Woodwork and more

We are in the rainy season now. Many times, during the afternoons and nights no rain but really waterfalls. The rice farmers around us are happy. Also, our field is doing great showing the new rice plants in my favorite color. Happy to have the concrete road now to our site. 

Because of the rain all kind of animals want to stay dry. Our four dogs many times are under the veranda's or in the TED's (Talk, Eat and Drink place). But more animals arrive. Thousands of ants, swarms of termites, some mice and a rat. 

Dog's Taffy and Baijka enjoy hunting the mouses. This helps to keep them as much as possible away from our land. A beautiful rat in the control-room we caught in a special trap and freed him or her 5 km further in the forest. 

Many ants visit and disturb our electricity switches especially outside. A lot of work to clean again and keep the system working. 

It has all to do with living in the fields and, let's face it, we are the intruders...

Because the hardware store ran out of ceiling wood, we had to wait two weeks to be able to pick up another 80 pinewood planks. 

In the meantime I prepared the guest toilet for tiling and worked in the bedroom to do the preparation for the sliding door to install of the cloth storage space. We closed the veranda floor of the main house and covered with tarpaulins because the sun/rain roof is not yet installed, and it creates a dryer space for our dogs and some of their friends to stay cool and dry.  

Phatsamon does do the preparation of the woodwork (coating). Together we install. A lot of work but we like the results a lot. 

First, we have to install 'metal stud wall' frames, after that the Stay Cool 7.5 cm thick isolation every time after three planks are fixed, and after that cut and screw the woodwork. Still a couple of weeks to go to finish this job. 

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Hiccup after hiccup but still some progress

After our short holidays in Chiang Mai, we were ready to go on. Stupid we made a bit of a goal to start using the main house half July this year. And, as the other experienced years of building learned, for us this is wrong. No timeframe, no stress and enjoying the work we did do and still do. 

Hiccups appeared, serious health problems of several close family members in The Netherlands, lot's of disturbance because of unforeseen maintenance and last but not least our oldest friend Kadhow, getting disabled within two days and getting a worse and worse condition because of a sickness he got from a thick. On a daily base he asks, and be sure we give, special care at the most strange times of the day and night.

My mood changed and i got irritable. Totally not my thing but it happened. Sad also sometimes for Phatsamon. 

So, I am retired, we skipped the timeframe again and hope we can deal with the situation we are temporarily in better. A learning process. 

All together in one month time we did not make a lot progress, the rainy season started with the first storms as well, but still. Phatsamon harvested the first mango's.

About the hiccups:

#    We got a pump damage again (solved).

#    Chalk blockage inside one of our water storage tanks (removed).

#    Aircon pyramid 1 blocked because of a mouse inside the outside unit (cleared).

#    Fallen tree and other storm damage (cleared after chain saw repair).  

#    Washing machine stopped working (repaired).

#    Some repairs at Phatsamon's mothers house (done). 

Progress:

#    Bought ceiling materials, 60 roles Stay Cool isolation and ceiling wood.

#    Paint a primer coating the wood.

#    Installed big crystal ceiling ball at yoga/meditation sala.

#    Installed upper isolation ceiling (of two) of Bed-, bathroom and cloth storage. 

#    Prepared Air-conditions installation.

#    Started with roof isolation and wood cover of Living room and kitchen.

#    12.000 BTU Samsung Windfree inverter airco installed in bedroom (today)

#    22.000 BTU Samsung Windfree inverter airco installed in livingroom (today). 

Note A very professional Home Service Team of four persons of HomePro installed the aircondition systems. It took them over 15 minutes to drill through the plastered and floor-tiled load bearing walls but they succeeded. They worked till 7 PM in the evening. Bravo! We took, my mothers way, good care of them ;).

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Surprise! After over five years waiting, we finally got a concrete road!

Yesterday early morning at 6 AM, after a nearly three weeks holiday in Chiang Mai we arrived home in Surin. A 900 km trip with our Mazda-2 during the night again. 

And guess what... the first time we could use the brand-new concrete road to our site. 

During our visit in Chiang Mai, as a surprise, we saw at our CCTV camera's the local government started to work to make the second part of the road to our land. Great we were not at home because we took all five dogs with us to Chiang Mai so they could not leave their 'dog-buddha-footprints' in the fresh poured concrete. 

First we were told the second step should be another part of 4 meters just till our land. The biggest surprise was they, for now, passed the entrance of our site and we got the road 5 meters wide in front of the entrance. 

All together, last year june they made a 205 meter construction 4 meters wide. This step the first made another 100 meter 4 meters wide and after that 80 meters 5 meters wide. All together 385 meters to the nearest concrete village road. 

So, the over 500 meters we have to travel to our village, we do not have to do through the mud during the rainy season and also the dust will be much less. 

The whole project investment (so far) was THB 944.500 (around Euro 25.000). Thank you local road department (Or Bor Tor) Na Bua, Surin for this. 

Arriving home, on the other hand, we could not enter our land. The thickness of the road is 15 cm. So, early this morning we ordered a truck of road gravel to make a slope/entrance and we are working on that now. 

We take that easy because we have to adapt to the high temperatures here again. Today 41 degrees C already and temperatures will be higher the coming weeks. 

Being in Chiang Mai we ordered a fountain as decoration for the entrance of the house at a fountain shop in that city. 

Also unexpected it was delivered three days earlier than discussed and delivered now by Phatsamon her mother in the village. So we had to pick the heavy packages with our own truck and are working on placement and installing. 

So... nearly fully back on track the first day back. 

Monday we go to the Or Bor Tor to thank them for there work and efforts and we will bring also a surprise to the road workers because they missed our daily 'care' during their work because we were on holidays. 

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com