Hi all,

We own a house in petchabun, with a large property around it. We want to build a wall around the property, 232 meters to be exact. I have been advised that the best material is leca blocks, but i cant find a place to buy them.

advice greatly appreciated!

christian

EVERY medium and large town has at least one factory for this type of block in Thailand. They might not know the "name" you are using. At least three different companies make this cheap block in our small town. EVERY building merchant will sell you this type of block.

Perhaps the Thai name is along the lines of "IT BLOCK". Check out the valuable link of construction terms on Thai Visa Forum

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thai-English...ms-t109416.html

Here is my tip on this type of block. If you go to the "factory" that actually makes the blocks bring with you a drawing of the SIZE you actually want. Or ask to see what larger (thicker) size blocks they have previously made. "Just because you do not SEE an item in Thailand on display does not mean it is unavailable!"

How many times have you seen holes in these walls? You can at a fair price have blocks made to your specifications for a modest cost. There are many good postings on Thai Visa and Cool House Thai about the strongest way to construct these walls. Be sure to use GOOD water to mix the concrete, NOT well water. Rendering the OUTSIDE wall side of our wall was a "make work" project for our home builders staff as we "waited for concrete in the house structure to CURE". These walls do NOT have to have the strength of an EGGSHELL. Like any project in Thailand, make sure they wait enough time before any paint is put on the wall. In my experience I was so glad we waited until the HOUSE was painted prior to painting the wall. How can they drop so many things off a house under construction?

Leca might be a "brand name" is why the Thai people do not UNDERSTAND what you are asking for. The web site

http://www.leca.ae/Article.aspx?m=64〈=en

might help you in getting prices from the local Thai factories on the exact blocks you think are best. If you use the search function of Thai Visa on this "Do it yourself" Forum you will see good postings on wall construction. Good luck.

thanks guys!

the blocks i have seen so far is not based on expaned clay, but smaller blocks that i cant use because of high cost. One estimation for our wall was 300k baht, just for materials. But i will definately try to talk and describe more to the shops and people. I am not building this myself, but it seems i must research and buy materials, as the workers i have talked with so far only provide work. If anyone know good wall builders in Petchabun, I am grateful for some tips here.

Ordinary (red) clayed bricks are stronger and not more expensive to buy. 120-140 baht/sqm for the bricks.

BTW, the term "IT block" is used by thais to describe any kind of block used for buildning, so this term is not really helpful in this context. At least this is my understanding as of now.

Small bricks require much more work, so I doubt they are useful/cost-efficient.

Things are different in Isaan. "It Dang" is how locals refer to the small red bricks, which might take longer to build, but as a general rule can be very strong especially double walled. Some of the nicest luxury homes I've viewed in Bangkok had "it dang' walls.

Today we visited 2 shops, neither had expanded clay blocks. They have concrete blocks, thats it. Another local shop has clay bricks, but only small and not expanded clay. If someone know a store with expanded clay blocks in central thailand, I would be very grateful. Its just not true that they are everywhere. I had a thai with me that explained what we were looking for.

Whilst LECA blocks may be the best solution, if they are not readily available then they are no solution

IMHO. Why not go with the regular Thai construction of concrete blocks with cast-in-situ concrete posts with overall rendering? The locals know how to build it and materials are readily available and reasonably priced.

y, thats what i am looking into now

but later i am building a small outhouse, and for this i really want leca (if i find it).