BoJangles Budget Bungalow in the Boonies

[mrbojangles]

Have you considered sliding door to the bathroom. It gives more space and is also safer as an inward opening door is dangerous if someone for any reason colapses against the door...it does happen often.

Funnily enough, at the moment when I'm watching something on TV, I find myself looking at the designs in the houses more than I am watching the actual programme. Don't know if anyone else does that.

Anyway, last night I was watching something on TV and in this house they had sliding doors everwhere. It was one of the first things that I noticed and I'm definately going to have a look at what is available.

Interior wise, I'm quite minimalist and I like clean modern looks"and these sliding doors would fit perfectly with what I have in mind for the inside. For instance, the tiles will be a neutral colour throughout. I'm not into the "traditional" multi-coloured or flowery tile look. One of the main negotiations I had with the Mrs was that I decide on the interior colour scheme and materials.

[Boo]

sliding doors are a great idea & a big space saver. they also look good imo. very sleek

[mrbojangles]

Talking of windows. Any advise on windows would be greatly appreciated. Wood or Alluminium, Double or single glazed, costs etc. I have asked the wifes brothers to only brick up to window level, where there is a window on the plan (kitchen isn't an issue, as construction hasn't started there yet).

Wood is beautiful but it is a nightmare when it comes to maintenance. With uPVC or aliminium you basically get what you are paying for, there are some very good brands but they cost more. Personally I favour good quality uPVC frames using tinted tempered glass. About 40% tint reduces the heat transmission quite a lot. Double gazing is of course better but using that together with aluminium frames is a waist since aluminium is a very good heat conductor.

With regards to insulation you have to take an over-all view of the build, not only focus on one part. Remember the weakest link on the chain determines the strength of the chain. Building the walls using dual layer of super blocks, CPAC Monier's double-coated roof insulation, uPVC window frames and tinted single glazing will carry you a long way.

Thanks stgrhe.

Do you know if it's cheaper buying pre-made windows or is the price the same for having them made to measure?

As for insulation etc. All the walls are dual layer concrete blocks (i think you can see them in the pictures I have posted). As for the roof. When I was up there a couple of weeks ago we went to look at a manufacturers place. The one I am going for is a metal sheet and I think it is cut in one piece for each side. There were cheaper options but I went for a brown colour coating that has a guarantee for no fading (thus not poisoning the water that is collected from the roof). It also has a silver coating on the back. I'll try and get a sample picture. With the brother-in-laws discount, it ranged from 160 baht per sq metre to 230 baht and I am going for the 230 baht. The total will be about 90,000 baht for the main roof including ridge and edge trims and screws with colour caps etc and then the kitchen will be extra as I mentioned, this will be built later. I didn't think that was too bad a price.

[harrry]

Sliding doors can be quite cheap....normal doors can be used as long as you use good paint or varnish as I have....well I have two different coloured ones but that can be fixed if I wasn't lazy/

The bathroom and kitchen turned out pretty good as it was the old filled in space between the house and the fence...smartboard does wonders.

You may like to notice the fans..there is one in each of two corners of each room...they work well.

I am quite proud of how the house turned out as it was very basic to start. It is now a nice comfortable accessible home.

ps If plastic chairs are good enough for villagefarang they must be good enough for me.

Edited September 19, 2011 by harrry

[stgrhe]

Do you know if it's cheaper buying pre-made windows or is the price the same for having them made to measure?

The way the Thais are construction houses one must purchase tailor made window and door frames. The builders just make an empty slot and the measurements will be what they will be so standardised frames would not fit.

[mrbojangles]

Do you know if it's cheaper buying pre-made windows or is the price the same for having them made to measure?

The way the Thais are construction houses one must purchase tailor made window and door frames. The builders just make an empty slot and the measurements will be what they will be so standardised frames would not fit.

That's a bummer. In the UK I have had several big extentions done and I used to go direct to window manufacturers and buy any that they had made wrong for previous customers. Saved a fortune but never lacked on quality.

[harrry]

Do you know if it's cheaper buying pre-made windows or is the price the same for having them made to measure?

The way the Thais are construction houses one must purchase tailor made window and door frames. The builders just make an empty slot and the measurements will be what they will be so standardised frames would not fit.

That's a bummer. In the UK I have had several big extentions done and I used to go direct to window manufacturers and buy any that they had made wrong for previous customers. Saved a fortune but never lacked on quality.

My windows were custom built in about one hour for round 3500baht including flyscreens. Because I did not want to remove the existing shutters and security grills (or the better half didn't) they fitted them on the inside of the house they worked out quite well.

[mrbojangles]

Is that for Alluminium harry?

[harrry]

Is that for Alluminium harry?

Yes with fairly thick tinted glass and good sliding flyscreens. This is in Chiangrai. We remade an existing house that belonged to my wife's family...it was a rental so was in prety poor shape but it came up pretty well. refloored...did new toilet and bathroom upstairs and downstairs painted with good paint windows new kitchen and all new electricals with a 45/100 amp power supply and new water tank and pumps.

Edited September 20, 2011 by harrry

[rgs2001uk]

Do you know if it's cheaper buying pre-made windows or is the price the same for having them made to measure?

The way the Thais are construction houses one must purchase tailor made window and door frames. The builders just make an empty slot and the measurements will be what they will be so standardised frames would not fit.

Depends on the type of frame, most wooden window frames are bought from a shop and come in standard sizes, fitted then the wall built round it.

Aluminium or PVC the builders will leave a gap at roughly the size in the house plans, the fitters will come and cut to size on site, so every window will not be a uniform size.

[flying]

Talking of windows. Any advise on windows would be greatly appreciated. Wood or Alluminium, Double or single glazed, costs etc. I have asked the wifes brothers to only brick up to window level, where there is a window on the plan (kitchen isn't an issue, as construction hasn't started there yet).

The idea is to then try and buy the windows off the shelf and brick around them, rather than bricking up and leaving a window space and having to have the windows made to measure. Will this be a cheaper way or will they be the same price off the shelf or made to measure?

I see some folks already gave good advise on windows ( double glazed & Low-E coatings glass )

http://www.efficientwindows.org/lowe.cfm

As for prices of built versus pre-built...I do not know the prices there in LOS.

My guess is the builders there are cheaper but as to what overall quality I do not know.

We did have some installed/built for the in-laws house & they are ok & same as another poster showed pictures of.

Since you said you stopped the walls short of the windows I guess it may behoove you to go take a look

at both options since your not committed by the building yet.

Good Luck

Edited September 20, 2011 by flying

[spoon1967]

Mr B,

I'm keen to see how you get on and the overall cost, I'm looking at starting building something similar in November, I'm in the same boat as you (in KSA) so hoping the wife and her family will supervise the work. Did you get your own plans drawn?

[mrbojangles]

Since you said you stopped the walls short of the windows I guess it may behoove you to go take a look

at both options since your not committed by the building yet.

Good Luck

Cheers flying. Looks like that's the way I'll go. It will obviously slow down progress but I'd sooner do it how i want it than rush the job.

[mrbojangles]

Mr B,

I'm keen to see how you get on and the overall cost, I'm looking at starting building something similar in November, I'm in the same boat as you (in KSA) so hoping the wife and her family will supervise the work. Did you get your own plans drawn?

No problem with telling you the costs. I don't know if you have read the full thread but it's the wifes brothers who are buiding it. We buy the materials they need and then we pay them 250 baht ea per day. It's good for them because we are not in a rush, they just fit in a day here and there in between other jobs.

They have built loads in the area and the wife went to look at a few, she then did some adjustments to incorporate her ideas of one that they built last year and they then just cracked on. No plans were needed just a rough sketch.

[mrbojangles]

rgs2001uk just gave me a link to some very useful building terms in English and Thai. I've had an headache upto now trying to get some of these words in Thai.

many thanks rgs :jap:

http://www.pvcwindows-thailand.com/useful_words.html

[stgrhe]

rgs2001uk just gave me a link to some very useful building terms in English and Thai. I've had an headache upto now trying to get some of these words in Thai.

many thanks rgs :jap:

http://www.pvcwindow...eful_words.html

Maybe the attached list is the same as you already got, but I attach it never-the-less so you don't miss anything.

Thai Building Words.doc

[spoon1967]

cheers Mr B,

I'll be watching your progress closely.

If you don't mind me asking......Where and what do you do in KSA ? you can PM if you don't want to make the info public

[mrbojangles]

A bit of advise from you folks if I may.

Within the next month or so, I'm going to give the go ahead to start building up the external walls. Originally, the plan was to go standard dual layered concrete block with a cavity etc. However, wanting to know what the latest methods and alternatives were, I have just done some searching around on the internet.

Does anyone know anything about external insulation and if it is available in Thailand? Basically, it's an insulation layer covered with mesh and fixed to the outside wall. A top coat of render is then applied and then a finish coat.

A few things I like about this are:-

1) The outside walls would have to be rendered anyway, so this seems a neat and tidy alternative to dual skin brick.

2) I won't lose any of the space inside the house like I will with a dual layered brick wall.

3)I have been confused as to how much heat and cold transferance there will be to the inside of the house through the concrete pillars. This method covers the pillars and will therefore erase all of that.

Any thoughts (especially on price and availabilty) would be greatly appreciated. :jap:

[harrry]

A bit of advise from you folks if I may.

Within the next month or so, I'm going to give the go ahead to start building up the external walls. Originally, the plan was to go standard dual layered concrete block with a cavity etc. However, wanting to know what the latest methods and alternatives were, I have just done some searching around on the internet.

Does anyone know anything about external insulation and if it is available in Thailand? Basically, it's an insulation layer covered with mesh and fixed to the outside wall. A top coat of render is then applied and then a finish coat.

A few things I like about this are:-

1) The outside walls would have to be rendered anyway, so this seems a neat and tidy alternative to dual skin brick.

2) I won't lose any of the space inside the house like I will with a dual layered brick wall.

3)I have been confused as to how much heat and cold transferance there will be to the inside of the house through the concrete pillars. This method covers the pillars and will therefore erase all of that.

Any thoughts (especially on price and availabilty) would be greatly appreciated. :jap:

My guess is worry about.

1. Roof insulation and ventilation.

2. Roof colour....paint it light or white to reflect heat not dark.

3 double glazing or shutters.

posible insulation between floor of two story mainly to reduce noise but heat too.

[mrbojangles]

My guess is worry about.

1. Roof insulation and ventilation.

2. Roof colour....paint it light or white to reflect heat not dark.

3 double glazing or shutters.

posible insulation between floor of two story mainly to reduce noise but heat too.

Thanks for the quick reply Harry.

The roof is going to be a dark brown colour but with a silver backed insulation on the underside. I just couldn't go with the "normal" blue roof theme that is in the area. I know what you mean about using dark colour but aesthetics have to also play a part. Hopefully the underside insulation of the roofing material and the insulation in the roof space itself will negate the problem of the colour i have chosen.

The windows will be double glazed and the house is only one floor.

[stgrhe]

The roof is going to be a dark brown colour but with a silver backed insulation on the underside. I just couldn't go with the "normal" blue roof theme that is in the area. I know what you mean about using dark colour but aesthetics have to also play a part. Hopefully the underside insulation of the roofing material and the insulation in the roof space itself will negate the problem of the colour i have chosen.

The thin aluminium sheet would not help you very much. There are studies made, which you can find if you search the internet, that is a proof of that. It might help a bit on radiant heat if installed correctly but it has no effect at all on the more troublesome convection heat. Spend some money on the insulation type shown below and also make sure your attic will be well vented.

[mrbojangles]

The roof is going to be a dark brown colour but with a silver backed insulation on the underside. I just couldn't go with the "normal" blue roof theme that is in the area. I know what you mean about using dark colour but aesthetics have to also play a part. Hopefully the underside insulation of the roofing material and the insulation in the roof space itself will negate the problem of the colour i have chosen.

The thin aluminium sheet would not help you very much. There are studies made, which you can find if you search the internet, that is a proof of that. It might help a bit on radiant heat if installed correctly but it has no effect at all on the more troublesome convection heat. Spend some money on the insulation type shown below and also make sure your attic will be well vented.

Thanks for your comments stgrhe.

How much would that roof cost? This one is coming in at about 90,000 baht.

To be honest, a rock and a hard place is where I feel at the moment. I'm trying to do my best on what is really just a "budget bungalow" built in a normal thai style in the village, this will never be a Grade 1 type of construction but I am trying to improve on a normal build by adding what I consider to be important extra's that are worth the extra money. It's easy to get carried away spending more and more on a property that I will probably use for a total of 6 days per year. Albeit the wife will use it more. As I have said, the house we will be living in full time will be nothing like the construction of this "holiday" home.

Also, I don't think the steel roof construction would hold the heavy weight of those tiles in the picture and therefore I am having to go for the steel sheeting roof, of which I am going for the top of the range with a bit of insulation and a guarantee against fading. Most houses are just the thin blue sheets with nothing underneath and they fade. I will also be putting insulation above the ceiling in the roof space, similar to the one in your picture.

I've had lots of pm's from people who are interested in costs and method's as not everyone can afford or even want to build a top notch house in a village. I for one, have absolutely no intention of living full time in the village. I wasn't brought up in a rural area in the UK and it just isn't my style. I'm therefore just building something that will hopefully be somewhere in the middle, it also seems to be of interest to many others who wish to build on a budget.

Have you any knowledge of the exterior wall insulation and if it is available? :jap:

[stgrhe]

How much would that roof cost?

I honestly do not know the price for CPAC's insulation shown in the picture above. But since you are on a limited budget, most of us are in fact that, I mean you should try to get the best for the "buck" sort of speak, and the thin aluminium folio will do very little, if anything at all, on improving the roof insulation. It can actually worsen since if may store the heat. The cheapest way is to build the attic so it is vented and possibly also install an extraction fan that extract the accumulated hot air.

Have you any knowledge of the exterior wall insulation and if it is available?

I didn't use any special wall insulation material but built the walls with dual layers of super blocks with a cavity in between. Air is a very good insulator.

[Naam]

To be honest, a rock and a hard place is where I feel at the moment. I'm trying to do my best on what is really just a "budget bungalow" built in a normal thai style in the village, this will never be a Grade 1 type of construction but I am trying to improve on a normal build by adding what I consider to be important extra's that are worth the extra money.

no your are not Mr Bo! considering a budget bungalow with double glazed windows in a country where delta t is maximum 7-8ºC should the home be partly airconditioned is throwing pearls before swine. and if the home is not airconditioned all your insulation efforts are <insert any obscene expression my late mother forbade me to say>.

[mrbojangles]

How much would that roof cost?

I honestly do not know the price for CPAC's insulation shown in the picture above. But since you are on a limited budget, most of us are in fact that, I mean you should try to get the best for the "buck" sort of speak, and the thin aluminium folio will do very little, if anything at all, on improving the roof insulation. It can actually worsen since if may store the heat. The cheapest way is to build the attic so it is vented and possibly also install an extraction fan that extract the accumulated hot air.

Thanks stgrhe.

I think I get what you mean now. Are you saying rather than buy the sheet roof with the thin foil on the back. Buy the sheet roof without and use the thick reflective insulation in your post above directly underneath the sheet roof. Would this then be sufficient total insulation? This would mean I would save about 70 baht per sqm on the sheet roof and also not have to buy the insulation to lay on top of the ceiling.

A quick calculation would mean that the sheet roof would then only cost about 60,000 instead of 90,000 baht. Giving me about 30,000 towards the cost of the thick reflective insulation.

Do you think this is a good middle ground? As I say, I don't know what the load baring weight is of the roof construction but I doubt it would carry those heavy CPAC tiles.

[mrbojangles]

To be honest, a rock and a hard place is where I feel at the moment. I'm trying to do my best on what is really just a "budget bungalow" built in a normal thai style in the village, this will never be a Grade 1 type of construction but I am trying to improve on a normal build by adding what I consider to be important extra's that are worth the extra money.

no your are not Mr Bo! considering a budget bungalow with double glazed windows in a country where delta t is maximum 7-8ºC should the home be partly airconditioned is throwing pearls before swine. and if the home is not airconditioned all your insulation efforts are <insert any obscene expression my late mother forbade me to say>.

Are you saying forget doing all the insulation Naam? Originally, my main idea for the roof was more about reducing the noise when it rains rather than worrying too much about the heat and cold.

[Crossy]

Bluescope do a steel roofing panel with a thin insulation sheet bonded on, looks like it's really for noise deadening rather than insulation, but it's got to have some effect isolating a roof which is getting hot by radiation.

Have a look on coolthaihouse.com the thread is "Building in Nontharburi/Pak Kret"

[harrry]

I have the impression from the plan that some airconditioning will be needed. He has chosen to divide the plan into small rooms which provide little or no opportunity for cross flow ventilation,

My preference would be for more open plan with cross flow ventilation and open windows with the option to use airconditioning when needed which would be helped by double glazing.

I still think that a dark roof is a major mistake.

[mrbojangles]

Bluescope do a steel roofing panel with a thin insulation sheet bonded on, looks like it's really for noise deadening rather than insulation, but it's got to have some effect isolating a roof which is getting hot by radiation.

Have a look on coolthaihouse.com the thread is "Building in Nontharburi/Pak Kret"

Cheers Crossy. That roofing panel you mention sounds like the one I was talking about. I will have a lokk on there.

[mrbojangles]

I have the impression from the plan that some airconditioning will be needed. He has chosen to divide the plan into small rooms which provide little or no opportunity for cross flow ventilation,

My preference would be for more open plan with cross flow ventilation and open windows with the option to use airconditioning when needed which would be helped by double glazing.

I still think that a dark roof is a major mistake.

Harry, there will be one air conditioning unit which will be in my (our) main bedroom and it will be kept locked when I'm not there. For the 6 or so days per year I will be there, I should have a little comfort if it's hot. For the remaining 359 days of the year, I know various people in the family will use the house but I'm not going to fit an air conditioning unit and pay the electric bill as well.

As for the rooms being divided. How do you open plan bedrooms? Bed 1 is needed for me and wife. Bed 2 for our daughter and bed 3 for father in-law. I don't really have a choice, apart from doubling up on the size of the house, which I'm not going to do. My non-budget house however, will be very open plan and airy.