Building a new house in Isaan

[firewight]

2 hours ago, khunPer said:

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...

Thank you, good to know. I wonder how much heat the Aluminum doors/frames transfer in over the uPVC versions...

[khunPer]

8 hours ago, firewight said:

Thank you, good to know. I wonder how much heat the Aluminum doors/frames transfer in over the uPVC versions...

I have full glass doors.

 

Alu-frames are hollow profiles, so probably same or less heat transfer than uPVC doors with steel frame. I cannot see this as an important factor compared to heat transfer from cement posts and beams, which are used in typical Thai building construction rather than self bearing walls.

 

More important will in my view be heat reflecting film on the glass, if it's exposed to sunlight.

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, khunPer said:

 

Alu-frames are hollow profiles, so probably same or less heat transfer than uPVC doors with steel frame. I cannot see this as an important factor

Since there is no need for a thermal break incorporated into the UPVC frame, even if there is actually a steel frame within, mine AFIK don’t have a steel frame, the frame is quite an area and though the glass of a glass door will be a high percentage of heat transfer aluminium frames (unless polished silver to reflect heat) will transfer very much more than a good UPVC one. (400 ~ 800 times more)

 

Will the heat transfer be a very significant factor? Probably not.

Will the heat transfer be Greatest with aluminium frames? Unquestionably.

 

Aluminium is an extremely good transmitter of heat UPVC even worse than wood, a little research will show that UPVC IS  0.17 W/mC°, while  aluminium is approximately 210 W/mC°. Or 1,235 times greater for an equivalent size of frame. Aluminium frames will be smaller possibly ⅓rd the size so only 411 x better at transmitting heat.

 

thermal break aluminium window profiles may be available in Thailand I don’t know. Regular installations certainly don’t use them.

No visible steel

 

[phetpeter]

When it comes to the roof and deflecting the heat, best to build a double roof with a large enough space between the top cover and the sides screened only.Your house will stay beautifully cool. Grand style build on family land is not worth the grief, on something the neighbourhood will not become friendly, and soon your wife and her family will regret their pride and lack of community. you will regret the final loss and in no way will you be able to sell nor see return for the excessively grand build that you believe will make you the man in the village. Build on a estate which will give you a resell oportunity, better to live 20kilometers away and visit the family village.

Edited July 10, 2023 by phetpeter

[Muhendis]

20 minutes ago, phetpeter said:

When it comes to the roof and deflecting the heat, best to build a double roof with a large enough space between the top cover and the sides screened only.Your house will stay beautifully cool. Grand style build on family land is not worth the grief, on something the neighbourhood will not become friendly, and soon your wife and her family will regret their pride and lack of community. you will regret the final loss and in no way will you be able to sell nor see return for the excessively grand build that you believe will make you the man in the village. Build on a estate which will give you a resell oportunity, better to live 20kilometers away and visit the family village.

Looks like you've had a bad experience there phetpeter.

Hope things are looking up for you now.

 

 

[kuma]

On 7/10/2023 at 7:37 AM, phetpeter said:

When it comes to the roof and deflecting the heat, best to build a double roof with a large enough space between the top cover and the sides screened only.Your house will stay beautifully cool. Grand style build on family land is not worth the grief, on something the neighbourhood will not become friendly, and soon your wife and her family will regret their pride and lack of community. you will regret the final loss and in no way will you be able to sell nor see return for the excessively grand build that you believe will make you the man in the village. Build on a estate which will give you a resell oportunity, better to live 20kilometers away and visit the family village.

The country is lettered with rice palaces, some come here and are easy marks for the girls and get coaxed into building ridiculous homes that as you say, have no value at all in the market and are sinks, the money spent will never be realized again in the vast majority of cases, talking about in the countryside. In many provinces they have informal competitions to see who can get the biggest monstrosity built..all for bragging rights. Som nom na if one is to get swept up in this, everyone is (apparently) an adult. If you can read / speak Thai and are v close with any girls that are players, then you can find the online forums where they share their rice palaces for the competition. It occurs all over, but there are some hot spots...if you are in the Ban Kruat area it is a hot spot, some real beautes there lol.

[sometimewoodworker]

7 hours ago, kuma said:

The country is lettered with rice palaces, some come here and are easy marks for the girls and get coaxed into building ridiculous homes that as you say, have no value at all in the market and are sinks, the money spent will never be realized again in the vast majority of cases, talking about in the countryside. In many provinces they have informal competitions to see who can get the biggest monstrosity built..all for bragging rights. Som nom na if one is to get swept up in this, everyone is (apparently) an adult. If you can read / speak Thai and are v close with any girls that are players, then you can find the online forums where they share their rice palaces for the competition. It occurs all over, but there are some hot spots...if you are in the Ban Kruat area it is a hot spot, some real beautes there lol.

The getting oversized over priced places built is nothing new and is not restricted to Thai girls getting their foreign partners to build for them. I personally know of 2 places built by totally Thai families that easily fit the profile 

[kuma]

15 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The getting oversized over priced places built is nothing new and is not restricted to Thai girls getting their foreign partners to build for them. I personally know of 2 places built by totally Thai families that easily fit the profile 

Yes there are major sized places built as well, good point. I find that in many cases, they end up holding a lot of family, sometimes multi-family.  But you are correct, they do indeed exist.

[Encid]

We have had a couple of challenges to overcome since our last visit, and things are now finally back on track... albeit with a minor compromise.

 

The technicians who installed our air conditioners ran the piping to/from the outside condenser units straight across the bathroom at a height of FFL +2.5m (Finished Floor Level) rather than running it around the bathroom inside the cavity wall which is what I wanted.

 

They decided that they knew better so ran the piping in a much more direct route, so we now have a much lower bathroom ceiling than planned... it was supposed to be FFL +2.8m.

 

OK... we decided to live with that as it is only a bathroom and not so important to have the high ceilings that we wanted for the rest of the house.

 

Then one of the AC technicians sold his abilities to our builder as a guy than can do anything, so this guy ended up doing all the suspended ceiling work in the whole build.

 

So we had agreed on a height of FFL +3.0m for the ceiling height in all the internal rooms (except the bathroom).

 

As the ceiling was installed the lighting wiring was supposed to be located and holes provided for the conduits to pass through the ceiling panels.

 

After that the 150mm thick SCG Stay Cool Insulation was to be laid out in the ceiling cavity on top of the electrical conduits as the work progressed, progressing bit by bit towards a final corner that the insulation could be installed before the final ceiling panels were fitted into place.

 

Not a difficult job, but one that needed some coordination between the ceiling guy and the electrician.

 

They actually did a pretty good job... lights where we wanted them and the entire ceiling evenly covered with insulation.

[Muhendis]

22 minutes ago, Encid said:

We have had a couple of challenges to overcome since our last visit, and things are now finally back on track... albeit with a minor compromise.

 

The technicians who installed our air conditioners ran the piping to/from the outside condenser units straight across the bathroom at a height of FFL +2.5m (Finished Floor Level) rather than running it around the bathroom inside the cavity wall which is what I wanted.

 

They decided that they knew better so ran the piping in a much more direct route, so we now have a much lower bathroom ceiling than planned... it was supposed to be FFL +2.8m.

 

OK... we decided to live with that as it is only a bathroom and not so important to have the high ceilings that we wanted for the rest of the house.

 

Then one of the AC technicians sold his abilities to our builder as a guy than can do anything, so this guy ended up doing all the suspended ceiling work in the whole build.

 

So we had agreed on a height of FFL +3.0m for the ceiling height in all the internal rooms (except the bathroom).

 

As the ceiling was installed the lighting wiring was supposed to be located and holes provided for the conduits to pass through the ceiling panels.

 

After that the 150mm thick SCG Stay Cool Insulation was to be laid out in the ceiling cavity on top of the electrical conduits as the work progressed, progressing bit by bit towards a final corner that the insulation could be installed before the final ceiling panels were fitted into place.

 

Not a difficult job, but one that needed some coordination between the ceiling guy and the electrician.

 

They actually did a pretty good job... lights where we wanted them and the entire ceiling evenly covered with insulation.

Some people are just born lucky.

[Encid]

Not such a good job outside in the Thai Kitchen and above the decks.

 

We had discussed a ceiling height of around 2.8m with the builder, but he had not discussed this with the electrician who ran his cables and conduits wherever he wanted... it looked OK, but he had no thought as to where the ceiling would be.

 

The ceiling guy took the figure of 2.8m quite literally, and rather than discussing it with the builder to talk with us about proceeded to install his ceilings at a height that was lower than the concrete roof beams... meaning that his SCG smart board ceiling would have been subjected to rain water on the East and the North sides of the house.

 

I took a couple of photos with the drone and marked them up then sent them to the builder to get things rectified:

 

 

 

We didn't bother with the lower kitchen height in the Thai kitchen as it will all be boxed up and rendered then painted so you won't notice it.

 

There will be a small step in the ceiling at the end of the deck where it wraps around to become the Thai Kitchen.

 

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Encid

[Encid]

One day later and it had all been rectified...

 

 

 

[Encid]

The tiling on the bathroom walls has also started... the floor was completed about a week ago and left to dry and seal.

 

A silicone bead was run around the perimeter of the floor tiles to act as a water seal before the wall tiles were started.

 

The tiler has become quite comfortable with using the levelling system now... as you can see... 

 

 

 

 

[TimeMachine]

Have you checked with electricity company regarding feedback? 

Smart meter will be installed?

How much credit? 

[Encid]

For the bathroom we have chosen 12” x 24” Cotto R10 anti-slip tiles like this:

 

 

We will be using a black coloured epoxy grout (like Weberepox Easy - which is Anti-fungus, Chemical resistant, Anti-stain, Abrasion resistant, Anti-bacteria, Anti-efflorescent stain, Anti-algae, Dust less, Impact resistance, Resistant to detergents, and Resistant to oils).

 

Before tiling the bathroom, I made sure that the builder understood that I wanted him to lay the floor tiles first... that way the water that runs down the wall tile has a better chance of heading away to the drain point than in another direction.

 

Most tilers like to do the walls first because they can finish the wall and work on the floor while the wall tiles are drying... but you can't do that when you lay floors first, so it takes a bit longer, but it's a more water secure job.

 

[Encid]

Just now, TimeMachine said:

Have you checked with electricity company regarding feedback? 

Smart meter will be installed?

How much credit? 

We have not yet installed our solar system.

We are still on a temporary disc meter on a temporary charge rate.

I expect that to change once our build is complete and we apply for a house number.

Then the PEA charge rate will change from temporary to residential.

Hopefully it will be an office documentation change only and we get to keep the existing meter (which can spin both directions).

Edited July 21, 2023 by Encid

[Encid]

Work has also started on the counters for the kitchen areas.

 

I did a layout of the counter areas in CAD for our builder and they are working to that.

 

He is also sourcing some granite counter tops for us... early indications are that local prices are much cheaper than Boonthavorn or Thaiwatsadu.

 

 

 

 

 

[TimeMachine]

8 minutes ago, Encid said:

We have not yet installed our solar system.

We are still on a temporary disc meter on a temporary charge rate.

I expect that to change once our build is complete and we apply for a house number.

Then the PEA charge rate will change from temporary to residential.

Hopefully it will be an office documentation change only and we get to keep the existing meter (which can spin both directions).

If you get a 1for1 deal.  Thats good.  In oz we get raped big time.  Buy 33cents. Sell 5 cents. 

[Encid]

We have also selected our kitchen cabinets.

 

We found some that we liked in HomePro... from their “Cabin Chic” kitchen collection.

 

 

So I again used CAD to do a layout of what doors were to go where and what type, and where the cabinets were to be located etc. and produced a BOQ in Excel.

 

 

 

Interesting that the HomePro online pricing was significantly lower than the store advertised prices (even the "promotion" prices), but MegaHome in Korat was able to fill our order from stock at hand and give us the online pricing... and then they threw in free delivery because our order was over 50K!

 

[Encid]

Just now, TimeMachine said:

If you get a 1for1 deal.  Thats good.  In oz we get raped big time.  Buy 33cents. Sell 5 cents. 

I believe that the PEA buy-back rate for electricity is about 2.2 baht per unit if you are lucky enough to get hold of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with them.

Our current "temporary" usage rate is about 8.9 baht per unit.

A standard residential usage rate is about 5.5 baht per unit... although YMMV.

[TimeMachine]

I recommend taking a look at mr diy for some fittings for bathroom and kitchen. I got brushed steel faucet with adjustable spray nozzle 399. Same thing at homepro 799. 

[HighPriority]

18 hours ago, Muhendis said:

Some people are just born lucky.

You weren’t the only one thinking we were watching two trains closing in on each other ?

Glad it ended well ????????

[HighPriority]

17 hours ago, Encid said:

We have not yet installed our solar system.

We are still on a temporary disc meter on a temporary charge rate.

I expect that to change once our build is complete and we apply for a house number.

Then the PEA charge rate will change from temporary to residential.

Hopefully it will be an office documentation change only and we get to keep the existing meter (which can spin both directions).

I’ve witnessed rare earth magnets effectiveness too ????????

[phetpeter]

19 hours ago, Encid said:

We have had a couple of challenges to overcome since our last visit, and things are now finally back on track... albeit with a minor compromise.

 

The technicians who installed our air conditioners ran the piping to/from the outside condenser units straight across the bathroom at a height of FFL +2.5m (Finished Floor Level) rather than running it around the bathroom inside the cavity wall which is what I wanted.

 

They decided that they knew better so ran the piping in a much more direct route, so we now have a much lower bathroom ceiling than planned... it was supposed to be FFL +2.8m.

 

OK... we decided to live with that as it is only a bathroom and not so important to have the high ceilings that we wanted for the rest of the house.

 

Then one of the AC technicians sold his abilities to our builder as a guy than can do anything, so this guy ended up doing all the suspended ceiling work in the whole build.

So we had agreed on a height of FFL +3.0m for the ceiling height in all the internal rooms (except the bathroom).

 

As the ceiling was installed the lighting wiring was supposed to be located and holes provided for the conduits to pass through the ceiling panels.

 

After that the 150mm thick SCG Stay Cool Insulation was to be laid out in the ceiling cavity on top of the electrical conduits as the work progressed, progressing bit by bit towards a final corner that the insulation could be installed before the final ceiling panels were fitted into place.

 

Not a difficult job, but one that needed some coordination between the ceiling guy and the electrician.

 

They actually did a pretty good job... lights where we wanted them and the entire ceiling evenly covered with insulation.

The problem with insulation it works both ways, when the house heats up from the walls and open door ways etc., the insulation holds the heat in. but, thank the lord for AC., and later when you hear the little feet running around making nests in the insulation. still give it a few years and you will accept that nature wants to share your home with you. Welcome the yard dog to help keep thing low key.

A great dog for protecting your room agaist snakes ,rats certain birds and drunks.

Edited July 22, 2023 by phetpeter

[Encid]

On 7/10/2023 at 7:54 AM, sometimewoodworker said:

Since there is no need for a thermal break incorporated into the UPVC frame, even if there is actually a steel frame within, mine AFIK don’t have a steel frame, the frame is quite an area and though the glass of a glass door will be a high percentage of heat transfer aluminium frames (unless polished silver to reflect heat) will transfer very much more than a good UPVC one. (400 ~ 800 times more)

 

Will the heat transfer be a very significant factor? Probably not.

Will the heat transfer be Greatest with aluminium frames? Unquestionably.

 

Aluminium is an extremely good transmitter of heat UPVC even worse than wood, a little research will show that UPVC IS  0.17 W/mC°, while  aluminium is approximately 210 W/mC°. Or 1,235 times greater for an equivalent size of frame. Aluminium frames will be smaller possibly ⅓rd the size so only 411 x better at transmitting heat.

 

thermal break aluminium window profiles may be available in Thailand I don’t know. Regular installations certainly don’t use them.

No visible steel

 

 

Your uPVC frame type is similar to ours:

We have ordered all our uPVC sliding doors and windows from ARC-CMR who use components sourced from Belgium.

Their products have an expected life-cycle of over 40 years.

I have been very happy with their understanding of our requirements, their product knowledge, and their professionalism.

They visited our building site on 22 June to take final "as-built" measurements of all the door/window openings in the house shell.

We are expecting the first shipments to arrive in site at the end of the first week in August when installation will begin.

[Encid]

15 hours ago, TimeMachine said:

I recommend taking a look at mr diy for some fittings for bathroom and kitchen. I got brushed steel faucet with adjustable spray nozzle 399. Same thing at homepro 799. 

If you have been taking much notice of the developments in this thread you will see that I am trying to build a dwelling that is of reasonable quality.

 

There is absolutely no way that I would consider using any products from Mr DIY where most of their merchandise is cheap, Chinese-made, and of inferior quality with no warranty.

 

I bought a 75 baht 1/2" garden tap for the farm from them once... as soon as the water line was pressurized (by a domestic water pump) the tap body just exploded... no warranty, no refund, no return custom from me ever!!!

 

All our bathroom and kitchen fittings will be American Standard, and sourced from a reputable dealer like Boonthavorn with associated product warrantees.

[Encid]

3 hours ago, HighPriority said:

You weren’t the only one thinking we were watching two trains closing in on each other ?

Glad it ended well ????????

Me too! 

I am continually trying to be yen-yen dealing with the daily issues, but I must admit that my wife is subjected to my true nature (in private) when I discover something done wrong or badly.

She knows that I get frustrated with stupid errors, but supports me in getting the problems sorted out to my satisfaction with the builder.

She pours the oil on the troubled waters... 

[BenStark]

On 7/10/2023 at 6:54 AM, sometimewoodworker said:

No visible steel

In the background of your image I can see Inoutic.com, which is deceuninck, so they will definitely have a steel frame inside, if they are Inoutic.

 

Been there got the T-shirt.

 

I had Windows and doors from a local Pattaya company, who didn't use steel frame, and the large sliding doors were bending already before he had completed the whole job.

 

So I had the whole lot removed, and replaced by Inoutic

[Encid]

I also used CAD to indicate the type of finished surfaces we want on the outside of the building.

 

Using AutoCAD I referenced in an aerial photo I had taken with the drone, then drew lines and text etc. on top of the raster image to show our builder what we want.

 

I had already calculated the areas required for the "copy stone" and "copy wood" surfaces, added 10% for contingency, and ordered the material from Thaiwatsadu... they get delivered to site early next week.

 

After discussions with our builder we agreed to do this work after the uPVC windows and doors have been installed, so there are no complications from incorrect positioning of any cladding.

 

 

Just out of interest, this particular photo was taken at midday on July 4... which was about 10 days after the solar solstice.

 

This particular solstice means that the Earth's Northern Hemisphere has tilted as far as it can toward the sun and the sun's rays are reaching as far North as they possibly can, giving us the maximum amount of sunlight we will get all year.

 

Our build location is about 16° North... and you can see from the shadows in the photo that the North face of our building is receiving some direct sunlight (albeit minimal and only for a short duration).

[Encid]

And work has started on the construction of our access road.

 

It will be a 4m wide reinforced concrete road rising up a 1.6m high ramp from the government road to the corner of our Guest House, then head South in a straight line to another ramp down to access the farm.

 

The road will have a spoon drain on the East side and will be designed and built to support the load of a fully laden sip-lor truck (10-wheeler) (30,000kg or 30T empty plus a load of 18,000 kg or 18T = 48T total).

 

I don't think that we will ever see any machinery heavier than that accessing the farm.

 

Both the ramp from the government road to the building site and the ramp to the farm needs to be a 15-20% maximum slope, with a 50% of slope transition at both ends of the ramp.

 

 

My builder scratched his head a bit when he saw this diagram, but after we discussed the reasons for the transitions he agreed that this would be a very good ramp design.

 

The RC access road needs to be built in sections nominally 8m long x 4m wide, with construction joints fitted every 8m to cater for expansion and to eliminate cracking. We intend to use some neoprene water seal strips to act as the construction joints.

 

The RC access road will be located 2m from the West wall of the Guest House and run in a straight parallel direction to the farm, where another ramp is required.

 

The future Main House will also be accessed from this road.

 

 

Some photos of the early preparation work: