Roof insulation second pyramid guest room fixed.

Today the two of us finished the installation of the roof insulation of the second guest pyramid room. All together 30 roles of SCG Stay Cool insulation material (or 68 m2).

Our experience with the first guest pyramid, we temporary use as our private bedroom now, is not that the building stays cool at all. The material does not help the building during the day to become warm inside. Actually normal because the pyramids are in the sun the whole day and basic temperatures we have in Surin are (far) above 30 degrees C nearly eight months a year.

The great thing of this material and roof construction we made is that when we switch on the air-conditioning, the room within a couple of minutes is cool and, indeed, stays cool easily. Saving the energy consumption of our inverter aircon units. 

Next step to do will be some inside painting and electricity installation and gluing the inside border of blocks for tiling. After that we have to install the ceiling, finish (equalize) the top floor and bring in the laminate.  

Without any problems we can go on with the blocks because we already have all the materials for this. For installing the ceiling we need special (Shera) wall planks. They are heavy and we need to do two turns with our truck. 

Problem is, because of a very wet rainy season this year, we cannot use the dirt-road because it turned into a mud field. Several cars (and scooters) already were stuck in the mud. Cars needed the help of a tractor to be freed again.  

So we have to wait till there is a period of a couple of days dry weather so the road is stable enough to transport the planks with our Kia truck. 

 

Frans Captijn

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

A main house of over 80.000 kg construction weight

As we mentioned before (16 August 2022) we did not yet get permission from the Or Bor Tor (local government in charge of constructions, roads and building) to start building our designed main house in November this year. 

Main reason, as they say, is Thai law (Building act) at some points is different than the Dutch/European and the way we want to build is just not the Thai way. So easy for us to say it's also not well known to the officials working here. 

In Thailand mostly the way of building houses is to build on piles with columns and beams. In between they fill up with half stone masonry and plasterwork. Concrete floors are poured on soil. 

We want to build without columns, with a 70 cm width strip foundation, with concrete hollow core-slabs prestressed floor panels on strong 20 cm thick blocks (so we want to create a crawl space under the floors to ever be able to fix pipes and also to protect mold in the walls), and with load-bearing walls. Maybe we are the first ones in Surin but not the first ones in Thailand. 

We had several contacts with the Q-Con blocks firm who produces the special strong blocks for load-bearing walls. They told us there are several projects in the country, nearly all designed by farang (people from europe) who made and make the structures the way we designed. 

So on behalf and on request of the Or Bor Tor we made weight and strength calculations (all together 8 pages) both in English and Thai. Today we finished that job.

We were also asked to copy and translate my Dutch degree of being a constructional engineer/architect. We also finished that. 

So this week we will go to the print shop to print and sign the new paper work and give the request for building a second try. 

Although this was all extra work again for us it was nice to get an insight in the weight of the new to build house (basic weight over 80.000 kg and calculation weight of nearly 110.000 kg) and also to be able to show the construction in weight and strength at least is 15 times 'oversized'. 

Indeed, that's a lot and overdone but it's the way we want to build it. 

At Wednesday morning, August 24, we need to pick up the extension of our second building permission (for the two pyramid guest houses). Just to have a legal document for finishing this project within two more months. 

The same day we will go for a second attempt to get permission to start to build our main house in November this year. Fingers crossed. 

Frans Captijn

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Third air-conditioning unit installed

Holidays in Chiang Mai are over and we are slowly getting back on track of our building activities and the further, by the local government asked, completion of the request for building permit of our main house in Surin. 

Today we got the third inverter air-conditioning unit at our place installed. 

Not easy for the firm to reach our place. Yesterday, after a huge tropical shower, we were in lockdown again because the dirt road to our site was only mud. The company had to turn around and tried, with success, to reach our side through less mud after one day no rain again.

Where we choose Panasonic for the TED's place (9.000 BTU) and first guest pyramid room (18.000 BTU) we made the choice for a Samsung Windfree Lite inverter system of 18.000 BTU for the second guest pyramid. 

This unit, for us, has the right conditions for now and also a good air clean filter system for our guests. 

For the main house we need two more systems but this will take around two years and we will look around what fits us best at that moment.

Frans Captijn

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Request for building permission so far not approved.

Today we went to the Or Bor Tor to deliver four sets of design and construction drawings to get permission to start to build our main house in November this year. 
Although the drawings themselves were OK and better than the local government building division most of the time received they cannot be approved so far the government official told us. 

We want to build in a Dutch / European way and Thailand is not used to that. Thai building designs (and even law) work with a structure of 20 x 20 cm concrete poles and beams to be filled up in between with most of the time a thin plastered wall. The maximum distance between the concrete poles (grid) is 4 meters. Our walls are 4, 6 and 12 meters (For the 6 and 12 meters walls with reinforcement but not well known in Thai building). 

We do not like this concrete poles in the private house and want to work with so called 'load-bearing walls' and a strip foundation (as we also did with the two pyramids). Reason why we do not use 'normal' quality wall blocks but an extra strong quality. 

The other thing is that our building will be 7 meters high were max 4 meters is allowed for private (without a Thai architect/constructional engineer) design.

So, we are some steps backwards in the process and have to make construction and weight calculations now first. I also have to copy my Dutch degree of being an architect and constructional engineer. We hope after this hick-up we will get permission. Not sure... step by step. In the mean time we go on finishing Guest Pyramid room two. 

Frans Captijn

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

 

Design and construction drawings for our main house ready

Yesterday, after a bit more than five weeks work during our holidays in Mae Rim (Chiang Mai, Thailand) we succeeded to finish 23 A-3 pages of design, information and construction drawings for our main house. 

The Or Bor Tor (local building permission) asked us to deliver them in four sets together to start the process to get building permission. We got the sets today from the printshop. 

Our intention is to start building our main private house in November this year. I guess it will take between 2.5 and 3 years to finish this new part of our process building everything together. 

Not to get any problems with the Thai Immigration, advised by a Thai lawyer, we need to get the building permission on my name. I already got an official land lease agreement from the Landoffice and a so called 'yellow-book' as registration for our address. 

Second half of August we will go to the Tambon (sub-district) government hall to sign all kind of papers and deliver signed copies of my passport, the land paper and the yellow book and, off course, the four sets of drawings. From that moment it's waiting. 

Fingers crossed. 

Frans Captijn

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com