Terrible jobs done by local workers.

[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...........

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

My point exactly, everyone wants Western standards at Thai prices !!!

You can´t have your cake and eat it.......

You get what you pay for.......

Same days pay for same days work.....

All come to mind

[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

My point exactly, everyone wants Western standards at Thai prices !!!

You can´t have your cake and eat it.......

You get what you pay for.......

Same days pay for same days work.....

All come to mind

Thai prices are Thai prices because the cost of living is a lot lower.

Western standards are the same as Thai standards.The electrical code in Thailand is similar to the one in UK or US.

It doesn't cost more to pull the right cable as it cost to pull the wrong one.

[sbk]

You guys need to watch that Canadian show Holmes on Homes before you start ranting specifically about Thai workmanship. I watch that show and I now have a healthy distrust of all builders

[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+

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

so what sort of welder to you need then to put a roof together then ?....

to me seeing as there is structual loading, wind loading etc the forces exerted on said roof trusses can be possibly quite high, therefore one would expect completed welds to be equal to or greater in strength in both tension and shear to parent material.....why does does a roof truss have truss members ?...these evenly distribute the load down to the bearing surfaces ie the walls....and what happens if you have defective welds on these structual members ? we can have progressive failure of these structual members/welds possibly leading to catasphroic failure of the whole truss section.

so if I was constructing a roof....I would want a real welder who actually knows what he was doing...

if your welding fence posts knock yourself out with a THB 300/day welder....

as regards judging what a good welder is in your example...do you even know what to look for in a good welder/welding process or finished weld ?

So ends Soutpeels basic engineering class for the day

BTW <deleted> is a "photo" welder ?

[Soutpeel]

You guys need to watch that Canadian show Holmes on Homes before you start ranting specifically about Thai workmanship. I watch that show and I now have a healthy distrust of all builders

yeap watched that show and some of the stuff they have got up to is scary...

[Zooheekock]

Thai prices are Thai prices because the cost of living is a lot lower.

They're lower for a variety of reasons but it's obviously not the case that the purchasing power of a construction worker in Buriram and a construction worker in Birmingham are the same. If they were, most of the people who complain about the low quality of Thai workmanship would never have been in a position to experience it.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Zooheekock

[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...........

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

My point exactly, everyone wants Western standards at Thai prices !!!

You can´t have your cake and eat it.......

You get what you pay for.......

Same days pay for same days work.....

All come to mind

Thai prices are Thai prices because the cost of living is a lot lower.

Western standards are the same as Thai standards.The electrical code in Thailand is similar to the one in UK or US.

It doesn't cost more to pull the right cable as it cost to pull the wrong one.

Your first comment is the same argument they use in the oil field to pay people from different countries different (cheaper) rates for the same work. When I worked in PNG the company was paying me more because I had a UK passport. My training was from N.Z. and my experience Aus, Kiwiś and Aussies were paid less.

I choose to live in Thailand (partly) because I don´t pay tax (effectively doubling my salary - 46.8c in the dollar tax) and the cost of living is lower. Should I be paid the same as a Thai, despite all of the training and qualifications I have? Or should I be paid for my skills, training efforts and qualifications?

Show me Thai standards regarding electricity in homes..... I have tried and can find any, I would welcome it and pay to have it translated if necessary!

No but it does cost more for someone who knows which is the right cable, how to run it, what size circuit breaker to use, how to connect (and not connect) the grounding correctly etc.

Thatś what you pay for,anyone can connect 3 wires at a power outlet, it´s knowing what is right and wrong and why,so you don die. THATŚ WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ME.

I didn´t mean in my first post that Thais should be paid the same as someone in Aus or the States, but the money most of you are paying is not in proportion to what skill set you expect. That´s why those guys are working in industry and not for Somchai the builder who will save 50 Baht if he can!!!

[kikoman]

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:

try to see how they fare with symmetric tile-cutting, hermetic joints, textured paint and planning of hidden but accessible electric/plumbing conduits.

OP correct me if I am wrong you asked "I'd like to know if anyone has actually had a GOOD job done by local workers."

I have had no need for the services you state. I have live in my village for 8 years and have had all kind of construction work done on my home by local tradesmen, and have not had one job I did not like, the only problem I had one man that was a perfectionist and took longer then I wanted to complete the job that was 8 years ago and I still had that western need to rush things mentality.

My front door neighbor in my motorbike mechanic and my welder, he can fix (weld) anything except for a broken heart. His father does all of my woodwork, but their real job is that of a rice farmer.

One poster mentioned how much I paid for their work, I pay them what they ask for and what they charge other villagers (no double pricing I get Thai prices), I paid him 500 baht more then he asked for and we furnished cold drinks during the day and a small bottle of whiskey when they finish. I do that for all that have worked for me!

Cheers:

[Tboy928]

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 .

IF someone western person can set up name list over good workers, and company names Phuket, and other places,it would be very good. So far my experience in Thailand in 4 years , is horrible companys ,and workers that do job on houses.

[StefanBBK]

How much would one have to pay a skilled welder per day, for a relatively simple job, like producung a fence or gate etc. Nothing fancy, just plain steel, not SS.

Here in Bangkok goung rate is between 6-800 / day (8:00 to 17:00)

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[chrisinth]

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

so what sort of welder to you need then to put a roof together then ?....

to me seeing as there is structual loading, wind loading etc the forces exerted on said roof trusses can be possibly quite high, therefore one would expect completed welds to be equal to or greater in strength in both tension and shear to parent material.....why does does a roof truss have truss members ?...these evenly distribute the load down to the bearing surfaces ie the walls....and what happens if you have defective welds on these structual members ? we can have progressive failure of these structual members/welds possibly leading to catasphroic failure of the whole truss section.

so if I was constructing a roof....I would want a real welder who actually knows what he was doing...

if your welding fence posts knock yourself out with a THB 300/day welder....

as regards judging what a good welder is in your example...do you even know what to look for in a good welder/welding process or finished weld ?

So ends Soutpeels basic engineering class for the day

BTW <deleted> is a "photo" welder ?

Agreed, a roof is a good example for when you need proper qualified people to do the job.

When we last put a roof up, calculations were done and construction drawings followed. Weld maps drawn up. The welders were qualified (2G, 4G) following the correct WPS/PQR for the job, electrodes heated and all critical joints CJP (complete joint penetration). We followed that with 3rd party NDT (MPI) on a percentage of the welds completed, this record being retained for insurance purposes. All welders were Thai, no defects on the MPI.

Of course, you would not normally get that sort of job coverage here for 300 baht a day, and if you were offered it, you would/should query it.

Which brings me to the point of this post. I have seen a lot of people basing pricing on the minimum wage of 300 baht, some wondering why the jobs are so cheap and how do the companies get a profit from the work. The news is that very few of these companies are paying the minimum wage, even though it is law, the majority of them not even registered as companies.

I have seen (up-country anyway) entire villages recruited as work crews, skills covered, all! These are Thai nationals, the immigrant workers from surrounding countries (legal or not) are even cheaper and still remain exploited.

That's reality, you get what you pay for................

[Cuban]

You do have to remember that NASA put men on the moon by using the lowest bidder for the various contracts that comprised the project.

Sometimes that paid off - other times after the crash/explosion investigation revealed that "lessons could be learnt", really?

[jbrain]

Allright, since we are on the subject of welders for quite some posts already now, and we know that 90% of the roofs here are done by none qualified Isaan welders who are below the minimum wage.

Has anyone come across roofs from houses that have imploded and if so how many.

[monkey4u]

I had a guy do a couple of roof gutters for me.

Instead of the metal gutters I wanted, I got a length of blue pastic cut in half with a funnel wired to the end of it.

He was so proud of his work.

The welding to make the brackets looked like a small bird shat on the steal.

My wife paid him then complained to me. I ask why you pay him, answer He my friends uncle

[chrisinth]

Allright, since we are on the subject of welders for quite some posts already now, and we know that 90% of the roofs here are done by none qualified Isaan welders who are below the minimum wage.

Has anyone come across roofs from houses that have imploded and if so how many.

Whereas your comments are correct, if you were building your own house, would you not prefer the piece of mind that the job was done correctly rather than thinking about the possibility of the roof imploding because you saved a few baht on the construction?

In my mind, it is not necessarily what has or hasn't happened, but what could happen.

But going back to the OP, my rule of thumb here is that once you have found someone who you are confident with to do the job, don't lose contact with them and protect their contact details................

[Cuban]

Has anyone come across roofs from houses that have imploded and if so how many.

Not im/exploded of otherwise failed, but have encountered a roof that was solidly welded but as part of a building that allowed the heat collected and stored by the roof tiles and many tons of steel to be conducted through the structure so that the house is like an oven. Welcomed on a few days each Winter but costs a small fortune to make tolerable the rest of the year.

Solid work, yes.

But thinking about the bigger picture and the need for thermal Insulation isolating the steel frame from the walls, no.

300 Baht/day rice farmers will seldom think outside the rice field.

A laborer can build a house, Issan is full of functional examples. But when your design requires something "different" the true nature of their skill set and understanding is revealed.

The same is repeated many times when discussing wiring and the desire for an electrical earth. let along fusing, MCBs and residual current devices.

[manarak]

You guys need to watch that Canadian show Holmes on Homes before you start ranting specifically about Thai workmanship. I watch that show and I now have a healthy distrust of all builders

Correct - A rather high percentage of "builders" in whatever country aren't trustworthy, either because of lack of skill or lack of honesty, or both. It's not very different with car mechanics, plumbers, electricians, locksmiths and repairmen in general. When they sense a situation they can take advantage of, many of them will just rob the customer out, sometimes even without providing the service they were hired for.

[HerbalEd]

I've had both excellent work done by Thai workers and terrible work. It's taken a few years but now I have a variety of workers ... i.e., electrician, plumber, tile layers, carpenters, etc. ... that do excellent work and whom I trust to get it right.

[HerbalEd]

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.....................

Absolutely .... I am very willing to pay top price for good quality work ... and I often do in the USA and in Thailand. Actually cheap is often more expensive ... in the long run ... that paying a higher price up front and not having to worry about fixing the cheap work later.

[jbrain]

Allright, since we are on the subject of welders for quite some posts already now, and we know that 90% of the roofs here are done by none qualified Isaan welders who are below the minimum wage.

Has anyone come across roofs from houses that have imploded and if so how many.

Whereas your comments are correct, if you were building your own house, would you not prefer the piece of mind that the job was done correctly rather than thinking about the possibility of the roof imploding because you saved a few baht on the construction?

In my mind, it is not necessarily what has or hasn't happened, but what could happen.

But going back to the OP, my rule of thumb here is that once you have found someone who you are confident with to do the job, don't lose contact with them and protect their contact details................

I think you try to ignore the point I'm making. If nobody has ever come across a roof that has fallen down, while at least 90% of them have been welded by those Isaan workers at 300 Baht a day, then your concerns that it could fall down if you don't use welders that qualify to work on an oil rig, have been over the top and a waste of money

[Soutpeel]

When we last put a roof up, calculations were done and construction drawings followed. Weld maps drawn up. The welders were qualified (2G, 4G) following the correct WPS/PQR for the job, electrodes heated and all critical joints CJP (complete joint penetration). We followed that with 3rd party NDT (MPI) on a percentage of the welds completed, this record being retained for insurance purposes. All welders were Thai, no defects on the MPI.

to add to this the minute structual calculations are used, assumptions are made by the engineers as regards what is called welded joint efficency, and if completed welds do not have the required JE, due to incorrect welding procedure, excessive rejaectable defects...the strucural calculations are not worth a sh*t, and you may as well have taped everything together with Duct tape and chewing gum.

your insurance point is also a good one, if there is structual collaspe and "neglience" is proved..in other words it wasnt constructed in accordance with design, as householder could be in position of not being paid out...

Of course we will get howls of protest saying this is the builders problem, correct...but the insurance company has the contract with the homeowner, not the builder and they could just turn round and say you need to sue the builder, we are not paying out.

[Soutpeel]

Allright, since we are on the subject of welders for quite some posts already now, and we know that 90% of the roofs here are done by none qualified Isaan welders who are below the minimum wage.

Has anyone come across roofs from houses that have imploded and if so how many.

Whereas your comments are correct, if you were building your own house, would you not prefer the piece of mind that the job was done correctly rather than thinking about the possibility of the roof imploding because you saved a few baht on the construction?

In my mind, it is not necessarily what has or hasn't happened, but what could happen.

But going back to the OP, my rule of thumb here is that once you have found someone who you are confident with to do the job, don't lose contact with them and protect their contact details................

I think you try to ignore the point I'm making. If nobody has ever come across a roof that has fallen down, while at least 90% of them have been welded by those Isaan workers at 300 Baht a day, then your concerns that it could fall down if you don't use welders that qualify to work on an oil rig, have been over the top and a waste of money

I dont believe anyone is suggesting you need to use an "oil rig welder" to weld a roof truss, but what you need to do is ensure the roof truss is being welding in accordance with the engineered design, ie a competant person, using the correct elctrodes (if the process is SMAW for example) and ensuring there are not excessive defects in the welds....yes even in "oil rig welding" certain discontinutes are permitted.

In other words you are meeting the intent of the engineered design, if you are not meeting this, you do run the risk of possible failure

The basic engineering principles of loads and forces whether a roof truss or an oil rig are the same...the key difference is the possible consequences of failure thats all, hence all the requirements on "oil rigs" as the consequence of failure is very high.

What "chrisinth" detailed in his example of roofing construction would be considered very good engineering practice as related to a load bearing structure...

[kevvy]

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.

i know what you are talking about as I sacked many teams as well , it took me 4 months to find the right teams, lost some money along the way but in the end got very good workers and some real tradesman .

[chrisinth]

Allright, since we are on the subject of welders for quite some posts already now, and we know that 90% of the roofs here are done by none qualified Isaan welders who are below the minimum wage.

Has anyone come across roofs from houses that have imploded and if so how many.

Whereas your comments are correct, if you were building your own house, would you not prefer the piece of mind that the job was done correctly rather than thinking about the possibility of the roof imploding because you saved a few baht on the construction?

In my mind, it is not necessarily what has or hasn't happened, but what could happen.

But going back to the OP, my rule of thumb here is that once you have found someone who you are confident with to do the job, don't lose contact with them and protect their contact details................

I think you try to ignore the point I'm making. If nobody has ever come across a roof that has fallen down, while at least 90% of them have been welded by those Isaan workers at 300 Baht a day, then your concerns that it could fall down if you don't use welders that qualify to work on an oil rig, have been over the top and a waste of money

No, not trying to ignore at all.

Continuing with roofs, the main success with them is in the proven design and calculations, the materials used (opens another door to cost cutting) and the assembly, in this case by welding. What you will find with normal construction here, (and across most of the building industries), is that the assembly/welding work will be done with either tack or if you are lucky, stitch welding but not the CJP welds on the critical joints. If you have access to the eaves of your home, have a look for yourself.

So, the tack or stitch welds will hold the structure in place, but will not give it the original calculated strength in the design.

My point in the last post was, that for piece of mind, I would rather have it done correctly and to design.

But we do seem to have travelled a bit astray from the OP with this............

[thaibeachlovers]

Good lot of responses there thanks.

Please note, I did not say ALL Thai workers are useless, just the ones that I have been given, but I'd love to be able to find decent ones, though that seems an impossibility here.

I paid them what they asked for, so that's not an issue. Had they wanted more, I'd have paid more.

Whether workers on big projects are good isn't relevant, as I only want the occasional one off house job done, like putting in a water heater. Being competent isn't a matter of pay anyway. Even a useless "electrician" should know to join the grey wire to the grey wire and the black wire to the black wire.

I paid 2,000 baht to 2 workers for 6 hours work which included wire and junction boxes ( a few hundred at most ), but have had to redo everything they did.

[Soutpeel]

But we do seem to have travelled a bit astray from the OP with this............

Yes we have it seems....but always up for a bit of debate on engineering things...

but I think some posters should realise he would be debating with people who are involved in "engineering things" for a living...

[jbrain]

Allright, since we are on the subject of welders for quite some posts already now, and we know that 90% of the roofs here are done by none qualified Isaan welders who are below the minimum wage.

Has anyone come across roofs from houses that have imploded and if so how many.

Whereas your comments are correct, if you were building your own house, would you not prefer the piece of mind that the job was done correctly rather than thinking about the possibility of the roof imploding because you saved a few baht on the construction?

In my mind, it is not necessarily what has or hasn't happened, but what could happen.

But going back to the OP, my rule of thumb here is that once you have found someone who you are confident with to do the job, don't lose contact with them and protect their contact details................

I think you try to ignore the point I'm making. If nobody has ever come across a roof that has fallen down, while at least 90% of them have been welded by those Isaan workers at 300 Baht a day, then your concerns that it could fall down if you don't use welders that qualify to work on an oil rig, have been over the top and a waste of money

No, not trying to ignore at all.

Continuing with roofs, the main success with them is in the proven design and calculations, the materials used (opens another door to cost cutting) and the assembly, in this case by welding. What you will find with normal construction here, (and across most of the building industries), is that the assembly/welding work will be done with either tack or if you are lucky, stitch welding but not the CJP welds on the critical joints. If you have access to the eaves of your home, have a look for yourself.

So, the tack or stitch welds will hold the structure in place, but will not give it the original calculated strength in the design.

My point in the last post was, that for piece of mind, I would rather have it done correctly and to design.

But we do seem to have travelled a bit astray from the OP with this............

We haven't gone way off topic, as welding a roof is a major part of a house construction in Thailand, and it is in majority done by lowel level workers who have even never heard of the definitions you and Southpeel used in previous posts.

I'm very well aware that the majority of all construction work done in Thailand is of shoddy quality, and this isn't restricted to the low cost moobaans. I have been in projects with houses starting from 10 M on a 500 sqm plot of land, and I almost burst in tears when I saw the quality of workmanship.

Yet I'm surprised that there are not yet brought forward any examples of failure due to this shoddy constructions.

Edited July 17, 2013 by jbrain

[Soutpeel]

majority done by lowel level workers who have even never heard of the definitions you and Southpeel used in previous posts.

Yet I'm surprised that there are not yet brought forward any examples of failure due to this shoddy constructions.

Thats because they are not using proper tradesmen, a proper "time-served" welder will be aware of or know of most of the terms being used.

No one has brought forward any examples simply because no has looked and what you expect to find "headline" news in the Nation, house roof collaspes in Isaan, because of shoddy welds ?..

[jbrain]

majority done by lowel level workers who have even never heard of the definitions you and Southpeel used in previous posts.

Yet I'm surprised that there are not yet brought forward any examples of failure due to this shoddy constructions.

Thats because they are not using proper tradesmen, a proper "time-served" welder will be aware of or know of most of the terms being used.

No one has brought forward any examples simply because no has looked and what you expect to find "headline" news in the Nation, house roof collaspes in Isaan, because of shoddy welds ?..

I'm not talking about Isaan, but the tourist gettho's where 90% of the +10 million houses are build by those Isaan tradesmen who don't know the difference between a hammer and a spade.

And yes, it would be headline news if one of those houses would fail constructual.

[jmccarty]

My village developer has trained all of the workers and house is to a European/American standard. Even repairs are done right. Pay for what you get.