Building your own home

[PhillipJ]

I'm presently working Australia to save money for my dream - move to Thailand with my Thai wife and build a nice Thai style house. I have lived in LOS before so am well aware of what I'm getting myself into, so please no cynical remarks. We have secured a beutiful peice of land (2 rai) up in Phayao and hope to relocate in a couple of years. I'm a pretty handy kind of person and would be confident in my ability to build my own house here in oz so can't see why I couldn't do it in Thailand.

Has anyone on the forum built their own house or done any other building? Do you have any tips for me or things I should watch out for? Are any of you located in Phayao?

[cofession]

I have'nt got any advise but thats what i'm thinking of doing,so any advise you could give me would be great,now and maybe keep me posted in the near future......Ben ???

[MaiChai]

Look out for flooding. I have been flooded three time in 8 years in my village. If the area you intend to build a house suffers flooding, ensure the land has been raised high enough to ensure you never get flooded. A simple way to work this out is to ensure that the land you build your house on is at least as high as the road level. Typically roads are built so that they can still be used even when the local area has been flooded. If they aren't high enough, then over time, the highways dept will raise the level of the road. Also ask the locals about flooding.

[Morgan]

Had a house built by the wifes family and local labour.

I did go and buy the windows, blocks, sand ,cement,pillars to start the building off. Depends what you mean by Thai style house. Mine has concrete, 4 pillars by 4 pillars 3.5 Meters apart with single block infill. Then for first floor we bought an old teak house,used the timber to have the sixteen pillars in teak to the roof line, solid teak floor,teak cladding to the outside,teak roof supports with green tiles.This works ok for me as i dont like lots of small rooms.The house is free standing just put your partitions where you want them. To self build ? to find and control labour,we had first gang of carpenters walk off site in the middle of the job ,sort out plans,find materials at the right price,delivered to site.ect. very hard i think self build is hard enough in Aus let alone Thai. I spent one whole day in town trying to buy a stepladder never did find one. anyway

Good Luck with the build Morgan.

[singa-traz]

Labor would be so cheap compare to Home.

But managing it might be an interesting challenge ...

Morgan, any picture of you home ?

[jayenram]

I supervised the building of my house 3 years ago. It's typical thai style, single story, columns and beams but the interior is more farang style. I kept away from structural timber as the termites and ants could be a big problem.

I bought plans from a local architect and then made amendments to increase the sizes of some of the rooms (particularly the kitchen - thais appear to prefer very small kitchens).

At that time I paid the foreman Bht 220.00, craftsmen Bht 150.00 and labour Bht 100.00 - 120.00. I paid for all the materials as and when they were needed.

The Khmer labour was reasonably good but I felt I had to be 'on site' continuously to supervising the work, particularly during the finishings.

I incorporated the best materials available and the overall price, including fitted euro-style kitchen, 110 sq metres, was Bht 800,000 approx. A friend of mine is utilising my plans with amendments and a local builder has quoted him Bht 880,000.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the result. There are a number of changes I would make if I built another but that is likely to be the case whatever.

[lopburi3]

confident in my ability to build my own house here in oz so can't see why I couldn't do it in Thailand

 Sorry but have to be a bit cynical of this plan, although in younger days I would have felt the same and often did maintenance type work here.

If building outside the 'cool' season the weather may make you wish you were not quite so confident.  

It is likely to be viewed as an act of cheapness rather than ability by those who will not get the chance to work and perhaps a loss of face for wife.  Not a good start to your new life as it is likely also not legal as you are not allowed to work.  

All tools and equipment will have to be purchased as there is no rental system here.

Just finding all the materials and getting them on site, on time, will likely be a full time job.

From many construction/renovations can say that just to supervise the supervisors is a full time job here.  Try not to bite off too much.  Good luck.

[Morgan]

Reply to Singa-Traz yes have photo of the house its not much to look at, just a village style home. How do you post pics on this board ?

Morgan.

[hukster]

In about 31/2 years we are planning to build a house in Surin, Amphur prasat. I want to build behind my gf's house as the soi is raised up there. where her current house is when it rains she floods because the house is lower than the road. She owns a huge soi, they call it a triple soi piece of land. I've been told before you build better have it escavated by a surveyer to make sure you don't impoach beyond your land. I also think best way to build is higher a foreman, and let him hire his own people. A good one story 3 bedroom home with western toilets, and western kitchen including water tank should run between 800,000, and a million baht. I don't know about the wee. Her current well is really inside her kitchen, hooked up to a pump, and when she needs water she plugs in the pump.

[Morgan]

[dreetje]

Better let the thai people work,they know the people who can do the work.1 1/2 year ago,i also let my brother in law,build a house for me,+/_ 3 rai of land,some ground for stay above the water level from the rice fields and the house + painting,all together around + 1.000.000 bath.Last year in april i was going to look for the house how it was finished.I was surprised how good he has don it.But as somebody say,it is better to stay during the building,than you can say how you wanted to have it precisley.And also for the finishing toutch.For exsample,i was going there for the painting (inside/outside)when i not was there,they put interiour paint on the outside of the walls,and not the special outside paint(wite paint is wite paint for them).So you can imagine what wil happen after one rain season.I was also painting my house but i was stopped with that, becouse in april it is to hot for a farang to work,not to sit in the swimming pool with a heineken