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Project: Baan Sanploen

Posted By Alec on February 5, 2010

Often, when building in Thailand, the land is reclaimed farm land and has previously not been built on.  In this case, it is necessary to build up the level of the land with earth.  This is done for two reasons. Firstly, much farm land was previously used for rice cultivation and as such is prone to flooding during the rainy season, so raising the level is advantageous.  Secondly, the weight of the earth stabilises the land beneath, to make a stable base for the foundations/footings.  Once the level of land has been built up, the earth should be left to sit for several months before building can start in order to allow the land to settle (Unless piles or bore holes are to be used).

The land that we have bought is a part of Thip Thani and had been levelled at the time the rest of the village had been built, some 15 years ago, so it was unnecessary to build up the level or leave the land to settle, meaning that we could begin construction immediately.

The first step, was to clear the the land of vegetation, then level the land to create a flat plot of land on which to build.  We did however require about four trucks of earth in order to fill various  holes in the land.

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Tags: construction, home building, house design, Land, Nong Khai

Project: Baan Sanploen

Posted By Alec on February 3, 2010

As a foreigner living in Thailand, you often find things are not done quite the way that you are used to, and buying land is no exception.  The first hurdle is finding available land.  Whilst there are some estate agents, they are few and far between.  Property is often ‘advertised’ solely by word of mouth.  If a third party brings a buyer to a seller, then it is normal for the seller to pay that third party a commission of 3%.  It is this commission that makes the system work.

Even so, you still have to find the piece of land that is right for your project.  We spent quite some time choosing the right spot, but decided on a plot in Thip Thani, Nong Khai.  Thip Thani is a small village of about 80 semi-western style properties about 5km outside of Nong Khai Town, on the edge of the larger Thai village of Na Khlong.  I say ‘semi-western style’, because whilst the properties in Thip Thani are less like traditional local Thai houses, they are also not quite built to the same specifications as one may be used to say, back in England, where I am from.  When the house is complete, we will be offering it for either sale or rent. Whilst most expats in Thailand appreciate and enjoy Thai culture, it is true to say that most also like to be a part of an expat community. As about 50% of Thip Thani homes are either owned or rented by expats, this was an ideal location for our fist property.

So, to the land…. You may be familiar with Acres, Hectares, and Square feet or Meters, but in Thailand, different units of area are used as follows:

1 TalangWa  =  4 s.qm

1 Ngan  =  100 TalangWa  (400 sq.m)

1 Rai  =  4  Ngan (1,600 sq.m)

Alhough not used here, 1 acre is equivalent to 2.5 Rai.

The land that we have chosen is 96 TalangWa (384 sq.m).

Once we had negotiated a price with the owner, we made an appointment at the Nong Khai land registry office where the land was transferred to our name on the “Shanote” paper or property deeds.   Payment to the seller was made at this time, and there was also a fee of 1,860THB for the name transfer.  Ordinarily, vacant land has “Shanote Posts” to mark the land boundaries, but there were none at on this land and so there was a further fee of 2,880THB for someone from the land registry office to come and measure and mark out the land boundaries.

The next step is to clear the land and design the house!

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Tags: Buying Land, construction, Home, Ngan, Nong Khai, Rai, TalangWa

Project: Baan Sanploen

Posted By Alec on February 1, 2010

Welcome to our new blog!

Though Nong Khai Design is a relatively young company, we have found that our services have been heavily in demand.  So much so, in fact that we have barely had time to develop our own website, as you will have noticed from the ‘under construction’ banners.  To address this, we have decided to add this blog to our site in order to document some of the projects we are working on.

Ordinarily, Nong Khai Design would be commissioned by a third party to undertake a project for which we would be provided with a design brief.  However, we have recently decided to branch out into the property development business ourselves.  There are issues regarding privacy and blogging about clients’ projects, so this blog will focus on our own project to build homes for subsequent sale or rental.

I will be documenting the progress of the build here on an almost daily basis.  I hope that through this you will gain an understanding of the construction process and may find it useful when planning your own building projects either in Nong Khai or elsewhere in Thailand.  I obviously also hope that it will give you an appreciation for the attention to detail and build quality that we care about so much at Nong Khai Design.

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Tags: construction, home building, house design, Nong Khai