My Latest Attempt At House Design

[JimShortz]

If I read your plan correctly, the kitchen is in the front?

The design isn't really intended to have a back or a front on the 1st floor (upstairs for non-UK folk), but rather to be oriented for best use of light/heat avoidance. The plot it is built on would influence location of the car on the groundfloor and other features that would create the front of house. So maybe the kitchen is at the front, maybe not. Personally I would prefer the terrace and kitchen to both be at the back...

The entrance of the home through the dining and kitchen area is a carried over habit from living too long in condos...

I've never actually lived in a flat, but I have lived in many houses where the entrance most used has been into a large dining kitchen which then becomes the heart of the home and everyone going in or out passes through there; I've always liked the "feel" that this creates. Personal preference I guess...

Forget spending the time learning to use some complex software just to lay out one home. Buy yourself a glue gun and pick up a discarded cardboard box that was used to package a refrigerator or stove in and make yourself a scale model of the house. Draw the floor plan right on to the cardboard or on a piece of white paper and glue it down on the cardboard and build the model right over the floor plan. Make the roof removable so you can take it off and look inside. Build the whole thing on a piece of cardboard ( or masonite) that is big enough to represent your land plot and road(s). You can turn off all the lights at night time and simulate the sun's trajectory with a small flashlight and see where the shadows will lie at different times of the day, etc. You can also lay out your landscaping with trees and plants made from colored pages from a magazine, food cartons , etc. This way you can actually see how the house will look on the site and it will be more fun than trying to learn a new software program. If you really need (or want to) be able to "walk through" the house, than cut a cardboard paper towel core to make a small 45 degree piece at one end (periscope). Glue a piece of mirror in the 45 junction and look down the tube as you put the 45 degree end in the doorways and through the house to get an idea what it would look like in a virtual walk through. If you need any examples I can send you some photos of two different designs I have been working on for my plot of land.

Hello Mr Arby Luddite!

I'm really not going down the box route, except perhaps for a final model to help the builders to visualise it... I'm very comfortable using new software packages and love the flexibility that the best can give. I'm now using a 3,600 dollar package called "Chief Architect X1" to gain full control of all aspects of the design, and it's great! New plans with an open plan kitchen/dining/living area to follow soon (TV now on the South wall with only two windows on that side: one each side of the TV).

PS: I know the software was expensive, but I'll cope...

Personally, I'd dump the bathtub in favour of a large, walk-in shower area.

Try having a bath with an injured leg or foot, I speak from experience.

Look closely: both bathrooms are "wetrooms", with showers... the bath is just for the occasional bit of luxury in the depths of winter!

Thanks for all of your comments. New designs to follow soon...

[trogers]

I've never actually lived in a flat, but I have lived in many houses where the entrance most used has been into a large dining kitchen which then becomes the heart of the home and everyone going in or out passes through there; I've always liked the "feel" that this creates. Personal preference I guess...

Having the kitchen and dining at the front is a logical idea as these areas are warm areas during the cold winter.

But they will be HOT areas during the hot season in Thailand, thus, the locals' preference to locate them to the rear or the side.

A good position for the kitchen is at the north west corner so that you have it shield the afternoon sun and it will still have cross ventilation from windows at west and north walls.

[JimShortz]

Having the kitchen and dining at the front is a logical idea as these areas are warm areas during the cold winter.

But they will be HOT areas during the hot season in Thailand, thus, the locals' preference to locate them to the rear or the side.

A good position for the kitchen is at the north west corner so that you have it shield the afternoon sun and it will still have cross ventilation from windows at west and north walls.

I think we need to get away from this "front" and "rear" idea. If you look at the compass on each drawing (and it's not pointing the same way on all of them) you can see the orientation that I think the building should be placed at, regardless of the location of the road or anything else. With the most recent design the Kitchen is at the NE corner, where it will be coolest for cooking, and should have good airflow with the double doors, etc. I would've thought that the NW corner would be relatively hot when cooking dinner (the time I'm mostly there, having been at work all day) with the whole West wall exposed to the setting sun (assuming no shade)...

The "front' of the house will be determined by what goes on at the ground floor level: positioning of car under the house, driveway, planting, downstairs seating, downstairs kitchen, etc.

I don't know.... just my thoughts...

[JimShortz]

Here's the latest plan (and a couple of 3D views), made with Chief Architect X1: not as pictorial, but very good to use, and very precise!

The top of the plan view faces due West, as on the previous design. This one is much more open plan, should have good airflow, and you can see the TV from everywhere except the bedrooms! Total internal living space of 117 square metres, and with decent sized bedrooms for everyone. Hoorah! ...but not the final design yet, i'm sure.

[splitlid]

Here's the latest plan (and a couple of 3D views), made with Chief Architect X1: not as pictorial, but very good to use, and very precise!

wow, well done, how long exactly have you been learning this new program?

[kamalabob2]

He certainly will have an interesting plan to show a Thai draftsperson or Thai architect that can be translated to Thai PRIOR to getting bids from Builders in two years. When you are much closer to being in a position to build a home, perhaps consider going to meet a few Thai Architects, obtain prices for complete plans with engineering plans which will pass at the local planning department without having to pay a bribe. You might be pleasantly surprised at the modest cost you can have a licensed Thai architect design your home in Thailand. When I got quotes in 2006 from four Thai architects it was always based on "per square meter" of living space. When my wife and I selected a local Thai architect who had the lowest bid we met with this architect over thirty times before the final plans were ready for bids from builders. We must have visited the interior of seven local homes with this architect to see first hand the ideas she or I suggested for our home.

A key factor will be for you to drive to and look INSIDE homes already built that are designed by potential Thai architects in your area.

If you are already in Thailand it is well worth your time to visit the Architect Expo at Impact in late April and Early May. Not only design ideas as the name of the expo implies, but the widest variety of building materials are showcased in booths both small and large, most with staff at the booths who speak some English and can answer your questions. I attended last year, there was no admission fee and I came away with many brochures on suitable home building products. I wish I had attended in 2007.

I do like the idea of a kitchen towards the front entrance to a home. That is the case in the photo of the attractive home in a village near our home in Buriram province. I am no expert, but perhaps the 2nd bathroom in your plans should have a shower. Like other Thai Visa Forum members who have commented on your drawings, perhaps you should consider only two bedrooms.

The home in these photos I am posting has only two bedrooms of comfortable size and a one bedroom guest house was added as a separate structure towards the rear of the property. The side covered Veranda of this beautiful home is used daily for entertaining, eating and when any monks perform a ceremony. The window above the kitchen sink looks out onto the front yard of this home. This home is NOT on Koh Samui or Phuket, it is located in a small village between Satuk and Khaen Dong in Buriram province and was designed by an architect.

[kamalabob2]

What appears from the street to be a building on the LEFT side of the front view photo posted above (with Fortuner in the photo) is actually a Sala type area that sometimes has unsavory expat guests. OUTDOOR Living I think is a key to enjoying a home in Thailand. With or without a pool, an outdoor COVERED Sala or Veranda is a feature you might consider in your custom designed home in Thailand. It will not break any building budget to have a simple Veranda or Sala but you will get hours of enjoyment living out of doors each week.

[GungaDin]

Maybe I'll be 3rd time lucky!

What is the height of your Polehouse, concrete base to floor?

3 metres?

[JimShortz]

Maybe I'll be 3rd time lucky!

What is the height of your Polehouse, concrete base to floor?

3 metres?

my, my, my.... how long have you been in Thailand? Have you not learnt that shouting is rude and will get you precisely nowhere?

...so the answer is for you to choose

maybe 2.4m, maybe 2.6m, maybe 2.8m, maybe 3m. Which would you like it to be? That is the correct answer...

...and why so bothered about the height?

my preference (which you seem to so highly value) is for a floor to ceiling height of 2.8m for both floors to allow enough height for ceiling fans.

now <deleted> ORF

OOPS, sorry for shouting

[JimShortz]

wow, well done, how long exactly have you been learning this new program?

Hi Splitlid,

It's quite a nice programme; I've been using it for just a couple of evenings, but it has good tutorials.

I've yet to work out how to show where all the beams go, and include the ground floor, but I'll get there!

[Nirvana]

Here's the latest plan (and a couple of 3D views), made with Chief Architect X1: not as pictorial, but very good to use, and very precise!

The top of the plan view faces due West, as on the previous design. This one is much more open plan, should have good airflow, and you can see the TV from everywhere except the bedrooms! Total internal living space of 117 square metres, and with decent sized bedrooms for everyone. Hoorah! ...but not the final design yet, i'm sure.

Looks great and I am sure I could have some real fun with that program. Is it hard to learn from scratch ?

[GungaDin]

I did ask the same question in the normal manner, twice, but you seem so pre-occupied with your own self importance I resorted to the large font.

As for telling me to fuc_k off, I will.

Thanks for confirming your smart-arse attitude for all to see.....

Have a nice day, Dick.

[T_Dog]

He certainly will have an interesting plan to show a Thai draftsperson or Thai architect that can be translated to Thai PRIOR to getting bids from Builders in two years. When you are much closer to being in a position to build a home, perhaps consider going to meet a few Thai Architects, obtain prices for complete plans with engineering plans which will pass at the local planning department without having to pay a bribe. You might be pleasantly surprised at the modest cost you can have a licensed Thai architect design your home in Thailand. When I got quotes in 2006 from four Thai architects it was always based on "per square meter" of living space. When my wife and I selected a local Thai architect who had the lowest bid we met with this architect over thirty times before the final plans were ready for bids from builders. We must have visited the interior of seven local homes with this architect to see first hand the ideas she or I suggested for our home.

A key factor will be for you to drive to and look INSIDE homes already built that are designed by potential Thai architects in your area.

If you are already in Thailand it is well worth your time to visit the Architect Expo at Impact in late April and Early May. Not only design ideas as the name of the expo implies, but the widest variety of building materials are showcased in booths both small and large, most with staff at the booths who speak some English and can answer your questions. I attended last year, there was no admission fee and I came away with many brochures on suitable home building products. I wish I had attended in 2007.

I do like the idea of a kitchen towards the front entrance to a home. That is the case in the photo of the attractive home in a village near our home in Buriram province. I am no expert, but perhaps the 2nd bathroom in your plans should have a shower. Like other Thai Visa Forum members who have commented on your drawings, perhaps you should consider only two bedrooms.

The home in these photos I am posting has only two bedrooms of comfortable size and a one bedroom guest house was added as a separate structure towards the rear of the property. The side covered Veranda of this beautiful home is used daily for entertaining, eating and when any monks perform a ceremony. The window above the kitchen sink looks out onto the front yard of this home. This home is NOT on Koh Samui or Phuket, it is located in a small village between Satuk and Khaen Dong in Buriram province and was designed by an architect.

K-Bob.. Nice house. I like the idea of a detached guest house. Would you be willing to snap some jpegs of the house and guest house floor plans to post here? This has been a nice thread for ideas in that regard. Your comments about getting inputs from an architect and visiting other homes is spot on by the way.

[JimShortz]

He certainly will have an interesting plan to show a Thai draftsperson or Thai architect that can be translated to Thai PRIOR to getting bids from Builders

We must have visited the interior of seven local homes with this architect to see first hand the ideas she or I suggested for our home.

A key factor will be for you to drive to and look INSIDE homes already built that are designed by potential Thai architects in your area.

If you are already in Thailand it is well worth your time to visit the Architect Expo at Impact in late April and Early May. Not only design ideas as the name of the expo implies, but the widest variety of building materials are showcased in booths both small and large, most with staff at the booths who speak some English and can answer your questions. I attended last year, there was no admission fee and I came away with many brochures on suitable home building products. I wish I had attended in 2007.

I do like the idea of a kitchen towards the front entrance to a home. That is the case in the photo of the attractive home in a village near our home in Buriram province. I am no expert, but perhaps the 2nd bathroom in your plans should have a shower. Like other Thai Visa Forum members who have commented on your drawings, perhaps you should consider only two bedrooms.

Thanks for lots of good advice. I certainly do intend to contact an architect at a later stage; once I have the basic layout done to my liking. I would certainly like a good architect to help give the house a Thai style external appearance (roof shapes, etc.). I will also make an effort to visit lots of houses. I already find myself counting floor tiles in peoples homes (measuring the size of rooms!). Oh dear, I've got the design bug bad...

Two bedrooms is, unfortunately out of the question - our two kids would kill me. I hope the latest design has made them much more realistic sized bedrooms.

I would very much like to visit the Architect Expo. Where is it? how do I find exact dates, get tickets, etc?

Looks great and I am sure I could have some real fun with that program. Is it hard to learn from scratch ?

Hi Nirvana. I tried learning it by just playing with it and that didn't work. I really needed to use the built in tutorial, but I have only done the basic introductory tutorial so far (less than an hour) and that's got me far enough to get the design to this stage.

[eddiemonster]

Jim-S

Good luck with your plans, it looks like a nice house.

From my personal experience, I would think about moving the door to bathroom 2 to the end - when a guest needs to use the bathroom during a dinner party they might not like everyone to observe them going in and out, plus it will soften any unsavoury noises for the rest of the party!

I would also think about storage, as others have said, are you planning some in the garage or under the house?

I didn't read all the thread so I don't know how many people are to live in the house and how many bedrooms you need. If the 3rd bedroom is to be a guest room then this could double up as storage and/or an office (if needed).

What about an entrance/exit from the terrace? It might be a good idea depending on the orientation of your house (parking, pool, garden etc) and could also be an alternative escape route in case of fire.

[kamalabob2]

T DOG: That beautiful Bali style home is NOT my home. I could only wish, but the architect for that attractive home in a Buriram Village was busy designing a home in the South of Thailand for the owner of California WOW at the time we wanted plans for our home. For our home we wanted in a more modern style but the wide verandas of the Bali style home were a major inspiration for the home we had an architect in Buriram design. So it would not be my place to get a copy of those plans.

The architect Expo has a web site just like the name and this link might open the web page. I've been to five different "expos" in Bangkok, and in my opinion for someone looking to plan, build or remodel a home the best use of your time would be to visit the

http://www.architectexpo.com/showprofile-arc.html

which starts in late April at Impact in Bangkok. Last year over 750 different exhibitors had booths so you really can see quite a few products and services in one place with zero pressure to purchase.

[JimShortz]

JFrom my personal experience, I would think about moving the door to bathroom 2 to the end - when a guest needs to use the bathroom during a dinner party they might not like everyone to observe them going in and out, plus it will soften any unsavoury noises for the rest of the party!

I would also think about storage, as others have said, are you planning some in the garage or under the house?

I didn't read all the thread so I don't know how many people are to live in the house and how many bedrooms you need. If the 3rd bedroom is to be a guest room then this could double up as storage and/or an office (if needed).

What about an entrance/exit from the terrace? It might be a good idea depending on the orientation of your house (parking, pool, garden etc) and could also be an alternative escape route in case of fire.

Thanks for the input eddie,

I'm with you on the moving of the bathroom door, but that takes away one end wall that can be used for storage (a nice cabinet or something) in the living room... but i do know what you mean about the noises...

The only storage built in is the kitchen cabinets, with the one near the exterior door opening outwards so that it can be used for shoe storage, and the main bedroom that will have a bank of floor to ceiling storage along one wall. There will definitely need to be storage built underneath the main house, along with a downstairs bathroom. I don't, however, hoard a lot of junk - I work very much on the "get rid of it if you don't need it" philosophy. My neighbours love rifling through my bin!

Bedrooms got to stay unless I put the kids in bunk beds ( not a popular idea in my house!); an office would, however, be nice. You'll notice that there are two desks (for computers) within the living/dining area on the most recent design. This is how I have it at the moment in my current house and I quite like having everyone in one room - even if they are doing different things. I think this can work.

I thought about an entrance from the terrace, but I worry about security: giving such easy access to the two pairs of large double doors...

[Beardog]

T DOG: That beautiful Bali style home is NOT my home. I could only wish, but the architect for that attractive home in a Buriram Village was busy designing a home in the South of Thailand for the owner of California WOW at the time we wanted plans for our home. For our home we wanted in a more modern style but the wide verandas of the Bali style home were a major inspiration for the home we had an architect in Buriram design. So it would not be my place to get a copy of those plans.

The architect Expo has a web site just like the name and this link might open the web page. I've been to five different "expos" in Bangkok, and in my opinion for someone looking to plan, build or remodel a home the best use of your time would be to visit the

http://www.architectexpo.com/showprofile-arc.html

which starts in late April at Impact in Bangkok. Last year over 750 different exhibitors had booths so you really can see quite a few products and services in one place with zero pressure to purchase.

Kamalabob You are much to modest. I have seen you house postings & they are well done

[MTH]

Interesting thread, always fun to see the design plans people come up with. Looks like you're coming along nicely with yours. A very common problem I have found with bathrooms in thai houses is that you have to pass the shower area to get to the toilet. If someone has taken a shower in the last few hours there is always a lot of water on the floor. I know you're still working on the layout, and maybe just quickly popped in the fixtures, either way my suggestion would be to put the shower at the far end of the bathroom, like you have in the master bath. Additionally put in a dividing wall for the showers. It could be built with glass blocks to not darken the bathrooms too much. And they don't have to go all the way to the ceilings, about 170-180cm should suffice. This will keep the other areas dry. I've made some quick changes to the bathrooms on your plan, and moved the door as someone else suggested to give you an idea of what I mean.

Good luck with your house plans.

[wpcoe]

Further modifying MTH's suggested changes, how about putting the toilets back-to-back?

How about having a small "deck" at the top of the outdoor stairs to extend to, say, the kitchen window? Could put a bench (or even a stool) there to assist we more mature folk with shoes, and maybe a potted plant below the kitchen window to have greenery right outside the window?