We decided to GO for it.

A message to share.

Today we worked on the land for a large part of the day (taking and checking measurements and calculating and directing electricity lines, poles and the idea that we have checked). Also to check the supply route to see if a truck (concrete / sand / building materials and the truck to deliver the site office). The temperatures during daytime over 30 degrees and yes that causes sweating. Happy not to suffer this time of the year of any allergy. Actually, my main reason to have a last check to get a go or no-go.

Kadhow again loved to be free on the land. But… he also wanted to cool down a bit. So he jumped tonto the pond and rolled in the grass totally happy and crazy. After that he found the shade of the car. So far nearly the only shade on the land now.

This afternoon we went to introduce and share our plans to the future neighbors. We also went to the so called “Pujaj Baan’ (the headman or mayor of the village) to introduce and share our ideas. Also to ask if there are any problems or questions immediately to share and discuss to find a good solution.

One more time together we talked about the plans, individual wishes and ideas and decided to give the process a GO. No hurry, building as meditation and enjoying every step. It will be a process that takes years. And we are sure it will not only be a road full of roses to go. Challenges will come enough…

The first electricity posts are placed on December 31^st already and we ordered this afternoon the site office / temporary place to stay.

Tomorrow we bless the land with the idea to ask for a happy and healthy future there together and to ask for no or no serious accidents to happen.

So certainly a ‘landmark’ on the road of our process to share.

Frans Captijn

e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Permission for Knock Down Home / site office / temporary living place

This morning we got permission from the so called Obotor, to place a site office annex temporary living space on the land. 
An Obotor is a department of the local and Thai national government that is responsible for building permissions and keeps sight on building activities. 

So we offered a company already six drawings to make a quotation for our shipping container idea, as I wrote about in my blog of December 10th. On the picture the idea of the floorplan.

We intent to place this container beginning March 2020.

Frans Captijn

e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Transportation

For our project we need for about four till five year a lot of construction and garden materials. And... we need to move from Chiang Mai and Bangkok to Surin. 
Sure our great Mazda 2 is not able to carry that all and will be damaged a lot. 
So we made a calculation about the costs and compared with the expected costs we can calculate so far. 

It worked out it's much more practical to buy a small truck and if we want to sell that one again after the project is finished. 

This is what we found. A nearly brand new mini truck still with company guaranty and not even 6000 km on the clock. In January we have to pick it up.


Frans Captijn

e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Progress in preparation and development

Just a short update.

Preparations are going on and so far going well. 

We got quotations for the electricity lines from 3 companies. 
The basic land plan still is the idea we want to go on with.
Architectural and constructional drawings are more and more developing. 
I bought welding equipment and will get a welding course soon. 

End of December a small excavator will visit the land and will dig some holes to check the soil. Also the place for the labyrinth and Buddha statue will get its first land preparation. That's why we made already the landmarks as you see on the picture. 

These landmarks we will also use to mark the places where the company have to put the 15 concrete (Provincial Electricity Authority standard) poles to cover the around 300 meters distance to the land. 
The company also will connect the first two 35 mm2 electricity cables. We start with a so called 'one phase' and 220 V connection. After some time possibly it is necessary to switch to a three phase (380/400 V) connection so we have to add another two more lines and transformer. 

We are discussing the idea to put a shipping container (see the picture as an example) for temporary use on the land. They are ready made, isolated and installed by a Thai company and just gives us a cool (AC) place to stay, sleep, store some hardware and not to forget have a good shower and toilet. 
A calculation Phatsamon made showed at the long term this can save us money instead of living temporary in a resort or even rent a house. Afterwards we can sell it again or use it as a storage or something else.

If we decide to make use of this option we will make an isolated metal roof above the container that also covers a small terrace in front. We will raise the container to get some space underneath and a nice sun covered space for dog Kadhow. 


Frans Captijn

e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Planning without time schedule. No S.M.A.R.T. quality planning and goal setting but quality building as a meditation.

For our building project and ideas, we do not work S.M.A.R.T. at all.

During my former work I had to deal with this management tool (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant/Realistic and Timely).

In my opinion it always was, and for me still is, a source in creating stress, restrain creativity, offering less real attention and soul engagement to quality, a tremendous workload with flowcharts, etc., and giving all kind of abilities for everybody to complain and criticize. So… all negative energy I do now want to deal with anymore.

Our goal is the journey of the process. And maybe you cannot call it a project anymore in a ‘management setting’ because possibly it will be endless. An ongoing process of improvement and engagement as we hope.

And yes, there are ‘critical’ factors in that. Like health, cooperation, weather, grant factors, let’s face it also our moods, and not to forget money.

We only start every time with a part of the project if the money to finish it is available at the start. A safe way of planning. And yes, be sure we made (and will even more make) a calculation for every part of the project and administrate our expenses in Excel.

So, building without time schedule and I see it as a meditation. And I am sure we will need meditation during the process because not everything will be smart (in another way as S.M.A.R.T.) as we have in mind now.

So, although there is no, and will never be, a flowchart there is a kind of follow up row in things that need to be done.

# Step 1:

Some landscaping (around pond) and building preparation on the land (positioning).

To create some shade and storage space we start with the 2 cars carport.

Actually, an easy thing to build because it is only flat concrete with a steel roving on a metal frame.

Also, we need a small flat concrete plateau for the 1.500 L water storage tank, the water pressure pump and the temporary building electricity outlet.

At the same time we will poor the concrete for the ‘Petite Chartres’ labyrinth. 8.5 meters in diameter. Possibly together with the foundation for the Spirit house (facing North-West) and the Buddha at the east side of the labyrinth (facing East).

During this phase of the project also the electricity line needs to be made and after that the drilling for water.

# Step 2:

Install waste water treatment system.
Building Guest pyramid room A. This is the guest room that is the nearest to the main house. The intention is to build this as our temporary place to stay during the building process of the main house. It saves us costs of a hotel or rental we need during step 1. Maybe we will find a way to use the finished carport as a temporary shelter.  

Land scaping around Guest pyramid room A.

# Step 3:

Building the main house.  

Landscaping around the main house.

# Step 4:

Make partly the road on the land before the main house and guest pyramid room.

# Step 5:

Building Guest pyramid room B between the carport and room A.

Landscaping around Guest room B and finish the road on the land.  

So, as you can imagine… it will all take some time.

It is finished when it is finished. 


Frans Captijn

e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Progress in designing

We made some progress in designing and hope the government (Obator) will accept our ideas beginning 2020.

In general:

All pyramids will be covered by classic (ceramic,) roof tiles on a steel construction. The roofs will get thick (10 and 7,5 cm) mineral wool isolation. Inside walls will be of so called ‘Metal stud’ and ‘Q-Con’ blocks. All doors 100 cm in width. The roofs will get at several places Velux roof windows. Most on the North side. Maybe the first in Thailand but we contacted Velux and it is possible to get them here including sun protection.

The top of all pyramid is of sun protected glass. For the main pyramid, looking up from the ground floor, it creates a square ‘window’ of 80 x 80 cm. For the smaller ones of about 50 x 50 cm.

These windows create daylight inside the pyramid, offer the possibility for ventilation and in the evening, with light coming from inside, shows the project from a distance.

As used in the countryside of Thailand we also will work with an have to install a wastewater treatment system with sceptic tanks.

Landplan idea:

I posted already this idea.

Guest rooms:

The floorplans of the separate pyramid guest rooms, size around 6.5 x 6.5 meter) were ready already about four weeks ago. Like it seems now one will be the mirrored concept of the other one.

They both have a sleep/living space and a bathroom with toilet, washstand and hot water shower.

The bed will be ‘queen size’. For a possible third person there is a bed (80 x 200) under the top roof. Accessible by a revolving stepladder. An idea I got studying in the eighties at the Fire Service College.  

They both have one aircon, two wall fans, mini-fridge, safe, and not to forget have a sunroof covered space to relax outside.

Main house:

The main house is a combination of one big pyramid (around 10,5 x 10,5 meters) connected with, on the first floor above the private car and bike park, a smaller pyramid (Private Buddha, yoga and meditation room) of around 6 x 6 meter. The house has three aircons.

The ground floor covers the main entrance, hallway, guest toilet, stairs to the first floors corridor and inside atrium and balcony, kitchen, living room, master bedroom with walk in closet and bathroom with toilet, washstand and hot water shower. The living room (at the South) has, covered by an isolated sunroof, a glass wall of about four meters including sliding doors to a terrace and faces rice fields and a provincial road (at about 700 meters).

The first floor covers a corridor with connection to the Buddha/yoga/meditation room, inside balcony and outside balcony (on the North) facing the pond, garden, labyrinth and guest rooms.   

Now we are working and have to work on:

# Façade views

# Cross sections

# Details

# Construction drawings concrete (foundation, columns, prestressed solid plank slabs, rebar, floors, concrete construction stabilizers.

# Construction drawings steel

# Construction drawing staircase

# Construction drawings wood.

# Metal stud and Q-Block design

# Water, electricity and sewage (wastewater system with sceptic tanks) drawings (no gas because country site Thailand is used to gas bottles).

# Main electricity line design (310 meters)

# Constructional and updated financial calculations

# etc..

So still a lot to do 😉. 

Frans Captijn

e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Basic idea land plan

(Updated December 4, 2019/2562) 

Different designs passed already and now we are working at an idea, the eleventh in row, that fits us both well.
This evening we felt good by the floor plan of the main pyramid house. Second floor is on its way.
The two separate rooms (pyramids) for guests/visitors are in the second (deeper) stage of design and calculation.

Because the ideas of the outside structures of the buildings are born now, we were able to make a basic idea of the land plan. This plan suits in Thai building regulations in relation to distances of land borders / neighbors.

Find the idea: 

Frans Captijn

e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com