"inexperienced" Wants To Build A (very!) Little House

[Lite Beer]

Yes prices of materials have gone up a lot. I suspect Scooterboy used different materials.

For a start he has aluminium doors and windows. We have wood. He used steel for the roof while we used wood.

His labour costs were probably more. We live in a small village and all the work was done by 3 rice field labourers in between rice harvests. They are more used to building cow sheds and rice storage rooms.

The electrics were done by a good friend in the village.

All the tiles were bought at a clearance sale.

By all means take the pictures and show people.

Your Wife should know locals who can do a bit of work. Our village seems full of them. It wont be perfect but cheaper than a "proper" building firm.

Do you have many earthquakes in Ubon?

[scooterboy]

Yup! LiteBeer is quite correct - we used the different materials that he described, so the cost was rather more expensive. Too, electrics were done by proper electricians - not "friends" - mainly because a) the power company insisted on it - and we had no main house on the land to string a line from.

Labour costs were pretty cheap though - 48K, if my failing memory serves me correctly.

Cheers

SB

[dingdongrb]

Thanks Scooterboy for starting this great thread. I felt it was very informative and a big thanks for all the information provided by other posters. I will be building a house near Surin in the years to come and it always nice to read and learn what others have done and the input provided.

My thoughts: Yes, I agree that the cost of everything is rising these days and very fast on some items, but a house (starter home to say the least) that costs merely $6500 USD is a great success story. I don't even think that a person could touch a trailer (mobile home) in the USA for that price.

[scooterboy]

Dindongrb's post seconded!

I always use the tv forums to ask about anything I might need to know - there are a lot of helpful guys out there, some with a lot of experience, some just giving their 2-cents worth - but all willing to pass their info on to you.

Great place!

SB

[PeaceBlondie]

I just noticed this thread, and it really is very helpful. We are building a house on my boyfriend's vacant lot, and the fill-dirt will soon rise a meter above the adjacent rice paddies. I may soon become bucolic, whatever that means. I hope it does not refer to a beautiful, melancholy, alcoholic, choleric collie.

[Bangyai]

Thanks Scooterboy for starting this great thread. I felt it was very informative and a big thanks for all the information provided by other posters. I will be building a house near Surin in the years to come and it always nice to read and learn what others have done and the input provided.

My thoughts: Yes, I agree that the cost of everything is rising these days and very fast on some items, but a house (starter home to say the least) that costs merely $6500 USD is a great success story. I don't even think that a person could touch a trailer (mobile home) in the USA for that price.

Agreed. Very interesting thread. The beauty of building a small place like this is that it is low maintenance and doesn't cost a murder. You are also fortunate that your lady didn't suffer from ' grandiose expectations ' like my first wife when we built a two storey house in KK 18 years ago. Cost then for a 2 storey 3 bedroomed place was 350,000 baht. Upon completion I had to return to the U.K. on a visit. When I got back she had put up a ruddy great chandelier in the living room that would not have looked out of place in Buckingham Palace. Kids could walk under it but all adults had to detour around it regardless of ethnicity

[Svenn]

Hi scooterboy and lite beer. Can you guys remember the cost of your respective roofs? I'm trying to decide between wood or steel framing. I'd like to have a quasi-inhabitable attic if someone needs a place to sleep, i.e. a floor strong enough to walk on, so I'm wondering if the amount of wood joists it would take for that would be more expensive than just going with steel. I've got a 300k budget for this house, so that's why I feel like I should try to get a little extra out of it like a livable attic, roof design like this:

PET PEEVES: Can other readers please list some critical avoidances farangs should know about in thai construction? I've taken note of getting the wiring grounded, having it exposed, fast-draining bathroom floor, and double insect screens. Things that have always bothered me is enough pressure in the shower (not sure if you can fix that by just buying a superior fixture), and mold-resistant tile grout.

Edited November 22, 2008 by Svenn

[Lite Beer]

As far as I can remember the wood beams came to around 12,000 Baht.

As for the water pressure I would assume a more powerful water pump.

For what it is worth here is a list of materials and prices I scanned. (If it works).

It,s not listed perfectly but gives an idea. It was just done for our personal benefit.

[scooterboy]

Aah - the costs.... Yes, well, we do...err...have the receipts some place or other. Was going to read them through when we decide to make an extension, but those plans have been shelved now.

You could perhaps do as we did, go to SEVERAL building shops/yards and ask the price of C-steel lengths. We found that builders yards (not small shops) outside of town were among the cheapest - but if you live in a largish town, then places like Home-Mart could be just as cheap (or expensive, if you like).

I would be wary about having sleeping accommodation under the roof - it can get awfully hot up there!

Hope this helps - cheers

SB

[neverdie]

PET PEEVES: Can other readers please list some critical avoidances farangs should know about in thai construction? I've taken note of getting the wiring grounded, having it exposed, fast-draining bathroom floor, and double insect screens. Things that have always bothered me is enough pressure in the shower (not sure if you can fix that by just buying a superior fixture), and mold-resistant tile grout.

The low water pressure thing can be addressed by buying a water tank & water pump and plumbing the lot into the house plumbing, there's millions of thai homes scattered around the place that have done the same. You can achieve as much water pressure as your wallet so desires! This is what happens when water supply pipes to your village have a diameter of about 2 inches (even if your village is bangkok)....<deleted> were they thinking?

[kamalabob2]

Many good replies for this sensible home. From my LIMITED experience with the Provincial Waterworks Authority www.pwa.co.th 02-551-8576 which I understand provides water OUTSIDE of Bangkok, it was EASY to obtain water service with a LARGER DIAMETER service pipe. The pipe running along the "normal paved municipal road" in our small town was LARGER than 2". From that service point we could have a small 2" service for one price (cost of normal meter, cost of PVC pipe based on a per meter cost, installation labor cost to the PWA, deposit) OR at a fair price we could "step up" to a larger diameter pipe INSTALLED by the PWA staff to a slightly larger PWA water meter at our property line. In our case a LARGER pipe supplies water to the meter and from that meter a pipe runs on our property to one Mitsubishi water pump, through some filters and then into two storage tanks.

Just because the "normal" pipe is one size it does not hurt to ASK in person at the PWA office about what larger pipes (and costs) you can consider for your specific water service. Do you think a hotel or hospital would only have a 2" water supply? The cost is REGULATED and not unfair. You can phone the Bangkok headquarters of the PWA to confirm the price AFTER you obtain a written price quote for your specific water connection. The web site is only in Thai.

My experience was for a new home on a plot of land that did NOT have existing water service from the PWA. The written price quote will include the cost for the LARGER water meter, security deposit, actual new larger pipe (serious strong pipe, not blue PVC pipe) and PWA staff to install to a PROPER depth. We had to show the PWA our building permit, house plans, etc... It was NOT a bad experience and SIGNIFICANTLY less money than our electrical utility connection. My wife and I had never had PWA water service in our name until this experience and the staff of the local PWA was easy to deal with. Not much English spoke in our small town office.

[scooterboy]

Hup! Found the bills and the prices for the C-steel roofing :

18 Lengths of 4x2 @ 670 baht = 12,060 baht

20 Lengths of 3x1.5 @ 375 baht = 7,500 baht

which is somewhat more expensive (though not a lot) than

LiteBeer's wood - no fear of woodworm, etc., either.

Prices as per 18th June 2008 (when gasoline was 40-odd baht a liter).

Cheers

SB

PS If you want to follow the correct procedure, then a plan of your

coming house has to be submitted to the Thesaban/Obrador for

acceptance, before any actual building takes place.

Unless you're an (amateur) architect, then it's best to

get the plan done by someone qualified to do the job - or use tea

money.

[All]

I was thinking about another extension almost as a double car port type that gets walled and with a concrete roof and having hidden drain and a lawn on top with plants and garden table all acting as shade to keep the sun off as concrete roofs heat too much otherwise. Anyone seen anyones like this here.

Edited November 27, 2008 by All