Condo renovations: how long should it take?

[mike111]

Mates,

Can someone please clarify how long should the following renovations take:

Main living room:

installing a lowered ceiliing with recessed lights + a dimmer

retiling the floor

painting the walls

bathroom:

retiling the floor + walls

changing the bathub to a walk-in shower

replacing the vanity and toilet seat

Basically, I want to know for how long do I need be out of the unit.

Cheers

[beachproperty]

All depends on your workers and how many you have doing it.

Sounds like you have demolition work in addition to the the work outlined by you.

The following is my guess....

Demolition and clean up ....1 week?

Remodel work ....two men doing your ceiling .....3 to 4 days.

Tiling is going to take the longest .....going to guess that your main living area is about 40 sq meters and the bathroom about 12 sq meters.

could be anywhere from 2 weeks to a month (or longer if you only have one worker).....

This is presupposing you have (or your contractor) has everything lined up and ready to go! and you encounter no problems!

All that is just guessing .....why don't you ask your contractor and add another week or so onto what he says!

Edited June 3, 2014 by beachproperty

[yankee99]

The size of the unit might make a difference. 30 days max 10 days min.

[mike111]

it's a studio of about 37sqm

cheers

[ice4351]

Boonthavorn employees completely remodeled my bathroom-top to bottom in 8 days. 3 days to take out old tile. 1 day to skim the walls. 3 days to retile. 1 day to grout. Did an awesome job!

[KittenKong]

it's a studio of about 37sqm

View Talay 1/2?

I would estimate a month for it to be completely finished and cleaned up, assuming normal working speed and motivation.

[KittenKong]

Boonthavorn employees completely remodeled my bathroom-top to bottom in 8 days. 3 days to take out old tile. 1 day to skim the walls. 3 days to retile. 1 day to grout. Did an awesome job!

Interesting. How much did they charge for that (per sqm)?

Was it actually their own people or sub-contractors?

[mike111]

Boonthavorn employees completely remodeled my bathroom-top to bottom in 8 days. 3 days to take out old tile. 1 day to skim the walls. 3 days to retile. 1 day to grout. Did an awesome job!

Do they offer renovators as well, besides the actual materials/hardware?

Also, why have you decided to go with them? I was thinking about homeworks/homepro

Cheers

[bangkapi]

I know a guy who can do it in a matter of 4 or 5 days max. Sometimes he works solo, and sometimes he brings a crew up to 5 people. He has done all those jobs for me.

And very reasonable prices.. His name is Komsan...

But you need to explain the jobs in Thai.

Call him for an estimate at 0818336927. Even if it is just for a second opinion. You won't be sorry (Bangkok Only)

[joshstiles]

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it's a studio of about 37sqm

cheers

If you have professional workers, it should take about 3-4 weeks. However I have never seen professional workers anywhere in Thailand. If you have the average, lazy ass, work 1-2 hours in an 8 hour work day, stupid, no common sense, workers.....it will take about 3-4 months (just like at my condo).

Good Luck....try to keep your wits.

OR

Do the work yourself.

[mike111]

its a VT2 unit

tnx for the contact number...but I need someone working in Jomtien

[ChiangraiTony]

Depending on your contractor, there should be a written contract. Within the written contract it should state a completion date. Try to understand the terms and conditions. Make sure when they install the floor tile that the pitch (angle level) has the shower water go to the drain without having the water just stand on the floor taking a long time to evaporate. I would supervise the work being performed. Make sure you visually look that the level (tool) so your sure the pitch will drain the water properly. When they do the ceiling make sure they use at least 2-coats of paint, not just one. Something to think about: do you want them to remove the existing floor or install new tile on-top of the old. Generally if they can get away with it they will install over the old one. It is quicker for them plus they don't have to carry all the old materials from the condo. They don't like paying to dump it somewhere so they will most likely cut corners by installing over the old. If you let them install over the new then they make more profit and get the job completed sooner. Another point is, it will make your measurement from floor to ceiling shorter if this matters to you. Some of the older condo's have lower ceilings and you may want to get as much ceiling to floor measurement space as possible. Be there when the work is being done and you will get a good education. The wiring is not to any international code/ standard and they will cut corners to do the job quickly. I could go on and on but I don't want to spoil all the fun. Wishing you the best of luck with the renovation. In closing, make sure your tiles are brand name such as Cotto otherwise they will use Chinese materials and the tiles will not meet-up properly when it's time to grout.

[peterb17]

Are you the guy doing all the hammering?

Mine took about 2 months- but involved new kitchen ,Bathroom and knocking a door through to make a one bedroom and a stunning amount of rewiring.

The bathroom about a week to strip out and retile be careful of the old pipe work - I think it was iron and was almost completely rusted through - make sure you get non slip tiles - none of those lovely porcelain tiles for the floor, they are lethal !

Don't skimp on the tiles- I did polished travertine - not a fortune- and get the best taps- the Hafele shop opposite Tesco is good.

Don't leave things to your contractor- otherwise you get 500 baht taps.

Check everything they do- and do not pay everything up front- always leave a % to pay when you are totally happy- there is usually some snagging to complete.

[sotsira]

OP, Don't forget that in VT2 they only allow workers to work from 9am -5pm

Monday to Friday so a month means 20 days of actual work time.They also can't

work on religious holidays.

A team of 4-5 workers should do that work you described in 5-6 weeks.

Be careful when choosing the right contractors for retiling the floor, i've seen many

badly tiled floors from shoddy workmanship, leaving the tiles with hollows underneath

where they didn't place enough concrete evenly. This causes the tiles to make a hollow

knock when you walk on them or tap on them and also makes them crack when a load

is placed upon them.

[MichaelJohn]

I've had slightly more than this done; working 9-5 and not on holidays like mentioned above ..... 30 working days and they've been constantly at it.

[mike111]

I've had slightly more than this done; working 9-5 and not on holidays like mentioned above ..... 30 working days and they've been constantly at it.

Do you mean the place was ready to live in after 30 days?

How many workers were involved?

Thanks

[mike111]

Depending on your contractor, there should be a written contract. Within the written contract it should state a completion date. Try to understand the terms and conditions. Make sure when they install the floor tile that the pitch (angle level) has the shower water go to the drain without having the water just stand on the floor taking a long time to evaporate. I would supervise the work being performed. Make sure you visually look that the level (tool) so your sure the pitch will drain the water properly. When they do the ceiling make sure they use at least 2-coats of paint, not just one. Something to think about: do you want them to remove the existing floor or install new tile on-top of the old. Generally if they can get away with it they will install over the old one. It is quicker for them plus they don't have to carry all the old materials from the condo. They don't like paying to dump it somewhere so they will most likely cut corners by installing over the old. If you let them install over the new then they make more profit and get the job completed sooner.

Thanks. Whats wrong with installing the new tiles over the existing ones? (besides the issue of losing 2cm or so in floor to ceiling height)

[yankee99]

Depending on your contractor, there should be a written contract. Within the written contract it should state a completion date. Try to understand the terms and conditions. Make sure when they install the floor tile that the pitch (angle level) has the shower water go to the drain without having the water just stand on the floor taking a long time to evaporate. I would supervise the work being performed. Make sure you visually look that the level (tool) so your sure the pitch will drain the water properly. When they do the ceiling make sure they use at least 2-coats of paint, not just one. Something to think about: do you want them to remove the existing floor or install new tile on-top of the old. Generally if they can get away with it they will install over the old one. It is quicker for them plus they don't have to carry all the old materials from the condo. They don't like paying to dump it somewhere so they will most likely cut corners by installing over the old. If you let them install over the new then they make more profit and get the job completed sooner. Another point is, it will make your measurement from floor to ceiling shorter if this matters to you. Some of the older condo's have lower ceilings and you may want to get as much ceiling to floor measurement space as possible. Be there when the work is being done and you will get a good education. The wiring is not to any international code/ standard and they will cut corners to do the job quickly. I could go on and on but I don't want to spoil all the fun. Wishing you the best of luck with the renovation. In closing, make sure your tiles are brand name such as Cotto otherwise they will use Chinese materials and the tiles will not meet-up properly when it's time to grout.

Sounds good in principle but let's not forget this is thailand and unless he's getting robbed at botohvan (home of Chinese tiles)there probably won't be fancy contacts.

[ChiangraiTony]

Depending on your contractor, there should be a written contract. Within the written contract it should state a completion date. Try to understand the terms and conditions. Make sure when they install the floor tile that the pitch (angle level) has the shower water go to the drain without having the water just stand on the floor taking a long time to evaporate. I would supervise the work being performed. Make sure you visually look that the level (tool) so your sure the pitch will drain the water properly. When they do the ceiling make sure they use at least 2-coats of paint, not just one. Something to think about: do you want them to remove the existing floor or install new tile on-top of the old. Generally if they can get away with it they will install over the old one. It is quicker for them plus they don't have to carry all the old materials from the condo. They don't like paying to dump it somewhere so they will most likely cut corners by installing over the old. If you let them install over the new then they make more profit and get the job completed sooner.

Thanks. Whats wrong with installing the new tiles over the existing ones? (besides the issue of losing 2cm or so in floor to ceiling height)

It can be an issue if your ceiling starts out to be low. Generally the new ceiling takes-up about 10 CM to install a new one but more if your doing recessed lighting. Other than that it should be ok unless the floor is not so level to begin with and the old tiles were installed with hollows under them. Of course it's up to the owner of the condo. I was mearly pointing out some things to be aware of because contractors will charge a price for the install of new tiles and you think that it will be done a certain way and then later when it's to late you find out that the new tiles were installed over the old ones which is a way to cut corners and save money for the subcontractor but not necessarily the owner who is paying. It's all up to you the buyer. Personally I like to start new without the old tiles remaining. I like knowing what's under the floor (cracks, pipes, wire conduit). It makes me sleep better at night. (Cheers)

[ChiangraiTony]

Depending on your contractor, there should be a written contract. Within the written contract it should state a completion date. Try to understand the terms and conditions. Make sure when they install the floor tile that the pitch (angle level) has the shower water go to the drain without having the water just stand on the floor taking a long time to evaporate. I would supervise the work being performed. Make sure you visually look that the level (tool) so your sure the pitch will drain the water properly. When they do the ceiling make sure they use at least 2-coats of paint, not just one. Something to think about: do you want them to remove the existing floor or install new tile on-top of the old. Generally if they can get away with it they will install over the old one. It is quicker for them plus they don't have to carry all the old materials from the condo. They don't like paying to dump it somewhere so they will most likely cut corners by installing over the old. If you let them install over the new then they make more profit and get the job completed sooner. Another point is, it will make your measurement from floor to ceiling shorter if this matters to you. Some of the older condo's have lower ceilings and you may want to get as much ceiling to floor measurement space as possible. Be there when the work is being done and you will get a good education. The wiring is not to any international code/ standard and they will cut corners to do the job quickly. I could go on and on but I don't want to spoil all the fun. Wishing you the best of luck with the renovation. In closing, make sure your tiles are brand name such as Cotto otherwise they will use Chinese materials and the tiles will not meet-up properly when it's time to grout.

Sounds good in principle but let's not forget this is thailand and unless he's getting robbed at botohvan (home of Chinese tiles)there probably won't be fancy contacts.

Believe me! I won't forget it's ThIaland... That's why I took the time to point out some items to be aware of especially if this is the OPs first experience. As for me, I have renovated several condo's here in Thailand and never do renovations without a contract.

[mike111]

Depending on your contractor, there should be a written contract. Within the written contract it should state a completion date. Try to understand the terms and conditions.

Do you have a template for such a contract? is it written in English or Thai?

Would be grateful if you share a sample

Cheers

[KittenKong]

Thanks. Whats wrong with installing the new tiles over the existing ones? (besides the issue of losing 2cm or so in floor to ceiling height)

The main inconvenience is that your doors will no longer fit and will need a bit shaving off the bottom, or may need to be rehung. Not usually much of a problem with standard wooden doors but might prove more tricky if you have any special doors (security front door, sliding internal doors).

View Talay ceilings are high so there should be no problems there.

[ableguy]

How long is a piece of string ????

[AlexRRR]

Why dont you just ask your builder....cant belive your asking here.