Condo Renovations

[samran]

Am on my way back to BKK and am going through the whole process of finding a place to live, mainly though trusted relatives in the know.

Anyhoo, I was considering the alternative of just buying a condo, with huge floor space, and then ripping the guts out and doing what I like to it.

The idea stems from my former land lord. He was an architect who owned a condo in a non-descript building down Aree way. However he had the interior rebuilt into something that was quite nice and livable.

I don't really care if I live in a flash looking building. I'd rather have that to keep the price of the actual space down so I have more money make the place into something nice and hidden.

Has anyone ever done this? What are we looking at for rennovation costs. I'm guessing labour can be cheap (though slow). Fittings would most likely be the most paeng thing about it all...but any ideas/things to watch for would be appriciated.

Edited September 2, 2005 by samran

[Drew Aitch]

Has anyone ever done this? What are we looking at for rennovation costs. I'm guessing labour can be cheap (though slow). Fittings would most likely be the most paeng thing about it all...but any ideas/things to watch for would be appriciated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Samran

For information on builders, construction and renovation costs, what to look out for, how to find a reputable builder etc, you might want to take a look at coolthaihouse dot com

Although the site's about foreigner’s building a house in Thailand, there will be lots of relevant information for your project. You can contact the webmaster directly too if you cannot find the answers on site.

There are also a couple of articles from this site in the Mr. Roomfinder Articles section under the 'Building' category.

I have personally had a commercial building gutted out here, redesigned and renovated, but paid well over the odds at the time due to ignorance.

My experience was that the builders got stuck in to start with and initial progress was impressive, but after the halfway mark I was forever chasing them up and encountered many headaches along the way.

If you take your time and do a bit of homework first, go with the flow, allow for a few hurdles, you should be fine.

Good luck.

Aitch

[The Skipper]

A while ago, a fellow TV poster claimed to be a remodeler, working on a place in Bangkok. Seemed to have experience. You could go by and inspect the work would be a good idea.

Send me an email and I'll try to dig up his phone number.

[taxexile]

i am in the process of renovating / remodeling a condo (knocking walls out , moving aircon units , new bathrooms and a new kitchen , flooring and tiling)

points to note other than building costs are.

1. we had to get the plans approved by the nidtti (juristic office) before we could start , the builders had to leave a large deposit with the nitti to cover against any damage to the building , the builders wanted us to front the deposit , but we wouldnt.

2. no work is allowed after 6pm or at all at the weekends (with the result that the work will take a good while longer to complete )

3. the builders checked that all the water supplies and drain pipes from the unit , including floor drains were working properly. so that if there is a blockage , the culprit (from another unit) can be identified before the project starts and the building company arent penalised for having caused the blockage. these blockages are apparently common and are caused by careless workers emptying watery cement powder down the drains as they clean out their buckets.

4. check all the plans a million times before work starts , even re-siting a light switch ,light unit, tv socket or phone jack can be a problem once the plastering is complete.

the builders here are not the most logical people , so go over the plans , especially the wiring plans with a fine tooth comb. we noticed that the main switches for the lighting had been sited not next to the front door so that you can turn on a light when you walk in , but at the point furthest from the door.

a shower door was fitted so that the wet door would open out , dripping on to the floor , rather than opening in and dripping back into the shower.

tiling is poorly done here , with chipped and uneven tiles used to fill little gaps caused by poor measuring out in the first place , attention to detail is non existent.

i could go on.

we are using a european managed company , but the constuction is sub contraced out to thai labourers.

you will have to be very hands on , and watch them every single step of the way.

its by no means a nightmare , and i am enjoying my regular trips to the site , but like i say , leave nothing to chance , leave no decision to the builders , and keep the plans in your mind 24 hours a day and you stand some chance of getting the result you envisaged at the start.

[samran]

thanks for the posts guys. Taxexile, thanks for your detailed post too. I think I am fairly lucky in the first instance where I have trusted relatives who work for property co's in BKK who can give us good pointers, and my old landlord is also a friend of the family who has a track record in these things.

But as you say, it is the actual building that takes the most work.....maybe a free holiday for my father who is a contruction manager might be in order....

[Nordlys]

Do you really have to rip the gut out of the unit and do all the fittings from the bare concrete slab (unless you buy a very old condo)? When I bought our 2nd hand condo (5 years old back then) all we did was to machine polish the parquet wooden floor (also replaced about ten wood pieces), repainted the wall (but not the ceiling) and fixed the skin of cup board that had burns and abrasions caused by candles. We had four contractors quoted the price which ranged from B30,000 ~ B100K (for 130m2 unit, of which 30m2 is balconies). We chose a contractor that quoted about B45,000. Job was done in two weeks and it looked like a brand new unit. 1 and 2 taxexile pointed out also applied to us too, except for my condo the job had to be done by 5PM and no work on Sat and Sundays. We also had to pay B3,000/month to the juristic person's office for allowing the contractors in the condo premises (been explained that is for the mess they might leave in the common area and inconvenience that might be caused to the other residents and juristic person office maintenance staffs).

[ProThaiExpat]

Besure and check building regulations regarding remodeling. Likewise ensure that removal of demo, rubbish and unused construction materials are provided for in your contract.

Building will be interrested in how your builders truss up the debris, pad the elevators and remove the rubbish from the steet adjacent to the building. I am sure the buildings removal service doesn't include your construction debris in their contract.

If there is any common water supply, fire alarms or sprinkler systems, management office must be coordinated with as to shut down times, etc.

Many buildings do not allow water turn off except by long ahead appointment. Of course your lucky if you have individual unit turn off valves.

Be sure and read your condo agreements and all related documents for reference to remodels. Good luck.

[samran]

Do you really have to rip the gut out of the unit and do all the fittings from the bare concrete slab (unless you buy a very old condo)? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

All depends really on what we find. I've just been watching a few too many home renovation shows which are popular here in the UK, although in LOS we will have the advantage or relatively cheaper labour to help.

I'm just keen on the thought of getting something pretty cheap and doing it up to what my wife and I like, so starting with a bare canvas can sometimes be an advantage, but not always like you point out.