Did I overreact?

[bunnydrops]

Yes it could have been planned/done better, but it isn't that bad. We only have one picture. Would really need to see it at different angles. The back plate can be easily changed to something different. It is too small for the large letters.

[BritManToo]

Assume the wall behind the wood plate has been destroyed/ruined!

[BE88]

11 hours ago, Dean1953 said:

I am curious why you consider my telling the lady that I didn’t like the way the letters were put on wood instead of the stone as bad manners? I guess that, 15 years ago, you would have considered me bad mannered when I fired the Thai that installed my sprinkler system with at least 7 major leaks?  
I have no doubt that the wood window frames will be fine. It’s only the upstairs windows that have metal frames that I’m replacing. The downstairs already have teak wooden window frames. That he did several years ago 

I assume when you return I would have other bigger problems to deal with, having work done on your house and not being there is the easiest solution to having problems.

For now don't look at your number picture every day and breathe deeply. Everything will be OK????

 

[crouchpeter]

9 hours ago, simon43 said:

Just ask for 'dork boon' (actually 'bpoon'), which means drill bit for concrete.  Or 'dork sawan boon' ) (power drill bit for concrete).

Don't ask for anything. Go to Thai Wassadu (?), and browse the aisles.

[VocalNeal]

Too late to easily remedy because there are already holes drilled into the blocks.  Stain the wood to match the lamp.

You could change the wood to something thinner.

[seajae]

13 hours ago, Dean1953 said:

The wood would have been fine before I had the stone veneer installed last September. Now, other than taking the piece of wood off would be to prime then paint it black to match the numbers. I’d still prefer the numbers directly on the stone. 

you do realize if you paint the wood black like the numbers you will not be able to see them against a black back ground, it needs to be a different colour so the numbers actually stand out.

 

[novacova]

12 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe there is a reason for that piece of wood. Maybe someone tried to put holes in the stones and ruined them. 

I tell you now so that you can familiarize yourself with that possibility. So when you remove the wood that you won't have a heart attack and you won't kill the housekeeper.

 

My personal experience with Thai construction guys is also getting worse. Until now I thought they did mostly a good job with my condominium renovation. Now I realize I should not only have asked them build a few new walls. I should have specifically asked them to build straight new wall. Because the walls which they built are not 100% straight and when I complain they look at me like: Really, you wanted straight walls? We didn't realize that... grrrrrrrr

Every project is closely watched and supervised from beginning to end with my own two eyes 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, novacova said:

Every project is closely watched and supervised from beginning to end with my own two eyes 

That is obviously a good idea and I thought I do the same.

But sometimes I/we assume too much.

When I saw my new walls, I thought they look fine. I assumed they are straight and flat. I was wrong about both. The straight part the tiling guy found out. Because when he planned the tiles, he discovered that one wall was on one end about 2cm more into the room than on the other side. Result: The contractor ripped the just built wall down and did it again - this time straight.

And then later a team came in to install the floor skirting and crown molding. The wall wasn't 100% flat. Now they will fix that.

I observed many things and sometimes I spotted problems and reported them to the contractor before they became bigger problems. But sometimes I didn't check. In the hindsight I should have checked the walls. But the again I assumed the contractor did that. And I guess the contractor assumed the construction team did it.

The good part in my case is that almost everything is under control of one contractor. If we find out 3 months later that the first team which built the wall did a bad job, it's still his responsibility to fix that. I don't even want to think about what headache it would be if I would have hired independent teams... 

[novacova]

41 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That is obviously a good idea and I thought I do the same.

But sometimes I/we assume too much.

Yes, as I did on the first phase of the first project, never again ????

[OneMoreFarang]

35 minutes ago, novacova said:

Yes, as I did on the first phase of the first project, never again ????

And what do you do when something is not the way you expect it to be?

This seems to me one of those big challenges in Thailand. I.e. I saw one worker using a metal hammer to hammer a little anchor in a "wall" in the bathroom. But it wasn't just a wall, it was a big and expensive tile on top of that wall. He could have easily cracked that tile. And it would have been a lot of work to remove the damaged tile and install a new one exactly the way it was.

The worker did this when his supervisor was standing right next to him. I told him "stop!" and I might have used the Thai word for stupid.

Big problem.

Later I was told that the contractor was unhappy with my behavior because I talked bad to his team. The fact that I talked to them "bad" because they did bad work didn't really matter.

 

So how do you solve that problem? How do you criticize their work if they do stupid things and stupid mistakes? 

And before anybody tells me I should pay more to have better qualified people. That's what I did already...

 

[novacova]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And what do you do when something is not the way you expect it to be?

This seems to me one of those big challenges in Thailand. I.e. I saw one worker using a metal hammer to hammer a little anchor in a "wall" in the bathroom. But it wasn't just a wall, it was a big and expensive tile on top of that wall. He could have easily cracked that tile. And it would have been a lot of work to remove the damaged tile and install a new one exactly the way it was.

The worker did this when his supervisor was standing right next to him. I told him "stop!" and I might have used the Thai word for stupid.

Big problem.

Later I was told that the contractor was unhappy with my behavior because I talked bad to his team. The fact that I talked to them "bad" because they did bad work didn't really matter.

 

So how do you solve that problem? How do you criticize their work if they do stupid things and stupid mistakes? 

And before anybody tells me I should pay more to have better qualified people. That's what I did already...

 

I can’t give advice on workers construction outside of my presence. In my experience being patient is paramount and explaining what I envision even illustrating on paper helps. The people I use are competent government employees that oversee government construction projects that do work for me during their spare time, it’s slow for the most part because of their schedules, and I’ve known them for years. Most of the issues are engineering and/or when they bring in someone new, distant relative or a needy friend, things like attempting to weld something or laying brick. I’d much prefer they stick to simple tasks such as mixing cement and moving objects. I’ll even grab the hardware and and show them an example of what I’m looking for. I don’t criticize them for mistakes, I just try to remedy the issues. I think patience is very important and will go a long way. But of course it also depends on who you’re working with. And importantly buy them lunch, and beer whiskey and food for after work and set and drink (I dont drink????) and eat with them. 

[Dante99]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I saw one worker using a metal hammer to hammer a little anchor in a "wall" in the bathroom. But it wasn't just a wall, it was a big and expensive tile on top of that wall. He could have easily cracked that tile. And it would have been a lot of work to remove the damaged tile and install a new one exactly the way it was.

The worker did this when his supervisor was standing right next to him. I told him "stop!" and I might have used the Thai word for stupid.

Using the word stupid is definitely not called for and frankly impolite.

 

How about:

 

Please stop or please wait a minute.  then

I am worried about the tile 

and proceed to resolve that worry 

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

The fact that I talked to them "bad" because they did bad work didn't really matter.

Not really bad work, nothing was damaged or completed in an unsatisfactory way.  The problem was all about you and your worry or fear.

[NoDisplayName]

19 hours ago, Dean1953 said:

The wood would have been fine before I had the stone veneer installed last September. Now, other than taking the piece of wood off would be to prime then paint it black to match the numbers. I’d still prefer the numbers directly on the stone. 

Easy fix.

 

When you return, remove the wood plate, which is too small for the numbers.  What to do with the holes already drilled?  Replace with a thin stone plate that looks nice against the stone column, makes the numbers legible from the road, and is the correct size for the numbers.  Drill it to use the holes you already have prepared.

 

If you're worried about the Thai lady, next time it comes up, casually mention that you're not happy that YOU made a poor design.  Can't fault the workers for following your orders.  You'll try something else when you return.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Dante99 said:

Using the word stupid is definitely not called for and frankly impolite.

 

How about:

 

Please stop or please wait a minute.  then

I am worried about the tile 

and proceed to resolve that worry 

Not really bad work, nothing was damaged or completed in an unsatisfactory way.  The problem was all about you and your worry or fear.

So it seems you would have waited until the big tile was broken. And then? Wait for the specialist to put a new one in again, maybe a week later? And then let the guy with the hammer try again?

 

If someone doesn't know exactly the best ways to do a task, I understand that part and I am patient. But if someone hammers on tiles that is just stupid. Yes, it wasn't polite that I told him. But if he wouldn't do anything stupid then I wouldn't call it stupid.

[Dean1953]

After talking with the lady last night, and agreeing to let it go until my next visit in December, I receive these pictures this morning.   I don’t know what to think, except that this looks a lot cleaner than having a piece of wood behind it 

 

 

[Dante99]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

So it seems you would have waited until the big tile was broken.

You are assuming that result.  And you missed my suggestion to ask them to stop or wait a minute....I think that real life experience is that hundreds of thousands of anchors have been put into floors and walls in Thailand with hammers without damaging the tile on the surfaces.

 

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

But if someone hammers on tiles that is just stupid.

Oh my so now you modify the story to tell us that he was hammering on the tile, not the insert.  Enjoy your evolving drama.

[Dante99]

Congratulations Dean, it looks like you got what you wanted, rather a roundabout way to get there but the end result was good.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Personally I would have used a thinner larger piece of wood, bevelled the edges, stained it to a colour of my choice and glued the numbers to it, eliminating all the excess black steel which, imho, spoils it.

But then we all have different tastes.