216 replies to this topic
Posted 2012-04-17 08:34:35
Now you're scaring me necronx 
And yes, it has all gone pretty well this far, indeed everything that has gone pear-shaped has occurred when we've left the contractor to his own devices for a microsecond or two. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the construction and the look has Wifey happy (most important).
The thing that's really irking is that it's obvious that Sparky did no testing whatever, if he had he would have found and been able to rectify the open circuits before the ceiling chap put up the Gyproc. Of course the majority of the plumbing is behind that same Gyproc and that's not been tested either. 
K. Dusit (the contractor) is really miffed with Sparky, we are his first farang house and it's attracting a lot of attention locally (hopefully for the right reasons), he doesn't want my wife telling prospective customers that the sparks is carp.
Such is life. Nothing has caught fire, nobody is dead, and it will all get fixed in the end. New Sparky is apparently moonlighting from Tesco Lotus where hopefully he is an electrician and not a checkout operator EDIT Maybe he's a car park chap, I'm sure I saw a whistle in his toolbox 
I'm off to Singapore for a month next week, let's see how badly the new guy can fix the issues. I'm debating whether to tell him about the dead short between the outdoor lighting and bedroom outlets, I only found it by accident, for sure he won't find it until things go bang!
Posted 2012-04-17 08:50:34
 Crossy, on 2012-04-17 08:34:35, said:
Now you're scaring me necronx
And yes, it has all gone pretty well this far, indeed everything that has gone pear-shaped has occurred when we've left the contractor to his own devices for a microsecond or two. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the construction and the look has Wifey happy (most important).
The thing that's really irking is that it's obvious that Sparky did no testing whatever, if he had he would have found and been able to rectify the open circuits before the ceiling chap put up the Gyproc. Of course the majority of the plumbing is behind that same Gyproc and that's not been tested either.
K. Dusit (the contractor) is really miffed with Sparky, we are his first farang house and it's attracting a lot of attention locally (hopefully for the right reasons), he doesn't want my wife telling prospective customers that the sparks is carp.
Such is life. Nothing has caught fire, nobody is dead, and it will all get fixed in the end. New Sparky is apparently moonlighting from Tesco Lotus where hopefully he is an electrician and not a checkout operator EDIT Maybe he's a car park chap, I'm sure I saw a whistle in his toolbox
I'm off to Singapore for a month next week, let's see how badly the new guy can fix the issues. I'm debating whether to tell him about the dead short between the outdoor lighting and bedroom outlets, I only found it by accident, for sure he won't find it until things go bang!
it will just take a bit of getting used to. Flushing the upstairs loo turns the outside lights off and on as long as the hot water tap in the kitchen is off....
I think it's obvious that I'm not in the game from past posts, but really for all the mystique you tradey types like to wrap it in it's just not that difficult at the domestic level is it?
3 wires of different colors connected at various points in one of several approved manners? Is there more to it than that really?
August not far off thankfully for your blood pressure.
Edited by necronx99, 2012-04-17 08:52:23.
Posted 2012-04-17 09:09:40
Indeed, it's definitely not rocket science, a few common sense rules and you're pretty well good to go. Trouble is, so many Thai tradesmen lack the common-sense gene 
My original lighting design had 4 way (or that may be 5 way to those from the western side of the Pond) switching on the outside lights. Sparky was OK with 2 way switching (top and bottom of the stairs), but he just could not get his head around the concept of using intermediate switches to add extra switching locations. That, coupled with the difficulty of finding intermediate switches in the ranges that Wifey liked meant that in the end I left it as 2 way, the spare bedrooms don't get control of the outside lighting.
Posted 2012-04-17 09:40:10
Must be about time to send those invitations for the housewarming party Crossy. 
Posted 2012-04-22 12:16:12
Don't worrry Harrry, you'll get your invite
Meanwhile, sparky is fixing the problems, he understands my requirements now they're written down in Thai. Actually they were before, but I missed off a lot of the common sense and good practice stuff.
If anyone is interested this is the stuff I wrote for him, help yourself 
Electical installation instruction_b.docx 24.26K
19 downloads edit as you see fit of course.
Yes, Wifey really does want to call the house "Baan Farang" everyone in the village calls it that anyway, even Boonthavorn and Homepro have it as the address (we don't have a proper number yet).
Posted 2012-04-29 20:04:56
Any updated pic?
House looks great.
But sends shivers down my spine bring back flash backs. 
Posted 2012-05-15 10:14:23
A quick update, more pictures next week when I return from Singapore.
Sparky ran away last week when he could not get the outside lighting to work. How hard can it be, eight outside lights with two-way switching so we can work them from the lounge (at the top of the stairs) and our bedroom?
Anyway, located a new sparks at the second attempt (the first attempt also ran away after an hour), who actually seems to know what he's doing, has proper test gear and has got everything working in two days. He has also done proper testing and therefore we don't need a back-hander to PEA to get them to connect up the permanent power (an arrangement which I was not happy with).
Parquet and tiled flooring is down, windows are in and doors go on this week.
Posted 2012-05-23 20:48:49
Here we go with more progress piccies.
The light well that will have a tree growing up from the planter downstairs gets its wall, at least I won't fall down it now.
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Simple Cotto floor tiles on all the downstairs floors, flooding is a real possibility so we don't want anything that will be wrecked by a bit of damp.
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Half a tropical forest arrives in a pickup.
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Parquet for the upstairs flooring, laminate was not an option Wifey would entertain.
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Windows go in, the moving part of the frame is Teak.
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Meanwhile, the tiles are fitted around the columns.
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And Chippie gets going on the floor.
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Posted 2012-05-23 20:56:57
All the floors upstairs except the wet-rooms are parquet.
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Discussions and measuring for the wooden treads, risers and banisters.
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Chippie has all the gear and knows how to use it.
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Sparky Mk2 arrives and sets to sorting the disaster that Sparky Mk1 left.
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Kitchen units make a convenient ladder.
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Standard, flood-proof, concrete kitchen units.
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A rather pensive looking Sparks finds that a whole section of downstairs lighting has no feed.
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Resulting in major discussions of my lighting layout drawings.
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Posted 2012-05-23 21:01:40
Crossy, on 2012-05-23 20:56:57, said:
All the floors upstairs except the wet-rooms are parquet.
 Image00010.jpg
Image00011.jpg
Discussions and measuring for the wooden treads, risers and banisters.
Image00012.jpg
Chippie has all the gear and knows how to use it.
Image00013.jpg
Sparky Mk2 arrives and sets to sorting the disaster that Sparky Mk1 left.
Image00014.jpg
Kitchen units make a convenient ladder.
Image00015.jpg
Standard, flood-proof, concrete kitchen units.
Image00016.jpg
A rather pensive looking Sparks finds that a whole section of downstairs lighting has no feed.
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Resulting in major discussions of my lighting layout drawings.
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Loads of natural light . I really like that .
Posted 2012-05-23 21:10:35
Posted 2012-05-23 21:16:26
Outside, the final colours get their initial outing.
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All the glass is now in, but we don't have any doors yet, delays at the factory apparently.
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One septic goes to its final home.
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As does the other.
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Our first view of Wifeys colour choices, the Neapolitan Ice Cream look.
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It actually looks pretty good, mostly cream set off with brown siding and a dark-cream cheat.
Posted 2012-05-23 21:20:27
Installation of windows and paint allowed us to get our Blue Book. No photos of toilets required. Whether any short-circuiting of the system occurred I don't know, but sometimes it's handy having family members in local government
Either way, we now have an address so permanent power and water can be procured.
Posted 2012-05-23 21:32:28
The inside view of the patio door.
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The Chippies fill and sand the holes left by the other trades.
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We've gone for a simple, no-fuss banister design. Easy to clean too.
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A better view of how the colours work, not going to be to everyone's taste, but it's got to be better than the purple and green monstrosity down the road.
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Those water tanks won't be living there permanently.
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The pink hue around the patio area is actually reflection from the red tiles, not an effect I had anticipated but a bit late to change now.
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The view from the main (only) gate across the parking area.
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Posted 2012-05-24 15:07:29
Two questions,
I notice the wooden flooring is being laid straight onto the cement floor, why no batons laid first and the flooring laid on top of the batons?
Second, the staircase, why did you go for a combination staircase and not all wood?
Agree with the wife ref laminate, in fact I have seen laminate thats more expensive than the real thing, cant quite work out why.
Anyway looking good, well done.
Posted 2012-05-24 16:29:52
No problem laying parquet direct on concrete, done all the time in the UK, from this page http://www.czarfloor...install_faq.asp :-
Quote CONCRETE SLABS. Solid parquet flooring can be glued directly to concrete. If using Concrete sealer - it has to be from the same manufacturer as the adhesive. The concrete must be of high compressive strength. All concrete subfloors should be tested for moisture content......
The concrete slab has been levelled with a self-levelling cement layer to smooth out the humps and bumps.
The stairs were always going to be concrete for cost reasons, the finish (granite, tiles or wood) was under discussion when I went to Singapore. When I returned the decision had been made for me something which my darling wife is very good at doing. To be honest I think it looks fine whereas maybe granite could have looked odd with the wooden floor.
Posted A minute ago
The next thrilling instalment:-
The bannister has been installed, just requires finishing
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Khun Wood is now installing the outdoor railings so i won't fall over the edge after a few too many Changs.
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Sparky (this is number 3) arrived with a large crew to install the light fittings. Access to the high ceilings was interesting
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But the outside lights were easier to get at.
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This is what the patio door looks like when open, note how it folds against the wall leaving a totally unobstructed opening.
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This is how you get at 5m+ ceilings
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When the 5m+ ceiling is above the stair-well extra ingenuity is required.
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It's a good job the HSE (Heath and Safety Executive) don't operate in Thailand, at least we know the banister is adequately strong.
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