Tradesmen in Chiang Mai

[trevoromgh]

Have tried searching this forum for topics suggesting how to contact reliable tradesmen but could not find any.  Can anyone point me at a website or post here where the contact details of plumbers, electricians, carpenters can be found please?  It would obviously be nice if there was a pinned topic in the CM forum where we could post any recommendations we might have and which others could refer to so perhaps Admin could start one?  One key requirement would be the ability of said tradesmen to have a reasonable grasp of English so we can communicate with them without having to have an interpreter always.

[boonrawdcnx]

Search for
“Chiang Mai Tradesmen” on Facebook there is a group you can join and where you can look for recommendations / contacts


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[bkk6060]

There are a small group of homes being built near where I stay.

I took a Thai speaker with me, asked some questions of the workers and got phone numbers.

Several of them have already completed plumbing and painting jobs.

[Dante99]

7 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

Have tried searching this forum for topics suggesting how to contact reliable tradesmen but could not find any.

there have been many threads on parts of the topic with recommendations

7 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

One key requirement would be the ability of said tradesmen to have a reasonable grasp of English so we can communicate with them without having to have an interpreter always.

Suprise, there are people on this forum that do speak Thai and do not have your requirements.

 

43 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

There are a small group of homes being built near where I stay.

I took a Thai speaker with me, asked some questions of the workers and got phone numbers.

Several of them have already completed plumbing and painting jobs.

Simple, find some people doing work you find acceptable and talk with them.  Well done bkk6060.

[CharlieH]

If you go into the large DIY places like Thai watsadu there is usually a board full of business cards for various trades etc.

[trevoromgh]

Just now, CharlieH said:

If you go into the large DIY places like Thai watsadu there is isually a board full of business cards for various trades etc.

Thanks for the first useful suggestion which doesn't rely on F***book which I refuse to use.  It just seems strange that on a forum such as this we are missing such a topic which would be handy for so many people especially those who can't speak Thai yet.

[CharlieH]

1 minute ago, trevoromgh said:

Thanks for the first useful suggestion which doesn't rely on F***book which I refuse to use.  It just seems strange that on a forum such as this we are missing such a topic which would be handy for so many people especially those who can't speak Thai yet.

There are many useful tips etc and knowledgeable people on the DIY forum. There is also building terms etc in Thai to help people.

 

If there is enough support I have no problem "pinning" a "local trades/recommendations" in the localised forum.

[trevoromgh]

3 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

There are many useful tips etc and knowledgeable people on the DIY forum. There is also building terms etc in Thai to help people.

 

If there is enough support I have no problem "pinning" a "local trades/recommendations" in the localised forum.

Another good suggestion that certainly gets my support. Cheers

[EricTh]

I once contacted someone who can speak English 'well' but he quoted me 5 times more for the same work as someone who can't speak any English.

 

It seems that there are double pricing for foreigners and locals.

 

Try to get a local Thai friend to talk to them instead.

 

[elektrified]

3 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

Thanks for the first useful suggestion which doesn't rely on F***book which I refuse to use.  It just seems strange that on a forum such as this we are missing such a topic which would be handy for so many people especially those who can't speak Thai yet.

If you refuse to use Facebook to search for help then you are ruling out perhaps 75% of all leads on tradesmen. It's the way things are done now. In fact, some of them only communicate by FB messenger now and no longer even check their email. If you don't want to have a Thai speaker help you make telephone calls, then you have eliminated perhaps another 10% of them, so at this point you only have about a 15% of finding any help.

[trevoromgh]

3 minutes ago, elektrified said:

If you refuse to use Facebook to search for help then you are ruling out perhaps 75% of all leads on tradesmen. It's the way things are done now. In fact, some of them only communicate by FB messenger now and no longer even check their email. If you don't want to have a Thai speaker help you make telephone calls, then you have eliminated perhaps another 10% of them, so at this point you only have about a 15% of finding any help.

I realize the dependence Thai people seem to have on F***book and I think it's a shame as its domineering position will wreck them and their economy but that's another topic.  Besides having a pinned topic here with tradesmen recommendations provides a far better source of information in English than that will ever provide.

[Bill97]

I introduced excellent tradesmen to farangs and the tradesmen did not like working for them so never again.


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[orang37]

Quit complaining we are serving you cake without icing, and get busy searching on this forum for specific tasks, and specific professions. There is lots of content.

 

Quit complaining, and do what's necessary to find a Thai speaker to assist you.

 

Many members, including this flea on a tick in a mangy soi dog's ear,  have responded helpfully to polite requests for specific assistance with all kinds of advice,  referrals, reviews, etc., to local sources of help.

 

~o:37; 

 

p.s.  don't forget: "quit complaining."
 

[canthai55]

Thai people know who is good and who is not.

We went for dinner, restaurant just had an outdoor addition built to increase seating.

Electric work was all done in white conduit to match the rest of the building.

Asked the owner - the wife did - got a contact number - viola !

Same guy who just finished Supalai condo by Central.

The mind boggles when people ask on an English speaking Forum for tradesmen.

And with a little digging - so can you.

Get out there ...

 

[CharlieH]

Inflammatory posts removed.

[orang37]

11 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

Orang is ... not a flea.

Thank you for your kind words, but, I am, often, a flea, in Amazing T, carried along by a mangy soi dog who can't even get a bite in a Wat that's not from another dog. And, this tick I ride on, in the dog's ear ... let me tell you, his chitin's so thin, and his belly so empty of blood, he's almost transparent.

 

It is only small acts of kindness, like yours, that jump-transmogrify me from fleahood back into my human~orang manifestation.

 

~o:37;

[trevoromgh]

I have not insulted anyone only repeated the word he used to describe himself.  As for anyone dependent on F***book I feel sorry for them. I think it arrogant for people who speak Thai to decide that others who don't yet command the language can do without a ready source of important information which is all I am asking for. 

[eyecatcher]

9 hours ago, EricTh said:

I once contacted someone who can speak English 'well' but he quoted me 5 times more for the same work as someone who can't speak any English.

 

It seems that there are double pricing for foreigners and locals.

 

Try to get a local Thai friend to talk to them instead.

 

The price is always higher for farangs because we are a p.i.t.a

 

Our standards of finish and other idiosynchrosies and demands along the way need to be accounted for in what i call the farang overhead.

 

Thais dont give a shit about what their compatriots turn out so they can get away with a cheap price.

 

It obvious so why cant people see this.

We should pay more because we demand more

[Bill97]

Yeh come on folks stop denying him what he wants. Oh nobody is doing that are they?


Treavie you have been a forum member for8+years, when are you going to learn to speak Thai ?


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[eyecatcher]

Two pieces of advice live with me from my career in construction.

 

Never give recommendations for tradesmen and never lend anyone your ladder.

 

It comes down to the same, if a tradesman lets down your friend you lose two friends, if your ladder lets down your friend he sues you, again you lost a friend.

 

So I will never recommend but I may suggest which direction to look.

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, trevoromgh said:

II think it arrogant for people who speak Thai to decide that others who don't yet command the language can do without a ready source of important information which is all I am asking for. 

My Thai is miniscule - 50 words maybe.

But if you want to live here, and have jobs done, most likely you will have a Thai tradesman do the job.

Being fluent in English is not a job requirement.

Want a high quality, professional, inexpensive job done ? Go meet the people who do them.

And if they converse on FB, and you do not, your are seriously limiting your choices.

My HD mechanic speaks about the same number of English words as I do Thai.

My CRF mechanic the same.

Outstanding work.

 

[trevoromgh]

23 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

Yeh come on folks stop denying him what he wants. Oh nobody is doing that are they?


Treavie you have been a forum member for8+years, when are you going to learn to speak Thai ?


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Thanks Bill I'll take that reply as tentative support. 

 

Been a member for several years as you say but only been living here for 12months on/off but have taken Thai language course at Payap University and trying to use it as best I can.   I realize people are reluctant to recommend tradesman but as long as people are happy with the work they've done for them that's all the recommendation I need and no recourse expected.

 

 

[scorecard]

All trades covered with English speaking trades people.

 

Nice idea but unrealistic.  Do as many folks do, get the wife / gf / bf to do some translation.

 

Or nowadays there are numerous websites / phone apps that are easy to use and do a fairly good translation (but not perfect).

[eyecatcher]

21 minutes ago, scorecard said:

All trades covered with English speaking trades people.

 

Nice idea but unrealistic.  Do as many folks do, get the wife / gf / bf to do some translation.

 

Or nowadays there are numerous websites / phone apps that are easy to use and do a fairly good translation (but not perfect).

I was in toolmart this week tryi g to have a technical conversation with an ipad that the assistant was carrying with him.

10/10 for effort which no one else would dream of doing but i think google translate was struggling with thumbwheel and can I have a free sds compatible chuck.

 

[scorecard]

8 minutes ago, eyecatcher said:

I was in toolmart this week tryi g to have a technical conversation with an ipad that the assistant was carrying with him.

10/10 for effort which no one else would dream of doing but i think google translate was struggling with thumbwheel and can I have a free sds compatible chuck.

 

Point taken but to be honest I wouldn't be expecting either google or the wife or 99% of the staff to understand that level of detail.

 

 

[EricTh]

4 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

Thanks Bill I'll take that reply as tentative support. 

 

Been a member for several years as you say but only been living here for 12months on/off but have taken Thai language course at Payap University and trying to use it as best I can.   I realize people are reluctant to recommend tradesman but as long as people are happy with the work they've done for them that's all the recommendation I need and no recourse expected.

 

 

I've seen people living in Thailand for 7 to 8 years , took many Thai courses but still can't converse on an intermediate level. 

 

Thai courses for foreigners don't prepare you to speak with tradesmen because there are technical terms involve like water pipe, sockets, cement etc.

 

Thai courses only teach foreigners how to order food, ask direction, seeing doctor...and other less-useful stuff.

 

Don't worry about his comment because most foreigners find Thai language daunting beyond the basics.

 

[EricTh]

3 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

I was in toolmart this week tryi g to have a technical conversation with an ipad that the assistant was carrying with him.

10/10 for effort which no one else would dream of doing but i think google translate was struggling with thumbwheel and can I have a free sds compatible chuck.

 

ha..ha... 

 

That reminds me of a Thai guy who use this application to translate spoken words from Thai to English. Most of the time, it was gibberish.

 

Google translate and similar apps only works for simple sentences like 'where is toilet'.

 

It is naive to think that these apps can be as intelligent as a human translator.

[Bill97]

Thanks Bill I'll take that reply as tentative support. 
 

Again a swing and a miss.



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[bojo]

In Chiang Mai there are zillions of trades people working everywhere all the time and the likelyhood is that some are working close by to where you need the work doing. And/Or there is a local construction shop with people turning up throughout the day dressed in work clothes (easy to spot) that you can engage with.

Not speaking any decent Thai shouldn't be an issue really as basic human interaction, a bit of sign language, a bit of body language, a smattering of Thai and Tapsab words/ international words, helpful passers by will get one of them round to your place for a quote in no time, trust me.....

Take the plunge, it will be worth it and that's also one way to learn Thai real quick, getting amongst it and into the thick of it.

Best of luck, & bon courage.....

[Dante99]

31 minutes ago, bojo said:

Take the plunge, it will be worth it and that's also one way to learn Thai real quick, getting amongst it and into the thick of it.

There in lies the problem.  He wants a "proper" job communicated in the proper Queen's English and definitely no bloody mucking around with the woggs.