Ive seen this question raised here before but never for North East Thailand. Having had our house plans finalised,( based on a western house style offered by Thai builders, with a few modifications ) the time has come to start the project,
We fly out to Thailand on 5th October and i would appreciate any information on any good English builders operating in the North East. The Khong Khen / Kalasin area to be exact, or any who would travel.
I just prefer the thought of proper uk type foundations for a 2 story house. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I would be surprised if there are any English builders working legally (or at all) in Thailand.

I agree and disagree Steve...I,m sure some there are plenty of British building 'entrepeneurs' in the touristy places;but what would attract them to build in 'Issanland'?
If Alan is trying to attract a british brickie to do the foundations he,ll have to transport him there himself(but who,d want to work in that kinda of heat!)
Without being an expert myself i,d suggest getting the design/plans done by a British firm(obviously with as much local input about the land/drainage/suitably etc as possible)...then i,d personally supervise the work

Have you considered Alan the builder ? He might be able to help.

Conrad

Interesting about the home security aspect Conrad..As its my present 'expert' field
Never heard of this lego thing but as good a name as any i suppose
One of my ex-colleagues tried the 'wireless' security market in Spain(planned it for ages..had good contacts blah..blah)...fell on his a..e and back in the UK 3 mths later.
Can,t fault him for trying though

I think there is a big scope for English builders out there, not to do the work but to act as a site foreman to ensure everything is up to standard.

Security is getting easier these days with wireless networks, there's webcams and sensors for all sorts of things. I use X10 protocol in the UK mainly for dimming lights and timer functions, but it can be used for all sorts of home automation and security.

BigRed

quote:

I think there is a big scope for English builders out there, not to do the work but to act as a site foreman to ensure everything is up to standard.

In reality there is probably no scope at all. Try getting a work permit

quote:

Originally posted by BigRed:
I think there is a big scope for English builders out there, not to do the work but to act as a site foreman to ensure everything is up to standard.

Based on the problems we and our neighbours have been having with our flats, less than 3 years old and built exclusively by Eastern European labour, the same can be said for England!

But what makes an English builder better? I mean they are totally different climates and environments for a start. Are Thai houses really that bad?

Many thanks Conrad, 'Alan the builder' is the only lead so far, so having printed off his details / add, i will contact them this week.
any other info on decent builders to do the entire job would still be appreciated, just to get a few quotes before jumping in so to speak,
There must be a few somewhere due to the number of western type houses up there, unless i knock on their doors and ask who did the job for them.

Alan
Being fair local builders can and do really good work plus they are often better at utilising the slightly different techniques and materials to guarantee a successful build. Plus they can be cheaper

Our house was built by the family and is a raft construction which beats UK style foundations outright given the land conditions etc.

Still its your choice the only real advantage being that if hes British the language will not be a barrier .

Cheers
ash

Building houses in Thailand

This site is full of useful advice and links.

There are many UK style houses in the wifes district in Phrae though none of these have been built by UK builders.

We chose our design from a newly built house in town that we happened to like very much and bought the plans from the owner who, incidently we ended up choosing as the supervising builder. We also looked at lots of other quality houses he had built for Thais and foreigners alike to sample his work in the local area. Everyone was very pleased, we checked in his absence. However he ran a legit business, tax paying etc, as a house builder.

The benefit of using this guy was that work was given to locals for much of the labour and he had direct contacts with Siam Cement reps for the casting and delivery and eventual dropping in of the upstairs flooring that arrived on low-loader. I checked the prices of this specific part of the job myself from a supplier in another town not too close well before any building commenced and there was quite a noticable price difference so using local knowledge can have its advantages.

Our Foundations went down a good six foot and more at the front end facing the road and our land had been left to settle over two seasons this was right across the grid (if you know what I mean)and approx 1mtr square under every pillar,these where also cast in place as opposed to bought and delivered because of the height and of course everthing was tied in with varying grades of steel.

It is certainly built as substantial as any UK house in terms of structure, which is obviously mostly different from UK brick built residential houses by some degree in terms of how they are put together etc. So I would not be too put off about using a local guy if you can sample previous jobs, compare cost of materials etc and agree an honest price.

I find it hard to believe you will find an english builder who is legal even supervising.

I wish you the best of luck with the project,

Dave.

quote:

But what makes an English builder better? I mean they are totally different climates and environments for a start. Are Thai houses really that bad?

The issue is finding someone to rely on who understands your requirements. An English builder would understand your requirements and see what is going wrong. Do you believe that Thai electrics are up to UK standards and are acceptable? do you think they understand about air conditioning requirements?

I know you get lousy jobs done in the UK. What you need is someone who knows how a job should be done who can supervise. My Uncle was a site foreman for Bovis and he was there to make sure the job was done to a reasonable standard. Unfortunately he passed away at an early age due to all the drinks bought for him every day by the tradesmen but I know a builder in the UK I trust 100% and if I build in Thailand I would pay for him to go over there a couple of times to check what is going on.

BigRed

quote:

An English builder would understand your requirements and see what is going wrong.

If he speaks fluent Thai then he might be able to explain any issues and get them resolved otherwise it won't help too much. As to Thai electrics etc the wiring in our place was done to a good quality with MCBs and proper fusing all by a local electrician. The sockets are not as good as in the UK but they fit the local appliances better .

The internal woodwork was done by a true craftsman and is as good if not better than anything I have seen in any house in the UK.

On the negative side the steps on the stairs are a bit narrow (my feet are too big was his excuse) and the house is in the wrong place.

Personally I used local labour and let my brother in law do the bulk of the work and supervision and with very few minor exceptions was quite happy with the work, but I can also support Big Reds view that having an expert look at the build can make you sleep easier as well.

ash

quote:

Originally posted by ash: ......and the house is in the wrong place.

That sounds bizarre!

Care to elaborate?

Thanks

Sorry warped sense of humour Its not near the sea

ash

In that case, it looks like I'll be building in the wrong place too!

quote:

I just prefer the thought of proper uk type foundations for a 2 story house. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Why would you want this type of foundation when the brick that you will be using in Thailand is non load bearing?
The house would fall down.

The danger is that quote "YOU THOUGHT".... leave the thinking to the people who know what they are talking about, or do a lot more research. That is a dangerous statement to make if you want a house built that won't fall down.

quote:

Being fair local builders can and do really good work plus they are often better at utilising the slightly different techniques and materials to guarantee a successful build. Plus they can be cheaper Big Grin

I don't normally agree with Ash but he has a valid point.
As many of you know I am a brick layer by trade I build houses flats for a living,buildings in Thailand follow a much different building technique their footings don't need to be as deep for a start as their soil and climate are different, to apply our way of building would vastly inflate the cost for little or no gain.

But if you insist I am willing to drop everything and start spending your money plus I speak Thai so can scam even more money

[quote]Based on the problems we and our neighbours have been having with our flats, less than 3 years old and built exclusively by Eastern European labour, the same can be said for England!

Ya polish chancers and others unable to read architects drawings, engineers drawings etc.electricians whos work is total crap.

too build quick and easy build bungalow, style property.

instead of using thai bricks, make your own mould and have siam cement cast light weight blocks for you.

design why not look into normal set of house design plans like the scandinavians use (timber frame Type) just replecate in block four companies operate this sysyem in the uk try scanda hus.

the main diffrence between uk building and thai building lays in the roof trusses,uk tends to use timber and thais weld steel frame.so do spanish

sean

quote:

the main diffrence between uk building and thai building lays in the roof trusses,

No it isn't
the main difference is the foundations

quote:

Originally posted by chugwel:
the main diffrence between uk building and thai building lays in the roof trusses,uk tends to use timber and thais weld steel frame.so do spanish
sean

Thai's don't bother with cavity walls, insulation, building reg's . They are also a bit lapse with plumbing, electrics and any form of quality control. Some are fairly clueless or just skimp on foundation work.

Other than that - not much difference.



edit, must type faster - you still here then Bryn

Thais do not build to BS regulations either.

Yes thai do lay foundations not to the type used in the uk but they are foundations.

they only use single brick not cavity, cavity used for purpose of heat retention (we used thai brick side on when we built in udon the thai bricklayer had never seen this way before)

timber frame uses single outer 4" lightweight block only ( not used in thailand)