House Build In Isaan

[simon43]

Happy New Year to everyone!!

This year I will build a new house for my mother-in-law, who lives in a small village near UbonRatchatani. Is anyone able to recommend a building company for this job? My concern is that I approach companies myself, the overall price may be high once they see I'm farang So I prefer to get my Thai wife to approach companies and fix the price etc.

So any advice or warnings are very welcome!

cheers

Simon

[hardhhhat]

Simon,

Just to let you know we did something similar over a year ago where my wife sorted out a foreman/designer and got all the building materials. It makes no difference if she does it when they see how much money she has to buy stuff they know where it is coming from... It would be best if the family knows and recommends some builders/etc... my wife knew someone who supplied the lime/cement for building/lining the walls so we got that at a very good price. Apart from that it's pot luck most of the time... no Jewsons/Wilkes/B&Q or Focus in thos parts...

HH - good luck.

[KevinN]

SIMON 43; We built a couple of years ago and had a time finding what I would call a "contractor', you will pobly just have to hire a man that knows something about building and he will get the people to help him do the work,but it will not be a contractor as you will have to pay the hands every week and have to buy and pay for all the materials they require.Have him set a figure for the job and try to hold him to it,But it is not like he contracts the job and you pay upon completion, because you would never pay when you see the quality of the job when done.

And you had better not have your heart set on true craftsmanship, as there is no such thing in Thailand,the block work will be sloppy and the stucco and plaster will be of the same quality,,the floors will not be plumb or will the walls,or square corners either.nothing will be plumb.

all piping and electrical wiring will be put in after the job is finished and the foundations will be minimal and the building will crack in a year,plus the plaster and stucco will crack as soon as it starts to dry and continue to do so daily.

You will have to make certain specs. as to what you want in the way of foundations and tolerances,window specs. and such.Good luck

but I guess that it doesn't have to be first class as the weather here is mild enough that a door with a crack that lets the cats run in and out is no big deal.

[Beckers]

I have had a house built in Isaan, it cost a fraction of the price here in the UK and when I first saw it I could not believe how good it looked. The build quality and materials are fantastic and the electrics/wiring are all concealed, neat and functioning 100%. It took less than 3 months to build and I could not hope for a better job to be done. The builders were sourced by my Thai father-in-law who is also an engineer and he assisted them with some of the work, the head engineer is now a life long friend and visits every time I go back. Unfortunately he, as with every good builder, has his books full and so will not be available (he also works more around Udon Thani), but this should alay your fears of all build quality after the previous post. Good Luck.

[Rigger]

I also built a house in isaan and turned out a lot better than I expected 2 story 4 bed room a couple of balconys good fhinsh 1,400000 bht the builder came from Udon thani 200km away. I will be home in a week and can get hold of the builder if you are interested. If you send me your e mail I will send you some pictures

Rigger

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Building can be difficult, but as you see from the last couple of posters, it can be done with a good outcome. Good luck

[pnustedt]

A builder who has done good work (and could show you some of his houses) in Sisaket (not too far from Ubon) is K. Siripong, tel. 01-6604000, e-mail: [email protected]

Keep us informed how it goes - I'll be going the same thing before long.

[george]

If you are not sure about the lady yet, rent a house for them instead. You get a luxory house in Isaan for 5,000 Baht/month.

[hardhhhat]

Our house is great too good enough build all the floors are fine seems like the other poster had a bad lot. The only issue I have is we didn't include a new kitchen but we can do that at a later date. The walls are all finished off nicely and it is over a year old and no cracks in sight and it's seen some lovely rainfalls and thunderstorms as well as 40+...

We also have a wall all round the property now sticks out like a sore thumb in a village full of wodden houses on stilts. Although this helps as everyone knows me now and we have some great get togethers whenever I visit.

I am sure you'll find the right thing for you - we have a 3 bed (1 en suite) and the roof terrace is so large we could have 2 more rooms instead.

HH - Happy building - they are quick at it too.

[jayenram]

A piece of advice I would give is have the design and drawings prepared by a competant architect and if possible have them checked in the West for structural soundness. Then prepare for spending all your time 'on the job' to ensure they are following the drawings, particularly the detail.

I was advised by a local building material supplier 4 years ago that I should work on a profitless cost of Bht 5,500.00 per sq m (floor area). As my finishings were more expensive than a local Khmer would wish to pay (e.g. grade A tiles, floor to ceiling tiles in kitchen and bathrooms, sealed ceilings, all electric cables in conduit chased into the walls, 35/100 electric supply), I considered the overall final price of BHt 7,500.00 per sq m. reasonable, particularly with a 15 metre drive and 300 sq m garden thrown in.

[KevinN]

As has been stated in some of the posts,I guess there is some compitent builders in Thailand,but maybe we are out of the loop here where we live,as far as I can see after being involved in the construction trades all my life is that there is a lot of substandard stuff here,as the block is just loose mortar and I could find no compressed concrete block,and the work was substandard that is hard to tell after the stucco and plaster is on.

And the best advice that I can see is to be on site at all times so you can see what is under the stucco and plaster and they are following the plans.

I lived in a very nice house in CM before I came here and the work seemed satisfactory there, but like buying a used car,,hard to tell what is under the paint.

So I hope that you have better luck than we did with finding a dependable worker.

[Pink Mist]

Have heard this mob do a good job,here is link

[lopburi3]

Without a 'good' contractor to keep lookout and hire the right people there is very little chance of obtaining much more than mediocre results. But there surly are good construction people from Iseen. Problem is that most are back to work in Bangkok and points South again as the economy has turned around and this could make it harder if building upcountry now. Wait for another downturn?

Family should check with hardware stores/building supply places for recommendations in the local area.

[Guest IT Manager]

I have had a house built in Isaan, it cost a fraction of the price here in the UK and when I first saw it I could not believe how good it looked. The build quality and materials are fantastic and the electrics/wiring are all concealed, neat and functioning 100%. It took less than 3 months to build and I could not hope for a better job to be done. The builders were sourced by my Thai father-in-law who is also an engineer and he assisted them with some of the work, the head engineer is now a life long friend and visits every time I go back. Unfortunately he, as with every good builder, has his books full and so will not be available (he also works more around Udon Thani), but this should alay your fears of all build quality after the previous post. Good Luck.

While the forum doesn't act in and of itself as a commercial advertising thing without paying, I personally would not have an issue with you posting the contact details of your builder. Kevin's point is well taken and there are things he has reason for complaining about, but if you were so happy, leave the phone number so others can use him.

[maerim]

From what I have seen of the building quality here and specifications.

When asked about them the guy in charge says we havn't got to that page in the book yet.

As for trademen, the adverts probably read bricklayers required, no previous experience neccessary also electricians wanted, a sense of humour esential.

[parryhandy]

well a couple of farangs i know have had houses built where i am, using local people and having worked in the buliding trade in the Uk i am very impressed with the quality. The 2 houses are superb imo.The final costs are more than "local" costs but still fairly good deals the only drawback being you never own the land the house is on yourself.

You will end up paying more than you should because deals and backhanders will be going on everywhere between your inlaws and the main builder and him and people who he gets to do the work but compared to western prices you will be getting value for money.If its for the mother in law (why??) then your best just coming to a figure that you thinks reasonable and giving them the cash after first having agreed a price with whoever to do the work. Make it clear to the inlaws and builder there will be no more money and leave them to it.Otherwise it could turn into a stressfull and costly experience if you try to get invovled too much.

As for local builders and costs ask around the village /area and try to talk with people who have done similar things .Where i am almost every nice , recently built property has connections to a farang somewhere.Also look around at the prices of houses on new estates popping up everywhere recently in Thailand to give you some idea of the real costs.

[parryhandy]

If you are not sure about the lady yet, rent a house for them instead. You get a luxory house in Isaan for 5,000 Baht/month.

yes why on earth are you building a house for your mother in law , unless you have money to burn ?

[Guest IT Manager]

Thanks Parryhandy... I missed that too. LOL. 3,200 baht will get you enough bamboo to start a small plantation. 2 years later chop and cut and carry on. This is Thailand man. Grow a house, she's only your mother in law.

:-)

[Guest IT Manager]

Have heard this mob do a good job,here is link

One hopes their construction department is about 125,000 % better than their design department, which appears to be an 8 year old child with a lego set.

Sorry but L&H properties are the most revolting looking creations I have ever been asked to look at.

Give credit though, walls are straight.

[simon43]

Thanks for all these replies and advice!! This certainly should help me with this project.

Its fine if the final result is badly built - its only for the mother-in-law I'm actually building this house for her as the lesser of 2 evils. The other choice is that she moves in with us!! (Now surely that is enough incentive for anyone to spend their very last baht on a new shack in Isaan for her ... whilst me and my wife enjoy the good life in Phuket )

cheers again

Simon

[Guest IT Manager]

Quite understandable. My wife asked about building a house for the Mother in Law or leaving her in Aus. I elected to leave her there.

Thankfully she saw my point.

[Pink Mist]

As I said IT have heard they do a good job, the administrator of KK.com has recommended them and a moderator backs him up.

[issan2]

We had a two bedroom bungalow built not far from Suwannapum about three

years ago now. The build quality is not up to UK standards but for £6000 who

can complain. Its still standing and the roof doesnt leak.

We built a compund wall and fish pond later. Also the price didnt include a

kitchen, we had to build that later.

The builders were freinds of my wife and she stayed on site every day to

watch the work. She also bought them beer every day which helped with

the harrasment that she was giving them.

The electicity supply and telephone had to be done later. Yes its not chased (buried under plaster) but its ok. It also only cost 3000 baht plus materials.

All in all the builders did a good job. Only trouble is that now I want another room built they are boked up months in advance.

Its not all tales of woe, but you need to be watchful I think.

[KevinN]

IT M has been to my house so he knows I am telling the truth,,the only plus was the price,,the labor cost came in slightly over bid,but the work was under standard,,but the labor bid was 60,000 and the aluminum slider windows for the building was 30,000 so I guess the labor was OK. can't complain about that..

[edd]

I built my house about 8 years ago in isan.

it cost me about 1 million bhat. that is more than the same house would cost now but the exchange rate was 40 to the pound then.

that includes full aircon, hot water, land,etc, etc.

the standard is above uk standards (worked in building ind. uk for a while)

just the foundations were 1sq.m,cross section, far more than uk.

workmanship very good, i bought ALL the materials my self so i got a good deal (contracter was very impressed with the prices)

more important i loved the fun of it.

And yes I bought a house for my mother in law (my choice) £1500, now OUR house is for us and only us (i could not relax with the conditions she was living in before)

I love the place and long to make the permenent move to LOS but till then its only 2 or 3 months a year.

edd

[camel_jockey]

Remember people, you get what you pay for, homes are expensive in western countries because the people(well most of them) are highly trained, what with school, technical college etc this all adds to the cost.

Has anyone had any experience with kit home in LOS?If so which company?

[Nam Kao]

I had a 3 BR house built in Sak Lek, Land and house were 5,000 US.

My wifes sister found a local guy and he didnt have a clue a farang was

involved in anyway. When I showed up to pay - he was so angry I only

got charged the Thai price - I could of fried an egg on his forehead

I started laughing uncontrollably.

My neighbors said later if he knew it was for a falang it would have been 25K

easy.

[nokna]

ok time for me to be banned but i realy feel i should comment on this.

thai contractors building prices for a euro style home tiled etc with a proper roof not the big thin tiles is 5000baht a sq met for a bungalow...thats finished,,includes hidden wiring etc,this is in pattayas surrounding areas,2 storey house 8000 baht a sq met finished,, these both include gypsum cielings lights of normal price etc etc etc.ie finished.

in issan it should be cheaper cos the labour is cheaper.

how do i know all this??i am a uk guy in jomtien who builds houses,i have 13 years here building houses successfully...

=www. waiting for his ban but this i had to comment on cos so many ppl get up stitched up..

hmmm wot nik next???

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Why would you get banned for providing indicative prices for building ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

ok time for me to be banned but i realy feel i should comment on this.

thai contractors building prices for a euro style home tiled etc with a proper roof not the big thin tiles is 5000baht a sq met for a bungalow...thats finished,,includes hidden wiring etc,this is in pattayas surrounding areas,2 storey house 8000 baht a sq met finished,, these both include gypsum cielings lights of normal price etc etc etc.ie finished.

in issan it should be cheaper cos the labour is cheaper.

how do i know all this??i am a uk guy in jomtien who builds houses,i have 13 years here building houses successfully...

=www. waiting for his ban but this i had to comment on cos so many ppl get up stitched up..

hmmm wot nik next???

Mind you, you do claim to be an English teacher on another thread. Multiple personalities or multiple skills ?