Hi all,

I hav ethe chance of a tidy detached house with garden in Sisaket town. House is great but run dowm. I need a decorator or handman in the area who will give good quality work at a reasonable cost. Whole house needs painting plus a sink fixed, some mosquito frames fitted and electrics looked at. Any body have any contacts or people i could have give me a price. the house will probably take a week to paint.

By the way what is the cost of paint over here, and how much would i expect to pay a handyman per day?

Cheers

neil

Neil,

There are a number of people around that work in Bangkok doing this sort of job. A few in my village, south of Sisaket, two of them are at home at the moment and probably available. Are you going to supervise yourself and how will materials (purchases and usage control) be handled? On the rates side of things these guys that are any good earn 200 to 300 baht per day assuming they can live on site. If you wish to use a contractor that will have all the tools required then you can ask for a total price. Paint prices are dependent on the quality you require, most companies producing several different brands at different price points, often with little quality difference. Send me a PM if you wish to discuss details.

Isaan Aussie

I live 45k south of Si Saket.

I confirm the rates quoted by IsaanAussie. In SiSaket province you can get unskilled labour for 150 baht a day (slave labour - I couldn't in all conscience pay that myself directly!) and semi-skilled for 200-250. As IA said, hired labour never seems to have the tools/materials, which is why you need either an inclusive contractor or you need to be around to finance (and sometimes shop for) the next thing that the guys working remember that they need. You can't expect to set it up and come back at the end on any basis other than use of a contractor.

If you want a quote for the whole job I can ask the contractor who built my house (correction - my wife's house!) 18 months ago whether he has guys or sub-contractors who would travel up the road to Sisaket daily or camp out in your place until finished. He seemed to have a dedicated painting gang who were probably subbies. You would need a Thai wife/GF/friend to act as translator at the start and for any progress checks.

This builder did a very good job on building and decorating but I thought his electrics were very standard Thai when what was needed was a bit of thought for falang power use (i.e the system he built was not robust enough for ovens, water heaters and multi aircon). If you need more than the basic Thai-type electrics you could try searching on Surin electrician on TV - I recall someone recommending a competent electrician there.

I reckon that painting a whole house, unless it is very small, is a ten man day job (especially the way Thais work - rates are ultracheap but labour is slow!).

Can help with the electrician. Got a good one here who wiring up renovations for me. All earthed power outlets and well thought out circuit breaker layout.

I think we can forget about this. My misses talked to the owner today and she will not compromise on me getting the place livable but paying reduced rent to do it. Nobody would live in the property as it is but she feels we could move in today. The sinks are leaking, the aircon is on a table in the kitchen Every single wall needs painting the outside had rubbish everywhere. The house and location are ideal and she is on to a winner, as I would get all the work done. She feels that the new tenant should move in and do all the work themselves. I spent today driving miles around the area looking for somewhere. i went as far as Utum porn pisai, still no luck. This is not a good situation. I have spent 3 weeks living in 1 room with 4 in my family and am still having to pay 4k/month. Just a waiting game I suppose

I think we can forget about this. My misses talked to the owner today and she will not compromise on me getting the place livable but paying reduced rent to do it. Nobody would live in the property as it is but she feels we could move in today. The sinks are leaking, the aircon is on a table in the kitchen Every single wall needs painting the outside had rubbish everywhere. The house and location are ideal and she is on to a winner, as I would get all the work done. She feels that the new tenant should move in and do all the work themselves. I spent today driving miles around the area looking for somewhere. i went as far as Utum porn pisai, still no luck. This is not a good situation. I have spent 3 weeks living in 1 room with 4 in my family and am still having to pay 4k/month. Just a waiting game I suppose

I have lived in rented houses here for a number of years. The owner of this house is typical, reluctant to spend a baht or reduce the rent. She is playing the waiting game and knows she will find a tenant soon. I have always just fixed up what needed doing myself. You already like the house and haven't found any alternates, so as the owner has indicated, Up to You. Stay in a single room or just get on with fixing something better. So without having seen the house or knowing your position, my uninformed advice is to follow the Nike principle "Just Do It"

I think we can forget about this. My misses talked to the owner today and she will not compromise on me getting the place livable but paying reduced rent to do it. Nobody would live in the property as it is but she feels we could move in today. The sinks are leaking, the aircon is on a table in the kitchen Every single wall needs painting the outside had rubbish everywhere. The house and location are ideal and she is on to a winner, as I would get all the work done. She feels that the new tenant should move in and do all the work themselves. I spent today driving miles around the area looking for somewhere. i went as far as Utum porn pisai, still no luck. This is not a good situation. I have spent 3 weeks living in 1 room with 4 in my family and am still having to pay 4k/month. Just a waiting game I suppose

I have lived in rented houses here for a number of years. The owner of this house is typical, reluctant to spend a baht or reduce the rent. She is playing the waiting game and knows she will find a tenant soon. I have always just fixed up what needed doing myself. You already like the house and haven't found any alternates, so as the owner has indicated, Up to You. Stay in a single room or just get on with fixing something better. So without having seen the house or knowing your position, my uninformed advice is to follow the Nike principle "Just Do It"