The Interlocking Bricks

[MarcoH]

G'Day

what is cost of Interlocking bricks in your area.

We are making this kind of bricks here and would like to supply anywhere in Isaan area if there would be intrest.

Licenced construction company.

All bricks are preasure tested before delivered to the customer.

Currently 3 Homes for farang's under construction

Im me for more datails

[Thaicoon]

G'Day

what is cost of Interlocking bricks in your area.

We are making this kind of bricks here and would like to supply anywhere in Isaan area if there would be intrest.

Licenced construction company.

All bricks are preasure tested before delivered to the customer.

Currently 3 Homes for farang's under construction

Im me for more datails

One thing i cannot understand, is why when building a house out of these, why paint the bricks, it looks like the photos you have posted, the bricks have been painted ?, why not leave them natural colours, my mate makes all sorts of colours and leaves them natural, looks a lot better, but i suppose its the preferance from the customer you are building for..

[MarcoH]

G'Day

what is cost of Interlocking bricks in your area.

We are making this kind of bricks here and would like to supply anywhere in Isaan area if there would be intrest.

Licenced construction company.

All bricks are preasure tested before delivered to the customer.

Currently 3 Homes for farang's under construction

Im me for more datails

One thing i cannot understand, is why when building a house out of these, why paint the bricks, it looks like the photos you have posted, the bricks have been painted ?, why not leave them natural colours, my mate makes all sorts of colours and leaves them natural, looks a lot better, but i suppose its the preferance from the customer you are building for..

Hi

That is cutomer's choice,, have buiding with natural brick color as well,,,,cutomer wants buoder paint's,, you know how it is

[Thaicoon]

I agree, all people have differant tastes, but these sort of Bricks are brilliant, i have recomended a lot of people to my mate and they are all happy, he has been in the trade for about 12 years, i am going to build a garage out of these in the near future, are yours the ones you have an option to pour concrete down 2 holes in the brick, then it sets as a big concrete rod and keeps them rock hard same sort of thing as steel through blocks, for eathquakes etc.

I think this is just an option you can do, as they are solid enough just by interlocking. good to hear from you, all the best.....

[MarcoH]

I agree, all people have differant tastes, but these sort of Bricks are brilliant, i have recomended a lot of people to my mate and they are all happy, he has been in the trade for about 12 years, i am going to build a garage out of these in the near future, are yours the ones you have an option to pour concrete down 2 holes in the brick, then it sets as a big concrete rod and keeps them rock hard same sort of thing as steel through blocks, for eathquakes etc.

I think this is just an option you can do, as they are solid enough just by interlocking. good to hear from you, all the best.....

Hi Thaicoon

that is one what always will be indivitual,,,and I could not agree more on that painting ot beutifull brick,, one looses it's magnificent look's, if left it's own color, it will shine up like perl ammong the coal's.

As alwys you talk same tonque, yes our's are same 2holes bricks, where we insert "big steel rod"

And for all how are intrested,, if you have chance and dont want poles in your house,, go for this interlock,, they are available in many locations in through out the thailand.

for those who are living close to Ubon or Yasothon

we have completed 1 Wat here as well

Wat Pa Samakkee Tham

in Ban Bock No

A.Kham Kuen Khaew

and thaicoon,, as you guys been doing that now 12yrs,, im sure many have been converted and as you said,, for us here we havent have any dissapointed customer as well....

All the best for you and your mate there.

[teletiger]

The original question seems to have been ignored. What is the cost of these bricks?

regards

[bergen]

Hello guys

Before we started building our house, we bought 2 steel presses (baht 44000) from Nakhon Nayok, (near BKK) and made the interlocking blocks ourselfs. We got a promotion/instruction vcd, and some first aid from my wife's sister who started this as a community project in her village.

The mix is 50/50 fine sand/soil and sement, and after pressing, leave and water every day for 2 weeks, then ready 2 use. So far we've build our main house, 4 bungalows, restaurant kitchen and toilets with these blocks. They are very strong, easy to make/use, and excellent in keeping the buildings cool!

[bergen]

Hello guys

Before we started building our house, we bought 2 steel presses (baht 44000) from Nakhon Nayok, (near BKK) and made the interlocking blocks ourselfs. We got a promotion/instruction vcd, and some first aid from my wife's sister who started this as a community project in her village.

The mix is 50/50 fine sand/soil and sement, and after pressing, leave and water every day for 2 weeks, then ready 2 use. So far we've build our main house, 4 bungalows, restaurant kitchen and toilets with these blocks. They are very strong, easy to make/use, and excellent in keeping the buildings cool!

Trond

[bergen]

Hello guys

Before we started building our house, we bought 2 steel presses (baht 44000) from Nakhon Nayok, (near BKK) and made the interlocking blocks ourselfs. We got a promotion/instruction vcd, and some first aid from my wife's sister who started this as a community project in her village.

The mix is 50/50 fine sand/soil and sement, and after pressing, leave and water every day for 2 weeks, then ready 2 use. So far we've build our main house, 4 bungalows, restaurant kitchen and toilets with these blocks. They are very strong, easy to make/use, and excellent in keeping the buildings cool! I will try to add some pictures, but my mobile connection is very bad 2day.

Trond

[bergen]

Sorry about the triple, don't know what happened. I tried to post some pics but my mobile connection works very slow 2day. I will try again later

[ChiefBEM]

Trond,

I am interested in buying steel presses for making the blocks.

Could you PM me with the contact information for where you purchased your presses?

Regards,

Mac

[oceanrover]

Hello guys

Before we started building our house, we bought 2 steel presses (baht 44000) from Nakhon Nayok, (near BKK) and made the interlocking blocks ourselfs. We got a promotion/instruction vcd, and some first aid from my wife's sister who started this as a community project in her village.

The mix is 50/50 fine sand/soil and sement, and after pressing, leave and water every day for 2 weeks, then ready 2 use. So far we've build our main house, 4 bungalows, restaurant kitchen and toilets with these blocks. They are very strong, easy to make/use, and excellent in keeping the buildings cool! I will try to add some pictures, but my mobile connection is very bad 2day.

Trond

So Trond, What are the usual costs for cement in the Ubon area and is high quality sand readily available?

How many bricks can one of these presses turn out in normal work day (8 hours)?

I assume that a pigment is used to achieve the desired color of the bricks; is this inexpensive as well?

How many men are required to operate the press?

Thank for any additional information.

Mike

[bergen]

Mac - my wife's sister ordered the presses for us. I'll talk to my wife, get more information, and let you know!

Mike - I think the cost of cement is baht 110/bag

Sand is easy to get, but you probably have to filter it before use.

When the workers (we used 2 people/1 press) gets skilled, you should be able to make 250/300 per press/day.

We did not use any pigment to colour the block, and the finished result was grey.

Some use red soil, to get pigment, but this seems to make the blocks more fragile.

We have painted the blocks to make them water resistant. You can also add colour powder in the early mixing process - but then you might get small colour differences when finished.

Trond

[jay-uk]

This brick concept is very ineteresting. Has anyone calculated the difference in cost between each sq/metre of self manufactured brick used against convential bricks purchased locally. It would be nice to know the overall saving made using your own supply and itemising each brick into the cost of the press equipment, sand/cement and labour. Obviously the bigger the project the more chance of significant savings but if anyone knows the comparisons I would be interested to know about this. Other factors to be considered also:

Can a project be completed quicker than normal using this brick system in which case labour costs have been reduced or do you need specialist labour taking longer to complete a project.

Is the brick as strong as a normal brick or is your house likely to fall apart in a few years. What standard if any do they meet.

My family are planing other building projects in Ubon in future and I too would like to way up the options on pressing your own bricks.

Cheers.

Jay

[oceanrover]

Mac - my wife's sister ordered the presses for us. I'll talk to my wife, get more information, and let you know!

Mike - I think the cost of cement is baht 110/bag

Sand is easy to get, but you probably have to filter it before use.

When the workers (we used 2 people/1 press) gets skilled, you should be able to make 250/300 per press/day.

We did not use any pigment to colour the block, and the finished result was grey.

Some use red soil, to get pigment, but this seems to make the blocks more fragile.

We have painted the blocks to make them water resistant. You can also add colour powder in the early mixing process - but then you might get small colour differences when finished.

Trond

Trond - That makes sense for the sand I guess since it is a local resource. Do you recall how many bricks usually were produced for each bag of cement used and how much the cement bags weighed? Pigment for cement is quite common in construction here in the states now so it should be something easy to figure out with regards to something consistent throughout all the batches if you can remove enough of the human factor

I also wonder about the structural life of these concrete bricks versus fired clay bricks and the cost difference of course. I am not an engineer so please correct me if I make any incorrect assumtions here, but Concrete is more porous than clay fired bricks so the life of the finished product is usually not the same. Painting them and/or sealing them with a good marine grade flexible epoxy primer will prolong their life though and give you the chance to change the color of your home from time to time. I have sealed smooth concrete floors in huge Salt Water tanks on ships in Alaska and had great success in prolonging the functional life between standard maintenance refinishings.

I would also think that steel bars interlaced through the bricks would lessen damage in the event of an Earthquake opposed to the channels being filled with only concrete.

I am really intrigued by the idea of making the building blocks onsite. It is one way to control the quality of the finished product possibly.

Have a good day all, I am off to get some sleep as it is 2:30 am here.

Cheers and thanks again for all the answers.

Mike

[bergen]

Guys

Please: not to many tecnical questions, I moved to Thailand to have an easy life.

Because of my short memory, I have spoken with our block production manager (my wife), and can therefore correct I few "facts". I think the bag of cement is 40 kg.

The mix we used, was 5 parts soil/sand and 2 parts cement. from 1 bag of cement we made 60 blocks. If you use more clay-like soil, the mix can be 6 to 1, you make more blocks(70?), use less cement, and they will be more heat resistant.(keep the sun out)

Each block is supposed to carry a minimum weight of 70 kg.

We used steel bars to support the concrete, and we sealed all gaps both inside and outside before painting. The size of our blocks is 25 cm long, 12cm wide, 10 cm high.

Trond

[Thaicoon]

Try this site, lots of info on interlocking bricks, the company is in Butan, but they usre the same principle and method for making.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...DUTF-8%26sa%3DG

Interesting, also got to send this link to my mate who makes these, the more info the better the product will turn out.....

Edited March 31, 2006 by Thaicoon

[oceanrover]

Guys

Please: not to many tecnical questions, I moved to Thailand to have an easy life.

Because of my short memory, I have spoken with our block production manager (my wife), and can therefore correct I few "facts". I think the bag of cement is 40 kg.

The mix we used, was 5 parts soil/sand and 2 parts cement. from 1 bag of cement we made 60 blocks. If you use more clay-like soil, the mix can be 6 to 1, you make more blocks(70?), use less cement, and they will be more heat resistant.(keep the sun out)

Each block is supposed to carry a minimum weight of 70 kg.

We used steel bars to support the concrete, and we sealed all gaps both inside and outside before painting. The size of our blocks is 25 cm long, 12cm wide, 10 cm high.

Trond

Trond,

Sorry about that. I am still on American time and deal in details more than I would like or should for that matter. Thanks for all the information. I see that a few of you are meeting at RIchard's new place in Ubon on Friday. I will not be in Ubon until Saturday looks like so I will not have the chance to knock a few back with you and the others. I will probably be stationed squarely in front of an AirCon unit for a few days anyway until I force myself to out into the sweltering weather. It is only 14c here for a high temp so it is going to be change for sure. Being a fat man is a negative in the tropics I am betting

Thanks again for all the information.

Mike

[gondarman]

G'Day

what is cost of Interlocking bricks in your area.

We are making this kind of bricks here and would like to supply anywhere in Isaan area if there would be intrest.

Licenced construction company.

All bricks are preasure tested before delivered to the customer.

Currently 3 Homes for farang's under construction

Im me for more datails

[gondarman]

Guys

Please: not to many tecnical questions, I moved to Thailand to have an easy life.

Because of my short memory, I have spoken with our block production manager (my wife), and can therefore correct I few "facts". I think the bag of cement is 40 kg.

The mix we used, was 5 parts soil/sand and 2 parts cement. from 1 bag of cement we made 60 blocks. If you use more clay-like soil, the mix can be 6 to 1, you make more blocks(70?), use less cement, and they will be more heat resistant.(keep the sun out)

Each block is supposed to carry a minimum weight of 70 kg.

We used steel bars to support the concrete, and we sealed all gaps both inside and outside before painting. The size of our blocks is 25 cm long, 12cm wide, 10 cm high.

Trond

These bricks, same size 40 in 1 square meter are sold in our area (Burriram) for 9 THB a piece brought to your door. In our village there is one Thai family building a house with them. I am following their activities with great interest and thinking of building some bungalows with this system myself.

Arthur

[incubus]

These bricks, same size 40 in 1 square meter are sold in our area (Burriram) for 9 THB a piece brought to your door. In our village there is one Thai family building a house with them. I am following their activities with great interest and thinking of building some bungalows with this system myself.

Arthur

Here in Surin, the same bricks, same quality but natural earthy yellow, not cement-colored, cost 6 TBt at NET Foundation (Northeastern Thailand Development Foundation, also referred to as ICTO Institute for Training on Community Development, Thai NGO). Uses the same Ubon-made presses, which are not bad, but not the most advanced block design available on the Thai market, IMHO.

If interested, PM me for details.

incubus

[Cent]

These bricks, same size 40 in 1 square meter are sold in our area (Burriram) for 9 THB a piece brought to your door. In our village there is one Thai family building a house with them. I am following their activities with great interest and thinking of building some bungalows with this system myself.

Arthur

Here in Surin, the same bricks, same quality but natural earthy yellow, not cement-colored, cost 6 TBt at NET Foundation (Northeastern Thailand Development Foundation, also referred to as ICTO Institute for Training on Community Development, Thai NGO). Uses the same Ubon-made presses, which are not bad, but not the most advanced block design available on the Thai market, IMHO.

If interested, PM me for details.

incubus

Incubus,

There is a German man whose wedding I went to last year up here in the Surin area (Prasat I believe it was) that is now producing these interlocking block/bricks. He showed me his system and he has made his home and walls of these blocks they are producing. Very good quality these were. He told me the price per block, but I don't remember now what it was. He was just starting to produece these in quantity for sale. He goes by the name 'Lobo', and was a very nice guy who seemed to know what he was doing. (I was there with my women who were helping cook for the wedding as friends of the bride's family.)

I'll see if I can get his business address and numbers for these blocks if anyone would be interested.

Cent

p.s. Interesting story on how he met his wife. He was visiting Phuket when the Tsunami hit. He was running for higher ground when this woman rode past him on a motocyke. She stopped and urged him to climb on the bike and off they went to escape the water. He says she saved his life. They are now happily married.