Thai General Handyman Wanted

[sunholidaysun1]

Can anyone recommend a good Thai handyman who can do everything from painting , laying concrete, building walls , tiling etc etc, who will turn up for work ?

I cant be bothered doing all the jobs I have myself

[skybluestu]

Will he be allowed to talk while he's working?

[jubby]

Will he be allowed to talk while he's working?

If he's talking he won't be working will he

[Paul888]

I understand that "On topic" discussion will be tolerated in moderation, but not encouraged whereas "Off topic" conversation will be strictly prohibited.

[Theo007]

Where are you?

[kandahar]

Where are you?

He is in Chiang Rai.

SH1, I can't think of anyone I have had here who fits the bill. Each guy seems to know what he is doing in one area and will claim to be good at the other areas but pretty much makes a disaster of things outside his specialty. Just because one guy works well with concrete in the production of a nice block wall doesn't mean he can pour a nice two meter square concrete pad or a decent sidewalk.

For my last tiler, I asked the folks who sold the tiles to me who they recommended. They named a guy, who turned up shortly after that and did a nice job on the tiles (outdoor, patio style). He then volunteered the same quality work on a concrete job and botched it from beginning to end. So, the best advice I can give is, find a big shop that sells what you are installing and ask them for some referrals. They seem to know the best workers for their products.

I have also learned not to ask an installer of one product if he knows a guy that is good with another. The answer is always yes and the outcome is usually a relative that desperately needs work and certainly lacks the skills for what he has shown up to do.

The tiler was recommended to me by the staff at the big shop on the super highway, near the old bus station street. The shop has the huge blue and white American Standard billboard in the front.

Edited November 1, 2010 by kandahar

[sceadugenga]

Two of the guys who did most of the building of my house were quite competent in most of the building trades.

I doubt they would travel far though and, to be honest, I'd be reluctant to recommend them to another farang.

It's my experience that many have a pre-set opinion of the standard of workmanship in Thailand and are extremely difficult to please.

It's a bit like a recent visitor who mentioned to my Mrs he'd like to meet a nice Thai lady.

She said she'd think about it but told me afterwards only idiots got involved in matchmaking.

[kandahar]

Two of the guys who did most of the building of my house were quite competent in most of the building trades.

I doubt they would travel far though and, to be honest, I'd be reluctant to recommend them to another farang.

It's my experience that many have a pre-set opinion of the standard of workmanship in Thailand and are extremely difficult to please.

It's a bit like a recent visitor who mentioned to my Mrs he'd like to meet a nice Thai lady.

She said she'd think about it but told me afterwards only idiots got involved in matchmaking.

I'm thinking we already discussed your house on this forum.

Edited November 2, 2010 by kandahar

[harrry]

I see he has had an excelent job of remodelling done.

[waza]

Thailand has an abundance of generals, but I dont think they are too handy. lol

[kandahar]

As you can see, he is VERY picky about hired help. But I think the highest ranking guy he had on that job was a corporal.

[harrry]

As you can see, he is VERY picky about hired help. But I think the highest ranking guy he had on that job was a corporal.

Looks more like it was done by Generals or maybe Polititians.

[sceadugenga]

With waterfront property it's the land that counts, not the house.

My Vietnamese holiday house.

[bifftastic]

My soon-to-be brother-in-law and a lot of the folks in Sob Kham are pretty good builders/tilers/plumbers/electricians/mechanics etc. They're always nipping off to build houses for people, make walls etc. hel_l, they even ran an earth wire from the shower, unprompted!

Trouble is, they don't really do the whole 'work ethic' thing. Every time I ask Ms Tastic where they've gone next she says 'oh gone to make home for somebody' thing is, they don't do it for money, they just do it to help out and, presumably, that person will help them out at some point in the future.

Lao Khao and food seem to be the only form of payment. So I doubt they'd fit the bill in terms of a paid workforce, there seems to be an entirely different motivation that drives their not-inconsiderable desire to work.

Edited November 3, 2010 by bifftastic