Land In Central Thailand

[steve_dench]

My wifes family are from Ayutthea (close to Ang Thong). We currently live in Australia. On Friday (30 June) we will be travelling to visit her family. It has been 5 years since our last trip. While we are there we want to take the opportunity to look at possible places where we could buy and build in the future.

I don't really like the area where my family live. I would like enough land to grow vegetables, chickens etc preferably with running water (stream, creek or river not the still green pond). Does anyone have any suggestions as to areas to look at in this region?

I am a builder working as a Site Manager on apartment and town house construction.

Steve

[Mahardlek]

My wifes family are from Ayutthea (close to Ang Thong). We currently live in Australia. On Friday (30 June) we will be travelling to visit her family. It has been 5 years since our last trip. While we are there we want to take the opportunity to look at possible places where we could buy and build in the future.

I don't really like the area where my family live. I would like enough land to grow vegetables, chickens etc preferably with running water (stream, creek or river not the still green pond). Does anyone have any suggestions as to areas to look at in this region?

I am a builder working as a Site Manager on apartment and town house construction.

Steve

Hi, Steve, just go have a look around Muaklek, Saraburi...there are a few good pieces of land at good price....

[steve_dench]

My wifes family are from Ayutthea (close to Ang Thong). We currently live in Australia. On Friday (30 June) we will be travelling to visit her family. It has been 5 years since our last trip. While we are there we want to take the opportunity to look at possible places where we could buy and build in the future.

I don't really like the area where my family live. I would like enough land to grow vegetables, chickens etc preferably with running water (stream, creek or river not the still green pond). Does anyone have any suggestions as to areas to look at in this region?

I am a builder working as a Site Manager on apartment and town house construction.

Steve

Hi, Steve, just go have a look around Muaklek, Saraburi...there are a few good pieces of land at good price....

I have found Saraburi on the map but where is Muaklek?

[Mahardlek]

My wifes family are from Ayutthea (close to Ang Thong). We currently live in Australia. On Friday (30 June) we will be travelling to visit her family. It has been 5 years since our last trip. While we are there we want to take the opportunity to look at possible places where we could buy and build in the future.

I don't really like the area where my family live. I would like enough land to grow vegetables, chickens etc preferably with running water (stream, creek or river not the still green pond). Does anyone have any suggestions as to areas to look at in this region?

I am a builder working as a Site Manager on apartment and town house construction.

Steve

Hi, Steve, just go have a look around Muaklek, Saraburi...there are a few good pieces of land at good price....

I have found Saraburi on the map but where is Muaklek?

Hi Steve,

Muaklek is situated 40 kms east of Saraburi on the way to Korat(Nakhon Ratchasima), it's a small town (5,ooo people), milky way of Thailand,witha few steak houses (beef,pork,ostrich,etc...),a golf course,waterfalls, markets, and plenty of land.My dutch friend Gus, just finished last september a small 2 bedrooms,2 bathes and living for around 30,000 aus$, including the land of 2000 sqm (1 rai+1 ngan). It's 1 hour drive to Ayuttaya,1 hour an half to Bangkok, a bit mountainous,with valleys,and it's pretty quiet. I live in Thailand for 12 years, and speak pretty well thai.If you need contacts or whatever there, I can give you a few tips or phone numbers,but I myself am in Switzerland up to the 11 july. Please better contact me through my hotmail e-mail,as it's easier for me to correspond. Best regards. Mahardlek John Paul

[Backpack_thailand]

I am a builder working as a Site Manager on apartment and town house construction.

You could be Lord McAlpine, you still won't be able to do any building yourself over here matey!

[steve_dench]

You could be Lord McAlpine, you still won't be able to do any building yourself over here matey!

I am not expecting to build myself. I hope that I would be able to give family and extended family some work. I would hope to be able to check that any house was being built as we wanted it to be. I imagine that I will be working overseas to fund the project if it gets off the ground.

Any help or advice from people with experience would help.

[ArtA]

Hi Steve,

I did a quick web search from thailisting.com for Land listing for sale in the area Ayutthaya Saraburi.

Land for sale in Ayutthaya and Saraburi

The site translate original Thai data to English. A lot of the banks land are forclose so you usally find some great deals.

Hope this help your search, thx.

Art

[steve_dench]

Hi Steve,

I did a quick web search from thailisting.com for Land listing for sale in the area Ayutthaya Saraburi.

Land for sale in Ayutthaya and Saraburi

The site translate original Thai data to English. A lot of the banks land are forclose so you usally find some great deals.

Hope this help your search, thx.

Art

We didn't allow ourselves enough time to look properly. Things always seem to take so long to organise, particularly when an extended Thai family is involved. we drove from Ayutthea to Muak Lek. It was all "same same" until you pass the cement plants and start going up hill, all of a sudden the land looks more inviting. I have decided that I need a good contour map and to look at areas with a similar elevation. Any more recommendationS/

We drove through Kanchanaburi to Sangkhlaburi and also saw some beautiful areas. I have an English friend with a business in Bangkok (packaging tobacco), his advice is to avoid areas too far out in the sticks because it will be harder to get supplies etc.

All of the areas around my wifes family are low lying, I am having trouble convincing my wife and in-laws that it will be too expensive to buy local land and then have to pay to get it back filled to build a house above the water. Family is so important (even if they are only related by having the same surname!).

There must be plenty of you who have had the same dilemma. I am happy to live close to our family. I would be happy if they were to come and live with us. I would not be happy in Ayutthea.

[AmeriThai]

You could be Lord McAlpine, you still won't be able to do any building yourself over here matey!

I am not expecting to build myself. I hope that I would be able to give family and extended family some work. I would hope to be able to check that any house was being built as we wanted it to be. I imagine that I will be working overseas to fund the project if it gets off the ground.

Any help or advice from people with experience would help.

It could be a very BIG mistake to try to build a house via long distance. There's just too much risk of costly mistakes, "shortcuts", inferior materials or slacking off. As hard as it might seem, you really need to personally be there to make sure all the materials and work is exactly as you want it. You can always do it in stages during times you are in Thailand. It's slower, but the end result will be more to your satisfaction and peace of mind.

[steve_dench]

You could be Lord McAlpine, you still won't be able to do any building yourself over here matey!

I am not expecting to build myself. I hope that I would be able to give family and extended family some work. I would hope to be able to check that any house was being built as we wanted it to be. I imagine that I will be working overseas to fund the project if it gets off the ground.

Any help or advice from people with experience would help.

It could be a very BIG mistake to try to build a house via long distance. There's just too much risk of costly mistakes, "shortcuts", inferior materials or slacking off. As hard as it might seem, you really need to personally be there to make sure all the materials and work is exactly as you want it. You can always do it in stages during times you are in Thailand. It's slower, but the end result will be more to your satisfaction and peace of mind.

Thankyou for your advice, I agree with you. First of all we have to sort out where we can (all) agree that we should live first. I took lots of photos of construction and made many observations during my visits, building practises (even on high rise construction) would not meet acceptable standards in Australia. I also have serious reservations about the structural integrity of many buildins that I saw. I would certainly want to be able to supervise the whole job.

[teletiger]

Steve.

If you are interested in building in Thailand, please look at http://coolthaihouse.com/forum/

It is a dedicated forum for people who build their own homes in Thailand.

We have almost finished building our house in Khao Yai. Our nearest town is Pak Chong, about 50 kil.

We sourced about 75% of what we needed from there. No charge for delivery, ( about 1 million Baht spent) and saved 10% as opposed to sourcing locally.

We had the house built to our own specs. Some things were new to the builder and were met with raised eyebrows, but they were very able to build this way.

The best piece of advice i could give to you is to park yourself on the building site every day. If not yourself then an agent who understands your plans.

Regards

[AmeriThai]

Steve.

If you are interested in building in Thailand, please look at http://coolthaihouse.com/forum/

It is a dedicated forum for people who build their own homes in Thailand.

We have almost finished building our house in Khao Yai. Our nearest town is Pak Chong, about 50 kil.

We sourced about 75% of what we needed from there. No charge for delivery, ( about 1 million Baht spent) and saved 10% as opposed to sourcing locally.

We had the house built to our own specs. Some things were new to the builder and were met with raised eyebrows, but they were very able to build this way.

The best piece of advice i could give to you is to park yourself on the building site every day. If not yourself then an agent who understands your plans.

Regards

Good post and suggestions Teletiger. I would amend to having an "agent" that the agent is someone who is actually experienced in all phases of construction, or can clearly understand and follow instructions. Just as you said the builder you had met your specs with raised eyebrows, leaving such matters in the hands of others can be a costly mistake. I'm sure that builder had other ideas. And that's exactly the thing you want to avoid. Cheers to the builder who was willing to follow your instructions even though he may have been uncertain about some ideas.

I'd be interested in hearing what is was that the builder was uncertain or unfamiliar about.

[teletiger]

I wanted large open spaces inside so we designed it without the posts.

We built it on a strip foundation. Double wall construction ( 15cm exterior and 9cm interior ) with a 5cm insulation space in between. Both walls were re-inforced with steel and concrete to make them load bearing. We dug the top off of a small hill, so please don't try this on an old rice paddy.

The grounded electric took a bit of time to find a man who understood the workings. Apart from that it was pretty much as they know it. Some things they taught me. Lengthen the eaves on the south and west side to keep the worst of the sun off the windows.

Regards

[AmeriThai]

I wanted large open spaces inside so we designed it without the posts.

We built it on a strip foundation. Double wall construction ( 15cm exterior and 9cm interior ) with a 5cm insulation space in between. Both walls were re-inforced with steel and concrete to make them load bearing. We dug the top off of a small hill, so please don't try this on an old rice paddy.

Nice house. Still under construction, eh?

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "strip foundation"? A solid concrete slab?

[teletiger]

I wanted large open spaces inside so we designed it without the posts.

We built it on a strip foundation. Double wall construction ( 15cm exterior and 9cm interior ) with a 5cm insulation space in between. Both walls were re-inforced with steel and concrete to make them load bearing. We dug the top off of a small hill, so please don't try this on an old rice paddy.

Nice house. Still under construction, eh?

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "strip foundation"? A solid concrete slab?

It's a strip of concrete 50cm x60cm deep, re-inforced with steel running under the walls. Maybe you know it as footings?

The photo describes it better.

regards

[steve_dench]

Double wall construction ( 15cm exterior and 9cm interior ) with a 5cm insulation space in between. Both walls were re-inforced with steel and concrete to make them load bearing. We dug the top off of a small hill, so please don't try this on an old rice paddy.

Thai construction techniques differ to what would be standard practise in Australia I note that you reinforced your block walls but cannot see any reo in your picture with the first course on the strip footing. Normally in 140mm and 200mm blocks we use vertical bars at 400mm centres (ie one per block) placed in the footings and horizontal reo as required, this reo is normaly N12 (12mm) deformed bar.

We don't use reo in 90mm blocks ( nor would we core fill them) but would use cavity ties to tie the two courses together.

Steve

[AmeriThai]

We dug the top off of a small hill, so please don't try this on an old rice paddy.

As an added note for those who may be thinking about building in rice field areas or such areas that had at one time been used as rice fields, the usual practice seems to be to add fill dirt to raise the soil level rather than cut and remove. The fill soil must be throughly compacted with the kind of large toothed compacting rigs that are used in construction projects to really make the soil solid and firm. These heavy rigs are usually seen at larger construction projects. You certainly don't want to start building on softer loose soil, only to have the house start sinking as the soil settles from the weight of the building. That could result in some cracks, possibly seriosu ones, that could either require a lot of patching or even compromise the structural integrity of the house.

Edited August 9, 2006 by AmeriThai

[h5n1]

hey are you saying that you cannot construct your own home on property that you (r company) owns?!

if true - thailand is so out of control...

[billd766]

hey are you saying that you cannot construct your own home on property that you (r company) owns?!

if true - thailand is so out of control...

AFAIK you personally cannot construct your own property on land that you or your company owns as building and construction is a restricted job for farang in Thailand.

Why do you think that Thailand is out of control when they are trying to protect jobs for Thais?

Thailand belongs to the Thai people and surely they have the right to have their own laws and restrictions.

My wifes house was built on her land by a Thai builder and she was on the site supervising the way it was built even though she has no qualifications other than common sense and the fact that she wanted to build it the way she wanted.

My wife owns the house and land through the money that I earned and gave freely to her. I trust my wife 100% and if it all goes down the melting pot of divorce, so be it.

If a 49/51% company owns the house and land and you get divorced the same thing will happen. Thai laws favour Thais and why not.

[teletiger]

Double wall construction ( 15cm exterior and 9cm interior ) with a 5cm insulation space in between. Both walls were re-inforced with steel and concrete to make them load bearing. We dug the top off of a small hill, so please don't try this on an old rice paddy.

Thai construction techniques differ to what would be standard practise in Australia I note that you reinforced your block walls but cannot see any reo in your picture with the first course on the strip footing. Normally in 140mm and 200mm blocks we use vertical bars at 400mm centres (ie one per block) placed in the footings and horizontal reo as required, this reo is normaly N12 (12mm) deformed bar.

We don't use reo in 90mm blocks ( nor would we core fill them) but would use cavity ties to tie the two courses together.

Steve

Steve....you think it will fall down?? nah just kidding. You can't see any rebar.......and you can't see any concrete. The first course was tied in to the footings every 4th block with 4 hun steel. both walls were tied to each othe using a herring-bone pattern. I'll post the only photo I've got of the wall ties. both walls were screeded to 4 cm minimum. The interior wall (and all other interior walls) were were steel and concrete re-enforced because Thai cement blocks aren't the best in the world and drilling into an interior wall, only to find it crumbling away in your hands, just when you wanted to hang that favorite picture of your mother in law well, I couldn't handle the loss of face

regards

[h5n1]

bill d -

your iq matches the # of letters in your nick.

the notion that a person cannot build his own home which is planned for primary residence on property that s/he owns simply becasue they are not native born is positively insane.

if thais are so concerned about such jobs, why do they employ so many khmer and burmese???????????????????????????

actually, the thais dont want the jobs. issarn are lazy as <deleted> and the rest of the nation has moved on up and out of dire low level labor jobs. your understanding of thailand couldnt fit in a bottle of chang.

ah yes and your wife owns house and land.... well friend, im sure the family will be upon you in about a year, 18 months youll just decide to up and leave - all hers. this is standard thai woman m.o. chock dee.

Thai laws favour Thais and why not.

do you know of any western nation that has this childish mindest?

it does not favor thais, it favors RICH/WEALTHY thais. this law keeps property values and demand low. wealthy thais buy the land and develop it an dsell it to farang for huge profit..... poor thais get to lug buckets of cement, no house, no land -nothing. how is that 'good for thailand'. in fact many of these are wealthy immigrant chinese and/or their children.

your understanding of economics judging by the statement and teh fact that your house is in your wifes name is striking. how simpleminded.

Edited August 19, 2006 by h5n1

[steve_dench]

I started this topic out of a genuine interest in hearing from people with useful information and advice to help my family and I make a decision on where we might look for land to build a house. I appreciate the useful hints and information that I have received and hope it continues. It is completely unnecessary for people to use this forum to attack each other or make disparaging comments.

[paulsmithson]

According to my thrity years of experience of Thailand you can work to build our own home.

It would be a huge mistake to have it built when you yourself are not around. The losses in materials alone will.be enormous.

I have seen doublepitched roofs being put on over immense spread in Thailand with no lateral ties installed whatsoever. a recipe for roof spread and the brickwork being pushed out.

Looks fine when the ceiling is installed -but for how long eh?

Painting is anothe trade that needs close supervision---ever seen priming paint used here.

My recommenation is definitely be there even if you haave to rough it for a while.

Use common sense and your own building trade experience to judge the pricicng of any subcontractors. how many days at max 200 baht per day ( or less).

The thiai will jerk off whenever you let them and come up with all sorts of bullshit when you tell them how to do things properly---oh this is the way we do it in Thailand being the best i heard-I used to tell em that I was paying so do it my way or I wil get someone else who will!

good luck anyway

[steve_dench]

Thankyou for your input. Pretty much what I expected. What part of Thailand have you built in?

I have still not decided, my wife prefers the flat land that she is used to. I want elevated land, with vegetation.

What are acceptable methods for termite control in Thailand?

[Nawtilus]

One method I have seen is piping in the sub structure all around the external walls basically. It has several outlets to the surface which are obviously capped and can be hidden. The number depends on the length of the are covered as the effectiveness of the chemicla travelling down the pipes only goes a certain distance.

A spray is then applied down the pipes once a year I believe.

I do not know how good, or dangerous this method is.

I am also interested about the foreigner working to build his own house....as mentioned in previous posts, the word 'job' pops up. If you are building your own house, you are not employed, so how is this then considered as not allowed.

I have never seen this mentioned anywhere that it is forbidden, only if 'employed' 'paid' or 'job' like situations are the situation.