Posts Tagged ‘Quotes’

House Build Prices Received From Thai Builders

Kanyah received the quotations to build our retirement house from the Thai builders in Pakchong, Thailand, on or around November 15th, 2010.

And I’m Not Very Impressed At All!

Just to recap, my Thai wife, Kanyah, went to Thailand and issued a set of house plans and Bills of Quantity (BOQ) to six builders and/or construction companies that she located in Pakchong, where we want to build our retirment house, while I stayed here in the U.K earning the money to pay for it all. I am in contact with Kanyah by phone and sometimes by email, but the communication is not very good.

Anyway, she told me that the prices from all the builders was the same! The quotations we received were well above what we wanted to pay and way over our budget. I’m not going to reveal the price here (I can call it ‘the’ price because all the prices were the same) because we still have to arrive at a figure that we can go ahead with and this isn’t it!

I asked Kanyah to get the completed BOQ’s from all the builders so that I can compare the quotes. She said there is no point in that because all the prices are the same! Talk about frustration, I am tearing my hair out trying to make my point that if I get all, or even just one, completed BOQ I can at least do some checking as to what the builder has allowed for. After all that was one of the main reasons for commissioning the BOQ in the first place.

Unfortunately, my wife being Thai is happy to have things done (or not done as the case may be) the Thai way, rather than the Western way.

The Project Is Now On Hold Until I Go To Thailand Over Christmas (2010)!

The plan was that by 15th November we would have several quotations to build our house and the next few weeks would be spent checking the quotes and BOQs, clarifying any questions or misunderstandings over the Scope of Works and materails and fittings selection and quality. This would then allow us to select the preferred builder and when I visit in December I would be able to negotiate and sign a Contract with one of the builders.

Instead, Kanyah is doing nothing and getting no more information. “Wait until you come” she says. Well that is just wasting time and for me extremely frustrating.

Bottom line is, you have to be in Thailand when getting prices from Thai builders to build your retirement house in Thailand. So everything is on hold until I get out there.

Building A Retirement House in Thailand

We are more than just planning to build a retirement house in Thailand we are well on with the house plans. You can see some of those on this website at http://retiringinthailand.net/house-build-thailand-2/

Those plans I made myself on AutoCad but did I did start with a basic house design I downloaded from this Thai website:-

http://www.dpt.go.th/download/PW/house_model/framehome.html

The next stage is to obtain budget quotations for my house design before moving to the next stage. I’ll be doing this over the internet and will tell you exactly how when I have been through the process myself.

But before I seek the quotes, there are a few things I need to do to the house drawings to provide more information. (These may well be done when you read this – depends upon what time you came to this post).

Here’s what I’m going to do next to the drawings for of our Thai retirement home:-

• Add to the drawings:-
  • Sink and drain in the Workshop
  • Designate the WC and shower area walls as being made from brick
  • Add a finishes schedule showing what materials and finishes are to be used for walls, floors and ceilings
  • Add the folding windows to the Living room
• Make a cross section though the building
• Add some Thai language notes

So you can see I still have plenty to do before I start to get budget quotations from Thailand for our planned retirement house.

Keep in touch and I’ll update the web page holding the Thai house drawings as soon as I’m ready.