Are Thais Slow Builders? Or Is It Just Me?

[Smithson]

Do ppl think Thais are slow builders? What's your experience?

My neighbors been building his carport for close to 3 months now, at least that's how long it seems.

It's definitely around 2 months. They have a team of around 6 ppl working 7 days (yes, inlc. Sundays). There's lots of welding and grinding going on, looks like they grind the welds, then fill and sand them.

Other strange things include:

- Using a small jack hammer/drill with a drill bit rather than a chisel bit.

- Putting the clear roof sheets on and then priming the iron frame

- The roof appears to have no fall whatsoever

- Not finishing one section before moving on to the next

- The owner and both his parents constantly watch the work, almost patrolling

The owner is supervising the work himself, looks like he's doing it with confidence. Could he be a builder?

[quiksilva]

Many of my friends have had problems, guess I was just lucky, my builder finished on time, in budget and the quality of work exceeded my expectations. My friends now use him too.

[Yorkie]

I my experience the builders were too quick; and I was paying them by the day.

They were wanting to strip shutters a lot early than I preferred. We arrived at a compromise in the end. Anyway, 3 bed, 2 bath house, 110 sm - 5 months to build.

[JimmyTheMook]

They are the biggest bunch of retards I have ever seen.

Like cutting tile with a hand grinder.

Edited September 25, 2007 by JimmyTheMook

[Smithson]

Interesting the different opinions. I've seen a lot of buildings go up quick, especially the high rise, but the carport next door has amazed me.

Also, one team of ppl doing everything, really is a 'jack of all trades'

[chownah]

They are the biggest bunch of retards I have ever seen.

Like cutting tile with a hand grinder.

Cutting tile with a hand grinder works great if you use a diamond blade...that's how we cut all of ours and that's the way the pro's did it when we hired them to do some work. Really, it works great.

[chownah]

My experience is that in our village it seems that if you are having a house built in the usual style then building it fast is a sign that you and your friends (which is who one often hires) know what you are doing and can work efficiently.....it doesn't alway lead to the highest quality product, however.

[Bpraim1]

I my experience the builders were too quick; and I was paying them by the day.

They were wanting to strip shutters a lot early than I preferred. We arrived at a compromise in the end. Anyway, 3 bed, 2 bath house, 110 sm - 5 months to build.

Quick??? 5 months to build a house, wow! That is fast

[elkangorito]

Some Thai builders are like most Thai electricians...if brains were snot, they wouldn't have enough to blow their noses.

[tjo o tjim]

It should take 5-6 months to build an average house with marginally skilled labor and a lot of re-work. It's a little longer than the US or Europe for similar scope of work, but not too far off.

With unskilled labor, you are lucky to finish in 12 months and more re-work than is sane.

[lazeeboy]

It should take 5-6 months to build an average house with marginally skilled labor and a lot of re-work. It's a little longer than the US or Europe for similar scope of work, but not too far off.

With unskilled labor, you are lucky to finish in 12 months and more re-work than is sane.

in my experiance they are quick in the morning and slow in the afternoon ,and when they have a sub they disapear for a day or so .

[Naam]

It should take 5-6 months to build an average house with marginally skilled labor and a lot of re-work. It's a little longer than the US or Europe for similar scope of work, but not too far off.

in the U.S. or Europe less than 5-6 months? are you joking or talking about a dog house? i've built once in Germany, three times in Florida and once in Thailand. Thailand was fastest but of course a zillion times more nerve wrecking

[Naam]

They are the biggest bunch of retards I have ever seen.

i wouldn't call them retards. the problem is that most of them are not properly trained and when mistakes are made these mistakes are pointed out without any explanation "why". on the other hand it happened quite often during construction period that the workman from Isaan had better ideas than i did.

[Maigo6]

About 5 months for this.

[ignis]

My neighbors had builders to build there carport, 8m x 4 m total time 9 straight days, just finished last week

They have a team of 6 ppl working all 9 days ......YES There's lots Steel cutting, of welding and grinding going on, Yes they grind the welds, then fill and sand them. Yes they do things a rather odd way + odd way round

YES Putting the roof sheets on and then painting the iron frame work...

The most amazing is the total bill..... 11,000 baht, YES that includes all the steel and roof sheets, paint etc + wages for 6 people + profit? Traveling expenses [Truck was the newest version Isuzu]

Another neighbor used the same builder to have a covered walkway down the side of there house, 12m long 2m wide, with full length gutter and down pipe into drain......... Total cost 7,000 baht. they finished yesterday.

[Naam]

About 5 months for this.

my home took 11 months to build but they could have managed in 8 months. in Europe for an identical home nothing doing below TWO YEARS and in the U.S. where i built a near identical home it took 15 months (jan 1993 till jun 1994).

[Naam]

The most amazing is the total bill..... 11,000 baht, YES that includes all the steel and roof sheets, paint etc + wages for 6 people + profit? Traveling expenses [Truck was the newest version Isuzu]

it's not amazing but your neighbour is bullsh*tting you big time as simple maths proves. even if the workers are paid daily a mere 200 Baht the wages only add up to (6 men x 200 Baht x 9 days) = 10,800 Baht.

[tijnebijn]

My experience with Thais building houses is the way you pay them .

When you pay them daily it will take a long time to finish , cause they are happy

and want to keep the pay as long as possible .

If you make a beforehand agreement , on a onetime down payment ,

you will see they will work increasingly harder (and faster).

You cannot imagine the difference , I know have done it both .

The latter is the far best , but you always have to stay around so they not

quickly make it over with (with all the consequences).

[ignis]

The most amazing is the total bill..... 11,000 baht, YES that includes all the steel and roof sheets, paint etc + wages for 6 people + profit? Traveling expenses [Truck was the newest version Isuzu]

it's not amazing but your neighbour is bullsh*tting you big time as simple maths proves. even if the workers are paid daily a mere 200 Baht the wages only add up to (6 men x 200 Baht x 9 days) = 10,800 Baht.

I said 6 ppl = Man + Lady would say [difficult to judge Thies age] in there 60's + Man + Lady maybe 40's, and man + lady Teen or early 20's...

There is no reason for then to lie, as we all had our houses biult 4 years ago and are very good friends, we are all on christian names and often eat together, she [neighbor 'Jean'] asked me if I wanted anything done, and translated for me to the old builder for a 11m x 2m side walk roof on one side of the house, price 7,000.............. I simple have no idea how they do it, as they would have to take down the one I made myself in wood

[ignis]

About 5 months for this.

my home took 11 months to build but they could have managed in 8 months. in Europe for an identical home nothing doing below TWO YEARS and in the U.S. where i built a near identical home it took 15 months (jan 1993 till jun 1994).

Here my detached 3 bedroom house took 10 months from start to moving in, Jan 2004…..

Same size on the Algarve.. My detached 3 bedroom house took 13 months to build from start to moving in, and build more or less the same way in Portugal in 1994

[Naam]

The most amazing is the total bill..... 11,000 baht, YES that includes all the steel and roof sheets, paint etc + wages for 6 people + profit? Traveling expenses [Truck was the newest version Isuzu]

it's not amazing but your neighbour is bullsh*tting you big time as simple maths proves. even if the workers are paid daily a mere 200 Baht the wages only add up to (6 men x 200 Baht x 9 days) = 10,800 Baht.

I said 6 ppl = Man + Lady would say [difficult to judge Thies age] in there 60's + Man + Lady maybe 40's, and man + lady Teen or early 20's...

There is no reason for then to lie, as we all had our houses biult 4 years ago and are very good friends, we are all on christian names and often eat together, she [neighbor 'Jean'] asked me if I wanted anything done, and translated for me to the old builder for a 11m x 2m side walk roof on one side of the house, price 7,000.............. I simple have no idea how they do it, as they would have to take down the one I made myself in wood

and no reason exists that my maths "lies". as i was interested in material prices when i supervised the construction of my home i have some idea and i claim that there is no way to build a carport that size with foundations, steel, roof tiles and whatever other materials are used plus wages for 11,000 Baht.

[N47HAN]

Many of my friends have had problems, guess I was just lucky, my builder finished on time, in budget and the quality of work exceeded my expectations. My friends now use him too.

That comes a very close second to winning the lottery in terms of the odds

[paulsmithson]

I was a professional builder in the UK. Here i have bought a second hand house and extended it.The guys lack of knowledge of most trades was astounding.

I got into a real argument concening setting out with them---They did not have a clue what an offfset was or how to check that two sides of a thing were at ninety degrees.

The welder they employed was good and he knew his job---result some very cheap and attractive fencing ,gates and security bars.

Most of the guys were chancers and jack of all trades! I took them under my wing and taught them a lot and some genuinely appreciated it-others I could tell would just go to the next job and build as they always had!

The tiler --well I just had to tell him to f8ck off home and did it myself! and any one who uses an angle grinder to cut tiles is a fool.

Thia love an angle grinder for every job-especially cutting out poorly formed concrete or trying to square up bad rendering ( they smooth renderes here but they are never flat!

The painter a disaster--he had a one inch brush for most things.

Bricklayers were best( or worst ) with their pointing trowels!!! fortunately I had brought two real trowlels from the UK and showed them how to lay a bed and a brick with a ten millimeter joint( instead of approx 50mm)

I could go on and on but what is the point-lets just say that building here is like a katoey------a katoey looks like a woman but can never be one--a thai building looks good but check the work properly and IT IS <deleted>!!!

I would gladly spend the next few years teaching construction to them free of any charge---but \I am on a retirement visa-They shot themselves in the foot yet again

[ignis]

I was a professional builder in the UK. Here i have bought a second hand house and extended it.The guys lack of knowledge of most trades was astounding.

I got into a real argument concening setting out with them---They did not have a clue what an offfset was or how to check that two sides of a thing were at ninety degrees.

The welder they employed was good and he knew his job---result some very cheap and attractive fencing ,gates and security bars.

Most of the guys were chancers and jack of all trades! I took them under my wing and taught them a lot and some genuinely appreciated it-others I could tell would just go to the next job and build as they always had!

The tiler --well I just had to tell him to f8ck off home and did it myself! and any one who uses an angle grinder to cut tiles is a fool.

Thia love an angle grinder for every job-especially cutting out poorly formed concrete or trying to square up bad rendering ( they smooth renderes here but they are never flat!

The painter a disaster--he had a one inch brush for most things.

Bricklayers were best( or worst ) with their pointing trowels!!! fortunately I had brought two real trowlels from the UK and showed them how to lay a bed and a brick with a ten millimeter joint( instead of approx 50mm)

I could go on and on but what is the point-lets just say that building here is like a katoey------a katoey looks like a woman but can never be one--a thai building looks good but check the work properly and IT IS <deleted>!!!

I would gladly spend the next few years teaching construction to them free of any charge---but \I am on a retirement visa-They shot themselves in the foot yet again

Yes Yes Yes....... but remember they charge so little, how could they buy all the different tools ?? An angle grinder = 1x expense will do for every job......... Cuts steel, WOOD yes wood, tiles, concret, roof tiles, roof sheets, plastic of all types etc.....

I was an odd job builder for 20yrs, my Pick up was full of tools when I went to start a job, here a pick up has some tools + 5 or more worker in the back with room to spare.

[ignis]

The most amazing is the total bill..... 11,000 baht, YES that includes all the steel and roof sheets, paint etc + wages for 6 people + profit? Traveling expenses [Truck was the newest version Isuzu]

it's not amazing but your neighbour is bullsh*tting you big time as simple maths proves. even if the workers are paid daily a mere 200 Baht the wages only add up to (6 men x 200 Baht x 9 days) = 10,800 Baht.

I said 6 ppl = Man + Lady would say [difficult to judge Thies age] in there 60's + Man + Lady maybe 40's, and man + lady Teen or early 20's...

There is no reason for then to lie, as we all had our houses biult 4 years ago and are very good friends, we are all on christian names and often eat together, she [neighbor 'Jean'] asked me if I wanted anything done, and translated for me to the old builder for a 11m x 2m side walk roof on one side of the house, price 7,000.............. I simple have no idea how they do it, as they would have to take down the one I made myself in wood

and no reason exists that my maths "lies". as i was interested in material prices when i supervised the construction of my home i have some idea and i claim that there is no way to build a carport that size with foundations, steel, roof tiles and whatever other materials are used plus wages for 11,000 Baht.

NO foundations, the 2 steel front down posts are bolted to the gate pillars [these are reinforced concert 2m high] the back is bolted directly on to the house reinforced concert ring beam..........

I have no idea of steel prices........ I asked how much the roofing sheets are when I went yesterday to the Village local builders suppliers, total price 1,280 baht........ that price was to me so maybe a Thai would get it cheaper? I know as I have bought a few cans, Paint for steel is 78 baht for 1lt can....

As I said they were there for 9 straight days, but they never arrived before 10am, and always letf by 4pm

[nidge]

As I said they were there for 9 straight days, but they never arrived before 10am, and always letf by 4pm

When i had my kitchen built the guys were always here before 8am and rarely left until at least 5pm. How did your guys manage to get a full days sleep if they were only there for 6 hours?

[WilliamCave]

Many of my friends have had problems, guess I was just lucky, my builder finished on time, in budget and the quality of work exceeded my expectations. My friends now use him too.

could u pm me with your biulders info I might be interested in talking to them

[ignis]

As I said they were there for 9 straight days, but they never arrived before 10am, and always letf by 4pm

When i had my kitchen built the guys were always here before 8am and rarely left until at least 5pm. How did your guys manage to get a full days sleep if they were only there for 6 hours?

Maybe they had another job on ?? will ask where the builders came from, they are out at the moment, [they come from the North East before moving down to there house here in the Village]

[tjo o tjim]

my home took 11 months to build but they could have managed in 8 months. in Europe for an identical home nothing doing below TWO YEARS and in the U.S. where i built a near identical home it took 15 months (jan 1993 till jun 1994).

What kills elsewhere is permits and inspections. In Thailand, it is mainly a function of the people you have doing the work rather than external factors that can't be controlled.

I've had projects that are really just 12 weeks of construction last two years from issuing construction documents to beneficial use. Most of the delay is a function of finalization of project funding, contract negotiation, city permit and plan check, equipment lead times, and unforeseen owner schedule problems.

The five months it should take allows for one month of concrete work and curing, two weeks of rough carpentry/masonry, and ten weeks of finish construction. The biggest cause of delays in Thailand from what I have seen is trying to do things that aren't the Thai way (for better or worse). I would love to build a home with a post-tensioned slab, but I understand that it will take an extra four months if I go that route. Same goes for trying to do something that isn't post and beam design or something with curves.

While I am no expert at it, the key here is really to figure out ways to design something with a simple structure and rough carpentry that is finished with furniture that you can move in. Works for my tastes, but if you really like marble you are asking for extra pain. It's interesting to look at things that Thai contractors can do amazingly well, and what just is a mess.

[Naam]

While I am no expert at it, the key here is really to figure out ways to design something with a simple structure and rough carpentry that is finished with furniture that you can move in. Works for my tastes, but if you really like marble you are asking for extra pain.

i do like marble. in fact i like marble very much and that goes for all the 600m² i walk on including my pool area