Pouring the roof beams

After a few days of preparations, the concrete has been poured for the roof beams.



Also, today we took delivery of the first load of construction blocks. It is common, in Thailand, to use traditional small red bricks when constructing house walls. However, these are heavy, have poor insulation properties and are labor intensive to lay. Another common alternative to the red bricks is standard breeze-blocks and whilst these may be quicker to lay, they also offer relatively poor insulation and fire resistance properties. We are using a new type of block that is less than half the weight of standard bricks whilst offering over ten times the thermal insulation and eight times the fire resistance of standard bricks. Coupled with their already outstanding thermal properties, we will be using two courses of bricks with a gap between the two layers providing yet further cavity insulation which will be so beneficial in such a warm climate in keeping the house cool inside. The dimensions of these block, being 60cm x 30cm, lead to unmatched construction time when compared to any other type of brick.

First delivery of construction blocks arrives First delivery of construction blocks arrives

Roof beam shuttering supports

Back at work and well rested from their days off, the workers made great progress today in preparing the supports for the roof beam shuttering.  Tomorrow, they will begin to assemble the shuttering itself.

Roof beam shuttering supports Roof beam shuttering supports

I have created a somewhat unique roof design, part of which involves completely concealed guttering and down pipes.  In order to achieve this, the roof beams I have designed are also somewhat unique.  I anticipate progress to appear slow over the next few days, as a lot of preparation will be needed in order to realise the design of the complex roof beam  reinforcement structure, before the beams can be poured.

Final stage of columns poured

I had a nice surprise this morning to find that our foreman, Kan, had managed to get the shuttering in place more quickly than planned and so had already poured the first batch of columns.  By the end of the day, the rest had been poured.

All final stage columns cast All final stage columns cast

It is important that freshly poured concrete is kept from drying out too quickly during the 'curing' period  This is because the full bond between all of the ingredients will not be achieved if it is left to dry out of its own accord, leading to a weaker structure with a greater tendency to crack.  With the columns, this is achieved by wrapping them in plastic, thus preventing evaporation of moisture.  With the beams and slabs, it is done my periodically spraying them with water to ensure they stay wet.  Now that the columns have been cast, another method has been employed on the second floor slab known as ponding.  In this case, a sand wall has been formed around the edge of the slab and the slab flooded.

Ponding of second floor slab Ponding of second floor slab

Delivery of kitchen appliances

Any one who has spent even a small amount of time viewing rental properties in Thailand will be familiar with the differences between western and Thai style kitchens.  It is not uncommon for Thai style kitchens to be situated in a covered area outside of the house or when there is a dedicated internal kitchen, it often lacks the cupboard space and built appliances that one may be used to. There is nothing wrong with Thai style kitchens and with such a warm climate, having an out door kitchen can be a very nice feature.  However, we shall be installing a typically western style kitchen complete with built in appliances, the first of which were delivered yesterday and are pictured below.

Built-in Oven Oven

Hob Hob

Extractor Hood Extractor Hood

Pouring the second floor concrete slab

The house is L-shaped in form, consisting of two 'wings' with a two storey high entrance hall at the intersection. As such, the second floor slab for each 'wing' can be poured separately. Today the slab for the master bedroom, bathroom and balcony was poured. In the video below, you can also see that preparations have started for the second floor slab of the other 'wing' which will be poured on Tuesday.



Below you can see the finished slab.  The areas marked by wooden boards denote different levels of the slab.  The area in the front left corner of the slab will be the master bathroom so is at a lower level than the rest of the master bedroom as is the area beyond the board at the far end of the slab which will be the balcony.  The steel bars protruding from the front of the slab will be used as attachment points for the reinforcement structure of the staircase.  This picture also shows the initial plumbing preparations for the bathroom.  Also in the picture is our foreman, Kan, who has done such an excellent job in ensuring that the build runs to plan!

Second floor slab Second floor slab