Build a house in Thailand

[Julian2]

Thanks doggy, that?s a good point. Actually something I did mean to mention is that we filled the ceilings with low voltage down lights and the average live span of a transformer seems to be about six months with constant use. (Expensive little fuckers too). I suspect the culprit is the fluctuating current in the mains supply, I notice my cell phone chargers seem to die sooner here too, but can?t find the Thai for voltage regulator in my L/P phrase book.

[Nervous_Dog]

<<The "safety circuit breakers" are called GFI circuit breakers (Ground Fault Interrupter).>>

 

Thats it! Thanks, I'd well recommend getting them, was easy in our place in Nakon Nowhere to do so!

 

In fact electricity is in many ways more important than other aspects as it affects the day to day living enviroment.

 

Roof tiles important too!

 

DOG

[Julian2]

testing

[dean]

I jusst found out the amount of the cost/bribe paid to the police to get my used teak lumber delivered to the site of my future home; 100,000 baht. This is out of a total outlay of 550,000 baht for the lumber. That seems to be pretty high for what I thought was legal teak lumber. I thought that it would be in the 40,000-50,000 baht range. It could be worse. The person that supplies the teak doors to me for importation had to pay a 10,000,000 Baht fine and a local furniture maker in the Chiang Mai rregion (bosong) had to pay a 2,000,000 bath fine to police over how she acquired teak to make furniture.

[Fatbastard]

The teak is smuggled in and they build "warehouses" out of it. This is only to store the teak until eventual sale as "used teak"

Safe way of storing it and makes everybody feel good about using so called recycled teak.

[Julian2]

I never used Teak, I realise that Thai houses were traditionally built out of it but this was in the days when it was cheap and readily available. I used a mahogany type hard wood that seems to be commonly available without the dramas involved with Teak. Yearly maintenace. of which the first lot was recently completed involved the exterior wood work recieving a light sandpapering and another coat of clear finish. This involved 5 litre tin of varnish for about 1000B and two guys for two days at 200B a day. Plus a bottle of Thai whiskey. Less than $100 Australian all up once a year.

Plus the big danger with expensive teak floors is you go away for a week or two and come home to find your beloved has covered them with tacky stick down carpet impressing the fuck out of the neighbours who are still sitting on hard old floor boards.

[dean]

I've been in the hardwood flooring installing/re-finishing business for 30 years. I don't think that there is any chance of my allowing any wife/girlfriend to cover up floor with wall to wall carpet. An oriental rug in 1 or 2 spots wouldn't be bad, though.