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[Langsuan Man]

What I have found to be the main difference between builders here and in the US is that there builders can obtain Contractors price for materials and there does not appear to be such a system here in Thailand

When I was arranging for a credit account with one of the large US Home Improvement chains and also a small independent one,  the first question asked was:  What percentage do you want added to the invoice ?  I subsequently found out that this amount can be up to 20% or more than the actual price paid by the contractor and is a very common practice in the US

In talking to several builder here in Thailand I have been told that other than an occasional promotion or maybe reward points builders in Thailand don't appear to be able to get any better deals than do consumers on materials

This may not be true for extremely large builders but for the small ones they don't appear to have this extra revenue stream

[NKBase]

Allright, Crossy. That's a shame. Better to be more descriptive than, I guess?

[NKBase]

Langsuan Man, on 2012-02-15 12:38:23, said:

What I have found to be the main difference between builders here and in the US is that there builders can obtain Contractors price for materials and there does not appear to be such a system here in Thailand

When I was arranging for a credit account with one of the large US Home Improvement chains and also a small independent one,  the first question asked was:  What percentage do you want added to the invoice ?  I subsequently found out that this amount can be up to 20% or more than the actual price paid by the contractor and is a very common practice in the US

In talking to several builder here in Thailand I have been told that other than an occasional promotion or maybe reward points builders in Thailand don't appear to be able to get any better deals than do consumers on materials

This may not be true for extremely large builders but for the small ones they don't appear to have this extra revenue stream

We went to Global House and were able to get a discount if we could present them a list of materials (BOQ) we wanted to buy there. They also stated that building companies/contractors can have a discount. Home Pro seems to do the same, although we didn't ask there yet. A builder who gets a discount from the supplier is not going to tell you that. This is Thailand, and Thai would immediately ask to have that discount given to them as a client of the builder.

[thaihome]

It should be easy for the OP when asked to pay extra for something he requests the contract article that requires him to pay be provided.

It sounds like his problem with both the extra length piles and the deck would come under the unexpected soil conditions clause of the contract and lkely the owner is required to pay for any extras needed due to soil conditions.  The deal about the hot water taps and plumbing have me a bit confused and I suspect there is more to the storey.

The contractor actually sounds like they are being very professional in notifying the OP of every change encountered along the way rather than waiting till the end and handing over a bill for everything that must be paid before the house is transferred to the owner.
TH

Edited by thaihome, 2012-02-17 12:18:15.

[dave111223]

thaihome, on 2012-02-17 12:18:02, said:

It sounds like his problem with both the extra length piles and the deck would come under the unexpected soil conditions clause of the contract and lkely the owner is required to pay for any extras needed due to soil conditions.  

Yes there was a condition in the contract about the extra cost for longer piles was paid by us, which is why i said I "paid these costs without much fuss" (as stated in the OP)....despite the fact that before the contract was signed "18 meter piles will be fine"...all of a sudden a month later "you really need 21 meter piles" (they never did any soil "testing" before or after the contract)

The deck had nothing to do with soil conditions, but instead was due to them incorrectly planning how the deck would be structured.

thaihome, on 2012-02-17 12:18:02, said:

The contractor actually sounds like they are being very professional in notifying the OP of every change encountered along the way rather than waiting till the end and handing over a bill for everything that must be paid before the house is transferred to the owner.
TH

Can you please clarify what you mean by "house is transferred to the owner"?  I already hold the Chanote for the land; does that not automatically make me the owner of anything they build?

[MJo]

If it is fixed price (contract don't specify any variable) and if it is their design it is their risk. Simple really. You pay for their design and their expertise so yes you should not pay a single satang extra if they get it wrong.

This seems to be the case with your deck . Then again you need to be sure what the contract says.

If you already been thru the contract with your wife i'd get it translated to English. Maybe one of the sponsors here in TV can do it for you and take it from there. Keep the build going but don't sign anything for extra until you know 100% what your contract requires them to do. And make sure you retain large enough portion of the full payment until you are 100% satisfied they have fulfilled their contractual obligations.

And keep in mind that sometimes it is cheaper to compromise and pay bit extra than start all over from the beginning.