Bungalow Or A 2 Story House

[Gippy]

My wife recently bought some land in her village for our house and we are starting to research what kind of house we want. It's around 0.6 of a rai in size and we are hoping to build in 3 or 4 years if our business continues to be successful.

Now my question is regarding building a bungalow or a 2 story house. We don't have an unlimited budget and can't hope to fill the land with a house. I want to have a bungalow so it looks like we are using a bit more of the land and so I don't have to climb up the stairs with my gouty toes.

Given the same quality of roof, concrete, blocks etc. is it cheaper for a given house size to build a bungalow or a 2 story? Does the larger amount of roofing material required cancel out savings made on concrete, stronger footings etc?

For those members with bungalows do you find the house to be hot even with good roof insulation? My rented house in Bangkok doesn't have any insulation and upstairs is unbearable during the day, if that's normal for a bungalow I need to change my plans.

[PattayaParent]

Bungalow is cheaper.

[Somrak]

Bungalow is cheaper.

Yes and you get older too.

If you bild good, the heat will be not a big problem.

... but, sorry, the most important question is, do you realy like to live in the village of your wife?

[Nio]

1 story is the way to go

When my grandmother got older she could no longer walk up the stairs

So if you are getting up in age that must be considered

Space out a nice 1 story, use high ceilings etc and you will have it made.

The upstairs of my current house is hot as hel_l

When I build my final house here it will be one story all the way

[londonthai]

because of your feet you have no choice but bungalow.

put insulation under the roof and on top of the ceiling, also make rooms high (hot air goes up) and with big windows and door for the ventilation. Rising the house off the ground

[katabeachbum]

Bungalow less expensive to build.

Lift the floor from the ground, and use concreteplank for concrete floor to reduce heat from ground.

Insulate ceilings, and make proper ventilation over ceiling.

Cool and inexpensive

[Gippy]

Thanks guys. Any guesses on how much less expensive to build? 10%?

The concrete plank floor sounds interesting, I haven't heard much about that before.

[Kf6vci]

Look into insulation - I wnat to use SIPS instead of brick walls. And I prefer 1-storey houses, too.

Just insulate the roof properly and you should be okay.

Put in windows with a k-value of 1.0

[petertucker48]

This may be of help check out :

http://coolthaihouse.com/

[otherstuff1957]

Don't build too many bedrooms! They will tend to get filled up with your wife's friends and relatives.

[T_Dog]

How about a two story with the upper level being unfinished? You can put in a garden area up above or put in bamboo walls as needed. The upper level would keep the sun off the living area below. A friend has a house similar to this and he rarely needs air conditioning as all the day's heat is far removed from the living and sleeping areas.

[jaapfries]

In answer to your questions; single level dwellings are less expensive than multi-level buildings.

Please also remember that unlike in a European setting, most of the "living" (once you've moved-in to you home in Thailand) is done outside, rather than inside. This means that you don't need to build a "big" home with large living-areas, but rather a "functional" home with all the right amenities, bu always with a substantial and "cool" outdoor living area, since that is where you wil be spending most of your waking hours.

Like a previous poster already indicated; the way to go, in your situation, is SIPs. This stands for "Structural Insulated Panels". This means that your new home will be built virtually like a "Fridge-In-Reverse" the heat stays outside and the cool stays inside.

These panels are used as exterior walls,as well as roofing panels.

Add to this the possibility (it appears you have enough land to be ale to do this with) of installing a very simple but super effective "Underground Cooling System" (viz. at about 4 m depth, the temp. is 10~12 C cooler than the ambient temp.), which will give you approx. 8C cooler than outside temp. airflow inside your now well insulated dwelling; for free. This also saves a lot of $$ on a/c bills.

Top the whole thing off with a simple Solar Hot Water system and you'll have yourself a winner.

Incidentally; the company who builds these SIP dwellings also build smaller and transportable homes. This is rather clever for people who are asked to build a home for their Thai GF's. The GF's family might own the land; but you, the Farang, can legally own the dwelling. If and when things go 'sour', the dwelling is simply moved to a location of your choice (or temp. storage; no problem).

If you're interested in this system, just PM me and I'll put you in the right direction.

Cheers.

JGK/Pattaya

Edited January 13, 2010 by jaapfries

[katabeachbum]

Thanks guys. Any guesses on how much less expensive to build? 10%?

The concrete plank floor sounds interesting, I haven't heard much about that before.

structure and roof saves 10-20% compared to 2 storey. 1 storey is also faster to build

Concrete plank is inexpensive, fast to build and provides cooler floor.

[Rimmer]

I have what is effectivley a single story house with a high vaulted ceilings (8 meter) and a 70cm crawl space under the house for easy access to pipes etc. Insects do not go in the house, the floors and rooms are always cool and any hot air is vented out of the high vaulted ceilings.

A two story house makes no sense at all, it is expensive to build and has stairs which become a liability as one gets older.

[Gippy]

I have what is effectivley a single story house with a high vaulted ceilings (8 meter) and a 70cm crawl space under the house for easy access to pipes etc. Insects do not go in the house, the floors and rooms are always cool and any hot air is vented out of the high vaulted ceilings.

A two story house makes no sense at all, it is expensive to build and has stairs which become a liability as one gets older.

That sounds like the kind of thing I could go for. Have you got a picture of your ceilings? I quite agree that two stories doesn't make sense if your land is big enough for a decent sized bungalow and a nice garden. I'm not sure I want to be experimenting with any fancy (and expensive sounding) building techniques such as SIPS in our area. Our land is way out there so I think keeping it simple with superblocks on the sun facing walls, good roof insulation and ventilation, overhangs, good paint and some trees for shade will make a nice house to live in.

As for the relatives, well they all have decent houses anyway but we will not have any more than 2 bedrooms just in case

We are planning to build an outdoor covered area for lounging and entertaining along with a Thai style outdoor kitchen, inside of the house is going to be our private area. It's how we work things in Bangkok now so the family are already trained in my strange western ways!

[Rimmer]

If you go to my flicker pages you can see what you are describing. Large outdoor covered area, Outdoor kitchen, double superblocks with cavity facing the sun sides. Roof insulation and big overhangs.

Check your PM for the link

[neverdie]

How about a two story with the upper level being unfinished? You can put in a garden area up above or put in bamboo walls as needed. The upper level would keep the sun off the living area below. A friend has a house similar to this and he rarely needs air conditioning as all the day's heat is far removed from the living and sleeping areas.

I like it.

[stevejones123]

If you're building a bungalow the roof is going to be twice the size of a two-storey house roof. Rooves are expensive, both in timber and tiles.

[londonthai]

but save on fundations and putting wooden/cements piles at least 6 m deep into the ground - most of thailand is on clay and water is everywhere, also flash floods do happen often

[Rimmer]

If you're building a bungalow the roof is going to be twice the size of a two-storey house roof. Rooves are expensive, both in timber and tiles.

Not so! Roofs are usually made with a steel frame, steel for roofs is not expensive.

C Pack tiles are around 11 baht each

Total for the roof below Baht282,000 including insulation.

[Rimmer]

If you're building a bungalow the roof is going to be twice the size of a two-storey house roof. Rooves are expensive, both in timber and tiles.

Not so! Roofs are usually made with a steel frame, steel for roofs is not expensive.

C Pack tiles are around 11 baht each

Total for the roof below Baht282,000 including insulation.

[stevejones123]

Not so! Roofs are usually made with a steel frame, steel for roofs is not expensive.

C Pack tiles are around 11 baht each

Total for the roof below Baht282,000 including insulation.

I've never seen a steel-framed roof. I have my house in Sri Lanka and every roof I've seen has been timber framed. Maybe there is a business opportunity for building steel framed roofs in Lanka.

Roofs are still high maintenance; a house will last you hundreds of years if you look after the roof and guttering, but you can expect problems with both every twenty years or so.

On the other hand, as londonthai pointed out there is the question of the cost of the foundations.

Another thing is that every bungalow I have seen in Lanka has been built with load-bearing walls. Two storey houses tend to be concrete columns.

Unless, like me, you have had a nasty experience of falling down stairs after a glass of wine too many, you would no doubt need to make the decision based on the particular plot of land and the exact plan you have for the house. I would have thought a bungalow the sensible choice outside of the town.

[londonthai]

I've never seen a steel-framed roof. I have my house in Sri Lanka and every roof I've seen has been timber framed.

they are cheaper in thailand than the timber ones and no problems with termites

[katabeachbum]

Not so! Roofs are usually made with a steel frame, steel for roofs is not expensive.

C Pack tiles are around 11 baht each

Total for the roof below Baht282,000 including insulation.

I've never seen a steel-framed roof. I have my house in Sri Lanka and every roof I've seen has been timber framed. Maybe there is a business opportunity for building steel framed roofs in Lanka.

Roofs are still high maintenance; a house will last you hundreds of years if you look after the roof and guttering, but you can expect problems with both every twenty years or so.

On the other hand, as londonthai pointed out there is the question of the cost of the foundations.

Another thing is that every bungalow I have seen in Lanka has been built with load-bearing walls. Two storey houses tend to be concrete columns.

Unless, like me, you have had a nasty experience of falling down stairs after a glass of wine too many, you would no doubt need to make the decision based on the particular plot of land and the exact plan you have for the house. I would have thought a bungalow the sensible choice outside of the town.

CPAC Monier roof on steelframe, approx 500-600 baht sqm all included.

Lifetime without maintance 30-50 years.

[jdinasia]

Personally?

A 2 story house with the master bedroom on the ground floor. Second floor with an "in-law" suite above the livingroom/dining area on the ground floor and an open area on the second floor above the master bedroom.

It solves the potential noise problems from short or long term house guests and leaves more open land surrounding your house to reduce the noise issues of neighbors and allow for more landscaping on a lot as small as .6 Rai.

The house plan we have been working on is all common areas on the ground floor and 2 large master bedrooms on the 2nd floor with an open garden area between them. Massive overhanging eaves for the ground floor to provide more shade and keep things even cooler and lots of glass to enjoy the views.

[poldebol]

How about a two story with the upper level being unfinished? You can put in a garden area up above or put in bamboo walls as needed. The upper level would keep the sun off the living area below. A friend has a house similar to this and he rarely needs air conditioning as all the day's heat is far removed from the living and sleeping areas.

I like it very much. It comes very close to what I want. Would it be possible to have it 80 cm or so from the ground, to have air-circulation under it?

Isn't there a support missing on the ground floor, where the table is?

[T_Dog]

How about a two story with the upper level being unfinished? You can put in a garden area up above or put in bamboo walls as needed. The upper level would keep the sun off the living area below. A friend has a house similar to this and he rarely needs air conditioning as all the day's heat is far removed from the living and sleeping areas.

I like it very much. It comes very close to what I want. Would it be possible to have it 80 cm or so from the ground, to have air-circulation under it?

Isn't there a support missing on the ground floor, where the table is?

poldebol.... I am sure you could raise the house, but am not sure why you would want to do that. The ground is cooler normally than the air so having it on the ground makes the house cooler and provides easier access. That said, if your preference is to have it raised, I am sure an architect could do that.

Regarding the outside eating area, I've talked to one engineer who said the spans I had in that area were no problem with the right cantilever beams in the floor above there. I've seen it done in a few restaurants in Chiang Mai too so I know it's possible, but perhaps expensive. As this plan progresses, it would likely end up with a support on that corner just to keep costs down which would not be a big problem for me. This plan is just a concept right now and it would have to be subjected to an engineering design next.

Edited January 17, 2010 by T_Dog

[scorecard]

Can I share:

- Friend recently built a quite big bungalow (wanted to avoid having stairs to climb), raised the height of the roof by 2 metres, therefore ceiling is 2 metres higher. He put 2 levels of insulation in the ceiling, also ceiling fans in all rooms, in the two bigger bedrooms he put 2 ceiling fans. In the very big living room / dining room area he installed 5 ceiling fans.

Also installed quite wide shading (same construction design/construction as main roof) over every window and door. It extends out quite a way but sloped/placed so that it doesn't restrict light coming in.

Friend decided to finish the house then wait for the very hot weather to decide whether to install air-con / what rooms etc. He has since decided to forget air-con. The higher celing has worked, the rooms, especially when celing fans are used, are really quite cool.

Worth mentioning (as already shared by another poster) cost of the roof for my friends house was quite large.

I've had 4 house properties in Thailand, one of the main items I would suggest to watch is white ants. Get the land treated before pouring the foundations, avoid timber door frames /window frames(lots of great plastic frames etc available nowadays), ensure very carefully that any timber used has been treated professionally, perhaps even insist that it's soaked again on site before use.

There is a fairly new appraoch to on-going white ant treatment where they install special piping in the foundation slab and chemical treatment is pumped in once a year. Saw it recently in a new housing village in Chiang Mai.