Click Here To Go To The Latest PAGE On The Website

Click to join the Announcement List and get an email when the website is updated

Click Here To Go To The Latest POST On The Website

Builder Ruins The Gate Runner – But Check Out My Office…

Day 9. Sunday 01 May. (Written in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand. Posted In U.K.

Labor Day So No Building Work Going On

Today is labor day in Thailand so there will be nobody working on site building our retirement house today.

Wobbly Internet At The Mansion

Tried to get on the Internet at the Mansion. After trying for an hour and then giving up it suddenly appeared. But by then it was time to go out so no Internet work done. 

Stainless Steel Gate Runner Ruined

Kanyah has bought a beautiful and ornate stainless steel gate for the driveway into our retirement house being built in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand. I do agree that the gate is a wonderful work of art and a clear demonsttration of the Thai craftman’s skills at bending and welding stainless steel tube. But to me it’s out of keeping with the style of house we are building. Our retirement house is intended to be ‘traddittonal rustic’ and to match the house the gate should have been black steel not bright stainless steel. 

Never mind, at least the gae does a useful job. At least it did until the runner was ruined by our builder. 

This video of the beautiful stainless steel gate was taken yesterday. Just look at how smoothly the gate runs when it is opened:- 

Then we discovered that our Thai builder had run over the gate’s steel ‘running rail’ in his pickup and bent it down. This must have happened yesterday when they left the construction site at the end of the day.

Stainless Steel Gate Runner

 Above, showing the wheels and the runner fo the stainless steel gate in the front wall of our Thai retirement house. 

Thai House Gate Runners 1

Above, you can see how the gate runner is supported off the ground by the steel rods. They have done this so that the runner can be set dead flat, even though the ground is uneven. The gate fitters spent all day fitting this gate and getting the gate runner horizontal and flat. 

Thai House Gate Runner 2

 It bent down because the builder had not put the concrete under it as he had promised to. He just doesn’t care at all about quality or our property. 

There’s no photo of the bent runner because I was too upset to take one. I just had to walk away before I got too angry. 

Decided to buy a large padlock to lock the gate and not let the builder into the land with his pickup until he has put the concerete under the running rail. 

Introducing My Office In Pakchong

So Kanyah and Jalan dropped me off at what I call ‘my office’which is that roadside food stall where I can sit an use the laptop on a proper table whilst drinking a beer or two from the supermarket next door. 

Here is the sign to the roadside food stall – the Thai reads “Mea Rampaeng”, It’s the name of the restaurant I used to use for my “office” in Pakchong (Pak Chong). “Mea Rampaeng” means “worried mother” and when you see the video you will see why. The food (and service) is superb, by the way. Highly recommended. 

The Sign At The "Mea Rampaeng" Restaurant

 The guys/gals running that place (the office) are so friendly and helpful to let me sit there. 

Project Manager’s Office

I have shown you my office above, now take a look at the Project Manager’s office in the picture below:- 

Project Manager In Her Office

Builder Appears

As I was sitting in my ‘office’ preparing a video of the poor quality workmanship of the floor planks to upload to YouTube, who should walk in but the builder, acccompanied by his wife and small daughter!

Apparently (as Kanyah toldme later) he went to the site and then made a special trip to ‘my office’ to see me. We couldn’t figure out why, especially as this was his day off. I suspect his idea was to sweet-talk me into giving him an advance.

Anyway I showed him the viideo of the floor planks and complained about him bending the gate runner. He promised to repair both the floor and the gate runner tomorrow.

Padlocks On The Gate

Kanyah and Jalan came back with the padlocks which were then fitted to the gate(s).

Stainless Steel House Gate Locked

Above, with padlocks on the gate, the builder can’t drive over the gate runner again until he has put the concrete under it.

Click to join the Announcement List and get a notification when the website is updated