With all the doors and windows installed I thought it was an appropriate time to review the whole process and give you my conclusions on DeKu as a company to deal with and their product. I have added this as a separate post because I know of several people following the blog who have a particular interest in this subject. I will start the post by including the information I shared in Week 18 HERE when we visited the DeKu showroom and factory in Pattaya so that all the relevant details are in the one area. On Tuesday, build day 122, Gaun and I left early for Udon Thani airport to catch our flight to Bangkok for the reasons I wrote about last week HERE. My tasks at the Australian embassy quickly completed we caught a taxi to Pattaya and moved an appointment to meet Peter, the CEO to DeKu German Windows, from the previously arranged Wednesday morning to that afternoon. I wrote about our time in Pattaya, excluding the DeKu visit, HERE. The DeKu showroom is super easy to find. Turning left at the freeway T junction at Pattaya, it is in the first group of office buildings on the left hand side.
The DeKu showroom.
A decent set-up inside.
All the different window/door profiles.
Peter and his small but clean, organised factory.
Some windows being constructed.
The product itself looked and felt very solid and I was happy with the double glazing glass 6-9-5 profile, which is ordered in and not built by DeKu. 6mm green tinted, 9mm space and 5mm plain glass, a total thickness of 20mm.
I was less impressed with my first look at the insect screens which felt a bit flimsy and didn’t slide as smoothly as I would have liked. I am basing this on my Australian experience, where of course all windows and doors have them fitted and mostly use small wheels at the bottom to provide effortless opening. I will reserve judgement until the DeKu ones are installed.
Back to the latest news. When I left DeKu it was on the understanding that the windows would be ready in a two weeks and installation done in the third as I mentioned above. In my mind I was was thinking later rather than earlier so it came as a shock when I got an email from Peter on Sunday the 15th, just over two weeks from when we paid the deposit, that his truck was leaving Pattaya that night and his team would be on site the next morning. It was one of the high points of the build. In today’s world where people over-promise and under-deliver it was quite special to have the promise become a reality. True to his word the truck turned up early the next morning having driven the 12 hours from Pattaya with a installation team of three. In Australia the workers would have to have a day off to recover but here the guys got straight into unloading as the truck was heading back South as soon as the windows were off.
Straight into action after a 12 hour drive.
Some of the windows sitting in the lounge room plus all the living away from home gear for the installation team.
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.
I am currently working for a non-profitable community project in Myanmar (https://mlkkbuildamusicschool.wordpress.com/)
(http://buildamusicschool.org/)
and we are sourcing windows/ glass/ doors in Chiang rai as it is close to border. We are wondering if you have any suggestions of local contractors in Chiang Rai that sells the above mentioned items at a reasonable price (our project relies on donations only)?
Any other suggestions/ advise are much appreciated as well.
Thanks a lot!
Best. Connie
Now that’s a question that hasn’t been raised before Connie and I am afraid I can’t give you a helpful response.
The type of windows I was looking to install in my home took my search to larger centres like Phuket, Bangkok and Chon Buri. I lived in Chiang Rai for three months, my first home in Thailand, but windows weren’t high on my agenda at the time! There will be obviously local Thai window suppliers as there are in even smaller towns, but as always finding their locations is the main challenge. Can I suggest you post your question on the Thai Visa Chiang Rai forum and that might get you some answers. Their link is HERE
I hope you find a supplier and that your project makes great progress.
The best of luck.
Tony
Thank you so much for the suggestions!
Hi
How is your windows and doors working today?
Any problems?
Do you recommend DeKu today?
Hi Peter.
The doors and windows are working just fine. I had a problem with one of the double glazed units and DeKu replaced it for me at transport cost only.
The recommend question is a hard one. I ended up with DeKu because they gave me a price that seemed to be within the ‘middle’ range offered by others but they were the only ones who could send a crew to fit in Isan, as my builder didn’t want the responsibility. Things have changed and now others like EuroPVC will supply and fit. So if you were in my position four years ago and you asked me for a recommendation I would say DeKu. However with the same criteria there may well be better options out there now and maybe in the last four years there is a better choice than I could find.
I had a reader of the blog living in Rayong buy DeKu since I built and he is happy with the product. You will get a solid middle of the road (Chinese frame I think with 6mm glass tinted) window/door at a reasonable price for the product. They have performed fine in the three and a half years I have been using them.
If you have more specific questions let me know. Also please let me know if you find an alternative. I am costing a guest cabin right now and may well end up with a couple of sliding doors from DeKu again! Just on a related topic – I bought double glazing for the bedrooms because it is Isan village noisy here (early morning). A reader recommended a single pane but 8mm thick as an alternative, and because that’s cheaper than the double I am looking at that as an option for the cabin. I have to say the DeKu 6mm works well at keeping noise out in themselves because they are so solidly made.
Cheers. Tony
Hello there,
I have order double glass doors from Deku last 2 months.
Terrible experience from the begin to now…
First delivery was late and the first day they try to fix the upvc frame but the size was wrong…
The 3 guys come to install work for Deku respectively since 2 and 4 months… As size of frame is bigger than space to install they cut the pvc frame 0,5cm on the top and botom for fit with the real size!
The installation take 4 days and i was not able to be in my house when they “finished” installation the last 2 days… When i come back i was surprise than some doors and profile are not straight installed. 1 door cant close and open good.
I can also comment that the double glass is not efficient more than a normal glass for sound improvment… maybe the space between each door where it need to be completly close normaly.
I suggest to all guy want to buy double glass to not deal with Deku company. it is completly bad service and terrible installation. Not professionnal at all, they pay thai guy a very low salary and the guy prefere to leave after few months that why the staff is new and not have the experience to make good installation.
Hi John. Thank you for your update on DeKu. What a nightmare. It is certainly a lot different from what I reported and from what you can see happening in the photos on the blog. In my case everything fitted perfectly and the install was professionally led by a young guy called Jet who had been with DeKu for a couple of years. I guess things have changed and keeping quality staff is as hard here as elsewhere – maybe harder. No excuse for poor workmanship though.
I will leave your comment so that people can take it into account in their decision making process on DeKu. I have already pointed out my unhappiness on a couple of DeKu design faults, both in the blog and in my Building in Thailand eBook here
http://buildinginthailand.net/
My main problem was a lack of affordable choice for companies willing to deliver and install here in Isaan. In your case it sounds as if any alternative would have been better.
I believe my double glazing offers a better protection against the outside noise than single but can not prove that without doing a swap with single glaze 🙂 The sealing is very important and this is where DeKu windows and doors are pretty ordinary in some areas. Whether the improvement is worth the extra cost is hard to say unless it was possible to do the comparison. I suspect the difference might be marginal but there is definitely a difference going from the rest of the house, which is single glazed, into the double glazed bedrooms. In the scheme of a 2 million baht spend on the project the extra cost of double glazing was worth the “risk” in my case.
Thanks again for your feedback.
Tony
hi tony, i am thinking of remodeling the wifes house as she reckons there is termites in the roof, would you know of any company/builder
that does steel frame roof with creamatic tiles or similar the wife wants to convert the building from a two storey to a single if practacable, my budget is around 350000 baht for the roof
we are 40 mins out of Udon Thani
Hi Mike. I am sorry to hear about your roofing problems. I am also sorry to say that I can’t help with a recommendation for someone to do the work you require. I have had many people contact me as a result of the building side of the blog but those who will end up living locally aren’t at the building stage yet.
I know the team that did a lot of the subcontracting work on my place are willing to travel but as we put an aluminium roof on I can’t tell you what their work is like for a tiled roof or for renovations rather than straight construction.
Have you tried looking at the building forum in coolthaihouse for someone constructing locally?
http://www.coolthaihouse.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3
I know an English guy called Jerome who writes under the name “sometimeswoodworker” is building at Non Sa-At, which is on the way to Khon Kaen. We have been to his place a couple of times but he has a Colorbond roof. Maybe his builder, who I think is Udon based, can help you. Worth a try?
If I think of anything else I will get in contact.
Cheers Tony
Hi Tony
Many thanks for all your time and effort in writing your blog, your experience and tips are very helpful. We live in Tha Bo just up from Nong Khai so I expect similar issues to your build. We are just getting our house plans finished at the architects, hope to start the build next year.
I am watching hard for your ebook and if I see you in UT, I owe you a cold one.
No problems Geoff. I am pleased the blog has been useful. We have driven the road following the Mekong from Nong Khai to Loei so would have passed through Tha Bo. I would love to do it again and take more time than the one day we did it in last time. We might arrange to pop in for that beer and a chat 🙂
Let me know if there’s anything can do to help with your new place.
Best regards.
Tony
hey Tony just stumbled on the blog about your windows it so happens that I’m about to go to Deku as you did. Is there any changes that you would ask for if they were building windows for you again. My internet quote was same as yours.
Rodney
Hi Rodney.
I thought I had already relied to your comment so if I have doubled up my apologies. Yes I am happy with the Deku windows. Although only 12 months old they are looking and working fine. I had a problem with one of the double glazed units just recently, which slightly misted up on the inside, and Peter had no problems in arranging it to be replaced (which happened yesterday funnily given the timing of your comment). I didn’t pay for the glass but did for the transportation from Pattaya, which was no problem. My only concern has been with the design of the sealing between the fixed and sliding glass at the bottom of the frames. I have found that some insects and small geckos are able to get inside at this point. I raised this with Peter and his team fitted a fix when they were here yesterday and I’ll see how that goes longer term.
I had an storage area built late last year and because it wasn’t part of the main house I bought a standard sliding door from Global House. The difference between Deku and this unit is like chalk and cheese. I love the solidness and operation of the Deku windows and doors, which add a feeling of quality to the house. No comparison in price of course but I think the price was worth it.
I get no kickback from Deku BTW so I tell it as it is for me anyway. Good luck and please give my regards to Peter.
Cheers Tony
Hi Tony and thx for your response to my query.I was looking at a video from Europvc company ( opposite of road to Deku )and the presenter there says double glazing does not work in the hot climates of Asia. What do you say about and they are referring to the heat reduction
Regards Rodney
No problems Rodney.
I suspect that double glazing is more effective for cold climates than tropical situations.
I certainly wouldn’t pay the extra for double glazing just for for cooling. I had a double goal with my house, to make it cool and quiet. We live in the middle of a rural moo ban and between the roosters, dogs, parties and the early morning announcements on the loudspeaker system, it has moments of being anything but restful. I only put double glazing in the two bedrooms and the only aim was to reduce noise. They work well in that capacity.
My feeling is that money spent on good insulation and thoughtful design would produce far better results than double glazing.
Cheers Tony
I checked out Deku and the product is not good quality i.e windows and doors do not operate smoothly hardware used is not good quality flyscreens are very poor. I checked out Europvc and this company has good quality on all its products and is genuine German not a Chinese copy like Deku so buyer beware.Europvc was 20,000 dearer but money well spent
Hi Rodney.
I am pleased you have found a supplier you are happy with. I have lived with DeKu windows and doors for over 12 months now and I have found them to be solid and reliable. I did have a problem with one of the double glazed units recently but the glass was replaced quickly and a team sent up from Pattaya to do it – no questions asked (I paid for the transport but not the glass). I agree with your comment on the insect screens and I covered this in my post at the time. They do the job but aren’t of the quality of the ones I had in Australia.
I removed your rumour comment because I try to only deal with facts in this blog. Who knows where rumours start and what the motivation for them is.
Yes, DeKu use a Chinese copy profile and don’t hide this fact. I agree that a genuine German product would be preferable if the cost is acceptable, which is seems to be in your case. Buyer beware are words that indicate some dishonesty on the part of DeKu. In my dealings with them I haven’t found any reason to support that negative implication. You should obviously always be aware of any dealings in a commercial transaction whoever they are. Facts of life.
I did get a quote from Europvc when I was searching for windows but they didn’t provide an installation service in Isaan. I wan’t willing to leave that to local “tradesmen” having seen a couple of installs in the village houses so that automatically disqualified them no matter the quality. Sometimes decisions are made not just based on the financial. I got good service from a place in Phuket PSD (www.pvcphuket.com) and they quoted 272,850 THB including installation. This was significantly more than the 196,000 THB DeKu quoted including installation. Maybe their product was better quality but I was over budget and even the money I paid for DeKu gave me a few sleepless nights. In the big picture the variation seems minor but I am sure you know the feeling when just about everything keeps adding a little more to what you expected to pay.
I think your comment reinforces the fact that we should all be prepared to shop around and do the best deal that fits with our priorities so thank for that. I am happy with DeKu given the restrictions I had at the time and I am sure you will be the same with Europvc.
I am writing an eBook about my build and will be reviewing the windows and doors decision and will also certainly strongly recommend that people shop around.
I hope all goes well with your project. Keep in touch.
Tony
Tony, thank you for this excellent blog, we will start building in 2016 and will come in extremely helpful. I am especially thankful for the information and photos of the windows story from DeKu. They are exactly what we are looking for.
Incidentally, do you have any costing for their products?
Our property is located down south – 5hrs from Bangkok in the state of Prachuap Khiri Khan. So the drive from Deku to us will be 7-8hrs. I think we have good chance of getting their products if we can afford it.
And now that your house is completed, have you done a final calculation of B/sqM? We are now in the process of studying quoations from various construction companies, an indication from your end will sure help us.
So glad we found you, quite by chance — we were trying to find out auspicious days to begin construction in the month of January 2016, can your partner help? I am pushing my luck a little.
Cheers, Yvonne
Yvonne. Thank you for your positive feedback on the blog. It always gives me pleasure to hear that the building posts are being helpful to readers who are settling here and constructing their own little piece of farangland.
Deku quote for the actually job rather than have a standard price list. I will send you a copy of the quote I received from them, which should help you work out a rough cost per square meter for single and double glazed. Delivery and installation is included in that quote.
It is a little hard to work out the cost per square meter in that I have about 100 sq mtrs of roof area outside the coverage for the internal space, with two outside undercover areas. The final cost for 260 sq mtrs under roof came in at around 2 million THB. Internal space is around 160 m2. This cost includes 116,000 THB for the internal kitchen, 50,000 THB I think for the bedroom air cons and good quality tiling and fittings.
I believe the builder quoted labour pretty much at cost because of his connection with my Thai family. I have a reader of the blog who is building much the same house three hours from me using my building crew and his quote was 300,000 THB more than mine. Let me know if you need more details on costs.
We can’t help you with a start date. Gaun uses a Thai calendar that is marked up with all the auspicious dates. However the final decision is made by the “spiritman”, the guy who will actually conduct the blessing ceremony. Have a chat to him and he might be able to project into 2016 for you.
The very best of luck with your build. I hope it goes a smoothly as ours did.
Best regards Tony.
Hello Tony, you make a great work on your house. Can i ask how much do you spend for kitchen? regards
Hi John. Thanks for your comment. The kitchen cost 116,000 THB from Global House. The granite benchtop was another 33,000 THB I think. If you need any more information please let me know. Cheers Tony
Hi Tony,
I’ve just moved into a new place in Victoria Australia. I had heard I can order Solid wood patterned doors from Thailand. Would this be right? Any suggestions as to where I’d start?
Hi Dee.
I am sorry that I can’t help you. My house is very standard and the doors we purchased came from a hardware chain called Global House, which is the Thai equivalent of Bunnings. They do have fancier doors but I suspect they come from China like most things here and elsewhere.
I can only suggest a return to the internet to search out a supplier. I am not sure how much cheaper this exercise is going to be, if that’s your goal, by the time you ship them back to Australia. The Thai baht is pretty strong against the Aussie dollar too. Just to show that suppliers are out there have a look at this company in Chiang Mai
http://www.thaweephan.co.th/showroom/doors#sr130108163436
Good luck.
Tony
Dont waste your time with the Thailand product the material used is very poor quality and its hit and miss if you can get a good tech to construct it. There are no tradesmen here like you have in Australia. Go to Bunnings or any locally produced company
Hi Rodney.
I wrote out a different reply and then realised you were replying to Dee’s comment. My apologies.
I agree in general although I am sure there must be good quality somewhere. Like everything in Thailand it is just so hard to find. Bunnings will sell you a nice door from China probably made from Aussie timber! We have the talent but people always seem to buy at the lowest price point rather than with any reference to where it was made or the long term quality.
I bought a lovely timber dining setting and some other pieces for my home in Canberra. It was made from Tasmanian hardwood, shipped to China to be turned into furniture and then sold back to us. I could afford the Chinese version but doubt I could if it was made locally. Same the world over.
Cheers.
Hi Tony
I stand by my comments.I was in the home building business in Australia.I was not govt.worker.Sure some Bunnings is imported and many are locally produced too.I learnt from your comments on Deku and unlike you after visiting their showroom there was no need to look at the factory after viewing the products poor quality they sell.If your spent more of your time in Australia looking at good products I’m sure you would agree with my comments.Looking at the pics of your home mine is twice the size of yours or maybe more and is highset.It cost 3.1 mil.bht someone made plenty from you ol boy.I have a 3 hour video of the build and when its finished editing I will send you a link to view anyway keep up the good work you do and I’m sure many appriciate your help and advice
Thanks for the reply Rodney and I stand by my comments.
I didn’t find my obvious inexperience only being a government worker a huge drawback in building a simple house here! It isn’t rocket science mate. I had a profession high-end lifetime builder from Perth through here recently and he was impressed with the finish. He is the sort of guy who would tell it as he saw it. Unfortunately I am not in Australia so telling me how good the products are in Bunnings or anywhere else there doesn’t help me or others build in Isaan. I keep having to repeat that with the windows/doors I took the best solution I could find for my situation in Isaan. If I was building in Pattaya, Bangkok or Phuket I would probably have gone down a different path but I wasn’t.
I am both amused and bemused by your comment about the cost of my house. If you read my blog properly you would know that I bought all the materials and I had a fixed price labour contract of 380,000 baht (excluding window installation). Are you saying I ripped myself off with the materials I bought? Size isn’t everything 🙂
Good luck with the video.
Well Tony did your so called high end builder tell you that your Deku window quality is good as the rest of your house if he did.I’m lucky I never got advice from him.Love your garden.
You are a great armchair critic Rodney having never seen the actual product I had installed but I am thinking that is your Thai hobby. No problems with a point of view providing it is backed by fact but your comments seem to be worded like my “so called high end builder” 🙂 to stir rather than offer much useful. Mission accomplished I suspect. All in good fun. At least we got the garden right. Not to technical for us non-builder types! I have enjoyed the exchange and I hope anyone reading this gets a laugh out of it. Cheers.
Tony one of these fine days my wife and I will visit Isaan and we can have a good ol laugh no problem.Love your blog or website or whatever you call it. I’m not computer literate and your right I have not read all your blogs.I have been selective sorry.bye for now
Regards Rodney
Look forward to it. There is always the opportunity for a laugh and a cry about life here preferably over a beer!
Cheers mate.
Tony
Hi Tony it’s been a while since we spoke last.I have been living in my new home just on 1 year now.I finally finished my video of the build. Here is part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCHH3jgA3h4 and part 2 is on YouTube.
Hope alls well with you and family..
Regards Rodney
Good to hear Roger. I am sure your videos will give people a good insight to the various stages of building a house in Thailand. Great effort.
We are all very well in Isaan. House is still as comfortable and solid as when we moved in. Gaun has done magic with the gardens. We have just bought the block of land next to ours so that will give her another project.
Happy Christmas and a hope 2018 is a good one for you and family.