fatbob wrote:

vincemunday wrote:And why's that? That's bit of a sweeping comment without qualification, I've never known a builder yet that doesn't use subs, I wait in anticipation for your reply Bob, I've always found your input amusing.

That is based on 40 + years in construction, 18 years in Thailand building luxury villas, you loose all control with subs and only coming to site every two days is a recipe for disaster.

My place was built using a reputable building firm/ developer and using has his own staff ( day rates etc ) BUT I also has 2 onsite Construction supervisors there every day and all over it

If i hadnt have been there the day Starmark / Homepro tried to fit the gas / kitchen, place would have blown up.

off topic i know, but the Pest Control people turned up last Friday to do their walk around spray etc

Told them to go away and come back when the forecast was more favourable . WTF they hadnt even looked at the weather.

FB has the experience and knowledge,provided good answers to my problems when I posted here, always helpful.

vincemunday wrote:The only reason I'm going to pop along is because Kang's English isn't so great and my missus will help interpret what's going on and as I recommended him I want to make sure JR's wall is finished (I'm not sure it is) and he's happy. I have no further interest in A Con than that and if it turns out Kang was at fault here I wouldn't recommend him any more, end of.

I have told what happened. There is nothing more to be said. Kang agreed that he was wrong and I have not charged him the 580B back. There is no reason for you to come and inspect anything nor do I need your wife as an interpreter.
As I said there is nothing wrong with the wall that the people put up. And, again, any kind of "inspection" on our premises will not be tolerated. Least of all by someone who has not been involved in the build. Thank you.

I couldn't inspect anything, i don't have the technical ability to do so. After speaking with Kang and listening to his version of events I stand by my opinion that he is a good, honest builder who does a great job for a fair price and will continue to recommend him.

So in the final wash up, Kang agreed with JR he was wrong after the fact, but that is not enough to convince you as you believe there is a different story.

I'm sure Kangs a good bloke, but let it be now, he f....d up with the wall and pricing and that's that.
Why would JR lie that they had a greement.

I have told a number of subcontractors not to come back. It happens in the building game.
As marco said let him find his own work, he is a UM sponsor with an English language phone number. Who does he have on the and of that line. Rhetorical no need to answer.

As others have advised thet they have a good work group to do their activities, and, like them I would not promote my team on a forum, only leads to trouble.

Good luck to Kang as a sponsor for future projects.

No, JR says the wall is fine, the dispute is over the final bill and I have no reason to doubt Kang and his version of what's happened which is quite different to what JR is saying. Time will tell.

vincemunday wrote:No, JR says the wall is fine, the dispute is over the final bill and I have no reason to doubt Kang and his version of what's happened which is quite different to what JR is saying. Time will tell.

Then I like to hear his version of what he has said if you say it differs from what I have said.

I'm sure he's already called you JR, ask your missus she will have a missed call or two.

vincemunday wrote:Absolute nonsense Bob, as I said I always find your input amusing. A year ago he was in Chiang Mai building a factory that was mainly of metal and he mainly used gangs of steel workers, six months ago he built a house and then some apartments and used all the different trades, electricians, brickies, concrete and steel workers, tilers, roofers and plumbers etc, last month he was building walls, are you honestly saying you think he should keep all these people on his books? Of course he shouldn't, no more than we would in the west, you employ people as you need them, you just make sure the people you employ do the job properly. So much experience and you come out with a statement like that......

Absolute nonsense hey, again I ask what are your qualifications when it comes to construction? Answer this first!

We had 120 workers on the books, directly employed and living in our labour camp. Quote" you employ people as you need them", is that so, so every time you start a project you get new workers to carry out work, you hand them a 50,000 thb a metre peice of material and leave them to it and come back two days later??? Sorry fool what you do is train your workers and when trained you keep them, you are way out of your depth idiot. This contractor is a recipe for disaster, stick to being an accountant or garbo!

Bob your company was obviously in a completely different league or maybe you built lots of the same type of bulding? Kang by comparison has a very small company, he couldnt keep a gang of steel workers on his books even if he wanted to, for that matter gangs of brickies or concrete workers either. JR says a few things that I've never come across, I'm not saying he's lying but I've used Kang quite a few times now and he's always been on the job unless it was a Chinese holiday when he goes down to Bangkok and he's never tried to con any money out of me. I have no financial interest in Kangs company, it makes no difference to me if he gets work or not but he's a great bloke and a good builder, he needs work, he's got a wife and two kids at school and he needs a leg up. I've done what I can for him, I've bought him a domain, built him a website and drummed him up some business on UM, I'm pretty sure some of the people he's working for will comment on this thread later and give you their opinions, certainly John a chap he's doing some work for at the moment seems quite happy, but we will see, the proof as they say is in the pudding, and yes you're right, I do take calls for him, he really can't speak English but I do that because he needs help drumming up some business nothing more. I hope people do give him a try, I will continue to speak as I find him.

Again you never stated your construction experience yet you have a lot to say about construction, so again I ask you directly, what is your construction experience?

Sorry, I used to own a joinery with my brother, we used to make bespoke doors, windows and staircases for the building trade and councils etc. I was a part owner of the business for about 4 years when I split away and started my own catering company.

JR wrote: As I said there is nothing wrong with the wall that the people put up.

I will identify myself as the John that Vince refers to. I am not going to buy in to this discussion except to make a couple of observations:
1. The only posts here that are relevant are from those who have direct experience with THIS builder. What ABC Co. did or didn't do, or experience with this type of worker or that, sheds no light at all on this particular builder. So, Vince, JR (and now myself) are qualified to comment on this builder.
2. JR confirms that the standard of construction is fine.
3. The amount of money involved after the wash up is THB 580. I have spent more than that buying knockoff drinks for the workers on occassion.

I have been remiss that I have not posted about my build recently; I have just returned from Oz and work is progressing again. I will resume posting with pics etc again in the next week. My experience with Kang ('Geng' in my posts) has not been plain sailing, mainly I think because of communication issues. I did have to fire (as Barney also has experience of) one crew that he had working on site. Nevertheless, Geng is still doing the build and I am happy (at this point) with the new crew he has onsite. As soon as I get the opportunity I will resume detailed posts on my build, warts and all. In conclusion, I believe Geng is a man of integrity, but I will not have any work done on my property while I am not onsite - by Geng, or anyone else.

This has got to be the weirdest thread recommending a builder since I recommended one (who I am still extremely happy with and would recommend without reservation) and had to stop posting any details as I felt some of the posts asking for information were asking for just a bit too much information.

A few points, which I think are "relevant".

Most Thai 'construction companies', as previously pointed out, don't employ all their own staff full time or have all their own equipment - even many of the bigger ones. They employ work teams they know as required to do everything from piling, foundations, beams, walls, ceilings, roofs, plumbing, electrics, etc, usually give them a company T-shirt to wear to make them look the part, and the supervisors from good ones are on site at all critical times to supervise the work while the bad ones aren't. In the case of my builder (from Udon) that meant his personally being on site every working day for the first two months and for weeks at a time for the rest of the build and his very clearly knowing exactly what he was doing and being in complete control of the build , while my previous builder (from Loei) who I wouldn't employ to dig a ditch just visited occasionally, just as two or three other posters have described / experienced from similar "middlemen".

If a builder hadn't bothered to be there to see the work at least started, as JR reported, then that alone, in my view, would put them firmly in the "bad builder / strictly a middleman" category. In this case A Con's "team" didn't turn up for JR and ajarnudon "did have to fire one crew that he had working on site" - neither should have ever happened and there's no excuse for either. If the owner has to fire the construction team himself, not the construction company (A Con), that can only mean the company's not doing its job properly and supervising the work. That's two out of three that have had work done by A Con where the company / middleman's failed to do the most basic part of what he's paid for.

Throw into the mix a farang who who thinks he has a right to "come along with Kang and assess the situation" uninvited and to discuss other farang customer's business and building arrangements with A Con "because "Kang's English isn't so great and my missus will help interpret what's going on" who has no professional building training, qualification or experience, and I wouldn't want Kang / Geng / Vince / A Con within a country mile of any construction project I had. That may be unfair on Vince, and even more unfair on Kang / Geng, but based on what he and others have posted here I think that's the inevitable conclusion most reading this have to come to by now. Having had a look at the photos of the work done by the team at ajarnudon's, supposedly under Kang / Geng's supervision, however, I think it's probably more than fair.

As I said before John, it's of no consequence to me whether he gets work or not, he needed some help and I've tried, end of. However, I stand by my recommendation, he's done great work for me at a fair price.