Hello guys I'm brand new to the site and wondering if there are any pre-fab metal(steel) houses or builders in Udon Thani or near by?I was thinking they might be cheaper to build,a lot faster going up and able to use spray on insulation on ceiling and inside walls instead of concrete as in traditonal brick built houses.Any suggestions or crtique would be apprciated?Maybe you think I'm nuts to even think of going in this direction but please tell me why?My wifes father is a thai builder(never built for farang)and both think I'm crazy!

Well Sammy, I've seen both the steel construction materials at a couple of the local building supply stores as well as the plaster board for the interior walls. What I haven't seen is the materials for the exterior walls but must assume it is available. I just haven't looked for it.

Sam I was a carpenter in the U.S. and I built many homes out of wood construction
but here it different I just had completed my house in Song dao and it constructed of
steel roof frame and 4" block walls with tiles on the roof. As for insulation the
most important area is in the ceiling and you want R 20 or better. sadly it hard to find
I am not saying you can not find it but you will have to look. I was given a phone number
of out fit that does spray on insulation I called them they quoted me around 400 baht
a square meter I told them to come and look at the house and that was the last time
I heard from them. I also thought that was a very high price but I would have paid it
just to have my two bedrooms done. so you got your work cut out for you good luck

Thanks guys I'll keep looking for pre-fab and see if I can find cheaper than conventional brick or block building.I found ad for some in Bangkok but the cost is way to high and I thought the price of steel was suppose to have come down substantially,but not that much I guess! The houses shown on Bangkok site are actually from Singapore so not sure if made here or not but look just like conventional home.Found lohr spray insulation place in khon kean who is suppose to come to show me homes they did in Udon Thani sometime next week.Only bad thing I have read about spray insulation on underside of upper roof is of the old spray insulation like used around windows and gas pipes to abandon them where you spray foam and they expand a lot so they have loosened nail holes and maderoof leak.Lohr manufacturing from Khon ?Kean says their polythylene(believe thats what its base is?)does not expand upward but internally toward the floor area.Thanks for your imput though guys!Cheers,SammyG

Sammy when you get to meet this person who does the foam insulation get his number and give it to me and please let me know how he does his work if possible

I sure will get that information for you aznyron when I meet up with him.If you want to come along to look at the houses that he says he has done I'd be glad to tell you where we are to meet?If not will let you know on this site. my sam100glt@yahoo.com I wish they had manufactured homes here like in US and could build them very inexpensive with right materials ,steel studs,Wafer plywood is 85% glue nowadays but still more wood than Thailand could provide I guess,but the labor would be much cheaper here than US and could provide relatively cheap homes for the Thai people let alone good jobs.Well I guess we gets what we gets in Thailand !

Sam what you say is true sadly they fear outside competition that why this country laws are so strict
for just about every thing. wait until you have to deal with them more you will pull your hair out dealing with some of these idiots. just a note stay on top of them when they do the electrical work some
of them do not know what a ground is or what it for make sure you use 3 wire and make sure they ground the outlets and make sure they install earth ground out side of your electric panel box. other wise your
desk top PC if you have one will be giving you shocks when you touch it. that a good sign to let you know they screwed up. welcome to the forum and good luck with you new home

Hi Guys ,especially AZNYRON,just got back to Montana from our visit to Udon Thani for 1 1/2 weeks.Meet with Lohr Spray Insulation folks at Thomas Resort in Udon where they had sprayed the ceilings in all of the buildings.Was hopeing that you could spray the material on inside walls and it would be smooth enough to just paint over!Answer is NO! I wasn't all that impressed with it after all of the reading and searching I had done to find where to get it done either.The cost is now 600 baht per sq meter and the only way you could use it on inside walls would be to hopefully try and put studs over it and hang sheet rock to try and smooth it out.It is very rough and wavy and hard to control the flow and density from the looks of it and what I understand.But we got the water ran to our property (1000' off the road)and in process of getting power poles back into it ,at least we paid for the power installation.Also went to gov. offices and had them design our house plans from a model they had on display but change it to what we wanted.Now for how to build the walls,etc. at the cheapest value(limited budget thing!!) but also the most cost effective and coolness inside the house.Have been checking on varying websites at different alternatives but still confused perhaps because of my lack of building experience although I was a Construction Specialist(Well Pipeline Construction That Is!)Have been looking for answer to if Q-Con or Superblocks 7.5 thickness construction is comparible to concrete cinder block double wall with air space for coolness inside the house and costs?Or whatever other construction might well be a good value!I believe I want a rounded tile roof as they look great and with the double sided tin insulation and also lower ceiling insulation and plenty of ventilation I hope to control roof heat.The house we chose has large overhang on the eves of house to help shade the walls and this is just a single story house as I am getting OLD and Larger around the mid section to be climbing up and down stairs.Any suggestions would be very helpful.I look forward to moving to Udon Thani full time again soon hopefully late April or May.My biggest problem i(I Think)is my builder has already been choosen for me(father in law) who ahs built many homes I'm told but never for a falang and he says only good house is made with little red bricks which I have told him almost emphatically NO Way in Hell from what I have read!Thanks for any suggestions!SammyG

sammy G I saw the finished product at the castle how resort Howard gave me the phone # and I called them they at the time quoted me 400 sq/meter but never called me back if you use this it must be sprayed inside the attic either on the roof rafters of the ceiling joist. my personal choice we been on the ceiling rafters and then I could place some fiberglass insulation batts over the top which would give me a R. factor of over 20 recommended is 30 for both heat & cold. thank you for the feed back good luck
on your building project

seem to have done your homework. my next one will be 3 sides of double concrete block, or similar verson, but no direct sun on inside wall. north side of house will be all glass, or close to it, with entire house shaded. flat roof, 2 story, with metal shade roof covering anyting i missed, one hell of a balcony.

my problem is finding a plot of land with good north view, and couple rai, so no neighbor hassles, in the middle of rice paddy land, for R&R and land price. within an hour from a shopping center and i'll be happy.

that north exposure thing is a biggy, will make a huge difference in comfort level during hot season.

good luck, keep us posted.

Since it's pretty difficult to keep the sun off your roof, the second best thing is to keep it off your walls. Be especially careful of due east and due west. Your goal should be: no morning/afternoon rays hitting the walls of the house! The morning and late afternoon sun can be brutal on your walls/windows. We put in a white rolled steel roof 3 years ago and are happy with the result: it's extra strong, it doesn't retain heat, and the color reflects a good amount of the days' rays away.
Raise your house up a meter or so.....gives you air circulation under the house and gives you tons of storage space for the junk we collect. Have the builder construct a 2000 liter water tank under the house (doesn't have to be in the ground). If you keep it out of the sun, you'll enjoy cool/refreshing showers for 9 months of the year. Add insulation batts to the ceiling. Put in extra large air vents on the open ends of your roof.
Plant trees now! especially on the east and west ends of your home. Take care of them like they're your babies.
If you have a carport like 99% of the people here do, have it built with the rest of the house, rather than an afterthought. Put the carport on the western end of your home to block the suns rays from your walls.
If your father-in-law says build with red bricks, he probably doesn't know how to build with superblocks. That could be a good excuse to find another builder (which most WBU graduates will tell you you should do). Good luck on your building!

Gents,,, I found an interesting web site that some of you might find useful, get the mental juices flowing so to speak. It's probably better for those of you that live out of down and like do-it-yourself projects, but also addresses green or efficient design concerning solar heating, insulation, shading etc. http://www.homepower.com/home/

Cheers