The House I Built Part 3

[chiangrai57020]

Additions, Problems and Lessons Learned.

Additions: The original plans called for an outdoor kitchen. The kitchen did not get built. When the roof rafters and beams were put up and the rafters extended beyond the carport, it was determine that there was a ‘slight’ miscalculation! The support posts were not sufficiently high enough to give clearance for a kitchen ceiling. I decided to complete the house and I would get a kitchen built later.

Raising the support beams for the carport and building the outdoor kitchen (as shown below) cost an additional 70,000 baht.

Problems: It was my experience that the ‘you’ must watch the work being done to correct mistakes that they miss or do not recognize. Examples: When installing the bathroom toilet the workers were going to cement the base of the toilet. I had to show them the correct procedure. When running the water lines through the walls they mistakenly had one of the ‘outlets’ pointing into the wrong bathroom. After completing the house and within a matter of a day or two there was a considerable ‘leak’ in one of the water lines leading into the wall. The leak was found and repaired.

Lessons Learned: Sewer line traps - Make sure you have them. Individual shut-off valves at each indoor and outdoor fixture. A backup 1,000 liter water tank with pump for those days when the main water line breaks in the village or city. Whole house venting system for waste water flow (2" line not 1"). And most important - Keep the wife/girlfriend away (far away). Even if you cannot speak Thai you can ‘show’ how something can be accomplished - you do not need a wife/girlfriend misinterpreting what you are trying to get across to the workers. And, it is ‘your’ money and ‘your’ house they are building. DO Not let the workers purchase any materials. If you do, expect your estimate to climb. Why? They will get businesses to inflate the price of materials on the bill so that the worker will get a percentage of the bill.

Conclusion: I was very happy with the way the house turned out. There were a few minor things that had to be corrected. I lived in the house for 3 years before getting thrown out by the wife of 35 years. Long story and will not go into here. During the three years there were very minor and very few hair-line cracks that appeared in the interior and exterior walls. This you can expect because of varying conditions (house settling, too much of ‘something’ in the masonry cement mixture, etc).

I am now getting ready to build my second house and will go through the same processes as the 1st.

And if I get thrown out again, I will build a third house! Have nobody to leave my assets too and cannot take them with me when I depart this life, so I am going to spend as much as I have to and enjoy doing it. Who knows, maybe every ‘gal’ in Thailand will have a house before I leave!

To the 'right' in this picture is the outdoor kitchen.

Edited October 15, 2005 by chiangrai57020

[Steve2UK]

Fascinating - and yes, the costs were something of an eye-opener. Well done and thanks for taking the trouble to post in so much detail.

[IvanLaw]

Very Interesting (all 3 parts)

One day I will be doing the same but for now, similar project in England and price is considerably more!!

Have you thought of trying long-term leas for house ?

Good Luck for the future,

Regards

Ivan

[Gary A]

Have you considered finding a lady who already has a house? LOL! My wife had two rai and a two bedroom western style house when I met her. It wasn't totally finished but was liveable. I further westernised it with a new farang style toilet, water heater, air con and water pump. Naturally the wiring was inadequate so the house got rewired also. Since then I have built an eight by eight meter garage/shop and put a two meter high wall around the entire two rai. If she sees fit to throw me out it is not anything I can't afford to walk away from.

Additions, Problems and Lessons Learned.

Additions:  The original plans called for an outdoor kitchen.  The kitchen did not get built.  When the roof rafters and beams were put up and the rafters extended beyond the carport, it was determine that there was a ‘slight’ miscalculation!  The support posts were not sufficiently high enough to give clearance for a kitchen ceiling.  I decided to complete the house and I would get a kitchen built later.

Raising the support beams for the carport and building the outdoor kitchen (as shown below) cost an additional 70,000 baht.

Problems:  It was my experience that the ‘you’ must watch the work being done to correct mistakes that they miss or do not recognize.  Examples:  When installing the bathroom toilet the workers were going to cement the base of the toilet.  I had to show them the correct procedure.  When running the water lines through the walls they mistakenly had one of the ‘outlets’ pointing into the wrong bathroom.  After completing the house and within a matter of a day or two there was a considerable ‘leak’ in one of the water lines leading into the wall.  The leak was found and repaired.

Lessons Learned:  Sewer line traps - Make sure you have them.  Individual shut-off valves at each indoor and outdoor fixture.  A backup 1,000 liter water tank with pump for those days when the main water line breaks in the village or city.  Whole house venting system for waste water flow (2" line not 1").  And most important - Keep the wife/girlfriend away (far away).  Even if you cannot speak Thai you can ‘show’ how something can be accomplished - you do not need a wife/girlfriend misinterpreting what you are trying to get across to the workers.  And, it is ‘your’ money and ‘your’ house they are building.  DO Not let the workers purchase any materials.  If you do, expect your estimate to climb.  Why?  They will get businesses to inflate the price of materials on the bill so that the worker will get a percentage of the bill.

Conclusion:  I was very happy with the way the house turned out.  There were a few minor things that had to be corrected.  I lived in the house for 3 years before getting thrown out by the wife of 35 years.  Long story and will not go into here.  During the three years there were very minor and very few hair-line cracks that appeared in the interior and exterior walls.  This you can expect because of varying conditions (house settling, too much of ‘something’ in the masonry cement mixture, etc). 

I am now getting ready to build my second house and will go through the same processes as the 1st.

And if I get thrown out again, I will build a third house!  Have nobody to leave my assets too and cannot take them with me when I depart this life, so I am going to spend as much as I have to and enjoy doing it.  Who knows, maybe every ‘gal’ in Thailand will have a house before I leave!

To the 'right' in this picture is the outdoor kitchen.

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