Advice On Renovating Older Wooden House

[ando]

We own an older wooden house in a Thai neighborhood.

We were going to knock it down and build a new one from the ground up, but with prices rising all the time I am now thinking of renovating the old place.

Its a high set place on concrete stumps about 9 foot high. So by putting in a couple of big beams we should be able to close the underneath in and have extra living area.

The list of renovations will end up being extensive I am sure. New iron sheets on the roof, new cladding inside and out, new plumbing and new wiring. New windows, new stairs. New kitchen and bathroom fit out etc...

Has anyone looked at this option? Would it be cost effective?

I'm not looking for anything too flash but it would need to be comfortable by western standards.

I was planning on spending about million baht.

[excaliber]

We own an older wooden house in a Thai neighborhood.

We were going to knock it down and build a new one from the ground up, but with prices rising all the time I am now thinking of renovating the old place.

Its a high set place on concrete stumps about 9 foot high. So by putting in a couple of big beams we should be able to close the underneath in and have extra living area.

The list of renovations will end up being extensive I am sure. New iron sheets on the roof, new cladding inside and out, new plumbing and new wiring. New windows, new stairs. New kitchen and bathroom fit out etc...

Has anyone looked at this option? Would it be cost effective?

I'm not looking for anything too flash but it would need to be comfortable by western standards.

I was planning on spending about million baht.

If the foundation & structure are both substantial then you would of course save time & money by renovating. I would use a different material for the roof instead of "iron sheets" unless you like the sauna effect. If you're looking for lightweight material, Aluminum is far better & won't rust.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=0entry760456

[lopburi3]

Unless you have a show type house, or a location where it would be out of place, believe I would opt for new brick/cement construction rather than renovations over wood.

[Sel]

Are you replacing the old cladding throuhout or just putting new cladding downstairs?

You may get a termite problem from the ground

Wood is expensive here, there are places that sell second hand teak from probably similar structures at affordable prices, but you'll have to travel out of Bkk a little bit.

Plumbing and wiring isn't that much

Price of fixtures in toilet and kitchen will depend on what style/taste you want.

Have you got a picture?

[ando]

Thanks for the replies.

The place is about 35 years old. Its run down and looks like it hasn't had a coat of paint in its entire life. I am not sure how structurally sound it is because I think it has termites.

If its salvageable I would prefer to renovate unless the cost approaches demolition and rebuild.

[BKK90210]

Its a high set place on concrete stumps about 9 foot high.

Just a thought

If the place is sitting on 9 foot concrete columns. Hmm...may be the house is in the heavy flooding zone? So closing off the area in hope for gaining extra living space below is just a bad idea. You might want to recheck with the neighbour on the historical flood levels also.

[Gary A]

I looked at a house similar to that. The house looded great but I noticed fine wood dust in a number of places. When I nearly fell through the floor I decided that the termites had had far too much time to work on that house. I love old wooden houses but I'm afraid for the long term you would be far better off to use block and concrete.

[lopburi3]

If you want the wood look after building with brick or block the new wood look alike can be quite attractive as a cladding. Not sure how much it costs but one house on my street had it done (for free) as an advertisement for company. Termites are a huge problem almost everywhere and if that old the wood is likely infested.

[lingling]

If you want the wood look after building with brick or block the new wood look alike can be quite attractive as a cladding. Not sure how much it costs but one house on my street had it done (for free) as an advertisement for company. Termites are a huge problem almost everywhere and if that old the wood is likely infested.

You mean the asbestos based fake planks? Probably an excellent construction material but if the laws here catch up with the rest of the world it could be costly to remove in say 35 years from now...

[ilyushin]

Depending on size the cost can be very little.

Cladding a fiber cement board brand name " Shera" in wood grain or smooth finish for a 80 sq meter unit is Baht 36,000 , colorbond steel roofing Baht 80,000 ( can bargain) with other options of light cement sheets for about half. Prices included labor. Asbestos Free!

You can use steel framing in areas that need to be replaced due to damage by termites. Replace windows with metal frames about Baht 1,500 with glass.

This is what I did to my old wooden house in Roi-et and increased the lower living area by conventional contractution cement and clay bricks. A slab to create a patio and support the structure.

Edited June 2, 2006 by ilyushin

[ando]

Thanks again for the ideas gentlemen.

Another option I am considering is to have the place demolished carefully and to save the wood of any value to put it into a complete rebuild from the ground up. Labour is still relatively cheap in Thailand and I reckon I could reasonably get the place demolished, the site cleaned up and all the good wood stockpiled for (?) 50,000 baht max. The wifes sister lives next door and I am sure I could bring a couple of the family down from up north to do the demolition job. So I have got good accommodation for the workers and good security for any valuable timber that needs to be stored on site.

The area is flood free by the way, and its in a built up area with houses on both sides, so I expect I should be able to put a concrete floor straight down on the existing ground with a bit of bedding sand. The upper floor will require taking out a few of the concrete stumps and putting supporting beams in. It may well end up being less work this way than trying to renovate the old structure.

The wall cladding sounds like a great idea, and cheap too. If worse comes to worse I can have the outside of the house clad in the cheapest possible material and then coated with colour impregnated stucco cement plaster. There are some stucco houses around in my home town that still look good after 60 years. And I wouldn't want the neighbours to think I was a cheap charlie putting up a wooden house in between two brick ones All the neighbours are low set brick/stucco with tiled roofs, so the low pitched metal roof shouldn't be too visible or conflicting with local standards.

So long as its strong, low maintenance and comfortable I will be happy. I dont care about resale value as it will be going to the wifes Thai family anyway sooner or later. But if I can save half a million baht on construction costs to get the same outcome for my needs thats important to me right now.

[ilyushin]

Wall structure use gypsum moisture resistant board, chicken wire mess, cement rendering 2cm, paint or stucco. Very cheap.

[lingling]

Depending on size the cost can be very little.

Cladding a fiber cement board brand name " Shera" in wood grain or smooth finish for a 80 sq meter unit is Baht 36,000 , colorbond steel roofing Baht 80,000 ( can bargain) with other options of light cement sheets for about half. Prices included labor. Asbestos Free!

You can use steel framing in areas that need to be replaced due to damage by termites. Replace windows with metal frames about Baht 1,500 with glass.

This is what I did to my old wooden house in Roi-et and increased the lower living area by conventional contractution cement and clay bricks. A slab to create a patio and support the structure.

Maybe I missed something, but isn't fiber cement another name for asbestos board? Or have they switched to another kind of fiber (glass fiber..?)

[ilyushin]

Depending on size the cost can be very little.

Cladding a fiber cement board brand name " Shera" in wood grain or smooth finish for a 80 sq meter unit is Baht 36,000 , colorbond steel roofing Baht 80,000 ( can bargain) with other options of light cement sheets for about half. Prices included labor. Asbestos Free!

You can use steel framing in areas that need to be replaced due to damage by termites. Replace windows with metal frames about Baht 1,500 with glass.

This is what I did to my old wooden house in Roi-et and increased the lower living area by conventional contractution cement and clay bricks. A slab to create a patio and support the structure.

Maybe I missed something, but isn't fiber cement another name for asbestos board? Or have they switched to another kind of fiber (glass fiber..?)

Years ago the fiber cement products incorporated asbestos as the fibers. Soon after it was discovered that asbestos posed a serious health hazard, cellulose was substituted as the fiber material. Cement, ground sand, additives and water make up the balance of this wonderful building product.

[lingling]

Years ago the fiber cement products incorporated asbestos as the fibers. Soon after it was discovered that asbestos posed a serious health hazard, cellulose was substituted as the fiber material. Cement, ground sand, additives and water make up the balance of this wonderful building product.

While that is true in the developed world, I am not so sure that is the case in Thailand. After all, Thailand imports 200000 tonnes of asbestos every year, so unless the manufacturer can provide a written guarantee that it is asbestos free I would have my doubts...

[ilyushin]

Years ago the fiber cement products incorporated asbestos as the fibers. Soon after it was discovered that asbestos posed a serious health hazard, cellulose was substituted as the fiber material. Cement, ground sand, additives and water make up the balance of this wonderful building product.

While that is true in the developed world, I am not so sure that is the case in Thailand. After all, Thailand imports 200000 tonnes of asbestos every year, so unless the manufacturer can provide a written guarantee that it is asbestos free I would have my doubts...

Please review the following URL: http://www.shera.co.th/html/cntntflsh_shrprdct_en.htm

[lingling]

Please review the following URL: http://www.shera.co.th/html/cntntflsh_shrprdct_en.htm

Cool. Let's hope that these guys (your company?) will replace the asbestos based products that are still widely used...

[RamdomChances]

My house is a renovated "tthai" wooden house about 40 plus years old. Dont worry about the clading, it can be replaced easily and is usually the first to go. Check the floor, and all the joists plus the posts. Mine were all sound. Had to do a complete re-wire, plumbing, new roof, put some rooms in as it was just one big room upstairs. Put a ground floor in, concreted the base, car port, new windows, proper toilet but all in all it cost me about 2-300,000 bhat done over stages and its a big house.

The nice thing about wooden houses is that you can change or add to them easily, as long as you have decent wood for the structual stuff you should'nt get many probs with termites. The downside's are that if you want aircon there is virtually no insalulation and the house expands and contracts in the wet/dry season leading to ill fitting doors and windows. Altogether though I'm fairly happy with mine for the money I spent

[ilyushin]

For the builder with economcs in mind the following are some tried and tested methods.

Framing: There are available steel framing systems ( walls , floor, truss, etc...) .6 mm thickness dipped galvanized pre-punched for electric , water, gas, installation.Means you can hide all those ugly wires and pipes.

or even better but untested is the modular panels ( 1mm/1.5 mm X 1m galvanized sheet with EPS, LWC, cement board a to create an exterior and interior wall which are uniformed. I have a hand book on how to DIY this system and build a hose so easy. problem is the the heat retention and expantion in Thailand . Also the mold test is an issue untested.

Insulation: Fiber Glass beads, EPS. LWC +EPS, foil, gypsum, egg cartons, etc...

I suggest thicker interior gypsum boards ( water resistant) up to 18mm and the foil. inetrior coul be stucco rendering ( colored /painted or natural) , exterior a rust proof cladding or fiber cement board, panel, large gyp boards , chicken wire , 2cm of cement rendering.

Roof: cement board, color bond, steel shingles, steel sheets. Cement shingles are heavy, but depends on footing, fundation, support, piling it is possible.

Flooring: add a sheet of gyp board to cushion should and close leaks and muffle sound. These shoud be thick, flexy, water resistant. Cover laminated wood covering sheets.

Windows: Change to Aluminum frames with plass/glass panels. Consider louver or pushout.

Just some ideas.

[ando]

Wow, the renovation idea is looking better all the time!

Thankyou again. Any further ideas will be greatly appreciated.