Building A House In Bangkok

[Valjean]

I’m considering buying land and building a house in Bangkok – in a central area (Khet Playa Thai). Does anyone have any experience doing this? I’ll want the house to be at a higher quality level than maybe I’d accept upcountry just given the cost of the land and typical houses in the area but I don’t need to go all top end on everything. Happy to have most things average for Bangkok. Are there rough guidelines of what I should estimate per square meter? Good resources? Recommendations from anyone who has done this?

[singa-traz]

Check the Thai Cool House web site.

BTW, what's the price per SW in this area?

[gregb]

You can do it for 12,000 baht/m2 at the low end, and nearly unlimited at the high end. Not including land preperations. Be prepared for substantial labor charges in BKK, much, much higher than the provinces.

With regard to coolthaihouse.com, do not expect to get the same prices in BKK that you can get in Pattaya. Pattaya is cheaper on most things, and there are few BKK contributors in that forum. Whereas the corner shops in Pattay sell the red bricks (it daeng) for 60 satang, the going rate in BKK is 70 satang.

A big example, fill dirt in the provinces is about 200-400 baht per truck. In BKK, expect to pay 2200 baht per truck. Yep, you read that correctly. It's more than an order of magnitude more expensive.

If you need it done cheaply, I would try and import a crew from the provinces who doesn't know how much the locals in Bangkok get for doing the same job. You'll save a bundle. Of course, they will have no idea where to source materials and dispose of construction debris, so you'll have to handle that yourself.

Best way to do that is to find a group of workers building something nearby, buy them a round of drinks and try and pick their brains. Not all of them will know where the foreman disposes of his debris or gets a cheap deal, but hit enough sites in the area and eventually you'll get lucky. Time and whiskey money invested here is well worth it.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that BKK companies provide higher quality construction. They don't. They provide the same crappy service you get elsewhere, they just charge more because people are willing to pay it, and because they need more money here to support their more lavish lifestyles.

If you want the easy way out (rueang moo moo), just go to the next builders fair at Queen Sirikit or Muang Thong Thani and contract with a company that does this. You'll pay a premium, but it will save you some grief over other options. The more expensive companies in BKK are used to dealing with farangs, and know how to hide their corner cutting better so you won't realize you've been duped until long after they've gone.

Building a house in Thailand is an experience, and BKK is probably the most expensive place to try it. Just be prepared to spend 30% more money than people tell you and you'll do OK.

[Valjean]

The land I’ve looked at is 59 SW for 7M. No idea if this is high or low.

Thanks gregb for the good advice. My fiancé has suggested brining the builder from upcountry that built her house there to Bangkok to do the work and save a lot. This sounds like the way to go. Agree the sky is the limit. Also after having one house build and a couple major renovations it ALWAYS costs more than you think. The contractor who built my first house was a salty old guy – when I’d ask him “How much will X cost” he would answer “That is like asking how much does a car cost”. Good point he had.