The architect drawing the plans for the house we wish to build North of Khon Kaen has asked how high from ground level we want the ground floor. In my total ignorance I imagined that having built up the land by 1m above road level, that the ground floor would be laid directly onto that with say a 4 to 6 cm layer of cement with appropriate rebar. Now I am confused by this question because he has said that a height of 50/60 cms from actual ground level would be approprate. Is this normal?

Additionally if I follow this advice then I wonder what the cost of the cement for the ground floor would be. It will be a single story house measuring 13 x 11m (143 sq m). So if my maths are correct the cubic metres of cement required would be 13 x 11 x .5 or .6 which I believe results as 71.5 or 86.8 cubic metres based on infilling the total area with only cement and the appropriate number of rebar.

I should also say that the building land is not prone to flooding and for interest sake the architect has no connection with builders as we are yet to decide/find a builder.

Thank you

They don't fill the space with solid concrete, it will either be a void or filled with sand (ours is sand)

Unless you want storage space 30-50cm above final ground level would be reasonable, even though you don't flood you do not want heavy rain to enter your home.

Just decide how many steps you want to go up to enter and tell the man.

They don't fill the space with solid concrete, it will either be a void or filled with sand (ours is sand)

Unless you want storage space 30-50cm above final ground level would be reasonable, even though you don't flood you do not want heavy rain to enter your home.

Just decide how many steps you want to go up to enter and tell the man.

Thank you very much for your reply, you have been very helpful with your straightforward reply. I am now better informed.

Have a look at this post http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/481794-housebuilding-thread/?p=4631317 to see what they did on our place.

The rest of the thread should also be of interest.

^^^ Sounds about right, rain seems to be the architect's concern.

On a side note: I have seen these sand-fill built ups before and still question the choice of material. If potential water is the reason for building it up, why filling it in with compressed sand? It's probably the worst material, as it has a high capillary attraction. Meaning if the bottom gets wet, the top layer of sand will definitely be damp too; sand pulls the water up above the actual water level.

Why not coarse gravel? Very simple and no real cost difference. I tried to explain this to builders here before and they looked at me as I was from a different planet.

^^^ Sounds about right, rain seems to be the architect's concern.

On a side note: I have seen these sand-fill built ups before and still question the choice of material. If potential water is the reason for building it up, why filling it in with compressed sand? It's probably the worst material, as it has a high capillary attraction. Meaning if the bottom gets wet, the top layer of sand will definitely be damp too; sand pulls the water up above the actual water level.

Why not coarse gravel? Very simple and no real cost difference. I tried to explain this to builders here before and they looked at me as I was from a different planet.

I had wondered the same thing.

Cheers

Coarse gravel? Even a suspended ground floor slab need a firm and level substrate to receive concrete when it is wet. The sand bed serves this purpose.

In English traditional construction, there may be a fill of hardcore followed by a layer of compacted sand to receive the wet concrete.

We are doing it right now.We are 50 cm above the ground . We put down the concrete panels and the floor topping cement goes over the top of them .

Our house is 19 x 18 with 4 metre ceilings.

kevvy

how long are the floor concrete panels, and do you have some later pics, that's one big house.