I'm surprised to read about these examples of poor workmanship. Our house is nearing completion now and the quality of workmanship is nothing short of excellent. A close eye has been kept on every stage of the project, including by myself in recent weeks, and the care taken by all of the trades would put to shame the work of many of their British equivalents. As an example, the tiler periodically goes back over his work and replaces tiles that are not perfectly set or where the colour shade is not sufficiently close to that of surrounding tiles.

Perhaps we have been fortunate in choosing a good builder who, in turn, has employed only good sub-contractors. However, I've had a casual look around the village at other new building work, including a traditional timber house, and found only one example of shoddy work and that was the use of second-quality window frames. When we complain, do we compare Thai workmanship with standards back home or with a own view of perfection?

Here's a pic. of the commencement of the 'granite' floor grinding work:

Hey Morden, where are you building ?? you said village, so presume not bangkok then.

By the way, in your pic, did you see the wall to the right is crooked ??

It's about 30 minutes from Korat town.

The converging angles are the result of using a wide angle lens inclined at an angle below the vertical. But you knew that! . Believe me, the verticals and horizontals are true because I checked. Not all of the walls meet at exactly 90 degrees but I'm used to that in the UK - it's nothing that you'd notice unless you really wanted to.

I have to agree that proper management is a wise precaution. The builder is using good workers but he's on a fixed price, fixed period contract with us. When we have not been on site father-in-law has been there. All in all, I would say that the building standards on our house are equal to or even better than those I have experienced on my previous new homes in the UK. The materials are better too - steel roof struts and concrete floors for example. No plasterboard and no chipboard.

Today they forgot to sand the wall. That didn't stop them from painting it

Also, is it OK to paint a concrete wall without plastering it first ?

W/out sealing it first?

Short answer - no; especially with the domestic paint available in Thailand.

sealing, plastering ? what's the difference ?

Are you saying that painting on concrete with a good brand is OK ?

Today they forgot to sand the wall. That didn't stop them from painting it

Also, is it OK to paint a concrete wall without plastering it first ?

W/out sealing it first?

Short answer - no; especially with the domestic paint available in Thailand.

sealing, plastering ? what's the difference ?

Are you saying that painting on concrete with a good brand is OK ?

TOA Classic exterior is good stuff, you have to undercoat first or it will blacken in the sun.

Avoid using white! unless you want to re-paint 3 times a year to keep it looking tip top!

Today they forgot to sand the wall. That didn't stop them from painting it

Also, is it OK to paint a concrete wall without plastering it first ?

W/out sealing it first?

Short answer - no; especially with the domestic paint available in Thailand.

sealing, plastering ? what's the difference ?

Are you saying that painting on concrete with a good brand is OK ?

TOA Classic exterior is good stuff, you have to undercoat first or it will blacken in the sun.

Avoid using white! unless you want to re-paint 3 times a year to keep it looking tip top!

Good to know. Actually I was refering to interior paint. They are painting directly on the interior concrete. I find this odd.