Building a new house in Isaan

[Encid]

1 hour ago, unheard said:

Non-insulated metal roof?

As I posted earlier...

 

On 3/28/2022 at 6:33 PM, Encid said:

I was thinking more of the reflective foil under the metal roof (to keep the heat out), and 2" thick rolls of insulation (no silver foil) on top of the ceiling (to keep the cool in) - bedroom only.

[unheard]

1 hour ago, Encid said:

As I posted earlier...

Sorry, haven't seen that one...

What kind of a metal roof?

The foil is not an insulator, it's a radiant barrier.

2 in. of PU insulation underneath would truly make a real difference in the amount of heat transferred through the roof.

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by unheard

[Encid]

21 hours ago, Muhendis said:

Nice, but I would add a bit more concrete and move the water tank two metres away from the pump to the corner of the building where it doesn't block the view.

Yes I've been thinking about that too.

As soon as we have electric power I want to drill a well... apparently the water quality is pretty good only a few metres down.

I want to go deeper though... maybe 20 or 30 metres.

Even if the water quality is good (and we plan of having it tested) we will probably need a filtration system of sorts, so I am thinking of doing the following:

 

 

It is a simple cascading gravity flow system from two small filter tanks (with bleed valves at the top of the media level for routing cleaning) into a 1000 litre storage tank.

Not all couplings and unions are shown... it's a schematic (but drawn to scale wrt the tanks).

Everything could sit on an RC pad with the elevated filter tanks sitting on AAC blocks.

The tanks could all fit under the extended eave (now 2m) on the East side of the Guest House (no windows).

As they would be facing East they would see the morning sun, but only until about 10:00am.

If we need further filtration or softening we could install one (or more) of those cylinder style filters downstream of the pump.

With initially only a few of us staying there, we'd probably have to refill the system from the well pump once every 3-4 days.

If it overflows it doesn't really matter.

 

What do you guys think?

[Encid]

2 minutes ago, unheard said:

What kind of a metal roof?

2 in. of PU insulation underneath would truly make a real difference in the amount of heat transferred through the roof.

 

Personally I don't like those types of metal roof as if there are any leaks the foam underneath makes it difficult to find the leak(s) because the water travels through the foam before exiting, and not necessarily in a direct vertical direction.

[unheard]

1 minute ago, Encid said:

Personally I don't like those types of metal roof as if there are any leaks the foam underneath makes it difficult to find the leak(s) because the water travels through the foam before exiting, and not necessarily in a direct vertical direction.

That type of a metal roof should be leak-free  for decades, if properly installed.

What kind of a metal roof do you have in mind?

[Will B Good]

6 minutes ago, Encid said:

Yes I've been thinking about that too.

As soon as we have electric power I want to drill a well... apparently the water quality is pretty good only a few metres down.

I want to go deeper though... maybe 20 or 30 metres.

Even if the water quality is good (and we plan of having it tested) we will probably need a filtration system of sorts, so I am thinking of doing the following:

 

 

It is a simple cascading gravity flow system from two small filter tanks (with bleed valves at the top of the media level for routing cleaning) into a 1000 litre storage tank.

Not all couplings and unions are shown... it's a schematic (but drawn to scale wrt the tanks).

Everything could sit on an RC pad with the elevated filter tanks sitting on AAC blocks.

The tanks could all fit under the extended eave (now 2m) on the East side of the Guest House (no windows).

As they would be facing East they would see the morning sun, but only until about 10:00am.

If we need further filtration or softening we could install one (or more) of those cylinder style filters downstream of the pump.

With initially only a few of us staying there, we'd probably have to refill the system from the well pump once every 3-4 days.

If it overflows it doesn't really matter.

 

What do you guys think?

As you say test the water before launching into anything.

 

I was set up to put in gravel---sand---charcoal----softener.

 

The tests however, show the water to be clear, clean and only hardness is a problem.

 

So I have binned the gravel---sand---charcoal for a smaller, cheaper 'Big Blue' pleated filter, but kept the water softener.

[Encid]

2 minutes ago, unheard said:

That type of a metal roof should be leak-free  for decades, if properly installed.

What kind of a metal roof do you have in mind?

To be honest I have not yet gotten down to that level of detail.

As you say, if it's installed correctly it should be leak-free.

The radiant foil under the entire metal roof area combined with the 50mm insulation rolls on top of the bedroom ceiling should suffice.

[MJCM]

24 minutes ago, unheard said:

Sorry, haven't seen that one...

What kind of a metal roof?

The foil is not an insulator, it's a radiant barrier.

2 in. of PU insulation underneath would truly make a real difference in the amount of heat transferred through the roof.

 

That is the same roofing we have in our build. (With the (tick) PU Foam underneath)

 

Underneath (on the room ceiling) we have the Glass Wool and it's reasonably cool in the rooms!

[MJCM]

24 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

As you say test the water before launching into anything.

 

I was set up to put in gravel---sand---charcoal----softener.

 

The tests however, show the water to be clear, clean and only hardness is a problem.

 

So I have binned the gravel---sand---charcoal for a smaller, cheaper 'Big Blue' pleated filter, but kept the water softener.

Personally if then I would still keep the gravel and sand (charcoal maybe) because you never know what is going to happen with the water in the future.

 

I was thinking (on our build) to have this, but decided to go Rain Water storage 100%. We only use the Well (in a ratio of 50/50 (so 1 tank well water and 1 tank rain water) ) when we are running very low on Rain Water.

 

Had to use it last year a couple of times, but this year only 1 time. (It definitely helped that we increased the Rain Water Storage tanks by 6 tanks)

 

Edit: What we also do, when a tank of rain water hasn't been used a long time and we are going to use it. we put in 2 caps of Haiter (The Blue One) before we open the tank! (Just in case and WE dont drink the water)

Edited March 30, 2022 by MJCM

[Will B Good]

Just now, MJCM said:

Personally if then I would still keep the gravel and sand (charcoal maybe) because you never know what is going to happen with the water in the future.

 

I was thinking (on our build) to have this, but decided to go Rain Water storage 100%. We only use the Well (in a ratio of 50/50 (so 1 tank well water and 1 tank rain water) ) when we are running very low on Rain Water.

 

Had to use it last year a couple of times, but this year only 1 time. (It definitely helped that we increased the Rain Water Storage tanks by 6 tanks)

Think what I will do is see what the pleated filter looks like after a month or two.........if it looks like it has its work cut out I'll stick in the sand...gravel....charcoal in aswell.

 

Cheers

[MJCM]

I am personally a big fan of rain water storage but there are some disadvantages

 

1- You need so called "food safe" tanks and they are not cheap. Ours are 2500 Liters each and are approx 6-8k per tank (we have 21 of them)

 

2- You need a big area for those tanks and also ...loads of PVC to connect them all up!

 

3- it's a bit of a fiddle (when you have as many tanks as we have) because you need to know which tank you used and which tank is still full (my wife still doesn't understand and she takes a ladder to see which one is full or not. I just tap on the side of the tank and know where approx the water is)

 

4- you need to have really good flow into your tanks (we use the roof of the house and from the Water Storage shed for that)

(A couple of nights ago a nightly rain storm filled up 4+ tanks like this. That is 10.000+ Liters that flowed in)

 

5- You need to think about what to do when your tanks are full and are overflowing (a sump pump??)

 

6- What are you going to do when there is not a lot of rain and your tanks are running empty???

 

7- First couple of rains you can't store, because that will get rid of the dirt that is accumulated on the roof and in your  gutters.

 

8- Cleaning the tanks is a pitta, but we are almost 2 years in and the water going into the House tank is still clean (we also have a sediment filter in between the storage tanks and the house tank and I check it once every 2-3 weeks and it only needs a bit of a rinse!!

[bankruatsteve]

1 hour ago, Encid said:

What do you guys think?

I don't know why people go to the expense of putting in filter systems if they don't need it.  Get the test then decide.  BTW:  I recommend a 3" 1/2 HP FROG submersible for your bore hole.  Mine is down 28m and provides more than enough pressure for watering the lawn/garden.  Cost for pump, pressure control, and PVC about B11k.

[Encid]

57 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

So I have binned the gravel---sand---charcoal for a smaller, cheaper 'Big Blue' pleated filter, but kept the water softener.

I'm hoping that will be the case for our well water too... good enough for the guest house.

 

As far as the main house water supply is concerned, I am thinking along the lines of a hybrid (rain water/well water) system like @MJCM.

There is no municipal water supply near us so we will need to be self-sufficient.

[MJCM]

2 minutes ago, Encid said:

There is no municipal water supply near us so we will need to be self-sufficient.

Same here. we have a big .... lake in front of the house, but that water, when we pump it into the garden storage tank, smells like Cow manure!

 

My wife told me that only people that live around this lake can use it but she also told me that many people shower with it

[Encid]

6 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

I recommend a 3" 1/2 HP FROG submersible for your bore hole.

As the well will not only provide water to the domestic buildings on the property but also the farm (currently rice) and our future garden (fruit trees, salad, herbs, & veggies etc.) I was thinking along the lines of a 4" 1HP submersible pump with a water delivery volume of about 90 litres/min.

 

With a reliable and constant supply of fresh water my FIL will be able to plant more than the 1 crop of rice that he is currently doing.

 

Too much?

[MJCM]

11 minutes ago, Encid said:

Too much?

Never too Much IMHO

 

Our garden Tank (4000 liters) is fed by a Solar Pump that pumps water (from our own "lake" and the lake is fed by the water from our Well (by again a Solar Pump)) and the the garden is fed by a 1 HP pump but my wife want's to go bigger as the garden grows and grows and grows!!

 

 

[unheard]

1 hour ago, MJCM said:

That is the same roofing we have in our build. (With the (tick) PU Foam underneath)

 

Underneath (on the room ceiling) we have the Glass Wool and it's reasonably cool in the rooms!

I think that's very close to an ideal combination - metal roof with the attached PU foam underneath plus fiberglass batts above the ceiling.

An addition of ventilated roof ridge would make it ideal.

[MJCM]

1 hour ago, Encid said:

As far as the main house water supply is concerned, I am thinking along the lines of a hybrid (rain water/well water) system like @MJCM.

There is no municipal water supply near us so we will need to be self-sufficient.

Our system, were we rely on Rain water is far from ideal.

 

We do have backup from the Well, but there is NO filtering between the Well and the Storage tanks but we went (with digging of the well on the height of Dry Season) to 40 meters+

 

The well driller said they hit water earlier on but we had them drill deeper!

 

That said,at first we had only 15 tanks but we were down to the last 1-2 tanks when we got any rains here last year, so that is why we added another 6 tanks. We still have space for about 4-5 more, but the 50/50 system (1x Well water and 1x rain water) seems to work!

 

Please note: We DON'T use the Rain water for drinking we only use it for the House so Showering/Dishes/Washing.

Edited March 30, 2022 by MJCM

[MJCM]

30 minutes ago, unheard said:

I think that's very close to an ideal combination - metal roof with the attached PU foam underneath plus fiberglass batts above the ceiling.

An addition of ventilated roof ridge would make it ideal.

Do you mean these?

 

 

But make sure that insects can't get in!

 

Edit: Also please do note, a Roof like this will make noise when it's HOT outside because it's expanding but you will get used to it!

Edited March 30, 2022 by MJCM

[unheard]

1 hour ago, MJCM said:

Do you mean these?

 

No, those are soffit intakes.

The do allow some outside air in but don't create much of a circulation on their own.

A little bit of air movement that they do provide is close to useless unless there's an opening big enough somewhere higher in the attic to allow the hot air to escape, e.g. gable vents (good) or a ridge vent (best).

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by unheard

[MJCM]

9 hours ago, unheard said:

No, those are soffit intakes.

The do allow some outside air in but don't create much of a circulation on their own.

A little bit of air movement that they do provide is close to useless unless there's an opening big enough somewhere higher in the attic to allow the hot air to escape, e.g. gable vents (good) or a ridge vent (best).

 

I will ask our builder to put these in (if still possible)!  Thx for the tip!

[sometimewoodworker]

11 hours ago, unheard said:

No, those are soffit intakes.

The do allow some outside air in but don't create much of a circulation on their own.

A little bit of air movement that they do provide is close to useless unless there's an opening big enough somewhere higher in the attic to allow the hot air to escape, e.g. gable vents (good) or a ridge vent (best).

 

The benefit of those is dependent on where you will build. Around here they would be a bad idea because of sugar cane burning 

[Muhendis]

13 hours ago, MJCM said:

Roof like this will make noise when it's HOT

And when it rains. ☹️

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, Muhendis said:

And when it rains. ☹️

That depends on the kind of insulation used on the roof metal.

[Muhendis]

25 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

That depends on the kind of insulation used on the roof metal.

As I think the OP said, the metal will have a foam insulation coating which will as you say, help to deaden the sound by stiffening the metal.

[seajae]

On 2/19/2022 at 7:20 PM, Isaanlife said:

Every build in the modern world uses drywall.

 

I think the OP knows what he is doing from his design.

in western countries maybe but here it is a huge risk, our other house had to have all the ceilings replaced because white ants ate the dry wall between the paper covering and it all collapsed, , there is no way I would use it on the walls as it is just asking for trouble. Ceilings were not hard to replace, walls would be a major job if white ants got into them

[Muhendis]

1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

That depends on the kind of insulation used on the roof metal.

Not forgetting of course, the solar panels when fitted.

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 3/12/2022 at 4:14 PM, Encid said:

Erosion is something that is poorly managed by your typical rice farmers

Takes thought and planning, heres  mine dug  by makro and concreted  by hand by myself  during monsoon downpours,  took me  a bout 3  months  alone mixing by hand is   about 250metres  length overall, grasded  down to a  lake and  by pass  down the road if  required when lake  is  full. SWouldnt waste  my time with most Thai workers, 90cm  deep and  still gets  full

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 3/13/2022 at 3:50 PM, sometimewoodworker said:

The story of our land fill, the majority of which came from digging a moderate sized pool is here

Land fill and garden wall started in 2007 the current  results of SWMBOs efforts is here

 

 

 

Got my  hole  dug  for free 10 years  ago 1  rai, soil sold to someone who wanted it,  good  if  you can do  that

[Rampant Rabbit]

20 hours ago, unheard said:

I think that's very close to an ideal combination - metal roof with the attached PU foam underneath plus fiberglass batts above the ceiling.

An addition of ventilated roof ridge would make it ideal.

Thats  stuffs  expensive. an alternative is the same  roof  with6-10mm  foam, spray glued  on though have seen the stuff  delaminating in some places