Construction Costs In Issan

[hhfarang]

Does anyone know the current approximate construction cost per square meter of building a typical Thai village home in a rural village in Loei province?

It will not be fancy but the usual Thai construction consisting of a single story with a footing foundation raising the floor approximately 1 meter off the ground, poured steel reinforced cement beams and columns for structural support, 10 centimeter cement block walls, a corrugated fiberglass roof and aluminum windows. Interior doors can be plastic or cheaper wood with the only other (good) wood being the 2 entry doors. Wiring and plumbing will be on the outside of the walls (not imbedded), and in the crawlspace and attic but I want to use good quality wire, pipes and conduits. The only lighting will be ceiling lighting, so nothing installed inside the walls. The floor will be poured reinforced cement covered with ceramic tile, the ceiling gypsum. A wall a/c unit in one bedroom only with ceiling fans in the other bedroom, living, room, dining room, and kitchen. The single bathroom will be a simple Thai wet room with a sit down toilet, a sink, and open shower with water heater on the wall. Kitchen will be a Thai kitchen with a tiled cement counter with plastic doors underneath, double aluminum sink, no built in appliances or wooden overhead cabinets.

We were going to remodel the existing home but after looking closely at the condition, I think a tear down and rebuild are in order. Any advice on costs will be helpful so that I can plan the budget.

Thanks in advance for you answers.

[Jezz]

Not going into precise square metres, finishes etc, but I did similar job involving restoring an old house on stilts, making a modern 2-bedroom bungalow below with suspended ceiling, fancy lighting, aluminium doors and windows, flyscreens, fitted thai-style kitchen, 2 bathrooms (1 up,1 down) with electric showers, 2 aircons, etc, etc, for 700,000 baht 3 years ago. All electric cable is inside the walls. This was a a fixed price paid to one guy who subcontracted things like electrics to other teams.

[sometimewoodworker]

You can see my wife's build on coolthaihouse as Grandmums house 330,000 bhat

[Diablo Bob]

Just got a quote last month for a 50sm Thai quality house in Buriram province for 4000 B/m2. This just bare bones basic......

If I were to live in it, I would upgrade the bathroom and the houses electrical system. Inasmuch as you want a ceiling be advised that you will need to enclose the roofs soffit (Overhang) and prepare the ceiling to receive fans by installing electrical boxes. Having a ceiling keeps the house cleaned but also makes the house hotter by trapping the hot air underneath the ceiling rather then let it rise into what you call the attic. I would consider only putting the ceiling in the bedroom that receives the AC and have a vauted ceiling elsewhere. With a creative contractor fans could be installed in the other spaces and not be unsightly.

Every deviation from the norm will add additional material & labor cost so don't be surprised when the 4000 number climbs. Depending on design and materials I have seen Western style homes range from 9000-15000sm and probably without looking very hard find numbers lower/higher. Both of my homes in Thailand worked out to around 15,000sm excluding land cost.

[cdmtdm]

i would say at that level of finish around 6000 to 8000 baht /sqm ,,,,

[ozzydom]

Are 10cm concrete blocks available? 5cm rendered is the norm,although double bricking is possible at a price.

Corrugated fibreglass roofing is also abit out of the ordinary.

[cardholder]

i would say at that level of finish around 6000 to 8000 baht /sqm ,,,,

I would agree.

I have just spent 1.1m on a 96 sqm one bed bungalow (32sqm is balcony) + 30 sqm store room with o/s wc + 4 x 4 sala. We uprated in several areas including using Qcon blocks a decent windows etc. I reckon I could have saved over 150k with tighter management.

[diggledunc]

Have looked into this for a friend. very good foreign builder 12,000, good thai company I know 8-9,000 and it was very decent, village builders 4-5,000 and if you're not there when they are building will cost you a lot after. Goos luck. Good Thai builder came from Udon Thani.

[CTO]

This is a good thread a good house built for 320 000 baht, if only because I have my mum's little fairy house in there which cost 50 000 baht

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/555722-our-320000-baht-house-done/

[Yo Sup]

Have looked into this for a friend. very good foreign builder 12,000, good thai company I know 8-9,000 and it was very decent, village builders 4-5,000 and if you're not there when they are building will cost you a lot after. Goos luck. Good Thai builder came from Udon Thani.

I'm curious about the 4-5000 baht scenario. Is that labor and materials, or just labor?

Since I paid my way through uni running a crew and building custom houses, I know to spend the time watching everything, counting everything, and running a tape and level on all of the progress. You have to keep it all plumb and square.

[jamescollister]

Think you can build very cheaply if you are not in a hurry. Our, still unfinished house, no money, pay as we go. Builder works very cheap and only works when he has nothing else on. We buy all the materials and he quotes per job.

House is 15 meters wide and 36 meters long, single story, 6 bedrooms, 2 of which are more like bedsits. Rest off the place is a big open roofed area, helps keep the place cooler. 2 toilets, shower etc.

Not sure how much it's cost so far, but would be under 1 mil Baht and that includes a 5 by 5 meter stilt patio out back. Jim

[diggledunc]

Have looked into this for a friend. very good foreign builder 12,000, good thai company I know 8-9,000 and it was very decent, village builders 4-5,000 and if you're not there when they are building will cost you a lot after. Goos luck. Good Thai builder came from Udon Thani.

I'm curious about the 4-5000 baht scenario. Is that labor and materials, or just labor?

Since I paid my way through uni running a crew and building custom houses, I know to spend the time watching everything, counting everything, and running a tape and level on all of the progress. You have to keep it all plumb and square.

I'm talking village builders here. 4-5,000 all in materials and labour but like I said the quality of work will not be good and they will try and cut down on specification. Example last year while I was in UK my partner built one bog room on the side with part cut out for a garage/car port. Gross External Area c72sqm cost 173,000B. Had a few problems and I wasn't happy with some of the spec. That's about 2,400sqm but there was minimal plumbing as the house already had bathrooms etc.

Ex-surveyor myself. Running a tape over things etc and counting in and out and the village builders would probably walk off site. From my experience they can't read plans and have only one way of building so that's why it's cheap. If you have a fixed price or as fixed as it can be time is not so much of a problem it is quality of work. The European builder I know in the main town has had a lot of problems getting Thais who can work to the standard required by farangs and that's at 12,000sqm so the low figure I quoted will only provide local low skilled workers who think they are highly skilled.

As a matter of interest have you built or are you thinking of building.

[diggledunc]

Think you can build very cheaply if you are not in a hurry. Our, still unfinished house, no money, pay as we go. Builder works very cheap and only works when he has nothing else on. We buy all the materials and he quotes per job.

House is 15 meters wide and 36 meters long, single story, 6 bedrooms, 2 of which are more like bedsits. Rest off the place is a big open roofed area, helps keep the place cooler. 2 toilets, shower etc.

Not sure how much it's cost so far, but would be under 1 mil Baht and that includes a 5 by 5 meter stilt patio out back. Jim

How does cost per sqm work out do you think on the liveable areas Are you in the same ballpark figures as me.

[diggledunc]

Have looked into this for a friend. very good foreign builder 12,000, good thai company I know 8-9,000 and it was very decent, village builders 4-5,000 and if you're not there when they are building will cost you a lot after. Goos luck. Good Thai builder came from Udon Thani.

I'm curious about the 4-5000 baht scenario. Is that labor and materials, or just labor?

Since I paid my way through uni running a crew and building custom houses, I know to spend the time watching everything, counting everything, and running a tape and level on all of the progress. You have to keep it all plumb and square.

I'm talking village builders here. 4-5,000 all in materials and labour but like I said the quality of work will not be good and they will try and cut down on specification. Example last year while I was in UK my partner built one bog room on the side with part cut out for a garage/car port. Gross External Area c72sqm cost 173,000B. Had a few problems and I wasn't happy with some of the spec. That's about 2,400sqm but there was minimal plumbing as the house already had bathrooms etc.

Ex-surveyor myself. Running a tape over things etc and counting in and out and the village builders would probably walk off site. From my experience they can't read plans and have only one way of building so that's why it's cheap. If you have a fixed price or as fixed as it can be time is not so much of a problem it is quality of work. The European builder I know in the main town has had a lot of problems getting Thais who can work to the standard required by farangs and that's at 12,000sqm so the low figure I quoted will only provide local low skilled workers who think they are highly skilled.

As a matter of interest have you built or are you thinking of building.

OOPS I meant big room not bog room could have different connotations. Why the hell do they put i and o together

[Apache704]

Are 10cm concrete blocks available? 5cm rendered is the norm,although double bricking is possible at a price.

Corrugated fibreglass roofing is also abit out of the ordinary.

Yes you can get larger concrete blocks in Udon Thani as I have done approximately 14 cm X 39 cm with 2 holes in the middle costing about 11 Baht a block,but you have to buy by the truckload,about 7500 Baht. Great blocks,heavy,great insulation,no posts needed.

[hhfarang]

Thanks for all the good info. This gives me an idea of the cost so that I can budget. I've built before, but in Hua Hin where the building costs are much higher and I built to a high western standard which is also very much more expensive that a simple Thai house.

[jamescollister]

Think you can build very cheaply if you are not in a hurry. Our, still unfinished house, no money, pay as we go. Builder works very cheap and only works when he has nothing else on. We buy all the materials and he quotes per job.

House is 15 meters wide and 36 meters long, single story, 6 bedrooms, 2 of which are more like bedsits. Rest off the place is a big open roofed area, helps keep the place cooler. 2 toilets, shower etc.

Not sure how much it's cost so far, but would be under 1 mil Baht and that includes a 5 by 5 meter stilt patio out back. Jim

How does cost per sqm work out do you think on the liveable areas Are you in the same ballpark figures as me.

]Not sure what you mean, we lived in an old stilt house to start, village. House had about 16 meter frontage. We build bedrooms on one side of old stilt house remained. new toilet and another big bedsit room built. Had the old stilt house, 3 rooms. At the time had 9 adults and 4 kids living here. BIls got their own homes old stilt house came down, 2 new unfinished bed room up. Area between the old stilt house and the new bedroom roofed over and ceilings put in. Open area from back to front, still work to be done in kitchen, but think less than 2,000 baht a meter.

Not like some people I know, who have beautiful homes and take a lot of pride in them, we have aircon in 3 rooms, seldom used. No front or back door.

Will try and get some photo's tomorrow, it's more a home than a house. Jim

[jambco984]

Think you can build very cheaply if you are not in a hurry. Our, still unfinished house, no money, pay as we go. Builder works very cheap and only works when he has nothing else on. We buy all the materials and he quotes per job.House is 15 meters wide and 36 meters long, single story, 6 bedrooms, 2 of which are more like bedsits. Rest off the place is a big open roofed area, helps keep the place cooler. 2 toilets, shower etc.Not sure how much it's cost so far, but would be under 1 mil Baht and that includes a 5 by 5 meter stilt patio out back. JimHow does cost per sqm work out do you think on the liveable areas Are you in the same ballpark figures as me.]Not sure what you mean, we lived in an old stilt house to start, village. House had about 16 meter frontage. We build bedrooms on one side of old stilt house remained. new toilet and another big bedsit room built. Had the old stilt house, 3 rooms. At the time had 9 adults and 4 kids living here. BIls got their own homes old stilt house came down, 2 new unfinished bed room up. Area between the old stilt house and the new bedroom roofed over and ceilings put in. Open area from back to front, still work to be done in kitchen, but think less than 2,000 baht a meter.Not like some people I know, who have beautiful homes and take a lot of pride in them, we have aircon in 3 rooms, seldom used. No front or back door.Will try and get some photo's tomorrow, it's more a home than a house. Jim

Like this thread a lot, thanks to op.

Jim

You tell it how it is and spare the drama I like the sound of how you built your home. Would love to here more if you have the time. Cheers.

[diggledunc]

Think you can build very cheaply if you are not in a hurry. Our, still unfinished house, no money, pay as we go. Builder works very cheap and only works when he has nothing else on. We buy all the materials and he quotes per job.

House is 15 meters wide and 36 meters long, single story, 6 bedrooms, 2 of which are more like bedsits. Rest off the place is a big open roofed area, helps keep the place cooler. 2 toilets, shower etc.

Not sure how much it's cost so far, but would be under 1 mil Baht and that includes a 5 by 5 meter stilt patio out back. Jim

How does cost per sqm work out do you think on the liveable areas Are you in the same ballpark figures as me.

]Not sure what you mean, we lived in an old stilt house to start, village. House had about 16 meter frontage. We build bedrooms on one side of old stilt house remained. new toilet and another big bedsit room built. Had the old stilt house, 3 rooms. At the time had 9 adults and 4 kids living here. BIls got their own homes old stilt house came down, 2 new unfinished bed room up. Area between the old stilt house and the new bedroom roofed over and ceilings put in. Open area from back to front, still work to be done in kitchen, but think less than 2,000 baht a meter.

Not like some people I know, who have beautiful homes and take a lot of pride in them, we have aircon in 3 rooms, seldom used. No front or back door.

Will try and get some photo's tomorrow, it's more a home than a house. Jim

Can see we are not talking like for like, thanks for getting back. Your figure less than 2,000 interesting similar ballpark but I assume it will rise when you have more work done. I can't do aircon as the village builders just didn't make anything airtight. Having to get a stock of cold beer in for the hot season to come. I wonder if I should consider this as a contingent cost if I ever had village builders in again.

[Yo Sup]

Have looked into this for a friend. very good foreign builder 12,000, good thai company I know 8-9,000 and it was very decent, village builders 4-5,000 and if you're not there when they are building will cost you a lot after. Goos luck. Good Thai builder came from Udon Thani.

I'm curious about the 4-5000 baht scenario. Is that labor and materials, or just labor?

Since I paid my way through uni running a crew and building custom houses, I know to spend the time watching everything, counting everything, and running a tape and level on all of the progress. You have to keep it all plumb and square.

I'm talking village builders here. 4-5,000 all in materials and labour but like I said the quality of work will not be good and they will try and cut down on specification. Example last year while I was in UK my partner built one bog room on the side with part cut out for a garage/car port. Gross External Area c72sqm cost 173,000B. Had a few problems and I wasn't happy with some of the spec. That's about 2,400sqm but there was minimal plumbing as the house already had bathrooms etc.

Ex-surveyor myself. Running a tape over things etc and counting in and out and the village builders would probably walk off site. From my experience they can't read plans and have only one way of building so that's why it's cheap. If you have a fixed price or as fixed as it can be time is not so much of a problem it is quality of work. The European builder I know in the main town has had a lot of problems getting Thais who can work to the standard required by farangs and that's at 12,000sqm so the low figure I quoted will only provide local low skilled workers who think they are highly skilled.

As a matter of interest have you built or are you thinking of building.

I'm going to build in Ranong, on the border of Burma. I'll use the free house plans provided by the Thai government and build on TG's land, with a lease of course... I may just do the whole job myself with a couple Burmese laborers to lift the heavy things. The plumbing and electric I'll job out.

I find the Burmese more accommodating and able to communicate, but I am sure they are not without their problems too. Some free fish, rice and a cold beer at the end of the day goes a long way for the cause...

[CTO]

who have beautiful homes and take a lot of pride in them, we have aircon in 3 rooms, seldom used. No front or back door.

Sounds like our house, nearly no doors. and twigs shoved through a hole as a lock

[diggledunc]

Have looked into this for a friend. very good foreign builder 12,000, good thai company I know 8-9,000 and it was very decent, village builders 4-5,000 and if you're not there when they are building will cost you a lot after. Goos luck. Good Thai builder came from Udon Thani.

I'm curious about the 4-5000 baht scenario. Is that labor and materials, or just labor?

Since I paid my way through uni running a crew and building custom houses, I know to spend the time watching everything, counting everything, and running a tape and level on all of the progress. You have to keep it all plumb and square.

I'm talking village builders here. 4-5,000 all in materials and labour but like I said the quality of work will not be good and they will try and cut down on specification. Example last year while I was in UK my partner built one bog room on the side with part cut out for a garage/car port. Gross External Area c72sqm cost 173,000B. Had a few problems and I wasn't happy with some of the spec. That's about 2,400sqm but there was minimal plumbing as the house already had bathrooms etc.

Ex-surveyor myself. Running a tape over things etc and counting in and out and the village builders would probably walk off site. From my experience they can't read plans and have only one way of building so that's why it's cheap. If you have a fixed price or as fixed as it can be time is not so much of a problem it is quality of work. The European builder I know in the main town has had a lot of problems getting Thais who can work to the standard required by farangs and that's at 12,000sqm so the low figure I quoted will only provide local low skilled workers who think they are highly skilled.

As a matter of interest have you built or are you thinking of building.

I'm going to build in Ranong, on the border of Burma. I'll use the free house plans provided by the Thai government and build on TG's land, with a lease of course... I may just do the whole job myself with a couple Burmese laborers to lift the heavy things. The plumbing and electric I'll job out.

I find the Burmese more accommodating and able to communicate, but I am sure they are not without their problems too. Some free fish, rice and a cold beer at the end of the day goes a long way for the cause...

If you can do it all yourself you have a distinct advantage over me. Maybe with Burmese you will get a little English as well. Good luck.

[diggledunc]

You have to pardon the mess, builders are here, FIL paying for more work, I'm broke until the rubber starts again.

# years in the making and don't think it will ever finish.

As you can see by the pic of the back yard, not suburbia. Jim

Thanks for photos. Back yard here the same.

[rct99q]

Building at the moment just outside of Nong Khai. Will post up some photos soon on a simple Thai dwelling 8 x 10 single story. Have foundation and roof up just awaiting on walls. Building on family land so no cost there. We are running under budget (slightly) at the moment but all finished looking at 415,000baht. No plan, drawn up on site but have a "reliable" builder in the family and the father in law is a hard ass so keeps the boys in check.

ps - great info on this thread and the links - thank you!

[diggledunc]

Building at the moment just outside of Nong Khai. Will post up some photos soon on a simple Thai dwelling 8 x 10 single story. Have foundation and roof up just awaiting on walls. Building on family land so no cost there. We are running under budget (slightly) at the moment but all finished looking at 415,000baht. No plan, drawn up on site but have a "reliable" builder in the family and the father in law is a hard ass so keeps the boys in check.

ps - great info on this thread and the links - thank you!

So if you are 8 metres by 10 metres that works out just over 5,000 per sqm which is similar to my experience. Thanks for the figures, seems I might have been right for once.

[hhfarang]

I'm vacillating on what type of foundation would be best/cheaper. Would it be better/cheaper to have the floor of the house raised 60 to 80 cm off the ground supported by footings of reinforced cement into the ground or a poured, reinforced slab?

As for the slab, what thickness is usually used for the slab foundation on a one story house?

The reason I ask these questions is that there is already a slab with the correct footprint there, but we want to raise the house 60 to 80 cm because of drainage/flooding. I was thinking about tearing everything out and using footings after landfill to the appropriate height, but it might be better to just pour more slab on top of the existing one to raise the house floor level.

Thanks again!

[cdmtdm]

I'm vacillating on what type of foundation would be best/cheaper. Would it be better/cheaper to have the floor of the house raised 60 to 80 cm off the ground supported by footings of reinforced cement into the ground or a poured, reinforced slab?

As for the slab, what thickness is usually used for the slab foundation on a one story house?

The reason I ask these questions is that there is already a slab with the correct footprint there, but we want to raise the house 60 to 80 cm because of drainage/flooding. I was thinking about tearing everything out and using footings after landfill to the appropriate height, but it might be better to just pour more slab on top of the existing one to raise the house floor level.

Thanks again!

best and cheaper dont go together here ....the bulk of the cost in construction in LOS is steel related ...be it in footings , columns , slab , roof etc ....take some pics and post them we can probably determine what is in place now , it sounds like what u have is not suitable or it would have been done already ...to raise it up means a lot of steel and cement via some serious concrete beams ...

[hhfarang]

I'm vacillating on what type of foundation would be best/cheaper. Would it be better/cheaper to have the floor of the house raised 60 to 80 cm off the ground supported by footings of reinforced cement into the ground or a poured, reinforced slab?

As for the slab, what thickness is usually used for the slab foundation on a one story house?

The reason I ask these questions is that there is already a slab with the correct footprint there, but we want to raise the house 60 to 80 cm because of drainage/flooding. I was thinking about tearing everything out and using footings after landfill to the appropriate height, but it might be better to just pour more slab on top of the existing one to raise the house floor level.

Thanks again!

best and cheaper dont go together here ....the bulk of the cost in construction in LOS is steel related ...be it in footings , columns , slab , roof etc ....take some pics and post them we can probably determine what is in place now , it sounds like what u have is not suitable or it would have been done already ...to raise it up means a lot of steel and cement via some serious concrete beams ...

I'm not there now so I can't take photos, but what we have is an old house built on a slab. All the homes around it have been rebuilt with landfill making it the lowest home in the soi so that during hard rains the run off from the street and other properties flood the house about a half inch. The house needs to be rebuilt anyway so in the process I need to raise it up to prevent this flooding in the future. I'm just trying to determine what is the best way to raise it 60 to 80 cm to prevent flooding in the rebuilt home.

[Yo Sup]

I'm vacillating on what type of foundation would be best/cheaper. Would it be better/cheaper to have the floor of the house raised 60 to 80 cm off the ground supported by footings of reinforced cement into the ground or a poured, reinforced slab?

As for the slab, what thickness is usually used for the slab foundation on a one story house?

The reason I ask these questions is that there is already a slab with the correct footprint there, but we want to raise the house 60 to 80 cm because of drainage/flooding. I was thinking about tearing everything out and using footings after landfill to the appropriate height, but it might be better to just pour more slab on top of the existing one to raise the house floor level.

Thanks again!

best and cheaper dont go together here ....the bulk of the cost in construction in LOS is steel related ...be it in footings , columns , slab , roof etc ....take some pics and post them we can probably determine what is in place now , it sounds like what u have is not suitable or it would have been done already ...to raise it up means a lot of steel and cement via some serious concrete beams ...

I'm not there now so I can't take photos, but what we have is an old house built on a slab. All the homes around it have been rebuilt with landfill making it the lowest home in the soi so that during hard rains the run off from the street and other properties flood the house about a half inch. The house needs to be rebuilt anyway so in the process I need to raise it up to prevent this flooding in the future. I'm just trying to determine what is the best way to raise it 60 to 80 cm to prevent flooding in the rebuilt home.

One option is boring some holes into the existing slab and inserting rebar. You would ideally do this on the corners of the existing slab. I think it is probably best to not have more than 10 or 12 feet between columns.

After that you will need to secure the rebar. There is an epoxy specifically for this that comes in two tubes. There is a special gun that dispenses the two parts simultaneously. After the rebar is in, and the glue applied, you can secure more rebar, build a form around that and pour your columns. Once the columns are up, build your floor. I would run all the water and electric directly underneath the floor, and leave a crawl space in case you need maintenance. If you leave some small openings in the slab of the first floor, you can run your electric and water up through the openings in the areas you need them with making it unsightly on your walls.

On the outside of the house, on the existing slab to the first floor, there should be some concrete blocking. Probably best to run a "T" of blocks through the existing slab also to carry the load above. If you have a straight pitched roof, run your blocks in the same direction as the pitch, so the load of the roof carry's to the ground.

If you have serious flood problems research "french drains" and see about installing them on the exterior perimeter of your home.

Just my 2 cents..

[Diablo Bob]

I'm vacillating on what type of foundation would be best/cheaper. Would it be better/cheaper to have the floor of the house raised 60 to 80 cm off the ground supported by footings of reinforced cement into the ground or a poured, reinforced slab?

As for the slab, what thickness is usually used for the slab foundation on a one story house?

The reason I ask these questions is that there is already a slab with the correct footprint there, but we want to raise the house 60 to 80 cm because of drainage/flooding. I was thinking about tearing everything out and using footings after landfill to the appropriate height, but it might be better to just pour more slab on top of the existing one to raise the house floor level.

Thanks again!

best and cheaper dont go together here ....the bulk of the cost in construction in LOS is steel related ...be it in footings , columns , slab , roof etc ....take some pics and post them we can probably determine what is in place now , it sounds like what u have is not suitable or it would have been done already ...to raise it up means a lot of steel and cement via some serious concrete beams ...

I'm not there now so I can't take photos, but what we have is an old house built on a slab. All the homes around it have been rebuilt with landfill making it the lowest home in the soi so that during hard rains the run off from the street and other properties flood the house about a half inch. The house needs to be rebuilt anyway so in the process I need to raise it up to prevent this flooding in the future. I'm just trying to determine what is the best way to raise it 60 to 80 cm to prevent flooding in the rebuilt home.

One option is boring some holes into the existing slab and inserting rebar. You would ideally do this on the corners of the existing slab. I think it is probably best to not have more than 10 or 12 feet between columns.

After that you will need to secure the rebar. There is an epoxy specifically for this that comes in two tubes. There is a special gun that dispenses the two parts simultaneously. After the rebar is in, and the glue applied, you can secure more rebar, build a form around that and pour your columns. Once the columns are up, build your floor. I would run all the water and electric directly underneath the floor, and leave a crawl space in case you need maintenance. If you leave some small openings in the slab of the first floor, you can run your electric and water up through the openings in the areas you need them with making it unsightly on your walls.

On the outside of the house, on the existing slab to the first floor, there should be some concrete blocking. Probably best to run a "T" of blocks through the existing slab also to carry the load above. If you have a straight pitched roof, run your blocks in the same direction as the pitch, so the load of the roof carry's to the ground.

If you have serious flood problems research "french drains" and see about installing them on the exterior perimeter of your home.

Just my 2 cents..

Why make it so difficult? On your suggestion, I doubt that a french drain system would work! A French drain system needs a location to drain to that isn't underwater. If the OP is having a flooding problem, it would seem to me that he is in the lowest spot already, the water is draining to his house, everywhere else is obviously uphill from him!.

The OP has already identified the solution and now needs to figure out how to get there.......

Suggestions:

1. Remove the existing slab. You don't know what is underneath it and when you excavate for your new structures foundation unless you encounter this slab in all the foundations it would need to be demolished during excavation. The other option would be to utilize this slab, but not knowing what foundations are present, their location in relation to your structure or how they were constructed you would be better off getting rid of it up front.
2. Compact 80-100cm of fill material making sure that you have at least 150cm beyond the edge of any foundation.
3. Any foundations for columns need to penetrate this fill and bear on the existing ground surface to reduce the potential of differential settlement from uneven foundation loads.
4. If you are confident that the 80-100cm of height will remove you from the flooding problem you can then construct a slab on grade which will not have the quantities of concrete or reinforcement associated with the pony wall and elevated slab.

Good luck