Buriram Expats
Buriram Province - General Category => Real Estate, housing, house and land ownership => Topic started by: manupete on April 19, 2011, 03:34:02 PM
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Another Building a house on a budget thread
Here is another one of my building a house on a budget thread. I've done a few of these now on various different forums.This thread is not for they guys with big money that come here and build big farang palaces but for the less off or older guys that want to build a small house for they loved one as a thank-you for taking care of them in their later years but liveable to meet their needs.
Well the Thai builder who built my house has been given 400k to build a small 2 bedroom house in the village on a plot just across the road from me.I'm not saying this is how a house should be built or that it would suit everybody ,this is only to show what can be achieved on a limited budget.
This small bungalow is 70 squ/m ( 7x10) has 2 bedrooms ( Small 3.5 x 3.5 ) a small bathroom and one big lounge/dinner.The kitchen will be out-side in a separate area next to the house ( the Thais like it that way ).This figure works out at 5714 per Squ/m which is way cheaper than most would expect to pay but what you have to remember there is no roof insulation and the electrics will be Thai style surface mounted. I'm sure a price could be negotiated to upgrade to your specification to the guy that builds your house.Also land prices have not been included.
Basically on this thread I will be showing you house's in my local area and the build cost to give those on a tight budget or those that don't want to plough loads of money into a house in Isaan knowing there is no resalable value in the house , except if you are very close to the provincial capital or a sort after area. If you was to upgrade to a 100 squ/m house with bigger bedroom and a western type kitchen you could well build a house for under 600k,up grade to a different type of brick .electrics ,roof insulation I think a 7000 baht per Squ/meter could be archived quite easily.Remember other styles and lay-outs are you choice :biggrin:
So here are the pictures of the small house near my home.I am told the windows and doors will be the brown Aluminium type ( grade ? ) but the back door will be wooden.lets see over the weeks how this bungalow progresses and the outcome of spending only 400k.
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Thank you for this thread.
As you know, I am hoping to have a built next year and I am probably, somewhere in between the low-cost build and a Farang build. Any information is useful.
An American friend (who has just had a very nice, totally non-Thai but not a mansion) house built says I should budget 8/9,000 Baht per sqm.
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Nice thread Manupe, I'm always intersted in building, always keep my eyes open when In see a construction site.
Looking forward to more pictures. bravo1
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Cheers Ray
As you can see this Bungalow is about as low budget as you dare go,but if build with concrete beams in the walls and around the window and not just wooden windows supporting the block work ( Thai style )it should outlast most farangs living here in Thailand, with maybe a re-coat of paint every 5 years or so.As I've been in the building trade all my working life and have helped for free many friends , so because of this it may come easier to me than most.Budget builds are normally built by finding a builder to build on a price and you supply all the materials.You are then in total control of the budget.
Budget houses built with the small red bricks and pored Column's is a far better why to build and the new Q-con blocks are also a good option but not so for those on a tight budget.
I am more than happy to answer any questions but please don't ask me to recommend a builder or supply quotes,I am not building company or do I work in Thailand but advice is free for those that want it .I'm sure other members can help out with their view also . :biggrin:
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wow that is really nice to know, something to consider in the future! i doubt this gets you instant citizenship though!? that would be nice
my dream for the future, to be completely or almost completely self sufficient... living of the land how it should be :)
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Thanks for sharing. love1
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Here are a few more photo's of the 400k house being built in our Village,to be honest not a great deal of progress but we have had Song Kran,a wedding and a funeral so work has been at a minimum.The builders tell me the roof guy is coming back tomorrow and they have started the rendering but as they say in the Village 'jai yen yen ' :biggrin:.I have seen some rough rendering in my time but these guys are quite good.All the sand is sifted through a fine net to achieve a smooth finish. 8)
I will keep you updated :)
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At the start of this thread I did say I would post some pictures of other houses that have been built in my local area.Well here's the first one.This nice small Bungalow was built about 18 month's ago at the price of 500k.( the price doesn't include the bars on the window or the large concrete parking area at the front as these have been added recently ).It.s about 120squ/m,has 2 nice sized bedrooms ,large living room,kitchen,bathroom and veranda.To be honest the inside is a bit sparse of creature comforts ( clean. nicely tiles and painted mind you )so to add a nice kitchen,uprate the bathroom fixtures and a few more finishing touches to the inside you could add another 150k but for 650k you could end up with a liveable bungalow IMHO. :biggrin:
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Always helpful and informative, Alan! Thanks! punk
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Very nice house for the village. :)
I like when they build the houses higher than the ground level. It is add a lot to the house design and practical for keeping the house cleaner from the dust outside.
sawadi
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Very nice house for the village. :)
I like when they build the houses higher than the ground level. It is add a lot to the house design and practical for keeping the house cleaner from the dust outside.
sawadi
In fact the house above is a cheaper copy of my house,I used the small read brick and not the blocks,had a raised floor and not in-filled with hardcore and soil as they have done and poured columns and not the bought pre-cast ones..The owners said they like my house so I gave them the plans and they built one to suit their budget.When I built our house about 7 years ago the total cost for everything including walls and gates 800,000.total. :biggrin:
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Amazing what can be done for B400K and B800K, respectively. Your home is quite lovely and humble, Alan. Wish I could be like that......our first structure {some 16 years ago} fetched a whopping B1.5mil - two level 4 bedroom, 2 bath, kitchen/dining, living area, etc. As you know we are about to built another little bungalow right beside the older one - we'll be looking at around B2.5mil.......different style, old school Khmer design two level and about the same number of rooms and facilities.
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What are the benefits of using the red blocks instead of the dark-grey ones or even the white blocks they used building my shop. They told me the white bloks are for better isolation. sawadi
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What are the benefits of using the red blocks instead of the dark-grey ones or even the white blocks they used building my shop. They told me the white bloks are for better isolation. sawadi
Basically you have 3 option..... Cinder blocks , Red brick or Superblock
Cinder blocks are Ok for those on a budget build ,for somebody that wants to build a cheap house up country for short time stays in Isaan these are OK. These blocks now are about 5 baht each
Red bricks ( small about 0.7 baht or doubles about 1.5 baht each ) This is the way most Thai house were build and how my house is built.The Red bricks are much stronger and easier to finish than the cinder blocks and you can hang things off the walls without the wall falling down . The main advantage to the red bricks is that they are especially designed to be rendered and to provide better sealing and 'sticking', they are also much stronger than the Cinder block.The cheapest way to buy these bricks is by the lorryload direct from the manufacturer at Roi Et , I have a phone number for anybody that takes the Red brick route that lives in Surin and Buriram.
The final choice is the Superblock ( Q-Con, Superblock, Pro block,Smart block ,Cpac AAC ) There is a lot of talk about the insulation qualities of these block but what you must remember is they are over 3 times the price and special cement and render must be used ( which isn't cheap compared to cement ) . There is no doubt that what they say about these bricks are true but in my option money is better spent on insulating the roof than on the walls. Most of the time in the hot months the sun is directly above the house and if you are like me and have all the windows and doors open ,will they make a great deal of difference.
What I have seen whist on my travels are builders using these Q-Con blocks on the walls that are in direct sunlight only to save on cost as the other types of blocks do heat up during the day. The heat which is then stored in the bricks is slowly released during the evening hours making living area's a bit warmer. This is why Thai people build houses out of wood as wood does not conduct and store heat in the same way as bricks.
At the end of the day you pay your money and take your choice.This building a house on a budget thread is not only about building house on a tight budget but building to a budget you can afford and hopefully give and showing you all the options so you can decide what is best for you :biggrin:
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Now that's usefull information, thanks a lot. sawadi
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The 400k House is still being rendered so not a lot has happened since the last report but the roof and soffet's are now finished and some more photos will follow shortly :biggrin:
I've been fishing today at my friend Tommy's place,I helped him a little with some advice and he has ended up with a nice little house and fishing pond for well under 1 million Baht ( land is his girlfriends ).The pond( about 1 Ria ) cost 40k to dig out about 6 years ago and the soil was used the raise the rest of the 2+ Ria plot. He then built a small outside Kitchen and toilet and a small out building for tools and then rented a small house locally and spent about 3-4 years saving up from his pension ( money that would have been spent just to live in the UK)to build the house.He stocked the pond with fish and then started the garden but leaving the area the house was going to be built on ,when he had saved up enough money for the house he found a builder to build on a price and he bought all the materials.Final cost of the 100 Squ/m house was 680,000 Baht.Two bedrooms ,one with an on-suite bathroom and one with a on-suite but shared with the house guest's through a second door.A small European style kitchen,washing room with sink,a lounge and to small veranda's front and side. Poured columns ,small red bricks,steel roof with the big Chang roof tiles. With the furniture ,2 air-con units and electrical goods Tommy tell me he hasn't spent over 1 Million. bravo1
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A very nice house for its price. thumbup
sawadi
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Pond looks great ,well done mate !
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thanks for all the good information. has anyone got ant info on timber builds. i will try and post a photo of a timber build i have seen and would like to build something simular. many thanks. roger
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mmmmmm have tryed to upload a photo but keeps rejecting it. saying file to large ??? any ideas
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how much it would cost to build sauna in Thailand? Big logs not some thin wood boards.
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This is such an awesome example of what can be done here in Buriram with little money...
Does anyone else have experience with this?
I'm very interested considering one..
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thanks for all the good information. has anyone got ant info on timber builds. i will try and post a photo of a timber build i have seen and would like to build something simular. many thanks. roger
Is this the kind of timber house you are thinking about? Tey pasting this link into your address bar, we have been building this house on a very small budget over the last four years.
http://www.buriramexpats.com/forum/index.php/topic,2418.msg7067.html#msg7067
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I noted this topic mentions red bricks as well as Superblock AAC blocks and cinder blocks to build a home in Buriram. I am proud to now offer a proper made red brick that is 9 7/8" (250 MM) BY 5" (125MM) by 4" (100mm) for a price less than the typical Buriram garden shop and less than other local made large red bricks offered at my fine competitors stores in Buriram. I sent a store employee to buy a large red brick at seven other stores to see the quality and price. Of course I stock and sell much smaller Buriram made red bricks with four round holes each. These larger red bricks are a different kettle of fish and while they may not have the insulation properties of a the Q Con autoclaved areated wall blocks or Diamond products white light weight AAC wall blocks I keep in stock behind my store in Buriram several widths, these new red bricks are worth consideration as they can have rebar inside, PVC water pipes, electrical conduit and not lose strength.
I apologize that I currently do not have ready stock of the Q Con lintels at the store, but they can arrive in nine days or less when I place a full truck load order of Q Con autoclaved wall blocks or reinforced AAC wall sections to be transported to Buriram. It is all a learning curve of what expat home builders and Thai building contractors prefer to have on short notice and what products are planned in advance. I will soon stock geo textile non woven fiber for ground cover in Buriram Landscape Gardens, and under the gravel road projects of yet another new Buriram Hotel project and two expat homes. The steady stream of new products requested by Buriram Expat forum members has clued me into products to display and stock that perhaps my National Chain competitors are not yet aware of the demand in Buriram of such products. It was not that many years ago that a Buriram Builders Merchant did not stock a Western Style elongated flushing toilet. Like most any Buriram Builders Merchant the price of a commodity item such as structural steel, red bricks of any size, AAC autoclaved wall blocks can vary a bit depending on the method of payment, place of delivery, if a full truck load, or if you pick up at the store. I believe I offer a fairly liberal delivery policy, yet a few driving staff (yes there is a different drivers license mandatory for the large delivery trucks) not showing up for work after a holiday or more than three, six or ten wheel delivery trucks placed unexpectedly in our fleet repair department can throw off the delivery schedule in a way that is unfortunate. I am very grateful for the expats who have the luxury to plan in advance, and who take the time to ask Thai house builders more than once what day they require building materials at a building site. Then they prudently request the delivery one day or two days in advance of when the Thai builder said he wants the materials. Planning for "wild cards" in Buriram province has served my customers well.
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Interesting and informative post. It seems that Pichai and 'Mr Bob' are at the forefront of dragging Thai building techniques into the 20th century, although my building project will probably be finished before Q con lintels are available, I built with conventional concrete lintels.
Something that I have never done before, gypsum board ceilings, will be coming up soon and I will certainly be visiting for advice before I start.
Are the 20cm AAC blocks load bearing?
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I am glad that Khun Pichai and Mr Bob showed me that they had QCON lintels and I'm glad that we ordered them and our builder loved them.
Great product and not expensive.
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Thank you Dave and Mike for your kind comments. I'll go on record as stating that Q-Con, Diamond Block, Super Block in the 20cm by 20cm by 60 cm can be used in Buriram as an interior or exterior load bearing wall. In fact I have visited house building sites in Buriram where the 20cm wide autoclaved areated blocks were used successfully as load bearing walls. On page 4 of the English language brochure published by Q - Con, which is licensed by Hebel blocks of Germany the #1 item mentions the load bearing interior walls and load bearing exterior walls. I will also caution that the size and weight of the roof steel, roof tiles will play a major role that your Buriram building engineer would advise you of the need for support other than the AAC wall blocks or steel reinforced AAC wall panels. This brochure is in English, as are many brochures from house building materials companies in Thailand at my store. Many of the companies print a Thai language version and an English language version of the same brochure.
http://www.qcononline.com/images/advertising/catalog_en.pdf (http://www.qcononline.com/images/advertising/catalog_en.pdf)
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Over the weekend the Q Con Autoclaved Areated Cement Blocks and Q Con steel reinforced Wall panels technical advisor sent a reply to the question regarding load bearing properties of Q Con 20 cm wide AAC wall blocks.
To Mr. Pichai
"Are the 20cm Q Con AAC blocks load bearing?
Yes, the 20cm Q Con AAC(G4) are blocks load bearing
Best regards
Chanyut Panvaewngam
Mr. Chanyut Panvaewngam an employee of Q Con, has visited Ruangsangthai in Buriram several times to inform our building materials sales team of the properties and advantages of Q Con AAC blocks.
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10cm AAC blocks with concrete lintels, the room is 8 x 3 metres. The back of a concrete window sill is also visible as well as the fact that the corner is at a double 45° angle, might get finished in a year or two, poverty slows things down a bit but it's good to know that what I have built is paid for.
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A better house wall brick display was built today near the tool repair center in Buriram, by the team who make these high grade bricks in Isaan. I am proud to offer these European designed full size bricks which have a 99 year guarantee as an option to home builders in Buriram Province. They can be painted, rendered, have rebar inside, hold the electrical conduit, PVC or PPE water pipes. fiber optic cable for fast internet in Buriram.