Maha Sarakham

[expatgaz]

I've asked this before and had a poor response so lets try my luck again.Iam going to shortly be building a house in my wifes vilage close to Mahasarakham, there are a few lovely "farang"houses close by, can anyone recommend a builder to build for me ? Any expats in the area know of anyone ? failing that I'll have to start driving around knockin on doors.

Thanks.

[farangnoi]

just an idea, try to find out to who these "farang"houses belong to and maybe somebody has a contact adress for you, and then ask them (most of the time the mother of the wife is living in it)

[blue eyes]

try to find out to who these "farang"houses belong to (most of the time the mother of the wife is living in it)

Most if the time?That is an under statment!!!!!!!! (maybe always)

[citizen33]

Although I am not an expert, I have some limited experience of overseeing the building of a house and also a small bungalow in the Mahasarakham area. Generally speaking there are not too many professional building companies (other than large firms working on the estates that are springing up around the city) and you will need to engage the services of a local foreman (chang yai). Such a person will probably also be working as a farmer when the building trade goes quiet. This foreman will hire workers and oversee the building project. You can agree a price on all inclusive basis or for labour only (with you choosing what materials to buy directly). I think the second approach is better because there is then no incentive for the chang to buy cheap fittings and materials. The capability of different artisans is very variable, especially when it comes to things like electrical wiring and carpentry. The earlier suggestion that you find a well-built house and then ask who did the work is a good idea. You may also be able to buy a cheap copy of the plans from the owner of any house that you like. My personal contacts are in the Kantarawichai area (in the direction of Kalasin from MS). If you are building near there, I can recommend a reliable chang (named Khun Cum). He lives near the temple in Ban Lao (Moo 10), about 4km from Kantarawichai. When you approach somebody, ask to see some of his houses. Usually you will be taken to see a couple, which will let you check your first impression if you got the name by viewing a house.

[expatgaz]

Thanks, Great help.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Good luck Gaz. It is a worry

[sezzo]

Having just completed a house using a local builder (part of the family) for labour only and buying the materials myself, I found this a very economical way of building. You are in control of what quality materials you buy as well as are able to shop around for the best price. Living in a small town (4 or 5 small hardware places) about 100 ks from a provincial capital city I found the easiest way was to shop around the hardwares in town for easy things like cement, bricks or blocks, sand, stone etc. The bigger items like roofing material, plasterboard (gypsum) etc I bought at the big hardware place in Ubon. Heaps of savings there (more than paid for the fuel costs of driving there).

I got a few quotes from builders in my village and from the family member and chose him due to the fact that he would lose face in the family if he did a bad job. Overall the job was done well with a crew of 11 workers. I was on site everyday and checking up on things and came away more than happy with the job. Mind you I have only built a typical thai style home but just made it more comfortable and finished off much better than most thais would.