Clearing our plot of landOften, when building in Thailand, the land is reclaimed farm land and has previously not been built on. In this case, it is necessary to build up the level of the land with earth. This is done for two reasons. Firstly, much farm land was previously used for rice cultivation and as such is prone to flooding during the rainy season, so raising the level is advantageous. Secondly, the weight of the earth stabilises the land beneath, to make a stable base for the foundations/footings. Once the level of land has been built up, the earth should be left to sit for several months before building can start in order to allow the land to settle (Unless piles or bore holes are to be used).
The land that we have bought is a part of Thip Thani and had been levelled at the time the rest of the village had been built, some 15 years ago, so it was unnecessary to build up the level or leave the land to settle, meaning that we could begin construction immediately.
The first step, was to clear the the land of vegetation, then level the land to create a flat plot of land on which to build. We did however require about four trucks of earth in order to fill various holes in the land.