Is raising land necessary when building a house? What about a fence to keep the raised land from flowing away due to rain? Just wondering because this is what my wife wants me to pay for.

Is raising land necessary when building a house? What about a fence to keep the raised land from flowing away due to rain? Just wondering because this is what my wife wants me to pay for.

Its' standard practice to raise the land when they're building on a "rice-field" or the road was raised when they paved it.

This presents numerous problems such as -

taking 2 years for the refill to settle or the structure will subside,

origin of refill soil - jungle soil spreads termites and insects,

integrity of contractors not to include rubbish during the fill,

proper perimeter drainage on stable foundation,

you often see these old house and gardens in rural town centers and the

whole town and roads are half a metre higher around it, all those

antique sunken properties are not on raised grounds...

moat & bridges ?

I would say that the minimum time required for the fill to settle is a full rainy season plus the us of a steam roller.

I would say that the minimum time required for the fill to settle is a full rainy season plus the us of a steam roller.

It is around 6 months. Infact you can build almost straightaway but it would have to be correctly professionally compacted. If you are up country this is not going to be done right. So leaving it as the man says for atleast a rainy season is a good idea. The only builders I would use here are registered companies who insure the project. Also with homes they can show you and atleast one person who has a minium of 10 years experience in construction in Europe, USA etc. Been here for 20 years and it can be a minefield if not.

Get good advice from the start from a professionally company. So many people are here looking for ways to stay here. So there are many wannabee builders with no work permits, no compoany and no insurance... Be careful. I used a registered company and they did a good job. My advise after 20 years of living and working in Thailand......only ever talk to professional people who have work permits and have a proper registered comapny. There are no come backs otherwise, no guarantees.....

Edited May 10, 200917 yr by davidcc

A friend of mine had to raise some land before he built. It was absolutely necessary but ended up being nearly as expensive as building the house!

And yes, minimum 6 months for the fill to settle.