Approx how much to build a house like this in rural Korat

[tonray]

Many small houses that look very much like this have beeen built in the Chok Chai area ( not far from the area you mentioned ) in the last few years.

Many are clusteded 6 or 8 to a lot and rented out like appartments.

They look so much alike that I suspect they are some sort of prefab kit.

I suggest you spend a day driving around Chok Chai and you will see quite a few.

If you contact the owners, I am sure they will share all the information you are seeking, including the names of builders in the area and the costs..

Cheers willyumiii. My tirak returned from Korat yesterday and we had a lengthy discussion, plus I showed her the various sites & photos of those small kit homes, and container homes, and ready made homes....and she ain't interested at all. She gonna built a proper house. So all those suggestions are now off the table...lol.

Uh...oh....time to beware of the 'family' member who just happens to also be a builder and his brother who supplies materials.

You realized this means she is not building a home for the 2 of you to live in...but for family use.

Edited March 31, 2016 by tonray

[chiang mai]

Thinking back I seem to have gone down the same route as the OP at one stage. When I met Mrs CM she said she wanted a house for her mother and after being together for a couple of years I decided I wanted to help with that. At first I looked at the small pre-made wood structures which I thought were quite nice and perfectly suitable for the MIL, Mrs CM had other ideas, it was going to be a real house.

And so it was, we built 84 sq. metres with three beds kitchen etc etc. and everyone was pleased, me especially because the build cost was cheap and I was flushed at the time. Subsequently I came to realise that the house was as much about face as anything else, the family needed it to be seen that they had a house, a for real house and not just a practical inexpensive place for MIL to live. The other thing I realised is that MIL had never had to take care of a decent house in her life and now that she had one, she didn't know what to do, needless to say she trashed it and the place today is a tip I refuse to visit, this despite several family driven big cleanings over the years. I've said before that effective house keeping and cleaning are things that are taught and learned, if nobody has taught then there's nothing to learn so beware downstream when the cleaning schedule doesn't live up to expectations.

[TSF]

Many small houses that look very much like this have beeen built in the Chok Chai area ( not far from the area you mentioned ) in the last few years.

Many are clusteded 6 or 8 to a lot and rented out like appartments.

They look so much alike that I suspect they are some sort of prefab kit.

I suggest you spend a day driving around Chok Chai and you will see quite a few.

If you contact the owners, I am sure they will share all the information you are seeking, including the names of builders in the area and the costs..

Cheers willyumiii. My tirak returned from Korat yesterday and we had a lengthy discussion, plus I showed her the various sites & photos of those small kit homes, and container homes, and ready made homes....and she ain't interested at all. She gonna built a proper house. So all those suggestions are now off the table...lol.

Uh...oh....time to beware of the 'family' member who just happens to also be a builder and his brother who supplies materials.

You realized this means she is not building a home for the 2 of you to live in...but for family use.

Thanks Tonray. I met with a builder last night, an English guy who operates a building business out of Korat. He comes highly recommended to me by another BM. I like the builder and like what was discussed last night. My wife liked him and his wife also, and it looks more than likely that we'll go with this builder. He's given a good quote, which fits in with the average estimates given in this thread so far. We are in the discussion stage at the moment, still tossing around ideas and refining things. But progress is being made. I like the idea of having an English builder rather than a Thai for an assortment of reasons, such as the ones you have raised here.

[TSF]

Thinking back I seem to have gone down the same route as the OP at one stage. When I met Mrs CM she said she wanted a house for her mother and after being together for a couple of years I decided I wanted to help with that. At first I looked at the small pre-made wood structures which I thought were quite nice and perfectly suitable for the MIL, Mrs CM had other ideas, it was going to be a real house.

And so it was, we built 84 sq. metres with three beds kitchen etc etc. and everyone was pleased, me especially because the build cost was cheap and I was flushed at the time. Subsequently I came to realise that the house was as much about face as anything else, the family needed it to be seen that they had a house, a for real house and not just a practical inexpensive place for MIL to live. The other thing I realised is that MIL had never had to take care of a decent house in her life and now that she had one, she didn't know what to do, needless to say she trashed it and the place today is a tip I refuse to visit, this despite several family driven big cleanings over the years. I've said before that effective house keeping and cleaning are things that are taught and learned, if nobody has taught then there's nothing to learn so beware downstream when the cleaning schedule doesn't live up to expectations.

Sounds like some of you guys have had rough times with your Thai wife's families.

I've got to say I have no concerns about these things happening with us. My wife's family are more like middle-class Thais, they are fruit farming people and all own land and have their own homes. Their kids go to uni & colleges, there are no useless whisky drinking uncles hanging around.

My wife's mother and father have a nice home up in the mountains, her brother and her sisters are all married and own their own homes. None of them are lining up to move into my wife's little house when it's completed.

And the house will be locked when we are not there.

[tonray]

Thinking back I seem to have gone down the same route as the OP at one stage. When I met Mrs CM she said she wanted a house for her mother and after being together for a couple of years I decided I wanted to help with that. At first I looked at the small pre-made wood structures which I thought were quite nice and perfectly suitable for the MIL, Mrs CM had other ideas, it was going to be a real house.

And so it was, we built 84 sq. metres with three beds kitchen etc etc. and everyone was pleased, me especially because the build cost was cheap and I was flushed at the time. Subsequently I came to realise that the house was as much about face as anything else, the family needed it to be seen that they had a house, a for real house and not just a practical inexpensive place for MIL to live. The other thing I realised is that MIL had never had to take care of a decent house in her life and now that she had one, she didn't know what to do, needless to say she trashed it and the place today is a tip I refuse to visit, this despite several family driven big cleanings over the years. I've said before that effective house keeping and cleaning are things that are taught and learned, if nobody has taught then there's nothing to learn so beware downstream when the cleaning schedule doesn't live up to expectations.

Sounds like some of you guys have had rough times with your Thai wife's families.

I've got to say I have no concerns about these things happening with us. My wife's family are more like middle-class Thais, they are fruit farming people and all own land and have their own homes. Their kids go to uni & colleges, there are no useless whisky drinking uncles hanging around.

My wife's mother and father have a nice home up in the mountains, her brother and her sisters are all married and own their own homes. None of them are lining up to move into my wife's little house when it's completed.

And the house will be locked when we are not there.

Darn...some of those guys are a hoot when they are not shooting guns in the air at 3 AM or kicking dogs.

[Gonsalviz]

If you pay over 300k, you are being ripped off.

Thank you inzman, that's exactly the sort of figure I had in mind and I'd hope to have a house like this built for approx that figure.

Maybe 5 years ago yes but not now! You will need about 1 million baht for a reasonable job done on a two storey house like this. 1.5 million if you want water tank, pump, Proper bathroom fittings, kitchen, Safe electrics with an earth and milliamp trip.

For 300,000 Baht you can get a big shed on stilts but I would recommend a hotel instead. Clean and full facilities, Aircon, laundry the lot for 300 Baht a night if you stay monthly. Why build?

Boy, did you get ripped off if you paid prices like that.

[Gonsalviz]

http://www.ihome1982.net/category/1433/mobile-home

check it out. Better yet, visit the show room.

some nice homes here on this site but is the price given for total build ?

seems very very stupid that they make a website and obviously sell to many farang but no english version of the site.

i would rather have something original thai style like Gonsalviz has bought , its nice !!

The place I bought at has no website at all. I just saw it and stopped to look. It is on the south side hwy 12 east of KK about 10 km west of Chiang Yuen. Lots of styles to choose from.

[KonaRain]

We paid 600k to our roommate, a govt. architect who knew a good crew.

[KonaRain]

If you pay over 300k, you are being ripped off.

Thank you inzman, that's exactly the sort of figure I had in mind and I'd hope to have a house like this built for approx that figure.

Maybe 5 years ago yes but not now! You will need about 1 million baht for a reasonable job done on a two storey house like this. 1.5 million if you want water tank, pump, Proper bathroom fittings, kitchen, Safe electrics with an earth and milliamp trip.

For 300,000 Baht you can get a big shed on stilts but I would recommend a hotel instead. Clean and full facilities, Aircon, laundry the lot for 300 Baht a night if you stay monthly. Why build?

Boy, did you get ripped off if you paid prices like that.

Maybe not!!!

[buythisdashcam]

What a real man ! Teerak will decide....

Many small houses that look very much like this have beeen built in the Chok Chai area ( not far from the area you mentioned ) in the last few years.

Many are clusteded 6 or 8 to a lot and rented out like appartments.

They look so much alike that I suspect they are some sort of prefab kit.

I suggest you spend a day driving around Chok Chai and you will see quite a few.

If you contact the owners, I am sure they will share all the information you are seeking, including the names of builders in the area and the costs..

Cheers willyumiii. My tirak returned from Korat yesterday and we had a lengthy discussion, plus I showed her the various sites & photos of those small kit homes, and container homes, and ready made homes....and she ain't interested at all. She gonna built a proper house. So all those suggestions are now off the table...lol.

[Paul944]

A 'proper' house is not a clear definition. Some thai are happy with just a banana leave roof, others pay 1 millon baht for the fence around the property.

[TSF]

What a real man ! Teerak will decide....

Many small houses that look very much like this have beeen built in the Chok Chai area ( not far from the area you mentioned ) in the last few years.

Many are clusteded 6 or 8 to a lot and rented out like appartments.

They look so much alike that I suspect they are some sort of prefab kit.

I suggest you spend a day driving around Chok Chai and you will see quite a few.

If you contact the owners, I am sure they will share all the information you are seeking, including the names of builders in the area and the costs..

Cheers willyumiii. My tirak returned from Korat yesterday and we had a lengthy discussion, plus I showed her the various sites & photos of those small kit homes, and container homes, and ready made homes....and she ain't interested at all. She gonna built a proper house. So all those suggestions are now off the table...lol.

In your eagerness to be nasty you have completely misjudged the situation. If you read the thread it is clearly stated that "teerak" wants to build a small house on HER land, with HER money, plus money she'll get from HER family, when finished it'll be HER home, not mine, nothing to do with me really, I sure don't want to live in rural Korat, and as a foreign devil I'll have no claim on HER house, I won't be living there, and I was only ever going to contribute a small amount of the cost plus the advice and tips regarding construction that I got from this forum.

So why shouldn't "teerak" decide how to build HER home?

[TSF]

A 'proper' house is not a clear definition. Some thai are happy with just a banana leave roof, others pay 1 millon baht for the fence around the property.

Well I believe the details discussed in this thread clearly explain what a "proper" house should be....one made with standard building materials, not banana leaves...lol

[TSF]

Update. Since starting this thread we met with an expat builder who gave us a reasonable quote to build a nice small double-story house on teerak's land for half a mill THB. I was impressed with the builder and believed he would do a good job.

However teerak decided she did not want to go with this builder but instead would be using a Thai builder from her village. I asked her if she had plans, specs, quotes...all that stuff, and it seems she doesn't have anything. She & her family are sorting it all out themselves with this local builder just working from mud maps.

So I told her as it has nothing to do with me, I have no further interest in this project. It's her land, her family, her house. I keep well out of Thai affairs, and I told her I will no longer put any money into the project, which is OK as she & her family have all that sorted out.

As I've said all along, this was never going to be my house, all I wanted to do was get some advice & building tips from this forum to help her out, but as the Thais have it all under control I've now bailed out.

Thanks to everybody for your comments.

[chiang mai]

Bailing out was very sensible, it will end in tears.

[willyumiii]

There are many "houses" just like this in the rural area south of Korat.

I said "house" because when you see them, they are more like an apartment,

One room with a bathroom and deck area upstairs and a covered cooking/ utility and enclosed small storage area downstairs.

Also appartment like since often they are built in groups of 6 -8 on one property and then rented out.

I have known single people who have rented these and they seem to be just fine for one person or a couple to live in.

They are so common and so much alike that I suspect they are kits, or prefab units.

If you spend a day exploring the area, I am sure you will see some and the owners will probably be happy to give you the details and costs as well.

Good luck.

[TSF]

Bailing out was very sensible, it will end in tears.

Yeah, don't need any stress in my life at this stage. I've been in LOS a long time and know not to get into Thais' affairs. They never pay a blind bit of notice to what we say/suggest anyway, so best let them go their own way....:-)

[tonray]

Uh...oh....time to beware of the 'family' member who just happens to also be a builder and his brother who supplies materials.

You realized this means she is not building a home for the 2 of you to live in...but for family use.

Thanks Tonray. I met with a builder last night, an English guy who operates a building business out of Korat. He comes highly recommended to me by another BM. I like the builder and like what was discussed last night. My wife liked him and his wife also, and it looks more than likely that we'll go with this builder. He's given a good quote, which fits in with the average estimates given in this thread so far. We are in the discussion stage at the moment, still tossing around ideas and refining things. But progress is being made. I like the idea of having an English builder rather than a Thai for an assortment of reasons, such as the ones you have raised here.

Update. Since starting this thread we met with an expat builder who gave us a reasonable quote to build a nice small double-story house on teerak's land for half a mill THB. I was impressed with the builder and believed he would do a good job.

However teerak decided she did not want to go with this builder but instead would be using a Thai builder from her village. I asked her if she had plans, specs, quotes...all that stuff, and it seems she doesn't have anything. She & her family are sorting it all out themselves with this local builder just working from mud maps.

So I told her as it has nothing to do with me, I have no further interest in this project. It's her land, her family, her house. I keep well out of Thai affairs, and I told her I will no longer put any money into the project, which is OK as she & her family have all that sorted out.

As I've said all along, this was never going to be my house, all I wanted to do was get some advice & building tips from this forum to help her out, but as the Thais have it all under control I've now bailed out.

Thanks to everybody for your comments.

Ahhh...it was only a matter of time until the "Thai Builder" linked somehow to the family showed up.....

Edited May 4, 2016 by tonray

[TSF]

Uh...oh....time to beware of the 'family' member who just happens to also be a builder and his brother who supplies materials.

You realized this means she is not building a home for the 2 of you to live in...but for family use.

Thanks Tonray. I met with a builder last night, an English guy who operates a building business out of Korat. He comes highly recommended to me by another BM. I like the builder and like what was discussed last night. My wife liked him and his wife also, and it looks more than likely that we'll go with this builder. He's given a good quote, which fits in with the average estimates given in this thread so far. We are in the discussion stage at the moment, still tossing around ideas and refining things. But progress is being made. I like the idea of having an English builder rather than a Thai for an assortment of reasons, such as the ones you have raised here.

Update. Since starting this thread we met with an expat builder who gave us a reasonable quote to build a nice small double-story house on teerak's land for half a mill THB. I was impressed with the builder and believed he would do a good job.

However teerak decided she did not want to go with this builder but instead would be using a Thai builder from her village. I asked her if she had plans, specs, quotes...all that stuff, and it seems she doesn't have anything. She & her family are sorting it all out themselves with this local builder just working from mud maps.

So I told her as it has nothing to do with me, I have no further interest in this project. It's her land, her family, her house. I keep well out of Thai affairs, and I told her I will no longer put any money into the project, which is OK as she & her family have all that sorted out.

As I've said all along, this was never going to be my house, all I wanted to do was get some advice & building tips from this forum to help her out, but as the Thais have it all under control I've now bailed out.

Thanks to everybody for your comments.

Ahhh...it was only a matter of time until the "Thai Builder" linked somehow to the family showed up.....

LOL...yeah right, but it ain't none of my business. She's going up to Korat in about 2 weeks time to get the ball rolling. I'm dropping her off at Korat then continuing on to Udon/Nong Khai, might go to Lao for a week, then I'll go back to Pattaya. Like Pilot with Jesus I've washed my hands...lol

[Aussie Breno]

On ‎3‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 11:28 PM, Sheryl said:

Not Korat but pretty close by - I just built something similar in Prachinburi. Inclusive of interior floor tiles (+wall tiles in bathroom), toilet, shower, sink, septic tank, electrical wiring and circuitboard etc it came to 450 K. Fence around the perimeter, windows and screens, and water pump additional. This was using fibro-cement roof tiles and, except of course for the bathroom, "mai chala" for the walls (backed on the inside by gypsum boards). Completed only a month or two back so prices are current. Would have been more if had gone for brick or cement blocks instead of mai chala. It is a 1 bedroom (i.e. bedroom and separate living room plus porch) about 50 sq meter total size, elevated with ground floor a cement platform but otherwise unfinished (will eventually have kitchen there plus garage for car).

P.S. the windows and screens (including screens for front and back doors) were expensive. Came to 24K for about 14 windows and 2 doors. Don't forget this aspect as if you are not planning on air con, you'll want to have plenty of windows and screened doors to maximize cross breeze. Even if you have a/c, can decrease electric bills much of the year if you can leave the doors open during the day, which with screens you can.

Hi Sheryl , would you have some contact details for builders, electricians etc. Thanks

[Sheryl]

None that I can tecommend, alas. Are you building something in Prachinburi?

[KonaRain]

Mai Chala? (for the walls) I tried to Google it.

Our Thai Builders put regular wood around window sills, I would have gladly bought a few peices of Teak, or Mahogany for that, but they were to fast for me.. Aloha!

 

 

[Crossy]

3 hours ago, KonaRain said:

Mai Chala? (for the walls) I tried to Google it.

Our Thai Builders put regular wood around window sills, I would have gladly bought a few peices of Teak, or Mahogany for that, but they were to fast for me.. Aloha!

 

Mai Shera (Shera board) is a cement composite, very hard, very durable, surface finished to look like wood. We have quite a lot in areas where it's not obviously fake wood

 

http://www.sherasolution.com/en/residential/

 

[sirineou]

On 4/30/2016 at 9:33 PM, TSF said:

Update. Since starting this thread we met with an expat builder who gave us a reasonable quote to build a nice small double-story house on teerak's land for half a mill THB. I was impressed with the builder and believed he would do a good job.

However teerak decided she did not want to go with this builder but instead would be using a Thai builder from her village. I asked her if she had plans, specs, quotes...all that stuff, and it seems she doesn't have anything. She & her family are sorting it all out themselves with this local builder just working from mud maps.

So I told her as it has nothing to do with me, I have no further interest in this project. It's her land, her family, her house. I keep well out of Thai affairs, and I told her I will no longer put any money into the project, which is OK as she & her family have all that sorted out.

As I've said all along, this was never going to be my house, all I wanted to do was get some advice & building tips from this forum to help her out, but as the Thais have it all under control I've now bailed out.

Thanks to everybody for your comments.

Don't be mad or disappointed at your Teerak,  Village relationships and ties are strong, and complicated, if there is a builder that they know in the village and they dont use him but instead they bring a farang  builder from outside would cause resentments , Remember they have lived there a long time, and have strong ties.   

[Tambs2020]

These guys do a heap of differnt ones.

Our neighbours got one & it looks great ?

[Patcheko]

Hi to all ! i live in thailand ( Buriram) and i am about to finish my house started 2 years ago.I build with my 2 brothers inlaw and i am today at 980.000 Thb !! With European material.

[grollies]

21 hours ago, Patcheko said:

Hi to all ! i live in thailand ( Buriram) and i am about to finish my house started 2 years ago.I build with my 2 brothers inlaw and i am today at 980.000 Thb !! With European material.

Wow, impressive. Sand, cement, aggregate, rebar, concrete block, brick, steel, roof tile, pipe, pumps, tiles, ad nauseam.....all imported from Europe? Nice one.

[Mike West]

On 3/26/2016 at 8:06 PM, SpokaneAl said:

I suppose it depends a great deal on the materials that you plan to use and the size of the house. I suggest that you contact a couple of local builders.

It doesn't look like much so I will make a wild guess of about baht one million or so.

1 million? jeez, he could build that with 250,000 baht. 

[Mike West]

On 5/1/2016 at 11:33 AM, TSF said:

Update. Since starting this thread we met with an expat builder who gave us a reasonable quote to build a nice small double-story house on teerak's land for half a mill THB. I was impressed with the builder and believed he would do a good job.

However teerak decided she did not want to go with this builder but instead would be using a Thai builder from her village. I asked her if she had plans, specs, quotes...all that stuff, and it seems she doesn't have anything. She & her family are sorting it all out themselves with this local builder just working from mud maps.

So I told her as it has nothing to do with me, I have no further interest in this project. It's her land, her family, her house. I keep well out of Thai affairs, and I told her I will no longer put any money into the project, which is OK as she & her family have all that sorted out.

As I've said all along, this was never going to be my house, all I wanted to do was get some advice & building tips from this forum to help her out, but as the Thais have it all under control I've now bailed out.

Thanks to everybody for your comments.

LOL so what happened? did she build it? u still together? 

[Mike West]

On 11/23/2018 at 1:50 AM, Patcheko said:

Hi to all ! i live in thailand ( Buriram) and i am about to finish my house started 2 years ago.I build with my 2 brothers inlaw and i am today at 980.000 Thb !! With European material.

u got pics etc?