Redoing The Floor

[kerr17]

Unfortunately due to some flooding problem I'll have to redo my entire living room flooring (about 30 sqm) and considering my options.

Would anyone know any reliable company in the Bangkok area that have used or has heard of doing a competent job?

I'm looking for professionals that specialize in this area of work possibly on a reasonable price (I'm on a budget).

[rgs2001uk]

Head over to the Bangkok forum where this very topic is being discussed, topic header says something about tiling.

You may want to consider prices of materials before choosing the material.

Wood, mai daeng starts about 1,800 baht per s/m (1 inch thick, 6 inch wide, 1 metre length, tongued and grooved), mai sak and mai makka will be even more expensive.

Granite starts at about 600 baht per s/m, imported Italian marble will easily cost 2,000 baht and upwards.

Laminate, depending on quality can easily be as expensive as real wood, irrespective of price I wouldnt even consider it.

If your area is prone to flooding I would stick with cheap tiles.

[meatboy]

laminate is not water freindly and very slippery,wood termites love it,that leaves tiles,dont even think about the other two.

[cheeryble]

Head over to the Bangkok forum where this very topic is being discussed, topic header says something about tiling.

You may want to consider prices of materials before choosing the material.

Wood, mai daeng starts about 1,800 baht per s/m (1 inch thick, 6 inch wide, 1 metre length, tongued and grooved), mai sak and mai makka will be even more expensive.

Granite starts at about 600 baht per s/m, imported Italian marble will easily cost 2,000 baht and upwards.

Laminate, depending on quality can easily be as expensive as real wood, irrespective of price I wouldnt even consider it.

If your area is prone to flooding I would stick with cheap tiles.

If this was a one-off flood wood may be OK.

You may consider the smallest parquet it comes out very cheap even though teak it's basically made from offcuts I seem to remember less than 300bt/m2 but can look very good if not done the old fashioned rather dark red finish.

The base of course needs to be flat and firm.

If you use these parquet tiles for a bit extra you can bleach them to a lighter shade with a two part bleach. After that you may even like to rub in a yellow ochre for a Swedish look.

I then suggest you use matt varnish it has a more contemporary look than gloss. Epoxy varnish is very strong but any scratches are hell to conceal, go with regular good quality.

Cheeryble

[jcon]

I'm leaving the country very soon and having a guy do tiles in my last and smallest condo before I sell it. Of all of the guys I've had do flooring, he is the best considering his price. I've had slate, teak, granite, polished concrete in my other homes/condos, but it turns out that this guy laying the cheapest tile I could find at Boonthaworn (I paid 63baht per 60x60cm tiles), in my cheapest property, looks pretty darn good. I would recommend him to anybody, and I'm picky. He was initially lazy, and asked for all kinds of money for this and that, but after I got on his ass for being lazy and not doing what I paid him to do (I had advanced him 70% of the money already, nice guy that I was), he finally got going.

Of course I have to be there every single day to make sure, which is a pain in the ass as I have to leave within days... Anyway, he could have taken my money and walked and said ''find somebody else,'' especially after the verbal abuse I gave him, but he is a stand up guy and did the job. He also uses one of those diamond-cutter things that you lay on the floor to slice tile instead of those god-awful grinders which cause so much dust and noise you have no idea... He's worked in Jordan laying tile for 2 years, and while a bit slow, he really takes pride in his work and it shows. His rate is about 250-300 baht/sqm which is better than paying some Somchai 200bht/m2 do just stick some glue to a tile and lay it.... I would recommend him to anybody (especially for ''cheaper'' jobs, and possibly even for a more expensive home - his work is better than what I've seen ''professional contractors'' do in 7-8million baht homes. PM me if you want his info - he only speaks Thai, so hopefully you have somebody Thai there to speak to him. He's also kind of deaf so speak loudly.....

Call it a total of 20k for your job. 10k for tiles and 10k for labor which will include some demo/removal and sand and cement and gas and what-not. Don't skimp on labor like this, it shows. 1000baht/m2 tile + shitty tile guy = crap work. Cheap tile + great tile guy = pretty darn good. For disclosure this is just a small condo I'm selling before I leave, if it were my home I'd be much more particular with the tile and overseeing the work (as I have for my other houses), but for what you're looking for, this is a great guy - and I had fired 3 guys prior to him for crappy work so I'm still picky even though it's a cheap condo.... I feel bad for yelling at him now!

p.s. To address your question about laminate - termites... termites... termites... Thailand is full of them and it's wet here and etc. etc. etc. Sure some people do well with it but from all the laminate floors I've seen, they don't last. Like I said, I've had slate, teak, granite, and polished cement - never laminate, and for good reason IMO.