I am moving to Issan (Ban Dung) in the middle of next year, and one of the first things I need to do when I get there is to make my girlfriends (typical local style) house more liveable.

Specifically, the house has a large upstairs room which I want to turn into our bedroom. The room presently has no ceiling, wooden floor, unlined timber weatherboards, wood windows (oh!, and not to forget a small shrine to Buddha which I am having a hard time convincing mum needs to be moved, if only a few metres)

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on using gypsum plasterboard (known as gyprock, gypboard, etc) as the inside wall lining for the external walls, for a new internal wall, and perhaps also for the ceiling.

We will also need new windows (with mozzie screens) - and thoughts on this also welcome.

Thanks

jack

I lined my walls with decorated ply because the wife wanted it to look pretty (her definition of pretty, not mine). Quite effective and easy to do. The ceiling was done with Gypsum boards by some local lads and they made a good job of it - looks nice painted white. I have seen others where the ceiling has been done with asbestos sheets.

My wooden floors were sanded then given several coats of polyurethene varnish. Wooden shutters fixed outside, with hinged mozzie screen (when there is only a little breeze they block the wind if closed).

That was five years ago and no probems so far.

Well, yes you can line the walls with gypsum board and put in a ceiling. But if it's old style teak weatherboard with a corrugated iron roof, putting in the interior gypsum and ceiling will stop all circulation and turn it into a bloody oven.. If you're going to completely renovate the place, lose the corrugated roof, put up a tile roof with sandwich insulation right under the tiles. If you don't have enough space (I'd say .5-1 meter) between the roof tiles and your ceiling gypsum board you might want to elevate the roof higher when you put on the tiles.. After you put in the ceiling gypsum board put in insulation batting on top of it to keep the heat out.. An exhaust fan or wind turbine to suck out hot air from the "attic" may help also.. When you put up your interior walls you may also want to put insulation batting behind the gypsum board.. Custom built aluminum frame screens can be bought at many family run shops in Udon..

All the above said.. Trying to modernize that old drafty slat walled, corrugated roof Thai house may be a diffiuclt task. Better to just build a new place or.. do only minor fixups, leave the gaps in the wall for ventilation, get a mossie net for your bed, and put in several fans to keep you cool vice A/C...

and not to forget a small shrine to Buddha

It will have to leave the room as it is a huge taboo to have a Buddha statue in a bedroom.They often have their own room as you really should keep your head below the level of the statue if possible.In temples you will see people crawling away on their hands and knees until a dignified distance from the idol.

My advice - don't put too much money into the place right away, unless you have expendible funds for this purpose. There is a very good chance that you will become bored with village life before too long.

Thanks for your responses.

Frazee I will have insulation in the ceiling, and air vents (and perhaps a revolving air vent) to allow the hot air to escape. I will also start with a large ceiling fan over the bed, and if that is not sufficient, install a split system A/C.

John I am proposing to move Buddha, so that the bedroom can be extended to where he currently resides.

Rick, I will be bored a lot quicker if I don't install some creature comforts. And I am not looking at big money - probably THB50-100K.

Regards

jack

Put it in your sin sod,to be used for the house repairs

BKKSTAN wrote::lol: Put it in your sin sod,to be used for the house repairs

What's a 'sin sod' btw?

Hi Jackspratt,

Small world we have a 2nd home in Bandung as well, just off Highway 2096.

The village house used to be on stilts. My mother in law used to have a old loom where she used to make cloth. Sit down all day chew betel nuts, and gossip with a gaggle of old ladies, about people in the village. A breeze block toilet out the back with a tin roof, which would heat up like an oven. At night it was lit by a old 25 watt light bulb, complete with flys doing a formation around the bulb. A lean to kitchen, no sink, or cooker, just a plastic bowl and a bucket of charcoal to cook on.

We decided to tart the place up.
We hired a crane that lifted the top part of the house from the posts.
The old teak posts removed, and new concrete posts piled in.
Then the top of the house was lowered back to the new posts, and brick walls were built down stairs. We had gypsum ceiling tiles with new lighting put in and a new kitchen and bathroom installed, and a new roof.
Up stairs used to be one big room, now it two bedrooms made with stud and plaster board. A teak balcony across the front, new teak doors, new windows with black glass, and downstairs new doors across the width of the house in black glass. We did not line the walls upstairs, it would be too hot and resrict the airflow.
We are happy with it and we can tweak it up more when funds allow.

oldfield wrote:

BKKSTAN wrote::lol: Put it in your sin sod,to be used for the house repairs

What's a 'sin sod' btw?

Dowry

As a retired builder thats comes from a hot climate, I'm going to disagree with some of the advice. Putting insulation directly under the roof is of little or no value. You need to heavily insulation directly above the ceiling, on top of the drywall or whatever, and make sure that your attic space is well vented to allow the heat to escape.
A lite colored roof helps to relect the heat.