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sabang · 05-27-2008, 12:59 AM

So heres how we did it, and some more photoes. I would say theres two important things to getting the process right-

1- Get the right builder. Look around, don't sign one of those vague contracts that just stipulate a labour cost plus you pay for the materials- they always run over budget. Get the price stipulated up front, and pay for it in stages according to progress (not time).

2- Supply firm plans, stipulating everything down to where light switches will be located. I stole ours off the Internet

, and made a few adjustments here and there to suit ourselves. Thailand does not reward uncertainty, rural Thailand even less so.

Heres a proud mother in law in the new Isaan patio/laundry/kitchen. A new washing machine has gone in since.

She will live there, we will visit regularly- we're even thinking over moving up there one day. I love it up there actually- Pattaya it ain't, but theres falang pubs in Ubon, a handful of local falangs who drink at the village shop, and western style supermarkets on the Ubon Ring Rd.

Getting the right builder took a while- we spoke to five potential builders. Two from Ubon- one not interested, the other one would have cost 1.5-2 mm bht for the same job. Two from the village (monkeys). One quoted 3.4mm for the job originally, then came down to 2.5mm- I reckon he knew there was a farang involved

. The other one quoted 350k for labour, plus we pay for all materials. When asked what that might be, he didn't know but said it was 'usually about twice the labour cost'. Yeh, right.

The succesful bidders were a husband and wife team from Khon Kaen, recommended by a friend. These guys were sharp- they have their own work force, have done falang houses before (we didn't let them know there was a falang involved til later though), and they just plain sounded more competent and proactive than the rest. We could've had the 'basic model' house done for 800K, but elected to pay a bit more for a few extras- well worth it imo.

OK, so Buckingham Palace it ain't- but it's well big enough for us. A whole lot bigger actually than some of those dogboxes I used to pay outrageous rents for in HK.

05-27-2008, 12:59 AM	#2
sabang Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Ubon sticks Posts: 745 Shouts: 164 Thanks: 259 Rep Power:	So heres how we did it, and some more photoes. I would say theres two important things to getting the process right- 1- Get the right builder. Look around, don't sign one of those vague contracts that just stipulate a labour cost plus you pay for the materials- they always run over budget. Get the price stipulated up front, and pay for it in stages according to progress (not time). 2- Supply firm plans, stipulating everything down to where light switches will be located. I stole ours off the Internet , and made a few adjustments here and there to suit ourselves. Thailand does not reward uncertainty, rural Thailand even less so. Heres a proud mother in law in the new Isaan patio/laundry/kitchen. A new washing machine has gone in since. She will live there, we will visit regularly- we're even thinking over moving up there one day. I love it up there actually- Pattaya it ain't, but theres falang pubs in Ubon, a handful of local falangs who drink at the village shop, and western style supermarkets on the Ubon Ring Rd. Getting the right builder took a while- we spoke to five potential builders. Two from Ubon- one not interested, the other one would have cost 1.5-2 mm bht for the same job. Two from the village (monkeys). One quoted 3.4mm for the job originally, then came down to 2.5mm- I reckon he knew there was a farang involved . The other one quoted 350k for labour, plus we pay for all materials. When asked what that might be, he didn't know but said it was 'usually about twice the labour cost'. Yeh, right. The succesful bidders were a husband and wife team from Khon Kaen, recommended by a friend. These guys were sharp- they have their own work force, have done falang houses before (we didn't let them know there was a falang involved til later though), and they just plain sounded more competent and proactive than the rest. We could've had the 'basic model' house done for 800K, but elected to pay a bit more for a few extras- well worth it imo. OK, so Buckingham Palace it ain't- but it's well big enough for us. A whole lot bigger actually than some of those dogboxes I used to pay outrageous rents for in HK.