27 December – 2 January 2014, a short working week as the workers headed off to celebrate New Year on Tuesday and are not due back until the 3rd. However there was some progress made that makes this week worth a post. Day 56 Saturday, I wrote in my post for Week 8 HERE, that the AAC blocks had turned up finally on the Friday and we had collected some mortar from Thai Watsadu so the team could get started first thing Saturday. Well this happened and when we arrived that morning the wall building was underway.
The wall of what will be Peng’s bedroom going up.
The outside of that same wall.
The rear ensuite wall started.
Some of the electrical supplies mixed in with leftover plumbing pipes waiting for installation.
Our bedroom wall with the space for the double glazed sliding door starting to take shape. Kitchen the next wall down.
From the reverse angle looking to the rear of the house.
From our bedroom sliding door looking across the house.
Peng’s first wall of blocks almost finished.
More supplies to keep us going. 1,200 blocks in this delivery plus some mortar.
Building in Thailand eBook
When my wife and I bought some land in Isaan, which is a region in the north east of Thailand, and then started to build our house I started to record the daily events of construction life. For twenty six weeks I wrote a weekly blog update about all the aspects of the build and included as much detail as possible for others who might be thinking of going down the same path. I was surprised by the number of readers I attracted as a result of writing on this subject, many of whom followed the entire build from beginning to end.
Based on this continued interest I thought I would revisit my original words and bring them all together under the one heading in the form of an eBook. Included in this process has been some extensive updating and expansion of many of the original posts and the addition of the many COMMENTS, which are designed to expand your knowledge and save you time or money or both!
Read more HERE and find out how to obtain the eBook.
I am loving your book – just on my second read at the moment, to make sure that I didn’t miss anything first time around (which actually it turns out I did!).
Just a note of thanks at this point ……. I am a fairly methodical sort of bloke, but there are many issues which your book highlights which I just wouldn’t have thought about – or if I had, I may well have assumed they were “standard” building practice [U-bends, drain positioning, barge-board alignment] – if it hadn’t been for your excellent descriptions!! I will probably still “miss” something – that’s the nature of building/design – but thanks to you, it shouldn’t be anything too mission-critical.
The income from my eBook pays for the upkeep of this blog, which is otherwise commercially free unlike so many others.
Hi Tony,
A couple of questions:
Will you be using a cavity wall on all perimeter walls?
The colour of the colorbond, is it closer to the Australian equivalent Surfmist or Shale Grey?
Regards
Chris
Yes I will Chris. Even the wall between the two bedrooms will be double. With a teenager in the house……..
As you know I am going the double block route more for noise with the added benefit of improved insulation. Isaan is a noisy place. I think that just for heat exclusion a single layer with a white roof and decent overhang would work just fine.
The Colorbond colour is more like Surfmist but less grey. It is a white version of Classic Cream. You can find it in this brouchure HERE
I am very pleased with it. I was worried it would stand out like a white elephant but during the day it picks up the sky colour and blends in. The temperature difference between outside and under the roof is dramatic. I will take readings today and post them with this week’s update.
It looks like all is going well Tony. Congratulations.
Did you consider a solar water heater? I will be using one. The initial cost is higher but free solar hot water forever is appealing.
Will you be using PPR pipe for the hot water. After reading CTH I’ve decided its worth the extra expense for inside the house.
It’s funny how I keep doing the “worth the extra expense” thing since they all seem so trivial compared to the total cost. But I am beginning to realize how,in aggregate, they can drive the cost up significantly. So trying to save in othe areas.
You seem to have very competent people and a good plan so I hope it all goes as smoothly as it seems to have so far.
I’ll be watching with great interest.
Chris.
Chris. You know it never occurred to me to look at that option. I have only seen the need for hot water as being critical during these cooler months with a much toned down requirement in the long hot period so the financial benefits didn’t register with me in the way it might have back in Canberra. I have even seen comments from some people on the use of water chillers to get the tank water cool enough to use in a shower! It will be interesting to hear how solar works out for you.
I will be using this product rather than PPR: http://www.pimatec.com/download/multipipe_eng.pdf. It has a push fitting arrangement, while Global House PPR only has the welding option. It costs 87 THB a metre and the fittings are all well under 100 THB each. I only have a 13 metre run across the two bathrooms at the back of the house so it is a very cheap exercise for me. Available from Thai Watsadu in Nong Bua Lamphu anyway.
Yes, it’s easy to lose touch with the original budget. I thought we had enough insulation to go under the Colorbond but with overlap not so. Two trips to Global House plus some extra screws and it’s another 5,000 THB. Not a big thing in itself but added to all the other surprises it adds up doesn’t it.
I seem to have a good team although we are getting into the more detailed things now so I will reserve judgement. The roof has gone up the last couple of days and the place is starting to look more like a house.
Cheers Chris.
Tony