Comments for coolthaihouse.com blog

Comment on Superblock Notes from Mike C by pipoz

pipoz — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:53:17 +0000

Hi can anyone tell me the current approximate price per 100 of what appear to be

400mm x 200mm x 50mm bloc and

400mm x 150mm x 100mm bloc

Have I go the sizes correct from the photos

Regards

Pipoz

email pipoz4444@gmail.com

Comment on stereotyping and Political Correctness USA vs Thailand by rfhendrix

rfhendrix — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:23:12 +0000

I never pay pay workers in the United States up front either. If you are the worker in that position on a big job you feel like you are working for nothing after a few days because you have already spent the money. Only your personal integrity keeps you going. I could not imagine my wife's father or her brothers (Thais) quitting the job regardless of pay before or after the job but I think they may be exceptions. Of course her family never asks us for money either which I found out is quite rare in Thailand also. In my work as a builder I never ask anyone to pay me upfront because I want to see the reward for my labor when I am done with the job. People in the United States used to call Mexicans "lazy" which is often the furthest thing from the truth. Try and get a white American to work all day in the fields in the hot sun. Nevertheless Thai people do have their own ways of doing things and they are not going to change any time soon. In Bangkok, for example, when a pedestrian, I feel like a chicken who is running away from thousands of cars each trying to kill me.

My wife and I have come to understand that many of the differences in culture are due to the class system in Thailand with the King being on top and going down from there. Trying to be a humble farang doesn't work too well either because there is a certain loss of respect which is not easily understood from people who esteem people such as Abraham Lincoln for rising up from humble beginnings. When I recall people in China a few years back ridiculing a certain beautiful young lady who won a beauty contest because she wasn't white enough everything seems to come into perspective. People are basically prejudiced but they don't try and hide it in Asia so much.

Comment on Tiling GRANITO Tiles by rfhendrix

rfhendrix — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:48:33 +0000

You can also use a very stiff wet mix which saves a step

Comment on Peter M: house ventilation systems by leogerritsen

leogerritsen — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:30:16 +0000

instead of fiberglass use rockwool
sprinkle water over the roof, don't think about recylcing that, let it soak into the ground around your house

Comment on Traffic Police, Are They Fair? by mikejudd

mikejudd — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 23:27:18 +0000

I personally think the Thai police are great compared to the system in Oz. Everyone will admit that the driving skills and reluctance to follow basic rules of most Thai drivers is pretty poor. But at least if you remember to be aware between the hours of 12 noon and 2 p.m. when the Cones go out on the road, you are left alone. I forgot one day and was going a little fast on the way from my house to Khon Kaen where I was going to get some Bhat, When I was pulled over , showed my Oz license and told there was a B400 fine, I explained I had no money, “O.K. he said, B200″ I repeated “I have no money, just B100 ” so he said O.K. then B100. Compare that with on my return to Oz later that month to find an in the mail camera fine , one for $ 190 for doing 80k.m. in a 70 k.m. divided tunnel that is 90 coming the other way. The other one was $390 as an after thought by the police for Neg driving, when I was involved in a sudden multi car pile up, my car being the last one in the ones that got damaged. Give me Thailand every day, at least the under paid police get the money there, where as in Oz it’s milk the motorist for all their worth. Cameras everywhere, (Bottom of hills) 24 hr parking meters $4 per hour, which all go into the Governments bottomless coffers.

Comment on Reader with Suggestion on Reinforceing Concrete by mikejudd

mikejudd — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:47:55 +0000

I would like to point out that concrete depending on the amount of cement used and the amount of Slump (more cement stronger, excessive water used weaker) is tremendously strong in compression, but not very strong in tension, hence the steel placed where the tension is. Even where some Poor Thai cannot afford steel, and uses bamboo in his concrete, it is suppose to work. ? What one has to work out is where is the tension going to be ? in any span it needs to be nearer the bottom, with a cantilever slab like a balcony, it needs to be at the top. This is where the main steel does it’s job of resisting the tension,. Some times the Structural Engineer will specify two layers of steel in a slab which can only be to resist tension in either direction I can imagine, such as a Raft type slab with walls putting pressure downwards on the out-side. Beams have steel all around but usually with the bottom steel being the larger. All concrete should have a min amount of concrete cover , usually 20m.m. if exposed to the elements. Even with that cover it is advisable to give it a protective covering of some sort like a good Acrylic paint. I have had 60 years of experience with the so called Concrete Cancer , mainly in Sydney putting up Scaffolding and Swing Stages on High Rises to repair that problem. Apparently it has been established that water penetrates bare concrete by a m.m. per year until it reaches the steel, then in one year it will go right round the steel and start to blow the concrete out with the rust expansion. With swimming pools and even other concrete structures here, they are now using hot dipped galvanised steel a lot of times.

Comment on Superblock Notes from Mike C by mikejudd

mikejudd — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:10:02 +0000

I used Q-Con blocks in my house near Khon Kaen. 75m.m. at first as they were hard to get and I had limited time on my 6 monthly visit. Then I got a load of 100m.m. blocks at only a bit more per block. So I used them in the interior walls where most of the chasing was going to be carried out for water and electric conduits, also around big windows and sliding doors. As all walls had lots of concrete beams around openings, half way up and at the tops, the 75m.m. ones are quite sufficient as long as they have good ties to the columns. Get the Q-Con rep to give you a visit, ask him for the technical brochure ,which is in Thai for your workers, very easy to follow. Use the glue they specify, also the render. The kit of tools that they sell are worth getting although the saw is an over kill as any old wood saw will do the trick. With a lot of cutting I ended up using a power saw in the end though.

Comment on CTH: What About bad Advice? by dozer

dozer — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:44:29 +0000

thx for the comment and stated exactly how one should use the forum.

Comment on CTH: What About bad Advice? by terry

terry — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:43:04 +0000

I can’t speak for others but I don’t expect to find “expert” advice on this or any other forum. I’m looking to see what other people have done and evaluate their comments using my own judgement. I doubt you are in any danger of being sued if some members post what turns out to be bad advice.

Comment on Superblock Notes from Mike C by dozer

dozer — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:01:51 +0000

It really depends on what you are after. The 7 cm or 7.5 cm thickness is roughly comparable in thickness to the normal concrete blocks widely used, although it has better insulation capabilities. Some prefer to use double layer 7.5 cm thickness with a cavity in between for electrical and plumbing, but that is certainly not the norm. As far as strength, since most houses are supported by the columns the walls are not required to be 'load bearing'. That means the walls don't actually need to hold up or support the roof, all that is done by the columns and beams. If you were building a house without columns and the walls were to be required to be load bearing you would require 20 cm thick aerated (Q-CON) blocks.

Put another way 7.5 cm thickness is common and additional thickness would normally be considered an upgrade, ie. 7.5 cm would not be looked at a 'sub-standard'.