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Home > Original Coolthaihouse Section > Original Coolthaihouse Build > Intro

Views from the Land

Includes a shot of bare land (as seen on January 1, 2004) and other shots of the area. The land plot is 84 sq. wah and had already been leveld with dirt fill by the time this picture was taken!

12 files, last one added on Sep 28, 2011
Album viewed 81 times

Road Story

Something I never thought about when I bought the land was this -- 'Would I actually be able to drive all the way to the land, or not?' One of those things we take for granted that can turn into a nightmare.
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This is one of those funny (but not at the time) stories! The lot for this house is in a small development which will eventually have 10 houses. There will be 5 houses on either side of an entry road which comes off the road in front. When buying the plot, during the dry season, the entry road looked sturdy enough. Only later did I find out that the road was made of the wrong type of dirt, sticky mud, and watched as it got progressively worse during the rainy season. Not being my job to get it fixed I just waited (and complained a little bit to which I was told patience!), and finally the primary developer had all of the mud taken out and replaced with hard pack. One other developer isn't happy because the road is actually above his property line - which brings me to one very important point. One of the worst mistakes anyone can ever make is to build a house 'too low'. It is one thing that cannot be later corrected.

20 files, last one added on Sep 28, 2011
Album viewed 84 times

Finished House

The finished house. The house was officially 'finished' on the 6th of July, 2004. There are still various things to get done, eg. entry gate, but the final contract milestone of the 'building the house' is complete. These shots show how it turned out, including a windows media player movie.

17 files, last one added on Sep 28, 2011
Album viewed 230 times

Shot of the Week

Digital cameras don't use film. That means photos are free right? Yes, but with this project there are about 750 photos, so if you want a quick and easy overview -- start here.
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On this proto-type 'cool thai house' project I really made an effort to record the full and accurate history of the building of the house. I've come to the conclusion that recording a full history isn't really possible. There is so much detail that goes into it that the number of pictures is at times overwhelming. So for those of you who want the brief tour: this section displays highlights of the building with a shot of the week, giving a summary view of the project. Since I figure the entire project has a life span of about 26 weeks, I am aiming to display about that many pictures here -- give or take.

31 files, last one added on Sep 28, 2011
Album viewed 169 times

Project Hindsight

12 files, last one added on Sep 28, 2011
Album viewed 139 times

5 albums on 1 page(s)

Last additions - Intro

This is the land plot after some fill dirt has been brought in (to the left of the truck). It is 84 square wah. (01-Jan-04) dozerSep 28, 2011

If I knew now what I knew then. These oh so common words with regards to building here. So what would I have done differently? Keeping in mind that the house turned out very well, yet even so these are things that if I was starting over I would consider...

With respect to the plan, I would have done a more thorough job. There are a number of books sold at the bookstores here, which have 100's of house designs in them. I would try to find a nice design suitable for the shape of the land, and have the dozerSep 28, 2011

This is another case where most expensive is not necessarily best. These Grohe bottom washers are super heavy duty but somehow constrict the water flow, meaning that the emitted water is low pressure. A low cost standard washer has not problem with pressure. I know it is these washer since I had two installed and they both had the same problem. Later I replace on with a 'cheapy' and that one works great.dozerSep 28, 2011

Here is something you wouldn't (or at least I wouldn't) think of. A toothbrush holder where the holes are too small to hold a toothbrush. (26-Aug-04)dozerSep 28, 2011

Random files - Intro

The 1600 liter water tank. This tank has an electronic valve which allows the tank to drop to 1/2 full (or are you thinking 'half empty'?) before turning the pump on to refill it. There are two pumps used, one pumps from the tank to the house and one pumps from the well to the tank. (02-Jul-04)dozer

A view of the area from the end of the road, with the cool thai house on the right. (02-Sep-04)dozer

Here the roof is partially tiled. The left shot shows the parking lot and patio. The right shot shows the main roof sections. Notice the aluminum drainage sheeting shown in the valley of the right hand picture: it is not really sufficient and will need to be supplemented later. (22-Mar-04)dozer

A view of the entry room looking towards the kitchen.dozer

This door lock caused a lot of problems. I would, in the future, go for a more easy to install model. (26-Jun-04)dozer

This is the view of palm trees out the right side window of the house. (24-Jan-04)dozer

As far as the building process, I would try to do better management of materials. If you buy materials too soon, packaging gets damaged, things get misplaced and by the time it gets tried, it is too late for a return. If stuff is not purchased soon enough the workers run out of material and have to stop and wait. On future projects I will organize, stockpile and inventory materials better, and have a process to check at one time in the day for materials needed. For low cost materials I'll use a petty cash system that lets the boss go buy materials when needed. It is amazing how much junk assembles during a building project!dozer

A shot of the finished house. (13-Aug-04)dozer

Debug Info

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