Do it properly once, or do it the Thai way.

[David48]

Overall, I like Bamboo.

What I don't like are those nasty big black beetles that nest in them.

Give you one hell of a sting apparently.

I'm yet to experience one ... but two of the Farm Family were bitten this last month.

[kannot]

The fact that bamboo is cheap (possibly free), widely available and easy to work with without needing anything more than a machete rather than welding gear and a bit of welding skill doesn't come into it I suppose?

No problem termites will eat it in just a few short years.

So we can add 'easily replaceable' to the list of advantages for bamboo.

i believe the topic was "do it once do it properly" therefore we have removed bamboo from the equation. At best its temporary.

[sipi]

Ha ... I have the opposite problem.

A (one day will be) Thai Father-in-Law who tends to over engineer some things.

We built a double Carport space for him, space for me.

I suggested a galvanised roof baton ... no, no, ... must be Steel C-Section, which the whole Family was involved in priming with the anti-rust paint before construction.

No cutting corners with this guy. Heck, he even ground the welds lightly and then painted them before the roof tiles went on!

.

Yes. I recall the FIL belt driven wheel arch cleaner. Gold.

[sustento]

The fact that bamboo is cheap (possibly free), widely available and easy to work with without needing anything more than a machete rather than welding gear and a bit of welding skill doesn't come into it I suppose?

No problem termites will eat it in just a few short years.

So we can add 'easily replaceable' to the list of advantages for bamboo.

i believe the topic was "do it once do it properly" therefore we have removed bamboo from the equation. At best its temporary.

It also grows in the garden for free rather than having to be paid for so the fact that it's temporary is of minor importance.

[kannot]

Let me know how long it takes you to build your 3 bed bamboo house every 5 years...........if your lucky.

Let me know when you are in your 70,s trying to build it too.

In the meantime Ill sit snug in my "built once" concrete house.

Let me know if your bamboo house burns down?

What you gonna use for a roof, I think David's Mother in law has some rather attractive roofing available ( if you collect late at night)

Look out for 3 little pigs and a dirty great wolf

[DrTuner]

Case in point: have had 3BB techs here five times last week, still the ADSL links cuts every time it rains. The cause is obvious, water getting into the connection box on the pole opposite our house. They've actually found it the last time, but I reckon it takes five more times to get somebody up there and turn the box so it doesn't get flooded. Yeah, I knew it from the beginning, but it looks like the natives must do it the Thai way and not listen to a farang.

[sipi]

Let me know how long it takes you to build your 3 bed bamboo house every 5 years...........if your lucky.

Let me know when you are in your 70,s trying to build it too.

In the meantime Ill sit snug in my "built once" concrete house.

Let me know if your bamboo house burns down?

What you gonna use for a roof, I think David's Mother in law has some rather attractive roofing available ( if you collect late at night)

Look out for 3 little pigs and a dirty great wolf

Yes we also have the concrete house with tile roof, aircon, hot water, sat tv....

My original post was about garden edging etc

[mrfaroukh]

Good luck once everything is done

[laobali]

I can go on like this but i won't....you have to accept that this is a 3rd world country and they have never learned to do things properly.

Ah yes the white mans burden, bloody natives cant do anything properly...

At least they tried to learn within a reasonable amount of time in some of our former colonies.

[sipi]

I should have defined "temporary" better in my opening post.

Gardens, trelises, bird cages, chicken pens, outdoor eating areas, light fencing, clothes lines...

That sort of thing.

[sustento]

Let me know how long it takes you to build your 3 bed bamboo house every 5 years...........if your lucky.

Let me know when you are in your 70,s trying to build it too.

In the meantime Ill sit snug in my "built once" concrete house.

Let me know if your bamboo house burns down?

What you gonna use for a roof, I think David's Mother in law has some rather attractive roofing available ( if you collect late at night)

Look out for 3 little pigs and a dirty great wolf

See post #40...

[MediaWatcher]

tim armstrong, on 03 Nov 2014 - 10:52, said:

Just a small piece of trivia- inch for inch bamboo is stronger than steel.

Tell that to termites and wood rot.

[laobali]

She obviously has a sense of style, stainless steel garden sala? Bamboo

And tradition. Why do many urban westerners like 'roughing it' occasionally, sleeping outdoors under canvas, making log fires or using barbecues to cook on? Because it's nostalgic and there's an ambience. Would you rather relax on a hot day in a sala under grass thatch with rough wooden or bamboo poles and a railing to support your back with cushions on the floor with a mat - or sit on a plastic chair at a collapsible table on a concrete floor with an iron roof and bright fluorescent light (like so many eateries in Thailand and Laos)? You could have a small one in the garden too. I know which I'd prefer. Agree 100% with your wife on this one.

[wwest5829]

She obviously has a sense of style, stainless steel garden sala? Bamboo

And a lot more thrifty!

[nithisa78]

small thing, forget about it. you're not in Kansas.

[DalaiLuke]

And before we get too carried away. This isn't intended to become a Thai tradesmen bashing thread. More a DIY bashing thread.

YOU MUST BE JOKING ...

Thai Visa is the home and master of bashing everything Thai ... culture, work habits, character, etc ... it's the perfect storm of Europeans bashing everything that doesn't fit into their neat little home-grown version of perfection.

... I used to read the Phuket Gazette letters to the editor and laugh at how ridiculous the comments could get ... until I found this place and realized how endemic it is.

The truth is that many Thai people are excellent tradesmen, but they're busy working for real companies, not coming over to fix your silly little problems at your ridiculous excuse for a proper wage!

I'm not likely to post here again, as I'm embarrassed at how racist and ridiculous people here sound.

[BigSkip]

I also don't buy anything made in Thailand no more, it will break very soon.

YES, YES, the Stuff "MADE IN CHINA" lasts so much longer.....................

[BadBouy]

I can go on like this but i won't....you have to accept that this is a 3rd world country and they have never learned to do things properly.

Ah yes the white mans burden, bloody natives cant do anything properly...

At least they tried to learn within a reasonable amount of time in some of our former colonies.

Yes, it is amazing how fast you learn when your things are being confiscated and you are being abused. Cheerio old chap!

[namdocmai]

And before we get too carried away. This isn't intended to become a Thai tradesmen bashing thread. More a DIY bashing thread.

YOU MUST BE JOKING ...

Thai Visa is the home and master of bashing everything Thai ... culture, work habits, character, etc ... it's the perfect storm of Europeans bashing everything that doesn't fit into their neat little home-grown version of perfection.

... I used to read the Phuket Gazette letters to the editor and laugh at how ridiculous the comments could get ... until I found this place and realized how endemic it is.

The truth is that many Thai people are excellent tradesmen, but they're busy working for real companies, not coming over to fix your silly little problems at your ridiculous excuse for a proper wage!

I'm not likely to post here again, as I'm embarrassed at how racist and ridiculous people here sound.

Well then tell us what great experiences you had with construction/engineering company's in your Thai home. I bet you never ordered anything here.

Also it's not about racism, in my homecountry even Thai deliver the same quality as the whiteguys or blackguys, it's very simple there: Do it good or go home and the insurance will have pay all the damage. Without insurance they are not allowed to work.

Thai workers are also very stubborn, i had a gasstove which had to be made into the granite countertop by a specialized granite-company. The stove came with a mould of cardboard so it was easy to install. Just use the mould, grind that out of the granite and the stove will fit. I even gave them a marker and draw the line they had to grind onto the granite. It can't be more simple but of course they wouldn't use that line and did it the Thai way. Finally they broke the piece of granite and asked me if i would accept another seem in the granite and then would get 1000 baht discount. Their job costed me 12000 (for labour only) so i refused and then they were very angry because they had to pay for a new piece of granite themselves and also go get it.

Then when the granite was finished it was not glued onto the cabinets underneath it, i had to do that myself, that was their revenge.

Also the house had warranty 1 year, we bought it new. We got cracks in the walls, they came to repair it but after 2 weeks the cracks came back. I let them come again, repair it and after 2 months the cracks were back but then the house was 1 year and 1 month old so no more warranty....

I can write story's like that for hours but then the pink glasses guys here will not sleep tonight. This is not Thai bashing this is reality. Those guys are also not cheap at all, 12000 baht for a 1 day job for 3 workers is well paid i think. They also got free drinks and snacks. Actually i expected them to cut the stove and sink out of the granite in the workshop with a cnc machine because i saw that they had one, no they did it in my new kitchen so everything was full of dust.

My neighbour also had problem with the dust, those guys let the new hood suck all the dust out of their kitchen but then the fan of the new hood started making strange noises and was damaged.

OP if i were you i wouldn't use bamboo outdoors, i use bamboosticks for plants and after a few weeks they are full of holes and insects are living in them.

Better buy teakwood branches, thin ones if you can find them or just thin stems. Teakwood will not get termites, is waterproof and will last 50-100 years.

[smotherb]

I have a stainless steel carport which has mould in the roof, leaking roofgutter, rotting dead bolts and even the stainless steel has rust spots.

I have massive teakwood kitchen for which they had to come back several times because drawers won't close and the counter wasn't leveled so the granite wouldn't fit properly.

Massive teakwood table where the decorations came off because i put a glass of water on them. Then they repaired the table for warranty and still didn't use waterproof glue for the decorations so it is still crap. Also it has a huge crack in the middle.

I have steel bars with powdercoating that is rusty after 3 years while they have never ever been wet. Have stainless steel bars in the showers which are rusty and i had to tell them 10 times to use stainless steel bolts for them, i finally had to go get them myself and let them install it.

They damage all other things in the house while they come to work, sometimes they don't show up for appointments.

I ordered concrete powdercoated stones for outdoor, they delivered dirty ones who had been in the flooding and were stained from that. Stonestrips from a quality that seems to fall appart after a year, they had good ones in the showroom though.

I can go on like this but i won't....you have to accept that this is a 3rd world country and they have never learned to do things properly.

And, just when do you anticipate learning that?

[nithisa78]

The woman digress to you about everything. Your wife, give her the one small thing. To digress is not to agree. It isn't about being Thai way. It is about only being your way. There is a word for this behavior but I wish to be polite.

[laobali]

I can go on like this but i won't....you have to accept that this is a 3rd world country and they have never learned to do things properly.

Ah yes the white mans burden, bloody natives cant do anything properly...

At least they tried to learn within a reasonable amount of time in some of our former colonies.

Yes, it is amazing how fast you learn when your things are being confiscated and you are being abused. Cheerio old chap!

Spare the rod and spoil the child. More seriously, the Thai seem to have been slower learners in some respects - more so than other 'developing' regions.

[Grindting]

I can go on like this but i won't....you have to accept that this is a 3rd world country and they have never learned to do things properly.

Ah yes the white mans burden, bloody natives cant do anything properly...

Everything the man said in his post is 100% correct. I was wondering how long it would be though before a deluded apologist who managed to lift his head from out of the clouds would comment on it

[AYJAYDEE]

I can go on like this but i won't....you have to accept that this is a 3rd world country and they have never learned to do things properly.

Ah yes the white mans burden, bloody natives cant do anything properly...

Everything the man said in his post is 100% correct. I was wondering how long it would be though before a deluded apologist who managed to lift his head from out of the clouds would comment on it

and i , on the other hand, was waiting for another 100 percent chauvinist! welcome

[sipi]

And before we get too carried away. This isn't intended to become a Thai tradesmen bashing thread. More a DIY bashing thread.

YOU MUST BE JOKING ...

Thai Visa is the home and master of bashing everything Thai ... culture, work habits, character, etc ... it's the perfect storm of Europeans bashing everything that doesn't fit into their neat little home-grown version of perfection.

... I used to read the Phuket Gazette letters to the editor and laugh at how ridiculous the comments could get ... until I found this place and realized how endemic it is.

The truth is that many Thai people are excellent tradesmen, but they're busy working for real companies, not coming over to fix your silly little problems at your ridiculous excuse for a proper wage!

I'm not likely to post here again, as I'm embarrassed at how racist and ridiculous people here sound.

DIY: do it yourself. Nothing to do with tradesmen.

[AYJAYDEE]

And before we get too carried away. This isn't intended to become a Thai tradesmen bashing thread. More a DIY bashing thread.

then you made a poor choice of headline!

Do it properly once, or do it the Thai way.

[Soutpeel]

I can go on like this but i won't....you have to accept that this is a 3rd world country and they have never learned to do things properly.

Ah yes the white mans burden, bloody natives cant do anything properly...

Everything the man said in his post is 100% correct. I was wondering how long it would be though before a deluded apologist who managed to lift his head from out of the clouds would comment on it

I think if you had taken the time to read any of my other posts, think you will find I am far from being an apologist, and in fact on occassion even mock the apologists

The fact is if you read some of these posts they reek of an old colonial mentality, hence the reason for the post...

Now run along dear boy, get back to your digtial pikery...

[Rimbuman]

Don't know about your wife, Sipi, but mine is going on for a long time now that she want's a wooden Ban Noi (small house in the garden.

I keep resisting for years, asking what's the purpose of it?

You've got a big veranda with 2 ceiling fans to enjoy yourself'

The answer is:

To put you in there when you die and come and say hello to you

No wonder why you resist

[kerrysum]

People coming to my house caused me so many problems I now do it all myself.

Painted it all to find people coming with their filthy hands all over it, slapping the walls saying it looked good leaving huge black hand prints on them, sleeping leaning all over the walls, dragging ladders on them.

All banned now, no consideration for the time and effort I put in in building totally myself 2 houses, and I dont mean hiring people to do it I mean laying the blocks mixing the cement, plumbing, septic tanks, electrics etc etc.

Of course as they cover it in filthy marks they all say suay mak mak!!!

They bungle their way through all the jobs they did.

If they can't do it right, do it yourself, appreciate your standards! Just maybe Thailand has to open their eyes.... Just a thought. I am the same way!

This problem exists the world round, I would rather do it myself, seems there is a bit more pride, than, suay mak...... kilosierra

[ATF]

There are disadvantages to doing it right also.