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Information on building a house in Pattaya, Thailand.  How to build a quality house for about $25,000 (1,000,000 Baht).  Pictures of home construction.  Different aspects of Thai home building and construction.  The building process outlined.

A great place to build, but the more information one has, the better.  This page has many articles and write-ups on various aspects of building a house in Pattaya, Thailand.  Most of the information can be applied to other areas within Thailand as well.  Most of the articles contain picture examples showing various stages of house construction.  You are not going to be building the house yourself, but the more you know the smoother it will go.  Hopefully these articles will help you visualize some aspect of your project ahead of time and provide information on various house building options.

The text is divided up into sections as follow.  General:  General information about building and some good ideas.  Basics: basic materials, foundation columns, concrete pours, wall construction, tile laying, roofing, windows and doors.  Details:  ceiling construction, finishing the eves with grc sheeting, how to create a inexpensive but nice kitchen, bathroom options along with a construction example and electrical considerations.  Other:  perimeter wall types and example, water systems and options, gate and security metal installation, an example of building a planter box and rain gutter installation.

General

General information and stories regarding building a house in Pattaya, Thailand.

Articles.  Many informative articles that discuss the planning process, how not to get burned by corner cutters, can a foreigner own land in Thailand?, a engineer rip-off story and more.	General info.  General information about building a house in and around Pattaya, Thailand.  How is the supply of skilled labor?  Is there really a housing bubble in Pattaya?  Availability of building supplies.  Current Thai architecture examples, both for foreign owners and Thais.
Good building ideas.  During the building of the first house I observed what I thought was a pretty good idea using double cement brick construction.	Architecture Examples.  A few current Thai architecture examples, both from typical Thai style to higher end expat dwellings.

Basics

The basics of building the house, including the foundation columns, concrete pour, walls, windows and the roof.

Basic materials.  Information on cement, construction blocks, and metals.	Foundation columns.  These are the oh so important supports which hold up the roof!
Concrete pour.  Concrete is poured over a wire framework which is laid on leveled sand.  The wire framework and the depth of concrete give the floor its strength.	Wall.  An example of concrete block wall construction and stucco application.
Tile.  The tile is laid on top of adhesive cement and tapped into place to get just the right orientation.  Straight lines are used to ensure the tile is laid true.	Roof.  Different kinds of roofing material.  An example tile roof construction.  How to avoid problems with the flashing in the roof valley.
Windows and doors.  Types of windows and door available with pros and cons of each.  Wood window and door framing example

Details

The details of the house, including ceiling layouts, roof eves, the kitchen, bathrooms, and electrical.

Ceiling.  Ceiling material options.  A drywall ceiling installation example.  Things to watch out for.	Eves.  The eve is the overhang of the roof.  A wood frame is affixed in place and grc sheeting is then applied to the frame.  The frame should not be made from coconut wood.
Kitchen.  How to do a nice kitchen completely from inexpensive construction materials.	Bathrooms.  Various material options.  Things to watch out for.  Examples of bathtub framing and glass shower stall installation.  How to make sink cabinets.
Electrical.  Why you should demand grounded electrical.  General electric information.  Why electric should be considered early on in the project.  Examples of electric installation in a cement block construction house.

Other

The details of the perimeter wall, water system and gate.

Perimeter wall.  Various kinds of perimeter walls.  How to spot non standard walls.  Wall options.  An example of a cement block wall being built.	Water.  What are the options for getting water to your house?  The advantages of having a water tower.  Deep vs. shallow well: which is better?  Filtration system example.  Surface well digging example.
Gate and security metal.  Which is better, stainless or regular metal?  Some examples of stainless and metal gates and security metals.  Installation of a sliding metal driveway gate.	Planter boxes Etc.  A couple of good ideas for inexpensive 'natural surroundings' type projects.  Planter boxes are constructed out of everyday construction materials of red brick, cement and some rebar.  The planter can be made in any different shape or size desired, it this example we look use it to create a natural separation wall surrounding the patio.  Paving stone walkways are simply fabricated cement stones laid in a pattern on sand to create a walkway or path, to the shape and size desired.
Gutters.  Gutters come in two materials, galvanized and stainless.  Galvanized, which is used in this example, last for up to 10 years.  Gutters are often used in combination with water tanks to capture rain water.

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