Building a house for 200,000 bahts. Believable or not?

[HaleySabai]

Looks good. The negative responses of course come from people that never touched a brick in their lives and paid millions for their over sized palatial residences.. I too am building with the help of the family and am sure that even ฿200 000 is more than is needed. Apart from the concrete base, we completely demolished the wife's old shack and rebuilt it (roof, windows, doors, Thai kitchen, toilet and shower, for about ฿40 000.-

We recently built a temp-style "living arrangement" on my wife's 1 Rai in the Doi Suthep National Park (Mai Hia Ni) in the valley behind Wat Doi Kham.

The material costs for our 5mx7m structure was 32,000 baht and the 3-days of family labour to complete the basic structure was 6,500,not including food and drinks.

The biggest material cost was the iron at 15,000. We bought sub-floor panels from Global House for 9,800 and bamboo thatch to cover the 4.2m sala-style roof locally for 2,200 baht. Other costs were for 9-1m concrete pillars for the raised platform.The detailing we are now doing is expected to reach a total expenditure of 50,000 for the project.

The point Im making is that building materials are not that cheap,but the saving grace in the equation is cheap-labour costs. So,if you have some know-how and have some (motiveless) local support, it is possible to build for cheap......unfortunately,its the land that will likely be your biggest cost.In and around CM the land prices are now insane.

[snowgard]

Don't listen about all this stupid idiots. This can be!!! I paid for our house only 350.000 THB. 3 bedrooms (2x 24m²,1x 12m²), 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen and a 35m² living room on 1rai. But my thai family worked a lot for building it too!!!

Important is that you can believe your wife and her family. Some of our workers told my wife to get extra more expensive bills, ...!!! But my wife is 100% in our family, So I pissed off this workers.

The most expensives was the roof, gypsem work, and tiles. All others was cheap.

[Redline]

It looks good. I'm just a bit shocked she would use asbestos. Even on the roof. Unless she is going to sell it

[elgordo38]

It looks good. I'm just a bit shocked she would use asbestos. Even on the roof. Unless she is going to sell it

Yes I was shocked to when I saw that. She is educated a school teacher and when I mentioned the roofing was asbestos sheets and banned in the west she just shrugged. No she and her 2 sons are going to live there. There seems to be a lot of indifference here on various subjects. I guess its the day to day living aspect. She could have afforded new roofing but choose to go the A route.

[xen]

It is much,much better than what i assumed from the op's title. Good on her.She has done well. Yes the asbestos is a concern if it is shattered in a storm but safe enough until then, although personally i would not take the risk. How many houses close by have asbestos roofs or asbestos walls.

Have the electrics and the plumbing been factored into the 200000 THB budget or is that on top. That is something that should not be done on the cheap as it normally is.

i agree that it does look like it will be hot . Is there insulation installed and without a back door cross ventilation will be a concern .

[thailandstupidlife]

asbestos sheeting in 2016... no need to read more !

[CharlieH]

Bickering removed

[Liquorice]

Interesting to note that the conventional method of using reinforced concrete support pillars has been replaced with brick built pillars.

I'd like to know what kind of brick this is and where it's available.

The reason is I'm planning a 40sq mtr extension and was looking at the western build methods using brick, however I've been told by a structural engineer that the bricks in Thailand are not load bearing (for the roof) hence the reinforced concrete pillars.

[akentryan]

Nice looking house. Screens for the windows and doors a must. Sounds like you have a "keeper.' Good luck in any event

[overherebc]

Wow and thanks for the great pictures, I truly hope for the best in the finished product. This makes me want to consider a project like this also as my girlfriends father has offered us some land he owns to build on if we ever wish to. Thanks again.

Yeah,

But that's an entirely different game.

The land will be somewhere nobody in their right mind would ever want to live.

The land is family land, probably without title, and will remain their family land.

Effectively, you will be building THEM (or her) a free house, for her and her family to live in.

That is terrible. I had a friend in UK who was an only child and when he married a local girl in UK he paid to build the house.

He was unfortunately killed in a road accident and his wife kept the house and the second car, unbelievable, isn't it. Here's me believing that UK was the only place in the world where your wife gets the house when you pass on, you learn something new on TV everyday.

Anyway, yes it's possible to build a house for 200,000 baht but of course depends on where and what standard you want it to built to.

In Thailand people don't ask about the house first when they think of valuing , the first question is 'how many square is the land'?

Looks like a good deal for the money looking at the photographs in the thread.

[thailand49]

To be honest! I've had people build and I've done building myself and now do the majority of work myself because of the shoddy workmanship. From what I see and seen locally for 200,000 this is very impressive. As for the roof, it can easily be replaced. The type that is being used now can cost you around 65-120 baht a sheet. The higher range has a insulation backing on it which is worth the money being spent.

Nice job.. here in Pattaya 200,000 gets you a recycle tin can shack.

[WhizBang]

Anything is possible but a decent sofa costs 200,000 in thailand never mind a house

A decent IMPORTED sofa, maybe.

[elgordo38]

It is much,much better than what i assumed from the op's title. Good on her.She has done well. Yes the asbestos is a concern if it is shattered in a storm but safe enough until then, although personally i would not take the risk. How many houses close by have asbestos roofs or asbestos walls.

Have the electrics and the plumbing been factored into the 200000 THB budget or is that on top. That is something that should not be done on the cheap as it normally is.

i agree that it does look like it will be hot . Is there insulation installed and without a back door cross ventilation will be a concern .

You can see the wiring and ceiling fan in the photo and she told me as it stand it was at the 200,000 baht level.

[ajarnmarc]

Hey elgordo38, any chance in you being able to post a picture or some pictures of the house? I personally would love to see it, also may I ask if your friend is Thai? I would assume so since you mentioned that friends were doing her labor for her. I like the idea of recycling materials to do a project like her. If someone had some land that they could use to store materials for a few years while they searched it out prior to doing the building itself could be a big time money saver. Plus personally I prefer aged quality materials more than a lot of the newly manufactured stuff they sell new now. Like you I would pass on the asbestos containing materials but I would be open to using some nice older style roofing or shingles.

My friend is an American the lady is his friend and is a Thai teacher. It impressed the hell out of me but I have learned in life never to take things at face value. Thanks for your "reasonable interested" reply some are really outrageous and well the word stupid comes to mind. The secret I think is to have whoever is building your house to be on the lookout for recycled materials as they are more tuned in to the wrecking/recycle market if there is one here. Its a booming industry in the Western world. Being the workers were family friends this was possible. Her father provided the land.

It looks great...especially considering the cost.

Well done.

Thanks for the photos.

Cheers

[keithathome]

There is a good chance that the roof is NOT asbestos but is in fact cement board. Do not listen to the naysayers. Even IF it is asbestos it is white asbestos not the blue or brown which IS the most dangerous. If it is painted to reduce the chance of dust it is minimal risk.

[Chuckles78]

Good on her! [emoji4]

[rocketboybkk]

Just like the Thai way that is, use cheapest everything, inc. asbestos, live for the now & worry about problems later. Short sighted when health is at risk BUT living for now and not worrying about the future isn't a bad way to be if you can do it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[reamom]

Construction costs for Chiang Mai house building are generally between 10,000 and 16,000 baht per square metre. It’s advisable to aim for the higher end of the scale as quality in Chiang Mai may be perceived differently from Western standards. You also have to monitor quality of materials, such as use of steel, brickwork, wiring, foundations and finishing.

[elgordo38]

Construction costs for Chiang Mai house building are generally between 10,000 and 16,000 baht per square metre. It’s advisable to aim for the higher end of the scale as quality in Chiang Mai may be perceived differently from Western standards. You also have to monitor quality of materials, such as use of steel, brickwork, wiring, foundations and finishing.

Thanks for your reply. Very informative. I think your trying to make a point but how it pertains to my post I do not understand?

[PattayaPhom]

Wow and thanks for the great pictures, I truly hope for the best in the finished product. This makes me want to consider a project like this also as my girlfriends father has offered us some land he owns to build on if we ever wish to. Thanks again.

Again Bob a well known or family member builder is essential. Chances are you will get a good build and he will not screw you. Seeing what he has built and how long it is standing and the condition it is in also important. After the build is finished and he has your money its game over for you. Stock piling used materials requires space and knowledge of where to find it. 5 years ago I lived in a village in Phitsanulok province with another g/f. Her mother removed a wooden house and built a 600 square meter building 2 stories. I flatly told her in the beginning the build was 3 times larger than what they needed but her mother had 3 sisters in the retail business in the village and it was a case of one upmanship. I know a little about construction. She the mother bank financed the deal to the tune of 7 million bahts. The build was a slow unfolding disaster from day one. He finished our apartment first on the second floor of the first 200 meter section. Tiles never lie and the tiles went from a full tile at one end of the room to almost nothing at the other. The dry wall ceiling collapsed in spots due to water leaks and the water also hit the fuse panel and knocked out the electric. The water in the bathroom had to run uphill to reach the drain. He put a electric plug right beside the shower head and the list goes on and on. All this happened while the build was still in progress. I would now 4 years later hate to go back and look at this disaster and what 4 years have done to it. If your money is going into the project make sure you go in with your eyes open. She will own the whole project. As a thrice married man my advice is just be careful. Rent is so cheap here I would not build or own. We have a 40 square meter condo in CM with a pool in walking distance of everything for 4,000 bahts a month which suits me just fine.

Nice work...and shows what can be achieved.

[sandyf]

There is a good chance that the roof is NOT asbestos but is in fact cement board. Do not listen to the naysayers. Even IF it is asbestos it is white asbestos not the blue or brown which IS the most dangerous. If it is painted to reduce the chance of dust it is minimal risk.

Quite right. The asbestos problem was blown out of proportion. The danger is related to fibre length and that only exist in certain forms of asbestos. Just need to be a bit careful if you have to cut or drill. We have several outbuildings with the asbestos looking roofs and there are many broken bits lying around, doesn't look like asbestos to me. I used to make ovens and furnaces and we used a material called 'Syndanio' which tended to frighten people. Ignorance can be a real handicap at times.

Before anyone jumps in with some distorted opinion, I have a friend who used to own an asbestos removal company, he sold it a couple of years ago. I prepared all the information for his website and am fully aware of the regulations. Local authorities in the UK took the view that all asbestos was a killer and should be treated as such. Unfortunately this has led to a great deal of misinformation on the subject.

[sandyf]

Wow and thanks for the great pictures, I truly hope for the best in the finished product. This makes me want to consider a project like this also as my girlfriends father has offered us some land he owns to build on if we ever wish to. Thanks again.

Yeah,

But that's an entirely different game.

The land will be somewhere nobody in their right mind would ever want to live.

The land is family land, probably without title, and will remain their family land.

Effectively, you will be building THEM (or her) a free house, for her and her family to live in.

You have my sympathy, you have obviously suffered to be expressing such cynical views.

The decision to build on family land is purely personal and not open to outside speculation. I did that and the way I see it, I would have recovered the cost of the build in 3 years had it been rent. I have been in the house 6 years now and hopefully for many years to come. Unfortunately at my age that gets less predictable as the years go by.

It wouldn't have made much difference where I bought or built, in the event of my demise the property would go to my wife anyway so what is the difference.

[Nobb]

My friend the wolf will huff and puff and blow your house down. Do not buy!

[elgordo38]

My friend the wolf will huff and puff and blow your house down. Do not buy!

Come on Nobb read the post. I am only observing and passing on. Don't be a Nobb. Edited December 26, 2015 by elgordo38

[Muzarella]

Sure..why not? I build on my garden, by myself alone...in 4 months...a 5x4 room totally framed in wood, complete over a cement floor and with metal roof, plus a complete small bathroom, and totally furnished with bamboo furniture. Total cost 20000THB. More 80000THB and I may complete a nice 2 bed - 2 bath + living + kitchen.

[HaleySabai]

Yo Muzarella can you show a picture of your shack?

[HaleySabai]

Yo Muzarella - can you show a picture of your shack?

[coulson]

Wow and thanks for the great pictures, I truly hope for the best in the finished product. This makes me want to consider a project like this also as my girlfriends father has offered us some land he owns to build on if we ever wish to. Thanks again.

Had you said wife it may be different, however I read that as 'pops' inviting you to build his daughter a house on their land.

[slipperylobster]

A good interior decorator could do wonders for the inside. Also, landscaping, strategic use of climbing plants, trees, pots, and window boxes for flowers can make any place liveable. We are doing that

To tell you the truth, we found an uncompleted home on one rai by the airport in Udon. We lease the land and house for 30,000 a year, with the option to buy. I can complete the house for about 60,000 (which would be deducted from the sales price)....but we are actually thinking of just a 5 year lease....so our options are open. Total lease for 5 years is 150,000 plus the 60,000 to complete interior floors and ceilings and 6 windows. That is 210,000 total for 5 years (we pay annually). Not sure if we are going back to the states..and need to save money...so no large down payments on a 2 million dollar house we cannot sell. We figure we will do it this way, and then let the wife buy land/house. Bottom line, our expenses are 4000 per month....and we get a decent place with plenty of land for 5 years. The owner is very nice, and is building 20 more homes in this area. She just understood our reasons for wanting a "hobby" and some security/peaceful living. In return, she gets a completed home.

We will be looking for recycled windows, wood, etc.... and the posters house is quite similar. Our home is being made cozy outdoors (we love the garden life).....with potted plants/trees, moveable trellises, removeable pathstones, etc. Have material on site to build a gazebo at no cost (except labor).

Not far from us is a subdivision full of tract housing. They all look the same....and have very little land. Some folks are paying 6 million and up... looks like a cement hell. Saw some foreigner houses built...with no gardens..they just paved over everything with cement and put up cement walls and sprawling cement houses. Not my style of life. We prefer a cozier and less costly..natural type of landscaping and home.

Edited January 9, 2016 by slipperylobster