Building a new house in Isaan

[Encid]

You guys were right about our tiler not knowing how to use the tile levelling system properly.

 

I spoke to our builder about it and he was on site the very next morning to 1) check the tiles already laid, and 2) assist the tiler in understanding exactly how the leveling system is supposed to work.

 

He sent me back some photographs and assured me that all the tiles that have already been laid are perfectly level and lip-free, as his tiler was "a good craftsman" and has given me his personal guarantee that we will not have any problems.

 

I will be heading up there again in a couple of days to check it out first hand. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Encid]

On 6/25/2023 at 11:25 PM, BenStark said:

Isn't there supposed to be some airflow under the roof, to prevent the space underneath heating up too much?

 

I hace seen the same material at Thaiwatsadu, don't know if conwood or another name, which has small slits. So you till close it, but not completely from the air flow.

As the real roof is concealed by a façade (see the aerial photos a few posts ago), we cannot really introduce any air flow in the ceiling cavity... that  is why we have opted for 6" thick SCG "Stay Cool" insulation to be laid on all ceiling surfaces.

 

That, combined with the PU foam layer underneath the steel roof sections should provide us with adequate thermal (and acoustic) insulation.

 

[Encid]

On 6/26/2023 at 11:18 AM, Muhendis said:

I like the idea of the screen. Although it's not clear from the picture, I guess your roof fixed box section will be attached to the high points of the roof steel.

Will you be making it in removable units for access/ease of replacement?

I'm not sure of the fixing details yet, however I have asked that the screen section are to be made removable.

 

More to come on this subject for sure...

[Encid]

The electrician is also now on site and he is busy cutting tracks in the walls to hide his conduits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Encid]

The ceiling supports are also being installed...

 

 

 

 

 

[Encid]

And the air conditioning units are being installed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Encid]

The quest for suitable air conditioning units was a journey in itself... I had originally decided on Mitsubishi Electric units, however due to a shortage of the cassette inverter units in the whole country and no supply for the next 6 months, I opted to go with Daikin.

 

We found a supplier with a very competitive price in Korat city who was prepared to deliver and install.

His pricing was some 18Kbaht cheaper than HomePro for the same models so it certainly does pay to shop around.

 

The units being installed are:

1. Bedroom - area 21m² - wall mounted 15,000 BTU inverter FTKZ15VV2S - SEER rating 24.7

2. Living/Dining - area 36m² - ceiling mounted 24,000 BTU inverter FCF24CV2S - SEER rating 22.51

 

Both compressor units are being mounted outside on the bathroom wall where we have just added a concrete block wall to keep the units shaded from the afternoon sun. (See the last photo in the previous post).

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, Encid said:

You guys were right about our tiler not knowing how to use the tile levelling system properly.

 

I spoke to our builder about it and he was on site the very next morning to 1) check the tiles already laid, and 2) assist the tiler in understanding exactly how the leveling system is supposed to work.

Your tiler is an expert, or at least highly competent, for this kind of job there are many like him

 

4 hours ago, Encid said:

He sent me back some photographs and assured me that all the tiles that have already been laid are perfectly level and lip-free, as his tiler was "a good craftsman" and has given me his personal guarantee that we will not have any problems.

My suggestion is that he be permitted to work the way he is familiar with. I can guarantee that an expert will not get a better and more reliable result and a tiler who is unfamiliar with the system will either take very much longer or produce a result that is less good. The only thing that you will have to stick with is the spaces between tiles. Your tiles are being spaced at 2mm, those tiles are often spaced closer but you have to stay with what you have. 
 

Having just had our surface tiled, this was completely correctly done, then grouted by what seemed drunken baboons, they were trying to be cheap Charlie wit the grout {it only cost about 150 Baht for all the grout we used!} (the grouting is at least as important as the tiling) I had the messy grouting stripped off (I got to it fast so it was still soft) then I and our tiller and his wife grouted it again and the grout is now as good as the tiling. 
 

You absolutely must be on site when the grouting is being done to ensure that it is as good as the tiling, a bad grouting job can completely ruin a good tiling job, a good grouting job can rescue a slightly poor tiling job.

 

FWIW Tiling was 3 days, grouting was about 3 ~ 4 hours. Tip; don’t grout more than about 4 square meters at one time, we did all 12 and it was very hard work and doing  smaller areas would have been easier and no slower.

[firewight]

17 hours ago, Encid said:

We found a supplier with a very competitive price in Korat city who was prepared to deliver and install.

His pricing was some 18Kbaht cheaper than HomePro for the same models so it certainly does pay to shop around.

 

Would be interested to know who you found in Korat. We are in this area and in the market for aircons as well... Cheers!

[firewight]

17 hours ago, Encid said:

And the air conditioning units are being installed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting they are using white/grey conduit for electrical, I have only ever seen them use the yellow here for those services...

[firewight]

13 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

"grouted by what seemed drunken baboons"

hahahah I nearly spat out my coffee when I read this!!

[Encid]

6 hours ago, firewight said:

Would be interested to know who you found in Korat. We are in this area and in the market for aircons as well... Cheers!

CPS Inter Solution.

They so not speak any English at all though, so get your wife to do the talking.

 

It also pays to be specific about the make/models you want too... so do your homework first so you know exactly what you want then call them for a quote.

 

[Encid]

20 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Your tiler is an expert...

Some very good advice there Jerome... thanks! 

 

I do plan on being there in person when the grouting is done... as you say it is critical to the quality of the tiling finish.

[Encid]

6 hours ago, firewight said:

Interesting they are using white/grey conduit for electrical, I have only ever seen them use the yellow here for those services...

Our original plan was to have all the electrical switches and sockets surface mounted (rather than embedded in the walls/columns) with white conduit running down the walls from the ceiling cavity.

 

But after my wife saw the first photos of the Thai kitchen will all the surface mounted conduits she demanded that we change them back to the embedded type.

 

"Mai suay" she said... 555.

 

It wasn't a big cost addon ( about 5K) and the electrician was happy to do it too, so we made the change.

 

I suspect that the cost of the white conduit and junction boxes etc. is not much different to the yellow, 

[arick]

I suggest you drive around for a few months and look at all the new builds going up. Chiayaphum on the khon kaen border many nice new builds.  You out the cement pillars in now on the raised dirt and let them sit and settled until December then build. I let my home settle just a month ended up with just two small crack along a pillar.  

[kennw]

On 2/19/2022 at 5:27 PM, Encid said:

I am going through the process of planning a new house build on my wife's farm land up country.

 

I have already prepared plans and elevations of our preferred house design in AutoCAD and am currently fine tuning details. The land is currently being filled and raised approx. 1.5 metres above original level. I anticipate leaving it to rest and bed down for the remainder of the year, and start construction in January next year.

 

I want this to be a reasonably passive house, so double glazed uPVC windows and sliding doors are being considered. An on-grid hybrid solar system will be added once construction is complete.

 

I am considering the following components for the external walls: Q-CON AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) blocks (150mm thk),

 

 

with an SCG Heat Reflector sheet lining,

 

 

with 50mm thk fire retardant grade polystyrene sheets,

 

 

then 8mm thk SCG Smartboard drywall. The polystyrene sheets will fit between the galvanized frame members.

 

 

Cement rendering followed by paint on the outside, and just a painted finish on the inside.

 

What do you think?

Suggest you also put a pipeline grid in the fill soil so that termite control can be pumped in at regular periods after you move in.

[RocketDog]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:09 PM, Robin said:

"Everything takes longer and costs more than you expect"

And almost never turns out as you expected, has to be replaced /repaired sooner than you think, and is much more difficult to get fixed, etc

[JBChiangRai]

Always use lightweight blocks on the outside because they minimise heat conduction and an airgap to the inside wall is better than adding polystyrene or anything else.

 

What you use for the inside depends on your living style and air con usage.  You should either aim for a high thermal content or a low thermal content inside.

 

HTC use conventional building blocks on the inside if you want your temperature over the course of 24 hours to be low and will use your air con accordingly (you have solar so I am guessing you will).  You can assist this by fitting flyscreens and opening windows at bedtime in rooms where you're not sleeping.  I do this with a couple of bathroom windows downstairs and the same upstairs so we draw cool air in overnight downstairs and warm air exits upstairs.  We close the windows about 8:30am the next day.  The house stays cool most of the day doing this and a lot cooler than outside.

 

LTC use lightweight concrete blocks on the inside if you run your air con sparingly only whilst your in the room for a few hours and don't mind a high overall ambient temperature when you're not in the room.

 

On the subject of roof construction.  You should design the roof for solar from the outset, don't design the roof first and then think about how to add solar.  Design your roof so it slopes South for the solar panels, you may have to rethink your design completely, but it's one of the most important design decisions you will make.  Make sure you get a decent overhang where there will be sun.  On my own house, 75% of the roof faces South, 25% faces North.  Make sure heat can escape at the highest points, this is incredibly important.  So a traditional hipped roof has to be rethought to allow hot air to exit.

 

Spraying the roof with PU Foam, it's impossible if you're planning on putting your solar on the roof, unless you do it afterwards then it's impossible to maintain it.

 

What you put over the ceiling (ie rockwool etc) is a solution for a problem you can eliminate with good design.  If you can keep your roof void cool then rockwool will trap the heat in your rooms.  If you can't keep the roof void cool, then rockwool will stop the heat getting to your plasterboard ceiling.  We tackle this by making every soffit panel the ventilated type, most builders only fit a couple here and there.  In my own home I fitted two Mitsubishi extractor fans at the high point controlled by programmable Sonoff temperature switches.

 

It can be tempting to use dark glass.  We've built a few with dark glass, I don't like it, the glass absorbs the heat and is often too hot to touch on the inside, all that inside heat gets transferred to the inside air by convection and you've also got the disadvantage that your house is dark inside.  All our new houses are now built with clear glass (actually a slight green tint), and we design clever overhangs to stop the heat.  You want to stop that sunlight hitting your floor which has a HTC and will retain the heat for hours, discharging it slowly into your room.

 

 

 

[findlay13]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:26 PM, Olav Seglem said:

Check on goverment electric supply.

Internet.

Government water supply-regularity.

Road access.

Drilling  for water-ironized or salt ?

Your security- register right to stay on property as long as you live ???

Do builder speak english??

Impotant-be on site, every day to check whats going on, and do adjustments/improvement along the way.

Ps: good luck-memory for life ????

My wheelchair bound friend was on site 24/ 7 while they remodelled,, rennovated ,altered ,his house to be wheelchair compatible and they still stuffed up. Wrong  wheelchair ramps, and other stuff????

[Elkski]

I'ma not sure this OCD anal retentive guy could survive a house build in Thailand.   So much progress since I last piped in.  Sorry to hear about those plumbing issues. 

I never understood this wet tile method.

I've tiled a fair amount. Have all the equipment including 2 saws and hand grinder with diamond blades.  I've done mud beds using a mix similar to what I see as a base of your floor.   But I do the entire area and let if cure overnight.  I use a very measured ratio of cement and sand.   I have used several versions of these leveling clips. 

I don't see how your guy can lay portions of the mudbed and then stop and not get cold joints.   I'm tile school and all my reading the mantra is straight trowel lines.  It's good your guy back butters the tile but curved mud lines create air pockets so the tile can't be pressed down and leaves hollow spots. 

I saw were tiling done in Vietnam. They had a big pile of sand in the middle of the main rooms and put a few bags of what looked like cement and then 3-5 men and mostly women hand mixed it.  It looked poorly mixed to me.  Then they tossed it around the room.  They did have laser grade lines on the walls.  Oh I should add before tossing it next to the outside walls they put down some white termite killing powder.  The boss man screed it level.  It seemed like he did a pretty good job.  Surprisingly within hours they were pouring a runny cement slurry on and laying large format tiles.  The slurry was thinner than maple syrup.  It seemed like 1-2 mm thick. No back buttering at all.   He used a rubber  mallet.  Within hours of that the crew were putting grout powder in the floor near the joints and pouring some water nearby and sorta pushing dry powder into the joints and some water and some a slurry mix.  They kinda heaped up the grout joint.  After it set they came back and polished it off or something.   I didn't see that part.  But in the bathroom that was tiled for days they hadn't completed that step.   The lip page and spacing actually was quite good.  But I can't imagine tiles not popping off with a heavy fridge rolling by or something dropping on it.  

[Muhendis]

16 hours ago, Encid said:

But after my wife saw the first photos of the Thai kitchen will all the surface mounted conduits she demanded that we change them back to the embedded type.

Not surprised. Mine would demand same also.

How ever many you have and wherever located they will be in the wrong place and never enough..............

[DJ54]

On 3/28/2022 at 7:33 PM, Encid said:

I'm thinking of getting one of those portable AC units

Suggest considering a split unit (compressor outside / inside unit). My experience with a new portable unit non effective non efficient… my case a total waste of money. Ended up buying split unit not much more money ….. gave the portable away… they tossed it electric eater

[khunPer]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:27 AM, Encid said:

I want this to be a reasonably passive house, so double glazed uPVC windows and sliding doors are being considered. An on-grid hybrid solar system will be added once construction is complete.

 

I am considering the following components for the external walls: Q-CON AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) blocks (150mm thk),

I originates from the part of the world where Aerated concrete blocks also originates from – they have been a standard component since I was child – I used them in my home country, and I had a self-designed house built in Thailand in 2010 when the Q-con blocks were a fairly new product here.

 

A better choice is to do a Q-con double wall with either an airgap between the wall or fill the gap with mineral wool like Rockwool, there are similar products available in Thailand, also packed inside heath-reflecting foil. By making double walls you avoid visible posts and the Q-con blocks are great to drill in if hanging something on the wall, instead of thin smartboards. The airgap will be enough heat insulation in walls, rather use the insulation material funds on inverter aircons instead of normal compressor aircons, and save on the power consumption.

 

More important for heat insulation is the ceiling and especially the roof. Cement Thai (HomeMart) has a roof team that can draw your roof in details, make the steel construction in light weight galvanized steel, and mount the roof tiles correctly with a heath reflecting foil underneath. The latter is very important for a good indoor temperature. Their quote was actually lower than my Thai building constructor could do it, and Cemtent Thai's "Roof Experts" gives you a 5-year warranty and might mosr likely still be here during the waranty period; while your building constructor might have disappeared.

Over the ceilings, which are normally gypsum board, place some insulation on the top floor if the house is more than one floor, or above ground floor if only one level. Just bobble-plastic with reflecting foils can do it.

 

I made my house like described; apart from having uPVC outer sliding doors. We hardly use aircon and only during really warm periods. Another benefit with inverter aircons is, that some models might be able to heat during a cold period, mine can heat indoor until -10 centigrade outdoor temperature...

 

I have uPVC slide doors. Next time I build a house, or when refurbishing the one I live in, I will choose aluminium doors instead. A heat reflecting foil on the glass might be enough or even better than double glass.

[Happy Howard]

On 2/19/2022 at 5:27 PM, Encid said:

I am going through the process of planning a new house build on my wife's farm land up country.

 

I have already prepared plans and elevations of our preferred house design in AutoCAD and am currently fine tuning details. The land is currently being filled and raised approx. 1.5 metres above original level. I anticipate leaving it to rest and bed down for the remainder of the year, and start construction in January next year.

 

I want this to be a reasonably passive house, so double glazed uPVC windows and sliding doors are being considered. An on-grid hybrid solar system will be added once construction is complete.

 

I am considering the following components for the external walls: Q-CON AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) blocks (150mm thk),

 

 

with an SCG Heat Reflector sheet lining,

 

 

with 50mm thk fire retardant grade polystyrene sheets,

 

 

 

 

then 8mm thk SCG Smartboard drywall. The polystyrene sheets will fit between the galvanized frame members.

 

 

Cement rendering followed by paint on the outside, and just a painted finish on the inside.

 

What do you think?

As a retired commercial builder from Aust your ropsed construction methods appear to be sound. 

My major concern would be with 1.5M of filling material. We gave filled land in Khon Kaen about that depth with good fine grained soil. We propose to leave it at least three wet seasons before building anything on it. It appears that Thais rely on the rain to compact the earth as opposed to mechanical compaction in 300mm layers which is normal in WA.

Your proposed construction will be in vain if you don't have a sound foundation.

[SAFETY FIRST]

On 2/19/2022 at 5:27 PM, Encid said:

I am going through the process of planning a new house build on my wife's farm land up country

Keep it simple mate. 

 

I like your optimism but things can go pear shaped quickly in Thailand. 

 

I have a couple of question.

How many previous marriages did you have in the west and how are their houses going? 

[kuma]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:33 PM, sometimewoodworker said:

Make absolutely sure that there is zero rodent access to the polystyrene insulation. Is is a terrible idea as rodents animals and birds love it. 
 

However you may be planning a living (and dying) wall, in which case it’s a good choice. ???????? 

yea I am most comfortble with walls rendered and painted, every cavity you make here is an inviation for pests of all kinds...the drywall idea would be a non starter for us....best of luck hope it goes well

[firewight]

On 7/4/2023 at 3:10 PM, khunPer said:

I have uPVC slide doors. Next time I build a house, or when refurbishing the one I live in, I will choose aluminium doors instead. A heat reflecting foil on the glass might be enough or even better than double glass.

Interested to know why you don't like the uPVC?

[phetphet]

On 7/2/2023 at 5:03 PM, Encid said:

You guys were right about our tiler not knowing how to use the tile levelling system properly.

 

I spoke to our builder about it and he was on site the very next morning to 1) check the tiles already laid, and 2) assist the tiler in understanding exactly how the leveling system is supposed to work.

 

He sent me back some photographs and assured me that all the tiles that have already been laid are perfectly level and lip-free, as his tiler was "a good craftsman" and has given me his personal guarantee that we will not have any problems.

 

I will be heading up there again in a couple of days to check it out first hand. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a build going on next to me. After they poured the concrete floors, while they were still wet they went over them with what looked like a large spinning brush or blade.

I asked the builder what it was and he told me that it levelled out all the high spots and left a nice smooth flat surface, which made it far easier for the tiler. It was quite a large area though.

[khunPer]

5 hours ago, firewight said:

Interested to know why you don't like the uPVC?

There are metal in the uPVC doors that rusts. It's very difficult to get them repaired, or even find spareparts. That's why I next time will choose good quality alu-doors from a local workshop, so they easily can be repaired or changed. I originally got quote for both, the price was almost the same.

 

I've changed one door til aluminium after the uPVC door manufacturer couldn't repair the original door and even supplied a new door that didn't fit, even it was their own team that came and measured it up. And TIT, I of course had to pay for the brand new useless door – I however managed to get it resold for half price through the uPVC-door supplier building market – plus i also paid for a replacement alu-door...????

 

Another thing I realized is that if you have a set of sliding doors with a fixed window each side, you can still move the locked pair of sliding doors aside in front of the one of the windows. So, not much protection with a multi-lock frame and expensive German numbered high security keys that cannot – or hardly can – be copied in Thailand...

[khunPer]

On 7/5/2023 at 1:47 PM, SAFETY FIRST said:

Keep it simple mate. 

 

I like your optimism but things can go pear shaped quickly in Thailand. 

A very good both house building and general advice: "Keep it simple"...????