Bangkok: Expat shocked by 'foam-filled' condominium wall

[VINCENT2012]

i am not surprised at all about what thai workers can do to avoid what they should do.myself i use controll everything everyday and still ,sometimes they try to do shits like that anyway.

when you build never ....never trust them .

[Thai at Heart]

So, which one of you is a qualified civil engineer and has inspected the building?

As of now, there is an allegation of poor construction on one unit. Have any other unit holders made a complaint?

Yes, foam is used in construction, often for insulation. Yes, some insulation is paper backed. There is often plastic membrane. The report is missing some key information specifically that of an actual expert who has assessed the nature of the claim.

However, do not let me get in the way of the usual TVF frenzy of finger pointing.

I am always impressed that so many retired lorry drivers, taxi drivers, and clerical workers are experts in so many areas. I'm not in the building trades and will wait until someone with some actual condo building construction in the local region offers his/her opinion. Heck, I'd settle for someone with some actual building trade experience.

There are a few qualified people in TVF but on the specialty forums,

Well, he categorically stated that all the other rooms are fine. He admits it's incorrectly constructed.

What you think that the odds are that that is true?

[smutcakes]

Facts show that Sansiri is a public company. Did you make an effort to see who the major shareholders were, before spreading an unsubstantiated rumour?

Would it have killed you to go and look at who the directors are of the company?

Please tell who of these major shareholders holds the controlling interest for the "Shin family business"

Read his comment again, this time s-l-o-w-l-y. It was only one sentence, not that hard to read and comprehend, <deleted>.

He said it was a Facebook rumour, for a start, and that the rumour was that the development is part of the Shin family business, nothing about major shareholders holding the controlling interest for the "Shin family business".

So now we all post 'rumours' from facebook? How is Sansiri or the development, part of the Shin family business. It is a condominium development by a publicly listed company, where you can view the publicly listed companies shareholdings on the website, which are audited by a global audit company.

[BruceSmith]

At least it didn't collapse like they do in India

Not yet

[bobmac10]

Styrofoam is commonly used as a thermal insulator in wall cavities and as a sound deadener in walls and ceiling cavities in multistorey buildings in Australia, however it's strictly non structural/no load bearing.

The article doesn't say if it was bearing a load or just in the cavity.

Maybe they rushed the job, didn't put in the extra leaf of brickwork and skimmed over the styrofoam with cement render?

Usually large multistorey condos have few load bearing walls internally, the main "frame" is reinforced pre-stressed concrete beams between external concrete posts with internal elevator/service shafts . The dividing walls are just light brick or steel frame.

Without more detail, it's hard to work out what went on there.

Polystyrene can be used in wall cavities if constructed correctly. However in this case they probably should have used brick.

[thaibeachlovers]

We live in a Sansiri house now for 8 years. Superficially all looks very good, but beneath the surface we have problems that stem from substandard construction. One only finds them, when a little repair is needed, or something goes wrong.

I found wood used in parts of the roof where there should be steel, I found electric switches wrongly wired, plumbing issues, terraces going down, low quality materials as it turned out etc.etc.

Of course all that starts to surface after warranty period is over...

We have decided the next time we buy a house, we built it ourselfs.

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

RENT/LEASE you guys, I built 2 places here and had problems, had to be around 24/7 staff here are IFFY to say the least.

At least with rent you have choices to stay or walk away, and that can be as good as a rest.

I bought a condo to visit when I wish, or for visiting friends, this place was an older building but well established over 20 years. but RENT my bungalow, the best thing I ever did was sell my houses.

Once again I am seeing a thread that reinforces my belief that it is a mistake to buy any property in LOS. I said the same just yesterday.

[jacko45k]

Mr Christopher George may well find himself to be part of the foundations of their latest project.

[thaibeachlovers]

We live in a Sansiri house now for 8 years. Superficially all looks very good, but beneath the surface we have problems that stem from substandard construction. One only finds them, when a little repair is needed, or something goes wrong.

I found wood used in parts of the roof where there should be steel, I found electric switches wrongly wired, plumbing issues, terraces going down, low quality materials as it turned out etc.etc.

Of course all that starts to surface after warranty period is over...

We have decided the next time we buy a house, we built it ourselfs.

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

Unless you literally build the house yourself, and do all the plumbing and electrical etc yourself, that is no guarantee of better quality here.

[btwretail]

Whats there to be shocked about?

Give the builders some credit. At least they put foam - instead of just air...

[jmccarty]

Thought it may have been the old bubble bath foam filing trick. A former colleague of mine dumped a whole jar of bubble bath foam in the in-room Jacuzzi of a 5 star hotel we were staying at in Jakarta before coming down to the bar for a night cap. We finished the drink and headed back up to the rooms which had private butlers stationed in front of each door. The butler in front of my door opened my door for me to go into the room, out of the corner of my eye I caught the butler for my colleagues room opening his door and then saw a huge doorway high wave of foam come gushing out of my colleagues room. His whole room was completely full of bath bubble foam! Was a much funnier experience than that of Mr. Houston!

[thaibeachlovers]

Whats there to be shocked about?

Give the builders some credit. At least they put foam - instead of just air...

Does anyone know what the outside cladding is?

As the walls won't be load bearing, does it really matter?

In London, there was nothing but foam insulation in the walls of my flat with brick cladding.

[PhilipCook]

Funny how expediency causes bits and pieces to be loaded into the wall. This owner was fortunate to find the problem early and even more lucky that Sansiri took care of it.

[Whidbeyboy]

Polystyrene can be used in wall cavities if constructed correctly. However in this case they probably should have used brick.

Was it weight bearing? Or used for installation. Didn't see any studs though so seems like someone cut some corners....understatement.

Even though I itch about dealing with the state and city planners, this is what you get when you have no oversight. And people Die!

[btwretail]

Why buy a foam-box, when you can rent foam-boxes cheap and have the freedom of moving around?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Mr. Uthai Uthaisaengsuk, Managing Director of the prestigious property group, insisted that his company had investigated the case and said that Mr. Houston′s room was the only room facing the problem.

Did they check every single room or were they aware of where the building rubbish was being hidden to cut costs. I will make sure I blacklist this company who build foam and paper buildings.

This article is pretty telling, considering that Sansiri is supposedly among the better quality Thai residential condo builders...

A lot of others are considered worse.

So if this is what Sansiri is doing/letting happen, what's that likely say about the others?

[nosatisfaction]

"Mr. Houston′s room was the only room facing the problem"

<deleted>

Not only facing the problem, also facing East to protect from the sun.

55555555555555555

I hope, because it is mentionned nowhere, the gentleman rents the place and doesn't own it.

[nosatisfaction]

Thought it may have been the old bubble bath foam filing trick. A former colleague of mine dumped a whole jar of bubble bath foam in the in-room Jacuzzi of a 5 star hotel we were staying at in Jakarta before coming down to the bar for a night cap. We finished the drink and headed back up to the rooms which had private butlers stationed in front of each door. The butler in front of my door opened my door for me to go into the room, out of the corner of my eye I caught the butler for my colleagues room opening his door and then saw a huge doorway high wave of foam come gushing out of my colleagues room. His whole room was completely full of bath bubble foam! Was a much funnier experience than that of Mr. Houston!

not for the owner and maybe your friend's creditcard

[Soutpeel]

In London, there was nothing but foam insulation in the walls of my flat with brick cladding.

Yes but one suspects its the brick cladding bit thats missing in this case..

it could have been a case of doing the in fill panels ie between the strutural members, with foam and putting a cement screed/render over it...not a case of structural integrity, but rather water will end up p*ssing in and of course coming in pished one night and bouncing off the walls on could find themselves becoming an honoury member of the Pattaya sky diving club when one falls through the wall...

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed. Inflammatory baiting nonsense posts have been removed as well.

[zydeco]

Nice job. Lucky he didn't lean on the windows too hard...

Finally, we can now explain all these farang "suicides" from upper floors in Bangkok hotels and condos. Enjoy the view . . . .

[freedom4life]

Sue them silly...

[Thai at Heart]

Quite glad I didn't invest in their new project up country recently.

Bizarre launch too and quite a feeding frenzy. Quite why anyone would want to own one of the 900 units when there are bungalows available for less 1 km away.

I predict it will take 10 years for it to occupied and 20 years to get your investment back from rental.

[kannot]

What they meant when they said the only room affected was.... "discovered"

Construction here is a joke.

[yoshiwara]

For anybody who has ever watched a new building go up, shoddy workmanship appears to be the standard default.

I wouldn't trust to purchase any new low storey apartment put up by a secondary builder.

[lee b]

This happens quite alot, and if its not foam its newspaper !

[Secondmouse]

"Mr. Houston′s room was the only room facing the problem"

<deleted>

Yet he was able to state this immediately.

Yeah...he should have just 'fessed up and said, "Houston, We have a problem....."

[catweazle]

If that guy is shocked by his findings, he would not only die by heart attack but spontaneously combust if he would see all what I have seen in LOS over the past 22 years...

[Dark Knight]

Just a unlucky guy and the only room...Haha.....Ok....Blacklist RTH ..........Case closed .......and let it be the end of it......Big San are always right......

[rametindallas]

At least it didn't collapse like they do in india

Yet...

[rametindallas]

Remember the secret hotel room meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel last year.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (left) and Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin

And Akeyuth, who told everyone about the meeting, wound up dead.