High quality villa builders in Thailand?

[Vulture82]

Hi,

 

What's the best builder in Thailand? I mean in terms of proper insulation, the issue I have in the homes here is that they get hot AF because walls are like made of paper, I'd rather build homes with very thick walls and high quality insulation, as well as double or even triple glass windows.

Can you suggest a good builder specializing in home energy efficiency?

I am looking to build in the Krabi area.

 

Thanks.

[Gottfrid]

You are asking a lot! Are you sure Thailand is the right choice for you? 😉 

Nah, just joking. I think you will not have a problem to find a builder for thick walls and isolation. However, triple glass windows might be a problem. Most builder do not work with that ever. Although, they will probably be able to fit them in.

[Vulture82]

I have seen double glasses, perhaps triple is a bit too much, know any quality builders? Somebody suggested me to go to SCG directly.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, Vulture82 said:

I'd rather build homes with very thick walls and high quality insulation

Do you know how to do that, at least in theory? Do you have time to supervise the construction?

 

If no, then you need someone who has experience with that and can do it all by "himself".

If you know what to do and you have the time to be part of the project, then you "only" need a good builder who listens.

 

Both will be difficult. But I think you should think about this first. Because if you expect to give someone a plan of what you want and then in a couple of months you expect a finished product according to what you want, then you will have a very difficult time before you.

If you are willing and able to get involved, then it will be a little easier, but still far away from easy.

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Do you know how to do that, at least in theory? Do you have time to supervise the construction?

 

If no, then you need someone who has experience with that and can do it all by "himself".

If you know what to do and you have the time to be part of the project, then you "only" need a good builder who listens.

 

Both will be difficult. But I think you should think about this first. Because if you expect to give someone a plan of what you want and then in a couple of months you expect a finished product according to what you want, then you will have a very difficult time before you.

If you are willing and able to get involved, then it will be a little easier, but still far away from easy.

I know on Facebook, some foreigners update regularly their projects on Isan building pages. You might have to join a building page for Phuket and Krabi to find one with good reputation. 

[Vulture82]

I plan to rent a place no farther than 10m from building site and to visit every single day. Tbh this is no different than my home country in the West. If you don't follow, ofc they'll diverge. Ok so it looks like getting into fbook builders and look at what they did/are doing is the best way to assess their proficiency.

[CallumWK]

5 minutes ago, Vulture82 said:

I plan to rent a place no farther than 10m from building site and to visit every single day. Tbh this is no different than my home country in the West. If you don't follow, ofc they'll diverge. Ok so it looks like getting into fbook builders and look at what they did/are doing is the best way to assess their proficiency.

 

Just to share my personal experience.
I built a house similar to your requirements about 15 years ago. I don't recall if I spent 25 or 26 hours a day on-site, all I know is that EVERYTHING has been done at least twice, some things trice, before it was even NEAR the standard I expected. Take note, my house was built by a foreign builder.
What was supposed to take 9 months to completion, took over 3 years. I was lucky to have a solid contract, and some other "options" which not everyone has, so I wish you best of luck.
I have seen many completed luxury houses over the last few decades, and have heard even more stories, only not sure if I should laugh or cry.

[Vulture82]

I see, could you make some specific examples of what had to be made twice?

[CallumWK]

28 minutes ago, Vulture82 said:

I see, could you make some specific examples of what had to be made twice?

 

Did you notice I wrote EVERYTHING in capital letters?

 

Roof had to be done twice, because they made a mistake in the measurements.;

 

Pool tiling had to be stopped and completed with someone competent.

 

UPVC windows had to be removed after completion, because they were sagging because no steel reinforcement inside, and were refunded. Then a second installer was hired, and a third one had to complete his job. My UPVC windows are from Thysen Inoutic.

Floor tilling was started by an incompetent installer, who (beyond my knowledge) had never laid tiles, then was finished by another tiler, and finally all be removed because he had mixed up the lots. So everything had to be removed, and I had to buy all new tiles, and had them laid by a third tiler.

 

Electricity had to ALL wires (and I mean the whole house) pulled out and pulled again, because I started checking and discovered that some sockets had 1mm wires. The minimum, is 2 mm.

I can go on, but I think this forum doesn't have enough pages for that.

Edited June 18 by CallumWK

[Hummin]

Exectly whey I used thai local boilders, and thai quality, still, there where 1000ˋś things I had to correct, especially to get it the right specs for safety. 

 

I doubled their standards, and also done the electric twice, and going to do it again third time. 

 

Forgot to say I paid thai prices, and we bought all the materials our self. So if no big maintenence in 10 years, it paid off already. 4 and 5 years now, so it looks promizing. Checking the roofs and other critical spots twice a year, and so far so good

Edited June 18 by Hummin

[Vulture82]

What can I do if I don't have time to supervise and only be there in the week ends? Should I hire a supervisor?

[Vulture82]

On 6/19/2024 at 12:55 AM, CallumWK said:

 

Did you notice I wrote EVERYTHING in capital letters?

 

Roof had to be done twice, because they made a mistake in the measurements.;

 

Pool tiling had to be stopped and completed with someone competent.

 

UPVC windows had to be removed after completion, because they were sagging because no steel reinforcement inside, and were refunded. Then a second installer was hired, and a third one had to complete his job. My UPVC windows are from Thysen Inoutic.

Floor tilling was started by an incompetent installer, who (beyond my knowledge) had never laid tiles, then was finished by another tiler, and finally all be removed because he had mixed up the lots. So everything had to be removed, and I had to buy all new tiles, and had them laid by a third tiler.

 

Electricity had to ALL wires (and I mean the whole house) pulled out and pulled again, because I started checking and discovered that some sockets had 1mm wires. The minimum, is 2 mm.

I can go on, but I think this forum doesn't have enough pages for that.

Jeez that sounds a lot of troubles. Is that really that much different from the west though?

[CallumWK]

5 minutes ago, Vulture82 said:

What can I do if I don't have time to supervise and only be there in the week ends? Should I hire a supervisor?

 

If you don't have the time yourself, you should hire a supervisor, or you will be in for major surprises.

Your architect will supervise if you pay him for that

[thainet]

12 minutes ago, Vulture82 said:

What can I do if I don't have time to supervise and only be there in the week ends? Should I hire a supervisor?

Yes definitely. Find someone.

When I build (12 times in Thailand already over many years) I am there every morning to check with builder on the days work, and then onsite at least 3-4 hours a day. Then I can rectify problems or changes immediately on the spot.

On one build I was out of the country for a while and hired a farang friend (qualified builder) to oversee the construction. Plus using telephone, online chats and videos the build went well.

[Hummin]

35 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

If you don't have the time yourself, you should hire a supervisor, or you will be in for major surprises.

Your architect will supervise if you pay him for that

An architect is not an engineer or builder who can solve practical problems where the builders normally take short cuts.

 

 

[CallumWK]

18 minutes ago, Hummin said:

An architect is not an engineer or builder who can solve practical problems where the builders normally take short cuts.

 

 

 

An architect writes in the house plan all the specs of the materials to be used. Size and amount of steel, strength of the concrete, design of the roof steelwork and everything else. Where he gets those specs from you think?

Where you think corners are cut?

But how would someone who claims he built Thai style and at Thai prices know about quality.

 

Edited June 24 by CallumWK

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, CallumWK said:

 

An architect writes in the house plan all the specs of the materials to be used. Size and amount of steel, strength of the concrete, design of the roof steelwork and everything else. Where he gets those specs from you think?

Where you think corners are cut?

But how would someone who claims he built Thai style and at Thai prices know about quality.

 

Good reading 

 

I wouldnt trust an Architect when it comes to the physical construction if I first spent money on architect house with certain expectations on specs and quality. But good luck

 

10. Architects License Details- Thailand

The Thai architect and Thai engineer will supply you with their Thai license details, for any documentation required for building permissions. You must use a professional Thai licensed architect to design your home in Thailand and you also need to have the licensed Thai engineer also provide license details too

 

read more, quite useful information. 

https://www.buildinginthailand.com/architect-information/

[Hummin]

16 hours ago, CallumWK said:

 

An architect writes in the house plan all the specs of the materials to be used. Size and amount of steel, strength of the concrete, design of the roof steelwork and everything else. Where he gets those specs from you think?

Where you think corners are cut?

But how would someone who claims he built Thai style and at Thai prices know about quality.

 

I went through all the pros and cons before I decided to solve most of my concerns building the local way with local builders.

 

A foreigner style and quality house in my area is waste of money if thinking of selling one day. 

 

As I said, If I built in Hua Hin, the situation would had been different. Different marked, different opportunities.

 

Have been working in construction in my younger days, so I know something about how construction companies make short cuts, cheating and also changing specs if possible to save money and time. It is not just a Thai phenomenon. 

 

 

Edited June 25 by Hummin

[georgegeorgia]

On 6/25/2024 at 2:41 AM, thainet said:

am there every morning to check with builder on the days work, and then onsite at least 3-4 hours

You must be a proper pain in the rear 

They don't want you there