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Stoace wrote:Having promised the wife 2 years ago that I would build a house for us in 2016 I have finally started planning the project.
The first dilemma is as I still spend most of my time in the UK and she splits her time between Thailand and the UK how do we go about the project. There are a myriad of options some of which are:
A thai design and build company
A thai architect and local sub contractors
A UK architect, thai translation and local builder
The above but with a construction firm
Local architect, engineer, and builders
I started the journey over the weekend spending a morning at Thai Watsadu and Udon Watsadu getting an idea of the cost of things and today have had a meeting with a design & build company.
The architect we met today has quoted 40,000bht to include a survey of the land, an engineer to survey the land because it is currently rice paddy and initial overall design ideas. The detailed design drawings will be 30,000bht more. This architect is independant from the building company but they use him exclusively and will cover his fee if we proceed to build with them. If we decide to use a different builder/s then we will have to pay his fee and site visits will be 2000bht each.
On the subject of the build itself I have done a number of different layouts, unfortunately the U shape one around a swimming pool is out because the wife doesnt like "lots of roofs"
Latest design is below can't get into the icloud for the old designs yet, technology wonderful init!!
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Stoace wrote:The architect we met today has quoted 40,000bht to include a survey of the land, an engineer to survey the land because it is currently rice paddy and initial overall design ideas. The detailed design drawings will be 30,000bht more. This architect is independant from the building company but they use him exclusively and will cover his fee if we proceed to build with them. If we decide to use a different builder/s then we will have to pay his fee and site visits will be 2000bht each.
Stoace wrote:Having promised the wife 2 years ago that I would build a house for us in 2016 I have finally started planning the project.
The first dilemma is as I still spend most of my time in the UK and she splits her time between Thailand and the UK how do we go about the project. There are a myriad of options some of which are:
A thai design and build company
A thai architect and local sub contractors
A UK architect, thai translation and local builder
The above but with a construction firm
Local architect, engineer, and builders
We can also go down the labour and materials builder route or labour only and buy the materials.
They all have their pro's and cons......but given I am in the UK and the wife does not have the experience or the attention to detail i do we are exploring the design and build option first.
I started the journey over the weekend spending a morning at Thai Watsadu and Udon Watsadu getting an idea of the cost of things and today have had a meeting with a design & build company.
The architect we met today has quoted 40,000bht to include a survey of the land, an engineer to survey the land because it is currently rice paddy and initial overall design ideas. The detailed design drawings will be 30,000bht more. This architect is independant from the building company but they use him exclusively and will cover his fee if we proceed to build with them. If we decide to use a different builder/s then we will have to pay his fee and site visits will be 2000bht each.
Thoughts welcome on the costs above as I personally think they are a tad on the high side!!!
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Stoace wrote:Having promised the wife 2 years ago that I would build a house for us in 2016 I have finally started planning the project.
Stoace wrote:I'll try to answer as much of the queries or points made to date as i can.
The architect visit is a flat fee however long they stay for, if i use the D&B company they will project manage, if i use local builders then i would ensure they come with specific tasks such as checking the layout of columns before concreting etc.
The dilemma i have is I will have to leave my wife and father-in-law in charge of the build as i cant spend months away from my business to oversee daily although i will be making regular trips.
We already have full chanote for the land (actually we have 3 which cover the full 5 rai), boundary pegs are in and correct and we have fenced around it where there is dry land.
The company we met is Sanmanoch & Hoffman, interested to know if anyone has any experience of them? On projects i have done in the uk I have designed with an architect, budget costed with a QS then revised the design and spec to fit the budget. Over here i get the distinct feeling they will design the house to fit the budget i have including no doubt a high % of profit for them!! We are off to see examples of their work tomorrow....
Yes I meant Do Home [THUMBS UP SIGN]
The survey would enable the land to be put onto CAD and the engineer survey will be needed for the structural calcs.
The wife assures me as we are well into the sticks we can do what we want and as the family has built several buildings for various uses i tend to agree with her although it will be interesting to see what is said today when we meet an architect/engineer from the local government office!
A builder with an architect as project manager is my first choice 1. Because i cant be around 2. My family are builders and i have a pretty good basic knowledge but dont have the time or experience to make detailed design decisions 3. My wife is not going to be able to manage the build either. There are pros and cons to having the architect tied to the builder on the plus side they will work as a team on the downside they will probably prioritise the builder over the client when push comes to shove if there are s a problem!!
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Stoace wrote:Yesterday we met an architect from the local government office which is at the other end of the scale! He viewed the land listened to the ideas / design features i want to incorporate and said that he can build for ballpark 12,000bht per sq m. The first thing i need to clarify is what extent of foundations will we need given the land is currently rice and wanting to build next year means we dont have time for infill to settle. My wife has spoken to the architects partner who is the engineer he has spoken well with her and she is confident in them as a team.
Our local team have given a price of 20,000 to do a 3 hole geological survey to check the foundations question. The design and build people have quoted 10,000 for a land survey which would include the engineer advising on the depth of foundations but not needing to use a drilling rig for samples. So now slightly confused as to how to progress. Thoughts anyone?
Roger Ramjet wrote:
Firstly the land infill doesn't need to settle first as a lot of it will be dug up again anyway.
Secondly the Or Bor Tor Engineer (who has to approve the plans anyway) can tell you the exact depth the piles and footings will have to go down by looking at the plans. It's only a rough estimate anyway, I put in 51 piles that ranged from over 16-32 metres in the space of 33 X 11 metres. I went for bore piles because I had a neighbour and the house is a large 2 storied affair with indoor swimming pool, you should be able to use driven piles which are 1/3 rd the cost, but the Or Bor Tor engineer will be able to give you exact advise. The bore pile company I used did the survey so they could get the piles exact. If you start here you can see and read what it all entailed: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1864&start=255
Good luck.
Stoace wrote:Quick update on progress.
I have visited a 3 year old house they built in khon kaen and the finishes look good and it looks well built. I am still not sure they can implement everything i want, or do the design/cost process to ensure i get the maximum space for the budget and there fee's are clearly twice what others have paid for this type of company.
This is the land i want to build on
This is the road entrance the house would be around 150m back from the road
This is the house the design and build crew built in khon kaen
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