Filling in land

[palooka]

On 5/29/2023 at 9:12 AM, Faz said:

Whether you need to landfill will depend on the existing lay of the land and whether it's prone to occasional flooding. There is also the option of raising the house, leaving a void underneath.
Thais usually recommend leaving any raised land to settle for 12 months, before building.
Locals where you intend to build should be able to give you advice.

We're currently renovating an old village house, which sits on a half rai of land (20 mtr x 40 mtr) and extended the house to 9 mtr x 22 mtr (198 sq mtr) and a concreted area for parking, which still leaves more than half the land available to do whatever we want with.
My philosophy is the greater the spare land area, the more maintenance and upkeep it will require.

You may want to check out two topics as an insight;
https://talk.thethaiger.com/topic/6162-time-to-build-a-house/page/37/#comment-306741

https://talk.thethaiger.com/topic/19276-renovating-an-old-rural-village-house/#comments

The beauty of renovating is that the footings etc have been there for some years so are not subject to settlement. Doing homework on the local history of flood levels is well worth it, (add .5 of a metre) to define if fill is needed to prevent future flooding. It is getting wetter.

If filling the land, you really need at least one really good wet season to settle the soil before construction.  If filling a metre or higher look at reinforcing the base external area with retaining walls.

Don't use blocks (bricks) use pre strengthened concrete slabs, Cheaper and quicker to install, keeping the spacing between support posting as close together as you can afford, or think may need. The longer the spacing the more susceptible to failure of the structure.

On this subject don't listen to the local guy he may just be a lazy so and so and wants a quick baht for as little work as possible. Get used to that this is Thailand.

When selecting a builder look at his work if possible and look at his tools of trade. If everything is coated in a layer of concrete, he and his workers are probably lazy and will, in all likelihood, do short cuts on the job. Your job.

The next tub of cement mix will have old cement throughout which is detrimental to your structure.

Thai builders are the worst finishers of a building project. They get tired and want out of the current job and will short cut anyway they can. Usually pressured by the boss who wants his final payment.

 

[KaptainRob]

16 hours ago, palooka said:

don't listen to the local guy he may just be a lazy so and so and wants a quick baht for as little work as possible. Get used to that this is Thailand.

When selecting a builder look at his work if possible and look at his tools of trade. If everything is coated in a layer of concrete, he and his workers are probably lazy and will, in all likelihood, do short cuts on the job. Your job.

Good advice.  On our 1st build I soon became aware of the Thai and/or TaiYai tricks and shortcuts.  Their favourite comment was "this how we always do" and my retort was "now you do my way, much better!"

 

[Marc26]

7 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

Good advice.  On our 1st build I soon became aware of the Thai and/or TaiYai tricks and shortcuts.  Their favourite comment was "this how we always do" and my retort was "now you do my way, much better!"

There is my issue.

 

You know things and I know absolutely nothing at all

 

So I struggle at what price point I want to go to

 

I mentioned before the house we bought in Nonthaburi is great

But at 3mil I'm not fussed with its imperfections

 

And I don't live there daily 

 

 

But at the 7-8 million baht range I will care

Won't need it to be perfect 

 

 

There is a new house that is 6 million 

Obviously I haven't seen it up close 

 

And another build that looks really nice and the builder has all his other projects on Facebook and they look great

[Raugh]

20 hours ago, Marc26 said:

There is my issue.

You know things and I know absolutely nothing at all

So I struggle at what price point I want to go to

I mentioned before the house we bought in Nonthaburi is great

But at 3mil I'm not fussed with its imperfections

And I don't live there daily 

But at the 7-8 million baht range I will care

Won't need it to be perfect 

There is a new house that is 6 million 

Obviously I haven't seen it up close 

And another build that looks really nice and the builder has all his other projects on Facebook and they look great

 

I am not sure why you are asking about the details you are if you are just going to buy a pre-built home?

Your questions thusfar indicated having a house built from rice paddy up

 

[Marc26]

3 hours ago, Raugh said:

I am not sure why you are asking about the details you are if you are just going to buy a pre-built home?

Your questions thusfar indicated having a house built from rice paddy up

I'm not talking about a pre-built home

 

My point was deciding how much I want to spend knowing the many issues there are with Thai builders 

 

 

I was using our existing home as an example

At 3mil I can put up with a Thai build (have only noticed a few bad spots)

 

 

But at a certain price point I would care a lot more

[palooka]

On 6/12/2023 at 6:38 PM, Marc26 said:

the builder has all his other projects on Facebook and they look great.

Maybe you have hit the jackpot, pride in his work. Great sign, follow up.  They never want you to see or hear of the failures, the more you see the better but also keep an eye on the job as it progresses, or if you are without any knowledge hire/ find someone that does and takes care of your project.

Little things at the end that you can do before handover, get a long handle screwdriver and using the handle end tap on all the floor tiles, yes every single one of them, if you hear a hollow sound get them to replace it or it will lift and drive you nuts.  When buying tiles add 10% for something like this and future damage.

Before painting any surface, inside outside, invest in a good sealer, make sure they don't dilute it beyond specs. You've seen all the buildings with grey/black mould. If using a water base paint they will make a few litres disappear via over diluting and in a year or two you will see the result.

Check water supply and plumbing. Check every power point that it works, Check the safety switch on the power board that it works, check if able that they install windows with a base sealant, seen plenty that don't have a sealant, verify all locks and doors/windows seal and are aligned and do lock.

One chance at this, because once you hand over that final payment. Solly maybe next week velly busy.

Don't be shy, withhold that final payment until you are happy, if it isn't done prior to final payment it will never get done.

Bit of a rant but hope it helps.

 who

[Marc26]

2 hours ago, palooka said:

 who

Wow that was great

Thanks 

 

 

Yes I would ultimately like to hire someone knowledgeable to oversee the build

 

My BIL does building work .

He's built structures for Toyota and other companies 

 

But I told my wife that he is still a Thai builder and may not see things and do things how I'd want them done

[Marc26]

Hello builder brainiacs

 

I'm in Dominican Republic 

This last Airbnb is a pretty shifty build, similar to what I see in Thailand 

 

 

Looks good, lots of faults

 

 

But one thing, and I see in Thailand a lot, is the bathroom/toilet have a really bad sewage smell 

 

 

Is that from a bad build or just from the local pipes??

 

 

I remember my wife's Aunt's big house in the village had same issue

 

 

Just curious 

[Smithydog]

18 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

But one thing, and I see in Thailand a lot, is the bathroom/toilet have a really bad sewage smell 

Is that from a bad build or just from the local pipes??

I remember my wife's Aunt's big house in the village had same issue

Just curious 

I think in some examples it is a combination of things!

For our farm, the old septic tank was too close to the house, was small and old needed draining regularly, and lacked proper outlets. This often caused a backflow smell along with other issues.

When we extended the house we located a much bigger modern unit well away from the house and on the downhill side rather than level, so sewerage would flow better. The outflow pipes also lead well away from the house and are designed to drain at points on prepared gravel-based areas, reducing the final pipe outflow.

It is hard in the village area as it is mostly flat so with multiple dwellings it is hard to create the downward seepage to avoid backups. Think the local septic cleaning guy has a vested interest in the design considering how often he is emptying the units around the village!

[KaptainRob]

11 hours ago, Marc26 said:

But one thing, and I see in Thailand a lot, is the bathroom/toilet have a really bad sewage smell 

Is that from a bad build or just from the local pipes??

Poor plumbing installations are common in Thailand as there is no formal training or qualifications.

Toilets must be vented from immediately after each toilet and after the septic tank.  Ideally, vent pipes should rise continuously and open to above roof level or in a distant part of the garden.  Gauze or similar should prevent blockage by insects and ant nests.

A rental we occupied had no vent pipes and the septic tank flooded during heavy rains.  This caused trapped gases to vent back thru the toilet ... most unpleasant!  I instructed the local idiot on how to install a vent on the outside wall which fixed the problem.

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, KaptainRob said:

Poor plumbing installations are common in Thailand as there is no formal training or qualifications.

Toilets must be vented from immediately after each toilet and after the septic tank.  Ideally, vent pipes should rise continuously and open to above roof level or in a distant part of the garden.  Gauze or similar should prevent blockage by insects and ant nests.

A rental we occupied had no vent pipes and the septic tank flooded during heavy rains.  This caused trapped gases to vent back thru the toilet ... most unpleasant!  I instructed the local idiot on how to install a vent on the outside wall which fixed the problem.

Yeah the toilet in the last place we rented was very unpleasant 

 

Would drive me insane if I owned the place