I have Built lots Houses in the UK But Thailand is not the Same. quality in building materials is extensive. and quality very poor.
So if you are not a builder to trade take care.
i am doing a 150 square meter house at the moment. and its been not easy.
for me
so no way can you do it if you are not in the Trade.

So please Think Before you start. work.

A little bit of scare mongering going on here folks.

Suprise suprise ntvillas above will do it all for you at a "reasonable fee"

I can see 2 main problems.....PAPERWORK and Scaffolding
Too much of one and NONE of the other

ntvillas2 wrote: no way can you do it if you are not in the Trade.

So please Think Before you start. work.

On the contrary, I've never been 'in the trade' but we had a blast when we had our house built. Agreed the quality of materials may not be top notch but you learn to put up with what you can get. And if I had to do it again we'd definitely buy the materials ourselves, I'm sure the builder added a few extra baht to everything that was delivered.

The crew of guys we hired bust their chops every day to make sure the build completion date was met, well, within a few days of course..... and they were always on hand to help with issues and design ideas...

So, no, I disagree with ntvillas2, but do agree with above, this is probably a little scare mongering to drum up some trade..........

Maybe he is looking for work. But from my experience, hard to disagree with him What you save in labor, you make-up in the cost of material and the waste. Good way to shave ten years off your life

I agree. Scare tactics.

Take it From Me. i Build House for a living in the Uk I Work on site 7 days a week. you have to be on top everyday and make sure its done.
i dont want to build more house ?
I am Talking about The quality you will get and you will pay over the odds if they think you are easy going.
have you tried to get what you want in the stores without waiting a week to 2 weeks.
They Take the cash and order from Bkk
so Be careful and Make sure you are up to The Job.
i am taking about Building a House not a Shed With a tin Roof.
like my wifes fathers house.
ok bye for now

Scaffolding as he says Cost shed loads Wood is More Expensive here Than The Uk.
i bought 30.000 for shuttering and building scaffolding in the first 2 weeks and another 15.000 later.
i would not build a house in this heat for 1,000.000 profit for 4 months hard work. its hard going.
More Easy selling on E bay

A long time ago, I said to myself, what a great business or money one could make being a foreigner running a design and building company here Well at least you would not be dumping money down a toilet, like in a BAR. But after a year plus dealing with workers, I feel its a lost cause

So, if I knew someone with a foreign background in the building trade, I would at least get a price on a design, and building completion. I would not be worrying about anything else

If after meeting and seeing a design, and getting costs and building times, I would not be deterred by a web site. One could also set up a phase plan, and after phase one (like I did) and you did not think it was up-to-suff, start looking elsewhere.

ntvillas2 wrote:More Easy selling on E bay

I saw your adds on e.bay last year for the Villa rental in Udon,block booking weeks etc and at a senseble price...Good Idea
Next time you ought to answer the questions people send to you,I rented elsewhere as got no reply

ntvillas2 wrote:Scaffolding as he says Cost shed loads Wood is More Expensive here Than The Uk.
i bought 30.000 for shuttering and building scaffolding in the first 2 weeks and another 15.000 later.
i would not build a house in this heat for 1,000.000 profit for 4 months hard work. its hard going.
More Easy selling on E bay

What is with the .000 in your prices?What currency are you quoting?

It is not lazy workers or anything like that. It is the problem of they do not understand what the end result you are looking for. Thais are not strpid, they are ignorant of the end product you are looking for.

It is also partly the fault of the falang who free spending without getting that end result has led to the , "heck he will pay so who cares". attitude. Showing pictures of the product will not help. I know of several falangs who have taken thier wives to see some of the modern houses and have returned to help the falang make the necessary adjustments.

Most likely I am not saying it right but a lot of the time, "We are our own worst enemy".

We have just yeasterday decided to put a 100 m2 extension on the side of our house for a new private lounge and bedroom/en suite.

I actually quite relish the challenge it brings. Not only do I expect it to be built well it has to match the existing building...Project management is not difficult.

I would agree with ntvillas2 on one point, you do need to be on top of things, if its not up to the workmanship you expect or the way your design says it should be, simple tell them......thats what we did with the original build... only once did we need to take the gang leader to another house nearby to see what we were expecting....

As mentioned above Thais are not stupid, they don't however know or understand in some cases what a falang expects. A gentle prod in the right direction works wonders.........oe so we've found

Correct Kudjap 100%.

Also I must say I had three houses built for me in the US. Had to stay on contractors all the way or you get shoddy work and shortcuts. Would I expect less here, No way.

To me hiring a Falang contractor is just adding another layer of management. Will it change anything? Nothing at all except another person to pay. If he does not lay out what he expects and make sure it happens, nothing changes.

banpaeng wrote:Correct Kudjap 100%.

Also I must say I had three houses built for me in the US. Had to stay on contractors all the way or you get shoddy work and shortcuts. Would I expect less here, No way.

To me hiring a Falang contractor is just adding another layer of management. Will it change anything? Nothing at all except another person to pay. If he does not lay out what he expects and make sure it happens, nothing changes.

Exactly........