Building A House In Thailand

[Monkey Boy]

I am building a new house in Si Sa Ket and I am having great difficulty in trying to source decent European/Western windows and doors.

There's plenty of local firms who do wood and aluminimum frames, but none who do PVC frames of a high standard.

I have found previously that the wood and aluminimum frames are either not long lasting or maintenance intensive. Hence the requirement of decent frames.

Does anybody know or can anybody recommend decent installers / manufacturers????

[pal78]

My wife and I are renovating our house at the moment and new windows and doors are on my wish list. I would also be interested in sourcing decent windows, and actually I'm looking for double-glazed windows. I can't understand why they aren't popular (available?) here since they offer superior insulation and would cut down on electricity for cooling.

I did read of a house that was built in Thailand with triple glazing, but it was a solar-powerd house and the university professor who built it said that he had a hard time getting the house built to the standards that he required. (Doors that close properly around the seal etc.) Good insulation isn't a issue in Thailand is it?

[davethailand]

A.R.C pattaya

arc link

Edited October 25, 2005 by davethailand

[Seen all,learnt nothing]

My wife and I are renovating our house at the moment and new windows and doors are on my wish list.

Pal78, if you've already stripped out the old ones I suggest you promote them to your must do list

Right forum?

[Beachbunny]

I was going to recommend A.R.C. in Pattaya. Know they are quite expensive though. Not sure if they have the double panes.

We bought Dorken from Home Pro, thier factory is in Nakhom Pathom. They are the crappiest windows I have ever seen or had in a house.

We brought all our double paned windows with us from the states, but needed 3 more plus a sliding door. I would buy high quality aluminum windows BEFORE I would ever purchase these windows again. They leak, they have great travel paths for jing jokes and bugs to get in. The lock hook latches up instead of down like it should. It was almost $1000 dollars for 3 small windows and 1 sliding patio door.

Beachbunny

[Monkey Boy]

Thanks I'll drop ARC a line

[roiet]

I am building a new house in Si Sa Ket and I am having great difficulty in trying to source decent European/Western windows and doors.

There's plenty of local firms who do wood and aluminimum frames, but none who do PVC frames of a high standard.

I have found previously that the wood and aluminimum frames are either not long lasting or maintenance intensive. Hence the requirement of decent frames.

Does anybody know or can anybody recommend decent installers / manufacturers????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Global house in Roi-et has plenty of high standard windows. Very solid PVC frames , double glazed, etc. Besides that they have plenty of western styled gadgets , doors with solid locks, beautiful bathtubs, showers with built in radios, huge selection of tiles, interior lamps etc. You can fill up your truck at Global (spelled Gobon in Thai) and build a beautiful western styled house.

Have fun

[pal78]

Global house in Roi-et has plenty of high standard windows. Very solid PVC frames , double glazed, etc.  Besides that they have plenty of western styled gadgets , doors with solid locks, beautiful bathtubs, showers with built in radios, huge selection of tiles, interior lamps etc. You can fill up your truck at Global (spelled Gobon in Thai) and build a beautiful  western styled house.

Have fun

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds good. Do they deliver and install to Bangkok??

[pal78]

I was going to recommend A.R.C. in Pattaya.  Know they are quite expensive though.  Not sure if they have the double panes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just checking the ARC website... the they do double panes... and triple. Woo hoo.

http://www.arcaircon.com/windows/pgwindow.html

[pal78]

My wife and I are renovating our house at the moment and new windows and doors are on my wish list.

Pal78, if you've already stripped out the old ones I suggest you promote them to your must do list

Right forum?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Haven't ripped out the old ones yet, but I have to say I'm looking forward to it. Even still I think they are probably on our must-do-list... the current ones don't open or close properly anymore. After 30 years I wouldn't expect these sort of cheap windows to function anyway. They might as well not be there actually. Bars keep people out, and screens keep out the insects, the windows themselves don't actually serve any purpose that I can see.

[roiet]

Global house in Roi-et has plenty of high standard windows. Very solid PVC frames , double glazed, etc.  Besides that they have plenty of western styled gadgets , doors with solid locks, beautiful bathtubs, showers with built in radios, huge selection of tiles, interior lamps etc. You can fill up your truck at Global (spelled Gobon in Thai) and build a beautiful  western styled house.

Have fun

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds good. Do they deliver and install to Bangkok??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

These windows and doors are all produced by ARC Chonburi. (German design, TUV approved etc etc) They are real top quality and last for 50 years.

[pnustedt]

Does anybody know or can anybody recommend decent installers / manufacturers????

There's an outfit in Sisaket that manufacture metal framed windows - opposite the bus station, near the electrical appliance shop (where I pay for the UBC bill). I can't vouch for them but may be worth checking out.

[kamalabob2]

QUALITY Windows are readily available in Thailand. There is NO NEED to settle on "made on site" local windows, or "take home yourself" windows. Just spend 95 baht on any of the widely available Thai "Home and Garden" or "Home Beautiful" Magazines on most any newsstand. They all have SEVERAL advertisements of serious companies located in major tourist areas or the suburbs of Bangkok. If you e-mail or fax them your house plans and/or window opening dimensions they will give you an estimate. You can be specific about the glass, frames, materials you think you deserve.

Most ALL of these companies have web sites. Who do you think does windows in the "higher end" Hotels, Apartments, Commercial Buildings, Universities, and nicer homes in Thailand? The Thai Developers are not going to "over pay" for windows, but many will purchase top quality windows.

You can speak with an American or Thai Customer service Representative at Guardian Glass. This is one of the three largest glass companies that manufactures GLASS in Thailand and they deal with the good and not so good window fabricators though-out Thailand. I was given great leads from Carl Brenden of www.guardian-thailand.com [email protected]

You can get the "straight scoop" on the raw costs of different thickness of single sheet glass, laminated, tempered glass or what happens when you want double or triple glazed glass windows in Thailand. Aluminum, Fiberglass, Wood or PVC all have good and bad points. It might come down to the style, initial cost, long term comfort and possible energy savings to make your decision.

It would be worth your time to get quotes from Noah Shepherd of www.duro-products.com He has a modern facility that fabricates Vinyl Windows near Bangkok.

Glass Line Thai www.glasslinethai.com have two facilities near the older airport in Bangkok and are a major wholesaler of aluminum to smaller shops. They picked me up from my hotel and took me to see the factory.

Khun "Guy" at www.aluzat.com speaks and understands English. He has two modern plants near the new Bangkok Airport. Aluzat and Glass Line Thai were able to provide competitive bids on single hung windows in addition to casement and awning windows. Some of the enclosed photos are his windows in Bangkok.

Noah Shepherd of Duro Products was not keen to fabricate single hung windows, but I now understand the advantage of properly made casement windows to obtain better wind flow.

Pop out and roll up insect screens are available from all these professional window fabricators.

If they are in your price range and style choice they will come to your property (even Issan) and do an exact measurement of each window. They fabricate the windows to EXACT specifications in a modern factory and deliver and PROPERLY INSTALL the windows at your site.

If it seems a bit expensive then contact Sun Paradise for a comparison. www.sunparadise.co.th

There are many more PROFESSIONAL fabricators in Thailand and many advertise in the "building and Home" Thai Language Magazines available even at small newsstands in Issan.

I took several photos of windows being installed in Bangkok by two of the companies that had the best bid on my home project. These windows and doors were very smooth. Both of these homes were not yet ready for insect screens.

I selected heavy duty powder coated Aluminum fames due to cost. The sun directly hitting most windows was not a consideration in our particular home design.

Several of the above Window Companies had DIFFERENT levels of STYLE, PRICE and GRADE of the frames. You could alter the price by your choice of actual glass, frame and location to have the windows installed. All of these companies had many places near Bangkok I could go view specific grades and styles of windows. It was worth the time to look around and in the end I selected the fabricator my architect builder suggested.

All of these companies understand waiting to install the windows until after the alarm company has installed wires to each window and door.

At lest one of these firms used a laser level to insure the door frame bottoms were level and the door opened with little effort. THREE Point locks, 14 inch hinges and other real stainless steel screws were the norm with the above companies.

[ProjectSupplies]

You may click the projectsuppliesdirect link at the head of the page.

We have several downloadable pdf files on our website outlining our pvc specifications. All profiles are imported from Germany and have the option of double glazing/mosquito screens. You may also have a look at some of our most recent/current projects in Thailand that have opted to use ourselves. ( Including the Hard Rock Hotel refit in Pattaya ).

Our factory is in Bangkok with offices located throughout Thailand.

The company is English owned and all aspects of producion to installation are headed by European management.

If you see anything that may be of interest to you feel free to drop us an email.

Regards

PSD.

[kamalabob2]

This morning our Casement, Single Hung and Awning windows for our home in Buriram Province arrived from Chonburi. The same four men who did the measurements came with the Guardian Glass 6mm Tempered glass windows in Aluminum Frames by Schimmer Metal. This crew had modern tools and never even took a smoke break. All of our windows were screwed into place by 5:30p.m. Sunday they start on the silicone caulking. In about one month they will return with the tempered shower doors and sliding glass doors. When they return they will finish the installation of locking handles on the single hung windows. The crew sleeps in the workers camp and so far I am very impressed with Dr. Temper. There is a one month gap since we now can complete the paint job, ceilings and floors prior to the sliding glass doors and bathroom mirror installation. We do not have any floor to ceiling windows or anything wild in the design. The price was lower than any of the other bids I received for fabricated windows from a proper factory and not "made on site" windows. You can see Schimmer Metal in a simple google search. The Guardian Glass representative confirmed Dr. Temper purchased the proper glass and utilizes an authorized Tempering contractor. We have mosquito screens that roll up into the frame of the Single Hung windows and are Pop Up for the Casement and Awning Windows. The window and screen frames are a simple powdered coating white, but other colors were readily available.