Architect Pattaya

[expatgaz]

Iam looking for a good architect in Pattaya,or surrounding areas,to draw up some house plans for me,any ideas ??

I have a builder but Iam unsure whether or not I want him handling the drawings aswell.

Any advice ?

EPG.

[Rimmer]

You can use the one I did on Theppasit, they charged me 100k. The written agreement was that they would obtain building permits, test the soil, and oversee the work as it progresses.

In actaul fact did a half assed set of drawings from the cam cad library, never once visited the site, did no tests, and closed their business up.

I ended up getting my own building permit, doing the tests, revising their worthless drawings and overseeing the construction myself.

Let your builder do the drawings he knows what he is doing and you know what you want.

[trogers]

Bt 100k is unrealistically cheap. Even just professional fees for a 300 m2 house who involve 2 months of design and drafting and 1 month for changes - cost Bt 300-400k.

Two other things that have to be done, not by the designer, but independent parties, are site survey to locate property lines and mark out building lines, and soil investigation for design of foundation. This would be another Bt 100-150k.

So a realistic budget for the things to be done before construction would be Bt 600-700k for a small villa.

Thus, this saying is true - Pay peanuts and you will get monkeys!

Edited March 8, 2009 by trogers

[splitlid]

Iam looking for a good architect in Pattaya,or surrounding areas,to draw up some house plans for me,any ideas ??

I have a builder but Iam unsure whether or not I want him handling the drawings aswell.

Any advice ?

EPG.

architects will charge either a sqm rate or a percentage of the build cost.

if its a sqm rate it can vary from 350-1000 baht per sqm.

350 baht per sqm gets you the drawings and calculations etc BUT it may not be the best designed home.

1000 baht per sqm will get a european designer who should also prepare the tender documents/site visits etc.

the other method is a percentage of the construction cost, usually between 7-10%

NOW the important thing here is YOUR budget.

no point in getting the 1000 baht per sqm guy to do it if you only have 2 million to spend.

a site survey will cost you between 50,000 - 70,000 baht only depending on how many samples they take. (get one, no matter what people may tell you)

build permit 10,000 to 20,000.

i think trodgers costings of 600-700k are a little high, but i live in Hua Hin so maybe more expensive in pattaya.

PS. no matter what type you go for, get the drawings checked buy your builder thoroughly. an architect is not a builder and what may look great on paper may not work in the real world.

[trogers]

a site survey will cost you between 50,000 - 70,000 baht only depending on how many samples they take. (get one, no matter what people may tell you)

You can safely do one bore hole to get soil samples for testing in Hua Hin or Pattaya for a small building not more then 3 floors high. But you cannot depend on just one bore if the site is on soft soil. A bore may not get an intact sample if there is high water table under the site.

I usually advise project owners of 8-storey condos to do at least 4 bores with 2 at the heaviest loaded locations.

Edited March 8, 2009 by trogers

[splitlid]

a site survey will cost you between 50,000 - 70,000 baht only depending on how many samples they take. (get one, no matter what people may tell you)

You can safely do one bore hole to get soil samples for testing in Hua Hin or Pattaya for a small building not more then 3 floors high. But you cannot depend on just one bore if the site is on soft soil. A bore may not get an intact sample if there is high water table under the site.

I usually advise project owners of 8-storey condos to do at least 4 bores with 2 at the heavest loaded locations.

sorry trodgers,

i wasnt suggesting get one (1) hole done, i was suggesting getting one (1) survey done. the survey company should recommend how many test samples to take, if the customer dosnt know.

[Rimmer]

Bt 100k is unrealistically cheap. Even just professional fees for a 300 m2 house who involve 2 months of design and drafting and 1 month for changes - cost Bt 300-400k.

Two other things that have to be done, not by the designer, but independent parties, are site survey to locate property lines and mark out building lines, and soil investigation for design of foundation. This would be another Bt 100-150k.

So a realistic budget for the things to be done before construction would be Bt 600-700k for a small villa.

Thus, this saying is true - Pay peanuts and you will get monkeys!

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Site surveyors Duh. One gets the land office out to do it with their steel tapes. Cost around 3 to 5 k I've done it many times. Soil tests 30k done it four times already.

You obviously know nothing of local building conditions pricing and practices so until you do, suggest you shut up and learn.

Edited March 8, 2009 by Rimmer

[trogers]

Bt 100k is unrealistically cheap. Even just professional fees for a 300 m2 house who involve 2 months of design and drafting and 1 month for changes - cost Bt 300-400k.

Two other things that have to be done, not by the designer, but independent parties, are site survey to locate property lines and mark out building lines, and soil investigation for design of foundation. This would be another Bt 100-150k.

So a realistic budget for the things to be done before construction would be Bt 600-700k for a small villa.

Thus, this saying is true - Pay peanuts and you will get monkeys!

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Site surveyors Duh. One gets the land office out to do it with their steel tapes. Cost around 3 to 5 k I've done it many times. Soil tests 30k done it four times already.

You obviously know nothing of local building conditions pricing and practices so until you do, suggest you shut up and learn.

Thank you for the precious lesson. Now I know why that architect packed up and left.