My Finished Isaan Bungalow Part 4 With Price

[dmax]

ok here it is finally with pics and prices. the total price was materials = 290,000 thb and labour costs = 67,000 thb i will add on a generous 13,000 thb for any reciepts i didnt collect or maybe something the wife paid for when i was away, so making a total price of 360,000 thai baht.. im very very happy with the price but this place has caused me so many sleepless nights and many major fallouts with my wife and the builders,will explain all in next post.

[dmax]

more pics

[dmax]

yet more pics, cant get them positioned properly somehow.

[dmax]

more

[dmax]

i would need to sit and write for a couple of hours about the problems i went through with the thai builders,same again for the major fallouts with them and my wife and her family,it hasnt been worth it and im sorry i started it so be warned dont start to build unless your 100% sure you want to stay where you are !! ive left my wife twice in the last 6 weeks of this build as she wouldnt allways translate what i wanted instead prefered to sit on her backside and eat pok pok but we,re sorted now. be on site everyday if you can because allways the thai builder will take a shortcut or do it his way or maybe not even weigh in for work at all. be sure you want to live in isaan,afetr a few weeks in pattaya i thought isaan would be my home for good but after staying up there i couldnt really addapt to the relaxed way of like,then again i dont like pattaya either lol...stay with your wifes family for at least 2 mths before you build,i was warned of this by someone on thai forum before i started and i wish i had taken heed but then again i didnt see my job falling through in uk so im regretting it too because of the money situation,at least it will be a home for my wife and daughter and a holiday for us when we come back,im definateley happy about the price,you need to get off your backside everyday and go look for the best prices for tiles etc but i would say you cant beat homepro for tiles,i got the floor tiles (porcelain) for 315 thb per mtre from homepro. considering the materials i have used for batjroom and flooring and c-pak ceramic roof tiles then im well pleased with the price. look up my isaan bungalow part 1,2,3 for more prices..for cement ,concrete ,blocks etc then stay with one local building supplier dont change them about as they will give you good commision if you spend over 100,000 thb with them in my case we get a tv.

[ronz28]

It looks like you got a lot of bang for your buck. Nice!

[Crossy]

Looks like a pretty good deal there

I'm wondering how you managed to get all your photos rotated, do they display correctly on your PC?

Or do you really have problems keeping the water in the sink? (which may explain the good price)

[steelepulse]

Amazing how cheap things are there compared to Phuket.

[moe666]

Nice looking place, just proves you donot have to spend millions of baht to have a nice place. How many sq. meters.

[dmax]

Nice looking place, just proves you donot have to spend millions of baht to have a nice place. How many sq. meters.

70 sqm, check out parts 1,2,3. also im mistaken on the total price,i should of said 370,000 baht.

Edited December 24, 2009 by dmax

[nakachalet]

dmax

well done....

indeed very well done.... and splendid indeed....

in reference to your wife not translating your intention to builder.... first of all, did she really understand what you said and wanted?.... lol

more importantly, you did not mention whether you put your sweat and investment and all.... into a LIVING TRUST IN THE NAME OF YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN...? do it in a hurry if you'd not yet done that.... or it is already in your loving wife's name as the sole owner....

well, it is just a suggestion.... many a man regrets.... when subsequent family life changes.... and members change their preferences and their minds about things....

and lo and behold.... the investing and trusting farang learns that.... he has absolutely no say and no ground.... on the very exact ground that his very own house sits....

any way.... a very merry christmas to you and your family.... and every one.

Edited December 24, 2009 by nakachalet

[Rimmer]

Nice looking place, just proves you donot have to spend millions of baht to have a nice place. How many sq. meters.

70 sqm, check out parts 1,2,3. also im mistaken on the total price,i should of said 370,000 baht.

That's 5285 baht a meter, very good and probably close to the builders cost price, I congratulate you for sticking with it, not easy I did the same thing two years back.

[hunglikea]

Very nice, similar to what I want to have built in my wife's folks village.

One question, even though I've had extensions on my current house I can never get them to 'chase' a wall to hide wiring. They just do not understand the concept of hidden wiring. 'How will you fixit if there is a problem' attitude...

What did you do?

[neverdie]

DMAX,

Good work, bet your happy. After viewing those pics I need to see a Chiaro, so you better add a few thousand to your 360k to cover that cost too .

I really like the bathroom.

[Gonsalviz]

Very nice, similar to what I want to have built in my wife's folks village.

One question, even though I've had extensions on my current house I can never get them to 'chase' a wall to hide wiring. They just do not understand the concept of hidden wiring. 'How will you fixit if there is a problem' attitude...

What did you do?

I figure it is going to be too much trouble to get them to hide the plumbing and the wiring, so I plan to let them put it in the way the will and then cover it with a false wall.

[dmax]

Very nice, similar to what I want to have built in my wife's folks village.

One question, even though I've had extensions on my current house I can never get them to 'chase' a wall to hide wiring. They just do not understand the concept of hidden wiring. 'How will you fixit if there is a problem' attitude...

What did you do?

just draw them a picture to make them understand,its a nightmare dealing with them really, they put the down pipe from my toilet in the middle of the bathroom originally then poured the concrete in when i wasnt there,i came home and looked at it in amazement,why would anyone want a toilet in the middle of the bathroom 3 feet away from the wall ? also they plumbed the water for the shower wrong,the water (in) pipe should have been at the bottom of the shower unit but they put it above the shower unit so now i have a long hose hanging which i cannot hide, as i said it would take me an hour to write all the fk ups they made , just be there every hour of every day if you can because they will surely mess up when your not around.

[nakachalet]

dmax

L O L....

L O L....

did you not know.... that is how 99% of the local folks live and die .... L O L

if you really have a current up-to-date westernized bathroom or what is normally refered to as a 'dry bathroom',

your wife and other related family members probably will opt to shower outside.... lol

last year, i was so proud to build a dry bathroom with half-moon jacuzi.... so very proper and impressive.... lol

nowadays.... it has not been used for over a year.... lol

on top of that.... particularly at night, no one wants to use the bathroom .... lol

reasons?....

they are so afraid of seeing ghosts.... inside the bathroom, there is a wall to wall mirrow on all walls.... including door panels.... lol

so, i end up enjoying the westernized 140,000 baht bathroom all by myself.... day and night.... lol

Edited December 26, 2009 by nakachalet

[dmax]

dmax

L O L....

L O L....

did you not know.... that is how 99% of the local folks live and die .... L O L

if you really have a current up-to-date westernized bathroom or what is normally refered to as a 'dry bathroom',

your wife and other related family members probably will opt to shower outside.... lol

last year, i was so proud to build a dry bathroom with half-moon jacuzi.... so very proper and impressive.... lol

nowadays.... it has not been used for over a year.... lol

on top of that.... particularly at night, no one wants to use the bathroom .... lol

reasons?....

they are so afraid of seeing ghosts.... inside the bathroom, there is a wall to wall mirrow on all walls.... including door panels.... lol

so, i end up enjoying the westernized 140,000 baht bathroom all by myself.... day and night.... lol

very good mate, maybe i should have installed some wall to wall mirrors myself ? i met my old girlfriend from hau hin last week , her new boyfriend bought her a 5 million baht house, she told me that she prefers to sleep in the bathroom where the tiles are cold even though theres air con in every room , lol , makes me scratch my head in wonder !!

[yabaaaa]

Very nice, similar to what I want to have built in my wife's folks village.

One question, even though I've had extensions on my current house I can never get them to 'chase' a wall to hide wiring. They just do not understand the concept of hidden wiring. 'How will you fixit if there is a problem' attitude...

What did you do?

just draw them a picture to make them understand,its a nightmare dealing with them really, they put the down pipe from my toilet in the middle of the bathroom originally then poured the concrete in when i wasnt there,i came home and looked at it in amazement,why would anyone want a toilet in the middle of the bathroom 3 feet away from the wall ? also they plumbed the water for the shower wrong,the water (in) pipe should have been at the bottom of the shower unit but they put it above the shower unit so now i have a long hose hanging which i cannot hide, as i said it would take me an hour to write all the fk ups they made , just be there every hour of every day if you can because they will surely mess up when your not around.

They were probably thinking of a Thai toilet often in the middle of a room ie squat type.

[ShreddedWheat]

Very nice, similar to what I want to have built in my wife's folks village.

One question, even though I've had extensions on my current house I can never get them to 'chase' a wall to hide wiring. They just do not understand the concept of hidden wiring. 'How will you fixit if there is a problem' attitude...

What did you do?

just draw them a picture to make them understand,its a nightmare dealing with them really, they put the down pipe from my toilet in the middle of the bathroom originally then poured the concrete in when i wasnt there,i came home and looked at it in amazement,why would anyone want a toilet in the middle of the bathroom 3 feet away from the wall ? also they plumbed the water for the shower wrong,the water (in) pipe should have been at the bottom of the shower unit but they put it above the shower unit so now i have a long hose hanging which i cannot hide, as i said it would take me an hour to write all the fk ups they made , just be there every hour of every day if you can because they will surely mess up when your not around.

It might be better in the long run if the wiring and pipework is not hidden. Often these local building teams just bury them inside cement in the walls and floors of the houses. That can make things awkward in the future if you need to make changes or have plumbing problems.

It might not be so bad with the electrics as you can make a good guess about where the wires run from the power points (although don't expect them to run in straight horizontal or vertical lines, if it saves wire to run one diagonally then that may happen too). But with the hidden plumbing once that springs a leak, as it will do eventually, you can end up chasing the leak all over the house. Take care if you ever have to drill the walls of your house.

To my mind it is better to keep the plumbing pipework exposed, running outside the house as much as possible and visible inside the house once it enters the bathroom or kitchen. That way once you have a leak you can find it quickly and fix it easily.

My personal experience of this is that our plumbing has developed a leak as a result of us getting a new water pump (greater pressure). I now have 2 fantastic power showers in the upstairs bathrooms and 1 in the downstairs bathroom. But sometimes now there is also water on the kitchen floor, seeping from under the floor somewhere. The floor is beautifully tiled in granite and there is no way I am ripping the floor up to find where it is coming from.

Instead my wife and I have decided to replace the whole water supply pipework - running pipes outside the house then through the walls. We'll leave the old pipework in place, cemented in the walls and under the floors, but disconect it from the water supply so that old system will become redundant. That will solve our leak problem under the kitchen floor.

Our house is only 3 years old since completion but now has these problems. So if the builders screw up or cut corners when they join the plumbing pipes together, or do not use enough glue, then once the pressure goes on the joints will fail. Wifey says she now wishes she had told the builders to put the pipes outside the house when she project managed the build. We'll get the pipes painted so they blend in with the outside paintwork on the house, and match the interior decor. Its not going to cost a great deal to do this, but it is remedial work that could have been avoided if we knew about this potential problem when we were getting the house built.

[dmax]

Very nice, similar to what I want to have built in my wife's folks village.

One question, even though I've had extensions on my current house I can never get them to 'chase' a wall to hide wiring. They just do not understand the concept of hidden wiring. 'How will you fixit if there is a problem' attitude...

What did you do?

just draw them a picture to make them understand,its a nightmare dealing with them really, they put the down pipe from my toilet in the middle of the bathroom originally then poured the concrete in when i wasnt there,i came home and looked at it in amazement,why would anyone want a toilet in the middle of the bathroom 3 feet away from the wall ? also they plumbed the water for the shower wrong,the water (in) pipe should have been at the bottom of the shower unit but they put it above the shower unit so now i have a long hose hanging which i cannot hide, as i said it would take me an hour to write all the fk ups they made , just be there every hour of every day if you can because they will surely mess up when your not around.

It might be better in the long run if the wiring and pipework is not hidden. Often these local building teams just bury them inside cement in the walls and floors of the houses. That can make things awkward in the future if you need to make changes or have plumbing problems.

It might not be so bad with the electrics as you can make a good guess about where the wires run from the power points (although don't expect them to run in straight horizontal or vertical lines, if it saves wire to run one diagonally then that may happen too). But with the hidden plumbing once that springs a leak, as it will do eventually, you can end up chasing the leak all over the house. Take care if you ever have to drill the walls of your house.

To my mind it is better to keep the plumbing pipework exposed, running outside the house as much as possible and visible inside the house once it enters the bathroom or kitchen. That way once you have a leak you can find it quickly and fix it easily.

My personal experience of this is that our plumbing has developed a leak as a result of us getting a new water pump (greater pressure). I now have 2 fantastic power showers in the upstairs bathrooms and 1 in the downstairs bathroom. But sometimes now there is also water on the kitchen floor, seeping from under the floor somewhere. The floor is beautifully tiled in granite and there is no way I am ripping the floor up to find where it is coming from.

Instead my wife and I have decided to replace the whole water supply pipework - running pipes outside the house then through the walls. We'll leave the old pipework in place, cemented in the walls and under the floors, but disconect it from the water supply so that old system will become redundant. That will solve our leak problem under the kitchen floor.

Our house is only 3 years old since completion but now has these problems. So if the builders screw up or cut corners when they join the plumbing pipes together, or do not use enough glue, then once the pressure goes on the joints will fail. Wifey says she now wishes she had told the builders to put the pipes outside the house when she project managed the build. We'll get the pipes painted so they blend in with the outside paintwork on the house, and match the interior decor. Its not going to cost a great deal to do this, but it is remedial work that could have been avoided if we knew about this potential problem when we were getting the house built.

thats a very ggod idea shredded wheat and on reflection im now wishing i had done same becuase thai builders did originally <deleted> things up with the plumbing so im worried now we will have a leak.

[jukapot]

Edited February 27, 2010 by jukapot

[Donnyboy]

[siddv]

Hope you feel safe out there and one day you are not asked to leave your own home at gunpoint.

[hhgz]

Her home looks beautiful.

"This place has caused me so many sleepless nights and many major fallouts with my wife and the builders,will explain all in next post."

Please don't. Resist all temptations to hang your dirty laundry in front of our (virtual) faces.

[TheWalkingMan]

Her home looks beautiful.

"This place has caused me so many sleepless nights and many major fallouts with my wife and the builders,will explain all in next post."

Please don't. Resist all temptations to hang your dirty laundry in front of our (virtual) faces.

I say spill the beans.

[Jumalauta]

Hi there!

Firs of, i would like to congratulate you and your family for the new house! It looks really nice.

I also would like to thank you for sharing pics and prices. THX!

The thing is, i'm about to lease a resort on koh maak in spetember 2010, the contract is for 10years and a 5 year option. I know the owner way back, we have done some business before...

I'm going to build maybe 3 or 4 new bungalows,,, concrete, bricks, cement, tails, windows etc etc etc, like yours but much smaller... Today there are 5 very bad looking bungalows, 2 of them in concrete, bricks and so on, and 3 made out of wood. I'm thinking abot renovating the old ones and build 3 new ones...

I’m a carpenter and i have my own business here in Sweden, i have long experience on building houses etc... But what i don't have is the prices for materials, the labor is not a problem at this point,,, well/or it depends on the definition of problems I guess … I mean the price for labor is not a problem…

I will, as you pinpointed, keep an eye on the construction while it proceeds, I also know from friends about all the problems it can cause if not keeping an eye at the construction site...

The prices are hard for me to find, surfing the internet from Sweden, so I wonder if you or someone seeing this, might help me to get some links for materials? I would highly appreciate some help on this area?

Thank you very much

/Jumalauta

[stgrhe]

Hi there!

Firs of, i would like to congratulate you and your family for the new house! It looks really nice.

I also would like to thank you for sharing pics and prices. THX!

The thing is, i'm about to lease a resort on koh maak in spetember 2010, the contract is for 10years and a 5 year option. I know the owner way back, we have done some business before...

I'm going to build maybe 3 or 4 new bungalows,,, concrete, bricks, cement, tails, windows etc etc etc, like yours but much smaller... Today there are 5 very bad looking bungalows, 2 of them in concrete, bricks and so on, and 3 made out of wood. I'm thinking abot renovating the old ones and build 3 new ones...

I'm a carpenter and i have my own business here in Sweden, i have long experience on building houses etc... But what i don't have is the prices for materials, the labor is not a problem at this point,,, well/or it depends on the definition of problems I guess … I mean the price for labor is not a problem…

I will, as you pinpointed, keep an eye on the construction while it proceeds, I also know from friends about all the problems it can cause if not keeping an eye at the construction site...

The prices are hard for me to find, surfing the internet from Sweden, so I wonder if you or someone seeing this, might help me to get some links for materials? I would highly appreciate some help on this area?

Thank you very much

/Jumalauta

May I suggest you start your own thread for this in order to get more replies. Also the replies would not clad the OP's thread.

[sirineou]

Hi there!

Firs of, i would like to congratulate you and your family for the new house! It looks really nice.

I also would like to thank you for sharing pics and prices. THX!

The thing is, i'm about to lease a resort on koh maak in spetember 2010, the contract is for 10years and a 5 year option. I know the owner way back, we have done some business before...

I'm going to build maybe 3 or 4 new bungalows,,, concrete, bricks, cement, tails, windows etc etc etc, like yours but much smaller... Today there are 5 very bad looking bungalows, 2 of them in concrete, bricks and so on, and 3 made out of wood. I'm thinking abot renovating the old ones and build 3 new ones...

I’m a carpenter and i have my own business here in Sweden, i have long experience on building houses etc... But what i don't have is the prices for materials, the labor is not a problem at this point,,, well/or it depends on the definition of problems I guess … I mean the price for labor is not a problem…

I will, as you pinpointed, keep an eye on the construction while it proceeds, I also know from friends about all the problems it can cause if not keeping an eye at the construction site...

The prices are hard for me to find, surfing the internet from Sweden, so I wonder if you or someone seeing this, might help me to get some links for materials? I would highly appreciate some help on this area?

Thank you very much

/Jumalauta

Hi Jumalauta

There is a website dedicated to ex-pats building in Thailand the address is: coolthaihouse.com and i have found it to be a great recurse to me , check it out .

Good Lack

[isaanpaul]

Hello dmax if my memory is good you build your home in or close to Kranuan,is that right?

It loks great especially for the money

Hope to hear some from you as I will come to isaan next week

Paul