Look what Thailand could do if there was no corruption

[Thian]

My wife bought paid and brought 10 meter anti slippery mat to the temple..they have those big slippery tiles to the toilets and many old people fear them so she brought the mat.

 

But to pour concrete i was told the rebar has to be about in the middle of the slab, not flat on the sand it has to be lifted by stones or so.

 

If the Thai took more care in building durable and professional not everything would be broken so fast.

[khunPer]

3 hours ago, overherebc said:

Genuine interest. What did you put or what was under the concrete?

I'm looking at about max 40 metres long and 4 metres wide.

There was already a dirt rod, hard compressed from heavy traffic by trucks with building materials and cement, so just steel grid and reinforced cement mix on top, and pebbles on the sides. Almost 8 years ago now, no cracks, no damages at all. Made thin edges first, so the workers had some mold, and used a long blue water pipe to level the cement mix between the edges; actually worked very well. I sloped it about 1 degree to a side, so water can run off the concrete.

 

They – the professional building constructor – did the 200 meters same way, but with professional molds, on top of existing hard compressed dirt road; and they used rolls of steel-grill, which is much faster than hand made. But it's only some six month old, so cannot say if it will last. 

 

If you dont have a hard pressed soil or dirt road, sand with pebbles underneath, preferably drummed, at least left for quite some time to set. I was told, that the the water in the rainy season is important, as the water cannot undermine the underlying stabilized layer, so therefore pebles at side, or a cemented rainwater rail, depending on local conditions and slope. 

 

Most important is to let the cement mix cure, when laid on the road. Minimum 3 days with no traffic (a walking person is Okay after 1 day, the constructor did that with the new 200 meter road), better one week, and preferable 28 days for full cure. You can search Google for concrete/cement curing graphs. Many of the cement road in Thailand are not cured enough before (heavy) traffic, and therefore don't last. Also remember to water the cement, as soon as it hard enough to take water from a hose (that should eliminate cracks).

 

 

I'm in no way an expert, just know little from reading a book about building a house in Thailand before I build my house, and the importance of watering I got from a building constructor in my homeland – the last was done on every deck on my three-story house; except one 3rd floor terrasse the workers "forgot" and I could not get up to check myself; the only one getting tiny cracks. Luckily I also knew a way to cure that...

[the guest]

If Thailand wasn't corrupt (similar to Singapore) then it would truly be paradise. Unfortunately, corruption is rife right across the spectrum of society, which means Thailand is quite simply, paradise lost!

[Kieran00001]

7 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Didn't realise concrete made good roads.

 

Then again I know nothing about building roads...

 

Cement based concrete has advantages and disadvantages, generally speaking it doesn't make a particularly good road as it is brittle, not easily repairable and expensive, but it is also very strong and capable of the highest loads.  The preferred material is of course asphalt, which is actually also technically a concrete, it's preferred because it is plastic and so can deform massively without cracking and also it can be easily patched up when needed, alphalt is also much cheaper than cement based concrete but it doesn't last as long and it is not capable of taking the same kinds of weight without a cement based sub base.  Most high traffic roads these days are a combination of the two, cement under for high tensile strength and asphalt on top for a repairable cheap surface.

[Mooner]

The base under the concrete looks like sand. Ive seen this here on many road bases.

Im the UK we use a mix of stones and sand called Type 1, 2 or 3 which is compacted then concreter, ashphalt or sand then block paving is layed.

 

[tombangkok]

According to a very reliable source, it costs EUR 400,000 per kilometre to build an highway in France vs. ... EUR 1 Million in Southeast Asia!

I wonder where the money goes........

[Kieran00001]

3 minutes ago, tombangkok said:

According to a very reliable source, it costs EUR 400,000 per kilometre to build an highway in France vs. ... EUR 1 Million in Southeast Asia!

I wonder where the money goes........

 

A reliable source my arse.  400k is absolutely impossible, costs range from 2 to 15 million euro per KM in Europe, and no one can give you a flat figure anyway, it depends on loads of things.

[Emster23]

Sad aspect of corruption is that it is like a hidden tax on everything, with the taxes going to building mansions, imported cars, mia nois etc rather than improving infrastructure and all that. Corruption is like paying for a BMW and getting a Yugo

[mikecha]

6 hours ago, kangaloowest said:

 

Then why bother to speak...........??

oopse

[Ruffian Dick]

Wish for Thais to be less corrupt?

Might as well wish for Brits to be less pedantic.

(Ducking and hiding...)

[HHTel]

My small soi (much shorter than the one discussed) was concreted 8 years ago.  Our green sign at the head of the soi grandly proclaims that the Tessabahn laid this road for the people at a cost of 1.4 million baht.  It's breaking up in several places.  Of course all the money went on making the road..... not!

[tomas557]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Under the name "Maek Mangorn Bin" on Facebook he explained that the money he spent had gone a long way to providing a much needed and good quality concrete road.

A good quality road with chicken wire as rebar laying on a sandy underground? I have other ideas about quality.

 

11 hours ago, webfact said:

 

[HHTel]

If you look closely, the chicken wire bed is not used as rebar.  You can see the rods sticking out of the concrete above the chicken wire.

[tomas557]

2 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

A reliable source my arse.  400k is absolutely impossible, costs range from 2 to 15 million euro per KM in Europe, and no one can give you a flat figure anyway, it depends on loads of things.

But, you're not in Kansas any more Toto.

[Thian]

2 hours ago, tombangkok said:

According to a very reliable source, it costs EUR 400,000 per kilometre to build an highway in France vs. ... EUR 1 Million in Southeast Asia!

I wonder where the money goes........

Highway road in Germany costs 1 million euro a km i just read. But they make very thick roads, total is about 50 cm thick including the underlaying material.

[Thian]

4 minutes ago, HHTel said:

If you look closely, the chicken wire bed is not used as rebar.  You can see the rods sticking out of the concrete above the chicken wire.

I don't see that but i guess they used that chickenwire they're standing on. For a walkingpath that should be strong enough i guess but not for cars/trucks.

 

And rods should never stick out or be visible because they'll start rotting and make stains. Also they should cover the concrete to let it dry slow...maybe also keep it wet for some hours.

[HHTel]

If you look closely, the rods are sticking out of the half made road (right hand side as you look at the pic) before laying the other side.  The rods are not sticking out of the sides of the road.  That would be very silly!

[Thian]

9 minutes ago, HHTel said:

If you look closely, the rods are sticking out of the half made road (right hand side as you look at the pic) before laying the other side.  The rods are not sticking out of the sides of the road.  That would be very silly!

Yes i now see some 10mm rods sticking out of the other slab to connect them. But they must be single rods i guess.

It's a wide road i see now. 

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

Highway road in Germany costs 1 million euro a km i just read. But they make very thick roads, total is about 50 cm thick including the underlaying material.

I don't know what the price was for a Roman road, but they have lasted 2,000 years – the "secret" should be the various underlying layers and excellent water drainage...

[Thian]

1 hour ago, khunPer said:

I don't know what the price was for a Roman road, but they have lasted 2,000 years – the "secret" should be the various underlying layers and excellent water drainage...

Thailand has the same roads , made from stamped concrete.

The real thing looks better though.

[soalbundy]

13 hours ago, nikmar said:

and just where did he get the 400 000 from in the first place???

his wife plays bingo

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

Thailand should do what India did - release a totally new 1000baht note and render all the rest obsolete then anyone trying to exchange large amounts of cash needs to show where it came from, I would guess there are many many people holding huge amounts of cash that they shouldn't have

Ban cash. Issue stored value cards. Cut VAT in half.
Revenues would increase and corruption hindered."

[bheard]

The country would be at a standstill without corruption. Just sayin'.

It's true. The system in Thailand is designed on purpose to be corrupt. Checks and balances are frowned upon and contestable in court. Corruption is the oil for the gearboxes, grease to ease the slipways, the essential fluid to overcome resistance.
Machines without lubricant quickly grind to a halt.
Oh, and along the way, some people get rich. That's the most important aspect of commercial activity, the final outcome takes second place in Thailand.
(And most of the rest of the world for that matter) .

[soalbundy]

Without corruption the state would have to pay the police and civil servants a decent wage, that would hurt, better you pay it.

[masuk]

The Chinese use a 'magic wand' on corrupters, as proposed by "Cadbury", and relatives are later charged for the cost of the bullet.

[lvr181]

13 hours ago, kangaloowest said:

 

Then why bother to speak...........??

 

13 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

You do realise forums aren't just places to be a smart ****, sometimes they can be used, horror of horrors, to discuss issues and shockingly to express surprise.

 

Who'd have thought it, eh...

[jobwolf]

17 hours ago, rosst said:

Good for him, let us hope they have a long holiday at the Bangkok Hilton 

 

16 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

400,000 ?. I'm sure someone has had a slice of the cake.

I bet the constriction company boss has a nice house somewhere.

 

Did you se how long the road is. Do you know the price of cement or iron for that. Why don't you stop talking nonsense.

[geriatrickid]

4 hours ago, khunPer said:

I don't know what the price was for a Roman road, but they have lasted 2,000 years – the "secret" should be the various underlying layers and excellent water drainage...

 

And slaves, lots and lots of slaves to do the meticulous work. The slaves can be used for overseers enjoyment, as the Romans showed too well. How many Burmese and Cambodian  men, women and children can be rounded up to accomplish what you desire? The Romans used to go through them by the thousands on a project.

[hdkane]

16 hours ago, smedly said:

Thailand should do what India did - release a totally new 1000baht note and render all the rest obsolete then anyone trying to exchange large amounts of cash needs to show where it came from, I would guess there are many many people holding huge amounts of cash that they shouldn't have

north korea does this practice as well...

[maoro2013]

17 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Didn't realise concrete made good roads.

 

Then again I know nothing about building roads...

Concrete makes the best long lasting roads. They are often covered with other material like hot mix. Concrete is often used on roads used by heavy transport on busy runs eg coalmines to power stations.

 

Concrete is an expensive way to go, in the short term.

 

 In Thailand there appears to be a lack of proper roadbase and I  think this is indicative of the failure of relatively new roads thus sporting huge potholes. Sorry for the little bit of rant, but anyone can see the results anywhere.