Building & renovation bidding platform in Thailand?

[2xy]

Is there a site like homeadvisor.com in Thailand? Basicallay, a platform that allows you to solicit bids from contractors.

[kamalabob2]

There was no such platform in 2007 when I built a home in Buriram province. I have not seen any such web platform in 2015. In Buriram, as most provinces in Thailand, you should ask for personal recommendations and visit the house building sites of contractors you are considering. Today I went with a Ohio native to meet a building consultant who is building three homes currently in Buriram with three different Thai building contractors. It was very educational and my fellow US expat who is serious about building a home without straining his marriage due to language differences was pleased to see three homes currently under construction and with expats at each site who were having these homes built to professional architect plans. Each home had a list of materials which the building consultant had received written bids from several Buriram Builders merchants. The homes were costing from under 2 million to over 3 million fully fitted with name brand ovens, cook tops, sinks, sanitaryware, wardrobes, all ready to move in.

Two Buriram homes had thermalite wall blocks 20cm thick and one house had 10cm thermalite wall blocks with red masonry bricks on the exterior walls. Two of the homes I toured today are being built by Farang on "speculation" as these two expats had previously in 2014 built similar size homes and sold them for a profit. In 2007 as well as 2015 it is a challenge to receive a prompt e-mail reply from a typical Thai business, so I just can not imagine a Thai builder taking the time to read requests for bids that come over a web site, when he has his dance card full via real paying jobs from established professional relationships he knows are not tire kickers. Every Thai builder I have met has a limited credit limit with a store such as Thai Watsadu or Home Mart so they need to be careful who they work for so they can pay their bills to the store and construction team. It was explained to me today why often the Thai builder suggests to the Farang that the Farang pick and pay for the wall blocks, roof tiles, floor tiles, kitchen fittings, bathroom fixtures, air conditioning, etc.. The Thai builder does not have the credit ability to front the money for such building materials if he is getting payments as he finishes each step of the house building construction. I've attached photos of two houses in Buriram being built by two different Thai contractors, but under the supervision of one expat building consultant. It is the choice I would make if I build a 2nd house in my wife's village, as using the family to currently build is full of pitfalls and communication challenges. The ultimate fear of a Thai builder is the Farang departing the Kingdom prior to final payment if his relationship with the Thai spouse goes bad. The Thai spouse will scramble to finish payments on the construction job.