My Isaan Bungalow ,work Starts In 3 Days,,i Need Advice

[dmax]

building bungalow 75 metres squre,1 bedroom,1 toilet and shower room (western style, and 1 living room, its a simple rectangle shaped bungalow 15 mtrs ft long ,5 mtre wide,,3 metre high..i want plasterered walls ext and interior,ceramic tile roof, lowered ceilings (not false ceiling with tiles) ceramic tile flooring...i plan to go to homemart and buy everything from there,,can anyone give me advise on what is going to be the more expensive for me ,,cement ? tiles ? roof tiles ? concrete for foundations ? ive spoke to two builders ,the first one was greedy and wanted 150,000 to build only and 560,000 to build and buy materials but he wouldnt even give me plastic guttering in the price,,the second builder says he will build eveything for 70,000 start to finish,he is taking me to homemart where i can show him what tiles ,toilet,shower etc i want...if anyone can give me any advice on the pitfalls and some basic good general advice then i would appreciate it..this is my first house and its also major headache !!

thankyou

[Farma]

There's a thread in the Do It Yourself Building forum that has a few good pointers from a couple of years ago. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Cost-Buiding...ls-t154876.html

I've watched the family build a couple of houses and they usually buy the materials themselves and pay a builder for the work. They usually buy materials from a variety of suppliers and know which supplier has the cheaper prices on different products.

A couple of things I think are essential. Electrical earthing and traps in the drains to prevent smells coming from the drains.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Farma

[Rimmer]

75 square meters at 10,000 baht a meter all in maximum cost, labor and materials = mmmm now let me see.

Building a house is fun,choosing stuff is great, do a budget based on the above and stick to it and it will cease being a major headache and become a wonderfull adventure.

Take your plans to Homemart and get a written quote from them for the main construction items such as cement steel granite etc. Valid for maybe 90 days, pin it with your set of plans then when you buy check each price against the quote before you pay.

If there is a Global House shop near you check their prices they are a lot cheaper on a lot of items.

Buy and pay for everything yourself, that is important, also checking the goods to make sure you are getting what you are paying for, gotta be there all the time.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Rimmer

[SAMCHAROEN]

1. yes.. always buy the stuff yourself... never package the materials & labour into 1 lump-sum amount....

they will rip you off and put substandard quality products to save a few bucks

2. never pay the contractor the entire sum agreed till the work is complete to your satisfaction. Pay them some deposite once they have started working a day or two. They will surely ask for some money after a few days work... give them a little.

In short - try to hold onto their money till the very end.

3. Always be there when they are working - it will be boring and you will be feeling hot and all the dust & noise will be uncomfortable. But you will not regret it later on if anything is done without asking you or not to your liking.

4. Try to choose light colors for everything (except when using tiles outdoors such as car parking port) .

5. Use earthing for the electricity and put 3pin plug sockets as much as possible. It is much safer.

6. Use energy saving bulbs for all lighiting.

7. For floor tiles you need to buy the filling (the clay used to seal the gaps between tiles) . Make sure the clay its anti-fungal otherwise after a few months fungus will appear as black blotches on the clay .

8. Re the air-con : do not scrimp on the btu because if you do you may save a few bucks now but your electric bill will be high as long as you are using that aircon.

9. Check prices at HOME PRO , BOONTHAVORN and also mom & pop hardware stores.

10. Check the amp on the electric meter by calling the local electricity office. Consult with them if the current amp on your meter is sufficient to bare the load you intend to use. If you use many aircons / electical appliances / computers etc... you may need a larger amp.

11. Think about puting metal grills on the doors and windows for added security.

All the best !

[bellagrego]

building bungalow 75 metres squre,1 bedroom,1 toilet and shower room (western style, and 1 living room, its a simple rectangle shaped bungalow 15 mtrs ft long ,5 mtre wide,,3 metre high..i want plasterered walls ext and interior,ceramic tile roof, lowered ceilings (not false ceiling with tiles) ceramic tile flooring...i plan to go to homemart and buy everything from there,,can anyone give me advise on what is going to be the more expensive for me ,,cement ? tiles ? roof tiles ? concrete for foundations ? ive spoke to two builders ,the first one was greedy and wanted 150,000 to build only and 560,000 to build and buy materials but he wouldnt even give me plastic guttering in the price,,the second builder says he will build eveything for 70,000 start to finish,he is taking me to homemart where i can show him what tiles ,toilet,shower etc i want...if anyone can give me any advice on the pitfalls and some basic good general advice then i would appreciate it..this is my first house and its also major headache !!

thankyou

The numbers are not bad for a contract at 7OK but you can do it for 50 if you try. If you have no experience just pay the 70 and watch it go up. It's a fair price for here. My place is nearing completion on 150 sm , 2 stories high, tile roof, concrete and steel with wood on 2nd floor.and my labor cost are still below 100 to date, may finish at about 125 max. So, you are in line with the area you are building. Good luck, it aint easy and dont expect high grade craftsmanship, please.

russ

[dmax]

this is great info guys,,please keep it coming !! i have went to the builders merchants in my villiage today with the thai builder,,i was quoted 13 baht each for c-pack roof tiles, i then went to builder merchant in an other area myself and was quoted 14 baht for c-pack roof tiles..i am gradually sussing the thai builder out,but so far so good !! he quoted me 1,700 baht for concrete per cubid metre ? is that fair ? and how many cubic mtres will i need for 75 mtres square home ? this is all very new to me so please help me along i am listening to all replies carefully and greatly appreciate all the advice..

wish i could buy a round of drinks for u guys !!

[prefabs]

Might seem a daft question, but why does your huse build need to start in 3 days? I would suggest you might be heading for disaster as it appears you are scratching for information at a VERY late stage

[jimmym40]

I've had six houses built since my coming to Thailand for many years. Yes, I'm an old fart now. First house was built 25 yrs ago, and building small houses for the family members, and several for my wife and myself. Just a little background so you understand I know what I'm talking about. Living here in Chiang Mai may be a bit more expensive though.

Anyway, 70K for labor to build your house is very reasonable, but be prepared to spend around 90K. Because undoubtedly you'll want some extra work done that the builder will say "not included". Example will be a driveway, usually not included in building price. Fencing? Plus, anything you add extra, like an electrical socket or light, you will be charged extra. So, make sure your plans are very specific and please do not go by word of mouth or a handshake. Have detailed plans, and still there will be some disagreements.

Also, on the roofing tiles. Cpac tiles range from around 10 to 25 baht a tile, depending on brand and color. Don't know why, but the blue roof tiles are EXPENSIVE. You should be able to get the best, Monier brand for around 14 baht a tile. Monier is the best Cpac tile. I believe other brand names are Tiger and Elephant names.

Best advice given so far is: be there on the job site as much as possible!!! Even when you tell and explain to the workers what you want - they forget very easily and end up "doing it their way".

Good luck and keep plenty of tylenol close at hand.

[surayu]

....he quoted me 1,700 baht for concrete per cubid metre ? is that fair ?

Try a different company, around here C-Pac was asking for 1800 x cubic meter while KC concrete was only 1500 and free transport if you order at least 3 cubic meters

[Lannatyne]

building bungalow 75 metres squre,1 bedroom,1 toilet and shower room (western style, and 1 living room, its a simple rectangle shaped bungalow 15 mtrs ft long ,5 mtre wide,,3 metre high..i want plasterered walls ext and interior,ceramic tile roof, lowered ceilings (not false ceiling with tiles) ceramic tile flooring...i plan to go to homemart and buy everything from there,,can anyone give me advise on what is going to be the more expensive for me ,,cement ? tiles ? roof tiles ? concrete for foundations ? ive spoke to two builders ,the first one was greedy and wanted 150,000 to build only and 560,000 to build and buy materials but he wouldnt even give me plastic guttering in the price,,the second builder says he will build eveything for 70,000 start to finish,he is taking me to homemart where i can show him what tiles ,toilet,shower etc i want...if anyone can give me any advice on the pitfalls and some basic good general advice then i would appreciate it..this is my first house and its also major headache !!

thankyou

Some good advice so far. I'll just add or stress the following:

1) Firstly, don't rush. Push these 3 days back until you're more organised, and grab control of YOUR project.

2) Not 'ceramic' roof tile, CPAC Monier as someone's already said. Tripletone is nice, won't hold heat as much 'cos it's a light colour.

3) You must use the heat reflective foil under the tiles. It's a negligible cost in the whole scheme of things. If you don't insulate with this, the tiles take on the sun's heat during the day, and radiate it into the house during the night. Makes it hot, and you'll use more aircon .

4) Make plasterboard ceiling as high as possible. Again, this is better for good air circulation and cooling.

5) HomePro often get floor tiles 'end of lines' from suppliers like Cotto. If you don't need a big surface area, you might pick up some good quality ones at a fair discount. Be sure you buy enough, though, as it's 'end of line'!

6) Try to think about drainage / water management early. Fit part guttering if the rain will pelt off your roof and fall on top of the car, for example. If you're not on mains water, then gutter straight into your tank.

7) Work surface & window sill heights : unless you want a bad back every time you make a coffee, or look out of the window, get the kitchen work surfaces / windows built to western heights.

8) ................and, like others say, be there!

Have fun!

[stgrhe]

Have you submitted your building permit application? Even a small house need a building permit and as an foreigner I would not want to be without one here in Thailand.

[dmax]

no building permit application,,its not in my name,its being build for my wife and daughter and its being build on her fathers land next door to his house,so do i still need her to get one ? how many cubic metres of concrete will i need for 75 sq matre house? what is going to be more expensive the concrete? roof tiles ? floor tiles? metal roof trusses ? windows? im buying the dark brown aluminium windows,they seem to be cheap enough..i want c-pac roof tiles and i want to pay around 200 thb per sq mtre for interior floor tiling. the builder wants to start today so im starting today as im only here another 10 weeks and want it completed. i live 1 mile away from the town of tha kanto near kra nuen kk..there are few builders merchants in town and they seem to be reasonable so far,ive priced outside water tank holds 3000 ml at cost of 3500 thb,,,c-pac roof tiles at 13 thb each,,blocks at cost of 4 thb each,maybe i should use super block ? are they better? 4"x 2" box metal for roof trusses are 250 thb for 10 metres long,is this reasonable ? the builder took me up yeterday to suppliers and i am trying to watch closely if he is ripping me off and im going to different suppliers to check with their prises also...the supplier my builder took me to qoted 13 thb for c-pac roof tiles but when i went alone to a different supplier they qoted me 14 thb for c-pac so maybe the builders not getting his arm in,,have to wait and see...yes i will be here everyday to oversee the build....

please keep any advise coming ..thanks

[Naam]

10. Check the amp on the electric meter by calling the local electricity office. Consult with them if the current amp on your meter is sufficient to bare the load you intend to use. If you use many aircons / electical appliances / computers etc... you may need a larger amp.

very important! a one-bedroom house with a total area of 75m² needs quite a number of aircons to keep it cool and therefore "a larger amp".

[phutoie2]

Just finished building a house for my wife's parents, its a Thai 12 poster, standard layout, so not too sure about sqm!. We built it a good 1 metre up from ground level and it has two bedrooms, living room, kitchen + bathroom and front porch. Roof quite high up for a standard house. It is fully earthed and has some nice touches inside, ie good tiled floor and ceiling tiles, plus I had the builders fit some orbital ceiling fans, all the electric cable is in ducting.

For materiel's, I used several sources and it may help to find one that gives credit, ie pay bills later.

Personally I think its not a good idea to remain on site all day long, just quick visits everyday to view and comment on anything you want doing, or re-doing!!.

Supply plenty of water and ice daily, and the odd few beers, or rice whisky now and again. You are not going to get the same standards as back home!, the interior decoration is a bit slapdash, paint & wood stain everywhere, but you are getting a good house on the cheap.

I wouldn't worry too much about building permits out in the sticks, (who owns the land??), maybe a different story in Pattaya/Phuket/HH.

This house cost 90k labour, and 358k all building mats, that's down to the last light bulb.

[lioness]

If your cement slab is 75 sqm x 100 ml deep you will 7.5 cubic meters of cement. The price of cement varies with the grade. for a house slab, which will have ( or should have reo bar ) then 20 mph is suitable.

[johnnyk]

Beers AT THE END OF THE DAY are always welcomed by the crew. Show them you are jai dee, it helps.

Think about an outside electric plug or two and outside water taps. Put them opposite sides of the house.

Inside put more electric plugs than you think you might need. They don't cost anything if you don't use then and they are cheap to do now, more costly later

[seaeagle]

Beers AT THE END OF THE DAY are always welcomed by the crew. Show them you are jai dee, it helps.

Think about an outside electric plug or two and outside water taps. Put them opposite sides of the house.

Inside put more electric plugs than you think you might need. They don't cost anything if you don't use then and they are cheap to do now, more costly later

I've got a great house, and I did that to some extent. Don't make it 'their expectation', though. M150 is as good as anything for them. Reward "completion of a stage" with some beer and lao khao.

[surayu]

....Reward "completion of a stage" with some beer and lao khao.

always in moderate quantities or you will not see them the following working day (all at home with headace claiming to be too sick to work....)

[seaeagle]

....Reward "completion of a stage" with some beer and lao khao.

always in moderate quantities or you will not see them the following working day (all at home with headace claiming to be too sick to work....)

Moderate? Too right! I didn't give them a bloody party, just a "cold one" now and then. In fact, it was usually when I wanted one myself and was too knackered to go to the bar - I just got an extra tin in for each of the workers.

[muffdiver2]

Just finished building a house for my wife's parents, its a Thai 12 poster, standard layout, so not too sure about sqm!. We built it a good 1 metre up from ground level and it has two bedrooms, living room, kitchen + bathroom and front porch. Roof quite high up for a standard house. It is fully earthed and has some nice touches inside, ie good tiled floor and ceiling tiles, plus I had the builders fit some orbital ceiling fans, all the electric cable is in ducting.

For materiel's, I used several sources and it may help to find one that gives credit, ie pay bills later.

Personally I think its not a good idea to remain on site all day long, just quick visits everyday to view and comment on anything you want doing, or re-doing!!.

Supply plenty of water and ice daily, and the odd few beers, or rice whisky now and again. You are not going to get the same standards as back home!, the interior decoration is a bit slapdash, paint & wood stain everywhere, but you are getting a good house on the cheap.

I wouldn't worry too much about building permits out in the sticks, (who owns the land??), maybe a different story in Pattaya/Phuket/HH.

This house cost 90k labour, and 358k all building mats, that's down to the last light bulb.

Exactly the kind of house I am thinking of building...I like it. Any chance of getting the specifications...dimensions, material etc from you? Thanks in advance.

[edwinchester]

Have you submitted your building permit application? Even a small house need a building permit and as an foreigner I would not want to be without one here in Thailand.

Depends where you are building.

In town, yes you need a permit, out in the sticks our local Orbitor confirmed no permit required.

[crudski]

building bungalow 75 metres squre,1 bedroom,1 toilet and shower room (western style, and 1 living room, its a simple rectangle shaped bungalow 15 mtrs ft long ,5 mtre wide,,3 metre high..i want plasterered walls ext and interior,ceramic tile roof, lowered ceilings (not false ceiling with tiles) ceramic tile flooring...i plan to go to homemart and buy everything from there,,can anyone give me advise on what is going to be the more expensive for me ,,cement ? tiles ? roof tiles ? concrete for foundations ? ive spoke to two builders ,the first one was greedy and wanted 150,000 to build only and 560,000 to build and buy materials but he wouldnt even give me plastic guttering in the price,,the second builder says he will build eveything for 70,000 start to finish,he is taking me to homemart where i can show him what tiles ,toilet,shower etc i want...if anyone can give me any advice on the pitfalls and some basic good general advice then i would appreciate it..this is my first house and its also major headache !!

thankyou

Just finished building a house for my wife's parents, its a Thai 12 poster, standard layout, so not too sure about sqm!. We built it a good 1 metre up from ground level and it has two bedrooms, living room, kitchen + bathroom and front porch. Roof quite high up for a standard house. It is fully earthed and has some nice touches inside, ie good tiled floor and ceiling tiles, plus I had the builders fit some orbital ceiling fans, all the electric cable is in ducting.

For materiel's, I used several sources and it may help to find one that gives credit, ie pay bills later.

Personally I think its not a good idea to remain on site all day long, just quick visits everyday to view and comment on anything you want doing, or re-doing!!.

Supply plenty of water and ice daily, and the odd few beers, or rice whisky now and again. You are not going to get the same standards as back home!, the interior decoration is a bit slapdash, paint & wood stain everywhere, but you are getting a good house on the cheap.

I wouldn't worry too much about building permits out in the sticks, (who owns the land??), maybe a different story in Pattaya/Phuket/HH.

This house cost 90k labour, and 358k all building mats, that's down to the last light bulb.

About the prices,are you talking pounds/euros or dollars?it obviously can't be thai baht..

[phutoie2]

Yes that's the Thai Baht price, 90,000 Baht labour and 358,000 Baht cost of all building materiel's and interior fittings. I budgeted 8000 GBP. It was also supposed to have a lean to garage on the side but that would have been more steel and roof tiles and was over budget, so I said no there

When I married 4 years ago I never paid any of that sinsot business but did promise to build mum & Dad a good house one day.

The key issue with the builders is to use your wife or relatives to find someone local, you stay well behind the scenes and let the wife do the bargaining. Luckily we found a reasonable one and also his main his buddy had worked on several quality farang house's in Pattaya.

We have just had our first few days staying overnight at the house, its ok and very good for rural Thais but not Ban Farang quality!!

Here is a photo of the posts going in, the in-laws old house is at the rear. Do you think they got a nice house now??

[johnh101]

Make sure the Electrics are done by a decent electrician and is earthed properly.

[ricwoo09]

we built in pattaya 2 years ago at a final cost of B7,700 per square meter - single story house; high standard of finish. a friend has just completed a house in kanpeng phet at B5,600 per square meter which is a reasonable price for up country. B10,000 sounds very expensive.

[seaeagle]

Make sure the Electrics are done by a decent electrician and is earthed properly.

And don't assume that a 3-hole socket means 3 wires behind it!

My mate inspected behind the 3-hole gang plate, gently pulled at each wire, and the earth wire came out! It was only 6 inches long! You can imagine how he lost it with the "electrician"!

[johnnyk]

....Reward "completion of a stage" with some beer and lao khao.

always in moderate quantities or you will not see them the following working day (all at home with headace claiming to be too sick to work....)

For sure, and not every day. Once the job is done to your satisfaction you could always treat the crew to mookhatha if you are close to a good-size town.

[highlander76]

best of luck dmax I am rebuilding the mother in law house at moment it is best to buy all the materials you need yourself the cost of the labour for the builders for us is 60000baht the foreman says it will finshed in 30days so far everthing is is on time