Tropical storm with a twist

[Randell]

We are desperately trying to recover from a tropical storm that ripped though Ban Tri Keaw village last night. It was a twister or sorts or tornado whatever it was call in this hemisphere did a lot of damage in a very short 20 minutes. Knocking trees down. My next door neighbor had his carport collapsed onto his car, because it used a tree as one of the supports. That tree went down we are still cutting it up 3 hours in just to clear the road as main road for our end of the village. There three other big trees of more than 18 in circumference that went down right in one small corner of our village. everyone got the terrific wind but only we lucky few got the twister

I'm not sure 6 it was before or after the tree went down I lost 40% of my roof. 150 km winds found the weakest panel or ridge cap piece and then like a zipper stripped the right cap and panels on both sides. With flying debris punching holes in my other next door neighbor and the one across the street.

As this is the second time we have had to replace these cement type roofing sheets. We are contemplating changing over to foam insulated metal roofing. It's an expense we can't really afford at this time but my wife Joy has volunteered some of her gold jewelry just to get it done right for our peace peace of mind.

Climate change has certainly changed our weather patterns. These types of storm are typical for this part of the north. With rain, big winds yes occasionally hail but twisters from what I 6 gather is a newish wrinkle for us to deal with.

Its just about 1 o'clock and we all have been going at it steady since 6 am. Got our village road cleared finally a very large tree not so tall but massively bushy a bit like a Oak tree in that way.. They will really miss the shade

We were fortunate in that the roof that we have left covered the part of our bedroom with the bed and the roof over my computer and entertainment electronics . So airing out everything else and swabbing down the decks so to speak. Mopping multiple times actually as the collection of dust and dirt trapped in the crawl space above the drop ceiling was remarkable in its abundance. we were both flabbergasted by the amount of dirt and mud we faced in the morning.

Now just waiting for the guy to measure the roof and give us a quote.

So will let you know how it all goes

Never a dull moment

A bit shell shocked

Randell

Edited May 14, 2016 by Randell

[manfredtillmann]

mate!

i feel for you and your people. being exposed to the tempest of nature leaves scars in your confidence.

regarding the replacement of your roof:

when you change from a tile like material to sheeting the load requirements of your roofing battens become reversed. tiles weigh the roof down, rely on their weight, while sheeting will generate - particularly on an almost flat roof - a large amount of lift.

if you look at storm damage photos you will always see metal sheet roofing that lifted of roofs with all their battens still attached.

when it comes to changing your roof cover you must look at the entire structure and how it is supported downwards against LIFT!

(i am an australian licensed builder specializing in pre - fabricated metal structures).

if you do not tie down every roof component to the base of your building you will loose 100% of your roof next time.

feel free to ask if you need more info.

cheers

[villagefarang]

We lost this Kapok tree in our village along with several others. Many roofs were damaged but the houses which switched to metal sheets after the last storm had no damage this time around.

[sceadugenga]

Bad news Randall, all the best for a speedy and inexpensive recovery.

You might consider insurance, my house cover was about 4500 this year. (Bangkok Insurance)

Good advice from manfred the builder as well, make sure that your roof timbers are well connected to the rest of the house and that the sheets are professionally fixed with roofing screws.

As a carpenter yourself I'm sure you're well onto it.

[SoilSpoil]

We pay 5000 a year for insurance, storms, earthquakes and hail storms included.

[apache9441]

This was a very bad storm but very little mention elsewhere.

I understand some people died in Tambon Mae Pao which I believe is in Phaya mengrai. The whole Village was destroyed apparently.

A large area of Ban Du was without power for about 7 hours.

A lot of Trees came down to the east of Chiang Rai on the road which runs parallel to the Kok River.

We have been getting these Twister type winds for years now. It's very important to trim any Trees near the House and make sure they are healthy just after the Cold Season. The winds seem to come between March and May but only for a few weeks.

Good Luck with the New roof.

Very good advice about the sheet metal Roofing.

[Randell]

Thank you all for your coments and advise All will be thaken to heart and acted on accordingly.Manfred we call them hurricane straps tying the roof structure to the wall framing and down at the bottom the whole unit locked ito the foundation every four ft. I will be sure that this advise will be hadled properly Thanks again to one and all. It all should be happening tomorrow. And will also look into the insurance. aA big oversight on my part I assued I had it with our other insureances health motorbke etc. But it turns out that we we didn't. One of the many thing that was missed in the translation and then forgotten about.

Randell

[manfredtillmann]

Thank you all for your coments and advise All will be thaken to heart and acted on accordingly.Manfred we call them hurricane straps tying the roof structure to the wall framing and down at the bottom the whole unit locked ito the foundation every four ft. I will be sure that this advise will be hadled properly Thanks again to one and all. It all should be happening tomorrow. And will also look into the insurance. aA big oversight on my part I assued I had it with our other insureances health motorbke etc. But it turns out that we we didn't. One of the many thing that was missed in the translation and then forgotten about.

Randell

oversights happen.

let us know how you go with your repairs.

keep an eye on your builders.

always wanted to come up to your end of the country...

be good...

[villagefarang]

Thank you all for your coments and advise All will be thaken to heart and acted on accordingly.Manfred we call them hurricane straps tying the roof structure to the wall framing and down at the bottom the whole unit locked ito the foundation every four ft. I will be sure that this advise will be hadled properly Thanks again to one and all. It all should be happening tomorrow. And will also look into the insurance. aA big oversight on my part I assued I had it with our other insureances health motorbke etc. But it turns out that we we didn't. One of the many thing that was missed in the translation and then forgotten about.

Randell

I want to thank you Randell for being so considerate and getting back to us. I am sure I am not the only one who appreciates hearing from the OP after members have commented.

[Randell]

We have been at it all day. I have a crew of ten all the main spry talent sweating it out on the roof and dealing with the sharp end of things. The rest of us passing panels first down with the old and up with the new. A bit of interpretation of the working schematic but all going well . Don't' think we will get it all done today. As a slight l shape so a bit more labour intensive than a straight roof. But its wonderful to have all you neighbors come out to help. And an incredible amount of kibitzers checking out what I might not need any more. There seemed to be a two panel shortage of a certain length but with a phone call and with in 1 and 1/2 hours the two cut to measure insulated sheets arrived. All and all quite pleased. I have been keeping my eye on it all but its seems best to me to stay a bit apart as it only slows them down and don't want to be seen as a micromanager. That said There were many things I would have don differently but the end results is coming along the same so best to let them get on with it.. I will give you guys a wrap up note tomorrow.

and ps manfred I had them drive some additional spikes into the framing. When I poked my head up into the crawl space and saw thew the way it was done originally was quite good and I think they humoured me by doing as I asked but got it don none the less. So till tomorrow.

Randell

[Randell]

Well we have been at it all day. Have a crew of ten. With the spry talent up top at the sharp end and the rest of us passing down the old panels. And hooking up the new sheets for lifting. A Lot of kibitzers checking out want I might not need any more and just watching the proceedings. We had a bit of interpretation of the working plan lay out to decipher and soon found we were short two panels of a certain length. But one call the the company and in and hour and a half we got delivery of needed panels cut to order and insulated.. Due to the l shape of the house I don't think we will totally finish today. But it will be a short stint tomorrow. I find if I can manage to stay out of the way things go a bit smoother. There were things I would have done differently but the out come the same. So tried to keep my micromanaging to a minimum. So I will give you a wrap up note tomorrow.

ps Manfred got them to add some extra spike the the frame work but it did look quite well done in the first place but some extra in there now.

Randell

[manfredtillmann]

Well we have been at it all day. Have a crew of ten. With the spry talent up top at the sharp end and the rest of us passing down the old panels. And hooking up the new sheets for lifting. A Lot of kibitzers checking out want I might not need any more and just watching the proceedings. We had a bit of interpretation of the working plan lay out to decipher and soon found we were short two panels of a certain length. But one call the the company and in and hour and a half we got delivery of needed panels cut to order and insulated.. Due to the l shape of the house I don't think we will totally finish today. But it will be a short stint tomorrow. I find if I can manage to stay out of the way things go a bit smoother. There were things I would have done differently but the out come the same. So tried to keep my micromanaging to a minimum. So I will give you a wrap up note tomorrow.

ps Manfred got them to add some extra spike the the frame work but it did look quite well done in the first place but some extra in there now.

Randell

thank you, randell

hope you are all happy with the outcome - suppose the next 'twister' will make that judgment for you.

generally speaking, the more flak you get from your work crew the more you know you have been right in the first place.

i have been told by dumb - arsed plasterers that my footing preparations weren't up to scratch...

everyone has got an opinion but no-one wears responsibility.

[sceadugenga]

I'm of the opinion that micromanagement of Thai building workers can lead to more problems than it fixes.

As Randall says, the end result is often the same.

Different strokes....

[sidelines]

Sorry to hear of the damage. We had a couple of trees down and were without power for seven hours plus. Been investigating increasing my insurance cover and interested to read SoilSpoil "pays 5000 a year for insurance, storms, earthquakes and hail storms included." Just spoken with Bangkok Insurance and for storms, earthquakes and windstorms they pay a maximum of 20 per cent. Quoted just under 5000 baht a year. Is there anybody who can point me in the right direction for better cover at a similar price.

[sceadugenga]

I'm surprised to hear that, Bangkok Insurance paid most of my earthquake damage claim without any problems.

Maybe that's for new accounts?

[sidelines]

Yes, I would imagine they changed the conditions after the earthquake here in 2014. I tried Bangkok Insurance first after seeing your Post. Will shop about and see what else is on offer for new accounts.

[sidelines]

The actual wording (in English) reads...Windstorm, Earthquake or Volcanic Eruption, Hail, at the limit of liability for any one peril, of not exceeding twenty per cent of sum insured. That is for their Rak Baan Plan (Residential Perils). Their "Home Multicover Insurance Plan" covers "10 per cent of the sum insured, not exceeding 500,000 baht"

[Randell]

As good as things went yesterday, just the opposite today. Equipment gremlins and the double valley of the entrance cupola giving gripe in making the prefab pieces fit. A lot more stressful today. Plus lost my translateresume. Who had to go back to work. At the point we are at now I don't think we will complete to day either. But we are struggling on. All credit due to the guys out there up top in this heat. Will continue to let you know of our progress.

Hot and frustrated but managing to smile anyway

Randell

[Randell]

I am happy to report that a few hours ago we had a pretty good rain short but strong and not a drop inside the house.

Which I haven't been able to say since Friday the 13.

The boys managed to finish up around 1 o'clock.

It's not to the standard that I am used to being a carpenter and have installed many metal roofs in my day.

Most of them in the Arctic never in low 40s high 30's weather. But I am happy enough with the job done.

The house is noticeably cooler.

I know there's not much R value in the foam and tinfoil backing glued to the back but something is better than we had before.

It also deadens the noise remarkably compared with our it on our shed roof with corrugated metal..

The cost was originally to be 50,000 Baht which turned into 54,500 but I was in no position to debate the issue although felt used and cheated a bit.

Also the working plan for what length of pc went where was as the boys told me pit layow. no good as there was constant measuring and remeasuring just to make sure we didn't use a wrong piece, because absolutely no overage at all.

So much for that I am still grateful for it only taking three days to get the metal here.

But during which time as in all construction sites other metal guys for competition dropped by.

And In hind sight would have been better of working with some one of them that also provided the installation with more trained staff.

My guy were the village handymen knowledgeable, but there are always time and motion tricks when you have be doing the same thing day in a day out.

But again when water is pouring into your house and with a call some one is there to measure you jump at it or at least I did.

If only it hadn't been raining every day we could have taken a bit more time got the color we wanted and possible a better job done

. I would also think we would have paid more in labour than we did our labor cost were all in 10,000Baht.

So job done I am happy enough for 64,500Baht.( the metall ended up being with the insulation 110 baht a meter)

Considering what the job would have cost in Canada an incredibly cheap price.

Now I have the job of replacing all the damaged track and rain spoiled drop ceiling tiles and clean up.

It was an experience I can tell you I hope none of you get the opportunity.

Randell

[villagefarang]

Not just us, lets hope you don't get called upon for a repeat performance. I am pretty sure once was enough, right?

[Randell]

Just to make things clearer at least in my mind. I reread my posts and wanted it to be know that the crew that actually did the roof work were a crew of five. The other five were there for the first day volunteering to get the old tiles off a lot of passing form on hand to the other. So my guys were well paid for there high risk work at 2000Baht each for the 2 and a half days not 10 men at a 1000 each. Just didn't want to come across as a cheapskate. I feel better for that now. Once I understand how to do it I will try and post some pictures. But am something of a techno-peasant.

Randell