What should we do ourselves? What should we let the builder do?

[Resa]

We are pretty sure we go for a certain architect who also offered us to build for us. We calculated the costs of building on our own before and all in all come out at 900k THB. His offer is 1.5mil THB.

This is the first time we are building and even though I did lots of research already I feel it might make sense to let this first house get built by someone with experience (we will build two more houses after that). My wife and me are now considering to let him build the bare minimum.

He takes care of:

# Foundation

# Roofing

# Plumbing

# Walls

We (subcontractors we hire directly) take care of:

# Tiles

# Electrics

# Bathroom and kitchen fixtures

# Windows and sliding doors

# Painting

Do you think that makes sense? What would you let the builder do if you are new to this and what would you do yourself with subcontractors?

We would like to keep our costs reasonable because we spent a bit more than planned on the land and also got to buy a new car.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Resa

[bankruatsteve]

Frankly, in that budget range, I'm not so sure what an architect is going to do. Are you building something really unconventional or custom otherwise?

Depending on your location and experience of the "builder" you may want to do things in phases instead of a total project. Why? B/c if he doesn't know what he is doing, you are not committed for the next phase.

Get informed and keep an eye on the plumbing especially. Some "builders" have no clue how to rough in plumbing for western style baths, sinks, etc. - they don't put in venting and, believe me, if that is not done right it is major headache later.

Tiling is the one thing I don't even want to try but there are really good ones available. Just don't expect them to decide anything - like colors and designs. And remind them to slope the floor to the drain. For some reason, they NEVER think of that.

Cheers

[Ackybang]

Hey Resa -

Architects aren't builders. Has this guy designed your house ?

I would recommend you have a look at any of his other completed projects, and talk to the owners about problems, etc., before you commit.

I would add a bit more onto your budget too, because invariably it goes over.

I originally designed my own house with my girlfriend, and we gave the plans to an 'architect' to check out and print out properly, with structural drawings, and costings, for a thai builder to use. He modified certain elements of the design, but in reality his ideas didn't work outside of the realms of his imagination, and I had to modify the design again on the fly, to make certain elements work in the real world. It's a bit different sitting behind a computer, than actually building something with your own hands, with real materials.

If you have no experience, I would find and get a quote off at least 2 well recommended builders, who can show you their work, and get them to do the lot, instead of trying to get different guys in - watch how they work. If you have experience, and can read the plans, I would buy all your own materials, find a good builder who you can direct, and indeed, do it all yourself, bringing in different specialists to do the specialised jobs. A lot will depend on where you live, and the availability of decent tradesmen in your area. I haven't met so many on my build.

After sacking a couple of recommended Thai builders who obviously didn't have a clue what they were doing from the outset, and having never built a house before - I read my plans, did all the measuring, did all the structural elements of my house myself, including the roof, directing hired labour, and have brought in guys to do the bricklaying and plastering. In retrospect, I should have done the bricklaying myself, because the guys that did it were a shower of shit. The renderer is good, and I've waited 4 Months for him to be free to do the job. Anything I can do myself, I will, because I like good finishing, and invariably I've had nothing but dissatisfaction and trouble from Thai builders.

After my experiences here, If I wanted anything right, I would oversee every step of any build I did in the future.

Good luck.

[Resa]

Hi Steve,

we build a modular villa. So the first house is basically our living room. We just want to take this step by step to get used to building. It is a complete custom design but rather simple. It has a sloped roof and pretty open floorplan. Custom aluminium windows and sliding doors.

We have different payments for different phases of course. My only worries are that the house somehow disintegrates lol so my thinking was let the architect and his guys do all the structural stuff and we get our own guys for the finer things.

[Resa]

Ackybang, thanks for your input.

He comes much recommended and has built his own hotel that is a bit similar to our design. All 4 guys we saw today have said the same things and approved our design. It is pretty straight forward.

The thing is we will be at the building site every day anyway, so we plan to more or less direct the work ourselves so this part wouldnt be a problem. Our problem is that we are missing someone like a foreman. I guess I could read the plans but for example have no experience in measuring the land to say where exactly the foundation should go. So without knowing what a subcontractor can exactly do I dont know if we can pull this off on our own or not.

[Ackybang]

Hey Resa -

This is the most basic qualification of a Thai builder - DEE PANG, they call it here, and is quite basic, but works very well - if you're doing a block and beam build.

Once you work out the area you want to build on, you basically build a big square wooden frame around the whole area - it doesn't have to be exact - hammer in the stakes at regular intervals, and then find the same level on each stake with a water tube - nail on straight edged wooden planks all the way around to the levels.

From this, you nail on nylon fishing line on one low horizontal axis, and then use a big T-square (bigger the better - more accurate) to fire off a perfect right angle with another line, and measure in from this created corner - whatever the shape of your building. One page of your plans should show you foundations and posts - Measure in, and Nail in lines horizontally and vertically to form crosshairs depicting where all your posts are to be positioned. At these crosshairs, plumb bob down and mark out the width of your holes to be dug, and once dug and your footings prepared (usually 1meter square and 1.2 meters deep with 10cm of compacted sand + 10cm pour of level concrete), use a plumb bob to centralise where your metal work is coming up from.

You can measure out from each axis, and place nails appropriately on whatever side of the centres (just make sure you do them all the same), to reposition the nylon threads, and compensate for the width of the formed metal work in the posts. Place your post metal using these guides, and once poured, and your metal work is secured in place (usually with another 20cm pour), measure out again for the edge of the formwork. Take it from there. Your foundations would normally follow your posts in your drawings, maybe a ground beam first. You should pour the posts upto, and then pour the ground beam over them in one to tie everything in, before pouring the posts up from there.

I'm not sure I've explained it very well, but it's actually very simple, and I'm sure your contractor would probably use this method. You could watch them and understand very easily. The footing specs are only a guide, and might be different for your ground condition.

Remember : DEE PANG - build a framework.

DING - use a plumbob.

EN - nylon fishing line.

CHAK - Tsquare (or right angle).

[Resa]

That's a textbook description. I feel like I really get it. Awesome!

What parts of the house do you think are most crucial / hardest to pull off right?

From my understanding and research foundation and roof are the most important parts of the house. So maybe I just let them do this?

We also build at an off grid location, will have to dig a well and overcome a few more hurdles but yeah I have time to do that.

Where did you build if I may ask? We build near Chiang Mai.

[Langsuan Man]

Make sure he is really an architect, a lot of draftsmen here in Thailand they try and pass themselves off as architects. Since the zoning laws are so loose and about anyone can get a building permit here so you have to be careful

You don't really need an architect and can get away with a draftsman for a simple design but you will need a certified engineer to sign off on the drawings (blue prints) to get a legal building permit

The OP's idea of hiring a main builder for certain things is a good one and since you will have to be on site everyday you can manage the subcontractors if you have access to a Thai speaker

[Resa]

Langsuan Man, what jobs do you think should be completed by the main builder in your opinion?

[Ackybang]

Hey Resa, was way past my bedtime last night, so didn't see your post.

If you have proper plans drawn up, and follow them to the mark, you shouldn't go far wrong.

If you're building with traditional materials, you have a good inch of tolerance to play around with - within this limit, any house can more or less be squared up.

It's hard to say, man - if you want a nice finish, everything is pretty crucial really, and you need to find people that can actually do a good job - the trouble can be, in villages - everyone is a builder, until they actually have to produce the goods to your expectations / standards. If you don't have any experience, it's easy to be misled, and believe someone is actually doing okay, when infact they're just doing a job that's village standard.

Another problem might be - most people have their own way of doing things, and if you get too many people in - the work might become disjointed. I would definitely recommend getting a decent foreman, if you can find one, or use a good solid team to do most of the work, once you have the roof on. I have some experience, and can direct a team of builders in Thai / Laos / Cambodian, so I won't stand for bullshit. Having said that, I am also happy to learn and be corrected, if I meet someone that knows their onions.

It is important to oversee the work, because even if you find good workers, they can go off on a weird tangent if you don't keep them in check, and know exactly what you want, as opposed to them thinking they know what you want.

For sure, your initial positioning of the posts and pouring them straight is crucial, and your foundations are important - I would advise you to buy all your materials yourself, and choose full weight steel wherever you can for the posts / foundations and roof = metal work is important, and the difference in price between the best and something not really upto it isn't that much. I would also recommend you use Chang portland cement - (RED ELEPHANT) for your foundations and posts, and if you're using redbrick, go with Tiger super for laying, and Tiger plus for rendering. Buy the best materials you can afford, and don't cut any corners.

The beauty of doing the job yourself, is you can take a bit more time, and get a stronger build. Most teams want to throw your build up as fast as they can, to maximise profit. Any beam pours raised up off the ground should be watered for a week, twice a day, and be supported for 2 weeks before you strike the supports away. Posts should be wrapped in clingfilm, to ensure good strength. The longer you can leave these crucial elements to cure, the better.

It might pay you to stage your build - get one team in to do the posts and foundations on a job price, and then leave it for a couple of weeks before you make the next move.

Your roof needs tiling properly, and many builders here can't do roofs professionally - You might want to go to a Homepro in your area, and find out if Cpac have their engineers there to do your roof for you, using Truss system. It might cost a little more than you budgeted for, but will save you a lot of headaches, and probably work out cheaper in the end than getting a jack of all trades in. They also give a guarantee of around 20 Years, if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, they didn't cover my area when I was doing the roof - I originally agreed a price with a builder who'd been recommended to me through a merchant, but it turned into a real nightmare. Basically, the guy loaded off a few clowns to do the job, and went off harvesting rice, leaving me (the paying customer) to read the plans, direct the labourers - once the metal work had been done, I was left with one guy to tile the whole roof myself, and then this fool showed up at the end to do all the ridge tiling and finish off the valleys - made a right cock up of everything - broken tiles, not sitting straight - not cut straight. He couldn't believe it when I sacked him after a couple of days, 'it looks okay from a distance' was his reply, 'nobody looks at roofs close up' - I had some real roofers from cpac finish the job - the difference in the work was unbelievable. We had to replace over 500 tiles because of those mugs.

Scrub all that, I believe you're going for colourbond ? Make sure you pay for all of the proper fittings.

You should check out the building forums in Thailand - lots of good advice and information on them - you may very well be able to source a decent builder in your area that way too.

I'm just rendered now, so if you want any information or advice upto that point, please feel free to ask - happy to give you my honest opinions based on my experiences so far.

Good luck.

[Resa]

Ackybang, thanks so much. If you happen to come to Bangkok or Chiang Mai anytime soon, let me know. I d like to buy you a nice dinner and a couple of drinks if Im in town.

We will finalize the deal more or less tomorrow. We will let him do foundations, plumbing, roof (colorbond with boltless fixings) and walls (double layer red brick) for sure. He seems to be a great guy and has worked with some people who are also in this forum before (and was recommended) so Im optimistic.

I read the and coolthaihouse forums since some time and yes indeed amazing information.

Thank you very much!

Edited October 2, 2013 by Resa

[kannot]

design your own house relatively easily here www.floorplanner.com then go to coolthaihouse website and see what others have done and what has gone right/wrong

I ended up doing about 80% of my builds myself and i dont mean telling a worker what to do.

[Khun Jean]

Ackybang, thanks so much. If you happen to come to Bangkok or Chiang Mai anytime soon, let me know. I d like to buy you a nice dinner and a couple of drinks if Im in town.

We will finalize the deal more or less tomorrow. We will let him do foundations, plumbing, roof (colorbond with boltless fixings) and walls (double layer red brick) for sure. He seems to be a great guy and has worked with some people who are also in this forum before (and was recommended) so Im optimistic.

I read the and coolthaihouse forums since some time and yes indeed amazing information.

Thank you very much!

For my future house i am interested in the Colorbond with boltless fixings.

I always wondered why they were drilling/screwing holes in a roof.

Where do you buy it and what are the costs?

I am planning to to my build in small steps and hire workers for it.

Have seen to many mistakes been made, even as a novice i can see that.

Watch out for watery concrete. When they come pour your foundations do a slump test on each batch!

[krisb]

The answer to this is really easy.

If your asking what we should build versus what should we get an architect to do,the answer is get someone else to organise the build. I suspect you have little or no building experience. Please don't get offended. Anyone with experience just would'nt ask this question. I can tell you an architect is a waste of money. They draw pretty pictures for a living. You need to find a hands on builder/site superviser. Someone who knows the trade of building not drawing.

[krisb]

Ackybang, thanks so much. If you happen to come to Bangkok or Chiang Mai anytime soon, let me know. I d like to buy you a nice dinner and a couple of drinks if Im in town.

We will finalize the deal more or less tomorrow. We will let him do foundations, plumbing, roof (colorbond with boltless fixings) and walls (double layer red brick) for sure. He seems to be a great guy and has worked with some people who are also in this forum before (and was recommended) so Im optimistic.

I read the and coolthaihouse forums since some time and yes indeed amazing information.

Thank you very much!

For my future house i am interested in the Colorbond with boltless fixings.

I always wondered why they were drilling/screwing holes in a roof.

Where do you buy it and what are the costs?

I am planning to to my build in small steps and hire workers for it.

Have seen to many mistakes been made, even as a novice i can see that.

Watch out for watery concrete. When they come pour your foundations do a slump test on each batch!

Tell us the method you use for slump, area size/slump box height/time?. Like the average joe would ever ever do this right? Then lets say the slump is to slow or quick, are you gonna send the truck back?

[krisb]

Resa if your near CM or CR, perhaps contact the member Village farang. His house was built by a good builder and may be able to help with advice.

[Khun Jean]

Tell us the method you use for slump, area size/slump box height/time?. Like the average joe would ever ever do this right? Then lets say the slump is to slow or quick, are you gonna send the truck back?

I do have a slump cone, i know how to tamp the concrete and i have a table (in case i forget) that tells me what the slump should be in mm.

I guess most concrete made without specific directions in Thailand will collapse or shear.

And when the slump test proves the quality of concrete is not what was asked for you have to send it back.

What else? Make an inferior foundation or post or beam? Dump it and still pay for it?

When you order with CPAC and you inform them that a slump test will be done it is one of the requirements of the quality of the delivered concrete.

[Beardog]

Friendly advice if you are not a real contractior don't try to be a subcontractor. Most of the supplies (as all countries) come with a 10-20% discount for the builder. Our contractor keeps 5% & gives us back 15% of the supply money. Otherwise you get to pay close to 30% more being the unhappy go lucky farang buying materials in Thailand. As discussed before on TV it is possible to try to be a sub & it may or may not work out for you. If you are not real savvy in knowledge of how to build. I would just let the builder do the Job. The guy across from our land Knew absolutely zero about building . His house was to be 1.2 + incidentals & fittings. He is now 550,000 baht over the bid price & has went through 2 crews & everything is built inferior. You need to fully comprehend each task to know what they are doing. I am a general contractor in the states & the only 2 things I do is run all the plumbing & install & stub up the underground cabling for the house. That & I find the architects up here are so lame that I do my own 2d's & use archicad to do the same mach ups the architects do. All our foundation work is enhanced. Instead of 1.2 T- pilons we have an auger about 1/3 of a meter wide drill down 3.5 meters deep & make a similar pylon that the condominiums use. Result 2nd house 8 minor cracks 3 years later on rendering.

3rd house 1 superficial crack after 2 rainy seasons. So unless you know the tricks of the trade just spend the 150,000- 200,000 more as it may cost you 750,00 to save the 150,000 baht. Our 1st house sucked so bad I had it knocked down with a cat I rented. Some things you can do yourself but be aware the snake may come back to bite you if you overload yo ass! If you do subcontract you really need to know all the quirky things the Thais do in building to stop them before they permanently butch your house up. So unless you feel like the 1 in several hundred 1000. let a good builder work his craft. Upcountry you can save on materials but labor is about the same in the cities. They use the help from upcountry or Cambodia anyway & an Honest builder will usually not lay you away on labor. If you are around Pattaya area I can set you up with a shit hot contractor that is very conscientious & understands how to build a western style built house . Good luck on your building adventure!

[kannot]

Ackybang, thanks so much. If you happen to come to Bangkok or Chiang Mai anytime soon, let me know. I d like to buy you a nice dinner and a couple of drinks if Im in town.

We will finalize the deal more or less tomorrow. We will let him do foundations, plumbing, roof (colorbond with boltless fixings) and walls (double layer red brick) for sure. He seems to be a great guy and has worked with some people who are also in this forum before (and was recommended) so Im optimistic.

I read the and coolthaihouse forums since some time and yes indeed amazing information.

Thank you very much!

For my future house i am interested in the Colorbond with boltless fixings.

I always wondered why they were drilling/screwing holes in a roof.

Where do you buy it and what are the costs?

I am planning to to my build in small steps and hire workers for it.

Have seen to many mistakes been made, even as a novice i can see that.

Watch out for watery concrete. When they come pour your foundations do a slump test on each batch!

http://www.bluescopesteelasia.com/BlueScopeSteel/country/thailand/coatedsteel/en/products.cfm?ID=2826df6a-ac91-4c60-b353-c0f93769c6c4&nID=5E3E6B05-5D63-4D00-AE5B-E94F1BECAB98&cat=prepainted

This for your colorbond above or a company called http://www.steelintertech.com/eng/about.htm

Beware of Thai copies.

Edited October 19, 2013 by kannot

[kannot]

Ackybang, thanks so much. If you happen to come to Bangkok or Chiang Mai anytime soon, let me know. I d like to buy you a nice dinner and a couple of drinks if Im in town.

We will finalize the deal more or less tomorrow. We will let him do foundations, plumbing, roof (colorbond with boltless fixings) and walls (double layer red brick) for sure. He seems to be a great guy and has worked with some people who are also in this forum before (and was recommended) so Im optimistic.

I read the and coolthaihouse forums since some time and yes indeed amazing information.

Thank you very much!

For my future house i am interested in the Colorbond with boltless fixings.

I always wondered why they were drilling/screwing holes in a roof.

Where do you buy it and what are the costs?

I am planning to to my build in small steps and hire workers for it.

Have seen to many mistakes been made, even as a novice i can see that.

Watch out for watery concrete. When they come pour your foundations do a slump test on each batch!

Tell us the method you use for slump, area size/slump box height/time?. Like the average joe would ever ever do this right? Then lets say the slump is to slow or quick, are you gonna send the truck back?

Yep I have sent the truck back , slump test dropped to the floor ( cpac) so refused it, next lot slump was correct............. it actually stayed up!! about 4 inch slump tamped 28 times with steel rod ( not rebar) concrete added in in intervals until cone full.

To be honest a quick look as it comes out the mixer is usually all I need to see if its way to wet or not.

The slump test is FREE from cpac, they also do a 28 day strength test at about 100 baht, cpac is the only one I know who do the slump test.

Once test is done then you have to stand by the driver and make sure he does not add more water to it via the levers at the back as the workers will moan like foooook its to thick.

Edited October 19, 2013 by kannot

[Beardog]

Ackybang, thanks so much. If you happen to come to Bangkok or Chiang Mai anytime soon, let me know. I d like to buy you a nice dinner and a couple of drinks if Im in town.

We will finalize the deal more or less tomorrow. We will let him do foundations, plumbing, roof (colorbond with boltless fixings) and walls (double layer red brick) for sure. He seems to be a great guy and has worked with some people who are also in this forum before (and was recommended) so Im optimistic.

I read the and coolthaihouse forums since some time and yes indeed amazing information.

Thank you very much!

For my future house i am interested in the Colorbond with boltless fixings.

I always wondered why they were drilling/screwing holes in a roof.

Where do you buy it and what are the costs?

I am planning to to my build in small steps and hire workers for it.

Have seen to many mistakes been made, even as a novice i can see that.

Watch out for watery concrete. When they come pour your foundations do a slump test on each batch!

Tell us the method you use for slump, area size/slump box height/time?. Like the average joe would ever ever do this right? Then lets say the slump is to slow or quick, are you gonna send the truck back?

Yep I have sent the truck back , slump test dropped to the floor ( cpac) so refused it, next lot slump was correct............. it actually stayed up!! about 4 inch slump tamped 28 times with steel rod ( not rebar) concrete added in in intervals until cone full.

To be honest a quick look as it comes out the mixer is usually all I need to see if its way to wet or not.

The slump test is FREE from cpac, they also do a 28 day strength test at about 100 baht, cpac is the only one I know who do the slump test.

Once test is done then you have to stand by the driver and make sure he does not add more water to it via the levers at the back as the workers will moan like foooook its to thick.

Cpac tried to pull that trick on me when we poured a drainage ditch for the old house we sold. It was so runny I sent it back & ordered a firm load of mix. You can always add more water if it is too thick but if it is too thin it has to be sent back & re- mixed to get it right. That & a water load increases their profit!

[reflectionx]

Be very careful when someone else does your slabs, toppings, rendering ... Most of them have no idea that they have to wait 4 weeks prior to tiling, painting, waterproofing, etc. I had a supervisor telling me that they usually wait ONLY 3-4 days after pouring the slab and then lay tiles, <deleted> ??? He even told me that it's better for the rendered walls to be wet when laying tiles and they usually do it 1-2 days after rendering ROFLMAO ... I had good laugh and told them that for rendered surfaces they MUST wait 7 days. Hopefully they will start applying these practices in the future.

They also use some sort of liquid for waterproofing that they mix with the topping. The problem is that as the cement dries, fine cracks form, so this sort of waterproofing is useless. Use some waterproofing membrane as Lanko K10 452. For this stuff (drains, waterproofing), I recommend a company run by a Swedish guy (Bjorn) MAXXI. Check their website.

For pipe, use the Multitubo pipe that is imported from Germany. There is a German guy (Klaus) in Pimatec (that imports the pipe and the fittings) that is very knowledgeable and helpful (we exchanged over 200 emails, and he was very informative and detailed responding to all my questions).

I spent way more than I have anticipated (including high quality tiles), but at least now I know that I won't have to worry about pipe leaks, unpleasant odours coming up the drain pipes, cracked/loose tiles, etc. Better invest a bit more in this stuff (that is hard to fix later) and cheap out on stuff that is easy to take are of later - e.g repainting job, etc.

[kannot]

Be very careful when someone else does your slabs, toppings, rendering ... Most of them have no idea that they have to wait 4 weeks prior to tiling, painting, waterproofing, etc. I had a supervisor telling me that they usually wait ONLY 3-4 days after pouring the slab and then lay tiles, <deleted> ??? He even told me that it's better for the rendered walls to be wet when laying tiles and they usually do it 1-2 days after rendering ROFLMAO ... I had good laugh and told them that for rendered surfaces they MUST wait 7 days. Hopefully they will start applying these practices in the future.

They also use some sort of liquid for waterproofing that they mix with the topping. The problem is that as the cement dries, fine cracks form, so this sort of waterproofing is useless. Use some waterproofing membrane as Lanko K10 452. For this stuff (drains, waterproofing), I recommend a company run by a Swedish guy (Bjorn) MAXXI. Check their website.

For pipe, use the Multitubo pipe that is imported from Germany. There is a German guy (Klaus) in Pimatec (that imports the pipe and the fittings) that is very knowledgeable and helpful (we exchanged over 200 emails, and he was very informative and detailed responding to all my questions).

I spent way more than I have anticipated (including high quality tiles), but at least now I know that I won't have to worry about pipe leaks, unpleasant odours coming up the drain pipes, cracked/loose tiles, etc. Better invest a bit more in this stuff (that is hard to fix later) and cheap out on stuff that is easy to take are of later - e.g repainting job, etc.

Ive seen Thai builders even <deleted> up pimatec!!! incredible but true.

[reflectionx]

Be very careful when someone else does your slabs, toppings, rendering ... Most of them have no idea that they have to wait 4 weeks prior to tiling, painting, waterproofing, etc. I had a supervisor telling me that they usually wait ONLY 3-4 days after pouring the slab and then lay tiles, <deleted> ??? He even told me that it's better for the rendered walls to be wet when laying tiles and they usually do it 1-2 days after rendering ROFLMAO ... I had good laugh and told them that for rendered surfaces they MUST wait 7 days. Hopefully they will start applying these practices in the future.

They also use some sort of liquid for waterproofing that they mix with the topping. The problem is that as the cement dries, fine cracks form, so this sort of waterproofing is useless. Use some waterproofing membrane as Lanko K10 452. For this stuff (drains, waterproofing), I recommend a company run by a Swedish guy (Bjorn) MAXXI. Check their website.

For pipe, use the Multitubo pipe that is imported from Germany. There is a German guy (Klaus) in Pimatec (that imports the pipe and the fittings) that is very knowledgeable and helpful (we exchanged over 200 emails, and he was very informative and detailed responding to all my questions).

I spent way more than I have anticipated (including high quality tiles), but at least now I know that I won't have to worry about pipe leaks, unpleasant odours coming up the drain pipes, cracked/loose tiles, etc. Better invest a bit more in this stuff (that is hard to fix later) and cheap out on stuff that is easy to take are of later - e.g repainting job, etc.

Ive seen Thai builders even <deleted> up pimatec!!! incredible but true.

That's why I did it myself, and did not let them touch the pipe - I used the brass PRESS fittings as they are made in Germany as opposed to the plastic SNAP-ON fittings that are made in Thailand. For the PRESS fittings, the press tool is required, but you could rent it at very reasonable rate from Klaus. But even the SNAP-ON fittings are fine. Even better - if you screw up a brass fitting, you need to buy a new one, but the SNAP-ON are reusable, so it gives you more flexibility during installation. The brass can only purchased directly from Pimatec, whereas the SNAP-ON are available at many stores.

But they still managed to f* it up: they drop big concrete piece on one of my pipes and damaged the coating. I had to cough extra 500baht to fix it ((

Edited October 30, 2013 by reflectionx

[IMHO]

The question posed in the OP has only one answer: depends. Depends on what level of talent the foreman's collective team has. Noting that you are not going to be able to directly engage any of his workers - they will be loyal to him not you.

The main question you should be asking is "what materials do we let our foreman source, and what materials do we source ourselves?" The answer to that one is easy - source everything yourself, otherwise you will very likely pay too much and experience delays while the construction team to go work on other projects to juggle money.

Edited November 1, 2013 by IMHO

[JaiLai]

Frankly, in that budget range, I'm not so sure what an architect is going to do. Are you building something really unconventional or custom otherwise?

Depending on your location and experience of the "builder" you may want to do things in phases instead of a total project. Why? B/c if he doesn't know what he is doing, you are not committed for the next phase.

Get informed and keep an eye on the plumbing especially. Some "builders" have no clue how to rough in plumbing for western style baths, sinks, etc. - they don't put in venting and, believe me, if that is not done right it is major headache later.

Tiling is the one thing I don't even want to try but there are really good ones available. Just don't expect them to decide anything - like colors and designs. And remind them to slope the floor to the drain. For some reason, they NEVER think of that.

Cheers

What purpose does venting serve? It vents what, odours?

In my experience the tilers are good as long as its a simple surface, when they come to corners / steps / obstacles they normally make a pigs arse of it. Another good tip is to tile the floors diagonally, this will hide the squint walls