manarak Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Hello all I'm in the process of acquiring a house and since I am no expert on the topic, I would like that a real expert takes a good look at building quality before I buy. Who can please recommend some names? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23962323 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Do not think building and quality can be mentioned in the same breath,cheap enough though to throw back up again. Think you will be told only what you want to hear. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattayaParent Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Don't think they have such a thing as building surveyors here unless you find a Farang that was one in his previous life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manarak Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Don't think they have such a thing as building surveyors here unless you find a Farang that was one in his previous life. that's exactly what I am looking for! btw, the house has been farang-built Edited March 3, 2012 by manarak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoodMaiDai Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I wouldn't believe anything a Thai inspector told you, ever. If they even have such a thing. Unless it's a high end home, and even then it is questionable, many homes are poorly built. Whatever you buy, plan on making repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Caveat Emptor is normal in Thailand , particularly in the Housing Industry. Farang Built means supervising Thais that already have their standards & no Farang is going to change them. IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23962323 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Caveat Emptor is normal in Thailand , particularly in the Housing Industry. Farang Built means supervising Thais that already have their standards & no Farang is going to change them. IMO Exactly,but I think the buildings 10 years or so ago were quite well built,the stuff after that was pure garbage. Looked at a place a while ago,quite expensive place too,the floor tiles were lifting in one area on the ground floor so dug around a bit and the smell of rotting vegetation,(probably methane) was overpowering,just 5 years old and falling apart,including crumbling foundations,cannot fix that problem. Think a core sample taken from anywhere in the place your looking at will be required,but all you will receive is a bag of dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manarak Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Please focus on recommending an expert instead of just bashing the builders in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23962323 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 This subject ,and buying property has been done to death on so many occasions, it gets brain numbing. Google your enquiry putting in Bangkok,...somone independent of Pattaya,might get you a more reasoned and honest report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Don't think they have such a thing as building surveyors here unless you find a Farang that was one in his previous life. Or unless you were a barow boy in a previous life and reinvented yourself as a surveyor after you arrived in Pattaya. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 With the defamation laws being what they are in Thailand, why in the world would anyone take a chance on giving an honest appraisal of the quality of a builders work If you said something was wrong or done incorrectly you may end up being sued by the person that did the work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manarak Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) With the defamation laws being what they are in Thailand, why in the world would anyone take a chance on giving an honest appraisal of the quality of a builders work If you said something was wrong or done incorrectly you may end up being sued by the person that did the work Arrffff... there can't be defamation as long as there is no publication of it or otherwise spread among the public. The number of useful posts in this thread is very low. Edited March 5, 2012 by manarak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23962323 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 With the defamation laws being what they are in Thailand, why in the world would anyone take a chance on giving an honest appraisal of the quality of a builders work If you said something was wrong or done incorrectly you may end up being sued by the person that did the work Arrffff... there can't be defamation as long as there is no publication of it or otherwise spread among the public. The number of useful posts in this thread is very low. You are right,...gives some indication of the general feeling with this subject with close on 400 views,still not that amazing in Amazing Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morphic Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I have viewed tons of properties in Thailand and the quality has been uniformly abysmal. Paper thin walls, poor piping, cheap/nasty windows and doors, dangerous wiring and thats just what you can see. Look at these places in the process of construction, before they've had a chance to paint over the cracks and they look even worse. And when they say "falang built", or "international", that is just marketing garbage. It just means a falang paid and did a little checking now and then, no doubt being laughed at and ripped off by the Thais who did even shoddier work than usual and cheated on the materials even more than they usually do. And international appears to mean one or two "families" that have come to dominate Pattaya construction, perfecting the art of becoming obscenely wealthy by selling crap to the ignorant. I've seen enough, its just a waste of time. Rent, if you buy you will be stuck with it forever, paying through the nose for maintenance and constantly having to deal with Thais who will rip you off and do bad jobs at fixing the snowballing problems that will develop over time. Either that or put up with living in what will rapidly turn into a tip. Put up with the crappy smell from the bad sewage pipes, the leaking roofs, the ill fitting doors, the widnows that wont close properly, the air con that won't cool propely, etc etc etc. And because of the thin walls and ceilings, put up with endless neighbour noise, although that may be of lesser annoyance than the karaoke bar that may open just down the road after you've moved in, or have been there all the time without you noticing, the developer/agent someohow arranging viewing times to hide those kinds of unsavoury details. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlbraun Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Comments of these people that think that they know everything are really annoying. Nobody should ever buy anything here ? Good construction is impossible here ? Falang build means only supervised ? I am a contractor who built condo building, houses, pools, gogo-bars... Sometimes standard quality, sometimes luxury, depending on the customer's budget but always with safe electric and water networks. Somes employed workers are with me for 10 years, they know what I want and they do what I want. Sub-contractors (gypsum, carpenter.... ) rip-me off ? I have at least 2 of each, they can't make the prices they want. Does morphic closed mind is able to understand that and stop make stupid generalisation ? Why did I get work from Indian and Thai customers and had always been paid ? Falang supervision ? Yes, maybe... Bad contractors and workers does exist but I also seen very good and honnest Thai contractors, architects, civil-engineers... This is an answer to stupid comments and not advertising as I never made advertising, nor have website, and anyway cannot take more jobs before this fall. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Caveat Emptor is normal in Thailand , particularly in the Housing Industry. Farang Built means supervising Thais that already have their standards & no Farang is going to change them. IMO exceptions prove the rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David006 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Although conscientious surveyors do exist, a surveyor of anything be it a house/building or boat even, has no accountability as to what he writes if incorrect or slipshod surveying fails to note a major or even minor problem. The only thing I would suggest, if you do find and use a surveyor, is get a complete "Statement of Work" before you give him the go ahead. This means a detailed list of everything he is going to do and check/inspect. Quite basic really but I would not expect a building surveyor to climb on the roof to check levels /tiles etc or climb into crawlspace to check ...yadda yadda. Most won't even lift the cover off an electrical outlet to or two to check the standard of wiring. If I was you I would just spend a few hours on the net and find out things you should be checking and looking fort. Then do it yourself sending the vendor or agent for a coffee so he don't hover over you trying to explain away possible defects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddharder Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Sounds to me like there is a business opportunity for a farang who has a background in building inspection. Keep it honest and his/her reputation might offer a decent living in LOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Most probably a restricted occupation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddharder Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Most probably a restricted occupation. Meh, little is truly restricted in Thailand. If I'm buying a house, I'd be more than happy to hand a farang a few thousand baht under the table for an informed and objective opinion. No doubt many others would be as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23962323 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) Not a restricted occupation,but breeding turkeys is,and this subject is a turkey. It is good to see the Belle mixer and a bit of builders bum in evidence Pray tell what is "your" quality,or farang quality to local Thai builders,go on give us a clue? ,dig a bit deeper for the footings?go to the mixer plant to make sure the correct mix was being applied,follow the mixer to where the drop is being dumped,...?double skin the walls?with infill. A decent builder with the years you are supposed to have been here in Thailand would have stayed in the UK where there was a ton of money to be made,instead of joining the wannabe SAS,MI6,MI5 crew in Thailand. If a brick was never laid again in the Pattaya area there is enough houses for sale for the next 10,000 years,why build more?,or it is you are shoring up or under footing the original footings/foundations. If a surveyor is going to survey? what to survey,sand is a good compactor ,but sure washes away easily The surveyor (LOL) will have to knock the house to bits(not hard really) to examine the carefully applied wiring,is it 3 foot for the metal rod? hows it doing for potential flooding?,I know sand is considered a good compacting base,but it surely will get a good washing effect in years to come Slightly off topic but still under the same roof the lengths farangs go to protect their houses from the wifey, leasehold etc,was in another English language paper 11 of Jan actually this year, Mr Ex Pat goes to do his yearly sign on and gets kicked out of the Land of Smiles, all the right documentation was there money ,properly documented forms,house etc,think he thought he had outsmarted his wife,wifey (or her family) outsmarted him Edited March 10, 2012 by 23962323 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23962323 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Not a restricted occupation,but breeding turkeys is,and this subject is a turkey. It is good to see the Belle mixer and a bit of builders bum in evidence Pray tell what is "your" quality,or farang quality to local Thai builders,go on give us a clue? ,dig a bit deeper for the footings?go to the mixer plant to make sure the correct mix was being applied,follow the mixer to where the drop is being dumped,...?double skin the walls?with infill. A decent builder with the years you are supposed to have been here in Thailand would have stayed in the UK where there was a ton of money to be made,instead of joining the wannabe SAS,MI6,MI5 crew in Thailand. If a brick was never laid again in the Pattaya area there is enough houses for sale for the next 10,000 years,why build more?,or it is you are shoring up or under footing the original footings/foundations. If a surveyor is going to survey? what to survey,sand is a good compactor ,but sure washes away easily The surveyor (LOL) will have to knock the house to bits(not hard really) to examine the carefully applied wiring,is it 3 foot for the metal rod? hows it doing for potential flooding?,I know sand is considered a good compacting base,but it surely will get a good washing effect in years to come Slightly off topic but still under the same roof the lengths farangs go to protect their houses from the wifey, leasehold etc,was in another English language paper 11 of Jan actually this year, Mr Ex Pat goes to do his yearly sign on and gets kicked out of the Land of Smiles, all the right documentation was there money ,properly documented forms,house etc,think he thought he had outsmarted his wife,wifey (or her family) outsmarted him Can see repeated paragraph,computer keeps re-setting,lose track at times Another thing springs to mind too,if a "quality" build were to be undertaken,the "extra" quality,would reflect in a potentially raised property sale price ,I foresee a prospective (potential) purchaser,phrasing words of "sling yer 'ook", to the vendor in whatever language applied ,be it English ,Thai or Indian or whatever,maybe even Iranian,when adjudging any surrounding property prices to the "quality" build. Most definitely need a surveyor to ascertain any quality lying therein Never mind eh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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