrete wall.

 

 

On 7/16/2021 at 3:35 AM, Crossy said:

How long has that fill been settling?

 

If it's new make sure that builder digs down to the old ground for your foundations to avoid issues.

 

Our fill is now 11 years old and it's still settling (house is on driven piles so not moving).

 

New fill. The builder will dig to the old ground,he will also compact the new soil.

 

On 7/16/2021 at 2:06 AM, A. BOOZER said:

Your money, your choice, but a urinal in the bedroom...................really?

Yes, my choice. Urinal and bidet! YOLO

I'm not a civil engineer, quite polite but.., surely that soil needs a year to compact or at least one rainy season.

OR Ignore fill and put piles the required depth into the underlying ground.

12 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I'm not a civil engineer, quite polite but.., surely that soil needs a year to compact or at least one rainy season.

OR Ignore fill and put piles the required depth into the underlying ground.

Yes, piles will go to the underlying ground. Already met with the builder on that. Thanks.

I appreciate all the feedback - this group is helpful.

 

I'll post more when we break ground on the official auspicious day of August 19th ????