NEW SHED

Actual date of post: 13 February 2021

Work commenced Thursday 11/02/21 on construction of a new storage shed, replacing the old dilapidated cow shed.

Indicative budget of 100,000 THB for a shed 12.5 X 4.5 metres with an enclosed room 4 X 4 metres at the Northern end.  We are using the contractor who built the shed and fence at Yuri's parents house.  They are quick and efficient and their quality, so far, has been to a high standard.

Construction will be steel reinforced concrete with cement blocks and an aluminium roof.  Nothing fancy, just a simple functional shed to use during the house build and afterwards as a storage / garden shed for Yuri's Flower, Fruit and Tree farm equipment, seedlings etc.

Progress Day 1: setting out and receiving cement, cement blocks, sand & metal

Day 2: all columns in place and set with concrete.  Slower than planned due to non-arrival of steel bar due for early AM delivery, necessitating a quick trip to an alternate supplier two villages away, via motor bike for suitable lengths of 8 mm steel bar. 

The Land

Google Earth view of the land where we will build our home at the Eastern end of Ayong.

Link to Google Earth

Preparing the Land

Spent the day with Yuri's father Hing getting the land ready.  He kindly offered the land to us to build on as long as it continues to be used for primary production, which is fine by me. 

So far we've added 327 loads of clean fill to get the site to where we want it to be.  Another 150 loads are anticipated.  This will be for the fruit trees and some landscaping.  Still debating turning some of the old rice paddies into a series of ponds.  The soil isn't much good for anything else and given the clay is impervious the ponds will stay relatively full.

Different Mango Varieties from Ayong

The four large varieties above are from the land we will be building our home on.  These can eaten either savoury (semi-ripe) or sweet (ripe).  The two smaller varieties are "wild" mangoes and are highly sought after.  We will be planting these as soon as the site works are completed.

There are seven different mature Mango trees on the land we're building on along with another 12 different types of trees used for traditional Thai cooking.

Given there are seven Mango varieties to choose from breakfast can some times involve some tricky decisions.

Eastern Boundary

The laneway that runs along the Eastern boundary of the land we will be building on.  It runs around the reservoir that serves as the water supply for Ayong and the adjacent village.

Looking East

View looking East from where our bedroom window will be

Looking West

A view of the land where the house will sit.  Yuri is standing about where our bedroom will be.

 Actual date: Sunder 07 February 2021.

Progress on the site where we will build our home has been slow.  This is a view of the location for the house.  Still needed to complete levelling the area after an incompetent taxi driver masquerading as a tractor operator was used by Yuri's father to "level" the site...

 

Schematic showing the new shed to be built.  12.5 X 4.5 metres.  Concrete columns, steel roof and concrete block walls with steel security doors.

Old Cow Shed

Actual date published: Monday 08 February 2021

View of the old cow shed due to be removed in the next two weeks.  Built extremely strong so removal will not be easy.  There is a concrete ring beam with steel reinforcing that ties the wooden columns together.  Removing these will be a major job in itself.
 

Actual date posted: Monday 08 February 2021 

Short video showing the position of the building block, facing South looking onto Road 2334.

Originally added 327 loads of poor quality soil to raise the level of the block we will be building on.

A further 512 loads were added to several surrounding rice fields to make the overall level of the site more suitable, particularly for the rainy season.  Cost was THB 190 per load including tractor hire.