Thinking Of Building This House...

[Whatever]

I am currently thinking about building this house on my wife's parents land. We will be knocking their house down, leveling the land (about 30m x 30m) and employing builders to construct this house. I was just wondering if someone could give me a ball park figure of how much they think it will cost me.

Hopefully we are going to get an architect to make up the plans, then get a local builder to give us a price on how much to build it, then we are going to pay for the materials on top of that. Don't include the pool just yet, I'm going to have the house built first and see where we stand. I will be living there while the build is going on and will be overseeing everything.

Am I going about things the right way?

I have been given rough figures I just wondered what other people thought - or if anyone else had had a house like this built and how much it ended up costing. It will be built in a little village in the middle of nowhere but an hour from Ubon Ratchathani.

Any thoughts or tips would be welcome...

[khunandy]

I am currently thinking about building this house on my wife's parents land. We will be knocking their house down, leveling the land (about 30m x 30m) and employing builders to construct this house. I was just wondering if someone could give me a ball park figure of how much they think it will cost me.

Hopefully we are going to get an architect to make up the plans, then get a local builder to give us a price on how much to build it, then we are going to pay for the materials on top of that. Don't include the pool just yet, I'm going to have the house built first and see where we stand. I will be living there while the build is going on and will be overseeing everything.

Am I going about things the right way?

I have been given rough figures I just wondered what other people thought - or if anyone else had had a house like this built and how much it ended up costing. It will be built in a little village in the middle of nowhere but an hour from Ubon Ratchathani.

Any thoughts or tips would be welcome...

Hi Whatever,

Nice house there. I would think you would be looking at around 3 mil for the house depending on fittings, interior decorating etc. I am certainly no specialist though and other things such as Thai working plans etc will need to be taken into consideration.

You are definately on the right track if you intend to be there overseeing the construction, It will be the finer details that need your attention and a firm hand from the get go as to what workmanship you expect.

Just a thought though, having built a big house in my wifes village and no matter how much I love the family I still find myself gravitating to the cities occasionally for farang contact.

If I had my time again I would have done things differently I think. I would have built the big house closer to the city , not only to have easier access to the facilities but also for resale value should the need arise. I would have built a more modest , but nice, house in the village, something around the 1 mil mark and more in line with Thai design. I know this isnt what you were asking but I thought I would mention it. To be honest with you a huge house in a poor village can sometimes be a bit of an embarressment. It depends on your personal outlook.

Good luck with your house

Khun Andy

[monty]

As a very rough guideline, take the total floor area of both floors in square meters, and multiply by 7,000.

This should give you an idea about the cots for the finished building, including all materials, but no kitchen etc..

This would be a standard but decent finish with average quality tiles, bathroom fittings etc. No AC and stuff like that obviously, building should be double walled at that price as well.

This is what most constructors would ask, you probably can do it cheaper by just buying all the stuff yourself and pay for the labor, but unless you have previous building experience, I would go with a constructor anyway.

[jimmym40]

As Monty said previously, 7,000 baht per sq meter is about right. Depends of course on the quality of the materials, i.e., granite floors, granite countertops, and bathroom upgrades.

One point I would like to bring up. You say it will be located out "in the middle of nowhere". You may have trouble finding buildings who would want to travel with a full crew of workers if the distance is too far. You will probably have to pay a premium for the labor and/or travel time. You may want to bring the subject up and pay for this as a side cost.

My wife and I had four houses built in Lamphun in the last 10 yrs, no, not for us, but for her family. Located about 30 kms from Chiang Mai. I will say, that constructions cost have gone up considerably. Just to be safe, maybe bank on paying around 8,000 baht per sq meter.

Also, be warned, it's a very stressful time when building a house. Hope your heart is strong and healthy.

Good luck...

[jimmym40]

Sorry, thought about one more item just after I sent my last post.

Most material supply stores will offer free delivery if it is of sufficient quantity. However, the distance involved will come in to the equation. Make sure this subject is clear with the building also. Will he be responsible for getting the materials on site???

[Whatever]

You guys are pretty good. The total area is 453msq which is just over 3mil when multiplied by 7000. I have been told by my wife's family that it would be 2.4mil as an estimate but I naturally assumed that they would go low to start with. I think I'm going to try and keep the costs down by only having 3 bathrooms instead of 5 cutting the plumbing and material costs down. I think I will be alright just as long as costs don't escalate above 3m.

Its not completely remote, 20mins and you're in Yasothon - quite a big town. Big houses are around, maybe not in this style but there are some nice houses. As for the house being an embarresment. I think quite the opposite. I wouldn't be surprised to see people driving into the village to have a look - just as long as we dont get pestered by people wanting to come in - there will be no problem with being embarresed to live in a nice house.

Thanks for your imput guys

[Whatever]

BTW are granite floors really expensive?

[Naam]

BTW are granite floors really expensive?

a lot depends on the size. you can get cheap granite 20x20cm for the same price like ceramic tiles. looks sh*tty though as no uniform texture and colour. had my carport and driveway done with cheap granite, didn't like it and put ceramic tiles on top.

[jimmym40]

Granite floors can be expensive, depending on what size and what "colors" you choose. It can run from 500 - 1500 baht per sq meter. 20 x 40 or 40 x 40 cm slabs are the norm for flooring. You can get larger pieces, but a bit more expensive. You can get the Thailand granite or I think the China granite which is the cheapest. Most of the others are imported and are like double the cost. My guess is you can probably find some granite you like for around 5-700 baht a sq meter, plus around 160 baht for the labor to install, and then you have to supply the concrete and sand. At least that is what is standard practice here in Chiang Mai.

So you can compare that with standard grade "A" tile, which you will probably want to go with 16x16 or 18x18 inch tile. Tile would run you about 295 up to 400 baht a sq meter.

Again, watch the cost of the delivery for the granite if you go that route. It's usually included in the cost but if it has to come a long distance, they might want to charge a fee.

Also, when I went to bed last night, I got to thinking. I arbitrarily upped my estimated cost from 7000 to 8000 baht a sq m. I realized that was too high. So I amend my statement, maybe plan on 7500 a sq meter to be safe. Believe me, all the little extras that are not included in the house construction ADD up fast. A/C units, ceiling fans, bathroom fixtures, screens for the windows (which are not included by the way), light fixtures and light bulbs. You'd be surprised how many light bulbs you have to buy.

Oh ya, one recommendation. You might want to check in to putting some extra insulation on the top floor ceiling atic. They have the roll-in bats that just lies on top of the ceiling drywall.

Another high cost item would be the perimeter wall if you don't already have one. That cost will not be included in the house construction.

My overall recommendation would be to go over the plans, over and over again. You don't want to have to make changes after the construction bid was accepted. I"ve built 4 houses back in US and several more here and I always seem to have missed "something" in the plans, or wanted to add something.

How soon do you expect to get started? Do you have the plans drawn out yet?

[Lite Beer]

Other extras would be steel grids on the windows, gutters, drilling for water, water tank and pumps,connection to the electric supply.

As said all these extras do add up.

[cdnvic]

BTW are granite floors really expensive?

Look around to see if anyone makes terrazzo style floors. Similar effect but a uniform pattern. You can use a variety of rock and coloured concrete to vary the effect. A sandy, dark concrete mix will give you a slate-like look, sandy and natural colour will give more of a granite look, and screened aggregate will give you the terrazzo look.

[RAZZELL]

These people make great tiles:

http://www.cottotiles.com/

RAZZ

Edited June 26, 2007 by RAZZELL

[JASON THAI]

Hi I have hust built this house in Korat (110 sq mt) cost works out at about 7,700 baht a sq metre this includes everything apart from the furniture

[Zeid]

nice house jason thai,touch wood

and this is a great example wish we can have more examples such as this one.

as i am planning to also start building my wife says that 1mil will make the hosue of her dreams.

i am hoping to build one that is raised to gain more land space, would that cost more?

lost the link but there was a guy who had a link for the goverment design houses or something like that i need to go search for it

[Zeid]

http://www.dpt.go.th/

[jakesideas]

It might be better to have the swimming pool in the back of the house for more privacy.

[goldfinger]

I suppose, costs for Swimmimg Pool are not included in 7/8000Baht per sqm building costs?

[Thailand Tiger]

You might want to take a look at this website http://www.coolthaihouse.com/

It's by someone who has been through the same process you're embarking on and contains a lot of tips and experiences from others as well. There's information on everything from foundations, to water tanks, to swimming pools.

[MrSquigle]

Swimming pool definitley not included.

[ProThaiExpat]

Consider having your car port enclosed and an automatic garage door opener. Much better security, as the absence of your vehicle announces to all your not home and quite cheap to have walls added as you are already paying for the roof and its supports.

Also consider storage in the garage. I had my garage built to accomodate shellving units with lucite doors that allow viewing of all the contents. Had them built extra tall for 1500 Baht. You will see many examples as they are standard cabinets for Thai kitchens. Have air holes, made of a bakealite material and are fine for garage storage. I had my concrete floor in the garage sloped properly with a drain so the car could be washed without the sun bearing down.

Bathrooms are not nearly expensive relatively as they are in the west. PVC for pipes, except for hot water and toilets and commodes are less than 5k baht.

Definitely shop yourself for all of your finish materials, ie. tiles, sinks, toilets, counter tops, cabinets, built in closets???, etc. Shop for front door and all of your interconnecting doors and hardware. Don't risk a builder choosing these important items as they are what you will see everyday, not the type brick buried in the wall.