Terrible jobs done by local workers.

[kannot]

I can not believe that I am one of the few Falang's in Thailand that has a host of great construction workers that I hire for additions to our home, as we speak I have (3) people putting up a Brick room partition wall, great block laying, I can not guess how many coats of cement he has plastered my walls with, very many ,very thick.

He came and looked at it and said he would do it for 1000 baht and I told my wife no to pay him a decent wage, He ended up charging us 1500 baht for (3) people to complete the job. I can not see the profit they are making 300 baht per day to lay the brick 2 workers (600) baht and 3 workers plastering today (900) baht total 1500 baht, our regular worker is in great demand and was going to charge us 3500 baht for the same job.

We did buy then ice coffee and sodas during the day and after work brought them a little bottle of whiskey.

They did a great Job and I was more than satisfied with their work.

Cheers:

Im sorry this is not possible according to some posters, at the rate you paid you should only have monkeys, the work ethic in general is appalling.

[Soutpeel]

I employ real Thai tradesman, electricians and welder fabricators and all my staff are very competent tradesman. Welders tested and certified to AWS (American) standards and electricians that can read complex electrical schematics. You simply won't get these people doing homebuilding work. My welders make 25,000 a Month plus OT plus bonuses plus other allowances. All are trades school trained and some have worked overseas on high quality industrial projects. Most of the good tradesman are working in companies that do either export manufacturing or local oil and gas. At the rates I pay my staff I am still at less than 25% of similarly skilled tradesman in Australia.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

You must be mistaken...this cant be true...TV's all knowing finest farangs say Thai tradesmen are useless and incompetant and wouldnt trust them walking the dog...

[Soutpeel]

At the rates I pay my staff I am still at less than 25% of similarly skilled tradesman in Australia.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

and could we also suggest the Thai staff also whine a lot less than their aussie counterparts and just get on with the job..

[Bcgardener]

At the rates I pay my staff I am still at less than 25% of similarly skilled tradesman in Australia.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

and could we also suggest the Thai staff also whine a lot less than their aussie counterparts and just get on with the job.. 

 

Actually, from my experience with both groups I would say that....

Thai tradesman are about 70% as productive as Aussies

Aussies are better at problem solving and thinking outside the box (blame Thai education for that one)

Consumption of alchohol leading to days off.... Dead heat on that one

If you treat them well Thai staff are more loyal

Whining and complaining .... some from the Aussies but more of a problem are the shop floor lawyers that think they know it all

Conclusion ..... Average Thai tradesman are easier to work with from my perspective as the "boss". You just have do a lot more thinking for them.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[meatboy]

We had some landscaping done by a couple from Korat that did a very nice job. Our neighbor (who is a drunk and a boor) was so impressed that he basically ordered them to do some work for him (see drunk and a boor) and they refused as they had seen him in action. He offered to pay them whatever they wanted, and again they refused. How about that?? Good tradespeople with principles!

I am looking for an electrician to install safe-t-cut if anyone know one??

hope you dont get the one we just had.as all the electric cables are above the ceilings and to get to them you have to remove the roof tiles,[not for me]we bought 2 flood lights to be fitted one each side of the house.this is the last time i leave anyone to do a job on their own,i went to check on the first one he fitted[he had the instructions with a photo of the light fixed]well there were 3 holes in the ceiling,then another close by with the cable coming through fixed to the light which was on the wall but the pir.was facing the ceiling and the light facing down,yes thats right it was upside down.

luckily he had gone to lunch so i put it right.

when the wife told him he blamed the instructions he couldnt read.

then told him to run the cable through the ceiling and ga-ban.

[watcharacters]

.

I visited a house under construction near me several times that was supervised by an "expert" expat engineer. I never heard him compliment or say anything good about anything except what he'd done personally, which was minimal.

From the suppliers to the installers, everybody was completely worthless according to him.

When the special cut glass window didn't find in the final opening, it was completely the fault of everyone else. The supervisor never bothered to check the opening to insure it was correct. It was apparent to me he was taking every short cut he could for his friend/customer as one might expect from a complete stranger.

I'm not taking sides on the quality standpoint of Thai tradesmen/workers but sometimes one needs to self examine as well.

[Soutpeel]

At the rates I pay my staff I am still at less than 25% of similarly skilled tradesman in Australia.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

and could we also suggest the Thai staff also whine a lot less than their aussie counterparts and just get on with the job..

Actually, from my experience with both groups I would say that....

Thai tradesman are about 70% as productive as Aussies

Aussies are better at problem solving and thinking outside the box (blame Thai education for that one)

Consumption of alchohol leading to days off.... Dead heat on that one

If you treat them well Thai staff are more loyal

Whining and complaining .... some from the Aussies but more of a problem are the shop floor lawyers that think they know it all

Conclusion ..... Average Thai tradesman are easier to work with from my perspective as the "boss". You just have do a lot more thinking for them.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Good assessment...

Your observation on the loyalty aspect is interesting, as my experience is exactly the same...have found if you look after the guys, they will go to the ends of the earth for you, but I am sure TV finest Thainess experts will be along shortly to say this is only because your paying them...

Have had over the years mutiple Thai guys tell me they would rather work for a farang boss over a Thai boss, as the farang bosses have a tendancy to look after the workers better and treat them with respect (not just better paid)

[chrisinth]

It would be great if ex pats could start a small building company and get good tradesmen to work for them but there is just to many issues here to even think about it, it's a good idea before getting any building work done is ask around and have a look what they have done before but mind you electrical work here is minefield and if you could find a competent one you have done well, it's easy to fix a bit of rough cement etc but not electrical or internal plumbing .

That, in principle is a great idea, however doomed to failure before it starts as it would never support itself. The wages for the tradesmen (if it is quality we are talking about) would be high meaning the work cost would be high. Some would pay, most would not if they could get it cheaper.

There is the basis for a poll if anyone wants to start it. Even in your heart, you know that certain installations should be done properly, would you pay top-end prices if you could get it done for half the cost?

Dig deep and answer yourselves honestly on that.....................

[robblok]

I employ real Thai tradesman, electricians and welder fabricators and all my staff are very competent tradesman. Welders tested and certified to AWS (American) standards and electricians that can read complex electrical schematics. You simply won't get these people doing homebuilding work. My welders make 25,000 a Month plus OT plus bonuses plus other allowances. All are trades school trained and some have worked overseas on high quality industrial projects. Most of the good tradesman are working in companies that do either export manufacturing or local oil and gas. At the rates I pay my staff I am still at less than 25% of similarly skilled tradesman in Australia.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

You must be mistaken...this cant be true...TV's all knowing finest farangs say Thai tradesmen are useless and incompetant and wouldnt trust them walking the dog...

I complain a lot about Thais and how they do things, but I had a hard time believing all Thais were bad at it. You got a great point they are more expensive. But the problem is finding the good people as some people that deliver crap quality ask for high prices too. I wish it was as simple as paying more.

Last job (remodeling my kitchen) I imported cheap Dutch labor that worked for a Bacardi cola and paid his own food. Id rather go fishing with him (my dad) but I could really not find anyone doing a good job all my experiences were bad. Only partly good thing was the last plumber who finally made sure the gutter on my kitchen roof did not leak anymore... but he put the drain on my neighbors property (ok abandoned house) instead of connecting it to our drain. I did not see it before because it was not accessible, otherwise a great job as I don't have any other problems anymore. He also had to cry at the standard of work done by his predecessors. So yes there are good Thai tradesmen out there they are just hard to find.

It is just plain stupid thinking Thais cant do this and its genetic, its education and training. Both are unfortunately in short supply but some gems will always be found.

[robblok]

It would be great if ex pats could start a small building company and get good tradesmen to work for them but there is just to many issues here to even think about it, it's a good idea before getting any building work done is ask around and have a look what they have done before but mind you electrical work here is minefield and if you could find a competent one you have done well, it's easy to fix a bit of rough cement etc but not electrical or internal plumbing .

That, in principle is a great idea, however doomed to failure before it starts as it would never support itself. The wages for the tradesmen (if it is quality we are talking about) would be high meaning the work cost would be high. Some would pay, most would not if they could get it cheaper.

There is the basis for a poll if anyone wants to start it. Even in your heart, you know that certain installations should be done properly, would you pay top-end prices if you could get it done for half the cost?

Dig deep and answer yourselves honestly on that.....................

Honestly.. yes id pay double.. i have had too much sub standard work done that had to be re done at higher cost. I am not that technical so its hard for me to do so id rather pay extra and get it done at good standard. I am one of those guys that believes in paying for quality.

[canman]

One of my MIL friends is an excellent welder, but it's the only decent welding I've seen in Thailand. The rest is just filler rod melted on top due to them not having the skill and experience (bother to practice) to use the correct amp setting/temperature. I've seen people using arc welders on thin steel and not understanding why they are burning through, then just keep proding at it until enough rod (and slag ) is on it so it doesn't fall apart when touched.

There are plenty of excellent welders in Thailand, in fact real Thai welders are some of the best skills wise in the world, however the average farang building an Isaan mansion will never come across them, simply because the real Thai welders will not work for THB 300/day or THB 1000 or THB 2000/day...

even at the "lower level" some of the Thai welders are earning around US$ 100/day, the very good ones THB US $ 200/250/day and at forman level US$ 300+

I second that. Most people would be suprised to learn that a great majority of the the subsea pipelines in asia have been welded together by Thai's. I was once on a P/L barge where they had a Malay and a Thai welding crew. the Thais were beteer than the malays in every respect.

[Bcgardener]

At the rates I pay my staff I am still at less than 25% of similarly skilled tradesman in Australia.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

and could we also suggest the Thai staff also whine a lot less than their aussie counterparts and just get on with the job..

Actually, from my experience with both groups I would say that....

Thai tradesman are about 70% as productive as Aussies

Aussies are better at problem solving and thinking outside the box (blame Thai education for that one)

Consumption of alchohol leading to days off.... Dead heat on that one

If you treat them well Thai staff are more loyal

Whining and complaining .... some from the Aussies but more of a problem are the shop floor lawyers that think they know it all

Conclusion ..... Average Thai tradesman are easier to work with from my perspective as the "boss". You just have do a lot more thinking for them.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Good assessment...

Your observation on the loyalty aspect is interesting, as my experience is exactly the same...have found if you look after the guys, they will go to the ends of the earth for you, but I am sure TV finest Thainess experts will be along shortly to say this is only because your paying them...

Have had over the years mutiple Thai guys tell me they would rather work for a farang boss over a Thai boss, as the farang bosses have a tendancy to look after the workers better and treat them with respect (not just better paid)

I treat my Thai staff the way I would treat my staff in Australia. They get paid a good wage but not over the top. They get a bonus at the end of the year based on how the company did and also based on my assessment of their performance. If there a bit short at the end of the Month then we will advance them a couple of thousand Baht to see them through to the next payday. If we've had a hard job with a short lead time, at the end of it, I will buy some beers or whiskey for the end of the week. Company buys a decent lunch every Friday for everyone as they all sit around and talk over the meal, good for morale. They will tell me where things could have been done better on projects (yes I listen to them most of the time). In one instance I hired a welder and after a couple of Months a few of the staff came to me and said "boss he's no good and his slow and lazy, get rid of him"

I think the problem here with some Farangs is that they have the attitude they are employing trained "monkeys" and treat them that way. These are people with families and debts and all the other issues we farangs face. If you respect them and treat them like you would anyone else you will find that they are very loyal to the company and the "boss". I moved my business here from Australia 5 years ago and in that time I have never had an employee quit. Training them to do quality work suitable for export is hard as most Thai companies teach them to cut corners and do it quick and cheap, so once you train them you need to keep them.

[Bcgardener]

At the rates I pay my staff I am still at less than 25% of similarly skilled tradesman in Australia.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

and could we also suggest the Thai staff also whine a lot less than their aussie counterparts and just get on with the job..

Actually, from my experience with both groups I would say that....

Thai tradesman are about 70% as productive as Aussies

Aussies are better at problem solving and thinking outside the box (blame Thai education for that one)

Consumption of alchohol leading to days off.... Dead heat on that one

If you treat them well Thai staff are more loyal

Whining and complaining .... some from the Aussies but more of a problem are the shop floor lawyers that think they know it all

Conclusion ..... Average Thai tradesman are easier to work with from my perspective as the "boss". You just have do a lot more thinking for them.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Good assessment...

Your observation on the loyalty aspect is interesting, as my experience is exactly the same...have found if you look after the guys, they will go to the ends of the earth for you, but I am sure TV finest Thainess experts will be along shortly to say this is only because your paying them...

Have had over the years mutiple Thai guys tell me they would rather work for a farang boss over a Thai boss, as the farang bosses have a tendancy to look after the workers better and treat them with respect (not just better paid)

At the end of it we are all the same. We all have families to look after and bills to pay. Why should Thai employees be any different? If you look after them they will stay and will be loyal. A trip down to the local shop to buy a few beers for them on a Friday or Saturday afternoon also helps. No different to what I would do in Australia. I have even had some of my staff come to me and ask if I could get rid of a new welder I had hired. They said "boss. he's not a good welder and he is slow and lazy, get rid of him" I had almost come to the conclusion but that helped. In the 5 years I have been here we have not had an employee quit so I must be doing something right.

As for trade schools, there is the Thai Austrian Technical college near us that produces good quality tradesman, so much in fact the pretty much all of them have jobs even before they finish their course.

[Salapoo]

So looks like we've got an answer then.

All the proper, trained, and decent workers are off doing real work for real money with real companies.

All the rest are doing crap jobs for crap wages.

Seems like they get paid what they deserve in both cases.

[DiNiro]

Gosh, on so many threads, I see people suggesting a starting salary of 8,000-15,000 baht for hiring locals.

Then these threads show up lamenting the poor work they're getting from the locals they're hiring.

I'm starting to think it's not coincidence.

Yeah, I know.

They should be paid much less.

btw, it isn't just poor work, it's the inability to do anything but poor work. Try to educate one and they'll do the job even worse out of spite.

Thainess.

Sad but true.

[johnlandy]

thaibeachlovers, getting anyone competent let alone a competent tradesman is a virtual impossibility.

Having said that I have seen some of the grease monkeys (mechanics) do a half reasonable job.

Also some of the major projects have competent people doing work BUT 95% + are being supervised and overseen by expats.

[jocko]

 

 One of my MIL friends is an excellent welder, but it's the only decent welding I've seen in Thailand. The rest is just filler rod melted on top due to them not having the skill and experience (bother to practice) to use the correct amp setting/temperature. I've seen people using arc welders on thin steel and not understanding why they are burning through, then just keep proding at it until enough rod (and slag ) is on it so it doesn't fall apart when touched.

 

There are plenty of excellent welders in Thailand, in fact real Thai welders are some of the best skills wise in the world, however the average farang building an Isaan mansion will never come across them, simply because the real Thai welders will not work for THB 300/day or THB 1000 or THB 2000/day...

 

even at the "lower level" some of the Thai welders are earning around US$ 100/day, the very good ones THB US $ 200/250/day and at forman level US$ 300+ 

 

 

 

I second that. Most people would be suprised to learn that a great majority of the the subsea pipelines in asia have been welded together by Thai's. I was once on a P/L barge where they had a Malay and a Thai welding crew. the Thais were beteer than the malays in every respect.

I agree I worked on L/B as a welding supervisor and the Thais are very good tradesmen who took pride in there work

It's all to do with training and willing to learn especially in welding as it's a practice makes perfect trade and bad work means you are on your way home.

But as the OP was about general building work that's another story.

[Cuban]

Was the person you employed an electrician or a rice farmer?

[arthurwait]

One of my MIL friends is an excellent welder, but it's the only decent welding I've seen in Thailand. The rest is just filler rod melted on top due to them not having the skill and experience (bother to practice) to use the correct amp setting/temperature. I've seen people using arc welders on thin steel and not understanding why they are burning through, then just keep proding at it until enough rod (and slag ) is on it so it doesn't fall apart when touched.

There are plenty of excellent welders in Thailand, in fact real Thai welders are some of the best skills wise in the world, however the average farang building an Isaan mansion will never come across them, simply because the real Thai welders will not work for THB 300/day or THB 1000 or THB 2000/day...

even at the "lower level" some of the Thai welders are earning around US$ 100/day, the very good ones THB US $ 200/250/day and at forman level US$ 300+

I wouldn't have a clue what the welding on an Esarn mansion looks like, don't live anywhere near there. Just the welding on just about everything you see.

As said I've seen one who is very good, but it seems everywhere else I see welding it is atrocious. Obviously those workers you talk about didn't do the stuff I've seen.

[Soutpeel]

One of my MIL friends is an excellent welder, but it's the only decent welding I've seen in Thailand. The rest is just filler rod melted on top due to them not having the skill and experience (bother to practice) to use the correct amp setting/temperature. I've seen people using arc welders on thin steel and not understanding why they are burning through, then just keep proding at it until enough rod (and slag ) is on it so it doesn't fall apart when touched.

There are plenty of excellent welders in Thailand, in fact real Thai welders are some of the best skills wise in the world, however the average farang building an Isaan mansion will never come across them, simply because the real Thai welders will not work for THB 300/day or THB 1000 or THB 2000/day...

even at the "lower level" some of the Thai welders are earning around US$ 100/day, the very good ones THB US $ 200/250/day and at forman level US$ 300+

I second that. Most people would be suprised to learn that a great majority of the the subsea pipelines in asia have been welded together by Thai's. I was once on a P/L barge where they had a Malay and a Thai welding crew. the Thais were beteer than the malays in every respect.

I agree I worked on L/B as a welding supervisor and the Thais are very good tradesmen who took pride in there work

It's all to do with training and willing to learn especially in welding as it's a practice makes perfect trade and bad work means you are on your way home.

But as the OP was about general building work that's another story.

The orginal premise of this thread was sweeping statement by TV's all knowing farangs that all Thai trademen are incompentant, specifically electrians and welders were mentioned, both myself and other who actually work in industry in Thailand showed that this premise was incorrect and pointed out the real tradesmen wouldnt be working on Condo construction sites or working on building farang mansions for THB 300/day or even THB 1000/day

Over the years I have worked with literally 100's of Thai welders and they are some of the best in the business as well as Thai electrians and various other trades and these guys are/were very good.

I think "Cuban" comment sum's up this thread perfectly for the all knowing TV's finests......what exactly are you employing, a tradesmen or a rice farmer ?....and one suspects in almost all cases they are employing rice farmers, as the real guys wouldnt work for the money that being put on the table...

[Anon999]

tell me about it , building 38 houses and every minute have to check the building quality .if you stay on top of them you will get a better job , and if the first time is no good tell them to do it again or they will not get paid . this works. well for me anyway . The first houses are finished and my wife and I are very proud of the houses and the quality of them .And cost just over 1 million. good house good workmanship .

In Isaan you'll be lucky to find a tradesman, they're virtually all rice farmers.

When having my house built I insisted that the builder employ a qualified electrician, carpenter and plumber. The answer I got was, no chance, there isn't any, however, the electrician will be the same man that did the electrics for the new hospital, he has 10 years experience. Eventually had to sack him as he couldn't get the gate lights to work without them tripping out the Load Centre as soon as it rained.

Plumbing, we used black and green flexible pipe with proper connectors. There is a hot tank so have H&C water supply. Leaks, yes because they couldn't screw compression joints together properly so had water dripping off the bottom of a light bulb in the lounge, not to mention through the ceiling. Couldn't fit the mixer taps properly because they failed to align and space the 2 supply pipes as per the instructions written in Thai. They do not bother to read anything,

Double toilet roll holders fell off the wall so had to show them how to key the surfaces first.

Slump tests on CPAC deliveries the first couple of loads were like soup with croutons! Got them to add a lot more cement, etc. and mix it until OK. Told them if any more like that it would be sent back. From then on they delivered it too thick and with the slump tester for me to do it.

I could go on but I'm sure you get the idea. Oh of course screws are fitted with a hammer!

Must say the builder bought the workers quite few new power tools and luckily I had bought all mine from the UK so they came in for a lot of use too.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Anon999

[Soutpeel]

One of my MIL friends is an excellent welder, but it's the only decent welding I've seen in Thailand. The rest is just filler rod melted on top due to them not having the skill and experience (bother to practice) to use the correct amp setting/temperature. I've seen people using arc welders on thin steel and not understanding why they are burning through, then just keep proding at it until enough rod (and slag ) is on it so it doesn't fall apart when touched.

There are plenty of excellent welders in Thailand, in fact real Thai welders are some of the best skills wise in the world, however the average farang building an Isaan mansion will never come across them, simply because the real Thai welders will not work for THB 300/day or THB 1000 or THB 2000/day...

even at the "lower level" some of the Thai welders are earning around US$ 100/day, the very good ones THB US $ 200/250/day and at forman level US$ 300+

I wouldn't have a clue what the welding on an Esarn mansion looks like, don't live anywhere near there. Just the welding on just about everything you see.

As said I've seen one who is very good, but it seems everywhere else I see welding it is atrocious. Obviously those workers you talk about didn't do the stuff I've seen.

One assumes the welds you have seen havent been done by welders....this is the whole point of what is being said, the "welders" on building sites are not welders, simply because the construction/building companies will not pay for proper welders.

As I can tell you and other people commenting on this thread, typically real welders undergo qualification test's before they get on a job...if no pass no weld and this is irrespective of how manys years they have been doing it.

Just because Khun Somchai turns up on a site with a welding machine and a handful of electrodes this doesnt make him a welder...

I have a car and can drive it...does this make me a F1 racing driver.?....No

[arthurwait]

The orginal premise of this thread was sweeping statement by TV's all knowing farangs that all Thai trademen are incompentant, specifically electrians and welders were mentioned, both myself and other who actually work in industry in Thailand showed that this premise was incorrect and pointed out the real tradesmen wouldnt be working on Condo construction sites or working on building farang mansions for THB 300/day or even THB 1000/day

Over the years I have worked with literally 100's of Thai welders and they are some of the best in the business as well as Thai electrians and various other trades and these guys are/were very good.

I think "Cuban" comment sum's up this thread perfectly for the all knowing TV's finests......what exactly are you employing, a tradesmen or a rice farmer ?....and one suspects in almost all cases they are employing rice farmers, as the real guys wouldnt work for the money that being put on the table...

I looks like it's the government employing many of them. Ah that might explain it,

No rice farmers around here.

But yes you are right it was a sweeping statement based on most the welding I've seen.

[Maggusoil]

Find a house you like, find out who built it and like most say, be there. If you have some experience it would be a good thing.

[arthurwait]

One of my MIL friends is an excellent welder, but it's the only decent welding I've seen in Thailand. The rest is just filler rod melted on top due to them not having the skill and experience (bother to practice) to use the correct amp setting/temperature. I've seen people using arc welders on thin steel and not understanding why they are burning through, then just keep proding at it until enough rod (and slag ) is on it so it doesn't fall apart when touched.

There are plenty of excellent welders in Thailand, in fact real Thai welders are some of the best skills wise in the world, however the average farang building an Isaan mansion will never come across them, simply because the real Thai welders will not work for THB 300/day or THB 1000 or THB 2000/day...

even at the "lower level" some of the Thai welders are earning around US$ 100/day, the very good ones THB US $ 200/250/day and at forman level US$ 300+

I wouldn't have a clue what the welding on an Esarn mansion looks like, don't live anywhere near there. Just the welding on just about everything you see.

As said I've seen one who is very good, but it seems everywhere else I see welding it is atrocious. Obviously those workers you talk about didn't do the stuff I've seen.

One assumes the welds you have seen havent been done by welders....this is the whole point of what is being said, the "welders" on building sites are not welders, simply because the construction/building companies will not pay for proper welders.

As I can tell you and other people commenting on this thread, typically real welders undergo qualification test's before they get on a job...if no pass no weld and this is irrespective of how manys years they have been doing it.

Just because Khun Somchai turns up on a site with a welding machine and a handful of electrodes this doesnt make him a welder...

I have a car and can drive it...does this make me a F1 racing driver.?....No

Correct. That's the point they aren't welders but someone is employing them as welders. Bad jobs done by local workers as the thread title says.

[asdecas]

tell me about it , building 38 houses and every minute have to check the building quality .if you stay on top of them you will get a better job , and if the first time is no good tell them to do it again or they will not get paid . this works. well for me anyway . The first houses are finished and my wife and I are very proud of the houses and the quality of them .And cost just over 1 million. good house good workmanship .

Like to PM me as to where they are etc?

[RigPig]

Yep, firstly it comes down to are you willing to pay the price? Secondly how do you find the guys with the qualifications? The answer to the first question (for the majority) would be no, and the second is they are working for industries that can and will pay for their skills.

I have worked on rigs all over the world and have had assistants ranging from Russian Electrical Engineers to men out of the jungles of PNG. In my 12 odd years as an electrician in the oil field I have only ever had 2 men working for me I could ever be confident they could one day,(given the training and opportunity) sit in my chair¨

One of them was Thai, he now has his own rig, quite an accomplishment!!!

Would you guys pay me $70 US per hour to guarantee your grounding is done safely and properly? That the materials and workmanship was up to standard? Have you cut off the plugs on your appliances and replaced them with the correct ones for the sockets (so that you have a connected ground pin) ?

Probably not on all accounts...........

[jbrain]

Yep, firstly it comes down to are you willing to pay the price? Secondly how do you find the guys with the qualifications? The answer to the first question (for the majority) would be no, and the second is they are working for industries that can and will pay for their skills.

I have worked on rigs all over the world and have had assistants ranging from Russian Electrical Engineers to men out of the jungles of PNG. In my 12 odd years as an electrician in the oil field I have only ever had 2 men working for me I could ever be confident they could one day,(given the training and opportunity) sit in my chair¨

One of them was Thai, he now has his own rig, quite an accomplishment!!!

Would you guys pay me $70 US per hour to guarantee your grounding is done safely and properly? That the materials and workmanship was up to standard? Have you cut off the plugs on your appliances and replaced them with the correct ones for the sockets (so that you have a connected ground pin) ?

Probably not on all accounts...........

Why would one need to pay somone every hour a weekly wage, to have a job done up to standard

[SSSlongtime]

had house built ,turned out very good , thai workers worked hard in the sun all day ,boss took total control watched the team all day checked the plans all the time ,only error was made by me changing few items ,possible to get good team ,like the west check them out before you start ,worsted job i have even seen was done by english builder in nong khai

[jbrain]

One of my MIL friends is an excellent welder, but it's the only decent welding I've seen in Thailand. The rest is just filler rod melted on top due to them not having the skill and experience (bother to practice) to use the correct amp setting/temperature. I've seen people using arc welders on thin steel and not understanding why they are burning through, then just keep proding at it until enough rod (and slag ) is on it so it doesn't fall apart when touched.

There are plenty of excellent welders in Thailand, in fact real Thai welders are some of the best skills wise in the world, however the average farang building an Isaan mansion will never come across them, simply because the real Thai welders will not work for THB 300/day or THB 1000 or THB 2000/day...

even at the "lower level" some of the Thai welders are earning around US$ 100/day, the very good ones THB US $ 200/250/day and at forman level US$ 300+

The kind of welders you talk about are not the ones you need to put a roof together.

A construction welder doesn't need to be a Photo welders. I have seen very good welders working at 300 Baht a day in Thailand.

The problem is that in Thailand a carpenter today can promote himself as an experienced construction welder tomorrow and vice versa, They don't give a frigg about

Edited July 16, 2013 by jbrain