How do builders install window frames like the big thick white ones around all the windows in the house below? I really like that look on cement houses, it makes all the difference between an ugly house and a nice one. The worst look possible is black tinted windows that are flush with the exterior wall and have no frame. Are these frames expensive? what are they made of? I don't see what they could rest on if the exterior wall has a few inches of insulation sheet. The same goes for the pillar caps right above the rear door of the truck- are they made of concrete?

I will attempt my try at this answer.

The "frames" you see around windows come in basically two types that I have seen installed. Prefabricated cement frames that I think are not too expensive. They have different styles or looks of these as the mold that is used to pour them can be shaped how they like. This type is fastened to the wall around the window with standard concrete fasteners. The second type I have seen are nothing more than a single layer of the red bricks glued to the wall like tile around the window opening and rendered just like they render everything here. The finish men are really good at what they do. They make the final look of the houses from that crappy looking concrete and brick.

I hope I shed some light on this^^^^^^^^^^^I will let you know more in about 4 months when my house nears the finishing stages. We plan to do something decorative and not sure exactly what yet.

Simple - cement in molds that that then applied to the outer render.

For a rounded molding a piece of PVC pipe cut down the middle is used.

The square ones are usual a single line of bricks just rendered square.

Simple but effective.

The builder will cast and install them if you want to have them. They are often constructed on site but ready made's are available at the side of the road where they sell all the concrete stuff that you would have around a house.

The construction of them is fairly basic.

A strip of usually plywood is laid on the floor with maybe a steel beam next to it.

Morter is mixed up and laid in a line along the strip of hardboard.

A pattern in the desired shape that has been cut from a piece of plastic is dragged along the morter keeping a straight line with the steel beam.

The pattern is usually in the shape of a crude box nailed together with the plastic shape at one end of the box, the box shape ensures the pattern travels along the steel and hardboard without slanting and altering it's shape.

Small steel maybe 4mm is put inside the morter to hold it rigid.

The pattern is dragged repeatedly along the shape all the while building up the morter.

They are then cut to shape and drilled then nailed through the holes onto the window frame.

If you are interested you can see some on my web page at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/banjopicker/page5/

Iv'e taken off the actual casting photos but you can see them lying around on the ground before fixing.

The builder will cast and install them if you want to have them. They are often constructed on site but ready made's are available at the side of the road where they sell all the concrete stuff that you would have around a house.

The construction of them is fairly basic.

A strip of usually plywood is laid on the floor with maybe a steel beam next to it.

Morter is mixed up and laid in a line along the strip of hardboard.

A pattern in the desired shape that has been cut from a piece of plastic is dragged along the morter keeping a straight line with the steel beam.

The pattern is usually in the shape of a crude box nailed together with the plastic shape at one end of the box, the box shape ensures the pattern travels along the steel and hardboard without slanting and altering it's shape.

Small steel maybe 4mm is put inside the morter to hold it rigid.

The pattern is dragged repeatedly along the shape all the while building up the morter.

They are then cut to shape and drilled then nailed through the holes onto the window frame.

If you are interested you can see some on my web page at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/banjopicker/page5/

Iv'e taken off the actual casting photos but you can see them lying around on the ground before fixing.

Very interesting, you're aptly named "Rimmer" . It sounds like a relatively quick process, how much do you estimate each frame costs? maybe 1 or 2 thousand baht for each window? I'm just building a little cottage with like 4 windows/sliding doors, well worth the money in my opinion.

I bought some 10 cm wide ones from a small shop 4 or 5 months ago. 40 baht per linear meter or 90 baht per meter installed. Wider ones are a bit more expensive. The Thai name for them is "bua". The same word as for the lotus flower. They also sold column plinths and capitals. As best I recall the simple ones I bought for 20 cm columns were less than 100 baht each.

I bought some 10 cm wide ones from a small shop 4 or 5 months ago. 40 baht per linear meter or 90 baht per meter installed. Wider ones are a bit more expensive. The Thai name for them is "bua". The same word as for the lotus flower. They also sold column plinths and capitals. As best I recall the simple ones I bought for 20 cm columns were less than 100 baht each.

Yep that sounds about right. The bigger and more fancy ones cost a bit more but they really finish off the outside window nicely. Did you try to lift one? Heavy aint they?

Yeah, they are heavy. And not very strong. I made the mistake of having my builder install them. A couple of my windows are over 2 meters. A couple of laborers picked up the first one up by the ends. Despite the 2 pieces of embedded rebar it broke in the middle.