House building projects - Alan the builder

hi alan,
congretulation, your house seems to be very nice and wild..i'd like to build one too in my wife's village near nongbualumphu
so i'm looking for a serious house builder in the area do you know one...we alreaddy have the land and our house will not be more than 100 sqm...do you have an idea about the price for such an house in isan...?
thank's
yann

Yann, My job is to construct Homes for Farangs in Thailand

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Hey Guys, Here is a Youtube slideshow of some Photos I took yesterday in Korat. Not long to go until finished now.



Alan

Alan,
I always enjoy looking at the homes that you're building.......thanks for the photos.
I'm curious why Thais still apply ceramic tile to the floor by using the ?2"? of cement under the tile, rather than use tile mortar (an example is at 32 seconds into the slide show). Most of us have suffered with the rash of broken/cracked tiles that are the result of empty space under the tile.....it seems to me that problem would be lessened by having a level floor and applying a thin layer of mortar cement under the tile. Any clues?

These tiles are 1 inch think so they are laid on a semi dry mix of sand and cement the same way you would lay Granite.
Thanks for your input .

Parrot I've asked that same question and have always gotten the standard "that's the way we've always done it". I'm so tired of hearing that. I was ready to fire my contractor when he poured the floor slab for our house. They didn't even float the concrete, lots of hill and valleys, gouges, exposed aggregate. But then they leveled it with a couple inches of cement when they laid the tiles. I suppose it's cheaper than trying to get the slab level and flat. I don't know if they even sell tile adhesive here as they all seem to do it that way.

Another curious thing was how they laid the tile with string lines at every row to check level and straightness. I've always just used spacers starting in the middle of the room and working outward. Of course that assumes a flat, level slab. I'm learning a lot about Thai construction as they build our house.

I agree the pictures from Alan are enjoyable. They always look like a first rate construction job.

When in Rome !

Thanks again guys ...

Part 2 of the slideshow

The pictures look good. But I really dont understand why farangs always seem to build such big houses. Is it the wife/girlfriends idea to show off to her village that she has now moved up a class or just farangs showing off to the local thai population.

Alanthebuilder wrote:When in Rome !

Thanks again guys ...

Come on. In your ads you stress that all your constructions are based on european methods and quality. Now you say this is not the case but that you follow the procedures Thais use! Enlightening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc8mdzhmVc4

Here is a small vid of a house we just built simple but nice , I will answer any questions once I get back from Anchor Wat in four days ...Hope you enjoy .

How much to build this simple abode, land labour and materials.

House we have just built in Surin .
Hi guys not been on here for a while as we seem to have a glut of local work in and around Surin .
However here are a few picks of a house we have just built .

more picks