Coolthaihouse Photo Gallery

Cement is of special import since it is the primary component which adds strength to the house. Normally for smaller projects cement is hand mixed and poured, but there is a company called CPAC which will come and pour to the grade and quantity specified. The hand mix cement normally comes in 50 kilogram bags, which is then mixed with sand and stone. In some applications, such as affixing tile to the wall, no stone is used and the product is called cement. If mixed with stone, which adds strength, it is called concrete. There are many different brands and grades of cement. A low quality cement will cost about 80% of a high quality grade, which I point out, since this is a very poor way to save money and is of course used by corner cutters to the disadvantage of house buyers. As of this date a 50 kilogram bag of cement ranges in price from approximately 90 Baht to 130 Baht. A standard durable recommended brand is tiger green label (suua). A 100 square meter house might use 300 bags at most, with an approximate budget of 34,500 Baht, using a low quality cement would save just 6,000 Baht on the entire house.

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The basic materials for building houses are cement blocks, red bricks and superblocks. The least expensive material is the cement block, followed by the red brick and the the more expensive superblock. The cement block is produced locally is small factories and, although there is only one grade, sometimes the manufacturing process leaves the blocks not straight, which makes them harder to use. Other times the raw material mix is not correct and the produced blocks are brittle. As far as the brittle factor, you can check it by holding a block at shoulder height and dropping on a sandy surface. It should not break up. Red bricks are also a very popular material for building houses. And nowadays more and more houses are being built with the superblocks. The superblock a fairly light material with encapsulated air pockets which is designed as an insulator -- the idea being to keep the house cool. The downside to superblocks are the cost and also the fact that most construction workers normally don't have experience with them. Therefore a special team must be sought out at a higher than normal labor cost.

Another material which isn't used too often and is a bit difficult to find is the heavy cement block. The weight of a regular cement block is about 5 kilograms, where the weight of a heavy cement block is about 13 kilograms. These blocks make an excellent building material and can be used instead of the regular cement block to make the project more durable.

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Metal rebar normally comes in long circular strands of 10 meters each. The unit of measure is the 'hun', each hun being 3 millimeters in diameter. The number of hun of the rebar determines its thickness, for example a metal rebar 4 hun would be 12 millimeters thick. Above 2 hun, there will be various designations of full, normal or light. These refer to the grade of the metal, with full being the best. The rebar is the backbone of house construction, it is what gives the finished product strength. It is used in the foundation columns, floor, walls and other areas. As an example, normally the rebar used in the foundation column should be 4 hun full or more. In flooring 2 or 3 hun strands will be used and tied together in a criss-cross pattern. For more information on the hun, visit the blog article that here --> hun: unit of measure for metal rebar .

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This is one of the most important aspects of a new house. The house is anchored with foundation columns which are set in concrete footings in deep square post holes. The process is as follows: 1.) Post holes are dug and a square rebar frame which stands about 3 meters tall is concreted in place. 2.) A rebar frame is put in place for a base 'footing' which attaches the foundation pillar frames. 3.) Concrete is poured over the footing. 4.) Lastly, the concrete is poured within wood frames around the post frame to create the foundation pillar.

In case you're thinking that the contractor should know how to do this and they always do it correctly -- just today I saw a house where the columns were being set in an very poor manner, the same way as you would set up perimeter wall posts. The motivation in this case was an owner who had contracted for a fixed price, including all materials, for a house to be built while he is out of the country. It is a sad situation because the savings for doing the foundation column in a very very inadequate manner will save about 1000 Baht, where the house price is closer to 2 million Baht.

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The raw material is called cement, once it is mixed with stones it becomes concrete. The cement section of the basic materials page has information on cement, the purpose of this page is to show a concrete floor pour example.

There are a lot of games played when laying concrete floors by corner cutters. The main thing to watch for is the thickness of the actual concrete pour and the metal being used. A friend of mine contracted to have a back patio poured, but couldn't be there to supervise. Later he needed to get at some piping under the patio, so he had to have plumbers come and cut out a section. Then he could see the way the original contractor had done the patio. The pour was a razor thin (about 1 or 2 centimeters) layer of cement on top of sand. The wire mesh was sitting in the sand, which accomplished nothing. Since the cost of materials for flooring are relatively inexpensive it is not productive to try to skimp in this area.

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Concrete block walls are formed by stacking blocks in rows to form the wall. A string, normally clear nylon, is used as a 'straight-line' to aid in the row being laid down straight. Between the blocks (on all sides), cement is used to keep them in place and add strength. Rebar is used at the intersection with a foundation column to add strength. A hole is drilled in the foundation post and the rebar strand, about 30 centimeters in length, is inserted in the hole. It is then laid on top of a row of blocks and cemented in place.

The 'chap' or stucco layer is applied next. The cement for this stage is mixed with less sand than for other applications. In the following example we used a thick coat of about 1 centimeter in depth. The 'chap' is what gives walls the real strength. A good job can be determined by examining the wall after the chap is applied and allowed to dry. If done poorly, small cracks will appear on the surface. When painted these cracks disappear and can't be detected.

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Tiles here come in three grades, A, B and C. Although it is hard to tell the difference and it may be tempting to go for grade C, the savings is small and it isn't recommended. The main problem with the grade C tiles is that the size of the tiles are not uniform. If you compare several tiles you can notice they are of slightly different sizes. This makes it hard for the tiler to lay them down in straight rows. I'm also told that the colors in grade B and C may be off (ie different from tile to tile), but I haven't noticed this on jobs I've seen using the lower grade tiles.

After the floor is poured and dried the tiles are ready to be laid. The tiler will ascertain the desired level of the floor (after the tile is laid down) and mark it with a 'straight line', which is normally clear nylon fishing line. The straight line is used to designate the desired level of the floor and is also used as a guide to lay the rows down straight. Each individual tile is tapped into place until it is just right.

Sometimes after the tile area in the main part of the house is laid, a skirt is added. This is 10 to 15 centimeter row of tiles that goes along the bottom of the wall and connects with the floor tile. This is attractive and protects the lower portion of the wall. The wall is scored prior to applying cement to allow for maximum adhesion. Plastic strips which come in various colors are often used to add a protective border along the edge of the tiled area.

Wall tile is commonly used in kitchens and bathrooms. The tile goes up to the desired level, normally about 2 meters from the floor.

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One of the most important decisions you make about the house you are going to build is the type of roofing material you use. There are two major ways to go here, tile or synthetic roof sheets.

Heavy tile: Nowadays this is the material of choice. It is very pretty and durable. Tile roofs add value to your house and put it in a different price category -- this becomes important should you decide to sell at some point in the future. The downside for tile is it is extremely heavy, and this requires a large and sturdy metal substructure which is expensive. Tile also cracks and chips easily if it is walked on. This normally isn't an issue except for cases where roof access is required. It is not secure in the sense that someone can easily gain illegal entry to your house by misplacing a few roof tiles.

Synthetic roof sheets: If you know you are building a house to live in forever and are simply not worried about resale value -- this may be the way to go. The roof sheets come in a variety of qualities, materials, and colors and will end up being a lot cheaper to install. As far as I know there are no downsides, EXCEPT (and it is a big except!) it isn't as pretty and if you've built a high quality house with sheet roofing the resale market won't be there.

This is one of those rare instances where paying more money doesn't lead to an increase of quality. If I were put on the spot and had to answer the question, 'Which roofing material is of better quality?', I would have to answer 'Synthetic roof sheeting'. This being said, in the future I will continue to use heavy tile since it is functional and the marketplace demands it.

The heavy tile roofing is all pretty good quality and starts at about 8.2 Baht a piece. One thing I did notice is that they gouge you when you buy the special pieces, ie. the corner pieces or top pieces (which can cost 4 or 5 times as much as a standard piece). When choosing the store and tile you are going to purchase I advise getting a price on all of the pieces up front so you won't be surprised later.

Another option which is recommended and commonly used today, is roofing insulation. This is especially appropriate if you plan to use air conditioning and have a low profile roof, as it will retain much of the cold air and lower your electricity bill.

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These are some shots from the cool thai house roof. Three specific things I would suggest when doing a roof: 1). Subcontract the roof out to a company that does only roofs. 2.) Make sure that the aluminum sheeting used in the valley is of proper width, at least a meter wide. The standard aluminum drainage sheeting sold for use in valleys is not sufficient. 3.) Make sure that the supporting walls are completed prior to laying the tile on the roof. Otherwise the roof metal will bend.

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The first primary decision as far as external windows and doors is: aluminum or wood? Wood has a benefit of looking nice and is more classic Thai style, but normally one is not building a classic Thai house anyway. Aluminum looks modern, does not wear out or bleach and is fairly cost effective. Wood may be a tad cheaper and it is a material that can be installed by most contractors. With aluminum the contracting company will come to the job site, measure the exact window opening and install it right on site. The screens used with aluminum can be slid open and closed, unlike the ones for wood windows, which need to be unhinged and then opened inward. The bottom line is this: aluminum is typically the material of choice.

Inside doors do not need to be solid wood, but solid wood doors do add class. The bathroom doors are typically made from a type of PVC waterproof material. Typically there will be one specialist who frames wood windows and doors and the will do all the cutting, trimming and installing as required. There are numerous decisions that have to be made with each kind of window.

Aluminum or Wood?

The main decision with respect to windows is the choice of material; aluminum or wood.

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Construction and Design Options

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