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Home > Original Coolthaihouse Section > Original Coolthaihouse Build > Basics

Foundation columns

I'm not really sure what these are called in English, the Thai word is 'sauw', which I'm terming 'Foundation Columns'. There isn't the same kind of foundation done as in European building, but it is fairly simple and durable. 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 at 2.5 meter intervals 2.) A rebar frame is put in place for a base 'footing' 3.) The foundation column frame is attached to the footing. 4.) Concrete is poured over the footing. 5.) Lastly, the concrete is poured within wood frames around the post frame to create the foundation pillar.

14 files, last one added on Sep 27, 2011
Album viewed 131 times

Concrete Pour

The flooring in the cool thai house was done so dropping a bowling ball on it wouldn't do much damage! After seeing the job done on a patio with razor thin layer of concrete and the rebar metal sitting below in sand, I paid particular attention to the progress here.

14 files, last one added on Sep 27, 2011
Album viewed 75 times

Wall

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 laid horizontally 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. Here we used a thick coat of about 1 centimeter in depth. The 'chap' is what gives walls the real strength.

11 files, last one added on Sep 27, 2011
Album viewed 77 times

Tile

The tiling done on this job turned out especially nice. All tiles used on this project are grade A (tiles come in grade A, B and C). The main floor area has a tile with a pink hue and natural pattern (each tile has the identical pattern). Because the pattern is so hard to see, several tiles were inadvertently laid in the wrong way and needed to be chipped out and reset. All areas that needed to be sloped were correctly sloped during the laying of the tiles. This is especially important in the bathrooms, where the level of the floor must slope correctly to allow the water to exit via the floor drain. Also, in the patio this is important so that if water comes in contact with the floor it will flow away from the entry door.

There are many different patterns of tiles used as indicated below.

kitchen: natural stone design 30 centimeter square size for the floor, natural dark green granite 40 * 25 centimeter for the outside of the kitchen cabinets, 20 * 20 brownish hue for the kitchen walls and an eye level row of decorative small design tiles.

patio: natural stone design 30 centimeter square tiles (same as the kitchen floor).

bathrooms: natural stone design 20 centimeter square size for the floors, natural stone tan 20 * 25 centimeters for the bathroom walls, white 20 * 25 pattern for the sink cabinet, and an eye level row of decorative small design tiles.

15 files, last one added on Sep 27, 2011
Album viewed 63 times

Roof

The roof is of course a major part of the house. And now even more so with the popularity of the tile roofs. Heavy tile is a good durable roofing material and not only that: it is very attractive. Its popularity (tile) is due to demand from foreigners building (or buying) houses here. Now, practically every house built for foreign buyers uses the heavy tile. However, it is not the most practical roofing material. First off, it is real heavy. Each tile weighs about 4 kilograms, the roof on this house uses about 3000 tiles, which comes to about 12 metric tons. The weight requires the support structure to use a lot of heavy duty metal. Any problems in the support structure will cause the steel supports to bend. Secondly, the material is brittle. If you walk on it a lot it will chip and crack. Also it is not the most secure material, someone wanting access to your house can get on the roof and remove some tiles to gain entry. That all being said if you ever want to sell your house, it will need to have a tile roof. For more information on roofing materials, please check out the roof info page here!

One thing about this project is that I got to see plenty of development going on and was able to observe many house builders. One thing I can say is that the cool thai house builders did a very exceptional job and really put in a lot of effort to get the job done right. That being said, the roof was really a struggle. This time I went the 'one contract price for all labor to build the house' route (although extra contracts were made to cover electric, some plumbing and other add ons -- which are not a part of the house proper). In further jobs, I will use specialists for specific jobs, especially the roof. I was able to observe a company who specializes in roofs come in and do an neighbors roof and I was very impressed. Back to this house, there were two problem areas with the roof. The first was evaluating how much supporting metal was needed. Observing some metal bending due to stress from the weight of the roof sent me scurrying off to find and engineer (see engineer rip-off). As it turned out the problem was corrected by straightening the metal and adding some supplemental metal supports. The second area was two roof valleys. Under the roof valley there is aluminum gutter drainage. In our case we used inadequate (in size) aluminum drainage which caused countless days of repair work to eventually get it fixed.

One other note about the roof, is be careful when choosing a architect. As my friend Nick noted in the article on the Planning Czar, you can run into problems when getting plans drawn up. As for my experience here, basically the pitch on the roof is steeper than anticipated, but it looks real nice and gives the house and air of superiority. That being said, if I was designing this house again I would lower the roof height (in the middle of the house) from 2.75 meters to maybe 2.25 meters. The additional height caused a lot of extra materials to be used and the added height doesn't add that much.

40 files, last one added on Sep 27, 2011
Album viewed 95 times

Windows and Doors

There were a few different groups involved with the windows and doors. The regular crew did the framing. A skilled window and door craftsman installed the windows and doors. A metal company did the glass, security metal and screens. Another metal company did the front screen door. And finally, a curtain company installed the curtains.

39 files, last one added on Sep 27, 2011
Album viewed 75 times

6 albums on 1 page(s)

Last additions - Basics

Metal door holders, as used throughout. These solid door holders use a ball bearing to lock in place. (20-Aug-04)dozerSep 27, 2011

Wood windows in front of house.dozerSep 27, 2011

Finished front door. (19-Aug-04)dozerSep 27, 2011

Curtain installation. (29-Jul-04)dozerSep 27, 2011

Random files - Basics

Pour in progress in the front bedroom.dozer

Pour close up. (21-Apr-04)dozer

Center section roof truss section. Notice the secondary metal supports. The roof has about 12 metric tons of roof tiles. dozer

Here a tile is being set in place.dozer

The front door lockset was installed upside down. It is amazing how many different things which go into a house can actually be installed backwards or upside down. (25-Jun-04)dozer

The roof tile will lie on the 1 by 1, so they must be placed at proper intervals. Notice the cross beam supports which sits on top of the foundation posts. dozer

Finishing off a detail section is a doorway.dozer

Cement is hand mixed, adding in sand and stone. Notice on the left is a support rebar base.dozer

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