Cost Of A One-room Starter House In Ubon?

[RY12]

I don't quite have the money for a nice multi-storey house on my gf's land in downtown Ubon, thinking of building a barebones, one room studio type house in the corner of the lot as a substitute for a larger house a few years down the line. Good idea? How much would it cost? Maybe 12' x 20' (4m x 7m), basic square shape, simple roof; I'd like it to be substantive enough to be the permanent house there if need be- so concrete walls, tiled floor, plumbing (the lot's undeveloped), electricity, and a small bathroom within the studio, and a couple windows. Here in the US, I've seen basic houses like that for about 15,000 USD, 350,000baht, so I figure I can get something a little cheaper than that in Ubon? I was thinking later I could tear down one of the walls so it attaches to a larger house.

Edited February 4, 2008 by RY12

[RY12]

Also, wouldn't owning such a house in her name finally allow her to get the holy grail of travel- a U.S. tourist visa?

[bergen]

You should be able to do it for 150.000 baht, if you buy all the building materials and supervise the workers

[ozzydom]

I don't quite have the money for a nice multi-storey house on my gf's land in downtown Ubon, thinking of building a barebones, one room studio type house in the corner of the lot as a substitute for a larger house a few years down the line. Good idea? How much would it cost? Maybe 12' x 20' (4m x 7m), basic square shape, simple roof; I'd like it to be substantive enough to be the permanent house there if need be- so concrete walls, tiled floor, plumbing (the lot's undeveloped), electricity, and a small bathroom within the studio, and a couple windows. Here in the US, I've seen basic houses like that for about 15,000 USD, 350,000baht, so I figure I can get something a little cheaper than that in Ubon? I was thinking later I could tear down one of the walls so it attaches to a larger house.

You are talking about what the Thais call a 6 poster,as Bergen said it would not be expensive if you hire locals and supervise the job yourself. You can work out the basic cost pretty easily, IE.

6 x concrete posts @ 300bt

floor (4" thick) =3 cm @ 1650 bt (ready mixed)

walls 900 blocks @ 4bt

aluminium sliding windows (1m x 1m) @ 5000bt ea

3 men @ 200 bt per day=600

Probably better to go for a simple timber and corrigated iron roof if you intend extending it into a more upscale house later where you may want a steel and tile roof, the timber and iron can be re-used elsewhere later.

Buy all materials in yourself or you will get touched off with kick backs paid to your workers if you leave it to them to arrange.

Most hardware shops will work out quantities for you if you give them your measurements.

The figures are only approximates and of course there is sand ,stone, cement rebar and mesh etc etc to be supplied.

Most Amphurs have a list of house designs available ,small and large very cheap, which are already approved, if your local office has one that suits it can save you lots of hassles further down the track.

cheers

ozzy

[egg6447]

hi, how rare it is to meet a kiinio yank. anyway i agree with bergun 150,000bt max, pitty your not in korat i have a good cheap biulder, biuld that in a few weeks, good luck egg6447

[RY12]

thanks, ozzydom for the figures- I calculated it up to about 60,000 assuming it would take a month, but that's not including plumbing work, electricity, and leveling the ground. I guess what I'll do is just try use the info I get off the net as a guide for my gf to make sure she doesn't get cheated, rather than try to go about the daunting task of finding competent builders, fair-priced hardware and materials, etc myself. I've layed concrete block before and poured foundations, but I'm no expert, so I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better just to do it myself; on the other hand, my time's worth a little more than 200 bt a day (is it really that cheap? that seems like a khmer-type wage). I assume these laborers offer no warranty for the work they do? As I understand it, it's pretty hard to go wrong when working with concrete block reinforced by rebar, in terms of making it structurally sound, except that the walls have to be secured to the foundation for earthquake-proofing

Can you give me the thai word, in script, for "6 poster"? Is it that style I've seen around where bricks are placed between rebar-reinforced concrete posts? And the Amphur would have a plan detailing how to construct the roof, secure it to the walls, etc?

hi, how rare it is to meet a kiinio yank.

Yes, I am a humble fellow. Hopefully though I'll get my ทนาย degree soon; if i fail in that regard, at least I'll have a foreign property to retreat to escape the student debt.

[pumpuiman]

Here is a link to some government plans.....I used these myself (with some modifications)

Go to the Amphur, they will have plans in all price ranges.

start here :- http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/ free smile.gif

Then visit your local Amphur. They will have lots of books to look at with some very nice houses, those plans are not free but the cost is nominal.

There are books of plans available in bookstores but all I've seen were available on free loan from the Amphur office.

Here's our home...# 11 on the website

[RY12]

Here is a link to some government plans.....I used these myself (with some modifications)

thanks, this is the type i was envisioning, but half the size and no carport, not sure if this is a "6 post":

[yorkman]

Here is a link to some government plans.....I used these myself (with some modifications)

thanks, this is the type i was envisioning, but half the size and no carport, not sure if this is a "6 post":

Its really hard to tell from your small picture, but that is 200,000B at the most in Issan, provided you can supervise the basic construction, and keep the finishing cheap

And here is where the problem, possibly, lies.

If you want it finishing to western standards, decent tiling, buried wiring, you add aircon etc etc, the costs escalate.

If you are happy with that, and you can exclude land costs, that is a good estimate. And to think for more you could get Soweto style acommodation

[blue eyes]

Never heard of the term "6 poster"when refering to a concrete home /western style.Up here in Issan someone will refer to a typical wood on posts home as a "6,9 or 12 post home.That is because the home is supported by that number of posts.The posts are normaly spaced 3 meters from each other.Here is a photo of the home that the wife and I had built to replace the old one.It is called a 12 post home for an obvious reason.Which as you can see really did need to be replaced.

My opinon is to build yourself a nice wood home as we have.At a later date you can enclose the bottom with block and add AC if you would like.But to each his own.Oh it does now cost more to build with good wood then it does with concrete.

[RY12]

If you want it finishing to western standards, decent tiling, buried wiring, you add aircon etc etc, the costs escalate.

If you are happy with that, and you can exclude land costs, that is a good estimate. And to think for more you could get Soweto style acommodation

don't understand that s. african reference, but clean grout lines and big windows are nicer than what either of us have now. aren't the locals capable of a good tiling job? only thing i'd want different is the use of epoxy grout, which, as i understand it, is the only grout capable of holding up hygenically in the tropics. correct me if i'm wrong. I don't give a hoot if its square or plum, just so long as it's clean and durable

[Macx]

It might be nice and cooler if you have that house on tall posts instead, then you won't waste that space for the carport since you could just park it under the house. And later on, you could always enclose the first floor and tile it to make more living area. As for that roof, you should look into ways to ventilated it.

Definitely do-able for your budget. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress

Cheers

[yorkman]

aren't the locals capable of a good tiling job? only thing i'd want different is the use of epoxy grout, which, as i understand it, is the only grout capable of holding up hygenically in the tropics. correct me if i'm wrong. I don't give a hoot if its square or plum, just so long as it's clean and durable

I was actually referring to the costs of tiles, but you do raise another good point.

If you want high quality western tiling, fittings etc then it is surprising just how much if affects the finished cost of a house. If you are happy with the sort of thing normally put into a lower cost house, as thais do, and it really is fine usually, then the estimate is about right.

The other side of it, as you brought it up, is that decent tilers can be a bit hard to find. There are plenty who can just put them down or on the wall, but they are often happy to leave uneven spacing, chip the tiles and generally leave a second rate mess. If you find a competent worker, they are as good as anywhere.

[blue eyes]

Here is some tile work that I think is very well done.The bed room and the 1,2,3,4,bath are in a friends home in the same village as our home.The other two baths, one is ours and the other is a brother in law around roiet.They where done by two different people.My friends was done by a third person.Not sure why they used so much mud under the tile in the bedroom.Never could get a real answer and neither could my friend.I gueess it was just lets sell the farang more mud then he needs.

Edited February 7, 2008 by blue eyes

[RY12]

Here is some tile work that I think is very well done.

wow, got a lot of surfaces and angles there. did they seal the grout? I've always wondered why I never see clean grout in se asia, i think its because they don't seal it or the sealant is inferior. just remember- the number one factor that makes a room look old and dirty is unclean grout lines. many people don't realize this and replace the tiles or buy new furniture unnecessarily.

only reason i can think of for the extra mud under the bathroom is that it will absorb water that gets underneath the tile better than the concrete below it, the idea being that it's better for the mud to crack than the underfloor?

Check this out, glass tile flooring, the cleanliness makes me salivate:

[ozzydom]

Its extremely hard to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

The main problem with tiling is that the person who concretes the floor slab or lays the blocks and renders the walls is not the same person who ultimately lays the tiles ,so he is left to work with whatever they have left him.

I have done quite a lot of tiling,ceramic and cork and learnt the bit I know from very competent

Qualified tilers in Oz,but to try and show a local how to diagonally string a floor to find your starting point or to plumb a wall and baton to lay the first row (you lay the top row first ,then your cuts are always at the floor level ) is really frustrating, you can see their eyes glaze over as they tune you out.

We were lucky when we poured the ground floor and patio as our builders mate who has for 15 years worked for the company that renovates the Palaces all over Thailand came home for a break and he poured and finished the slabs and did the tiling,a real hard worker and did a very good job.

By the way ,using ordinary matches as spacers helps get a nice straight and even grout line.

ozzy

[Chung noi]

I seen some houses on you tube they were building for $1600 usd in Cambodia. Run a search for Cambodian house or bamboo house. really not a bad idea for an isaan village. I like the vid "The House of Bamboo".

*j*

[thedi]

There was a program called 'Baan Ua-arthorn housing program' started by TRT. They build thousands of small houses (3 x 6 m) for 'people with low income'. I think the price was a bit less than 200K, including land (~5 x 8 m?).

Nobody wants to live in them. In Khon Kaen there are more than 1000, in Korat an other thousand - all empty. They look like this:

Regards

Thedi

[RY12]

There was a program called 'Baan Ua-arthorn housing program' started by TRT. They build thousands of small houses (3 x 6 m) for 'people with low income'. I think the price was a bit less than 200K, including land (~5 x 8 m?).

Nobody wants to live in them. In Khon Kaen there are more than 1000, in Korat an other thousand - all empty. They look like this:

Regards

Thedi

I'm hoping half of that 200k was for the land? and the house was thus less than 100k? do u know why no one wants to live in them? something to do with the size and materials or is it the shame of being in a low-income house?

Edited February 7, 2008 by RY12

[blue eyes]

There was a program called 'Baan Ua-arthorn housing program' started by TRT. They build thousands of small houses (3 x 6 m) for 'people with low income'. I think the price was a bit less than 200K, including land (~5 x 8 m?).

Nobody wants to live in them. In Khon Kaen there are more than 1000, in Korat an other thousand - all empty. They look like this:

Regards

Thedi

Yes that is a "house" but.........It looks like a play house for my daughter and her friends.

[Naam]

Here is some tile work that I think is very well done.

tile work looks good but the selection and arrangement of tiles is

[Lite Beer]

Here is some tile work that I think is very well done.

tile work looks good but the selection and arrangement of tiles is

Behave your self Naam.

I must admit that the blue bathroom with the heron tiles is a bit overpowering.

[Naam]

Here is some tile work that I think is very well done.

tile work looks good but the selection and arrangement of tiles is

Behave your self Naam.

I must admit that the blue bathroom with the heron tiles is a bit overpowering.

i'm trying hard LiteBeer but i got a headache from shaking my head vigorously when i looked at those pictures

can't resist to add that i have seen village slaughter houses in the african bush where more taste was applied

Edited February 8, 2008 by Naam

[blue eyes]

The blue bathroom is in the parents home of one of my brother in-laws.He enclosed the bottom of the home for his parents with block and then put in this blue bath.As you may be able to tell it looks new.It was built a year or so ago.The parents do not like it so they still use the old bath outside.Let me tell you it is old!That is why it still looks new.I also do not like the tile,to busy.If you where to go around too many different villages in Issan and look at the baths of the people that have put in a "nice" baths,these would be typical of the tile that they use.The green and blue that is.The other one is a farang bath on the top floor of his home.That I like.The green is ours and is it's own building from the home.

[prakhonchai nick]

I recently built a single storey guest room in my garden. 7m x 5m with attached shower and toilet 3m x 2m.

Block wall, steel roof frame with corrugated coloured roof Sliding aluminium double entrance doors and 2 windows. Floor tiled and shower fully tiled (walls and floor) Roof underdrawn with plasterboard. 4 downlights in main room on 2 dimmers + 6 double power outlets and outside entrance light.

Labour was generally 200bt/day, although the steel roof truss man wanted 240bt.

Biggest single expense was the aluminium doors and windows at 12000

Installed the electrics and painted myself. Total cost of materials and labour 90,000bt. Bought all the materials myself. As others have said do NOT let the builders buy the materials.

[Khun Jean]

^ Do you have a picture of that.

I am looking for some guest room 'houses' for ideas but not seem to find many.

And 90.000 baht sounds great, can have more guests.

[prakhonchai nick]

^ Do you have a picture of that.

I am looking for some guest room 'houses' for ideas but not seem to find many.

And 90.000 baht sounds great, can have more guests.

[/quote)

Only have one picture. The shower/toilet is to the left hidden behind the tree. As well as en-suite, there is an outer door accessible from the garden.

Hope this helps

[RY12]

Only have one picture. The shower/toilet is to the left hidden behind the tree. As well as en-suite, there is an outer door accessible from the garden.

Hope this helps

That seems exactly like the kind of house I am thinking of building. can u think of any reason why it couldn't serve as the main home on a lot for a few years? and then turn into the guesthouse later. I guess the additional expenses I would have is bringing in power and sewage, which I assume u already had on the lot. If u were able to do 7m x 5m not including bathroom for 90,000, is there any reason I shouldn't expect to be able build a two room version of that for less that 150k? (I don't want to sleep with the grandmother as u might expect).

So I'm not clear what's going on with this ensuite bathroom, is it not in the picture or are those sliding doors the entrance to it? A picture of the inside would be great. I also have to landscape the dead, torn up soil on this lot to; a flat grassy yard would be a nice relief in ubon.

[IMChris]

Only have one picture. The shower/toilet is to the left hidden behind the tree. As well as en-suite, there is an outer door accessible from the garden.

Hope this helps

That seems exactly like the kind of house I am thinking of building. can u think of any reason why it couldn't serve as the main home on a lot for a few years? and then turn into the guesthouse later. I guess the additional expenses I would have is bringing in power and sewage, which I assume u already had on the lot. If u were able to do 7m x 5m not including bathroom for 90,000, is there any reason I shouldn't expect to be able build a two room version of that for less that 150k? (I don't want to sleep with the grandmother as u might expect).

So I'm not clear what's going on with this ensuite bathroom, is it not in the picture or are those sliding doors the entrance to it? A picture of the inside would be great. I also have to landscape the dead, torn up soil on this lot to; a flat grassy yard would be a nice relief in ubon.

It looks great for the price. We do all our cooking outside in a coverd area, so we just use the bedroom and living room. The rest of the house we really dont use except keeping stuff that we never use.

[Lite Beer]

We have been thinking about a quest room for ages. Seeing your post gave us the push to get it started.

Have printed your picture to show the builder as a rough idea to what we want.

We have an outside Thai kitchen so this would be perfect.

They have quoted us 30,000 Baht for their services. (Labour)