First two weeks in our main house

It took some time to publish this Blog because of some disturbances because of the border-conflict around, we were very busy with preparing the house to be able to use it, and time we enjoyed with visiting neighbors. But... here we are. 

We made it! Actually stupid to give ourselves a deadline and stress ourselves a bit up because a remembrance tile in the wall to honor Phatsamon's parents. But still. 

Tuesday July 15 our main house was ready enough to sleep there the first night.

We did do a lot of completion work insight the house since we published our last blog. Still there is some more work to do to complete the inside. 

The bathroom floor- and wall tiles are in. A lot of work especially to get the pattern of the floor tiles in, as well as the slopes to the basic shower gutter and main bathroom pits.

 

Suspended ceilings are in at the master bedroom, the walk in closet, the bathroom and kitchen storage. The first three mentioned areas are covered with a double layer of isolation on top of the ceiling tiles. All together with the main roof isolation now 22,5 cm.

We are sure, long-term, this will reduce the electricity costs of using the bedroom wind-free air-conditioning.

All together for the house we used 70 roles of SCG Stay Cool roof isolation. All together nearly 170 m2. 

At the places we made the ceiling lights we cut a free open space in the isolation blankets. So heat, produced by the lights, has the possibility to leave. 

Reasons why we installed this type of gypsum board system ceilings are: Easy to install for two persons, easy to reach electricity lines and to do roof and ceiling maintenance afterwards, several types of tile-patterns available and fire resistance. 

Also for the bathroom we installed our preferred, high German quality, Hafele equipment. It's really fun to work with these materials as porcelain toilets and wash bins, toilet showers, water waste traps/syphons, etc.. We think these products, although more expensive, are much more durable and less giving problems and so, at the end, are cheaper at the long term. 

The Hatari wall fan in the bedroom and a big exhaust fan for the bathroom are in and working. 

The master bedroom. living room/kitchen and kitchen storage got a non-battery operated fire alarm. 

All the electricity for ceiling lights in every space are installed now and working. Some in a combination of 'warm-white' and 'Daylight' tone. 

We installed cloth storage cabinets. Actually a mistake of me to order these online. It said 'solid' wood but worked out to be chip wood from China and we guess it will last only for a couple of years. For now it's OK. 

Our western kitchen got a check-up. Part of the contract but great they did do some small things to make things working even better and to get rid of some small damage. 

Ordered kitchen ware (Mostly Philips) arrived as well as dinner-ware and is in the kitchen cabinets already. 

We installed everything by ourselves, but I was in doubt to install the 1 x 1x 1.9 meter, I-Spa glass shower enclosure. The several doors must run without any problem every day a couple of times. So I asked Phatsamon to inform the company to install it and decided to let them do this job with guarantee. 

Although our house has a hot water boiler for the bathroom and kitchen, we decided not to install a so popular rain shower set. If we walk in the rain we like to open an umbrella. So, no rain shower for us. We have a hose with connected wonderful showerhead with different functions and, indeed, German brand Hafele. 

Furniture and interiors like lamps and show cabinets, for the singing bowls, arrived. Not everything is installed yet but step by step the inside of our house is getting into shape. Curtains, especially also to get a more soft sound in the living room, have to be made and installed. 

We ordered a streel bed-frame and rearranged it with wood around and made it higher.

A wooden sliding door to the walk-in-closet is installed as well. 

Around one more year to go. No rush to finish. Better to do it with attention. In around two months we can start finishing the outside and make the outside sunroofs and staircase to the first floor yoga/meditation sala. 

After two weeks of living in the house now, we can really say it feels energetic and tailor made. 

It's great, for the whole process of five and a half year so far we are building with our own hands, we did not take or had any loan or mortgage. Just every small step with our monthly pension. And a lot of small steps brought us this.

We love our small paradise and will slow down a bit more now. It's all finished when it's finished. And actually it will never finish because we are looking forward to take the next step to create a wonderful forest with a big pond and island at our land, adjacent to the pyramids, the TED's, the labyrinth and our main house. 

Guest toilet to be finished

Near future private forest with pond and Sala area

Thank you Carla & Peter de Goede
for your best wishes we received

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Top ceilings and electric installation finished. Up to tiling again

It's hot and humid. 35 degrees Celcius and 95% humidity at our place. Rainy season. It feels as 42 degrees and we loose many liters of sweat a day. It's hard working in combination with a lot of drinking and a lot of breaks. 

The wooden ceiling is in as well as the first layer of Stay Cool isolation! Happy to tell that. 

I nearly fell down nearly five meters because the brakes of the wheels of our scaffolding slipped and the scaffolding 'drove away'. I had to safe myself holding the steel construction till Phatsamon could rescue me. Always good to be together. Only a minor injury that healed within one week. Happy to exercise yoga every day.

This afternoon we could finish the electric installation and connect 10 individual 'groups' to the Siemens consumer unit. Hundreds of meters copper wire are in. At the end it looked like spaghetti but now it's all organized and... working. Just now only a matter of installing the ceiling lights now. The basic lights for the kitchen unit and (indirectly) lights for the living room ceiling are already in. 

Also the thick 3 x 4 mm2 copper cable for the connection to the generator (in case of powerbreak) is in now. The generator, in case of a power break, takes over the energy needed for the bedroom (including air-conditioning), bathroom, fridge and part of the kitchen, kitchen storage with freezer, internet router and fire-alarm system. 

Parts of the fire-alarm system and inside emergency lights are installed/prepared.  

The kitchen storage room and guest toilet got their top cover. A wooden border has to be installed. 

These two rooms including the master bedroom, walk in closet and private bathroom connected to the bedroom, all get a suspended ceiling, again with a layer of 7.5 cm Stay Cool isolation. 

All to just keep the inside temperature as stable and comfortable as possible and just to safe (long-term) electricity costs. 

The basic materials to install the suspended ceilings we already have at our site. 

We decided to make our own wooden, own design, special, king-size bed. Just after an idea we got from my former German neighbor. The very comfortable mattress for it arrived already.

Not only the mattress arrived. Also many other interior things and furniture are already waiting in one of the guest pyramids or will be delivered soon. 

For the kitchen storage we bought a freezer cabinet with drawers. Used to this in the hospitality branch, I like this cabinets much better than a box system. 

Tomorrow we start with tiling the private bathroom connected with the master bedroom. We focus on starting to use the main house July 15th this year. This is the 81 st birthday of Phatsamon's mother who, together with her dad who passed away already, gave the land to us. To honor them, we bought and placed close to the entrance a green marble remembrance plaquette. 

No, the house is not ready at that moment but... ready enough to start enjoying the great energy already. 

In the mean time we also enjoy everything we created already. Two guest pyramids, the labyrinth, the pond, the control room, the workplace, the TED's and the new house so far. 

Just around six weeks ago Google Earth did do an update of our area. Happy to see the road is in as well. 

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com