Local house builders

[JohnG]

Roof's on, walls are up with water pipes and conduit in place for the cable, etc.

Workers and Khun Anuch are due back after Songkran. The standard and quality of work are excellent, but what's most impressive is the personal on-site supervision by Khun Anucha - no
delgation to some just qualified engineer or some poser in a hard hat, and no sub-contracting.

Genuinely outstanding.

I'm happy to give any more details that
may help, here or by PM, but having
first been happy to welcome visitors to see the build I'm afraid that I've had second thoughts as there are simply too many 'strange' people in forum land (particularly this one) so piccies are
out.

Sorry.

The work is excellent, the on-site supervision is outstanding, he's a genuine pleasure to work with and happy to be flexible with any changes
to materials and design, and on top of that his prices are more than reasonable - about half PD House, literally.

PM for details, or if you're serious and
want a site-visit I may be happy once you've been "vetted" by Khun Anucha at Nuja Land and House in Udon.

[mickojak]

I've had second thoughts as there are simply too many 'strange' people in forum land (particularly this one)

Ummm, I think you will find that the strangest person on this forum is you pal!!!!
Mick

[JohnG]

Hi JohnG
I'm looking at house builders so keen to know progress in your build from your previous favourable reviews. Any chance of an update & some piccies now it's 4 months down the track?

... having first been happy to welcome visitors to see the build I'm afraid that I've had second thoughts as there are simply too many 'strange' people in forum land (particularly this one) so piccies are out. Sorry.

Ummm, I think you will find that the strangest person on this forum is you pal!!!!
Mick

By "strange" I would include anyone who repeatedly asks for someone to start a thread on their house build:

...So, as I have asked this question of you before, with no response, I will ask it again here.
When are you going to start a thread on your own house build?

As another poster said in response: "Personally for me I would never post my private house on a public forum as I don't want total strangers seeing my family dwelling, it is not a forums business, friends yes, total strangers no way! If I had a huge ego and wanted to brag then maybe I would."

I have no idea if @Jelldog Thorn is genuine or not, but under the circumstances I am a little wary of someone who asks for "some piccies" of my house in their first post, ten minutes after they've just joined the forum.

Purely my own view now, but as a result of the antics by some on this forum (of whom 'mickojak' is one) and their stalking around the internet, on other forums, and even searching 'JohnG' for several pages on the 'net to see what they can find anywhere else as far afield as the USA and posting the unconnected results here (now removed by admin), I would advise anyone thinking of starting a building thread where their house location and their family's private address can be readily identified to be very, very careful indeed before doing so.

I have repeated this in a new thread as I think a warning to anyone starting a building thread and effectively giving their private and family's address is now not only justified but required.

[Jelldog Thorn]

Wow, didn't expect that response. Sorry to have disturbed you JohnG

Rest assured I have absolutely no interest in where you live. I was genuinely interested in the style of house you had gone for & to see the quality of workmanship from Nuja as I couldn't find any other threads on here that named specific contractors & showing their work
The last time I looked in a map, North East Thailand was a pretty big place so chances of me finding your house from a picture of an outside wall or a window fitment for instance would be extremely remote even if I wanted to ,which I certainly don't.
I most definitely did not mention anything about wanting your address
Might I suggest, with the greatest respect, you don't post about how good a contractor is on a thread called Local House Builders if you don't want anyone to ask about them
I'll mind my own business now & not try to contribute to the forum community any more
Goodbye

[JohnG]

Might I suggest, with the greatest respect, you don't post about how good a contractor is on a thread called Local House Builders if you don't want anyone to ask about them

Might I suggest that if anyone genuinely wanted to know about how good a contractor is on a thread called Local House Builders they would ask about them ... but that's the one thing you haven't done, either here or by PM, despite my inviting you to do so.

.....

Odd that despite my saying only half a dozen posts before you posted, on the same page, that "I'm not planning on doing a running commentary or posting pictures" the one thing you ask for is "some piccies" rather than ask anything about the builder ...

Odd that you should pick "a picture of an outside wall" when by a rather large coincidence that's the only "pickie" I have posted of my build anywhere, but not on this forum ...

Odd that despite not having replied asking for any details about my builder you claim to be so interested in, you should reply here only a few minutes after @mickojak ...

Might I suggest, Mick, with no respect whatsoever, that the next time you use a sock-puppet to try to stalk someone you do so with a little more thought and a few less coincidences.

... one visitor " Mickojack ' who turned out to be a real down to red dirt aussie, who one might meet in any aussie public bar with a schooner in hand, and an uncouth yarn to spin...he certainly didnt come creeping back in the night and absconed with my rake,,,,but yes John, caution is needed in any place on earth these days

I may be wrong but as far as I'm aware just because someone is / appears to be "a real down to red dirt aussie" that doesn't stop them being a stalker and a potential danger to others, particularly children, even if they're not too bright at covering their tracks. If someone has the time and motivation to trawl through the internet looking through page after page of links to forums to find someone called 'JohnG' to try to find something out about them, or someone they think may be them, as @mickojak did - fact - then whether they're having "hilarious fun" by "purposely winding (me) up to get a bite" or I'm being "paranoid" I don't want people like that around my family and my kids.

[waanjai]

Very strange thread indeed. Maybe it would be more convincing when NUJA LAND & HOUSE LTD., PART would just become a normal sponsor of this forum.

[12345]

I've only speed read his build thread.........but.........

The only thing strange, are the people replying, with repetitive questions, most answered, or explained, or some things are private, and could you please respect that. Apparently not.

States who is building the house, states very happy with builders, 'excellent' .... a few times. Giving a basic time frame of progress, an important factor, but yet............ need info, pics........bla bla bla.

Even said, no problem for people to visit, if vetted by builder.

There's a website called Google. Provides amazing info..............

http://bfy.tw/5FUZ

Pretty much everything you need to know, or can actually ask them. Thinking they will also point out or even take you to some ongoing projects, possibly John's even, along with completed ones, in their extensive gallery of projects.

The mind boggles. The only thing strange, is John continues with an update, when not answering stupid question and comments. I would have quit responding and posting about the project a long time ago.

Any you wonder why he doesn't want 'some people' near his house........... .......Seriously........

Not to mention, most don't even live here, visit part time at best, and probably wouldn't use the builder anyway. Yes honey, what ever you say, you know best..........your brother builds house..........great....

[JohnG]

Very strange thread indeed. Maybe it would be more convincing when NUJA LAND & HOUSE LTD., PART would just become a normal sponsor of this forum.

Would you like to be any more direct about what you're suggesting?

I asked for any advice about local builders in Udon, Khon Kaen and Loei. I got none, apart from a couple of companies to avoid. Having found a good builder I've given the details and explained why. I was initially happy to have visitors to the site during the build, but that was before I was subject to a stalker (fact, not paranoia) and realised the potential issues - fortunately only on the 'net, so far, but with an unhealthy interest in pictures of my house which they may find 'hilarious fun' but I don't when family and children could become involved and get hurt.

You may be with the couple of others that think stalking people is 'hilarious fun', I don't know, but I don't.

You may also somehow think I'm posting for / am Nuja Land and House. In that case you're
way off base but regrettably @mickojak's posts / actions have made my inviting you or any one
else to the site a non-starter, but as I said before I'm quite happy to give any other details I can on recommending a builder and why. I had thought that sort of thing was what this forum was for, but it's increasingly looking as if that's no longer the case.

[JohnG]

...The mind boggles. The only thing strange, is John continues with an update, when not answering stupid question and comments. I would have quit responding and posting about the project a long time ago.

Shukraan jazeelan, yakii!

A fair point - I'm bored and have nothing better to do while my house is being built, as we won't have English TV until the house is finished, and there's only so much sex and Thai TV I can manage everyday.

[12345]

It can be a challenge at times. Not a TV person, but way too many crappy torrents..............I got to stop downloading them. Let the dog take me for more walks...........anything. Eating and forums..........not a good cure for being bored.

[JohnG]

Nothing much "new" to add except that the house build is nearly finished and I'm still over the moon about my builder, Nuja Land and House, and can happily recommend them unreservedly to anyone in Udon, Khon Kaen or Loei. Outstanding work, at a very reasonable price.

If anyone wants any more details or specifics about the company or the build I'll be happy to give them here or by PM.

[Jello]

Hey JohnG,
How about an update on your house build. Is it completed? Were you happy with the finished product?
I believe you said the build started back in Nov/Dec, so 9 months to finish. Is that a normal time frame to build a house here?

A couple other questions if you don't mind,
Did you purchase materials as the build progressed or did the builder take care of all that?
Did the contract specify when the different phases of the construction would be completed and did they meet those times?
What percentage of the total cost did you need to pay before the project started and when were you required to pay the rest?
Did any other costs come up that you were not aware of from the beginning?

Look forward to your response.

[JohnG]

OK Jello, update as requested.

House build completed mid-June, blessing / merit-making / move in 8 July, so about seven months from start to finish.

I had written a bonus / penalty clause into the contract per day early or late of the set 8 month completion date, and it was actually about two weeks early.

We couldn't be happier with the finished house, which was exactly what we'd planned and dreamt about and was better than I'd hoped for. I know it sounds as if I'm plugging Nuja land & House, but why not? They did a really superb job, Khun Anucha is a real gentleman and a pleasure to work with, and to top it off they were about 20% cheaper than the nearest competing quote and a whopping 50% less than PD House for the same specification build.

I wrote the contract myself, based on a few I'd read and having had an unpleasant experience with a previous builder from Loei, and a narrow escape from what I now know would have been an expensive disaster. If you're not considering any builders in Loei it's not worth naming and shaming them as anything I can say about them could put me in court under Thai law for defamation. The contract was very specific, with 11 payments (9 @ 10%, plus first and last @ 5%); most building contracts here mean that you pay for everything in advance so the builder is never out of pocket, while mine meant that for most of the time we were roughly 'even' or the builders were out of pocket instead. I doubt if most builders would agree to it, and I don't know if Khun Anucha would agree to such a contract again, but you could always ask!

The builders purchased all the materials as part of the contract, and when we changed the spec he just credited me with the cost of the original spec and I paid the difference with the next payment. We changed the roof tiles, for example, for a different style which also meant a slightly different roof structure as the new tiles were 'dry ridge' (no cement); he was happy for me to purchase the tiles myself if I wanted to, but the price he got was about 10% cheaper than the best price I could get anywhere so it would have been rather silly for me to try to get a better deal. It sounds too good to be true, as I'm sure most builders will add on a mark-up, but that's what happened.

I bought the ACs separately from HomePro, but in hindsight I would have done better to simply pass the whole lot over to the builder so he could co-ordinate AC fitters, electricians, ceiling team, rendering and painting, etc, and be responsible for any problems. Same story with the doors and windows. We chose Hevta windows, which really are the absolute Rolls Royce of UPVC windows, but the company supplying and fitting them from Udon, having said that fitting would take two weeks, is still fitting them now after twelve weeks. Details of that are for a separate thread, but in hindsight again I would have kept things simple and just left it up to Khun Anucha to arrange and take responsibility for everything even if it meant going for windows and doors that weren't exactly what we wanted.

I didn't specify completion dates for each phase, just a final completion date. The dates all had to tie in with not starting the build during Buddhist Lent, and finishing it before the next Buddhist Lent so we could move in before it started (we took a bit of poetic licence with the missing windows / doors!) but I think that tying down phases to dates is a bit too limiting as things are so weather dependant.

The only extra costs were for changes I made to the spec as we went along. We agreed that it would be easier, for example, if we bought the exact plugs and switches we wanted ourselves so we simply paid for those then took the cost of the contracted plugs and switches off that payment. Not all builders will do that, and I know some will simply say you can change the spec if you want but give you minimal credit for what they're no longer supplying.

I know Khun Anucha has just completed a swimming pool and a pool house, and he has just started a major big house build, so although I can recommend him wholeheartedly I don't know how many projects he can have on the go at once. We were lucky and were the only major build he had at the time, so he was actually on the site himself (in Loei, not his home province of Udon) for most of the time. With the previous 'construction company' we had (and I use the term very loosely!) the 'project manager' was on site about once a fortnight, had five projects on the go at the same time, had only just completed uni, and had less construction supervision experience than my dog and was about as much use (and my dog is deaf and blind). Although typical of many in Thailand I wouldn't call them a construction company, more just an agency that sub-contracts to the cheapest local group of would-be builders they can find using the cheapest materials.

Caveat emptor - you have been warned!!

[Jello]

Great post JohnG, =D>
Thanks for answering my questions.
Hope you have many years of happiness in your new home!

[JohnG]

I'd forgotten just how wierd some of the posts here were ... PM me again if you need any specifics as I get an e-mail notice of PMs, otherwise I don't visit the forum overmuch.

[ajarnudon]

Hi Guys Gals
i found a builder and my god i struck gold with this guy
he built me the most beautiful four bed bungalow just as per my plans and is now busy building me four small studios to rent hes here 7 days a week and works 9-6 with an hour and half lunch break
his team work like stink i have never ever met such brilliant workers and are so so grateful for the odd lowkow or red fanta
now people have seen his work and the rate he builds they are coming in every day to book him or to try to poach him for their next projects i will post pics later
thanks for all your input guys

Hi Ian
Any chance of a few pics? I will be starting a build around Xmas and would be interested in chatting to your builder. Can you give me his contact details please