House Construction

[Jai Dee]

Another tip for a more constant water pressure in your system is to install a 1" dia distribution system throughout the house, rather than the standard 3/4" system preferred here in Thailand.  Incremental cost difference is minimal, and you can still reduce to 3/4" at the tap fittings/heaters etc, overall effect is the increased system volume does tend to counteract sudden system pressure drops.

jaidee, that would be a great idea in theory, but as all tap fittings and hot water fittings are half inch it would make it real difficult to connect up...

most buildings in thailand use half inch pipes for everything, now i got to admit that using one inch pipes as your main feed to everything is a great idea, as the volume of water helps absorb any shock from the pump etc, BUT, when you get those three quotes to build your house will you be able to explain that to the 3 differant contractors?? do you think your thai wife who has absolutely no knowledge of construction let alone construction in a proper country can explain that, if you think she can then try explaining that the moon is made of cheese, if she understands that then she stands a chance of understanding euro usa building standards.

but i have to agree with you on using the big pipes for the mains feeds...

Badman,

Don't be so cynical... it's not that difficult if you draw a picture. You know the old saying "a picture paints a thousand words"?

In my case, I asked the developer for a full set of drawings for the house, civil (foundations), structural, electrical, and water supply & drainage. I obtained the CAD files of the water reticulation system, modified them myself, added a little detail of how and where to do the size reduction, and took them back to the builder. He had a good look and understood completely. "Cowjai laeow"

I would highly recommend this to anyone contemplating building a house in Thailand.

[meadish_sweetball]

Another tip for a more constant water pressure in your system is to install a 1" dia distribution system throughout the house, rather than the standard 3/4" system preferred here in Thailand.  Incremental cost difference is minimal, and you can still reduce to 3/4" at the tap fittings/heaters etc, overall effect is the increased system volume does tend to counteract sudden system pressure drops.

jaidee, that would be a great idea in theory, but as all tap fittings and hot water fittings are half inch it would make it real difficult to connect up...

most buildings in thailand use half inch pipes for everything, now i got to admit that using one inch pipes as your main feed to everything is a great idea, as the volume of water helps absorb any shock from the pump etc, BUT, when you get those three quotes to build your house will you be able to explain that to the 3 differant contractors?? do you think your thai wife who has absolutely no knowledge of construction let alone construction in a proper country can explain that, if you think she can then try explaining that the moon is made of cheese, if she understands that then she stands a chance of understanding euro usa building standards.

but i have to agree with you on using the big pipes for the mains feeds...

Badman,

Don't be so cynical... it's not that difficult if you draw a picture. You know the old saying "a picture paints a thousand words"?

In my case, I asked the developer for a full set of drawings for the house, civil (foundations), structural, electrical, and water supply & drainage. I obtained the CAD files of the water reticulation system, modified them myself, added a little detail of how and where to do the size reduction, and took them back to the builder. He had a good look and understood completely. "Cowjai laeow"

I would highly recommend this to anyone contemplating building a house in Thailand.

I have yet to come across a Thai, who in his line of work where he is supposed to be the authority, says "mai khaojai khrap" as that would be a major loss of face...

If the construction is already complete and you are satisfied with it, then all is good, but otherwise I would still harbour a doubt and want to double-check the plumbing is done correctly (I personally wouldnt be able to because I dont know the first thing about plumbing... But you do, so keep track of events.)

Very cynical, I know. But just because you are paranoid doesnt mean they are not out to get you.

[Jai Dee]

so keep track of events

I will meadish, be very sure of that.

[tutsiwarrior]

whatzit cost to get a CAD person to do layouts for the satisfaction of the building permit folks? Can you mark up the print out with your own mods and present or do you have to generate new drawings? Presumably the contractor (builder) will do his own thing unless you stand over him 100%. If one was living overseas how would one insure satisfaction. Hire a building supervisor (owner's engineer, to check materials, compliance with approved/desired design, etc)?

[Jai Dee]

whatzit cost to get a CAD person to do layouts for the satisfaction of the building permit folks? Can you mark up the print out with your own mods and present or do you have to generate new drawings? Presumably the contractor (builder) will do his own thing unless you stand over him 100%. If one was living overseas how would one insure satisfaction. Hire a building supervisor (owner's engineer, to check materials, compliance with approved/desired design, etc)?

In my case tutsi, I did the CAD changes myself. I work in the engineering field and have ready access to the software to make the changes. I'm not that proficient, but I'm not stupid either, and it didn't take long to learn how to do the simple things like drawing lines, circles, arcs, copying things, trimming others etc.

I am currently living only 30 minutes away from the developer, so it's easy for me to not only make and communicate any changes, but also to supervise/approve the works in progress.

If one was living overseas it would be considerably more difficult to manage. Talk to tukyleith about his experiences for example. He was in this exact same position, but his house has turned out a treat.

Yours is a difficult case if you're overseas but building here in Thailand. An independent building supervisor is one option, so long as he doesn't tread on the toes of the developer... TIT you know, and there could be a lot of position/face juggling in a situation like that.

[tutsiwarrior]

sounds like I'll have to have the wife hang around while construction was going in...she managed the finishing on the duplex shop house that we presently have and did a slap up job...I'll still be needing to work overseas to get the money for our plans...

I'm mostly worried about drainage, plumbing and wiring...might be too much for her to handle...

[Jai Dee]

sounds like I'll have to have the wife hang around while construction was going in...she managed the finishing on the duplex shop house that we presently have and did a slap up job...I'll still be needing to work overseas to get the money for our plans...

That's what tukyleith did and they ended up with a very good result.

I'm mostly worried about drainage, plumbing and wiring...might be too much for her to handle...

Try to get her to understand your concerns, and draw a few pictures. If you're building in her village she'll already know about drainage problems, if any.

As far as wiring is concerned, just make sure that she understands that everything that isn't on a lighting circuit must have 3 wires - active, neutral, and earth.

As for plumbing, once again I'd recommend drawing pictures to get the message across.

If your wife is going to be your building supervisor, she'd be in the best position as future owner to communicate with the builder in order to get things right.

[badman]

first link

Pump Jacks.

Once the backbone of the deep well, solar pumping industry these pumps are great for pumping from very deep wells or wells that have too small a diameter to get a submersible pump into. While the hardware to make this pump is relatively expensive there is very little to fail and life expectancy is measured in decades. They can operate from 30 volts DC for very shallow wells to over 200 volts DC if water is very deep. These units require special controllers for starting and running under heavy loads. They operate on the same principle as oil field pumps. An example is SunPumps SJ series pumps.

As you can see from the above list of pump types there are many application factors to take into account when choosing the appropriate pump for any given pumping situation. For this reason, we usually like to talk to the customer before sending out a pumping system to ascertain that the system will perform as desired. We have included a Water Pumping Questionnaire which you can print and fax to us so that we can make sure your system is properly designed. Our Fax Number is 406-363-6046 and we are more than happy to work with you on your pump system design.

100 to 150 feet

still im sure your an expert jay, suction not lift..

you forgot to mention that your post was based on the fact of less 1 foot for every 1000 foot above sea level due to atmospheric pressure, which i might add changes everyday...

[badman]

Another tip for a more constant water pressure in your system is to install a 1" dia distribution system throughout the house, rather than the standard 3/4" system preferred here in Thailand.  Incremental cost difference is minimal, and you can still reduce to 3/4" at the tap fittings/heaters etc, overall effect is the increased system volume does tend to counteract sudden system pressure drops.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

jaidee, that would be a great idea in theory, but as all tap fittings and hot water fittings are half inch it would make it real difficult to connect up...

most buildings in thailand use half inch pipes for everything, now i got to admit that using one inch pipes as your main feed to everything is a great idea, as the volume of water helps absorb any shock from the pump etc, BUT, when you get those three quotes to build your house will you be able to explain that to the 3 differant contractors?? do you think your thai wife who has absolutely no knowledge of construction let alone construction in a proper country can explain that, if you think she can then try explaining that the moon is made of cheese, if she understands that then she stands a chance of understanding euro usa building standards.

but i have to agree with you on using the big pipes for the mains feeds...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Badman,

Don't be so cynical... it's not that difficult if you draw a picture. You know the old saying "a picture paints a thousand words"?

In my case, I asked the developer for a full set of drawings for the house, civil (foundations), structural, electrical, and water supply & drainage. I obtained the CAD files of the water reticulation system, modified them myself, added a little detail of how and where to do the size reduction, and took them back to the builder. He had a good look and understood completely. "Cowjai laeow"

I would highly recommend this to anyone contemplating building a house in Thailand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

my apologies jaidee, i meant to say blue cheese and also to explain how those wicked frenchmen electrocute it to her.... im sure you can manage that

[jayenram]

100 to 150 feet

still im sure your an expert jay, suction not lift..

you forgot to mention that your post was based on the fact of less 1 foot for every 1000 foot above sea level due to atmospheric pressure, which i might add changes everyday...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not sure what height Everest is measured at these days; but I think what you are implying is that given it is in the region of 30,000 feet ASL, then you'd be hard pressed to find a pump that would provide you with any seawater up there?

Is your attitude heriditary?

[jayenram]

first link

100 to 150 feet

still im sure your an expert jay, suction not lift..

you forgot to mention that your post was based on the fact of less 1 foot for every 1000 foot above sea level due to atmospheric pressure, which i might add changes everyday...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, the couple of guys (girls) on the picture look like well educated physicists. Is this Tennessee?

Maybe I will fax them and ask them for a solution to my problem of being able to suck 12 metres and deliver 20 metres. However, do you think they will understand the difference between horizontal and vertical? Or, will they even understand what metres are?

[pyros]

i believe you mean well pump, almost all the auto pumps here are well pumps, the pump i use sucks from 12 meters deep and pumps upto 32 meters high, although i have to admit to only pumping the water to 21 meters high.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is physically impossible to "suck" standing ground water from a depth of 12 metres. Suction depends upon causing a vacuum to draw the water up a tube. A total vacuum is 0 bara. Atmospheric pressure is in the order of 1 bara. Therefore the differential pressure created by a vacuum is 1 bar therefore 10 metres. It is virtually impossible for a pump to create a total vacuum therefore the accepted suction lift is 9.5 metres at best.

And, badman, if you are going to PM me again, could you use a dictionary or a spellchecker?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well yes and no , you are both right . If the suction pump is empty then it is simply impossible to suck the water up higher then 10 m . That is indeed due to the air pressure , you suck all the air out of the pipe , best you can get is a 10m of water height ( in optimal conditions ) . Now , the yes to the other person . Yes it is possible to suck out water from 21 meters deep . How is that possible ??? Easy , the pipe has to be filled before you start the pump . In that case , you don't have a problem with the airpressure/water height . The only thing is , don't get air into the pump because that way , you'll get the first case in which 10m is the max height .

About the water being compressed , not noticeble for pressures we use in normal households . Of course , air can be compressed and the pipes used also can disform from pressure ( so more water goes inside the pipe when putting the pressure higher ) . It isn't the water itself which compresses .