Building a House in Thailand

[Guest]

I second what Singapore Steve has to say. I have done some renovations on my condo and, at the risk of repeating Singapore Steve's advice, here are my suggestions:

 

1. Get everything in writing and make sure your plans are absolutely clear on every point. Specify quality and make sure that what is delivered meets those specs. Your plans should have mcuh more detail than they would in the US since you cannot rely on building codes or a builder's concerns about reputation to fill in the gaps. Hire someone to help with the plans if you need to.

 

2. There are areas you can see and areas you cannot. Double-check the areas you will not be able to see after construction is complete. During my renovations I discovered that the contractor had done a sloppy job installing some pipes in a wall that would not be visible after the construction was complete. A friend (see point 3) brought it to my attention, I called the contractor on it, refused to make the next progress payment (see point 4), and he fixed it. If this hadn't been noticed during construction, I am sure I would had problems in a few years with water leaking through the wall. Check everything, particularly the stuff that is hard to check.

 

3. If you are like me, and would never be confused for someone in the construction trade but have friends that are contractors or architects, invite them over to stay at your place during part of the construction. A friend who does know construction was looking for an excuse to spend time in Thailand, and I provided that and a free place to stay.

 

4. Your contract should specifiy payments as milestones are met. Establish at the very outset - milestone # 1 - that you expect the contractor to fully meet those milestones. Check everything thoroughly and make them fix problems before making the payment. Don't agree that the contractor can fix it later. After he is paid, he will have no little or no incentive to do so.

 

5. Conversely, reassure your contractor that you will pay when milestones are met. My contractor claimed that many of his local clients never make the final payment. Hence, he gets into a standoff about finishing the project. While establishing that you intend to be strict about making sure that all milestones are fully met before payment is made, also establish that you are honest and that you will honor your end of the bargain. When a milestone is met, promptly pay.

[Guest]

LAso check on waste from toilets - technically it is now illegal to use old style concrete rings for your toilet waste. You should be using the plastic systems that go under the ground. However you need to look carefully at the levels. The soakaway needs to be able to soakway or it will back up and your toilets will not work.

One more comment o plumbing. On house several of us are building the pipes originally ran straight down without the joint (I think it is called a P or S joint) that traps odors coming up from the septic tank.

[shygye]

A perc test is too see how long it takes the soil to absorb water. Clay soils are bad for septic systems while sandy soils are good. It essentially determines the throughput of the system. You do not want the septic system to backup.

 

Also the septic system, I believe, should be 4 feet above the water table.

[Khun_Kong]

Gadfly1 said:

One more comment on plumbing. On house several of us are building the pipes originally ran straight down without the joint (I think it is called a P or S joint) that traps odors coming up from the septic tank.

 

2nd that!!

 

The guy that did my bathroom plumbing neglected to put the P-trap in (ASSHOLE). This is , like, Plumbing 101.

 

Now when water enters the holding tank, the maloderous gases come back into the house.

 

Of course, the floor was tiled, on top of the cement that was poured around the drainhole and the drainpipe. :grrrr To fix it now requires major demolition of the bathroom floor. Actually, I may be able to downsize the drain opening and put the small upside-down cup in that many Thai sinks use as a vapor trap.

 

He also royally fucked up the door placement, putting it virtually flush with the floor, below the 4" lip stepping down into the bathroom/shower. This causes 2 problems: the door hits the floor when it's about 1/2 way open (because of the slope to the drain) and the doorway is so low that I hit my head if I'm not careful. Plus the door doesn't close fully, because it's not plumbed correctly. But, did that stop them from permanently setting the door in a tiled, concrete wall? NOOOOOO! 2X:grrrrr

 

Minor gripes: the external wiring is poorly finished where the switch/outlet boxes are set into the walls. Just sloppy finish work.

 

One skinny row of decorative bathroom tiles with a beach scene on them, some fish, palm trees and a seahorse, are installed UPSIDE DOWN!! God dammit! Didn't you notice the palm trees HANGING DOWN FROM THE SKY NOW!!?? :arrrrggghhh

 

Virtually everything that was done when I was not there watching has something wrong with it.

 

The plus side is the house has cost next to nothing so far: 12 pole house (about 100 sq. meters), 1 bedroom, all tiled, small front porch area, new blue metal roof, nice doors, nice windows, electric hot water heater, no kitchen yet: so far, less than 60,000 baht! Yes, sixty thousand!

 

GF's family did much of the work for free.

 

You get what you pay for.

 

If you're lucky.

 

 

And if you're unlucky, too!

[CondomKing]

This would normally go into Finances Section but since it is all about the house building project in this discussion I hope the mod dosen't mind if I post it her.

 

To all - So aggravated! :onfire:

 

Six months ago my wife and I started the process of applying for a construction loan to build the house. Not all of the financing required, just about 70%. So, it takes forever to get approval and stacks of documentation and forms. OK, I expect that from the bank. What I don't expect is for them to tell my wife yesterday that they cannot give her the first installment without me being present.

 

WTF!!! I know that banks in Thailand are supercautious when it comes to handing out money and that they insist on getting the husband involved the the wifes banking transactions, but these guys have had SIX MONTHS to tell us what the rules are.

 

I met with the loan officer six months ago and her never mentioned that I would have to be present in fact he said that I coudn't be a signator to the loan! Yes, my wife offered a copy of my passport and a letter from me stating whatever they want me to write in it. No dice. It seems that only my physical presence will satisfy them.

 

Anyway, it's a pain in the ass since I wont be in Thailand for a nine days and we a need the first installment of the loan, 20%, (200K) to continue work, installing the roof. We already have erected the concrete frame of the house as proof that we are actually building and not scaming, which I guess is a frequent type of bank rip off.

 

Anybody have advice, suggestions, experienced this kind of banking problem before and figured out how to resolve it without actually being there?

 

BTW, right now we are working with materials purchased on credit until I can arrive at the bank and receive the first payment.

[whosyourdaddy]

we are going throw the process now. The loan should be done monday and yes it is a long process. 62 days now.

 

I am co-signing my wifes loan. I am sure i will have to say that I dont lay claims to this house when we head to the dept of land.

 

But I believe all parties have to be present for the loan and land transfer. So I really dont have any suggestion.

 

Just stall the builder until you get there. I am sure they are used to that.

 

I think it might have been a minor risk to do it without the final say of the bank. Our bank says we are approved but we are not starting anything until the cheque is signed. Why did you start it so early??

[CondomKing]

We are approved for a construction loan. The bank wanted to see the foundation and the "frame" of the house before giving out any money. I am not a co-signer on the loan.

 

The bank has been around to the build site and my wife is also dealing with the bank's insurance agent who's job it is to take pictures of the construction so far and give his approval to release the funds. That's all in place.

 

The problem is that now the bank wants me to sign papers that the house belongs to my wife alone, I guess. It's only because she is married to a foreigner, and I have no problem with that. They wont accept a fax, I have to show up in person.

 

I already know that Thai business practices in general are archaic and it is always a slow moving process. Not to tell us that I would have to be present before the funds become available is just plain stupid, but really not surprising.

 

We have good enough credit to get whatever building supplies we need until I can arrive in Thailand at Christmas time and show up at the bank. Right now the builder is busy with the roof and that should give him plenty to do for a week or so.

[Ranger]

He also royally fucked up the door placement, putting it virtually flush with the floor, below the 4" lip stepping down into the bathroom/shower. This causes 2 problems: the door hits the floor when it's about 1/2 way open (because of the slope to the drain) and the doorway is so low that I hit my head if I'm not careful.

 

Just got back from Roi-Et where the wife built a house for her family. The whole project took over a year start to finish and we were not there to supervise. We left 4 checks with her family to be paid in installments as the work was finished (Total 1,100,000B). Not sure how many sq meters, but it's a 3 level with 6 bedrooms and 3 baths.

 

We had blueprints made, but the contractor changed many things on his own and I'm sure cut plenty of corners. The place turned out real nice except for a couple of problems. All the bathroom doors are about 5 foot 6 inches. No problem for anyone else in the family, but I hit my head 4 times in 2 days, once really hard :cussing:. Also , the toilet in one of the bathrooms is about 4 inches away from the sink ::. You have to be a contortionist to take a crap!

 

A bigger problem is the wood windows were very poorly fitted and many were already cracked. After much arguing (don't ever piss off my wife and her sister!!!), the builder is going to re-do ALL the windows in the house using aluminum frames instead. If I was planning on living there, I'd make him fix the bathrooms doors and the toilet as well. Since I only plan on spending about 2 days a year there, I'll just try not to give myself another concussion ::.

 

Ranger

[Guest]

Regarding property tax: Does Thailand assess the property tax on a new home based on the cost of building the home or is it inspected and assessed for what they believe it is worth?

[CondomKing]

Property taxes? Assessments? That's a new one on me. Any taxes, payments, or fees that we have paid in the village have been minimal.

 

AFAIK, there is no property tax per se in rural Thailand. Just small amount paid to help with new road, street signs, etc.

 

My wife told me that recently property taxes have been implemented in Bangkok for properties of 200 talang wah or more and around the Silom area, maybe other areas as well. She said she read this in the newspaper.

 

Maybe someone else is more knowledgeable on this subject.