Project: Phen - 3 Bedroom home No.1
Posted By Alec on December 5, 2011
The roof tiles have arrived and the frame is nearly complete, almost ready for the tiles to be added. All walls are also nearly complete and almost ready for rendering.
Project: Amoon on the Mekong
Posted By Alec on December 4, 2011
Having poured the ground floor beams and columns, we are now busy preparing the scaffolding that will support the shuttering for the second floor beams.
Project: Amoon on the Mekong
Posted By Alec on November 30, 2011
We recently poured the concrete for the ground floor beams and are have prepared the shuttering, ready for the columns to be poured later today.
Project: Nong Wua So - 3 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on September 11, 2011
We have just begun work own our latest construction project in Nong Wua So district, near Udon Thani. Yesterday we marked out and excavated the footings. We used a large excavator, which makes the process very quick, however there is then a certain amount of manual work to be down to neaten up the holes and make sure all footings are to the correct depth, which is what we have been doing today. We have also added in the initial base layers of sand and concrete to the holes, onto which the main footings will be poured. Tomorrow is the lucky Buddhist day on which the first two columns will be erected. The final completion date for this project is March next year, so 6 months from start to finish. As we are nearing the end of the rainy season now, we should not have any major delays in construction.
Project: Amoon on the Mekong
Posted By Alec on August 22, 2011
We have begun pile driving, amongst other things, and this video shows the process of adding single pile. We are using 15 meter piles, driven to a depth of 16 meters. You will see in the video that once the pile is driven as far as it can go, and extension is added and it driven the additional meter to be at the correct depth. We will later excavate around the pile head in order to cast the concrete pile head mounting that will transfer the load from the columns and beams of the structure onto the piles.
Project: Amoon on the Mekong
Posted By Alec on August 8, 2011
After a long period of design, development and refinement, we are now set to begin construction of this spectacular luxury home and guesthouse in Sangkhom. Over the past week we have been preparing the site by clearing the land, building a temporary camp and materials store, and also ensuring good road access to the site. The main building structure is to be situated on top of the 3 meter high raised section of land you can see in the pictures below. The actual structure will sit on top of a large number of piles, driven 15m into the ground below. You can see in the pictures below that we have marked the position of all of the piles. Piling is scheduled to begin on 16th August but in the mean time we have to prepare a temporary earthwork ramp up to the raised area of land to give access to the large piling crane that will be used. It will take approximately 2 weeks to add in all of the piles, though piling work will stop for 19th August when the official Buddhist ceremony will be held at which time the first two columns of the house will be erected.
Project: Thip Thani - 4 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on August 8, 2011
According to our initial building schedule, this project would have been nearing completion by now. However, due to circumstances outside the control of either us or our client, work on the 4 bedroom home in Thip Thani had all but stopped for over 2 months. With our client’s situation now resolved, work has begun again and we working hard to get the project back on track. Tiling of the roof is nearly finished as is the external rendering. By the end of the week, internal rendering should also be complete and we will begin adding the exterior architectural detailing to the home.
Project: Modern 2 Bedroom 2 Storey Home (Thip Thani)
Posted By Alec on July 19, 2011
As I wrote in a previous post, with this project we had completed a very rough concept and were on hold untl our client found an appropriate plot of land. Well, they have now secured a plot of land in Thip Thani. This will actually be our fourth construction project in this increasingly popular ‘Moo Baan’, located about 5km outside Nong Khai town center.
It can be difficult to design a house without knowing the position, orientation and size of land on which it is to be built. However, in this case the size and layout of the initial design fit perfectly onto the clients chosen plot. However, I have substantial redesigned the exterior styling of the home following further consultation with our client. The architectural design work is now complete and we have now commenced the structural engineering work in order to produce a full set of construction drawings.
We are planning to begin construction some time in August.
Project: Thip Thani - 4 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on May 29, 2011
It’s been a while since my last post about this project, but all of the floor slabs are now in. The steel roof framework has been constructed and the block work is well nearing completion. We will now begin tiling of the roof and continuing with the block work.
Project: Fao Rai - 2 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on March 24, 2011
We have now completely tiled the floor of the house and covered the floor with a layer of cardboard to protect the tiles whilst we complete the rest of the interior work. We are also in the process of installing all of the windows and fitting out the bathrooms. The granite for the kitchen counter top is due to de delivered and fitted by Monday, which will then allow us to complete the tiling and fitting of the kitchen cabinets and appliances. We have applied an undercoat and are now awaiting top coats of paint.
Project: Fao Rai - 2 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on March 15, 2011
We have completed most of the exterior architectural detailing work and have poured the concrete foot path and patio areas around the house. We have also nearly completed adding in the suspended gypsum board ceiling and have begun to paint the house. We have also begun constructing the kitchen and bathroom counter units and carrying out the necessary plumbing work.
Yesterday we started bringing floor tiles and bathroom fittings etc… to the site, ready for installation.
We are currently a week ahead of schedule for our initial planned completion date of 24th April for this project.
Project: Thip Thani - 4 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on March 2, 2011
I have just finished the design of a new four bedroom two storey home which we are going to build in Thip Thani, Nong Khai. Today we began clearing the land and preparing the site and arranging for connection of utilities ready for work to begin. Our client would like to have the official buddhist ceremony for the new house building on 17th March. This takes place when the first concrete footing is placed within its foundation hole. Between now and then, we shall be digging all of the foundation holes and also the large hole for the basement room that this house has. We shall also by preparing all of the steel reinforcement for the columns, footings and some of the beams, in order to speed up the construction process after the 17th March.
Project: Fao Rai - 2 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on February 9, 2011
The main roof frame has now been added to the house and the tile mounting spars are being added. The roof tiles are due to be delivered in two days. Most of the initial block work is completed and we shall be starting to render the walls in the next couple of days so within a week the house will begin to take shape.
Project: Fao Rai - 2 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on February 3, 2011
We have finished casting of all of the columns and beams. The floor slab has now been poured. In this case we used pre-cast concrete slabs over which was laid a steel mesh. A layer of concrete was then poured over the tope of this. This method is much quicker than adding in supports and shuttering and then pouring one thick concrete slab. Most of the walls have also now been built. Due to budget constraints with this project, we are using standard blocks, rather than the thermally insulating blocks that we have used on other projects.
Project: Fao Rai - 2 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on January 25, 2011
We have been continuing preparations for the casting of the main floor beams in a couple of days by adding all of the shuttering around the steel beam reinforcement structure.
Project: Fao Rai - 2 Bedroom Home
Posted By Alec on January 12, 2011
I have just finished the design of a low cost two bedroom single storey home for a client near Fao Rai, Phon Phisai.
The home is entered via some steps leading up to a covered porch and features a relatively large open plan living / dining room and kitchen area. This leads on to a large covered deck at the rear. There is also another covered area for an outside laundry just off from the kitchen area.
The master bedroom has a very large walk-in closet and an en-suite bathroom. Unusually, at the clients request, the en-suite bathroom then leads on to a walled open-air shower room. There is then a guest bedroom with built in closet and a second bathroom.
We shall be starting construction of this home within the next week, with a scheduled completion date of around the end of May this year. Check back here for updates on the progress of this build.
Project: Baan Sanploen
Posted By Alec on September 8, 2010
It has been just about a month since my last update on Baan Sanploen and we have been busy with the finishing touches.
BOUNDARY WALLS AND PAINTING
We have finished all of the boundary walls, and also finished adding all of the decorative features such as wood effect fence panels, stainless steel detailing etc… We have also fitted the engraved granite name plate for the house to the front wall along with a suitable styled mail box. The main gate has also been fitted.
LIGHTING
With a couple of exceptions, the interior and exterior light fittings have now been installed.
POND AND GARDEN LANDSCAPING
Work on the pond and its pump and lighting has almost been completed. We have also been planting more trees and working on landscaping the garden. Just a few more plants to add.
CARPENTRY
The final piece of the jigsaw is now being put in in the form of all of the custom wood work. I have designed all of the doors and cabinets and also the staircase which features a wood and stainless steel hand rail. All of which is being made by to my design by a local carpenter.
Project: Baan Sanploen
Posted By Alec on July 23, 2010
We have been busy with constructing the large pond in the garden which is looking more like a swimming pool than a pond at the moment! We have also installed the large drains to take the roof and ground run-off water.
Project: Thip Thani Project 2
Posted By Alec on July 20, 2010
We have now completed all of the block work for the house and added many of the exterior features such as the protruding roof trim and also the detail around the large front window. We have also installed the conduit for electrical wiring and have begun to prepare internal and external edges ready for rendering.
Project: Baan Sanploen
Posted By Alec on July 20, 2010
Over the past week we have almost completed construction of the remaining boundary walls, installed the septic tanks, continued with interior painting and begun preparations for the large pond and decking area in the garden. We have also had third party contractors installing our windows.
