House Building / Living In Issan

[gymshark]

Hi,

Having family up near Sakorn Kakhon and visiting often we are thinking of building a house there. We have about 20 Rai of land and a truck, so that's not a problem.

I just want to ask some of the people who have "been there, done that" to get a few pointers.

This will be more a holiday home than a permanent residence and we are thinking of a single story two bedroom place.

I just wonder how you guys get on with TV / Internet etc. because due to my work I need to be able to check email at the very least once a day and it must be reliable. Is it possible to have sattelite TV/Internet in Issan? The TV isn't critical but would be nice but I must have internet access.

Also, (and I know this is bal park) how much do you think I will need to spend for a small 2 bedroom place, I am getting rough ideas from family between 500,000 and 1,500,000.

Any help and tips about things i haven't mentioned would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[bergen]

Hi,

Having family up near Sakorn Kakhon and visiting often we are thinking of building a house there. We have about 20 Rai of land and a truck, so that's not a problem.

I just want to ask some of the people who have "been there, done that" to get a few pointers.

This will be more a holiday home than a permanent residence and we are thinking of a single story two bedroom place.

I just wonder how you guys get on with TV / Internet etc. because due to my work I need to be able to check email at the very least once a day and it must be reliable. Is it possible to have sattelite TV/Internet in Issan? The TV isn't critical but would be nice but I must have internet access.

Also, (and I know this is bal park) how much do you think I will need to spend for a small 2 bedroom place, I am getting rough ideas from family between 500,000 and 1,500,000.

Any help and tips about things i haven't mentioned would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Internet is possible by either satellite or mobile, and you can build a house for between 500,000 and 1,500,000.

It all depends of what you want to spend, what quality of materials you want to use, and if you can find reliable and good workers.

And remember ............to get a good end result, you have to be on site and supervise 24/7.

Edited June 13, 2008 by bergen

[Thaddeus]

Internet is possible by either satellite or mobile,

Can I qualify that a little bit Berg.

Satellite is always possible, but the service is dire, I know as that's what I have and I would only recommend using it if it is the only option, where I am located the mobile option has only recently become available and I will be switching very soon.

Re tips on house building - first thing, do a quick survey of the other houses in the area, find out who the contractor was for the ones that are up to your specifications, one or two names will crop up repeatedly, contact them and tell them to draw up plans for the best that they can do for xx amount of money, pick one and draw up a contract based on the then fixed price and completion date.

Tip two - buy all the materials up-front, and I mean everything, it doesn't all need to be delivered on day one. (it just saves money arguments later)

[Lite Beer]

You may well find that you can get a phone line and use Maxnet broadband. We have in our village.

Another option would be GPRS mobile signal, a bit slow but it works.

Our 3 bedroom house was finished one year ago and cost 1.2 Million. As said you have to be there every day to keep an eye on things.

Here are a few house plans. My house is number 8

http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/

Edited June 13, 2008 by Lite Beer

[Yorkie]

Hi,

Having family up near Sakorn Kakhon and visiting often we are thinking of building a house there. We have about 20 Rai of land and a truck, so that's not a problem.

I just want to ask some of the people who have "been there, done that" to get a few pointers.

This will be more a holiday home than a permanent residence and we are thinking of a single story two bedroom place.

I just wonder how you guys get on with TV / Internet etc. because due to my work I need to be able to check email at the very least once a day and it must be reliable. Is it possible to have sattelite TV/Internet in Issan? The TV isn't critical but would be nice but I must have internet access.

Also, (and I know this is bal park) how much do you think I will need to spend for a small 2 bedroom place, I am getting rough ideas from family between 500,000 and 1,500,000.

Any help and tips about things i haven't mentioned would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

The building of my place in Surin is shown in pictures here:

House Building in Thailand

It's 3 bedroom/2 bathroom and cost in the order of Bht 800,000.00 in year 2000. Prices have risen substantially since then though.

I would re-iterate Bergen's point. Constant supervision is paramount.

Y

[gymshark]

Wow, thanks for the really excellent advice and those pictures were excellent, ref. the supervision, my sister in law will be taking care of that as we are building next door to the family for security etc. when we are not there. A good tip about buying materials up front, I wouldn't have thought of that. My plan is to stay out of it and hang in the background so that the contractors don't get any ideas about a "farang" price, I have complete faith in the wife and her family to supervise everything as they are a level headed bunch (contrary to most peoples view of country folk on here), if that were not the case I wouldn't even consider moving there.

Do any of you guys/gals use a generator for backup power up there?

Cheers

[SweatySock]

Satellite TV should be no problem as there is no choice up here. It's UBC or nothing and they will install a dish on your house.

I also am dependent on Satellite for Internet access and as has been said previously, it sucks. Expensive, unreliable and absolutely no service if it rains so bear that in mind.

Also you say that your sister in law will take care of your house supervision, well I had a house built at the end of last year and I was on-site at least 5 times a week and I'm so glad I was there. What qualifies for completeness and quality in Thai eyes is different to non-Thais so spend as much time as you can on-site while your house is being built.

Apart from all that, life is pretty good up here so welcome to Issan.

[pumpuiman]

I built my house (#11 in litebeer's post) for 2,000,000 2 years ago....including addition of bedroom (4 bedrooms) foam roof insulation, granite patios, vanities and staircases and surrounding wall.

Material costs have risen considerably since though....I've heard re-bar is nearly double now.

[Yorkie]

I have complete faith in the wife and her family to supervise everything as they are a level headed bunch (contrary to most peoples view of country folk on here), if that were not the case I wouldn't even consider moving there.

Just a point about colour co-ordination. I've not met a Thai yet who has any. Therefore if you don't want your house to look like an Hawaiian patchwork quilt, specify the paint and tile colours and wallpaper (if any) yourself.

House Picture

Edited June 13, 2008 by Yorkie

[gymshark]

I have complete faith in the wife and her family to supervise everything as they are a level headed bunch (contrary to most peoples view of country folk on here), if that were not the case I wouldn't even consider moving there.

Just a point about colour co-ordination. I've not met a Thai yet who has any. Therefore if you don't want your house to look like an Hawaiian patchwork quilt, specify the paint and tile colours and wallpaper (if any) yourself.

House Picture

Cool, my perfect colour scheme, thanks. Roger that, colourse to be specified, check!

[Lite Beer]

I have complete faith in the wife and her family to supervise everything as they are a level headed bunch (contrary to most peoples view of country folk on here), if that were not the case I wouldn't even consider moving there.

Just a point about colour co-ordination. I've not met a Thai yet who has any. Therefore if you don't want your house to look like an Hawaiian patchwork quilt, specify the paint and tile colours and wallpaper (if any) yourself.

Yes. In our 2 bathrooms they were fitting a peach toilet and a white wash basin. When I questioned it he looked suprised and said "You want peach colour basin? No Ploblem."

Choose all the tiles yourself as Yorkie said.

[gymshark]

So the general opinion is that satellite internet blows, what about normal dial up through the phone line, will that be reliable enough up there or are the phone services crap too?

[Lite Beer]

My house. No. 8 on the site.

If you can get a phone line you should be able to get Broadband.

Edited June 13, 2008 by Lite Beer

[Yorkie]

My house. No. 8 on the site.

If you can get a phone line you should be able to get Broadband.

I have ADSL through the phone line. Bht 1,600.00 p.m shared space on the I.S.P. server. Up and download speeds vary between 50 and 150 kps. The latter on a good day.

[gymshark]

My house. No. 8 on the site.

If you can get a phone line you should be able to get Broadband.

I have ADSL through the phone line. Bht 1,600.00 p.m shared space on the I.S.P. server. Up and download speeds vary between 50 and 150 kps. The latter on a good day.

That sounds fine, they have phone lines in the moo bahn so that might be an otiopn. Great stuff.

[gymshark]

I have adapted one of the plans from a previous post (gotta love photoshop), and have sent them to Sis in law to get a rough estimate from an engineer that has done a few houses in the area. Some great info today, this kind of thing is invaluable the way you can get a bucket load of information with a few mouse clicks. I will keep you informed (if you are inetersted). Thanks again.

[Dave the Dude]

Hi gymshark

Just a few thoughts to add to the good info already provided by others.

1) GOOD to a ferang means an indication of quality. GOOD to a Thai means cheap. Beware!

2) Please ensure the 'tradesmen' are just that and not friends of the family and out of work Farmers.

3) Most bathrooms over here have no shower trays and are built like 'wetrooms'. Ensure outlets have 'Traps' otherwise you will get foul smells&bugs.

4) Mark out EXACTLY where power/TV/Lighting switches should be installed. Us ferangs are power-point hungry compared to Thai's

5) I paid extra for granite flooring throughout the house (except B'rooms) and I believe it was money well spent.Good looks/easy to clean and no bugs get thru it.

Good luck

David & Sri

[Yorkie]

4) Mark out EXACTLY where power/TV/Lighting switches should be installed. Us ferangs are power-point hungry compared to Thai's

Thais are power hungry also ... 2 x twin power sockets for the whole house and 10 x 4 socket plug bar extensions!

:D

Check out my electric spec if you wish:

Brief Specification

[gymshark]

Hi gymshark

Just a few thoughts to add to the good info already provided by others.

1) GOOD to a ferang means an indication of quality. GOOD to a Thai means cheap. Beware!

2) Please ensure the 'tradesmen' are just that and not friends of the family and out of work Farmers.

3) Most bathrooms over here have no shower trays and are built like 'wetrooms'. Ensure outlets have 'Traps' otherwise you will get foul smells&bugs.

4) Mark out EXACTLY where power/TV/Lighting switches should be installed. Us ferangs are power-point hungry compared to Thai's

5) I paid extra for granite flooring throughout the house (except B'rooms) and I believe it was money well spent.Good looks/easy to clean and no bugs get thru it.

Good luck

David & Sri

Cheers David, more good info to add to my master plan mhwuaaaa. Yeah, no worries, I don't want the off shift rice crew doing it.

Do any of you guys have any kind of protection against lightening?

[Lite Beer]

Do any of you guys have any kind of protection against lightening?

Unplug everything.

Having read up on it . It seems if it is not done 100% . It will cause you more problems than it solves.

Some more good information on electrics from our friend Crossy.

Make sure they earth / ground the electric supply. Most will not.

http://www.crossy.co.uk/wiring/

Edited June 13, 2008 by Lite Beer

[gymshark]

Great stuff from the guys in the know, much appreciated. I have decided to go for it, I have been told that the first step is to get some trucks to dump some earth on the area where we want the house and let it bed down for a while (not sure how long for though). I guess half a meter or so would be enough to be clear of any water.

I am attaching a pic of the land, the boundary is way over by the cows in the distance but we figure a 200 square metre plot where the tree is should be fine. So, next step, land dumping I guess. Any of you guys go through this procedure?

Land Pic

[Thaddeus]

So, next step, land dumping I guess. Any of you guys go through this procedure?

I would hazard a guess that most of us have.

You need to make sure that is a couple of feet higher than the surrounding area, and you have to allow for some settling. The longer you leave it, the better, I would recommend two rainy seasons at least if you are just going to dump it and leave it, or one rainy season and then use an impacter, either way you need to get started on that now.

[gymshark]

You may well find that you can get a phone line and use Maxnet broadband. We have in our village.

Another option would be GPRS mobile signal, a bit slow but it works.

Our 3 bedroom house was finished one year ago and cost 1.2 Million. As said you have to be there every day to keep an eye on things.

Here are a few house plans. My house is number 8

http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/

So what was the deal with those plans i.e. did you just give a copy of the plan for house no.8 on the site to the engineer and have them build to that spec, or did you just give the plans as a rough guide? As I am away so much it would be good if I could just hand over the plans to an engineer and get him to supervise construction (standing by for incoming flak).

[gymshark]

So, next step, land dumping I guess. Any of you guys go through this procedure?

I would hazard a guess that most of us have.

You need to make sure that is a couple of feet higher than the surrounding area, and you have to allow for some settling. The longer you leave it, the better, I would recommend two rainy seasons at least if you are just going to dump it and leave it, or one rainy season and then use an impacter, either way you need to get started on that now.

I was hoping not to wait too long before starting, if I impact the earth, what do you think the minimum time I would need to leave before starting construction? Is guess there is no alternative?

[Lite Beer]

You may well find that you can get a phone line and use Maxnet broadband. We have in our village.

Another option would be GPRS mobile signal, a bit slow but it works.

Our 3 bedroom house was finished one year ago and cost 1.2 Million. As said you have to be there every day to keep an eye on things.

Here are a few house plans. My house is number 8

http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/

So what was the deal with those plans i.e. did you just give a copy of the plan for house no.8 on the site to the engineer and have them build to that spec, or did you just give the plans as a rough guide? As I am away so much it would be good if I could just hand over the plans to an engineer and get him to supervise construction (standing by for incoming flak).

Actually when we met the builder he had a book with the same plans in. They are from the Thai government. Had a nice picture of Taksin on the front. The plans are complete for working off.

No flak, but please do not let them just get on with it.

Had a look at your pic. I cannot see where they have hidden the local loudspeaker tower.

Edited June 14, 2008 by Lite Beer

[gymshark]

You may well find that you can get a phone line and use Maxnet broadband. We have in our village.

Another option would be GPRS mobile signal, a bit slow but it works.

Our 3 bedroom house was finished one year ago and cost 1.2 Million. As said you have to be there every day to keep an eye on things.

Here are a few house plans. My house is number 8

http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/

So what was the deal with those plans i.e. did you just give a copy of the plan for house no.8 on the site to the engineer and have them build to that spec, or did you just give the plans as a rough guide? As I am away so much it would be good if I could just hand over the plans to an engineer and get him to supervise construction (standing by for incoming flak).

Actually when we met the builder he had a book with the same plans in. They are from the Thai government. Had a nice picture of Taksin on the front. The plans are complete for working off.

No flak, but please do not let them just get on with it.

Yeah OK, thanks, I will have to have the Mrs / Family supervise, I have no choice really as I am working in the US for a few weeks on and a few off. The only thing bothering me now is how long I need to prepare the land for (i.e. filling/compacting etc.), I was hoping not to wait a couple of years before starting, surely there is a quicker way, anyone got any ideas?

[Lite Beer]

The only thing bothering me now is how long I need to prepare the land for (i.e. filling/compacting etc.), I was hoping not to wait a couple of years before starting, surely there is a quicker way, anyone got any ideas?

Ours was already done when we bought it.

It really does have to be compact or you will have a lot of subsidence problems when it rains.

Someone will let you know something soon. Surely your Wife would know.

[gymshark]

The only thing bothering me now is how long I need to prepare the land for (i.e. filling/compacting etc.), I was hoping not to wait a couple of years before starting, surely there is a quicker way, anyone got any ideas?

Ours was already done when we bought it.

It really does have to be compact or you will have a lot of subsidence problems when it rains.

Someone will let you know something soon. Surely your Wife would know.

Yeah, they are saying it is raining hard now and that if we do it now we could start building in about 3 months time, but as ever, a second opinion would be nice. This forum is great for this kind of info.

[jibber]

Hi

You will have to give it more than 3 months unless you drive some large piles into ground, also depends on whether it is 1 or 2 floors high.

As for family supervising that makes me laugh. I fear you will end up with the cheapest materials and be presented reciepts for the dearest. If you go that way you will have one massive headache.

Why the rush?

[Ubon9]

So, next step, land dumping I guess. Any of you guys go through this procedure?

I would hazard a guess that most of us have.

You need to make sure that is a couple of feet higher than the surrounding area, and you have to allow for some settling. The longer you leave it, the better, I would recommend two rainy seasons at least if you are just going to dump it and leave it, or one rainy season and then use an impacter, either way you need to get started on that now.

I was hoping not to wait too long before starting, if I impact the earth, what do you think the minimum time I would need to leave before starting construction? Is guess there is no alternative?

Yes there is alternative but will be more expensive raise the level with concrete.