Terrazzo flooring finished, outside tiling going on and waiting for the kitchen to be installed.

The floors ready? That's what we thought... and the work, with a huge delay, finally has been done anyways. 

An amazing job. Making the top (Terrazzo) floors of our main house. Happy we asked our main construction materials shop (Home-Mart, Surin) a skilled firm in doing this job for us.

As already mentioned in our last blog, the owner with two workers started Tuesday January 14. The next day five workers were engaged with the work. Really hard (and heavy) work. Carrying bags of cement of 50 kg., buckets with mortar, bags of gravel, etc.. And nearly all by hand. For me it looked a kind of 'old fashioned' way as I remembered seeing the same activities, being a young boy, getting a new kitchen at our house in Haarlem, The Netherlands.  

Although, for instance, we offered free use of our concrete mixer, they refused. Just because they are not used to, and comfortable with it. Indeed they used a couple of times my laser instrument but actually liked their plastic hose filled with water, as spirit level, more. And yes, for culling some high concrete spaces to be able to level the floors, they used a kango hammer. One of the workers bare foot in stead of even on flipflops. No one wearing a mask, eye or ear protection. 

For two days they did not work because of the leveling cement needed to dry. Sad it was an understandable surprise but they did not tell it to us. We used that time to go on with preparations of the kitchen and priming the inner walls as far as possible. 

Sunday, January 19th, five persons again came to pour the top layer of the floors inside and outside. It took a while to find the right colors we wanted but after a while we decided to give it a 'go'. Mixing by hand in big tubs. I think the workers, afterwards, must have had lots of muscle pain. 

Wednesday January 22, again after a period of two days drying of the top layer, the company with four men and four ladies came to grind and polish the floors. In relation to the communication we had before with the constructor we thought that was it. 

No way. Stress levels of me (Frans) started to rise. 

Before they told us the whole process should take 7 days. So no problem to order to install the kitchen three days later. But it all worked out to be understood wrong by us or the information we got was not accurate. 

These 7 days worked out to be only for the gravel to dry and to start the process of grinding and polishing (that took three days).  

So only happy, thoughts. Wednesday January 22 turned out totally different then we thought. 

Electricity breaks over and over again. We were told our electricity system was not prepared for this heavy grinders and polishers. Even one of the three grinders broke down and the electric engine needed to be renewed. 

After the ninth power cut It worked out I found the problem. Nothing wrong with our electricity system.

This process needs lots of water to cool and support the grinding process. The man with the hand grinder, however, did not recognize his machine made the ongoing problems of the ongoing power cuts. Putting the working area over and over again under 220V. 

He repaired the cable of his machine after being broken during another job before. Sad but not in the totally right way. Water on the floors went into his repaired 'cable connection' work and caused ongoing short circuits. All our floors are earthed. 

All the machines and tools of the workers are not having any earth connection. They don't even have plugs. For them it's just a matter of putting the copper endings of the wires of machines and extension cables into any available outlet. 

I arrested all their cables and offered them my own cables. I repaired, in a water proof way, the hand grinder. The owner went to repair and bought a new electric motor. So a lot of delay because all this. But after that no problems any more and better safe working.

We decided to order to make the kitchen floor and part of the living room floor ready first so the process of delivering and installing the kitchen could take place on time as already organized. 

All this caused me (Frans) a lot of stress and again I discovered, after my accident and burn out years ago, I am still not ready to 'take it easy' in this ongoing disturbing situations. 

During this whole process unfolding for us, we went on with tiling, priming the inside walls as far as possible, finish the preparations for the kitchen to arrive, and checking paint colors for the inside of the house. The kitchen sink, the induction hub and hood are waiting to be installed. Tuesday January 21 we fixed the electricity connections for the entire inside kitchen. 

Now, after much more days as thought, we know the steps of the process:

-    leveling and preparing slopes needed,

-    two days drying,

-    Pouring gravel cement in a color(s),

-    two days drying,

-    Grinding, grinding, grinding and grinding,

-    Repairing holes, 

-    Scrubbing,

-    Polishing,

-    Scrubbing again and cleaning,

-    Drying,

-    Waxing.

Much more than seven days as told before but... it's done now. 

Thursday afternoon at 3 PM, January 23, the (Kitzcho brand) kitchen furniture was delivered. It arrived a couple of days ago from the factory in Bangkok, already at the shop (Home Pro) in Surin where we ordered. Friday 24th technicians from the factory, dealing with our region, will come to install at our place. We keep you posted.

Just the pictures to give an indication of all the work on flooring that has been done. 

Leveling started

Cutting away too high concrete with a Kango

Watering the concrete floors to be able to level
with a special mortar

Drying (two days)

The workers take lunch together

Gravel and top-floor mortar delivered. 

Leveling with slope of the outside entrance floor

The workers flooring, I am tiling

Dog-enter and sun protection for one day/night.

The build a kind of water tower to get cooling water 
for three grinding machines

One of the, by me, arrested extension cables

Without food, especially Thai people, cannot live ;)

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Outdoor tiling and flooring in progress

As told before, we started with outdoor tiling of the walls on Monday January 6. Wednesday January 8 we got the message the flooring company will start today. So we worked to be ready with the basics (the entrance) before that date and, just on time, succeeded. 

Tiling is just a lot of work. All together we need to tile 40' meters, 3.5 meters high. For the entrance we finished 8'm. 

Yesterday we needed half a day for joint filling, after installing the aluminum corner protections/trims. 

I choose for a double sealing process of the floor tiles on the walls. After gluing and placing the tiles, I put an extra layer of special mortar around every tile to protect leaking. After the tiling process is finished I put a special (German brand 'Weber' joint-filler) also used for swimming pools. Just to be sure the indoor walls never will be wet or with moisture during or right after the rainy season. I always feel very sad to see this plastered and painted wet walls everywhere around here in the village. 

Under the lowest tiles we installed a 10 cm wide tar 'Duraone' flashing tape to be sure no rainwater can affect the concrete hollow core slab floor after we made the final pavement (we will install a pavement on sand around the house afterwards and you will not see this flashing tape). 

We installed three waterproof electric outlets. One of them with a 'hotelswitch' for the indoor roof lights of the meditation/yoga sala at the first floor. Also the waterproof outdoor lamp is installed already. Happy everything is functioning well.  

    

The only thing we still need to do is to polish the tiles and take some of the left overs of joint fillers off. The pictures in our blog are made without the final polishing. 

Phatsamon is preparing, with our favorite primer, the inside walls and we bought already the first finishing coatings (TOA Super shield brand) to put after the top floors are finished. Be sure we keep you posted about that and about the choice of the color combinations we made. 

Like it seems now we can order to install our kitchen end of January beginning February. So things, unexpected, are going quick at the moment.  

Our new generator was delivered yesterday. Too early to install yet (although all the preparations are ready) but prices this year went up with around 10.000 THB (around 275 Euro's). So happy this 'life comforter' during power breaks is there. 

This morning three workers arrived from the floor company and started to measure and level already. Cleaning the space we had to remove the bamboo ceiling sheets we already painted and prepared for the sala. Unfortunately we saw we cannot use this bamboo. We discovered all sheets are suffering of a kind of bamboo worm eating the bamboo. So, sad about the money and work, we have to find another option for that. 

The flooring will take around one week to be ready and, to be safe, another two more days to dry to use. We informed the kitchen company and this afternoon we got the approval they will install January 24th our kitchen we ordered. 

 

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Preparing for tiling, painting and flooring and dog house arrived

Because of the good weather condition for working (Thai dry winter period) we want to start with outside tiling. For that the outside walls need to be prepared. And for that again the veranda needed to be finished first. We succeeded with that. Only the last floor plank need to be installed after the outside wall tiling is finished. 

Inside the house we installed already all the electric outlets and switches.

We face too many and too long unexpected power-breaks through the year. So, to the consumer unit we made a connection for a second generator. This time a Rowel 6500E (5500 Watt) generator. We ordered this morning in Bangkok. 

This generator, in case of a power break, can take over most basic needed energy consumption of the main house mainly in relation to our hot climate. 

This new and stronger generator will support the fridge and freezer in the inside kitchen and the kitchen storage room. Also the bedroom air-conditioning and bedroom lights, internet and some emergency power outlets through the house. 

We already have a Rowel 3800E (3100 Watt) generator for the TED's and the control room/ pumphouse and are very satisfied with this one. 

Friday January 3 we got a firm to make a quotation for the flooring. Before they can start, the tiling of the entrance and coating of the inside walls with a first primer coating need to be done. Like it seems now, after we get the quotation and agree with it, they can start before the end of the month. 

Last Sunday, January 5th, at 9.50 AM the dog house/bedroom was delivered. Really a great service from the company in Bangkok during the whole process from order to delivery. Two cars came to deliver on time. As far as we can see now a great product made with craftsmanship. 

Baijka and Taffy have to get used with the new situation but are doing great. Space to breath (the cage they had for the nice really was getting too small for them. 

Now they have a kind of lasting 'dog hotel room' with inside light, outside light and even a special protected Hatari fan. 

To honor and say thanks for the land we got from the parents of Phasamon we ordered a 'remembrance stone'. A green marble plate (of 15 x 30 cm) with inscription in Thai and English. We will fit it in the tiling work between the sliding door and the entrance.

We finished tiling the first of two main pillars of the entrance/first floor yoga & meditation-sala. The second we only can do the lower part because I need to weld the stairs to the first floor first. This lower part with mosaic tiles now is finished to be ready for flooring.

Tomorrow we will start with tiling the outside walls. A process that will take a long time. First the walls with a kind of grater needs to be as flat as possibel. After that Phatsamon brings the basic TOA hydro quick primer on the walls before we can glue the tiles.   

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com