Building a new house in Isaan

[Muhendis]

1 hour ago, Encid said:

t has been painted too and some of the local villagers have been asking the in-laws why we are so special that we get a free road upgrade... 555.

Tell them you clearly have that je ne sais quoi recognised by road builders the world over.

[Encid]

17 hours ago, Muhendis said:

Fingers crossed Thai style and looks of skepticism from the rest who seem to be standing back a bit.

 

The big guy giving his navel some fresh air is actually the head electrician... 555.

 

Is that a look of quiet confidence whilst his compatriot flicks the breaker whilst wearing his welding goggles? 

[sometimewoodworker]

29 minutes ago, Encid said:

Is that a look of quiet confidence whilst his compatriot flicks the breaker whilst wearing his welding goggles? 

More like the look of someone who knows what an arc flash can do and knows enough to stand where it is unlikely to affect him. ???? 

[Encid]

Well the concrete access road work is progressing well... it has been hot and dry so a good opportunity to get moving with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Encid]

And all the LED lighting, both internal and external has been installed...

 

 

 

 

[Encid]

And last night all the switches were turned on for the first time...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Encid

[Encid]

Of particular interest and entertainment was the Bluetooth speaker light mounted above the deck on the East side of the house... I'm sure it will give the workers hours of pleasure while they finish off the remaining tasks... 

 

 

 

[Muhendis]

That's a really impressive bunch of pictures. 

 

There are some blue 6" pipes high up sticking out of the wall in one of the pictures. What are they for?

[HighPriority]

2 hours ago, Muhendis said:

That's a really impressive bunch of pictures. 

 

There are some blue 6" pipes high up sticking out of the wall in one of the pictures. What are they for?

Roof drainage in the outside kitchen ?

[Muhendis]

8 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

Roof drainage in the outside kitchen ?

Or maybe bass reflex holes for the bluetooth speakers?

[Encid]

14 hours ago, HighPriority said:

Roof drainage in the outside kitchen ?

Correct!

They are 4" PVC drains from the concealed gutter above.

They will discharge into a 12" collection header which will be run the length of the building and discharge into a manhole/sump at the side of our access road.

We want the water to drain away from the retaining wall, not towards it.

 

You can probably see how the roof drainage system works better from above...

The 3 x 4" upper roof drains discharge onto the lower roof above the Thai kitchen which in turn has 5 x 4" drains which discharge into the 12" collection header (not yet installed).

Once it is all painted (under the roof line) I hope that it won't be quite so noticeable.

I'm not concerned about painting the PVC drains and septic tank vent above the roof line... sure they will fade from UV rays in time but they are not visible from standing eye level.

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, Encid said:

I'm not concerned about painting the PVC drains and septic tank vent above the roof line... sure they will fade from UV rays in time

It isn’t the fading, it is that they will become brittle in time and be a bear to replace.

[Muhendis]

2 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

It isn’t the fading, it is that they will become brittle in time and be a bear to replace.

Very true.

I have 4", 6" and ¹/₂"  pipes all been cooking nicely out in the sun for the past 11 years. All faded to a very pale blue but still all in one piece. Probably good for many more years yet.

[kuma]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:47 PM, Encid said:

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.

Except your granite counter that the "wink" builder is getting for you. Lol. Another rice palace goes up in Thailand. There should be a coffee table book showing the many that are built here.

[Woof999]

On 8/17/2023 at 12:09 PM, Encid said:

Correct!

They are 4" PVC drains from the concealed gutter above.

They will discharge into a 12" collection header which will be run the length of the building and discharge into a manhole/sump at the side of our access road.

We want the water to drain away from the retaining wall, not towards it.

 

You can probably see how the roof drainage system works better from above...

The 3 x 4" upper roof drains discharge onto the lower roof above the Thai kitchen which in turn has 5 x 4" drains which discharge into the 12" collection header (not yet installed).

Once it is all painted (under the roof line) I hope that it won't be quite so noticeable.

I'm not concerned about painting the PVC drains and septic tank vent above the roof line... sure they will fade from UV rays in time but they are not visible from standing eye level.

 

 

 

Thanks for this thread Encid, very enjoyable.

 

Just going back to the landfill and foundations. If you hadn't wanted to wait a full rainy season to allow for natural compaction of the filled soil, would something like a 10 ton vibrating roller have done at least as good a job and let you build within days rather than many months? I understand that this might not have been important to you, but I might be in a similar position soon and ideally don't want to wait for nature to take it's course and am OK with paying a little more for the machinery required to then be able to skip the long wait.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

 

[Muhendis]

3 hours ago, Woof999 said:

 

Thanks for this thread Encid, very enjoyable.

 

Just going back to the landfill and foundations. If you hadn't wanted to wait a full rainy season to allow for natural compaction of the filled soil, would something like a 10 ton vibrating roller have done at least as good a job and let you build within days rather than many months? I understand that this might not have been important to you, but I might be in a similar position soon and ideally don't want to wait for nature to take it's course and am OK with paying a little more for the machinery required to then be able to skip the long wait.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

 

I know someone who was in the same position of wanting to build straight away.

He had piles put in and built his house on them.

His house was completed in a few months from land purchase and the land was previously rice farm.

The idea of using a vibrating roller may not achieve what you would expect. The road from the village to my house is testament to that.

[Woof999]

8 hours ago, Muhendis said:

I know someone who was in the same position of wanting to build straight away.

He had piles put in and built his house on them.

His house was completed in a few months from land purchase and the land was previously rice farm.

The idea of using a vibrating roller may not achieve what you would expect. The road from the village to my house is testament to that.

 

Aha yes piles, thank you. I guess the best move forward is to hire a competent engineer, give them my timescale requirements / budget and let them come up with the idea.

 

Anyway, I'm in danger of hijacking this thread so I'll start my own as and when needed. Thanks again.

[HighPriority]

@Encid

Hows life ?

Anymore updates for us ?

Pics ?

[sometimewoodworker]

On 12/22/2023 at 2:23 AM, Woof999 said:

If you hadn't wanted to wait a full rainy season to allow for natural compaction of the filled soil, would something like a 10 ton vibrating roller have done at least as good a job and let you build within days rather than many months? I understand that this might not have been important to you, but I might be in a similar position soon and ideally don't want to wait for nature to take it's course and am OK with paying a little more for the machinery required to then be able to skip the long wait.

Just 1 rainy season isn’t going to compact the fill to allow you to build on it without cracking unless you either excavate down to original level for “pad and post” foundations, build on a raft foundation or use piles.

 

we used the services of the chief Khon Kaen professor of building science to do a soil bearing report after 7 years of settlement of fill, he didn’t know the time since fill and was pleasantly surprised that our fill was structurally sound enough that we didn’t need to go down to the original field level for our foundations.

[stupidfarang]

On 8/17/2023 at 12:09 PM, Encid said:

Correct!

They are 4" PVC drains from the concealed gutter above.

They will discharge into a 12" collection header which will be run the length of the building and discharge into a manhole/sump at the side of our access road.

We want the water to drain away from the retaining wall, not towards it.

 

You can probably see how the roof drainage system works better from above...

The 3 x 4" upper roof drains discharge onto the lower roof above the Thai kitchen which in turn has 5 x 4" drains which discharge into the 12" collection header (not yet installed).

Once it is all painted (under the roof line) I hope that it won't be quite so noticeable.

I'm not concerned about painting the PVC drains and septic tank vent above the roof line... sure they will fade from UV rays in time but they are not visible from standing eye level.

 

 

Nice looking house, my wife has just been given some land and we will build a small two bedroom house on it, can I ask what the cost to build your house, is it two bed? Thank you

[Encid]

On 12/22/2023 at 3:23 AM, Woof999 said:

 

Just going back to the landfill and foundations. If you hadn't wanted to wait a full rainy season to allow for natural compaction of the filled soil, would something like a 10 ton vibrating roller have done at least as good a job and let you build within days rather than many months? I understand that this might not have been important to you, but I might be in a similar position soon and ideally don't want to wait for nature to take it's course and am OK with paying a little more for the machinery required to then be able to skip the long wait.

 

 

I'm not sure about the effectiveness of a vibrating roller, given our fill was a full 2m above the highest point of the bund walls of the surrounding rice fields.

The problem is getting the air out... and we were lucky that it was a very wet wet season (heavy flooding in most of Isaan and much of the Chao Praya catchment areas as well as some areas of Bangkok itself) and we achieved good compaction.

This was well demonstrated by the difficulties experienced when driving the piles... the land was very "strong".

I posted a video of the pile-driving earlier in this thread if you scroll back and have a look... 

 

I have personally seen Thai highways and minor roads being constructed using vibrating rollers on the subgrade and subbase surfaces before applying the final asphalt surface material, and invariably after a year of operation (or sometimes less), there is evidence of subsidence and perhaps potholes. The only roads which seem to be immune to these issues are the reinforced concrete variety... so when investing in a house to stand on solid foundations... I personally opted for the rain over time method. 

 

Arguably we could have started construction earlier, as our piles were driven way past the previous land levels before filling, but then we would have risked our external steps (and driveways and garden beds etc.) not being aligned with house floor levels if further compaction happened after building.

 

As it was, we got 40cm of compaction after 1 year of sitting idle, so our final NSL (natural surface level) at building time was 1.6m above the highest point of the bund walls of the surrounding rice fields.

 

The external deck areas are 50cm above that, and the house internal FFL (finished floor level) is another 5cm above that, no absolutely no chance of ever getting flooded. 

 

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, Encid said:

'm not sure about the effectiveness of a vibrating roller, given our fill was a full 2m above the highest point of the bund walls of the surrounding rice fields.

if it is done in progressive  layers it is very effective. as small amount of moisture is recommended to reduce friction among the dirt particles. 

5 minutes ago, Encid said:

The problem is getting the air out... and we were lucky that it was a very wet wet season (heavy flooding in most of Isaan and much of the Chao Praya catchment areas as well as some areas of Bangkok itself) and we achieved good compaction.

That would help with compaction. but it would also be absorbed by the clay. and clay can expand as much as 20% , it will lose most of that expansion when it dries, but not uniformly. It will dry differently around the house than it will under the slab.  A certain amount of moisture is recommended,to reduce the friction, but too much moisture will fill the pores,  and  it is difficult rp squeeze it out. 

[Encid]

On 12/22/2023 at 4:13 PM, HighPriority said:

@Encid

Hows life ?

Anymore updates for us ?

Pics ?

 

Life has been extremely busy and we have had several family sicknesses and emergencies which have taken up a lot of my time... so, my apologies... I will post some more updates and pics later.

 

And yes... the house is now finished and habitable. 

[Encid]

On 12/24/2023 at 9:00 AM, stupidfarang said:

Nice looking house, my wife has just been given some land and we will build a small two bedroom house on it, can I ask what the cost to build your house, is it two bed? Thank you

 

Ours is a 1 bedroom only, with 1 bathroom.

Inside living area of 68.2 sq.m., external deck including Thai kitchen of 52.3 sq.m,. and covered car port area of 32.0 sq.m.

Quoted cost to build (excluding tiles and lighting and appliances and benchtops) was 1.8 million baht.

[Encid]

13 minutes ago, sirineou said:

if it is done in progressive  layers it is very effective. as small amount of moisture is recommended to reduce friction among the dirt particles. 

That would help with compaction. but it would also be absorbed by the clay. and clay can expand as much as 20% , it will lose most of that expansion when it dries, but not uniformly. It will dry differently around the house than it will under the slab.  A certain amount of moisture is recommended,to reduce the friction, but too much moisture will fill the pores,  and  it is difficult rp squeeze it out. 

 

I note that you are from Khon Kaen, which is very close to our farm (only 1 hours drive away), so you will know that the soil in that region is a very poor quality sandy loam with almost zero clay content.

I do not expect to see any further compaction, nor do I expect to see any expansion... but time will tell. 

 

19 minutes ago, sirineou said:

if it is done in progressive  layers it is very effective. as small amount of moisture is recommended to reduce friction among the dirt particles. 

 

It was sort of progressively compacted during filling by the trucks themselves and the bulldozers that was continually spreading out and levelling out the loads, and the weather was wet so there would have been some moisture in the soil.

 

See below:

 

[HighPriority]

14 hours ago, Encid said:

 

Life has been extremely busy and we have had several family sicknesses and emergencies which have taken up a lot of my time... so, my apologies... I will post some more updates and pics later.

 

And yes... the house is now finished and habitable. 

Congrats on the house, sorry to hear of the curveballs.

cheers

[sometimewoodworker]

23 hours ago, Encid said:

It was sort of progressively compacted during filling by the trucks themselves and the bulldozers that was continually spreading out and levelling out the loads, and the weather was wet so there would have been some moisture in the soil.

Our lad was filled 7 years before building, I can assure you that a single year however wet will not have been enough to compact the soil, and the fill trucks won’t have done very much. Probably about 3 years along with compaction.

 

the soil has at least 30% air when filling. The only way to reduce the time for settling is to compact after each load is dumped and spread and you will still need time for further compaction. The trucks driving over the fill will do little as the load on each tyre is designed to be comparatively low. A heavy 50~100kg vibrating plate compactor or a heavy road roller or better a vibrating road roller will do a better job.

[Encid]

40 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Our lad was filled 7 years before building, I can assure you that a single year however wet will not have been enough to compact the soil, and the fill trucks won’t have done very much. Probably about 3 years along with compaction.

 

the soil has at least 30% air when filling. The only way to reduce the time for settling is to compact after each load is dumped and spread and you will still need time for further compaction. The trucks driving over the fill will do little as the load on each tyre is designed to be comparatively low. A heavy 50~100kg vibrating plate compactor or a heavy road roller or better a vibrating road roller will do a better job.

 

I better hope that the piles will do the job they are designed to do then. 

[sometimewoodworker]

2 minutes ago, Encid said:

 

I better hope that the piles will do the job they are designed to do then. 

The use of piles may well be preferable to waiting for natural compaction or digging the foundations to below the fill level.

[Muhendis]

3 hours ago, Encid said:

 

I better hope that the piles will do the job they are designed to do then. 

'Course they will.

They were done professionally.

 

I must say I do find it rather strange that we are discussing a forum members piles.

Hope they get better soon.