Not Easy Building a House in Thailand

Post by **ntvillas2** » March 5, 2007, 8:51 pm

I have Built lots Houses in the UK But Thailand is not the Same. quality in building materials is extensive. and quality very poor.
So if you are not a builder to trade take care.
i am doing a 150 square meter house at the moment. and its been not easy.
for me
so no way can you do it if you are not in the Trade.

So please Think Before you start. work.

Post by **kevh** » March 5, 2007, 9:15 pm

A little bit of scare mongering going on here folks.

Suprise suprise ntvillas above will do it all for you at a "reasonable fee"

Post by **panick** » March 5, 2007, 9:23 pm

I can see 2 main problems.....PAPERWORK and Scaffolding
Too much of one and NONE of the other

Post by **Kudjap or Bust** » March 6, 2007, 8:48 am

ntvillas2 wrote: no way can you do it if you are not in the Trade.

So please Think Before you start. work.

On the contrary, I've never been 'in the trade' but we had a blast when we had our house built. Agreed the quality of materials may not be top notch but you learn to put up with what you can get. And if I had to do it again we'd definitely buy the materials ourselves, I'm sure the builder added a few extra baht to everything that was delivered.

The crew of guys we hired bust their chops every day to make sure the build completion date was met, well, within a few days of course..... and they were always on hand to help with issues and design ideas...

So, no, I disagree with ntvillas2, but do agree with above, this is probably a little scare mongering to drum up some trade..........

Post by **Dakoda** » March 6, 2007, 10:06 am

Maybe he is looking for work. But from my experience, hard to disagree with him

What you save in labor, you make-up in the cost of material and the waste. Good way to shave ten years off your life

Post by **banpaeng** » March 6, 2007, 9:36 pm

I agree. Scare tactics.

Post by **ntvillas2** » March 6, 2007, 9:37 pm

Take it From Me. i Build House for a living in the Uk I Work on site 7 days a week. you have to be on top everyday and make sure its done.
i dont want to build more house ?
I am Talking about The quality you will get and you will pay over the odds if they think you are easy going.
have you tried to get what you want in the stores without waiting a week to 2 weeks.
They Take the cash and order from Bkk
so Be careful and Make sure you are up to The Job.
i am taking about Building a House not a Shed With a tin Roof.
like my wifes fathers house.
ok bye for now

Post by **ntvillas2** » March 6, 2007, 9:43 pm

Scaffolding as he says Cost shed loads Wood is More Expensive here Than The Uk.
i bought 30.000 for shuttering and building scaffolding in the first 2 weeks and another 15.000 later.
i would not build a house in this heat for 1,000.000 profit for 4 months hard work. its hard going.
More Easy selling on E bay

Post by **Dakoda** » March 6, 2007, 10:24 pm

A long time ago, I said to myself, what a great business or money one could make being a foreigner running a design and building company here

Well at least you would not be dumping money down a toilet, like in a BAR. But after a year plus dealing with workers, I feel its a lost cause

So, if I knew someone with a foreign background in the building trade, I would at least get a price on a design, and building completion. I would not be worrying about anything else

If after meeting and seeing a design, and getting costs and building times, I would not be deterred by a web site. One could also set up a phase plan, and after phase one (like I did) and you did not think it was up-to-suff, start looking elsewhere.

Post by **panick** » March 7, 2007, 12:44 am

ntvillas2 wrote: More Easy selling on E bay

I saw your adds on e.bay last year for the Villa rental in Udon,block booking weeks etc and at a senseble price...Good Idea =D>
Next time you ought to answer the questions people send to you,I rented elsewhere as got no reply

Post by **BKKSTAN** » March 7, 2007, 7:03 am

ntvillas2 wrote:Scaffolding as he says Cost shed loads Wood is More Expensive here Than The Uk.
i bought 30.000 for shuttering and building scaffolding in the first 2 weeks and another 15.000 later.
i would not build a house in this heat for 1,000.000 profit for 4 months hard work. its hard going.
More Easy selling on E bay

What is with the .000 in your prices?What currency are you quoting?

Post by **banpaeng** » March 7, 2007, 7:18 am

It is not lazy workers or anything like that. It is the problem of they do not understand what the end result you are looking for. Thais are not strpid, they are ignorant of the end product you are looking for.

It is also partly the fault of the falang who free spending without getting that end result has led to the , "heck he will pay so who cares". attitude. Showing pictures of the product will not help. I know of several falangs who have taken thier wives to see some of the modern houses and have returned to help the falang make the necessary adjustments.

Most likely I am not saying it right but a lot of the time, "We are our own worst enemy".

Post by **Kudjap or Bust** » March 7, 2007, 8:47 am

We have just yeasterday decided to put a 100 m2 extension on the side of our house for a new private lounge and bedroom/en suite.

I actually quite relish the challenge it brings. Not only do I expect it to be built well it has to match the existing building...Project management is not difficult.

I would agree with ntvillas2 on one point, you do need to be on top of things, if its not up to the workmanship you expect or the way your design says it should be, simple tell them......thats what we did with the original build... only once did we need to take the gang leader to another house nearby to see what we were expecting....

As mentioned above Thais are not stupid, they don't however know or understand in some cases what a falang expects. A gentle prod in the right direction works wonders.........oe so we've found

Post by **banpaeng** » March 7, 2007, 8:52 am

Correct Kudjap 100%.

Also I must say I had three houses built for me in the US. Had to stay on contractors all the way or you get shoddy work and shortcuts. Would I expect less here, No way.

To me hiring a Falang contractor is just adding another layer of management. Will it change anything? Nothing at all except another person to pay. If he does not lay out what he expects and make sure it happens, nothing changes.

Post by **Kudjap or Bust** » March 7, 2007, 9:24 am

banpaeng wrote:Correct Kudjap 100%.

Also I must say I had three houses built for me in the US. Had to stay on contractors all the way or you get shoddy work and shortcuts. Would I expect less here, No way.

To me hiring a Falang contractor is just adding another layer of management. Will it change anything? Nothing at all except another person to pay. If he does not lay out what he expects and make sure it happens, nothing changes.

Exactly........

Post by **Dakoda** » March 7, 2007, 9:45 am

Two things.

One: things get lost in translation

Two: You show them how, and if you are lucky it lasts a day, then back to their old ways. Couple of days later and their wives are doing the work, the same old way.

Three: The next guy will correct the problem

valentine · Post by **valentine** » March 7, 2007, 9:47 am

I can only speak from my own experience. I designed my own bungalow from scratch. My only previous experience was limited to bathroom and kitchen extensions.. I engaged a foreman from recommendation, he provided his own tradesmen. I opened an account at a large builders merchants in town with strict instructions as to the quality of materials to be provided and the prices to be charged.I paid an agreed sum to the foreman every month to cover wages of the men. The whole project was completed in 7 months, just one over the estimate.I did however supervise everything myself on a daily basis.
The final cost was as estimated with an additional 300,000bht for agreed extras, not on original specification.I am very content with both the work and the finished product and wouldn't hesitate to repeat the experience if I had to.
Incidentally, it worked out nearly 1/2 million baht cheaper than a design to completion quote I received.

Post by **banpaeng** » March 7, 2007, 10:19 am

Mr. Valentine, i think that model is being repeted quite frequently. Way to go. =D>

It just goes to show there is some scare tactics going on.

Post by **Dakoda** » March 7, 2007, 9:57 pm

banpaeng wrote:Mr. Valentine, i think that model is being repeted quite frequently. Way to go. =D>

It just goes to show there is some scare tactics going on.

believe what you want

Now this might be an option Here

Post by **ntvillas2** » March 8, 2007, 10:04 pm

Its not They cant Do the work they just need to be Shown what to do. No tile spaces and poor quality tools dont Help.
i have 12 workers at the moment each day and have to sort 3 to 4 problems each day.
so look at what they are doing every few hours and sort faults.
All in All hard workers but no common sence
So when the house is Done i will show you photos a real nice English style Villa with High walled Garden.
Bye for now

Not Easy Building a House in Thailand

Not Easy Building a House in Thailand

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