From your photos Maaka it looks like your wife has used bluescope steel for your roofing sheets,for the extension get them to glue insulation to the back of the sheet, roughly the sheets without insulation are 70 baht a metre, with insulation about 170 baht per metre, I used it on my roof, excellent for heat reflection and keeps it quiet when raining, I also put insulation batts in the ceiling on top of the gypsum sheets, works great.

perhaps ' my wife to be ' is the term I should use...God, 60yrs old never been married, lived last 30yrs alone, and here I am to scared to let myself be reeled in, and be labelled husband and wife, when the obvious is staring me in the dial..why cant they just be like blokes, standing around a BBQ staring into the fire with beer in hand, where you dont even have to say anything, just a quick flick of the head for acknowledgement, and she be right...hahaha..

but yes, the wee poor as dirt woman, bless her, went ahead with the build on a sniff of an oily rag, cutting corners to cut costs, heaven knows how she was going to acheive the end result, but yup, no sliver paper or insulation,

but hey thanks Coxo for the heads up..I take it you are saying that I could glue a roll or two of sliver paper quiet firmly to the back of the corro..use some sort of mastic gun goo...and while they have re opened the backside of the roof to knit in the extension, shoot in some pink batts kinda stuff, over the existing ceiling ( and new ceiling )...

sounds good...anything to kept it cool, but not cost the earth..might be able to afford the already insulated tin, as I didnt know it came that way, and the lengths needed shouldnt be that much, but if the builder wants to much then I will fall back on the Aussie Number eight wire job you suggest..there was another question but be buggered if I can remember what it was...and no, there are no hairs growing in the palm of my hands...hahaha..only a 3ft one out my ear, nostrils, and eyebrows...never touch me eyebrows and now my horse could feed on them..hahaha

No, they glue the insulation on at the factory, its delivered to site all done and dusted, just screw it down.

I bought my roof sheets from the supplier next to Global in Udon, I see there is one next to Lotus in Phen now.

thanks very helpful Coxo..
I am due to make a royal tour in October, and have all this ruddy window shopping to do, re buildings materials and goods, yet wouldnt even no where Global Udon is, let alone a good selection of tiles, and kitchen a/ bathroom things shop, poo tanks, and water tanks..so any names and address's will help me fine places, and without doing umpteen pantomines to bemused locals..
basically I will have to take the wee woman in tow and ride into Udon, tromp around shops, take photos of what we want, then give that to the builder to supply when the time comes...If I was around, and had a truck I would do it all myself..but as long as I get what I want, how I get it is immaterial...

The guy that did my windows is ok, a Phen local, nothing flash just straight forward aluminium windows at a reasonable price.

Last time I was in Phen was 2010..somehow I missed it last year, took the wrong road coming in, and somehow bypassed it, but sounds like its growing in business nature..

ok, I am noting all you say ( and others ) and will grill the babe as to where the original windows / roofing / materials all came from..perhaps it all came from Phen, and not Udon as I assumed..what I really am looking out for is a top tiler, as there will be abit to do inside and outside, and meticulous is my middle name..

I like tiles, but they got to be the right color and right amount, can overkill sometimes. I want to get away from this thai kitchen half farang look, which can look like some sort of weird hybrid..having all the mod cons, but still looks like an old thai kitchen in design..I want the Thai look on the outside of the house, but the farang look on the inside..the wee woman is fed up with living like a poor dirt farmer when it comes to the house decor..so I want the dark wooden kitchen cabinets, chrome sink and dark green marble bench top, glass blocks, and tile floor and backboard..might even throw a stain glass window in there, and some bricks for that earthy natural feel..will be interesting..I hope

anyone ever seen any Ban Chiang art type ceramic floor / wall tiles in their wanderings at building stores.??

still looking for some Ban Chiang type tiles, but also have come across some other tiles I will use in the floor, kitchen and bathroom... I have used Paua in the raw state before ( abalone ) but now they make lamenated tiles, as well as mother of pearl tiles, so if the pocket allows it, I will put a splash of it about to remind me of home...

still here Fella's just been trying to get my head around the design of my two water systems ( village and tank ), the location of my gas water heater, and the layout of my 12v auxcillary power system...got it nutted out now, so will add some red and blue colors , and the missus can change the farand words for Thai, and then the builder hopefully will understand where I want the pipes and wiring..the two shower rose heads will throw him for sure ( one cold one hot )

Idea is to keep all the water pipes on the outside of the walls, and then underground, rather than concreted under the floor, where it would be a bugger to fix if blocked or leaking.

.if the mains grid goes down and the water, I should be self sufficent as long as there is water in the tank...least we will have lights and music..might throw is a 12v wall plug and another 12v light, the rest is on the mains...I was going to make my own 12v switchboard, but found an old garage switchbox with fuses and all, so just a matter of connecting the wires and a 12v meter..

now question...if I was to bring a 8Litre gas water heater in my suitcase next trip, would I be taxed by Thai Customs or whoever??..

Hi Makka,
Just wondered if the 12v pumps etc you are using draw much current.
If so you may have to allow for voltage drop in your 12v runs.i.e cable size

Cheers...Jorgo

not sure BJ, its just one of those 12v Flojet pumps you get on yachts...
have two of them in my island house in Kiwiland, which is wired for 240v with 12v running thru it, and I have more power than you can poke a stick at with two panels and a 105ah battery..so I will aim for the same setup....but point taken Matey..

Hi
That is a biggy! 630Watts panels. I mentioned somewhere in the solar forum there are 2nd hand (ex Thai Auth electricty solar farm from the last flood) that are 80% efficiency left for sale cheap. the brand is SUNTECH from China (the biggest) http://www.solardesigntool.com/componen ... sheet.html you can run water + lights of it from car batteries no problem. Here is a Youtube in Thai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbS5YQHxRLU don't kneel on the panels like a worker did . More test video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSGoTvL2qME

On the question of affordable housing, building construction technology has reached Thailand in the last couple of years, not low quality, it can be luxury done, search Facebook or ask Mr. Google for "modular transportable kit Thailand" to get an idea. It is mostly made of light weigh steel frame, easy to assemble yourself and high residual value if you want to move it to another location or sale. Price wise it is very competitive with concrete houses and faster to build.

Sorry Maaka, I misread 105ah battery for solar panel capacity. Also a typo in the 2nd post "..building construction technology has reached Thailand "it should have been ".. new building construction technology has reached Thailand...".

Examples of modular homes:

Thai pepole work very hard i was very happy to read your post.
maybe some of the fools in udon thani who spend millions on homes in the countryside might read this

Not sure if you are referring to my entire post, or just to the previous member and his aluminium houses, but each to his own style, and how much he chooses to spend on a house..

me I have a 50 acres and a house on an island, and but have live in the city for 5yrs, in a 6mx6m garage while caring for my parents at the family home, which I have just sold, and now I signed a contract to buy 10 acres of farmland with a 9mx9mx4m barn, so I am stepping up...the Udon house has afew acres around it, so it will be paradise..well almost...six months in Udon, then fishing trips back to my island hideaway, and then abit of mucking about down on the farm, and doing up my motorbikes in the barn...now thats what I call options...

Hi
Aluminum! that will make it very expensive , galvanized it is mate. It will come! the time, for a more cost effective construction method. As is now, many builders replicate what they see instead of engineer design a house for a purpose. Some house 300x300 pillars for single storey! that size would be for at least 3 storeys. It is good for building supply business, but many concrete work I see is over compensated and built with low quality to achieve proper capacity. If you are in Bali, you will notice their pillars for up to 2 storeys be 100x100mm with proper mixed concrete and reo.

In any case, light metal frame building technology is making some in roads with SGC, Shera & others all have launched their own products under SMART HOME, GREEN HOME, COOL HOME, ECO HOME. It will require some shift of mind set
before Asian people will accept and appreciate the benefits of the new (not so new) building construction method. For foreigners who are used to the technology, it is another option that is now available, whereas before the local way of building was the only way.

shall I have a natter..Oh go on, go on, go on..
well firstly sorry to those fans out there that had expected to have a grog, a charlon, or a rave over abit of grub, but alas after me unceremoniously kissing the black stuff of the Sakhon Nakhon highway within days of me arriving in Udon fare, I was not much good after that for man nor beast, let alone raise a glass or fork to me lips..I was somewhat like Long John Silver, or was it Capt Hook, anyways like a one armed pirate, and as such spent most of my recent trip floundering around on a bungalow bed like a whincing turtle laid flat on its back..Whats this all got to do with a 600,000 baht house. Well its seems there is good in every situation..firstly the relationship with the wee friend flourished beyong friendship, and in true Isaan fashion I was waited on hand and foot, and plied with bowl upon bowl of steamy creations, brought by her on her wee scooter day and night, as I was firmly ensconed in a tantanoot bungalow on the outskirts of her wee village..lets just say I wish I was in a helpless position more often..oyiiiiiiiiiiii...

The second and more relevant node to this ramble, is that even one handed, a man can set about to design a house, and draw plans, and issue all important instructions, and indeed, that was the nexus of my visit, to organise Stage Two of the 600,000 baht house build ( 325,000 spent so far ) However, due to the nature of our relationship, and my recent redundant duty of caring for my dying parents, which had played out like a frontal assault on Hill 109, and them dying in the mud in my arms, I had never seen the wee house in this thread, in the real..Indeed, half of it was up and yet I had not set foot upon the land or over the threshold of said dwelling..Indeed, we were building a home before we had even built a relationship..Abit arse about tit for sure..however, now Mother had goner to greener pastures it was time to test our 4yr transient friendship, to see if it was made of sterner stuff, and come to a decision as to whether the lady I hardly knew, yet helped finance her house build, was in fact to become my old ball and chain..

Nothing is ever simple..Indeed, I wrote here before about ' Rice farming ' because underneath it all in regards me, and the build, I needed more land around said castle than what Papa had divy out to said damsel. Well to cut the story short, if that is possible, I offered Papa 100,000baht for the rice field next door. The money was to pay for his food, and medicine and cremation whence time came..The family met to discuss such an accord, agreements were reached, documents signed, boundry pillars inserted in the Old Sod and all was honky dory, until that was, the sister overseas who apparently managed all Papa's land and health issues got wind of it..In the rush for gold everyone had forgotten her, but nonetheless, the bell tolled..Indeed, she was somewhat miffed that papa would even charge his youngest daughter for the field, when she had known no other life than living at home caring for mama and papa, and that it was her that had spoon fed her mother into the other world..So the family agreement was revoked, recinded or whatever..' Well my dear, now what do we do'? I thought me and Papa had an accord. My word is my bond, but now I feel I have lost face. Sorry, but I cannot live there with you on such a small parcel of land. Indeed, I not only want the rice field, but also the one at the back and the one on the otherside of the house too.'' ' OK, OK I will talk to sister again and get you what you want' ' all I want is know one building near near, and some peace. The land will be yours not mine, and it will give you and the young fella options in the future. Yes is good idea..

well I/ we got what we wanted..Papa gave us the rice field to the left and behind if I would pay he 3000bt quarterly for his food and medicine until he died ( they would pay for the cremation). The original 100,000baht went to the owner of the land on the other side, a brother and sister..He bought 3 cows and she paid for her kids education, and papa also gave them other land further down the road..and the brother could continue to grow his rice on our land until we came up with something other to do with it.. a win win for all..papa got his future taken care for, the girl got her man, the boy got a future, or so land next to mama, others got money and cows, and I got my space and peace..

Now on this trip I could survey such new commodities, and plan the next stage of the build with the knowledge that I had enough room to swing three cats, or could ponce about in my Rio's without offending any neighbour peering in the kitchen window, or could recline in deckchair on the bridge of my proposed outdoor BBQ area and look at nothing but rolling fields of rice, and the alluring curve of flank of my Isaan beauty...

Indeed, I was most impress the family and my manovering, and the fruits of our mental labours.

The house is currently like a cottage due to there being only a lounge and two bedrooms..However, it was constructed as well as any Pillbox, except for a door hinge or two that had been set to far back, hence when one thumbed the jerk there was a 1/4' of freeplay between door and jam. Furthermore I was not impressed by the aluminium slider windows..Each one was different. Hand made no doubt..However, beggars cannot be choosers whence on a cheapish build, but still I set about to drill into the wee womans head the advantages of a quality finish.

When I set out on this lastest trip, I thoiught I had everything sorted re Stage 2, but how wrong I was..Now some guys would say that its no use giving builders plans and drawings, as they just do thier own things anyway, but the Plans and Drawings were for my now girlfriend to understand what was involved, where everything was to go, what with me wanting two power systems and two water systems, and it was to make her feel as if she had some say in it all, and last but not least, she was the one who was going to oversee the project and whip the builders along, as I coulodnt be there..It needed some explaining, two weeks to be exact. Thanks to Sweethome 3D a man can sit at home and design a house on computer in both Techincal and 3D pictures. The girlfriends english is average, but when it came to talking about technical and builoders talk, most went over her head, but give her a picture and explain, and it all became clear to her as to what I wanted, and thus we could bat ideas about between us..

I made her get a notebook and every couple of pages write up a new heading, ' septic, water, kitchen, power, etc etc..and this was to become her bible..everyday we woukld walked thru our virtual 3D house, flip out the tape measure, make paper models of how bi folding doors worked etc etc.. If an idea came to mind, it was ' have you your green book ' No I forget'..toward the end it never left her side..She would copying my Plans onto memory stick and have printed out everyday, and after every amendment, until I was satified that we had a full set of Plans for her, me and the builder..

I was not to sure about the builder. He seemed good at concrete and roofing, but not so hot on woodwork, so with me painkillered up to the eyeballs and clinging lopsided to the back of her wee bike we scoured the local area for nice looking new homes, and for she would trot like a faithful gun dog to knock on the door, and invite herself in with her beaming smile to check the tile work, woodwork and to collect the builders details..

she had never thought of the little things, like the placement or need for a switch or plug, or how to make a room look better by hiding the wiring..her origianl idea was merely to tack a tin shed on to the back of the house for the kitchen with the loo right there staring you in the face..thats what papa had, so its all she knew..Alright for some, but back in NZ you have to have two doors between loo and kitchen.. Nothing worst than standing in papa's kitchen with him heaving away in the loo..

we spent everyday, measuring, planning, photoing, designing..Sher said she wasnt smart, but show her an idea on PC or google images and she had it down pat, be it the working of a septic system, or how to make 4 bi folding doors, and how they should be hung.. well she has it all now, and I am proud of her as the translation from english to Thai did furrow her brow more than once..I will do my best ...we have decided that Stage Two with be the structural part, or the rest of the house, kitchen , bathroom, 2 garages, outdoor tile area, ceiling and wiring, windows and doors..Stage Three will be the interior..so watch this space..

Im back..you all thought I was dead or something didnt ya..
just busy with scoping out the lastest anti T overseas.

anyway, Stage 2 of the house build is now underway for those still interested.
Stage 1 was the wee house which was wee, with only a 9mx3m lounge and two bedroom...the kitchen and bathroom was yet to come..
so I waded in and designed such, plus a 4mx9m outdoor tile area for BBQ's, and two garages, even though we dont have a car..ones for motorbikes, and old men to sit in the shade and chat, and one is for rice field gumpf..

I have gone berserk with different roof designs, skillion over BBQ, Thai design over kitchen and bathroom, and one garage , and what I call an outrigger on the other side garage.now to try and download some pics..

of course due to my extravagance the price is now 675,000, with the finish inside to come..oh well