Good builder in Pattaya - Who do you suggest and other questions.

[Longwood50]

I have purchased a lot in Huay Yai and got an architect plan.  Foolish me, I submitted the plans and autocad file to three different builders and the BOQ's are different in terms of the amount and pricing of the materials and labor.  Now I can understand some variance but in some instances it is a 200% difference. 

1. Does anyone know a "good builder" in Pattaya preferably English speaking
2. The quality of the materials is an unknown so does it make sense to find someone to build the skeleton of the home and then move on in steps to then get the builder to meet and pick out things like doors, windows, roof tiles, etc.  When you try to compare BOQ's you get in some instances a price but in other instances things like wall switches, or sandstone that you have no idea what brand or type there is and it is way to much to try and tackle it all at one.  - Would there be a huge downside to trying to finish out if the builder only built the skeleton of the home. 
3. With each builder they are including their operating margin.  That is fine and to be expected.  However in some instances there are prices for things like doors, locks, pump, etc.  Is it unreasonable to say to the builder, I get to pick those pay the price and you add your margin plus installation.  Otherwise the builder has the incentive to try and charge you the highest price possible on the BOQ and then provide the lowest possible quality. 

I am just looking for someone honest, trustworthy, and straightforward.  My experience to date is like trying to nail jello to a wall.  Each time you try and get a straight answer from any of the builders on cost and what is includes they are trying to give a very vague answer.  

If anyone has built recently and had a good eperience and would care to share the name of their builder that would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

I just renovated my apartment from scratch, a few comments.

You need a contractor. He/they hire teams to do walls, tiles, plumbing, whatever.

If you hire one contractor the he is responsible for everything. I.e. a wall which is not straight, and the plumbing was already installed and the wall was already painted, when it has to be repaired then the contractor is responsible for everything.

I insisted on a quotation and contract with labor and material separated. And exactly listed which material, like this tile model from this manufacturer, etc. If you do that you can compare prices from material. And you can easily change the quotation from i.e. one tile to another.

I bought some material myself, and I asked the contractor to buy other material. If he buys it he is responsible for the transport, he is responsible if something is defect, etc.

 

One problem with good contractors is that they are not interested in small projects or part projects. If you have a half finished project it will be very difficult to find a qualified contractor who wants to continue with that.

 

Specify everything! I.e. I didn't specify that my walls should be straight and plum and 90 degrees angles. And later I found out that some walls are not as straight and they should be. Not surprisingly the reaction was that that's the way it is. What, you expected straight walls? In Thailand? ...

 

And make sure you have a person (wife, project manager, contractor) who understands farang thinking and culture - at least if you expect quality. Don't try to tell the workers by yourself what they should do. It will drive you crazy.

 

Good luck! You need it. 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Before I forget it: A down payment is standard. But don't pay in advance for material here and there. It seems too often workers take the money and run and never return. 

And if you buy (expensive) material by yourself, make sure the workers use that and don't take it away from your construction site. 

[Don Chance]

I knew a guy in Krabi with a Thai wife. He had a big idea to build a house then flip it. He gave the build about 10k usd and never saw him again, he said he dropped off a big water jug though.  He tried to sue the builder. 2 years later he split with his wife and moved back the states after 20 year in Thailand. The whole thing was too much for him.

[jaideedave]

35 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

I knew a guy in Krabi with a Thai wife. He had a big idea to build a house then flip it. He gave the build about 10k usd and never saw him again, he said he dropped off a big water jug though.  He tried to sue the builder. 2 years later he split with his wife and moved back the states after 20 year in Thailand. The whole thing was too much for him.

Yes another sad story.A friend some years back decided to have a custom house built on the "dark side" of Pattaya.At the time he was working 28/28 rota so his wife/gf was there half the time.

They f___ed up just about everything you could imagine.His advice to me> never build from scratch.

Buy a house in an area you like and rebuild/redo as you like.Way easier and probably less expensive.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, jaideedave said:

rebuild/redo as you like

Rebuild/redo (almost) everything?

If you build it from scratch and you are there every day then at least you have a good idea what is happening and you can see problems early and correct them. Once it's finished it is a nightmare to (try to) fix some problems. 

I.e. electrical installations are often horrible. Do it all new? Enjoy! 

[Longwood50]

It appears this is like other posts I have done requesting specific information on a builder.  I get stories not reccomendations.  

I am just wondering if someone knows or has used a builder they can reccomend.  The fact some guy paid money and the builder ran off is not particularly helpful and is a story repeated many times in Thailand. 

 

[jaideedave]

11 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Rebuild/redo (almost) everything?

If you build it from scratch and you are there every day then at least you have a good idea what is happening and you can see problems early and correct them. Once it's finished it is a nightmare to (try to) fix some problems. 

I.e. electrical installations are often horrible. Do it all new? Enjoy! 

I agree but in this case he was working offshore and had to leave his lady in charge while away.The workers told her to stay away and that they knew what they were doing (not) He told me the whole thing was a nightmare. As a side note they split up later that year anyway and he walked away. Its a good thing he was making good money.

[Bagwain]

10 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

It appears this is like other posts I have done requesting specific information on a builder.  I get stories not reccomendations.  

I am just wondering if someone knows or has used a builder they can reccomend.  The fact some guy paid money and the builder ran off is not particularly helpful and is a story repeated many times in Thailand. 

 

PM sent!

[rgrdns]

16 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I just renovated my apartment from scratch, a few comments.

You need a contractor. He/they hire teams to do walls, tiles, plumbing, whatever.

If you hire one contractor the he is responsible for everything. I.e. a wall which is not straight, and the plumbing was already installed and the wall was already painted, when it has to be repaired then the contractor is responsible for everything.

I insisted on a quotation and contract with labor and material separated. And exactly listed which material, like this tile model from this manufacturer, etc. If you do that you can compare prices from material. And you can easily change the quotation from i.e. one tile to another.

I bought some material myself, and I asked the contractor to buy other material. If he buys it he is responsible for the transport, he is responsible if something is defect, etc.

 

One problem with good contractors is that they are not interested in small projects or part projects. If you have a half finished project it will be very difficult to find a qualified contractor who wants to continue with that.

 

Specify everything! I.e. I didn't specify that my walls should be straight and plum and 90 degrees angles. And later I found out that some walls are not as straight and they should be. Not surprisingly the reaction was that that's the way it is. What, you expected straight walls? In Thailand? ...

 

And make sure you have a person (wife, project manager, contractor) who understands farang thinking and culture - at least if you expect quality. Don't try to tell the workers by yourself what they should do. It will drive you crazy.

 

Good luck! You need it. 

 

 

Hi,

Yup...that's what it is, you must be very very lucky to find a decent contractor + good workers who might do the job for 80%, from my experiences I never have seen something done as it should be.

Good Luck!

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, jaideedave said:

leave his lady in charge while away.The workers told her to stay away

The point of having someone in charge is to have someone in charge.

That someone must be knowable about quality work and have experience with handling Thai workers. And the contractor or workers must listen to that person.

If any of those conditions are not met, then failure is almost unavoidable. 

[OneMoreFarang]

12 minutes ago, rgrdns said:

Hi,

Yup...that's what it is, you must be very very lucky to find a decent contractor + good workers who might do the job for 80%, from my experiences I never have seen something done as it should be.

Good Luck!

And that is true even if you are willing to pay a lot of money.

[Don Chance]

Check Alibaba order  a yurt or prefab home.

[Will B Good]

I'd fly in a team from the UK and put them up FOC for the duration......555

 

We recently had a three bed detached built....the quality of the. work, with the exception of the roofing, was atrocious.

[PJ71]

On 10/1/2023 at 3:13 PM, Don Chance said:

I knew a guy in Krabi with a Thai wife. He had a big idea to build a house then flip it. He gave the build about 10k usd and never saw him again, he said he dropped off a big water jug though.  He tried to sue the builder. 2 years later he split with his wife and moved back the states after 20 year in Thailand. The whole thing was too much for him.

lightweight

[1FinickyOne]

On 10/1/2023 at 9:00 PM, Longwood50 said:

I am just wondering if someone knows or has used a builder they can reccomend

Recommendations can be sketchy too. A friend had a builder do a wonderful job and recommended him onwards... the next job was a disaster - 

[robertthegreat]

There's a bloke a Gordie

That builds house's got a YouTube  videos 

Bryan's Thailand he does a good job and he's on site checking everything. Check his videos  of past builds you'll be impressed with the quality.

[Kinok Farang]

I'm a retired bricklayer and still take an interest in construction.Sorry i cannot give you a reputable builders name but can offer my 2 cents of advise.

Try to find an ex construction -worker farang friend (for any advice) and be on site every day.

Without supervision this lot will drive you to an early grave.Good luck.