gate beam

[kannot]

am doing the concrete beam for my gate its 10 inches  deep 12  inches  wide, just wondering how do they get the steel runner in? I saw some bolt down onto the concrete when finished but others  seems  buried in the concrete with just the steel curved part showing for the rollers to run on.

Just wondering if  the bolt  in one would be better incase it ever gets damaged as then at least i could un bolt and attach a new one. Photo of the  bolt  down type..assuming this type  is available here? and  hopefully in LONGER sections ie 3-4 metres would be good as gates are 4.8 metres?

If its the buried  type I assume the concrete is  finished to about 2  inches  below the top of the rail the rail then placed in and levelled and then the 2  inches  filled with more concrete?

Edited January 7, 2017 by kannot

[eyecatcher]

The ones I have seen being done, and mine for that matter is a regular circular section mild steel tube that is concreted in.

I would think that the tube has a few drill fixing lugs attached at90 degrees to level it up; then a second application of concrete/strong mortar applied ranping up slightly and covering half the tube.

[kannot]

23 minutes ago, eyecatcher said:

The ones I have seen being done, and mine for that matter is a regular circular section mild steel tube that is concreted in.

I would think that the tube has a few drill fixing lugs attached at90 degrees to level it up; then a second application of concrete/strong mortar applied ranping up slightly and covering half the tube.

Thanks next question is how  far from the post bases is the rail set out? cant be  much thicker than the gate I guess......or maybe it would be  better if  i get the concrete done to two inches below grade then leave the last 2  inches to the gate man,  this  type  i  guess

Edited January 7, 2017 by kannot

[eyecatcher]

1 hour ago, kannot said:

Thanks next question is how  far from the post bases is the rail set out? cant be  much thicker than the gate I guess......or maybe it would be  better if  i get the concrete done to two inches below grade then leave the last 2  inches to the gate man,  this  type  i  guess

The logical thing to do is to design it in conjunction with the bogey wheels.

You could do with looking at the options available and then you know where to set the bottom rail of thr gate.

Subject to the bogey diameter aim for about 50/60mm above  your steel track.

It doesnt matter if its a bit high as you can clad the gate after to the exact height you want.

[eyecatcher]

Sorry i answered the wrong question. The distance from the post needs to be enough for the gate thickness.

If its too much you will have to somehow infill the gap to stop dogs getting in or out.

[kannot]

5 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

Sorry i answered the wrong question. The distance from the post needs to be enough for the gate thickness.

If its too much you will have to somehow infill the gap to stop dogs getting in or out.

Just trying to read up about "how far out" its saying 25mm+ half the gate thickness, so if  gate is 40mm thick you set out 25mm + half of  40 ie 20mm total 45mm, gate  will  look  like this .....hopefully, I  ll have to get some measurements  done, then distance in for wheels which  looks  like about 1  metre from the ends, thanks for your input

Edited January 7, 2017 by kannot

[kannot]

http://www.automaticsolutions.com.au/page/diy_tracks.php

 

Found  this site with various  methods, I think the bolt  down would be best although it  doesnt  look as  good  as the embedded but can easily be replaced without having to try and dig  out a damaged  rail, BUT is  bolt  down available  here?

Edited January 7, 2017 by kannot

[kannot]

ok in  case  anyone  else  else  needs  this  info  here  is  a   supplier  of the  rails 

 

http://www.pratooautanomati.com/id3.html

 

[eyecatcher]

I see the logic in the distnace, in other words they are saying an inchis good enough (not many people would accept that!)

 

I have another consideration for you, and you first photo reminded me.

Is that blue pipe your idea to have a water feature on the gate or is that you r electric conduit for motorised gates??

 

If its neither then also to consider will be the fixing of a steel gate stabiliser; the rollers at the top of the gate, holding the whole thing vertical.

 

Mine is a simple inverted "j" made from 50x50 box section and its bolted to the inner face of my posts (they are timber trees tho)

As a result; I have the problem i mentioned about dogs getting in and this assembly takes the gate further away from the posts.

 

then again i wouldnt be surprised if bodgit and scarper did my job in the past.

[kannot]

1 minute ago, eyecatcher said:

I see the logic in the distnace, in other words they are saying an inchis good enough (not many people would accept that!)

 

I have another consideration for you, and you first photo reminded me.

Is that blue pipe your idea to have a water feature on the gate or is that you r electric conduit for motorised gates??

 

If its neither then also to consider will be the fixing of a steel gate stabiliser; the rollers at the top of the gate, holding the whole thing vertical.

 

Mine is a simple inverted "j" made from 50x50 box section and its bolted to the inner face of my posts (they are timber trees tho)

As a result; I have the problem i mentioned about dogs getting in and this assembly takes the gate further away from the posts.

 

then again i wouldnt be surprised if bodgit and scarper did my job in the past.

The  Blue  pipe is actually some 3  inch pipe simply  their to protect the 1  inch  water pipe inside ( extra protection) it also doubles as a conduit for anything I might ever  need to drag under the concrete later. I will also put in some 1inch  hdpe trunking to run any photo cell cables form one side to the other.

The brackets I will get  will be either fastened to the top of the post an "L" shape holding the rollers or I might get a LONGER version of that and invert it so it wont affect  how close to the  post the gate is.

Looks  like  2  inches away  from the  posts is  pretty  much normal here for the rail spacing and i doubt any dogs  will get thru that, Im going to get the bolt  down its in 3  metre lengths or get one made in stainless at 4.5 metresX 2 as its only a 16mm diameter rail on a flat 3mm thick 50mm wide rail......this might  look better as  well

The diagram shows how with the brackets , the left one shows the CONCRETE  POST in black with a second post into the ground etc

[AJBangkok]

From. Previous posts your perimeter wall is almost a work of art. Can you post a pic of your gate when it's done? 

 

My contractor is trying to shaft me with a perimeter wall cost of 5,200 per linier meter to reinstall around 80 meters of wall that was knocked down to facilitate construction. When I showed him the 2016 TAF construction cost of 2400 baht for Bangkok he told me Hua Hin was more expensive .At that price i''m better knocking the entire wall down and getting one like yours. 

[eyecatcher]

2 hours ago, AJBangkok said:

From. Previous posts your perimeter wall is almost a work of art. Can you post a pic of your gate when it's done? 

 

My contractor is trying to shaft me with a perimeter wall cost of 5,200 per linier meter to reinstall around 80 meters of wall that was knocked down to facilitate construction. When I showed him the 2016 TAF construction cost of 2400 baht for Bangkok he told me Hua Hin was more expensive .At that price i''m better knocking the entire wall down and getting one like yours. 

 I just built a perimeter wall 1.6m high and 14m long, in qcons, concrete posts and i rendered it...5400bt!!

if I charged myself out at 1000bt a day the cost ended up exactly 1000bt/m run.

I never did it before, so I was pretty slow.

these Thais charging upwards of 1500/lin m for a 1.8 wall  are greedy wasters.

[kannot]

6 hours ago, AJBangkok said:

From. Previous posts your perimeter wall is almost a work of art. Can you post a pic of your gate when it's done? 

 

My contractor is trying to shaft me with a perimeter wall cost of 5,200 per linier meter to reinstall around 80 meters of wall that was knocked down to facilitate construction. When I showed him the 2016 TAF construction cost of 2400 baht for Bangkok he told me Hua Hin was more expensive .At that price i''m better knocking the entire wall down and getting one like yours. 

I spent years  looking for an even half decent contractor for almost anything here, they are  like hens teeth and when they do turn up many of the "sludge" all work the same way, use your land as if they own it, throw rubbish anywhere they like, pee on the land, help themselves to any tools without asking by going into my stock room etc etc.

It  soon became quite clear they were ALL the same locally and I gave up even when they could be trained to not leave rubbish "on the land"  you could   go into the road and find it all up there instead.....pointless

I ended up doing everything myself unless it was a mammoth task like the wall, even here I had many MANY problems......99% is sheer laziness on their behalf, nothing less no excuses etc or BS and the wall was  about 650k as we have 15  rai  walled along 3  sides

When an ole  bloke of 53 can outperform a 20 year old at every turn its kind of sad, from duration of work to skillset.

18 of those POSTS in my wall are out of true by 4  inches over their  2  metre  length, over half the segments had to be replaced during construction as the "boss" in his "wisdom" decided to save money they would collect them themselves.

In the process of the "normal" not being careful they broke half of them either by chipping or a  clean break all the way thru, they then had the stupidity to " install" them before i made them remove ALL of them

 

The walls  good and simple and  fast when done by someone with just 1  brain cell and no laziness.................therein lies the problem in Thailand for the "majority"

 

Now everything is done by me and I mean "everything".....Im actually  dreading the gate  supplier making it as you always get the feeling " what are they going to ferk up next"

When workers used to come here " many years ago" the other problem was them coming up to the house and touching the walls, great my freshly painted " by me"  house (5-6 coats paint) now was covered in dirty BLACK hand prints even when their job was working over the other side of the land and its 15  rai.

 

My latest project is the  small house for pumping water out of the lake around the land and the gate footing though ive now been rained off for 2  days

Stupidly on my behalf years ago i thought Id retire get some locals to do all the work and have an easy  life................??????????

Some pics of here and various jobs done fairly recently...............by me.

First is the "new"  wellhouse (potable 4-600lit/hour) and system then the lake  pump house system and surrounding concrete mixed by hand, anything im not 100% sure of I can ask here for various "opinions" I then work out what " I"  need and base a decision on that, finally  footing for gate..ongoing like waterhouse

Im NOT a  builder but learn pretty quick + the internet is  brimming with " how to videos and websites" and to be honest the methods used here in construction are probably the simplest in the world especially plumbing no soldering copper  joints just clean pipe with sand paper clean off dust with thinner, glue  push and hold................. how many Thai pipes do you see leaking? seems commonplace here from  what  ive  read , most other houses seem to get a leak as someone either forgot  the glue or just crap work practice as usual.

 

Pretty sure ANY decent worker is in BAngkok or overseas, whats left is the sludge at the bottom of the tank.......Hua Hin area

So far after 4 years of doing it myself with GREAT satisfaction ive learnt  a lot and am proud of that...something the locals never appear to get

" sense of achievement" and "pride in their  work" so from block laying/electrics/plumbing/ concrete laying, roofing , cement mixing, irrigation wells etc Ive learnt many things

Thank fully the one thing I do have is "time on my hands" to get this stuff done....probably the biggest job here is landscaping and irrigation again done by me with 1  inch water pipe  13.5 rated for durability buried at least 8 inches many tress grown form seed, you wont find them elsewhere in Thailand in this shot is Tahina Spectabilis at the front ( three) and Medemia Argun ( middle  rear)   one  a new discovery the other a rare tree re discovered........ Nong Nooch Pattaya has both.

 

Reason I moved here? Wifes  job ( well paid and I mean WELL) and ability to grow what I like ( hobby) doesnt mean I have to love Thai people/culture as many seem to think you can only live here if you "embrace" all that.

Its  still VERY cheap here, I often laugh when having 20 ton of stone delivered for  the cost of less than ONE in the UK

 

Ive given many locals  an opportunity to work here ie on trial, all have failed and when I say opportunity I mean i gave them the benefit of the doubt many times overlooked many things but eventually "gave up"

If you have the time my advice...do EVERYTHING yourself

 

Edited January 8, 2017 by kannot

[kannot]

3 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

 I just built a perimeter wall 1.6m high and 14m long, in qcons, concrete posts and i rendered it...5400bt!!

if I charged myself out at 1000bt a day the cost ended up exactly 1000bt/m run.

I never did it before, so I was pretty slow.

these Thais charging upwards of 1500/lin m for a 1.8 wall  are greedy wasters.

By the way if you are in Hua  Hin and know the Thai watsadu heading out to Cha am .......DONT  call the company who  advertise this type  of wall outside their entrance with a " display section" as  this is the same bunch of lazy idiots who did  mine, they actually come from about 8  miles out of Pranburi area.

The panels can be bought many places direct from the manufacturers......Wife has their phone number somewhere.all youd need then is 3-4  blokes to get them in as they are HEAVY and lifting in the top piece is hard work......I know as some "iiiiiiidjut" delivering   a  makro reversed into the wall breaking a  section on the entrance and I had to replace it myself despite them  being told " be careful" and at 4.8 metres wide youd  think they could manage a  small pc 60 makro (2metres  width) on trailer in thru that...............the easy way was to load each higher section  into the wall was put  it onto the flat bed of my  pick up and then lift it off the pick up into the top slot

[Sup Slick]

If you are talking about how the Thais attach the 'track' for your gate to roll on, then all you need is a piece of angle iron and a piece of 1/2" cold roll welded on the apex of the angle iron. Weld Rebar to the Angle iron track you made with the cold roll, and weld that assembly to the existing rebar 'cage' you have in the ground for your 'gate beam'. Weld your 'track' assembly at the elevation you want, then pour concrete at one time. Fill it up. Done deal. 

Edited January 8, 2017 by Sup Slick

[kannot]

Just now, Sup Slick said:

If you are talking about how the Thais attach the 'track' for your gate to roll on, then all you need is a piece of angle iron and a piece of 1/2" cold roll welded on the apex of the angle iron. Weld Rebar to the Angle iron track you made with the cold roll, and weld that assembly to the existing rebar 'cage' you have in the ground for your 'gate beam'. Weld your 'track' assembly at the elevation you want, then pour concrete at one time. Fill it up. 

Yes thanks Ive seen that done but for me the problem will be  any damage that may ( and often) can occur  later, Im going with the less attractive but easily removable rail type thats bolt/screw in so "if" there is any future damage  "I" can easily remove it without hacking thru the concrete.......it doesnt look as  good but " for me" is  more functional

[kannot]

41 minutes ago, kannot said:

By the way if you are in Hua  Hin and know the Thai watsadu heading out to Cha am .......DONT  call the company who  advertise this type  of wall outside their entrance with a " display section" as  this is the same bunch of lazy idiots who did  mine, they actually come from about 8  miles out of Pranburi area.

The panels can be bought many places direct from the manufacturers......Wife has their phone number somewhere.all youd need then is 3-4  blokes to get them in as they are HEAVY and lifting in the top piece is hard work......I know as some "iiiiiiidjut" delivering   a  makro reversed into the wall breaking a  section on the entrance and I had to replace it myself despite them  being told " be careful" and at 4.8 metres wide youd  think they could manage a  small pc 60 makro (2metres  width) on trailer in thru that...............the easy way was to load each higher section  into the wall was put  it onto the flat bed of my  pick up and then lift it off the pick up into the top slot

Found some old photos of their work............acceptable in their eyes

Edited January 8, 2017 by kannot

[Sup Slick]

35 minutes ago, kannot said:

it doesnt look as  good but " for me" is  more functional

 

Gotcha, but a bolted track is kind of a pain in the ass right? 

 

I dunno but 10 years here and I don't think I've seen the track fail, just the rollers. Even at home in Murica I don't think Ive seen bolted tracks. Just cast the tracks in solid cement, anchoring it to the rebar below, without multi layering it, and you can drive an 18-sheeler over it for a lifetime. Honestly its a battle tank. Worst case you have to cut the cold roll off the angle iron and weld in a new piece, but even then, its so unlikely. 

[kannot]

3 minutes ago, Sup Slick said:

 

Gotcha, but a bolted track is kind of a pain in the ass right? 

 

I dunno but 10 years here and I don't think I've seen the track fail, just the rollers. Even at home in Murica I don't think Ive seen bolted tracks. Just cast the tracks in solid cement, anchoring it to the rebar below, without multi layering it, and you can drive an 18-sheeler over it for a lifetime. Honestly its a battle tank. Worst case you have to cut the cold roll off the angle iron and weld in a new piece, but even then, its so unlikely. 

for me  the bolted  rail is ok, drilling into the  concrete is  not a problem and i understand that concreted  in should be really durable + if i get the local stainless guy to make  it i can increase the screw  holes to every 25cm, am still mulling it over and have to think of every possibility for damage here due to carelessness...................if its  going to get broken here...it  will

I was at a  supplier yesterday and noticed his concreted in rail was like a zig zag. really bad...was trying to imagine how the hell it got twisted like that "after" it had been in a long time, not saying its  normal but i was surprised to see it, I should have taken a photo, it was  really bad

[Sup Slick]

2 minutes ago, kannot said:

I was at a  supplier yesterday and noticed his concreted in rail was like a zig zag. really bad...was trying to imagine how the hell it got twisted like that "after" it had been in a long time, not saying its  normal but i was surprised to see it, I should have taken a photo, it was  really bad

 

I know what you mean. Ive seen it before but its all because of shit cement and planning. We use the same technique I've been talking about offshore to secure bollards into cement, and those things hold TONS of weight - side load. Your beam is exposed now, if it was me, I would get a nice thick angle and weld a good mild steel (regular metal/not stainless/mild steel ferrous) cold roll on top, right on the apex. Its a perfect, replaceable track for your rollers. 

 

Weld rebar to the underside of the track and thoughtfully weld that to your beam in a way, logically, that it is at your desired elevation, and is completely secured & reinforced, after pouring 1 cement pour, from downward force from cars/trucks. 

 

Personally, going full bulletproof mode, this is what I would do even if bolted tracks are available. 

 

Plus the concrete anchors that you wanna use are completely exposed on top and will wear over time. Will be just about impossible to remove/replace after a couple years. 

[grollies]

On 08/01/2017 at 8:09 PM, AJBangkok said:

From. Previous posts your perimeter wall is almost a work of art. Can you post a pic of your gate when it's done? 

 

My contractor is trying to shaft me with a perimeter wall cost of 5,200 per linier meter to reinstall around 80 meters of wall that was knocked down to facilitate construction. When I showed him the 2016 TAF construction cost of 2400 baht for Bangkok he told me Hua Hin was more expensive .At that price i''m better knocking the entire wall down and getting one like yours. 

Get another contractor. For 2000THB per linear metre you should be able to get a nice bespoke wall built.

[grollies]

On 09/01/2017 at 1:56 AM, kannot said:

I spent years  looking for an even half decent contractor for almost anything here, they are  like hens teeth and when they do turn up many of the "sludge" all work the same way, use your land as if they own it, throw rubbish anywhere they like, pee on the land, help themselves to any tools without asking by going into my stock room etc etc.

It  soon became quite clear they were ALL the same locally and I gave up even when they could be trained to not leave rubbish "on the land"  you could   go into the road and find it all up there instead.....pointless

I ended up doing everything myself unless it was a mammoth task like the wall, even here I had many MANY problems......99% is sheer laziness on their behalf, nothing less no excuses etc or BS and the wall was  about 650k as we have 15  rai  walled along 3  sides

When an ole  bloke of 53 can outperform a 20 year old at every turn its kind of sad, from duration of work to skillset.

18 of those POSTS in my wall are out of true by 4  inches over their  2  metre  length, over half the segments had to be replaced during construction as the "boss" in his "wisdom" decided to save money they would collect them themselves.

Difficult to know where to start with a post like this.

 

By example my builders learned to tidy up. When I started doing it they stopped me and did it themselves. When they forgot I started again. They soon cleared up daily.

 

Out of basic decency we opened up the old gardeners house for them to use the toilet. If we didnt have that I'd let them use our loo.

 

You should have learned by now that you need to closely supervise your builders. If the posts are out of true that is their fault and yours. First post out of true tell them and show them how to use a spirit level. After that they usually get it that you will check each post and they take a bit more care.

Quote

In the process of the "normal" not being careful they broke half of them either by chipping or a  clean break all the way thru, they then had the stupidity to " install" them before i made them remove ALL of them

Only a true <deleted> would let a builder complete a wall like that, knowing the panels were damaged and then make him replace them all after installation.

Quote

 

The walls  good and simple and  fast when done by someone with just 1  brain cell and no laziness.................therein lies the problem in Thailand for the "majority"

 

Now everything is done by me and I mean "everything".....Im actually  dreading the gate  supplier making it as you always get the feeling " what are they going to ferk up next"

When workers used to come here " many years ago" the other problem was them coming up to the house and touching the walls, great my freshly painted " by me"  house (5-6 coats paint) now was covered in dirty BLACK hand prints even when their job was working over the other side of the land and its 15  rai.

They were probably in awe of such a great build and paint job and wanted to touch it for luck.

Quote

 

My latest project is the  small house for pumping water out of the lake around the land and the gate footing though ive now been rained off for 2  days

Stupidly on my behalf years ago i thought Id retire get some locals to do all the work and have an easy  life................??????????

 

 

Pretty sure ANY decent worker is in BAngkok or overseas, whats left is the sludge at the bottom of the tank......

The above is a disgraceful description of Thai workers. I've had builders here and, granted, they don't work to European standards. But I've always found them eager to learn, especially if you work with them. They do things their way and they usually work out - and I've learned how to render.

 

I've a young couple here painting the house. After a bit of guidance they're doing a great job and they're grateful for the work. He is just out of prison for drugs but has settled down and woking on the next door neighbours farm or with us.They met on my pool build early last year and got engaged at the end of the job.  We were invited to the do. Every day they bring us some vegetables or fruit and we return the compliment with eggs or a fish from the pond.

 

When we first got here I thought I'd revamp a small chicken hut. That afternoon a small army of neighbours turned up mixing concrete, laying block. I was a bit peeved at first as I wanted to DIY in my own time but I learned very quickly to grow up and accept the help. With my wife cooking in the evenings and me opening the beers we had a great time. Yes, my blockwork is a bit better than theirs but, hey, it's just a chicken shed.

 

We are partnered with a local couple tapping our rubber 50-50.

 

When a friend is stuck for cash she comes here to work around the house. She always brings here grandson who calls us Khun Boo and Khun Yar and eats all our dried squid.

 

Our neighbours over the road keep their fighting cocks on the front of our land, no problem and interesting to watch the training. The same neighbours come for eggplant, fish, eels, coconuts - no problem and they always ask.

 

'Sludge' mate? These are the same people we can rely on to teach us how to deal with snakes, wasps, get the honey from a bees nest, lift and shift stuff if we need a hand.

 

My stepson and two friends came over last week when we went away. Two days later we got back and the place is great, strimmed, cleared, veg plot prepped. They stayed an extra three days. His two mates don't have regular jobs but worked their nuts off despite getting hit by wasps twice. Again, one lad out of prison but boy can he cook. He just quit his job looking after 40 girls in a Pattaya nightclub. Thinking of starting a restaurant with him. 'Sludge' mate, no.

Quote

Reason I moved here? Wifes  job ( well paid and I mean WELL) and ability to grow what I like ( hobby) doesnt mean I have to love Thai people/culture as many seem to think you can only live here if you "embrace" all that.

Its  still VERY cheap here, I often laugh when having 20 ton of stone delivered for  the cost of less than ONE in the UK

 

Ive given many locals  an opportunity to work here ie on trial, all have failed and when I say opportunity I mean i gave them the benefit of the doubt many times overlooked many things but eventually "gave up"

If you have the time my advice...do EVERYTHING yourself

 

"doesnt mean I have to love Thai people/culture"?

 

Reminds me of Muslims in the UK not integrating and all the consequent problems there.

 

You are doing the same over here.

 

I moved here for the way of life, embracing his late Majesty's Sufficiency Economy Philosophy and got to know the locals.

 

Me and Thai friend have teamed-up to develop projects on each others land to become self-sufficient and intend to take this to the local schools.

 

Went to Childrens day yesterday to look at revamping the kids toilet block and putting in a vegetable garden.

 

A couple of years ago a friend who has a shack restaurant had a stroke. We took them a bed as his wife was kipping on a bench and bought a mosquito net. Visited every time we came over. They are good friends not 'sludge'.

 

My social life here is incomparable to the UK. We've been to weddings, Thai and Muslim, funerals, house blessings and most recently to a friend whose son was becoming a Monk. These guys really know how to party.

 

We too have had people come to tap rubber, work round the place and they've let us down. Our tenant we eventually asked to leave as he wouldn't work 4 days a month instead of paying (or not paying in his case) his rent. But that's just life, you try to give people a step up who won't take it.There are the same people the world over, not just in Thailand. You just find someone else.

 

You've got to have faith in people and realise not everyone is perfect. You have to show trust and respect - very important here - that way you get it back.

 

So, on behalf of the 'sludge' you can keep your fortress wall and any future building jobs and stay shuttered in your 15 rai. BTW ,15 rai is a small plot. That area of land is specced by his late Majesty as sufficient to provide a 3 rai pond, 5 rai rice field, 5 rai vegetable and fruit tree plot and 2 rai housing space for a family to provide for themselves over the course of a year.

 

We farm 26 rai so (from a previous topic) I can appreciate the "sheer scale" of 15 rai.

 

Lastly, you may love Jesus but I doubt that it is reciprocated, having such arrogance and contempt for your fellow human beings.

 

Cheers and best of luck
 

Quote

 

[kannot]

14 hours ago, grollies said:

Difficult to know where to start with a post like this.

 

By example my builders learned to tidy up. When I started doing it they stopped me and did it themselves. When they forgot I started again. They soon cleared up daily.

 

Out of basic decency we opened up the old gardeners house for them to use the toilet. If we didnt have that I'd let them use our loo.

 

You should have learned by now that you need to closely supervise your builders. If the posts are out of true that is their fault and yours. First post out of true tell them and show them how to use a spirit level. After that they usually get it that you will check each post and they take a bit more care.

Only a true <deleted> would let a builder complete a wall like that, knowing the panels were damaged and then make him replace them all after installation.

They were probably in awe of such a great build and paint job and wanted to touch it for luck.

The above is a disgraceful description of Thai workers. I've had builders here and, granted, they don't work to European standards. But I've always found them eager to learn, especially if you work with them. They do things their way and they usually work out - and I've learned how to render.

 

I've a young couple here painting the house. After a bit of guidance they're doing a great job and they're grateful for the work. He is just out of prison for drugs but has settled down and woking on the next door neighbours farm or with us.They met on my pool build early last year and got engaged at the end of the job.  We were invited to the do. Every day they bring us some vegetables or fruit and we return the compliment with eggs or a fish from the pond.

 

When we first got here I thought I'd revamp a small chicken hut. That afternoon a small army of neighbours turned up mixing concrete, laying block. I was a bit peeved at first as I wanted to DIY in my own time but I learned very quickly to grow up and accept the help. With my wife cooking in the evenings and me opening the beers we had a great time. Yes, my blockwork is a bit better than theirs but, hey, it's just a chicken shed.

 

We are partnered with a local couple tapping our rubber 50-50.

 

When a friend is stuck for cash she comes here to work around the house. She always brings here grandson who calls us Khun Boo and Khun Yar and eats all our dried squid.

 

Our neighbours over the road keep their fighting cocks on the front of our land, no problem and interesting to watch the training. The same neighbours come for eggplant, fish, eels, coconuts - no problem and they always ask.

 

'Sludge' mate? These are the same people we can rely on to teach us how to deal with snakes, wasps, get the honey from a bees nest, lift and shift stuff if we need a hand.

 

My stepson and two friends came over last week when we went away. Two days later we got back and the place is great, strimmed, cleared, veg plot prepped. They stayed an extra three days. His two mates don't have regular jobs but worked their nuts off despite getting hit by wasps twice. Again, one lad out of prison but boy can he cook. He just quit his job looking after 40 girls in a Pattaya nightclub. Thinking of starting a restaurant with him. 'Sludge' mate, no.

 

"doesnt mean I have to love Thai people/culture"?

 

Reminds me of Muslims in the UK not integrating and all the consequent problems there.

 

You are doing the same over here.

 

I moved here for the way of life, embracing his late Majesty's Sufficiency Economy Philosophy and got to know the locals.

 

Me and Thai friend have teamed-up to develop projects on each others land to become self-sufficient and intend to take this to the local schools.

 

Went to Childrens day yesterday to look at revamping the kids toilet block and putting in a vegetable garden.

 

A couple of years ago a friend who has a shack restaurant had a stroke. We took them a bed as his wife was kipping on a bench and bought a mosquito net. Visited every time we came over. They are good friends not 'sludge'.

 

My social life here is incomparable to the UK. We've been to weddings, Thai and Muslim, funerals, house blessings and most recently to a friend whose son was becoming a Monk. These guys really know how to party.

 

We too have had people come to tap rubber, work round the place and they've let us down. Our tenant we eventually asked to leave as he wouldn't work 4 days a month instead of paying (or not paying in his case) his rent. But that's just life, you try to give people a step up who won't take it.There are the same people the world over, not just in Thailand. You just find someone else.

 

You've got to have faith in people and realise not everyone is perfect. You have to show trust and respect - very important here - that way you get it back.

 

So, on behalf of the 'sludge' you can keep your fortress wall and any future building jobs and stay shuttered in your 15 rai. BTW ,15 rai is a small plot. That area of land is specced by his late Majesty as sufficient to provide a 3 rai pond, 5 rai rice field, 5 rai vegetable and fruit tree plot and 2 rai housing space for a family to provide for themselves over the course of a year.

 

We farm 26 rai so (from a previous topic) I can appreciate the "sheer scale" of 15 rai.

 

Lastly, you may love Jesus but I doubt that it is reciprocated, having such arrogance and contempt for your fellow human beings.

 

Cheers and best of luck
 

bully  for  u  pal ,  thats  my  experience  with all thai  workers  that  have  come  here and  im  not  alone

[kannot]

ok  beam is  done, now I know "supslick" is going to be distressed  but I opted for the bolt  down, its stainless in 3  metre lengths and is held  down with 2inch stainless screw  in bolts which i got in BKK,  should  be  no  problem to remove as have  hex  head and  slot if  any problem............. doubt  its  going  to  move  once  in

[kannot]

done, let it harden off a few weeks then carry on

[kannot]

finally  gate  finished