Its Nearly Finished

[Khutan]

All the work and the frustration and the endless abounts of money. I think we nearly got divorced about 5 times over this project.

The builder didn't speak proper Thai, et etc.

Soon this will become a Guest house, but I have to sort out the pool and some internal walls. I don't think we will be open for business, this year. Then I will buy an advertising package. So I am not going to Spam the place with it.

Have a look and you all can see it so so close to being finished.

Oh its location is in the far south of Surin about 5km from the boarder.

[jayenram]

It's looking well, Matt.

Good luck with the rest.

[lampard10]

All the work and the frustration and the endless abounts of money. I think we nearly got divorced about 5 times over this project.

The builder didn't speak proper Thai, et etc.

Soon this will become a Guest house, but I have to sort out the pool and some internal walls. I don't think we will be open for business, this year. Then I will buy an advertising package. So I am not going to Spam the place with it.

Have a look and you all can see it so so close to being finished.

Oh its location is in the far south of Surin about 5km from the boarder.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good..........now we know what to look for in January.

[Khutan]

Good..........now we know what to look for in January.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I will send a map to those who are coming to the "Recovery" (Jan 2) 2006

[Jai Dee]

Nice one Matt.

What was the damage all-up, if you don't mind me asking?

[Khutan]

Nice one Matt. 

What was the damage all-up, if you don't mind me asking?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

L M A O

We got over a Million and I stopped counting.

I had a streadsheet and I thought the cost was 2M which was why I was getting so Angry. I went through the spreadsheet and its about 1.2m - There was some double counting and returns not accounted for.

From memory the land was 40k, there was about 600k of Materials the Builder got 140k and there was about 15k on "site Costs" and then it went on and on from there. Buest guess about 1.2M turn-key.

I still need to finish the kitchen, and I would guess there is another 50k to hire another builder to fix a whole lot of mistakes. The upstairs bathroom has 7 mistakes in it.

I have also stopped work on the swimming pool, until I can find a reliable contractor. The last quote was far too cheap, and he didn't understand strength ratings of cement - good bye.

I did some measurements as well and its about 200 square meters, not 400, my calculations for feet / meters was wrong as well.

I will put up an inside shot upstairs as well. I love the finish upstairs.

[Khutan]

This is what it looks like inside upstairs - please excuse the clothes on the floor

btw the Bug-Zapper is great at night.

[Jai Dee]

This is what it looks like inside upstairs - please excuse the clothes on the floor

It is a nice finish inside... very similar to the place we've just finished building near Korat.

And those mozzie zappers do a great job hey?

(Although the smell of BBQ's bugs can get a bit whiffy!)

Are you planning to install any gutters to collect that valuable rain water from the roof?

[Khutan]

Are you planning to install any gutters to collect that valuable rain water from the roof?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At the moment, I am not in a big hurry to do that. I know I sound mean but I don't life there, and the rainwater ends up with so much dust in it, it has to be filtered anyway. I don't like having to sieve water through my teeth.

I just go to the shop in Prasat and buy a few big bottles of water each visit.

One day I will get to it, but it is low on the agenda. We have a pump (broken pressure switch) and the water from the ground smells nice and is fine for shower / toilet and washing - I am not game to drink it though.

[RamdomChances]

Matt what did you use for the finnish on the upstairs? looks really nice BTW

[Steve2UK]

Congratulations, Matt - really good combination of modern (cement) with traditional (timber) from what I can see; the interior shot is beautiful.

May I ask - was it 100% from an existing plan or modified from one or designed from scratch by your own architect?

[Khutan]

Matt what did you use for the finnish on the upstairs? looks really nice BTW

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It was the really common Toa "She-Lack" you buy at the Hardware store, with no added colouring. I made them go to some effort on the floor to get the exact finish my wife (sorry me) wanted. So it was sanded with a floor sander and then done by hand.

May I ask - was it 100% from an existing plan or modified from one or designed from scratch by your own architect?

Without being insulting that makes me laugh. The real story is we saw a picture of another house we liked but the builder retired. He was happy to give us the one and only photo of the house. We then sat down in the sand and drew plans in the sand with sticks....With an animated conversation in Khmer.

[RamdomChances]

Looks good. Mine's half thai style, half concrete, but about 30 years old (the wood bit) Where did you get a floor sander from or did they just do it by hand?

[Steve2UK]

May I ask - was it 100% from an existing plan or modified from one or designed from scratch by your own architect?

Without being insulting that makes me laugh. The real story is we saw a picture of another house we liked but the builder retired. He was happy to give us the one and only photo of the house. We then sat down in the sand and drew plans in the sand with sticks....With an animated conversation in Khmer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not insulted - and I hope you're not. . Great story - and even more congratulations due to you!

[Khutan]

Looks good. Mine's half thai style, half concrete, but about 30 years old (the wood bit) Where did you get a floor sander from or did they just do it by hand?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its a nice style, the 50/50, as downstairs stays cool during the day and at night you open the windows and you have the place cool in about half an hour.

The Builder had the floor sander - a big petrol thing, and it weighed heaps, it took 6 of us to carry it upstairs.

I am going to Aircon Upstairs and put some walls up, then I will use an architect, as I want to try to retain the open air feeling, but also have privacy for guests (Lampard) etc. So Its going to be ducted as I already have a suspended ceiling, the ducting will be really easy.

I don't know where the builder is, he travells alot, but with some effort I can track him down, if you want your floor sanded. But I would think a local builder would have access to the same thing.

[Khutan]

I have uploaed a heap of images, I am not going to post them in this thread, as I know how some people don't have unlimited bandwidth.

The Gallery with the images - Enjoy

[RamdomChances]

Looks good. Mine's half thai style, half concrete, but about 30 years old (the wood bit) Where did you get a floor sander from or did they just do it by hand?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its a nice style, the 50/50, as downstairs stays cool during the day and at night you open the windows and you have the place cool in about half an hour.

The Builder had the floor sander - a big petrol thing, and it weighed heaps, it took 6 of us to carry it upstairs.

I am going to Aircon Upstairs and put some walls up, then I will use an architect, as I want to try to retain the open air feeling, but also have privacy for guests (Lampard) etc. So Its going to be ducted as I already have a suspended ceiling, the ducting will be really easy.

I don't know where the builder is, he travells alot, but with some effort I can track him down, if you want your floor sanded. But I would think a local builder would have access to the same thing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its not that important mate, next time I redo the inside I'll probably get it done, have asked about a bit here but no one seems to know, You will have a bitch of a job keeping the up-stairs cool in the hot season, the wooden walls dont seem to keep the heat out at all, but they are good with natural ventilation.

I"ve put some rooms in upstairs when I first came here, but it was all a bit rushed and slap dash as we were actually living in it at the time, it had been empty for 7 years and had everything living in it, no electricity, running water ect. If I had my time again I'd probably of lived in a tent and taken the time to get it right. The thing with wood though is that its so easy to change the rooms, walls, ceiling ect

Anyway thanks for the advice RC

[ProThaiExpat]

If my math is correct, you have paid 6000 Baht a sq. meter to date. A bit pricey for Isssan wouldn't you say.

If so, why?

Are there "details" you included that are expensive and not visible in your pics?

Would you say this is a "typical" house for the money we all can use for a benchmark?

[RamdomChances]

I dont think it sounds expensive, building materials in Issan would cost much the same as anywhere else, so you are only talking land and labour costs. If Matt had to buy the wood that would of cost a lot, its much more expensive to build with good wood here than concrete.

[Bilko]

If my math is correct, you have paid 6000 Baht a sq. meter to date.  A bit pricey for Isssan wouldn't you say.

If so, why?

Are there "details" you included that are expensive and not visible in your pics?

Would you say this is a "typical" house for the money we all can use for a benchmark?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Material prices are Material prices, in Fact Issan is often more expensive due to delivery costs if you live outside the main cities.

[ProThaiExpat]

Good point on material costs in more remote areas and I suspect that local vendors don't have the ecnonomy of scale.

I also remember my work crew in Chiang Mai were mostly improted Burmese workers who probably work for wages similar to those in Issan.

Thus land prices seem to be the major factor in saving money on buying a house and whether the economy of scale in buying in a large project may provide some more savings.

As posted, the use of wood must drive up the cost as well. I would sure suggest an outside rope ladder from the deck for an alternate fire escape in a house with a wooden second story.

[Khutan]

The finish is probably to a standard higher than your regular Issan house. But apart from that its a regular house.

The house really was a wedding gift for my wife. So I didn't mind too much if she selected more expensive materials, as she liked them more than others. An example here is the Downstairs Tiles on the floor, and the Faux Ionic Columns. The only value is aesthetic, not structural.

She wanted wood upstairs and I agreed. It is more expensive. I was actually content to build a 2 storey cement houne.

The Upstairs bathroom is almost the same as a western house. With a shower, Bath (Yes a bath) flushing Toilet and Handbasin.

Both of us have a love of wood and tried to get a natiral feel to the place. I think we only partially succeeded. We could have selected other types of wood, but selected the teak.

We had the Staircase made and miled from wood grown locally, not from the Shop. I was hoping to be able to showcase the local (within 1km) jungle wood. It is a lighter colour wood, and next time I go bach I will take some more photo's.

I would sure suggest an outside rope ladder from the deck for an alternate fire escape in a house with a wooden second story.

Good point, that is something to do.

Finally, its really hard to compare the price. I had a different builder willing to do a similar house - like the ones you see in the shopping centres for 1.6m all in cement. But you hear of some of the stupid costs people are being charged for a house in Bangkok, like 4 - 6 million construction only, its mad. I know the design is a little more simple than those, but there is a huge disparity. Its now to the point where one of my customers is talking to my builder about coming to Bangkok to do his house, it looks like it will be at least 2m less to build.

I have to say I think there is alot of padding and "Price maintenance" going on in Bangkok.

Anyway just some thoughts, and thanks for the nice comments.

[Jai Dee]

Material prices are Material prices, in Fact Issan is often more expensive due to delivery costs if you live outside the main cities.

Not necessarily true... as I have nearly completed a house very similar to Matt's in Isaan.

Our village is about 25 km south east of Phon, which is about 50 km south of Khon Kaen, and all our building supplies were purchased in Phon.

All the doors and windows for example, were actually cheaper that the same product on display in Pattaya... by a factor of 20-30%.

Wood is expensive... but the results are worth it! Admittedly it can get very hot upstairs during the day (as I'm sure Matt will agree), but if well ventilated, the upstair area cools down rapidly after the sun goes down, leaving a comfortable ambient temperatur for sleeping. A cement/concrete construction would require air-conditioning to achieve a similar cooling effect.

[weescotsguy66]

When I was building my house (or rather the builder) we used superblock to keep the walls cool...

But it is a city house not possible to do the same designs as yours...

weescotsguy66

[tango]

Nice work, Matt;

Congratulations on your perseverance.

I notice you are to build a pool. I would appreciate any data you might consider forwarding regarding size, cost and especially plumbing/ electical diagrams. The concrete strength is another big consideration as you mentioned.

Regards,

Prufrock in Chiangmai

[sezzo]

Matt,

I will go along with the rest of the congratulations on the project so far. I am also building a similar style of house but we are only about half way there. The main problem that we have encountered is getting timber flooring. We have been trying to get some "Mai Daeng" (excuse the spelling) from Laos but after 2 months we are still getting the message "soon, soon" etc from the supplier.

I really like the finish of the floor that you have achieved. My question is what sort of wood did you use for the upstairs flooring and if possible could you let me know how much per metre you paid for it. Did you get it through a hardware or timber mill. I am getting disillusioned with waiting for our flooring, perhaps I need to look elsewhere and at some other alternative wood.

Thanks for any information you could pass on.

[Khutan]

I really like the finish of the floor that you have achieved.  My question is what sort of wood did you use for the upstairs flooring and if possible could you let me know how much per metre you paid for it.  Did you get it through a hardware or timber mill.  I am getting disillusioned with waiting for our flooring, perhaps I need to look elsewhere and at some other alternative wood.

Thanks for any information you could pass on.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks also for the compliments.

The timber is the flooring Teak. The actual cost I forget and I can't remember. I got it mostly through the Timber mill in Surin. Its on the road to Roi-et.

I remember about half of the timber for the entire house was about 220k Baht.

If you want the next time I am in Surin, I can go to the shop, they are really good people there.

Other timber was bought from people in the village and milled on site, particularly the staircase and some other features.

[sezzo]

Ok thanks Matt,

Just interested as I am off to Ubon on thursday and now I am fed up with waiting for the dealer to get the timber I will check out the hardwares in ubon.

Thanks for your reply and hope to see new photos when the house is finished.

Good luck to you

Carl

[mijan24]

Matt

Watched an old Thai guy up near Khon Kaen collecting rain water. All tanks had lids and down piping swiviled he let it rain for 5 minutes then removed lids and redirected water flow.

They have bore water also but this made for good clean drinking water.

Just an observation I thought may be worth passing on.

Mijan24

[Khutan]

Just an observation I thought may be worth passing on.

Mijan24

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its on the "To do" list, I am still looking for someone to fit the gutters. Its a sit of a sore-point with me as I thought I paid the builder to do it.

Furthermore we had some landscaping done and the contractor knoched over the big cement water tank.

At least I don't live there, so it isn't my problem at the moment.