Chiang Mai Builders

[dalstonbill]

Wanting to do a house refurbishment including new roof, new bathroom, repair subsidence damage etc. Had experience of four indifferent builders in chiang mai so far. Any suggestions from members, especially about roofing options / materials etc. Regarding payment, is 30% up[ front normal, then 30% at agreed stage and final 40% on completion normal? Should I buy materials or expect builder to buy and recharge me ... any help welcome... thanks

[pim04]

My relative is now doing the house refurbishment at Baan Ing Doi with a company call, BuildSabai. They are good and can speak English. Contact Miss Natika (Waan) at 081 602 2434. I asked my relative also about the terms of payment 30% upfront seemed too much, what he pays is only 10%

[kjhbigv]

Hi,

Me and the girlfriend bought a repossessed house and it was in a bit of a state. Nothing been done to it since new (8yrs). First builder quoted 15000bht to paint whole of exterior, who we did not go with, I just thought too cheap! Instead, we asked the guy who owned the apartment block we used live in (as he is intelligent and the apartment block was always immaculately looked after) and he recommended someone to us.

The guy is excellent, University educated and professional, he knows electricians, gardeners, plasterers, tilers, window repairers etc etc and he manages his workers on site and goes to great lengths to ensure we are happy (well, the girlfriend, she is VERY particular!)

To date he has:- painted interior and exterior of the house, removed trees, replaced ceilings, installed a kitchen (Thai style brick built), tiled bathrooms, tiled whole driveway, fitted lighting/installed shower units, installed insect meshes, fixed balastrades, installed interior/exterior doors....basically loads of stuff!

Basically, he is more of a Project Manager and has his 'own' workers and contracts in others when necessary.

He is quite young (27) but obviously has a bright future, he continues to self-develop and still goes to Uni to learn more about his trade.

Compared to some other builders I have got quotes from, he is in a different league. Trustworthy, reliable and bends over backwards (not literally) to make sure we (the girlfriend is happy). To be honest, some of the demands the girlfriend has, I would have told her to get lost ages ago!

So, the guy may not have a big company and big flash pickups but gets my vote.

In fact, he has been here for past few days, needed a new bathroom floor (as old one leaked and was uneven so water didn't actually flow away)....so he has removed floor tiles (without damaging the wall tiles, which is not that easy, as we wanted to keep them to keep price down), remove toilet and re-tile, bathroom about 15ft x 8ft.....at the same time he cut the lawn for us, removed 3 large trees and roots and disposal thereof, installed some overflow pipes from outside balconies (needed to drill through concrete, install pipes and re-render) and some other bits, cost was 4000bht, which I think was pretty good value.

We normally just give him a bit of money up-front, he lists, quotes and prices (fixed costs) everything individually and we source and buy the materials eg. tiles, kitchen doors, hob etc etc etc.

Don't get me wrong he also works on much larger jobs than us! Asked him about roofing today and he said 'no problem'.

Only downside is that he speaks bugger all English, so you need a Thai to help translation.

His name is Mackay (Micky) and email address is **email removed per forum rules***, tel number is 0821813793.

Mention he has been recommended by Ying. Top bloke and 100% trustworthy.

Edited May 29, 2009 by sbk
no emails per forum rules-sbk

[Gold2005]

I have had two homes built now and 3 of my friends have too. We all used Kensington. Very popular with all the expat community here. Office is in Sarapee. Very nice guys, experienced and good prices. Happy to recommend them. Lived here twenty years now and learnt my lessons over the years. These guys are good honest builders, doa good job at a fair price. There web site is www.chiangmaibuilders.com I am sure they can help with renovation too. Did a lovely job of my house.

[geegeeuk]

Hi,

Me and the girlfriend bought a repossessed house and it was in a bit of a state. Nothing been done to it since new (8yrs). First builder quoted 15000bht to paint whole of exterior, who we did not go with, I just thought too cheap! Instead, we asked the guy who owned the apartment block we used live in (as he is intelligent and the apartment block was always immaculately looked after) and he recommended someone to us.

The guy is excellent, University educated and professional, he knows electricians, gardeners, plasterers, tilers, window repairers etc etc and he manages his workers on site and goes to great lengths to ensure we are happy (well, the girlfriend, she is VERY particular!)

hi nice info,i am after new upvc windows in my house in lampang.anyone know of suppliers and good installers in this area.thks geegeeuk

To date he has:- painted interior and exterior of the house, removed trees, replaced ceilings, installed a kitchen (Thai style brick built), tiled bathrooms, tiled whole driveway, fitted lighting/installed shower units, installed insect meshes, fixed balastrades, installed interior/exterior doors....basically loads of stuff!

Basically, he is more of a Project Manager and has his 'own' workers and contracts in others when necessary.

He is quite young (27) but obviously has a bright future, he continues to self-develop and still goes to Uni to learn more about his trade.

Compared to some other builders I have got quotes from, he is in a different league. Trustworthy, reliable and bends over backwards (not literally) to make sure we (the girlfriend is happy). To be honest, some of the demands the girlfriend has, I would have told her to get lost ages ago!

So, the guy may not have a big company and big flash pickups but gets my vote.

In fact, he has been here for past few days, needed a new bathroom floor (as old one leaked and was uneven so water didn't actually flow away)....so he has removed floor tiles (without damaging the wall tiles, which is not that easy, as we wanted to keep them to keep price down), remove toilet and re-tile, bathroom about 15ft x 8ft.....at the same time he cut the lawn for us, removed 3 large trees and roots and disposal thereof, installed some overflow pipes from outside balconies (needed to drill through concrete, install pipes and re-render) and some other bits, cost was 4000bht, which I think was pretty good value.

We normally just give him a bit of money up-front, he lists, quotes and prices (fixed costs) everything individually and we source and buy the materials eg. tiles, kitchen doors, hob etc etc etc.

Don't get me wrong he also works on much larger jobs than us! Asked him about roofing today and he said 'no problem'.

Only downside is that he speaks bugger all English, so you need a Thai to help translation.

His name is Mackay (Micky) and email address is **email removed per forum rules***, tel number is 0821813793.

Mention he has been recommended by Ying. Top bloke and 100% trustworthy.

[zippydedodah]

Hi,

Me and the girlfriend bought a repossessed house and it was in a bit of a state. Nothing been done to it since new (8yrs). First builder quoted 15000bht to paint whole of exterior, who we did not go with, I just thought too cheap! Instead, we asked the guy who owned the apartment block we used live in (as he is intelligent and the apartment block was always immaculately looked after) and he recommended someone to us.

The guy is excellent, University educated and professional, he knows electricians, gardeners, plasterers, tilers, window repairers etc etc and he manages his workers on site and goes to great lengths to ensure we are happy (well, the girlfriend, she is VERY particular!)

To date he has:- painted interior and exterior of the house, removed trees, replaced ceilings, installed a kitchen (Thai style brick built), tiled bathrooms, tiled whole driveway, fitted lighting/installed shower units, installed insect meshes, fixed balastrades, installed interior/exterior doors....basically loads of stuff!

Basically, he is more of a Project Manager and has his 'own' workers and contracts in others when necessary.

He is quite young (27) but obviously has a bright future, he continues to self-develop and still goes to Uni to learn more about his trade.

Compared to some other builders I have got quotes from, he is in a different league. Trustworthy, reliable and bends over backwards (not literally) to make sure we (the girlfriend is happy). To be honest, some of the demands the girlfriend has, I would have told her to get lost ages ago!

So, the guy may not have a big company and big flash pickups but gets my vote.

In fact, he has been here for past few days, needed a new bathroom floor (as old one leaked and was uneven so water didn't actually flow away)....so he has removed floor tiles (without damaging the wall tiles, which is not that easy, as we wanted to keep them to keep price down), remove toilet and re-tile, bathroom about 15ft x 8ft.....at the same time he cut the lawn for us, removed 3 large trees and roots and disposal thereof, installed some overflow pipes from outside balconies (needed to drill through concrete, install pipes and re-render) and some other bits, cost was 4000bht, which I think was pretty good value.

We normally just give him a bit of money up-front, he lists, quotes and prices (fixed costs) everything individually and we source and buy the materials eg. tiles, kitchen doors, hob etc etc etc.

Don't get me wrong he also works on much larger jobs than us! Asked him about roofing today and he said 'no problem'.

Only downside is that he speaks bugger all English, so you need a Thai to help translation.

His name is Mackay (Micky) and email address is **email removed per forum rules***, tel number is 0821813793.

Mention he has been recommended by Ying. Top bloke and 100% trustworthy.

Hi:

I read your post with interest as i have considered buying a foreclosure home and having worked in the trades in USA for 20 yrs, i would need some reliable help. However... my thai wife and her family (one of whom is a painting contractor), read your post and were amazed at the price... are you sure you did not lose a zero (or two!) in the posting?

that seems VERY inexpensive