Average Cost Of Building?

[sprog1]

Can anyone tell me the average cost of building, per mtr, a one storey house in Buriram area?

Also in your considered opinion, which is the best way to go about it, ie, do I find a building company to give me a quote on the job, or do I find someone to give a daily rate, & then find someone experianced, & who speaks good English to oversee the project giveng him a bonus if the job is finished on time? everyone i've asked all have different idea's

[nevets]

Who ever you have only hand over money in stage payments , break it down into 10 or 12 payments as one stage finishes then pay again then you are in control of the money.

If the standard slides then no pay until the problem is fixed and off you go again with the next payment.

[rgs2001uk]

Thai style, 6-8k psm.

Farang style, minimum luxury, 8-10k.

Farang syle upgraded, 10-12k.

Sounds to me as if you need a one stop shop do to everything for you.

You do have planning permission already?

Water and electric available?

You do have a set of plans?

You do have a contract for the builder to sign?

You have worked a staged payment plan?

Who have you asked, and how many have built houses here?

PS, can you read Thai?

Take it thats a no, so how do you know that when the spec calls for 17 or 20mm rebar Somchai hasnt used 12mm?

Edited March 16, 2013 by rgs2001uk

[JaiLai]

Thai style, 6-8k psm.

Farang style, minimum luxury, 8-10k.

Farang syle upgraded, 10-12k.

Sounds to me as if you need a one stop shop do to everything for you.

You do have planning permission already?

Water and electric available?

You do have a set of plans?

You do have a contract for the builder to sign?

You have worked a staged payment plan?

Who have you asked, and how many have built houses here?

PS, can you read Thai?

Take it thats a no, so how do you know that when the spec calls for 17 or 20mm rebar Somchai hasnt used 12mm?

For a standard one bedroom house in Buriram i doubt you'd need to bother with

1. Planning permission ( depending on location )

2. House plans

I know the locals generally don't bother with this.

I think the comment about only paying in stages is very good advice, as mentioned if not happy with the work or Somchai f**ks off then losses at a minimum.

[CharlieH]

You are about to enter a world of pain and regret if you are not VERY careful.

Contracts look good, feel good, but if the shit hits the fan not worth the paper they are on.

Stage payments to minimise your loss is a must ! You know (or should) what a Thai earns on average, dont pay upfront on any stage, YOU buy the materials, he tells you what he needs, you organise and pay the materials.That way you only owe labor at any given time. NEVER pay labor in advance, they will do a runner on you or family will be sick or uncle died etc.

[chiang mai]

Finshed price or unfinished, huge difference - if finished, to what standard? If unfinished figure 10 to 12, if finished to a high qulaity it may be as high as 30/40 (per Phuket 2010).

[PattayaPhom]

4-5k sqm

[cardholder]

4-5k sqm

Agree for a basic, reasonable Thai build.

[cheeryble]

Properly done low luxury but very acceptable even with proper roof tiles and nice rectified floor tiles throughout, if you buy materials and are smart at this stuff.........7,000psm.

Otherwise 8-10.000.

You realise the extra money in a house goes in the kitchen and bathroom? So make the kitchen from brick and mortar topped and backed with granite and faced with nice tiles and premade pairs of doors.

You could choose a corrugated roof etc etc to reduce further.

In Buriram you could probably squeeze the labour down even more, but I've found the best way with labour is to let them earn a little extra. Your job will then come first.

Edited March 17, 2013 by cheeryble

[aarn]

Last year, Thai GF in Uttaradit village got quote for basic 2 bedroom 10 x 15 m single storey house 300,000 B. Walls/floor/roof/16 columns(pillars).

This quote did not include electric/plumbing, which I suspect would double the price. AA

[sprog1]

I would like to thank everyone of you for all your coments. The land is the only thing we have at the moment, & before starting on anything, I want to get has much information has I can about everything. The plot of land is only small, 20mtr x 16mtrs, but I want to try to get a 3 bed 1 storey house on it if I can. I won't be going for anything fancy, but I will be putting a European Kitchen in, & a decent bathroom, but cheeryble I'm sure they won't cost me to much. As CharlieH says, I know i'm going to have a lot of pain with all the problem, that is why i'm asking now before I start on anything. The stage payment plan is sound advice & seems to be the way to go. There's a lot of variation in price, so I will take the average & go from there

Rgs200uk, no, at the moment I haven't any of those, I have found a shop in the centre of Buriram which designs houses for around 20,000baht with no fees to pay if the planing permission is refused, I have only inquired there so I don't know yet how good that price is, & as yet I haven't looked at any finished houses they have designed, but I will look & also ask around to find out about other designers in the area

One thing I don't want in the house are them dam pillars, other than building double brick, is there any way of avoiding themI. I was also thinking of just doing the shell in brick & then useing the U shaped aluminum & plaster board to do the individual rooms, but someone sugested I may have trouble with termites, what do you think? & would it be any cheaper taking into acount it would have to be plastered.

Thats all I can think of right now, but i'm sure i'm going to have a lot more to ask before I start, let alone finish, but I will be going slowly to try & avoid any problems.

Thanks again to everyone

Edited March 17, 2013 by SeaVisionBurma
changed to normal font

[sprog1]

Thanks aarn

[PattayaPhom]

Tessaban have plans, photocopy them for a few baht, already saved 20k

[MichaelJohn]

You say you don't want pillars - be careful. Thais know how to build houses nased on pillars - anything else is alien to them.

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them - usually as no one understands them.

You either go with a proper project manager and plans and pay extra or go with a local who you believe knows what he's doing and pay less.

The advice above is all good, particularly don't part with your money.

I built for 10k per SqM to an above average spec.

Good luck

[chiang mai]

You say you don't want pillars - be careful. Thais know how to build houses nased on pillars - anything else is alien to them.

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them - usually as no one understands them.

You either go with a proper project manager and plans and pay extra or go with a local who you believe knows what he's doing and pay less.

The advice above is all good, particularly don't part with your money.

I built for 10k per SqM to an above average spec.

Good luck

Even verbal instructions for changes may get ignored, when they start to build at the outset they have a model in mind and very little will change that. I tried managing my own build some years ago and was on site every week, I bought all the materials and paid a flat rate for labour, one of my requirements was far a large air vent in the eve of the roof and this was discussed every week for eight weeks, needless to say it didn't happen!

[jbrain]

I would like to thank everyone of you for all your coments. The land is the only thing we have at the moment, & before starting on anything, I want to get has much information has I can about everything. The plot of land is only small, 20mtr x 16mtrs, but I want to try to get a 3 bed 1 storey house on it if I can. I won't be going for anything fancy, but I will be putting a European Kitchen in, & a decent bathroom, but cheeryble I'm sure they won't cost me to much. As CharlieH says, I know i'm going to have a lot of pain with all the problem, that is why i'm asking now before I start on anything. The stage payment plan is sound advice & seems to be the way to go. There's a lot of variation in price, so I will take the average & go from there

Rgs200uk, no, at the moment I haven't any of those, I have found a shop in the centre of Buriram which designs houses for around 20,000baht with no fees to pay if the planing permission is refused, I have only inquired there so I don't know yet how good that price is, & as yet I haven't looked at any finished houses they have designed, but I will look & also ask around to find out about other designers in the area

One thing I don't want in the house are them dam pillars, other than building double brick, is there any way of avoiding themI. I was also thinking of just doing the shell in brick & then useing the U shaped aluminum & plaster board to do the individual rooms, but someone sugested I may have trouble with termites, what do you think? & would it be any cheaper taking into acount it would have to be plastered.

Thats all I can think of right now, but i'm sure i'm going to have a lot more to ask before I start, let alone finish, but I will be going slowly to try & avoid any problems.

Thanks again to everyone

If you want to build without pilars you will need bricks that have a load-bearing.

Those grey hollow bricks have none, neither have the small red bricks.

You will need a good foundation, in good soil which is also very rare in that area, about which Thais have no knowledge.

The only way to cover the pilars is cladding them with Gyproc at the inside and at the same time insulate it by putting rockwool behind.

Edited March 17, 2013 by jbrain

[cardholder]

I would like to thank everyone of you for all your coments. The land is the only thing we have at the moment, & before starting on anything, I want to get has much information has I can about everything. The plot of land is only small, 20mtr x 16mtrs, but I want to try to get a 3 bed 1 storey house on it if I can. I won't be going for anything fancy, but I will be putting a European Kitchen in, & a decent bathroom, but cheeryble I'm sure they won't cost me to much. As CharlieH says, I know i'm going to have a lot of pain with all the problem, that is why i'm asking now before I start on anything. The stage payment plan is sound advice & seems to be the way to go. There's a lot of variation in price, so I will take the average & go from there

Rgs200uk, no, at the moment I haven't any of those, I have found a shop in the centre of Buriram which designs houses for around 20,000baht with no fees to pay if the planing permission is refused, I have only inquired there so I don't know yet how good that price is, & as yet I haven't looked at any finished houses they have designed, but I will look & also ask around to find out about other designers in the area

One thing I don't want in the house are them dam pillars, other than building double brick, is there any way of avoiding themI. I was also thinking of just doing the shell in brick & then useing the U shaped aluminum & plaster board to do the individual rooms, but someone sugested I may have trouble with termites, what do you think? & would it be any cheaper taking into acount it would have to be plastered.

Thats all I can think of right now, but i'm sure i'm going to have a lot more to ask before I start, let alone finish, but I will be going slowly to try & avoid any problems.

Thanks again to everyone

sprog, I have a set of plans for 150/160 sqm house that were prepared by a guy in Buriram for 5,000 Baht. Planning is usually taking the plans to the Orbitor who will sign them off. In the boonies no one actually gives much of a flying fart what you build.

There is nothing wrong with the 'sows' just make sure you don't have them in the middle of rooms - easy enough if you think it through - and no bedroom needs to be bigger than 4 x 4.

What is your budget ?

If you want to do it cost effectively then trust as far as you can in Thai style. I haven't seen any Thai brick houses fall down yet.

Understand what you want for your money. If building as cheaply as possible is your objective then throw out any western idealism. Put your faith in a recommended builder, pay the wages weekly in arrears and source all the materials yourself. Thai workers invariably arrive just with their hands - it seemed most strange providing paintbrushes to painters.

If money is not an issue but you want to achieve a minimum standard then go and look at some of the houses that Alan the Builder has built in the area and get a price.

European kitchen ? - will you be doing the cooking ? Does your wife eat somtam or plah-rah ? Even a rice cooker gives off a pungent smell that is difficult to avoid inside the house.

I have just build a 96 sqm under roof, (there is a balcony of 32sqm) one bed house for 1m. That included uprating in a number of areas, using QCon blocks to improve insulation, 2 aircons, 4 ceiling fans. We also have a 5 x 4 sala and 30 sqm storeroom that has a European standard outside toilet. The cost of the well is also in there.

I am just down the road from you, feel free to PM me here or on the local forum.

Look at the house building forum on here, it has some great info.

Start with these free plans:-

http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/index.html

[rgs2001uk]

You say you don't want pillars - be careful. Thais know how to build houses nased on pillars - anything else is alien to them.

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them - usually as no one understands them.

You either go with a proper project manager and plans and pay extra or go with a local who you believe knows what he's doing and pay less.

The advice above is all good, particularly don't part with your money.

I built for 10k per SqM to an above average spec.

Good luck

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them

Well you get what you pay for, all this crap about paying 300 baht per day etc.

The proper tradesmen (yes go on laugh, they do exist) aint busting a gut in the Issan heat for 300 baht per day, what you get for that price are the village layabouts, drunks and wifes worthless relatives.

Heard and seen it all before, shower floors sloping the wrong way, away from the drain, windows and doors fitted the wrong way, why bother going on.

There will always be a foreman with these gangs, its his job to make sure its built to plan, visit daily and have a look, anything youre not happy with point it out.

How the heck do you know where sockets etc are going to go

usually as no one understands them

Aint that the truth, no wonder so many have to pay again or get another crew in to repair the bodge job Somchai did the first time.

The size of your plot, 20x16 = 320 sm = 80tw, that sounds like a town plot, you had better see about planning permission.

Plenty of single storey houses built on a plot that size in Bkk.

Remember to leave a gap of 2 metres all round the house wall to the wall.

[jij]

www.CoolThaiHouse.com

[cardholder]

You say you don't want pillars - be careful. Thais know how to build houses nased on pillars - anything else is alien to them.

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them - usually as no one understands them.

You either go with a proper project manager and plans and pay extra or go with a local who you believe knows what he's doing and pay less.

The advice above is all good, particularly don't part with your money.

I built for 10k per SqM to an above average spec.

Good luck

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them

Well you get what you pay for, all this crap about paying 300 baht per day etc.

The proper tradesmen (yes go on laugh, they do exist) aint busting a gut in the Issan heat for 300 baht per day, what you get for that price are the village layabouts, drunks and wifes worthless relatives.

Heard and seen it all before, shower floors sloping the wrong way, away from the drain, windows and doors fitted the wrong way, why bother going on.

There will always be a foreman with these gangs, its his job to make sure its built to plan, visit daily and have a look, anything youre not happy with point it out.

How the heck do you know where sockets etc are going to go

usually as no one understands them

Aint that the truth, no wonder so many have to pay again or get another crew in to repair the bodge job Somchai did the first time.

The size of your plot, 20x16 = 320 sm = 80tw, that sounds like a town plot, you had better see about planning permission.

That size of plot sounds like it adjacent to the MiL

[rgs2001uk]

You say you don't want pillars - be careful. Thais know how to build houses nased on pillars - anything else is alien to them.

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them - usually as no one understands them.

You either go with a proper project manager and plans and pay extra or go with a local who you believe knows what he's doing and pay less.

The advice above is all good, particularly don't part with your money.

I built for 10k per SqM to an above average spec.

Good luck

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them

Well you get what you pay for, all this crap about paying 300 baht per day etc.

The proper tradesmen (yes go on laugh, they do exist) aint busting a gut in the Issan heat for 300 baht per day, what you get for that price are the village layabouts, drunks and wifes worthless relatives.

Heard and seen it all before, shower floors sloping the wrong way, away from the drain, windows and doors fitted the wrong way, why bother going on.

There will always be a foreman with these gangs, its his job to make sure its built to plan, visit daily and have a look, anything youre not happy with point it out.

How the heck do you know where sockets etc are going to go

usually as no one understands them

Aint that the truth, no wonder so many have to pay again or get another crew in to repair the bodge job Somchai did the first time.

The size of your plot, 20x16 = 320 sm = 80tw, that sounds like a town plot, you had better see about planning permission.

That size of plot sounds like it adjacent to the MiL

Nice one, hadnt thought of that, have a greenie.

OP doesnt mention who the house if for, if its for the MIL, 300k is plenty.

Buriram, what can I say, even the Thais laugh when they hear its name mentioned.

Hope he is in the city and not out in the "badlands" of Prakhon Chai.

[cardholder]

You say you don't want pillars - be careful. Thais know how to build houses nased on pillars - anything else is alien to them.

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them - usually as no one understands them.

You either go with a proper project manager and plans and pay extra or go with a local who you believe knows what he's doing and pay less.

The advice above is all good, particularly don't part with your money.

I built for 10k per SqM to an above average spec.

Good luck

In my opinion plans are useless because no one follows them

Well you get what you pay for, all this crap about paying 300 baht per day etc.

The proper tradesmen (yes go on laugh, they do exist) aint busting a gut in the Issan heat for 300 baht per day, what you get for that price are the village layabouts, drunks and wifes worthless relatives.

Heard and seen it all before, shower floors sloping the wrong way, away from the drain, windows and doors fitted the wrong way, why bother going on.

There will always be a foreman with these gangs, its his job to make sure its built to plan, visit daily and have a look, anything youre not happy with point it out.

How the heck do you know where sockets etc are going to go

usually as no one understands them

Aint that the truth, no wonder so many have to pay again or get another crew in to repair the bodge job Somchai did the first time.

The size of your plot, 20x16 = 320 sm = 80tw, that sounds like a town plot, you had better see about planning permission.

That size of plot sounds like it adjacent to the MiL

Nice one, hadnt thought of that, have a greenie.

OP doesnt mention who the house if for, if its for the MIL, 300k is plenty.

Buriram, what can I say, even the Thais laugh when they hear its name mentioned.

Hope he is in the city and not out in the "badlands" of Prakhon Chai.

tsk, tsk rgs - some of us have to live there !

[JaiLai]

I would like to thank everyone of you for all your coments. The land is the only thing we have at the moment, & before starting on anything, I want to get has much information has I can about everything. The plot of land is only small, 20mtr x 16mtrs, but I want to try to get a 3 bed 1 storey house on it if I can. I won't be going for anything fancy, but I will be putting a European Kitchen in, & a decent bathroom, but cheeryble I'm sure they won't cost me to much. As CharlieH says, I know i'm going to have a lot of pain with all the problem, that is why i'm asking now before I start on anything. The stage payment plan is sound advice & seems to be the way to go. There's a lot of variation in price, so I will take the average & go from there

Rgs200uk, no, at the moment I haven't any of those, I have found a shop in the centre of Buriram which designs houses for around 20,000baht with no fees to pay if the planing permission is refused, I have only inquired there so I don't know yet how good that price is, & as yet I haven't looked at any finished houses they have designed, but I will look & also ask around to find out about other designers in the area

One thing I don't want in the house are them dam pillars, other than building double brick, is there any way of avoiding themI. I was also thinking of just doing the shell in brick & then useing the U shaped aluminum & plaster board to do the individual rooms, but someone sugested I may have trouble with termites, what do you think? & would it be any cheaper taking into acount it would have to be plastered.

Thats all I can think of right now, but i'm sure i'm going to have a lot more to ask before I start, let alone finish, but I will be going slowly to try & avoid any problems.

Thanks again to everyone

sprog, I have a set of plans for 150/160 sqm house that were prepared by a guy in Buriram for 5,000 Baht. Planning is usually taking the plans to the Orbitor who will sign them off. In the boonies no one actually gives much of a flying fart what you build.

There is nothing wrong with the 'sows' just make sure you don't have them in the middle of rooms - easy enough if you think it through - and no bedroom needs to be bigger than 4 x 4.

What is your budget ?

If you want to do it cost effectively then trust as far as you can in Thai style. I haven't seen any Thai brick houses fall down yet.

Understand what you want for your money. If building as cheaply as possible is your objective then throw out any western idealism. Put your faith in a recommended builder, pay the wages weekly in arrears and source all the materials yourself. Thai workers invariably arrive just with their hands - it seemed most strange providing paintbrushes to painters.

If money is not an issue but you want to achieve a minimum standard then go and look at some of the houses that Alan the Builder has built in the area and get a price.

European kitchen ? - will you be doing the cooking ? Does your wife eat somtam or plah-rah ? Even a rice cooker gives off a pungent smell that is difficult to avoid inside the house.

I have just build a 96 sqm under roof, (there is a balcony of 32sqm) one bed house for 1m. That included uprating in a number of areas, using QCon blocks to improve insulation, 2 aircons, 4 ceiling fans. We also have a 5 x 4 sala and 30 sqm storeroom that has a European standard outside toilet. The cost of the well is also in there.

I am just down the road from you, feel free to PM me here or on the local forum.

Look at the house building forum on here, it has some great info.

Start with these free plans:-

http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/index.html

You mind sharing any pictures of what you have built, the large balcony / deck sounds fantastic.

[sprog1]

Thanks again for all the sound advice. I'm sorry I didn't explain myself very well, when is said about not wanting pillars, what I meant was, I didn't want to see the pillars, that is why I asked about double block or plasterboard to hide the pillars, sorry. I did think of not useing pillars at one time, but it's going to be hard enough as it is without confuseing the builders any more than I have to.

The house is not for MiL & yes I do live in the city & belive it or not Buriram is a good place to live, it 's got everything I need.

I'm trying to keep the cost below 1mil & judgeing by all your coments I should not have a problem.

Thanks for the offer card holder, when i have a bit of time I might take you up on that & thanks for the advice on the plans.

Thanks again everyone

[jbrain]

Thanks again for all the sound advice. I'm sorry I didn't explain myself very well, when is said about not wanting pillars, what I meant was, I didn't want to see the pillars, that is why I asked about double block or plasterboard to hide the pillars, sorry. I did think of not useing pillars at one time, but it's going to be hard enough as it is without confuseing the builders any more than I have to.

The house is not for MiL & yes I do live in the city & belive it or not Buriram is a good place to live, it 's got everything I need.

I'm trying to keep the cost below 1mil & judgeing by all your coments I should not have a problem.

Thanks for the offer card holder, when i have a bit of time I might take you up on that & thanks for the advice on the plans.

Thanks again everyone

As I said in my previous post already, the cheapest way to cover the pilars is with Gyproc ( plaster board) on the inside of the walls and it can add a nice insulation at the same time.

[nevets]

The Thai builders use the ring beam concriet way here with pillers to hold the roof and fill in with brick its a very good tryed and tested way to build.

[Refresh]

Hi - I have read the replies to this thread with interest - I have bought land in Koh Lanta (an island South of Krabi connected with car ferries). I want to build a 2 story high quality house (300sqm). Not including the pool or outdoor area or connection to electric but for building and fitting out the whole house (6 bedroom, 4 bathroom) what do you think I should be paying per square meter? The construction will be rendered concrete with insulated steel roof, quite a bit of glass...I want to avoid the pillars every 4m so imagine I will need some UBs/RSJs through the living room (12mx7m)

thanks for any advice. If I should have started a new thread I apologise (not sure how to start a new thread anyway)

Scott

[IMHO]

Hi - I have read the replies to this thread with interest - I have bought land in Koh Lanta (an island South of Krabi connected with car ferries). I want to build a 2 story high quality house (300sqm). Not including the pool or outdoor area or connection to electric but for building and fitting out the whole house (6 bedroom, 4 bathroom) what do you think I should be paying per square meter? The construction will be rendered concrete with insulated steel roof, quite a bit of glass...I want to avoid the pillars every 4m so imagine I will need some UBs/RSJs through the living room (12mx7m)

thanks for any advice. If I should have started a new thread I apologise (not sure how to start a new thread anyway)

Scott

The 7M wide spans are the issue with your design - because of them, no 'standard' building costs apply, because the footings, posts and beams will all need to be substantially larger than normal.

[Crossy]

It's quite possible to do 7m spans in concrete, have a look at the beam drawings for our place, 3 beams with 6.8m spans. Yes, these do hold up an upper floor, they are also rather larger than the 'normal' Thai beams.

Wasn't cheap mind, I have room for my snooker table, sadly I don't now have the bank balance for same

[Refresh]

Thanks for your posts - Crossy - if you don't mind me asking - what was the cost of the 7m beams in concrete and how far apart are they placed (I assume it varies from construction to construction but just so I have an idea...

Cheers

Scott