My Isaan Bungalow ...part 2

[dmax]

building on my bungalow (70 sq metres ) started 5 days ago. im going to do my best to try to explain the process in stages. i agreed to pay the builders 67,000 thb to complete the job (labour only) i realise now i could of got away with paying 55k or 60 k but there you go. the pillars went in on sunday.monday they started pouring the concrete for floor 10 cm thick, i paid 1,600 thb per cubic metre for diamond standard concrete,10 cubic metres done 70 sq metres altogether with a little left over.tues they started building the walls and started welding the metal frame on roof trusses,using 2x4 box section and 1x1" box section to hold c-pac ceramic roof tiles,i got a good deal on the c-pac in kra nuen for 9 thb each,every other suppliers i went to inc home mart wanted 13-15 thb each for c-pac. the bungalow is a regular rectangle shape 14 mtres long by 5 mtres wide, 1 bedroom,i living area,1 toilet/shower room (western style) . i am using aluminium windows with white frame and the price for them will be around 18,000 thb. i have had advice of some guys off here to make sure i was on job every day, that is so true. yesterday morning i went around with the builder and his foreman measuring up where i wanted the windows to go,i showed them 3 times making sure they understood,i left to go to homepro in udon thani, i returned last night to see that one of the windows in the bedroom was in a totally different location ,in fact they had it positioned about only 5 centimetres away from the bathroom wall ( not in the middle of the bedroom wall where i wanted it) i boned them this morning about it so they knocked the blocks out and will rebuild where i have marked and given exact measurments. so today ive orderded the roof tiles and more steel/wood for under the eaves,basically everything to finish the roof. i have bought all the cement/blocks at 4 thb each/ concrete/ all roofing materials and tiles/ pillars/ all plastic pvc tubing for plumming/ plastic septic tank at 4,500 baht although i could of told the builder to build me a brink septic tank for around 200 thb,anyway...so far on materials it has cost me around 140,000 thb, i have budgeted about 500,000 thb for the whole build including labour costs at 67,000 thb, so whats left for me to pay is .. all aluminium windows/doors..all electrics and wiring/all tiles/grout etc/ plaster board/plaster..exterior and interior paint ...guttering..toilet /washhand basin/shower..so im thinking that the more expensive thing the roof is now out of the way i could and i hope come in under my budget,im new to this so i dont know whats going to cost me the most but fingers crossed i will come out ok...i will post pictures ( havent been able to do so as internet up here very slow at uploading) of the project in my next post to show what you guys can get for 500,000 thb in isaan, by the way the land my wife allready had.

Edited November 13, 2009 by dmax

[dmax]

oh forgot to mention,i agreed with builder that he would be paid after job is finished to my satisfaction,on monday i forwarded him 5,000 thb which i wasnt happy about but after a nagging from the wife i gave in,,today i was asked again for 20,000 thb,i blew a fuse and told her to tell him we made a deal allready and i wasnt paying anymore,he said he needed to pay his men as the house was allready nearly up and coming along nicely, another nagging from the wife ,i reluctantly paid up. im soft i know, but at least i only owe him 52,000 thb and im adamant he will get this when job is finished (to my satisfaction) time will tell,we will see... lol lol

Edited November 13, 2009 by dmax

[endure]

Some pictures would be nice please.

[highlander76]

Dmax rebuilding mother in law just now I can not comment on the cost of materials my wifes sister is a manger at homepro so we got some very good deals on materials our build should be finshed in about one week you and your wife should try and spend as much time as you can on building site if you can not the builder might start taking shortcuts my build is costing me 60000baht the builder was payed 30000baht at the start he will get the other 30000baht when the job is finshed best of luck highlander76

[ReThai]

sounds like a nice build, i'd like to build my own place and be hands on with the build & design, i enjoy working outside but i'm stuck behind a PC all day... would like to see photos... 500k is an affordable price to build a holiday / get away place up country

goodluck with the build

[thaihome]

Normal practice is to pay based on progress and not to hold all the money until the project is finished. Having paid him about 32% sounds about right. He does need to make his payroll each week.

As anyone ever mentioned to you how to start a new paragraph?

TH

[thaimite]

Normal practice is to pay based on progress and not to hold all the money until the project is finished. Having paid him about 32% sounds about right. He does need to make his payroll each week.

As anyone ever mentioned to you how to start a new paragraph?

TH

My house has now been up for 10 years. I paid in stage payments but held back 10% for defects. A few weeks after moving in I found some problems and called the builder, who told me to Keep the 10% as he was interested in fixing any problems.

It cost me much less than the 10% to have the issues fixed by another builder

I must say the house still looks OK but the electrics and Plumbing were the main problem areas. however I was not able to supervise and left it all to the wife so in general I am very pleased

Thanks to the OP for an interesting post and I hope others find his information useful.

Number one rule is Watch everything all the time.

Number Two rule is Watch everything all the time.

I used a PC Home design package to give a 3D representation of what I wanted and the wife was able to show pictures to the builder of what she was expecting. Well worth the effort.

Edited November 13, 2009 by thaimite

[Lannatyne]

Dmax - sounds good. hope you're enjoying it. My own stage payment schedule was this. 15% at the first contract signing stage, then equal amounts (just short of 10%) thereafter.

Contract signed and work started

Clearing, Pegging, Concrete in footings & pillars, beams steeled

Beams & Floor concreted, and house pillars

Roof metal work

Roof tiled

Bricked and plastered

Ceilings plastered & painted

Electricals installed

Painted and finishings / tidying

Fully complete and electrics tested, inc pool

Edited November 13, 2009 by Lannatyne

[rodcourt49]

oh forgot to mention,i agreed with builder that he would be paid after job is finished to my satisfaction,on monday i forwarded him 5,000 thb which i wasnt happy about but after a nagging from the wife i gave in,,today i was asked again for 20,000 thb,i blew a fuse and told her to tell him we made a deal allready and i wasnt paying anymore,he said he needed to pay his men as the house was allready nearly up and coming along nicely, another nagging from the wife ,i reluctantly paid up. im soft i know, but at least i only owe him 52,000 thb and im adamant he will get this when job is finished (to my satisfaction) time will tell,we will see... lol lol

Re electrical..are you having your cables clipped to exterior of the walls (as per Thai style) or having the render raked out and cables inside conduit installed..makes all the difference re safety and effect wise..just a thought!

[dmax]

oh forgot to mention,i agreed with builder that he would be paid after job is finished to my satisfaction,on monday i forwarded him 5,000 thb which i wasnt happy about but after a nagging from the wife i gave in,,today i was asked again for 20,000 thb,i blew a fuse and told her to tell him we made a deal allready and i wasnt paying anymore,he said he needed to pay his men as the house was allready nearly up and coming along nicely, another nagging from the wife ,i reluctantly paid up. im soft i know, but at least i only owe him 52,000 thb and im adamant he will get this when job is finished (to my satisfaction) time will tell,we will see... lol lol

Re electrical..are you having your cables clipped to exterior of the walls (as per Thai style) or having the render raked out and cables inside conduit installed..makes all the difference re safety and effect wise..just a thought!

yes i am having the render raked out and the cables hidden,,,i was going to use conduit but it still looks unsightly.....

hoping to put some photos on later today...

[dmax]

here are the latest pics took this morning,exactly one week since work started..roof tiles going on today. can anyone tell me what kind of price i will be paying for electric materials, also plastering materials for this size of bungalow. i dont want builder trying to rip me off on prices as i havent a clue what to price myself or what is required i.e wiring ,metre boxs etc etc

[Crossy]

Dmax, none of your piccies are showing up

As to your electrics, start here http://www.crossy.co.uk/wiring/

As a minimum your installation should be fully grounded (3-pin outlets and a ground rod) and include an RCD (Safe-T-Cut is a popular local device which your sparks will understand).

[dmax]

sorry guys i am having great difficulty uploading my pics,i dont know how to as when i select ( insert image) box it doesnt upload them ,its asking me for a url address whatever that is. will definatey try keep trying as this thread is no use without them.

[Crossy]

Wrong button, unless you've got your images hosted on Photobucket or something similar.

Try this:-

Using the Attachment Editor (look at the bottom of the edit window - scroll if necessary).

1. Click on the Browse button to select the image on you hard drive

2. Click on Upload

3. When the edit page has reloaded position the cursor where you want the image, click on Manage Current Attachments and select Insert Attachment (it's the button with the green +).

The picture appears reduced in size (but expandable on clicking).

You will likely want to re-size your images (1024x768 or 800x600 are good sizes) before uploading so we don't all have to wait an hour for your 5Meg files to load

[Lite Beer]

When you reply look at the attachment editor bottom right of screen.

Browse your pictures and upload the one you want.

Attach it to the post via the "Manage Current Attachments" box.

[Crossy]

Now continued here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Isaan-Bungal...es-t314710.html

[dmax]

thanks guys the pictures are uploaded now on my next thread...my isaan bungalow part 3