Building a new house

[SlyAnimal]

I want to build a new house on the land where we are currently living (there's a house there already).

However my gf is kinda dragging her feet on organizing it (I'd like it finished before my family come over for our wedding in April next year.

At one stage she was looking at some websites online with houses, but she hasnt done any other research on them and doesnt seem interested in organising a new house.

I don't know anything about these online house building companies. are they value for money? and are there any which people can personally vouch for? (No links, as per forum rules. But I can find them based on a name)

As I was thinking I might hurry things along a bit by checking them out myself.

Also how long does it take to build a house usually? And do these online companies build in the Isaan countryside aswell as the cities?

[Crossy]

Do you know what style and size you want, if not have a look here for some ideas http://www.crossy.co.uk/Thai_House_Plans/index.html using one of these will also enable you to get a quick start as time seems limited.

For a contractor word of mouth is your best friend, ours lives in the next village and is considered a good friend (even after he built our home). We did look at a few of the online outfits but all seemed rather expensive. There are a couple of horror stories on that 'other' forum where the 'reputable' main contractor used a local subbie with dire consequences.

If you take account of the delay for flooding ours took 12 months, but some lovely (and more conventional) houses have gone up in the village in half that.

By the way, it's an unwritten rule that all TV Mods who build houses must publish blow-by-blow accounts here

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/481794-housebuilding-thread/

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/494413-bojangles-budget-bungalow-in-the-boonies/

[thaicbr]

For a contractor word of mouth is your best friend, ours lives in the next village and is considered a good friend (even after he built our home).

I love the part in brackets

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[krisb]

Im assuming your in Issan?, Id find a local team by using word of mouth. Look around the village, see a house you like the look of, and ask them who they used and how were they. The locals are key here unless you have money and dont mind paying a team to come up from BKK for example.

I know 2 great builders 1 around Chaiyaphum whos my BIL, and they guy building our house is around Chum Phae. If that helps at all?

It sounds like you dont have much building experience? or at least in Thailand?..use this forum and theres another well known dedicated building forum just for Thailand. I can pm you the name of the site if you like, let me know.

Time frames on building like Crossy said, depend on weather and depend on all sorts of things. 12 months or less if all runs smooth, could be as little as 6 months. Small house/big house etc.

The key to anyone building in Thailand is research and ask questions to others building or built. You also need your wife to get into the spirit of it. Shes a local and knows the locals. Start taking her to look at new bathrooms and kitchens in various shops. Get her into it.

Good luck!

[Crossy]

Start taking her to look at new bathrooms and kitchens in various shops. Get her into it.

Here be dragons!

[krisb]

Start taking her to look at new bathrooms and kitchens in various shops. Get her into it.

Here be dragons!

Yes Crossy, this is the plan how to get the wife enthusiastic about building a new house!

[belg]

once "your" house if finished on "her land", you might go find a condo to stay in...

just wait till u are married and take a lease on the land or whatever to protect a little bit of your money

[PattayaPhom]

If you have the time as you are living there, try employing locals with one as foreman and buying materials yourself....save a lot of money...most companies will mark up by at least 30%

[Equalizer]

Do not go down the new road of getting a 30 year lease on the land and putting the house in her name! my friend did this and when the Sh@T hit the fan with the relationship she refused to let him near the home. The police treated it like a domestic and wanted nothing to do with it. We went to the lawyer and he said you need to remove her with force!!! otherwise it will take over 2 years to get a court to rule in your favour after she delays the process by no turning up through sickness and other strategic delays. Basically you are on your own here, tell me how many of us would try to remove a person from the home who has family and friends and friends of friends who also have friends. That becomes a danger to yourself. Once you do eventually get a court order the police have to act on it.

[Always18]

Echoing previous posters regarding builders/architects etc., word-of-mouth recommendation is definitely the way to go.

When my wife and I were were planning our own house-build here in Sisaket a few years ago, we were very fortunate to be introduced to a local architect/builder and were able to look around houses that he had previously designed and built for other farangs.

The biggest plus for us was that this gentleman fully understood my "farang's expectations" - which are a world away from the expectations of the average Thai customer!

The building gang worked 7 days a week for almost 6 months (apart from the regular holidays!) and completed just within the agreed time-scale.

We've been absolutely delighted with the result and we regularly recommend this same chap to other friends locally.

[PeVee1st]

I built a house in Udon Thani and these are the lessons I learnt the hard way, but before I go on I must question your gf's commitment. Is she about to change her mind about you and rip U off.

I will arrange my comments in dot form, as follows,

1. I used a local builder and then found out later he gave kickbacks to my wifes father for the job.

2. With a local builder you get no guarantee, all the registered home builders I found out too late give guarantees of usually 10 years. When I asked my builder to repair some faults he told me there was no guarantee.

3. Regardless of which builder you use, have a Lawyer draw up a contract, listing the job to be done and a payment schedule.

4. Nearly all local builders will go broke before you finish the job, so beware of giving money to the builder outside the agreed payment schedule.

5. Go on-line and do your research on how to build the home, especially land preparation.

6. Get a architecture plan drawn and have all drawings checked by an independent engineer.

7. Look at the costs for home fittings and make sure you get all the warrantys for the fittings. My builder charged me to install pumps, hot water heater and kitchen appliances, later I found that Homepro does a lot of installations of their appliances for free or little cost.

8. I did not trust the builder to weld the roof structure, I paid extra and had a Lysaghts brand roof frame fitted by the manufacturer. Then I had Monier brand tiles fitted by the manufacturer.

9. Investment in good roof insulation to keep the home cool and lower your energy costs.

10. You will need to be at the site at least during major times of the build, all builders will take short cuts in construction.

[Anon999]

There are many factors to consider and some reading to be done if you want to end up with house that you'll be very happy with a the end of the day.

1. Decide what size the house is going to be, number of rooms and their dimensions, etc. (How many people will be liviing in it?)

2. How many floors.

3. Thai or western style.

4. Draw a sketch of your ideas or use a plan from some source as a starting point. (I designed my own house based on a plan from the UK that I had to hand)

5. Consult some local builders but find one who can speak and understand reasonable English. (Our builder was in his 30's and open to new ideas although I had to be very insistent sometimes. However, it was worthwhile and he also copied my ideas for his own house that he was building.)

6. Establish what the main materials will be and the insulation to make sure it will be cool.

7. Do some heavy reading:

Building Construction Illustrated - Francis Ching, available in English and Thai. You can use the Thai version to show your builder how you want things done.

How to buy land and build a house in Thailand - Paiboon Pub.

Those 2 books should give you all you need to know. However, be prepared to act as unofficial Project Manager otherwise you risk having all the Thai short cuts used on your house!

I have a part completed draft of a book about building my house is Isaan if of interest.

The other options are to choose a plan from one of the many books and ask a builder to get on with it. Once completed you will then need to find out what else needs doing, fixing and changing or ask an architect to design one for you based on your preferences and dislikes.

Get 3 quotes.

Best of luck and remember that the builders in Isaan use labour that is mostly unskilled and disappears off to the farm during the rice seasons.

The end result is the same with everything, you only get out as much as you are prepared to put in.

You will also need to arrange a Usufruct for up to 30 years max. do not believe people who say they can arrange one for life, etc.

Finally I almost forgot! Do not under any circumstances use a builder who is a potential relative, extended family relative or a friend of. They will add a %age onto everything - standard practise.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Anon999

[Speros]

Mate if you want no hassle but will cost a bit more try Alan the builder. You will get professional build, turn key no hassles.

Edited June 24, 2013 by SlyAnimal
Link removed

[aussiebebe]

1. I used a local builder and then found out later he gave kickbacks to my wifes father for the job.

That's an eye-opener!

I like your advice about roof insulation, the PU Sprayfoam insulation in conjunction with ventilation and fiberglass roll insulation is effective at slowing down heat transfer - just make sure you go with a firm that offers a long guarantee. Bad areas of foam can be cut out and re-sprayed.

[o2eZy]

a word of advise because I have a so called builder doing a house in pak kret BKK

be careful and watch them all the time

My place started off at 2.2mbht and with a few additional things thanks to the outlaws it is now 5mbht

place looked really great till things like the windows were fitted....... then it hit the fan

no such thing as using a level ...nothing square ..when I saw all the stuffups made them remove all the windows and square everything up

their idea is to fill everything with silicon

then when I looked at the painting and saw just a small bubble ...my wife lifted it and most of the paint peeled off

as for the plumbing that is another story...advise to you is be there and oversee everything and if your not happy then make them do it right

I will be back in BKK in August and straight to the solicitor we will go

[oneday]

If your wife can't get behind this then you are in deep trouble. She is going to have to put a lot of work into helping you on this project and you need to do a lot of research before starting.

There is one site that I guess no one is allowed to mention on TV for some unknown reason. It's a non-affiliated site with no agenda other than to educate people about building in Thailand. Someone else has probably already PM'd you this site, but I'll do it also.

Here is another site of home designs my GF found. We found a home design here that we both agree on. This site has a bit more imagination in design than the other one given above, but they cost. The design we like cost 25,000B.

Yes, this is a Thai site, but you don't need to read Thai to look at the designs. Page Down twice and on the left-hand side you will see a menu that starts off "1 ห้องนอน 2 ห้องน้ำ", then 2 and 1, then 2 and 2, etc. This is simple home designs for a 1 bedroom-2 bath, 2 bedroom-1 bath, 2 bedroom-2 bath, etc.

My GF called this builder and unfortunately they only go as far as Kolat. However, you can still buy the design and then find your own builder, which can be a chore.

The site given above by "Crossy" shows you designs that are free from the government.

Edited June 24, 2013 by SlyAnimal
Edited out link

[SlyAnimal]

hmmm a lot of interesting comments, seems a lot more involved than what I thought. To answer a couple of questions which you asked (and a couple which you didn't):

I have no experience at all with building things, I'm one of those people who doesn't like to get his hands dirty lol.

Which is why I've mainly left it upto my gf to organise, as she studied engineering (Although industrial, not civil), as I figure a lot of the stuff she knows will cross over on it. I have a relaxed job, so can be back often during the day, however I want her to project manage it rather than myself. Although since nothing seems to be happening, I think maybe I need to take hold of the reins again.

The lease or ownership of the house/land is not something I'm worried about, only the building of the house.

I'm going to need to do a bit more research on some of the stuff which you guys have brought up, thanks for your contributions so far. End of lunch, so back to work for me.

Also please don't post links to commercial sites. As even though they are sometimes helpful and posted with good intentions, they are against the board rules, thus need to be edited out if you post them.

[o2eZy]

look up conventure

is a thai building co and has great houses we based our house on one of there designs

have looked at some of their housed and they are built very well

I should of done the same

Edited June 24, 2013 by SlyAnimal
Edited out link

[newermonkey]

I am guessing you might be new to Thailand? if you are then you have to be made aware and prepare yourself for some trouble.

Firstly the GF... "personally" I would not go ahead and give a house to a Thai person, as you might become very UN-usefull once you've spent all your money. BTW You cannot legally own any land in Thailand

Unless you know about construction, and can speak fluent Thai don't trust any Thai builder your project will turn into a money pit.

In short my advise is rent your home and invest in property in your native country (100% your property).

Sorry for the negative attitude but I have been here for 30 years and have gone through several fortunes with several construction projects, and bad business experiences.

But you might be the lucky one (one in 65 Million) perhaps, I might be totally wrong and you will be able to trust everyone you deal with, you just might be that very rare lucky person.

[Billmont]

We built a house in lower Issan,about 60km south of Korat City. We had purchased a plot of lot land a few years earlier and about 5 years ago decided to build a two storey house. When I say we or I it is appreciated that everything is in my wifes name before the SA's make obvious comments. We did all the negotiations by email from the UK and the contracts were exchanged by mail. The company we used PD House is a Bangkok company with a Korat office. After the initial contact all further contact was with the Korat office. We had a time penalty clause but the house was completed within the time limit and took about 10 months. Stage payments were supported by photos. I never saw the house until it was finished and my wife only visited twice combined with family events. In general I would say that a professional house building company would cost roughly twice what it would cost using local builders. So why use such a company? Well they have insurance, give a guarantee, three years in our case, and they buy all the materials (many came from Bangkok) and control the labour. They have a team led by an experienced Foreman, they build shacks on the land and live on site until the job is finished. The purposely do not use local labout to avoid conflicts of interest such as family problems, drunkness and associated problems if it is necessary to dismiss one of the team. Minimum supervision is necessary by the house owner and their Head Office sent Quality Controllers from Bangkok on a regular basis and at critical stages. This was the main reason we used them as at the time I had business committments in the UK so I could not be in Thailand.

In the meantime I have seen several houses built in our village using local labour and everything seems to have gone well although in somes case a closer inspection indicates that the work was not done by a professional. If you have the time to supervise and also some experience then using local labour will save a great deal of money. All the other new builds were on behalf of Thais' so no Farang Factor involved. We all know that Farangs have unlimited funds and therefore must be cheated because they can afford it and have the money to put things right should the build shortcuts be noticed or go wrong. I am not saying this will happen but here is the strong possibility. My wifes family have no building experience so could not use them in any case. They did however regularly visit the build as they all live locally and walked around as if they knew what they were looking at, especially her grandmother who is about 80, and became know as the Building Manager. At New Year and Songkran we sent my wifes sister with THB20,000 on each occasion to give to the team, we think this helped very much. We have now lived in the house for 4 years and very satisfied although there are a few small things I would have changed if I was on site at the time but that was our fault as the house was built to the specification that we agreed. My wife's sister was a great help living a short distance away and had built her own house and was on site most of the time her house was being built, she kept us fully informed which if nothing else was a great comfort as we therefore had a independant report which verified what the company told us. Hope this helps.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Billmont

[maybefitz]

Fortunately, my wife has a knack of building, and has not only done our houses - but built 3 houses for farang friends. The big thing she does is split the job up and get a fixed price for each job.

She does her own design on a piece of A4 paper, and the builder seems to be able to work to this without an architect. She knows which hardware shop to go to in Chiang Mai for different materials.

1 Clear the land and prepare the site. (Backhoe and bulldozer)

2. Foundations.

3 Up-rights and support beams, (framework)

4. Roof (yes, the N. Thai style is roof before the walls)

5.2nd floor and staircase

6. Walls and window/door frames.(never seen a damp course yet)

7, Electrics and plumbing.

8. Finish off, drive, garden etc.

Local builder everytime - and the big issue, get a fixed price for each stage - never pay a day-rate. They can be very clever at slowing down to extend the days if on a day rate.

Note, all Thai builders are multi=taskers. Tiling, Plastering etc done by same group. Electrics and backhoe are the only sub-contracts. Use local labour for gardening too.

[khunPer]

It took me about 1½ year to build a new house, but I slowed down the finishing work to get a good detailed quality. You can normally do in a year, or perhabs around 10 month. Be prepared for something that may delay the process.

A good book, if you need to be involved in the project, is: “How to Buy Land and Buil a House in Thailand” by Philip Bryce, Paiboon Publishing. Available in book stores or paiboon publishing

Some turnkey companies do the job, but there may still be a lot of details for your to decide, including choose of materials. Usinmg a local constructor, you may need to check more yourself, if you want a fair quality.

Edited June 24, 2013 by SlyAnimal
Removed link

[johnklinrak]

search for thai country houses. Take a look at this quality build.

Edited June 24, 2013 by SlyAnimal
Removed link

[Puma]

There are many factors to consider and some reading to be done if you want to end up with house that you'll be very happy with a the end of the day.

1. Decide what size the house is going to be, number of rooms and their dimensions, etc. (How many people will be liviing in it?)

2. How many floors.

3. Thai or western style.

4. Draw a sketch of your ideas or use a plan from some source as a starting point. (I designed my own house based on a plan from the UK that I had to hand)

5. Consult some local builders but find one who can speak and understand reasonable English. (Our builder was in his 30's and open to new ideas although I had to be very insistent sometimes. However, it was worthwhile and he also copied my ideas for his own house that he was building.)

6. Establish what the main materials will be and the insulation to make sure it will be cool.

7. Do some heavy reading:

Building Construction Illustrated - Francis Ching, available in English and Thai. You can use the Thai version to show your builder how you want things done.

How to buy land and build a house in Thailand - Paiboon Pub.

Those 2 books should give you all you need to know. However, be prepared to act as unofficial Project Manager otherwise you risk having all the Thai short cuts used on your house!

I have a part completed draft of a book about building my house is Isaan if of interest.

The other options are to choose a plan from one of the many books and ask a builder to get on with it. Once completed you will then need to find out what else needs doing, fixing and changing or ask an architect to design one for you based on your preferences and dislikes.

Get 3 quotes.

Best of luck and remember that the builders in Isaan use labour that is mostly unskilled and disappears off to the farm during the rice seasons.

The end result is the same with everything, you only get out as much as you are prepared to put in.

You will also need to arrange a Usufruct for up to 30 years max. do not believe people who say they can arrange one for life, etc.

Finally I almost forgot! Do not under any circumstances use a builder who is a potential relative, extended family relative or a friend of. They will add a %age onto everything - standard practise.

I have a usufruct for life and it is registered and approved by Land Office in Thailand

[BuriramRes]

There is a lot of hysterics going on here. Just get back to reality.

Whether your GF is straight or not is something you have to sort out.

We bought a spec built house fully expecting there would be problems in it (which there were), but hey, compared to the prices charged in the so called farang countries, what you get here is a bargain!

If I was you I would take a drive around your neighbourhood & see what is being built. If you see something that looks like it's the thing you want, you and your GF should have a talk with the builder and see if you can make a deal.

None of the windows in our house are particularly square but yes, silicone is a great product to fill any leaks.

About a year ago I got security bars fitted to most of my house. Two guys came out and carefully measured each window. They went away and made the security bars. Another team came to fit them but the second team fitted all the ones that they could fit into the windows, then modified the rest to fit the smaller windows. OK, none of them are a perfect fit but they do the job. If you want a palace, pay the price.

In my opinion you do your best but don't get overly stressed if your Thai builder isn't quite as exact as your builder back home.

Just remember, your builder at home charges a hell of a lot more than here, and he doesn't always live up to expectations either!!

Horses for courses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bangkokstick]

Just prepare yourself for big troubles and you will be fine :-)

What I am sure about is that you should not use a company which name is 2 letters (first letter after O in alphabet and second letter after C) + house...

[krisb]

Lots of interesting posts so far, windows out of square is a big worry. In fact its something a 1st year apprentice wouldn't even do. Its called using a spirit level. Personally if I had no building experience there's no way you can oversee a house build. You wouldn't know things like the 3,4,5 rule or required fall of sewer pipes let alone electrics, trusses, lintils, checking slab level, slab recess in wet areas, waterproofing wet areas and the list goes on and on. With no experience, find a reputable builder and save the heart ache. Do it right the first time.

[Anon999]

We built a house in lower Issan,about 60km south of Korat City. We had purchased a plot of lot land a few years earlier and about 5 years ago decided to build a two storey house. When I say we or I it is appreciated that everything is in my wifes name before the SA's make obvious comments. We did all the negotiations by email from the UK and the contracts were exchanged by mail. The company we used PD House is a Bangkok company with a Korat office. After the initial contact all further contact was with the Korat office. We had a time penalty clause but the house was completed within the time limit and took about 10 months. Stage payments were supported by photos. I never saw the house until it was finished and my wife only visited twice combined with family events. In general I would say that a professional house building company would cost roughly twice what it would cost using local builders. So why use such a company? Well they have insurance, give a guarantee, three years in our case, and they buy all the materials (many came from Bangkok) and control the labour. They have a team led by an experienced Foreman, they build shacks on the land and live on site until the job is finished. The purposely do not use local labout to avoid conflicts of interest such as family problems, drunkness and associated problems if it is necessary to dismiss one of the team. Minimum supervision is necessary by the house owner and their Head Office sent Quality Controllers from Bangkok on a regular basis and at critical stages. This was the main reason we used them as at the time I had business committments in the UK so I could not be in Thailand.

In the meantime I have seen several houses built in our village using local labour and everything seems to have gone well although in somes case a closer inspection indicates that the work was not done by a professional. If you have the time to supervise and also some experience then using local labour will save a great deal of money. All the other new builds were on behalf of Thais' so no Farang Factor involved. We all know that Farangs have unlimited funds and therefore must be cheated because they can afford it and have the money to put things right should the build shortcuts be noticed or go wrong. I am not saying this will happen but here is the strong possibility. My wifes family have no building experience so could not use them in any case. They did however regularly visit the build as they all live locally and walked around as if they knew what they were looking at, especially her grandmother who is about 80, and became know as the Building Manager. At New Year and Songkran we sent my wifes sister with THB20,000 on each occasion to give to the team, we think this helped very much. We have now lived in the house for 4 years and very satisfied although there are a few small things I would have changed if I was on site at the time but that was our fault as the house was built to the specification that we agreed. My wife's sister was a great help living a short distance away and had built her own house and was on site most of the time her house was being built, she kept us fully informed which if nothing else was a great comfort as we therefore had a independant report which verified what the company told us. Hope this helps.

I know PD House very well indeed. Originally went to them to get my house in Isaan built and having discussed the plans agreed to go ahead and paid them a 50,000 baht deposit without which they would not proceed. However, they took the plans and information, stating what was required, having told them none of their plans were what we wanted. The architect in BKK then changed the whole plan, removing all the doors downstairs to make it open plan, knocking out the wall between the kitchen and dining room while making it two level and changing many other things too. The result was a design that matched one of their own houses.

They also said local labour would be used as it was too far from BKK.

Meetings with them in BKK, they would not come to their Khon Kaen office, achieved nothing constructive apart from being told that if we wanted a house to our design it would cost an extra 2,500,000 baht and it did not include all of the items included in the original specification on top of which some of the items were not up to the same quality. Of course having taken our money there was no way of getting it back and they totally ignored emails and would not take phone calls either!

NOTE The final plans provided by our local builder, for our house, consisted of 27 pages of A3.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Anon999

[Anon999]

It took me about 1½ year to build a new house, but I slowed down the finishing work to get a good detailed quality. You can normally do in a year, or perhabs around 10 month. Be prepared for something that may delay the process.

A good book, if you need to be involved in the project, is: “How to Buy Land and Buil a House in Thailand” by Philip Bryce, Paiboon Publishing. Available in book stores or www.paiboonpublishing.com

Some turnkey companies do the job, but there may still be a lot of details for your to decide, including choose of materials. Usinmg a local constructor, you may need to check more yourself, if you want a fair quality.

+1

[Anon999]

There are many factors to consider and some reading to be done if you want to end up with house that you'll be very happy with a the end of the day.

1. Decide what size the house is going to be, number of rooms and their dimensions, etc. (How many people will be liviing in it?)

2. How many floors.

3. Thai or western style.

4. Draw a sketch of your ideas or use a plan from some source as a starting point. (I designed my own house based on a plan from the UK that I had to hand)

5. Consult some local builders but find one who can speak and understand reasonable English. (Our builder was in his 30's and open to new ideas although I had to be very insistent sometimes. However, it was worthwhile and he also copied my ideas for his own house that he was building.)

6. Establish what the main materials will be and the insulation to make sure it will be cool.

7. Do some heavy reading:

Building Construction Illustrated - Francis Ching, available in English and Thai. You can use the Thai version to show your builder how you want things done.

How to buy land and build a house in Thailand - Paiboon Pub.

Those 2 books should give you all you need to know. However, be prepared to act as unofficial Project Manager otherwise you risk having all the Thai short cuts used on your house!

I have a part completed draft of a book about building my house is Isaan if of interest.

The other options are to choose a plan from one of the many books and ask a builder to get on with it. Once completed you will then need to find out what else needs doing, fixing and changing or ask an architect to design one for you based on your preferences and dislikes.

Get 3 quotes.

Best of luck and remember that the builders in Isaan use labour that is mostly unskilled and disappears off to the farm during the rice seasons.

The end result is the same with everything, you only get out as much as you are prepared to put in.

You will also need to arrange a Usufruct for up to 30 years max. do not believe people who say they can arrange one for life, etc.

Finally I almost forgot! Do not under any circumstances use a builder who is a potential relative, extended family relative or a friend of. They will add a %age onto everything - standard practise.

I have a usufruct for life and it is registered and approved by Land Office in Thailand

I have heard of this and was advised by my lawyer that if you ever have to go to court (divorce, whatever) it will not be accepted.;